Solutions to Common Problems with Black Hair

Purely through trial and error, we’ve tried a lot of products on our hair over the years. Some good, others not so much. What we’re listing here are things we’ve tried that are too good to keep to ourselves, and others that, while not especially for our hair type, work well on hair that comes with any kind of curl.

Dry Hair

Organic Hair Systems Aqua Boost Shampoo and Conditioner
They say: Contains certified organic extracts and oils, vitamin 5 and wheat protein to nourish and protect dry hair.
We say: Works very well on natural afro hair and certainly left it feeling soft and nourished.

£9.95

Aveda Dry Remedy Shampoo
They say: Drenches even the driest, most brittle hair with moisture, leaving it soft, supple, and touchable.
We say: Yes, it lives up to the hype. Natural, relaxed and mixed race hair all felt tons better after using this shampoo.

£18

Damaged Hair

Most of us have been here! A little over eager with the blow dryer and irons or simply frazzled from the sun, these products will have your hair back to normal in no time.

Aveda Damage Remedy Intensive Restructuring Treatment
They say: Use weekly to help repair, seal and smooth even the most damaged hair
We say: We don’t always wash our hair every week (!) but we used this a couple of times in a month and, after abusing our hair with sun and GHD’s, putting this on certainly made a difference.

£21

Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise (who knew you could get this in Boots now?!)
They say: The original treatment for damaged hair enriched with olive oil, egg protein, herbs and a boost of wheat germ oil.
We say: Slather this on generously, put a shower cap on and leave for 20 - 45 mins. Your hair will love you afterwards.

£6.03

Dry Scalp

The jury is out on whether you should put oil on your scalp – trichologists say it’s a no no – but we all know someone who (if it’s secretly not us) still does.

Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Aloe Shampoo
They say: Removes calcium build-up and restores moisture to hair whilst it gently cleans and neutralizes
We say: After continued use, we noticed our scalp was much less flaky. But use it every time you wash your hair as the one time we strayed, the dry patches returned.

£3.47

Mizani Supreme Oil
They say: Hydrates the scalp and relieves dryness
We say: Yes, yes, yes! Read our in depth review here.

£17.99

Defining Curly Hair

For days when you want to work with what is just growing out of your head.

Mixed Chicks
They say: Non-sticky, alcohol free and lightweight products really define your curls and lock in moisture at the same time.
We say: All the products from the range are great and work perfectly.

Shampoo £13.09. Conditioner £17.50

Aveda Be Curly Curl Enhancer
They say: Intensifies curls, tames frizz and heightens shine.
We say: Shampoo and condition your hair, follow the instructions on the packaging and you’ll have defined and bouncy curls. We were surprised at how good this is!

£17

Straightening Curly Hair

Whether your hair is natural or relaxed, sometimes you want to wear it straight. If you don’t want the permanence of a relaxer, these products will help you on your way.

Aveda Smooth Infusion Glossing Straighter
They say: Use with the Smooth Infusion full range for all day straightness and shine.
We say: We like to mix and match our products so didn’t use the whole range but the glossing straighter is amazing. Towel dry your hair, divide into very small sections and apply to each section before blow-drying. Works like a charm and smells great.

£18.50

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum
They say: Lightweight silicones smooth, condition and seal hair with added shine.
We say: Use very sparingly, a little goes a long way, but your hair will swish like that girl in the Pantene ads.

£16.75

Cloud Nine Wide Straightening Irons
They say: Ceramic plates add amazing shine and reduce static, allowing you to glide through the hair with ease and speed.
We say: They have temperature controls so you can adjust the heat according to your hair type. Keep the temp low if your hair is relaxed or fine and turn it up for use on extra thick, coarse hair or hair with a tight natural curl.

£129.95

Don’t get your hair looking all fabulous then ruin it by sleeping on a cotton pillow. Either wrap your hair or sleep on a silk pillowcase. We reviewed one earlier here.

That’s our list of what we think works well and we know we haven’t included everything. We’re sure you know of other things that are great for curly, relaxed or natural hair, so please share!

Holiday Hair Healers

PhytoSpecific are leaders in hair and skin care specifically formulated for black and mixed race women. The collection of shampoos, conditioners and treatments are infused with botanical extracts and natural oils to help balance levels of protein and moisture leaving hair smooth, shiny and resilient.

Our tester tried the Deep Restructuring Shampoo and Balm on return from holiday:

Hair Type - Natural mixed race hair (Afro and Indian)

To say my hair was fried was putting it lightly! I'd had a lovely week in the sun and had washed my hair with the free shampoo at the hotel (always a mistake), put in some Aveda Be Curly curl enhancer (very good by the way) and left my hair like that for a week. The sun shone, the rain fell and the wind blew on my tired locks but I didn't care as I was on holiday and therefore not worrying about my hair.

