Afro Hair Products & Application

ahead of today’s afro hair IG live and the praxis coursework that is happening this Sunday, I want to talk about application of products

today is wash day

I wash my hair once a month and re moisturize weekly - my hair is thriving in a way that it never did when I was applying colonial cosmetology practices.

the current discourse in the natural hair world that is deeply connected to clean girl aesthetic and having you wash product down the drain before it’s time is the exact opposite of what afro hair needs to thrive.

our hair requires layers and a building up of products over a weekly basis in order to achieve optimal results.

next there are no one size fits all. this is my head and genetics, so your process isn’t going to look exactly like mine and you shouldn’t want it to.

our hair is the basis of our healing and collective powers , we lose that power the moment we we become a natural hair influencer.

it means you are programming and assimilating people to empire and nada else.

you already have a lifetimes of knowledge around what your hair and body does and does not like and this is about centering your discernment.

5 ingredients you need to be working with

1 water

2 glycerin - or a heavy base that will weight the hair like a preferred curl cream

3 gel

4 mousse - goes almost last because it is alcohol based and will help with drying and wicking away extra product.

and

5 oil

and in that order with water moving in interchangeably between steps as needed.

the quantity of the product that you need is next.

all afro hair requires A LOT of product and there are very few brands actually providing you with a quantity of product needed that is sustainable and cost effective.

when working with hom(e)ies I usually tell them to overuse product, but I recognized that a lot of folx couldn’t take my advice because the products they were using would disappear overnight. They would not be able to sustain their hair along with the expensive cost of the so-so products they were using.

there is no gel or mousse or styling products out there that is superior in a one size fits all kind of way.

they are all riffs on the same recipe, and once a brand makes it on a corporate level they have to purchase ingredients at the cheapest prices possible so they can make maximum profits off of you and your disembodiment.

a lil secret, most of what works well is still in the asian beauty supply.

most of the new trendy stuff that has popped up is just to take advantage of your coins and your culture.

I worked for Maya and Brian at The Doux. I was their first stateside employee.

The branding ya’ll see from that company is top tier, there’s no doubt about it, but that’s where it ends, everything else is boo boo.

I was there as they were building and stepping on every person in their community so they could make it to that lil nasty isle in Target and elsewhere.

The products you prefer are up to you, but understanding that most of the products out here aren’t even formulated with your care in mind, just your wallet.

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