Okay, so you finally got yourself some raw hair or you're just about to?
Now, let us educate you on how to look after it, shall we?
A Guide To Maintaining Your Raw Hair
1. WASH
The first thing to do when you receive your raw hair from your vendor is to wash it. Although, this may not be a necessary step for other hair types, it is major key when it comes to raw hair and I will tell you why.
Well, because raw hair is supposed to be left in its truest form till it gets to you, vendors do the most minimal to it. When the hair is collected, it is washed and air-dried. The keyword here is AIR DRIED. You may ask why so? Why not blow dry it as per usual? The simple answer to this is that applying any type of heat to hair, slowly reduces its life span so you sure don't want your hair blow dried before it reaches you.
So now, because the hair is air dried, it may have gathered some dust during this process hence why you must give it a good wash once you receive it, and every 2 weeks thereafter. This will help get rid of natural oils from your scalp that may have reached your extension.
We recommend that you use natural shampoo and conditioner to avoid the slow damage from sulfates, silicones, SLE, SLS that are found in most hair care products today.
Raw hair bundles
Wash and Rinse Hair Properly
2. DEEP CONDITION
We advise that you deep condition the hair regularly, give or take every 2 weeks
The reason you must deep condition is that- because the hair has been cut off from its donor, it will be lacking the nutrients it would normally get, therefore these nutrients have to be manually introduced back into the hair to give it lustre and increase its longevity.
We recommend you use a hair mask to deep condition.
3. COMBING AND BRUSHING
The best way to comb or brush your raw hair to avoid matting and tangling is to comb from the bottom to the roots. Under no circumstance should you try to comb your hair from the roots. Get yourself a wide tooth comb and a good paddle brush for your raw hair extension.
4. LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER
We advise you to leave the conditioner in your raw hair especially for the curly textures. Leave in conditioner keeps your raw hair moisturized. Depending on the climate in your country, you may need to reapply this to make sure your hair is never caught 'unfleek'. You can get the ones that come in spray bottles so that it's easy to apply.
5. APPLYING HEAT
Although raw hair can withstand a lot more heat than most hair types on the market, that doesn't mean you should overdo it. Be gentle when applying heat to your hair. Raw hair retains styling for a good amount of weeks. So if you straighten it, it stays straight and if you add curls, they could last up to 4 weeks. Avoiding too much heat increases the longevity of your hair. Oh, and be sure you use a good heat protectant too.
You could even use a non-heat method to curl your hair. Bendy rollers are highly recommended if you decided to go down this route.
6. COOL AIR DRY
When blow-drying your raw hair, we advise that you use the cool air option wherever possible. You could also leave your hair to air dry. This will in turn save your hair from that slow heat damage that's caused by the hot air.
7. BED TIME ROUTINE
How you care for your hair at night determines how much matting or tangling you will get. If you are not wearing a silk scarf/bonnet over your hair, we recommend you use a silk pillowcase. Both of these allow your hair to glide smoothly whilst you're asleep.
If your hair is in a wig form, take it off at bed time and put it on a wig stand.
I hope these tips were helpful. Let us know in the comment section below.
Keep slaying Queens! xx