Touching down in London, I knew I'd have to do something about the matting curls on my head and was wondering which intensive treatment would be able to sort my mop top out. I opted for Phyto Specifc Deep Restructuring Shampoo and Deep Restructuring Balm.

I followed the instructions to the letter:

Deep Restructuring Shampoo
apply on wet hair, massage gently
rinse and leave to foam for a few minutes
rinse thoroughly

Deep Restructuring Balm
spread liberally throughout hair using a wide tooth comb
leave for 15 minutes or more depending on porosity of hair (I left it for an hour underneath a shower cap. Attractive!)
rinse thoroughly

My hair was amazingly soft, sweet smelling and all around lovely. The wide tooth comb simply glided through my hair and it felt clean and in very good condition. I heartily recommend it if you've been a little unkind to your hair and award it 5 out of 5. It does exactly what it says on the tin!

PhytoSpecifc Deep Restructuring Shampoo - £11.50
PhytoSpecifc Deep Restructuring Balm - £19.50

Available at Selfridges or call 020 7620 1771 for stockists

Tried and Tested: Wen® by Chaz Dean Hair Treatment

Wen® is a range of hair products from Hollywood hairdresser Chaz Dean (he’s worked on stars at the Oscars and MTV Music Awards) that are free of SLS and nasty chemicals.

We tried the Re-Moist Intensive Hair Treatment which was designed for use before and after any chemical treatments (i.e. relaxers) to add moisture, body and shine and to restore your hair and give it a bit of strength.

They are so sure you will be pleased with the results they offer a 60 day money back guarantee – even if the containers are empty!

Our tester is mixed race with dry, unruly and thick relaxed hair (her words not ours!). Here is what she had to say:

Feel: The product feels substantial and has the qualities you'd expect of an intensive hair treatment; heavy, creamy and rich.

Smell: A sweet coconut aroma which is relaxing and smells 'clean' without the greasy oiliness that coconut products often have.

Texture: A thick, rich, soothing texture which immediately made me feel like I was using something substantial on my thick, dry hair.

The conditioning treatment was very easy to use with a simple application after shampoo, on wet hair. The hair treatment definitely helped smooth my hair whilst blow drying, which makes me believe it worked in nourishing my hair. The scent was sweet and the texture of the product was very relaxing and felt nourishing.

The only thing I would change about it is perhaps the packaging as it wasn't entirely aesthetically pleasing and probably isn't something that I'd take off the shelf in a shop. Aside from that, I would give it 4 out of 5 and don't doubt that continued use would be beneficial in soothing dry, coarse hair like mine!

WEN® by Chaz Dean Re-Moist Intensive Hair Treatment - Cucumber Aloe. £18.95

www.wenhaircare.co.uk

Online Find: British Curlies

While looking for products to treat our natural afro hair, we came across British Curlies. Intrigued, due to the fact that it can be hard to source US products – which tend to be better suited to our hair type – we had a brief chat with the company about the natural hair movement and the wonderful world of curly hair!

Jill Scott

British Curlies was launched in May 2009 and has a global following of customers from all ethnicities who they help to understand how to properly care for their curls while providing all the resources to enable them to have their best Curl days ever!

They are the only UK website dedicated to naturally curly hair providing a curl forum, styling advice and a curly emporium with the best products for naturally curly hair.

The company was started by Keisha Jo Lawler after she stopped relaxing her hair. She soon realised that Curlies in the UK did not have a great selection of products or any online community to share and learn from and that Curlies seemed to be lacking representation in the UK media. Keisha Jo wanted to change that!

Solange 

AB: Solange Knowles seems to have started a trend toward natural hair - have you noticed curly hair is more popular now?

BC: Solange is new to the natural curly hair community. The Natural Curly Hair Community has been going strong for many years now and it is nice to see young celebrities realising that they don’t need the weaves or the relaxers to make it in Hollywood or anywhere for that matter. I would definitely not say that we are seeing a trend just the awareness growing as more women realise the harmful effects of chemically processing their hair and equally the joy and beauty to be had in wearing their own natural texture with pride. Type Natural Hair into YouTube and you will see the thousands of women from all over the world celebrating their natural hair. It is an inspiring and joyful movement.

AB: What products work best on different types of curls?

Yaya DaCosta

BC: British Curlies provides solutions for wavy, loose curls, curly and tightly coiled afro curly hair for both adults and children. Each texture has different needs, for instance wavy curls need products that provide hold but no weight while tightly coiled afro textures loves hair butters, oils and heavy creamy products.

We offer a service called the Curl Guide in our Curly Emporium where customers who need product selection help can submit their questions and get information on choosing the right products for their personal texture. We also have videos showing great styling ideas plus style guides that can be printed off our site in the comfort of your home.

Whatever your hair type – corkscrew curls, fractal curls, wavy or cherub curls – British Curlies has the right advice and product selections for you. They ship internationally and carry bestsellers like Mixed Chicks, Miss Jessie’s and Kinky Curly.

www.britishcurlies.co.uk