Advice To My 20 Year Old Self Part 1 ( Natural Hair)

Hey gorgeous! My name is Kia. Welcome to my blog! I'm a natural hair enthusiast turned master cosmetologist, hair loss specialist, and a full-time entrepreneur. On my site, you can expect business tips, hair tips, product reviews, and more! Check back periodically or follow me on IG or Youtube to see what I'm up to.

Sis, can we talk? This natural hair thing isn't easy! I'm on my 3rd hair journey and I'll be the first to tell you maintaining healthy hair is a lot of work. If I knew at 20 years old what I know now I would have saved myself from a lot of bad hair days.

Here are some tips I would tell myself at 20:

1. Don't replace the creamy crack with a flat iron, heat can be as bad as chemicals.

When I was in college around 2006 I had a roommate that had a really good flat iron. I borrowed it one time and I was hooked. I ended up asking for a $99 flat iron for Christmas that year. Little did I know transitioning from relaxer to natural is a huge and fragile process. My hair immediately started breaking off like crazy until I had to cut my hair into a bob. This was the start of hair journey #1.

2. Trims are necessary long hair doesn't mean it's healthy if your ends are split.

While I was in college unknowingly transitioning from relaxed to natural I did not realize trims were a critical part of a healthy hair journey. In hindsight if I knew then what I know now I would have intentionally gotten regular trims or given myself DIY trims. Please note: YouTube was just starting and I didn't read blogs at that time so I was navigating my hair journey without any resources.

3. Weekly deep conditioning treatment aren't optional. Skip the parties and deep condition your hair!

When I stopped relaxing my hair in college I didn't know I was technically transitioning to natural and how fragile my hair would be. If I knew better then I would have done weekly deep conditioning treatments and monthly protein treatments to stimulation growth, promote elasticity, and prevent breakage.

4. Protective styles are a thing!

I can count on one hand how many times I wore braids in college. If I knew that preserving my ends would be an essential part of my hair journey I would have definitely wore braids and twist instead of opting to always wear my hair straight.

5. Hydrate your hair and scalp daily.

I don't suffer from dry scalp or dandruff but I have learned in my hair journey that hair growth is very similar to plant growth. Some plants need to be watered more often then others but I've learned my hair loves moisture.

When I mix up a spray bottle of water and oils my hair is very happy with me. It stays soft, shinny, and grows likes weeds. I've learned that spraying my protective styles helps them last longer, look fresher, and my hair isn't dry when I take my hair out.

6. Take your vitamins!

Last but not least! Supplements are a thing! We need them to keep our immune system strong as well as promote healthy hair growth. When I was in college we learned prenatal vitamins help your hair grow so a few of my friends started taking them. I definitely remember bragging about my results but I wasn't consistent so they didn't last.

What ever age you are at these tips are applicable. I wrote this as advice to my 20 year old self because that's the age I started my natural hair journey. If I could save my self some hard lessons learned these are the things I would tell myself. I hope you found this helpful. That's it for this post. If you like this please share it with a friend or even on your social media.

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Talk to you soon!