Welcome to our third and final post on grooming during this period of social distancing. Our final topic is on perhaps the most noticeable—hair grooming!
What not to do
Let’s start off this post with some simple advice: do not try and give yourself bangs during quarantine. While you may be feeling bored and impulsive, we really cannot caution you enough against giving your hair a drastic change at home. If you find yourself needing to trim some split end, use a sharp pair of scissors and small, upward snips. Just remember to always do this with wet hair.
We put out the same caution when it comes to dyeing your hair. Sadly, there’s no at-home fix for dark roots and grown-out highlights. Coloring and lightening hair is a difficult art to master, and quite frankly, we don’t recommend trying the dye boxes found at your local store. These kits may look temptingly cheap and simple to use, but in reality, they contain harsh, damaging, and potentially toxic chemicals.
Not only is it not likely that your color will turn out the way you intended, but you’re far more likely to damage your hair and scalp than end up with a great new look. You can end up with an irritated, itchy scalp, and can even potentially trigger hair loss.
In addition, while grooming salons remain closed, if you take a wrong step, you won’t have access to a professional to help you fix it.
If you’re bored and itching to experiment with your look, we recommend trying new eyeshadow combinations, practicing nail art, or learning new ways to braid (fishtail braids, for example, look very fancy but are actually easy to learn and do).
Men grooming might be a tad easier to achieve at home - they can achieve a haircut at home as long as their have a hair clipper and hair trimmer handy.
Moisture is key—for everyone
Different people have drastically different hair textures which require different treatments. For everyone, however, keeping your hair and scalp properly moisturized is one of the keys to healthy, happy hair.
For people with thick hair, coconut oil is an amazing multi-use oil. However, it is likely too heavy for most textures. If that’s the case, consider using castor oil. Like coconut oil, it’s a rich source of natural fatty acids that moisturize the scalp and hair incredibly well.
Social distancing is not only good to slow the spread, staying at home makes it is also a good time to try out new hair care and styling products. Many brands sell hair care kits, like this scalp care one from Briogeo. They’re a great, clean, women of color owned brand that has products for all different textures. Max Green Alchemy is another brand to look for, and it’s often sold at retailers like Target.
Style at home
Just like with your nails and brows, quarantine is the perfect opportunity to let everything go natural. Your hair is no exception. This includes not only your scalp, but your body hair as well - so you can take a break from hair removal too!
For an everyday work from home style, pick something comfortable for you. Perhaps you’re going with a functional ponytail or bun (we love that scrunchies are back in style! They’re actually much better for your hair than common elastics and work with nearly every hair type); maybe you want to spice things up with different braids. Use this time to take a break from heat styling like curlers or straighteners.
If you have naturally thick curls, taking care of your hair might be a point of anxiety. African American hair is some of the most particular hair out there, and is often treated with heat, chemicals, or tucked under weaves. For many people, jumping back into a natural style isn’t easy. Fortunately you have a lot of free time to learn.
Braids and twists are two of the best forms of protective styles, which help maintain that delicious moisture and prevent breakages. Something we recommend for people with all hair texture is to sleep with a silk scarf, cap, or bandana over your hair. This is a delicious treat for your scalp and hair, and will also help prevent your hair from becoming hopelessly tangled by morning.
While we’re huge advocates for going all-natural, it’s always fun to get fancy sometimes! It’s a lot of fun to dress yourself up once a week and go all out on your makeup and hair. Even if you’ve got nowhere to go, it’s worth the time and effort for the big confidence boost!
