Winter Care for Natural Curls

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    Now, let me start this post by stating the obvious… the cold days have arrived! Some of you are probably experiencing lower temperatures than we are.  I mean, we leave in Georgia and I’m originally from Miami, Florida, which means that the coldest temperature I have experienced in my life is probably 20 degrees!  A joke right? At least compare to what some of you have experienced.

    With the cold days knocking on our door every morning, it is important to dress our little ones in layers and to keep gloves, hats and scarfs handy.  But keeping kids warm is not the only important thing we must remember.  At least not when you have kids with lots of curly hair.

     Curly hair needs extra TLC, not just during the summer months but even more so during the dry, cold days.

     Here are a few of my tips that will help you keep your curls moisturized:

#1. Check your oils: by this I mean, some oils become hard during the cold months, if it becomes hard and solid while is in its container, then most likely will not be a good idea to apply it to your hair. Unfortunately, I found that out the hard way… It did not damaged her hair by any means, but we had to re-wash and start all over again.  I love coconut oil, it's no secret, but during the cold days coconut oil tends to hardened and you will see white flakes or clumps all over the hair.  So during the following months I will be using a combination of castor oil, argan oil and jojoba oil. 

#2. Deep Condition: Deep conditioning is part of our regimen, but in order to make sure her hair continues to thrive during the cold days, I deep conditioned her hair once a week!

#3. Pre-Poo: Retaining moisturize is our main goal, so please try to remember that.  The pre-poo step always helps lessen the damage shampoo can do to your tresses therefore helping you retain moisture. I also find the pre-poo step very helpful when it comes to the detangling process.   But I always suggest that you stay away from shampoos that contain harsh ingredients and use sulfate free shampoos.  

#4. No outside time with wet hair: Okay, this is something my mother never allowed, she claimed that it was not good for your health.  I always try to wash her hair during the weekends, but see, the key word is “try”. Even when you plan your wash days it sure doesn’t mean they will always happen when you want them.  But during the cold days, I stick to washing her hair on Saturday mornings or Friday afternoons.  I do not allow her to go outside until I know her hair is dry and completely covered.

#5. Keep the curls covered:  When going outside, make sure your curly kid is wearing a hat, satin lined caps are a bit pricey, but I have an easy solution to that, the same “satin sleeping cap” they wear to go to bed can also be used under their winter hats!  Now, if you are good with the sewing machine, you may want to consider making one and you can also make me one while you are at it! J

#6. Keep an eye on your ends:  I constantly check Ms. Bree scalp and ends, and it is no different when it comes to the cold days.  If the ends of the hair start to look dry and split ends are clearly there, don’t hesitate to trim it!  If you are interested on learning how to trim their hair, please read our post on: How To Trim Curly Hair

#7. Keep it in protective style:   Styles like braids, twists last for several days to a couple of weeks since over styling can also cause damage.  You can and is highly encouraged that you continue to care for your hair even when it’s in a protective style.  You can easily co-wash hair and please make sure that scalp, hair and ends are properly moisturized which will prevent the hair from drying and breaking!

#8. Drink lots of fluids:  It is very important to make sure the kids drink plenty of fluids.  Our kids have a “water chug”, which is a mini water bottle, like a mini-me version of the 5 gallon bottles.. we try to keep them full of water. I constantly check and see how much they have drank.  Although, it is a bit difficult to keep track of their fluid intake when they are at school. 

Just remember that keeping the hair moisturized is your main objective!

Here are some ideas on protective styles!