Biracial hair, and how to manage it will become a breeze after reading this article. Managing biracial hair takes time and gentle handling. Textured hair cannot be washed daily. You cannot get it to shine with lots of thick oil. To help understand biracial hair it is important to know how it is structured.
Biracial Hair
Biracial or textured hair appears very dry . In this case, hair cuticles play a major role . Hair cuticles are either smooth in straight hair or raised in curly hair. The smoother the cuticle the easier light is able to reflect, thus, the shinier hair appears. On the other hand, the more the hair cuticle is lifted or raised the less it will reflect light. As a result, the hair will appear dry. Globs of oil will not change this fact. If biracial hair is relaxed or permed, this process will flatten and smooth the cuticles. Relaxed hair has a brilliant shine. However, relaxers for textured hair create a significant problem that is beyond this article’s scope. Raised hair cuticles cause textured hair to appear dry and frizzy. Learn how to manage it.
Washing Biracial Hair
Biracial hair needs lots and lots of moisture. Before washing using a conditioner on hair 1 hour before washing. This will keep shampoo from stripping all of the moisture and natural oils from the hair. I highly recommend one product. This product is a little pricey, but it is worth it. It is good for all types of hair, but especially awesome for hair that needs lots of moisture. Hair La Vie can be difficult to get you hands on because it is always out of stock. All of Hair La Vie’s products are infused with essential oils in the conditioners and shampoos.
Biracial Hair: Washing Directions
Section the hair into 4 parts. Apply conditioner generously on all 4 sections. Pin up the parts until ready to shampoo. Again, do this 1 hour before shampooing. Use Hair La Vie shampoo and try not to rub the hair when washing. This disturbs the cuticle and is sure to activate frizz. Squeeze the shampoo through the hair and rinse.
Biracial Hair: Conditioning
Next, use your fingers, not a comb, and section off the hair again into 4 sections. Then, generously reapply conditioner. Leave the conditioner on for as long as possible, but no less than 10 minutes. Before you rinse the conditioner from the hair, use a wet brush, or a very, very wide tooth comb to gently untangle the hair and comb the conditioner through the hair. Re-pin the hair after combing, leaving conditioner in for an additional 10 minutes. After 10 minutes rinse the hair with warm water. If possible finish the rinse with cool to cold water. This will minimize frizz by smoothing the cuticles.
Biracial Hair: Drying
After rinsing you can let a little conditioner remain in hair or apply a leave in conditioner. This will create a slippery feel and make detangling very, very easy. If you do not leave the conditioner in the hair use a leave-in conditioner. Never leave textured hair without a leave in conditioner.
Using a tee shirt, never a towel, squeeze the water from the hair. A towel is destructive to the cuticles and will increase frizz. After this process, comb through, detangling should be smooth. Again, part hair into 4 sections and use La Vie’s serum on each section. This serum is awesome, it smooths the cuticles and makes the hair soft and manageable.
Now, twist each section into bantu knots. Follow this youtube link for instructions on how to do bantu knots. Allow the 4 knots to dry naturally for 1 hour. The bantu knots allow frizz and tight curls to smooth out while drying.
After an hour you can leave the bantu knots or unravel them. If you unravel the bantu knots you can blow dry, then flat iron. Ideally allow curls to dry at room temperature and braid into pigtails.
For boys use the same shampoo and conditioner. Keep the hair short.
In short, textured hair can be beautiful and look healthy but it takes time and gentle handling.
Most importantly:
- Never use a towel on textured hair.
- Do not wash less than once a week, preferably every 2 weeks.
- Constant washing, blow drying and heat can damage textured hair.
- Constant heat on textured hair strips textured hair of its natural oils causing breakage, frizz and unruly locks.