If you’re a natural, you know that there are a million natural hair rules that we are supposed to abide by. These rules promise that as long as you live by them, your hair will grow long, healthy, and strong. Well, friends, since starting my natural hair journey 11 months ago, I’ve tried to follow these natural hair commandments but many of them don’t work for me.
Here are 6 natural hair rules that I DO NOT follow and I am still experiencing amazing hair growth.
1. Naturals should not use shampoos and conditioners that contain sulfate & silicone.
Blah, blah. I will admit that the current shampoo that I use often is organic and doesn’t contain sulfate and silicone, but I use it simply because I love the way it smells and it’s really inexpensive. However, I also use V05 Strawberries and Cream shampoo & conditioners and Aussie Moist products. They contain sulfate & silicone. If you know V05 & Aussie Moist products, you know that they smell fantastic! Using these products have not harmed my natural hair.
2. Naturals should not use products that contain petroleum and mineral oil. Humph. I understand the reasons why using these products are frowned upon; clogging hair follicles, reducing its ability to grow…blah, blah, however, I use them and it hasn’t affected my growth at all. There are particular styles that I use petroleum-based products for because it’s great at reducing frizz.
3. Naturals should wear protective styles as often as possible.
OK, so wait, I love protective styling because it is a great way to retain length. I am a fan of it and have worn my hair in protective styles, like braids and Senegalese twists for months at a time. However, I also love to wear my hair out! For the past 5 months, I’ve been wearing my hair out in many different styles; twist-outs, braid-outs, puffs, pony tails, pony puffs and again my hair is still growing. Wearing my hair out hasn’t decreased the rate of my growth at all. That may also be due to the fact that I am very gentle with my hair when styling.
4. Naturals should not use combs or brushes on their hair.
Say what now!? I see this all over the web and on YouTube. I have to use a comb to part my hair straight and some hairstyles require me to comb through my hair. I use a brush only when I’m wearing my hair in a slick style like a puff or bun. Again, I am very gentle with my hair so I don’t use these tools often, but for heavens sake, I use a comb and brush.
5. Naturals should “moisturize and seal” on a daily basis.
NO! I hate doing this everyday. Moisturizing and sealing is coating your hair with a moisturizing product and then adding an oil to your hair to “seal” in the moisture. I know this method works wonderfully for some, but it just doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried it many times, different ways with different products and it makes my hair strands feel heavy and sticky. I currently moisturize and seal maybe once per week, or sometimes none at all. Different hair styles require different products. Different hair textures require different products and care.
6. Naturals should co-wash between washes.
Ain’t nobody got time for that! And I say that because I’ve tried it. Co-washing means washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. Are you still with me? Yes, you turn the water on, step in the shower and grab your conditioner instead of the shampoo bottle. I know many naturals attribute their growth and healthy hair to co-washing and I so wanted to join the bandwagon, but it just didn’t work for me. I still felt product on my hair after co-washing with conditioner only. I prefer the squeaky clean-product free feeling to my hair when I’ve finished washing with a shampoo.
If you follow all or some of these rules, agree or disagree, please, leave a comment and let me know :).
Xo,
Nicky
NICKY ANN 
I agree, thanks for sharing. There are no rules when it comes to natural hair IMO. You have to do what works for you and your hair.
Hey Carron,
Yes, agreed. I’ve realize that I have to do what works best for my hair. I love your blog and your devotion to a healthy lifestyle and Christ
Thanks so much for checking out my blog. I appreciate the compliment
You’re welcome 🙂
i like this! as the saying goes “do what works for you”. looks like you know what your hair loves! keep growing girl! i’ve done almost everything on this list except wearing my hair out often, it dries my hair out. :0)
Hi there,
Thank you! Yes, different things work for different people. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Right! And what works for one person’s hair (and texture) may not work the same for another person’s. I’m sure I use all kinda stuff in my hair and products that contain ‘unhealthy’ ingredients, but my hair is still growing. Shoot, in high school and junior high I used nothing but Royal Crown (petroleum based hair grease) and water on my unpermed hair and I had VAVOOOOM! hair. So hair does what it wants and responds to what it will. I’m not mad at the folks who make the rules, though; I know they mean well and much of it is helpful. Keep doing what works for you, my beautiful friend! 🙂
Hey girl! Did you ever get my email? Lol. I did reply.
Ok, funny you mentioned using that grease in high school! Haha! Well if you think that was bad, in high school I used nothing but Lustra Silk pink lotion! It smelled horrible and it made my hair sticky every day, but my hair continued to grow. I had vavoooom hair as well with that stinky sticky lotion :). You’re right, hair does what it wants. Not everything works for everyone.
Hi Nicky…yes I got your email! It’s so nice being able to connect that way with you. 🙂 Girl, and in college I let go of the Royal Crown and gave into the GENERIC version of that pink lotion, ha! I felt like it was better than the original, and it made my hair so nice! Hmmm…now you are bringing back memories. The smell of it brings back beautiful memories of hubby and me when we were dating. 🙂
Aw! Dating with hubby! Those must be some great memories. Very sweet. I didn’t even know there was a generic version of the pink lotion. I’m going to look it up to see if I can find what it was. Ha-ha!
