Detoxing Your Natural Hair Is A Must! Find Out Why

So this week my hair definitely needed a detox to reset my moisture absorption levels. I typically detox my 4c natural hair once a month to make sure my hair continues to reap all the benefits of my deep treatments and moisturizers. Read on to learn more about the benefits of detoxing your natural hair and how to fit it in your hair care regimen.

Why You Need To Detox Your Hair

Every once in a while your hair will become overloaded with product buildup which will cause your hair to stop recieving moisture from deep treatments/moisturizers.

When this happens, you will need a strong enough cleansing agent capable of breaking down that buildup and washing it away.

This makes a regular detox an important part of a healthy hair journey if you wish to keep your hair healthy and retain length in the long run.

Since moisture is key to retaining length, the ingedients must be able to reach the cortex which is the inner most layer of the hair.

Product buildup is caused by long term use of conditioning shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, and ESPECIALLY styling products (gels/mousse/curling creams)

Signs Your Hair Needs A Detox

• Your hair appears dull and lackluster

• Your hair is unable to hold a curly hairstyle as long as it did before

• Your favorite products stopped reacting the same to your hair

• Your hair feels brittle and dry even after deep conditioning and moisturizing

• Your hair feels gunky and slimey after applying product

How Often To Detox Your Hair?

Keep in mind that a detox is something you do very sparingly. Too much detoxing can actually have a reverse effect and cause your hair to become dry leading to breakage.

While the basic rule is to detox the hair at least once per month between the 4-6 week mark. You may want to consider other factors in order to master the balance.

Some Factors To Consider

• Your hair porosity– if your hair is on the low porosity side then it will require you to detox the hair more since it’s more prone to buildup. Whereas, high porosity won’t need it as much since it can lead to drier hair due to naturally raised cuticles.

• The quality of products you use– if the products you use in between your detox sessions are more on the green side (meaning no silicones, no petroluem, no mineral oil, no wax) then you won’t need to detox as much compared to using products filled with those ingredients.

• Hair type – kinkier hair types are more on the drier side than curly hair types. This means you may need to detox the hair less if you have kinky hair versus curly hair.

Why Clay? How To Use It?

The use of natural clays are excellent for detoxing your natural hair.

While there are many different forms of clays, I am most familiar with bentonite clay.

Bentonite clay is a negatively charged clay which binds to the positively charged product buildup. This results in super cleaned hair.

It also has antibacterial properties that is perfect for scalp issues such as helping with decreasing fungus and bacteria.

It’s a great clay to use and I have no issues with it.

For my detox session, I typically use a store bought pre-mixed bentonite clay from the chocolate kinks and kurls brand. This saves me the hassle of whipping it up myself.

However, there are plenty of DIY tutorials for making it yourself if you wish to save money when it comes to detoxing your natural hair.

My Personal Process

Since the clay is a cleanser itself, I start by dampening my dirty hair with water first then I apply the clay mask from roots to tips while detangling.

I let it sit on my hair for about 15 minutes max! Do not leave this on long since it’s a powerful cleanser.

So my clay mask sessions consists of it being a cleanser, detangler and prepoo in one step! Pretty cool right 🙂

After allowing it to soak up and dissolve the dirt, I rinse it out and move straight into my deep conditioning session.

Here are the results after rinsing out the clay mask before conditioning my hair.

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As you can see, my hair is vibrant, has rich color and my kinks are defined and visible.

Now I can enjoy a more moisturized hair since product will be better able to penetrate deep within.

Detox sessions will always be an important part of my hair growth strategy.

I highly reccomend.

Other Alternatives To Clay Masks

• Clarifying shampoo
• Chelating shampoo
• Apple cider vinegar rinse
• Baking soda rinse

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