I also think its a bit different when you hair gets beyond a certain length. i definitely notice a difference in length retention when i use protective styles and co-washing now that my hair is longer
i also seal and moisturize but my moisture is just taking the scarf off before i jump in the shower and letting the steam hit it. i seal with oils.
at the end of the day, its all in what works for your hair and life. CARRY ON I SAY!! 🙂
Hi!
Yes, I agree. Protective styling is a big plus. I wore braids for months and experienced some wonderful growth. And I also wear protective styles when I’m tired of styling my hair. But I love to wear it out too, wild and free :).
Girl, that moisturizing and sealing makes my hair feel like I dipped it in honey. Haha.
What conditioner do you use when you cowash?
This is so true! Thank you for being honest. So many natural girls act like nazi’s and get all mad if you don’t do these things. My sister is natural and wears weaves and brushes and combs her hair. Uses a lot of heat too all the time and her hair is long as sh!t. Lol.
Hey Karina!
Thank you :). I do try to be honest (and humble). Yes, there are naturals who get upset, but I experienced that when I had a perm as well. Some folks just have strong opinions on what they think works for hair. Your sis sounds like she has some strong hair! Does she like wearing her natural hair out?
This is funny. Ultimately hair care should be simple, because like you said “nobody has time for that” :-).
Hey Shay!
Agreed! Hair care should be simple and fun.
AMEN and AMEN AGAIN!!!! OMG these long lists of rules, the do’s and don’ts drive me CRAZY Nicky! Like you said “Ain’t nobody got time for that!!” My mom swore by Royal Crown hair grease to press our hair or Blue Magic. I have been using Blue Magic grease on my girls hair for the longest and their hair grew just fine! I used it on my hair and it was just fine. But I do strive to use healthier options, however the natural hair care bible is just crazy. I have 4c hair. It’s very, very coarse and requires nothing but heavy oils. Light oils NEVER did anything for my hair. Just ask my mama!! I think I’ve only co-washed once since going natural. During the winter months my hair gets very, very dry and it’ll start to shed. I live in the frigid midwest and this happens to me every year. Now that I’m natural I have to be more vigilant with keeping my hair moisturized and oiled. Anyhoo, great post Nicky, I feel you hun! 😉
Hi there! 🙂 Amen indeed! Ha-ha. These lists had me running out and buying every hair moisturizer, oil and butter known to man and 99% of them didn’t work for my hair. You and Muhala with the Royal Crown! I used Blue Magic a lot and have actually been thinking about buying it again. I’m curious to hear what your winter hair regimen is because I have been trying to figure out something to help my hair feel more moisturized during these cold months. I’m still using my coconut oil and Shea butter, just like I do in the warm months. I have yet to find a winter regimen 😦
Thank you! I can not keep up with these rules! So I just let my hair do what it do! Really great post and I hope this shows up on other hair blogs!!!
Hello! 🙂
Thank you so much. I tried to keep up and drove myself nuts and spent so much money on experimenting with products. But I’ve learned my lesson.
Haha! i love this! Entertaining, funny and true! You just have to do what works for you!
Did I find another curly girl?! Natural hair – ugh such a love hate relationship! Hopefully I’ll get to the LOVE only side soon! Cute blog ! xx
I know this is late, but I Googled “Grease and water” and your blog was one of the results. I too used all the natural products and came to the conclusion that they were not working for me. Went back to “grease and water”…… and my hair is responding WONDERFULLY!!! and this is coming from a product junkie. I understand the logic behind all of the rules….but they just didn’t work for me and my type of hair…..Thanks for info!!
Hi Kim. I have heard a lot of people talk about how grease and water has worked wonderfully with their natural hair. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Hi Nikki! I love your blog! I am natural and have been for approx. 10 yrs. I pay little to no attention to natural hair rules and regulations. I agree with you “Ain’t nobody got time for all that!” I keep it simple! That’s what works for me and my natural hair.
Yes, there are too many rules, do’s and don’ts. I do whatever works for me! Your profile/avi is very beautiful. Love your hair!
The coconut oil mantra is tired in my opinion. All the natural hair rules are annoying and my mother swears by all of them and pesters me about following them when we have diff types of textures. Do what works for you. Shea butter and coconut oil do nothing for me. My hair needs to be combed…WHEN WET(bc i keep seeing dry combing arguments for some reason). I shampoo with african black soap shampoo more than once every three months lol. And i’m beginning to use grease for styling bc all of these so-called holy grail oils do nothing for me when it comes to keeping moisture in and i remember my hair being shiny and moisturized longer than a day when I was a kid and my mother used grease for my hair. Nothing wrong with doing what works for YOUR hair. Thanks for this article.
I just googled water and grease and this popped up. I appreciate this post so much you have NO IDEA!!! I’ve been thinking about doing it for myself but now my daughter has been going through chronic hives. And I have been told to cut EVERYTHING and start from scratch with everything. I use different mixed products in her hair but now I have to take it away and all I could think about was basic water and grease to lock it. I am worried about doing it but you gave me a lot of confidence to do it.
Thank you!
My hair is very shiny and silky using the green Dax grease and H20. I will continue with this method because my hair is growing & thriving!!!!!!!!