I was convinced something was wrong with my hair, when really the advice I was following was the problem.

Once I figured out what was actually happening and changed three specific things, I went from ear length to waist length.

Here’s what I stopped doing and why it worked.

1. I stopped avoiding silicones

Every natural hair page I followed told me silicones were bad, so I avoided them for years.

But silicones aren’t universally bad.

They’re bad for some hair profiles and genuinely helpful for others, and once my hair turned high porosity from bleaching and dyeing, they became one of the best things I could put on it.

High porosity hair loses moisture quickly because the cuticle stays open, so silicones help seal that moisture in and keep it there.

They also smooth out the rough, dry feeling that high porosity hair tends to have.

If I had kept avoiding them based on advice meant for someone with completely different hair than mine, my hair would STILL be dry, breaking off, and going nowhere.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

2. I stopped doing protein treatments every two to four weeks

I used to believe more protein meant stronger hair, so I was doing treatments constantly.

My hair got stiff and brittle, and it snapped every time I tried to detangle it.

I assumed my hair felt weak because it needed even more protein, which meant I was making things worse with every wash.

Before I started coloring my hair, it was low porosity, and low porosity hair doesn’t need protein as often.

Too much protein causes the same kind of damage as too little.

If you’re not bleaching, dyeing, or heat styling regularly, you probably don’t need a strong protein treatment (like the Aphogee Two Step Protein Treatment) more often than every six to eight weeks, and really only when your hair feels mushy, stretches too much when you pull a strand, or has been put through something harsh.

I was doing them every 4 weeks, which is exactly why my hair kept breaking.

3. I stopped trying to have defined curls every wash day

When defined curls were the trend, I was finger coiling every single wash and loading up on gel.

For my hair, that turned into a disaster.

My hair is thick and dense, so getting real definition takes a lot of gel and a lot of manipulation, and depending on the gel, that’s drying.

Finger coiling also makes detangling on the next wash day genuinely painful.

So my hair was drying out from the gel, tangling from the coiling, and breaking from the tension every wash day.

Once I let go of trying to get perfectly defined curls every week and started using moisturizing creams and leave-ins instead, my hair got much easier to detangle, wash day stopped being so long, and my length finally started holding because I wasn’t ripping pieces of it out every week.

What all three have in common

Every mistake I was making came from following advice that didn’t match my actual hair profile.

The silicones rule wasn’t wrong for everyone, just wrong for high porosity hair like mine.

The protein advice wasn’t wrong for everyone, just wrong for low porosity hair like mine used to be.

The curl definition routine wasn’t wrong for everyone, just wrong for my density and thickness.

One trait doesn’t explain your hair. Porosity alone doesn’t, and curl pattern alone doesn’t either.

You have to look at the whole picture, your porosity, density, strand thickness, damage, scalp, and what you actually put your hair through, to know what your hair really needs.

That’s why I built the Beginner Hair Accelerator.

If you’re tired of guessing, going through hundreds of products, and of following advice that everyone else swears by while your hair feels like it’s getting worse from it, the Beginner Hair Accelerator is built for you.

You’ll get my Custom Hair Analysis Video, where I break down your full hair profile and tell you what’s really going on, along with your Tailored Hair Routine built around your actual hair instead of one that’s one size fits all. You’ll finally know what your hair actually needs, and what to stop doing right now.

Get your Beginner Hair Analysis Here

They tuck your ends away, give your strands a break from being messed with all week, hold moisture in better than a wash and go ever will, and keep the hair stretched the way it needs to for it grow without breaking off.

People are wearing them for length retention, easy access to the scalp, and for the simple relief of not touching their hair every morning…And the results DO show up when the style is done right.

The problem is that most people are not getting even a full month out of them.

They are dealing with matted roots, twists that unravel after a few days, scalps full of buildup because they are scared to wash, and a style that looks rough by week two when it should still be holding strong.

The good news is that almost every one of those problems comes down to three things, and once you adjust them, mini twists become one of the best styles you will ever wear.

Braid the Root, Then Twist the Rest

This is the single biggest change you can make, and it solves more problems than anything else on this list.

Most people start their mini twist as a two-strand twist from the scalp all the way down, which means the root is the loosest, most vulnerable part of the style.

That is exactly where your hair sheds, where your scalp sweats, where product builds up, and where matting starts when you try to wash.

Braiding the first half inch to full inch of the root before transitioning into your twist gives it structure.

It locks the hair in place so you can actually shampoo your scalp without the whole twist coming undone, and it keeps the shed hair from tangling into a mat at the base.

You still get the look of a mini twist down the length, but you get the staying power of a braided root, which is the part that needs it most.

If you have only ever done your mini twists as straight two-strand twists from root to tip, try this on your next install.

The difference in how long the style holds, how clean your scalp stays, and how easy washing becomes will tell you everything.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair out based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

Match the Twist Type to What Your Hair Is Actually Doing

There is a common assumption that all mini twists should be two-strand twists, and that anything else is basically a braid.

That is not accurate.

Three-strand twists are a real technique, they give you a more natural curl pattern when you take the style down, and they hold significantly better than two-strand twists when your hair needs more support.

People with tighter curl textures, thicker strands, and denser hair can absolutely do three-strand twists, and in a lot of cases they should.

Three-strand twists wrap the hair more securely, which keeps the ends from unraveling and extends how long the style stays looking fresh. If your two-strand twists keep coming undone within days, your hair is telling you it needs a bit more structure than the two-strand technique can give it.

My own rule is easy to follow. When my hair is bouncy and cooperative and my ends feel like they will hold a curl on their own, I do two-strand twists.

When my hair feels uncooperative, when I can tell the ends are going to slip out fast, or when I just want the style to last as long as possible, I go with three-strand twists.

Paying attention to what your hair is doing on your installation day, rather than defaulting to the same technique every time, is what will give you a style that lasts only a week rather than one that lasts the full month.

Wash Your Scalp, but Wash It Right

A lot of people avoid washing their mini twists because they think any water will ruin the style.

That leads to scalps that itch by week two, a smell by week three, and have so much sebum and sweat buildup that you have no choice but to take the twists down early.

Skipping the wash day is shortening the life of it.

Shampoo your scalp every 7 to 14 days, depending on how much you sweat, how much product you use, and how your scalp normally behaves.

The key is to focus the shampoo on the scalp itself, not on the length of the twists.

Work it into your scalp with your fingertips, rinse thoroughly so nothing sits behind, and let the water run down the length without scrubbing the twists themselves.

This keeps your scalp clean, prevents the buildup that causes itching and odor, and protects the twists from the friction and manipulation that cause unraveling.

If you braided your roots like the first tip recommends, this part becomes so much easier.

The braided base holds up to water, fingertip scrubbing, and rinsing without coming apart, which is exactly why that first step matters so much.

Not sure if this is enough for you?

This is exactly the kind of thing I figure out for people inside the Beginner Hair Analysis.

I look at your full hair profile, your current routine, your styling habits, your products, and the things that might actually be working against you. Then I tell you what to change and what to use based on what your hair and scalp actually need.

If you have been struggling with where you are going wrong and just want someone to finally tell you what to stop doing and start doing…then this is for you.

Book your Beginner Hair Analysis here.

Get your Beginner Hair Analysis Here

Putting It All Together

The difference between the mini twists that lasts a month vs. the mini twists that falls apart in a week comes down to small changes that most people aren’t thinking of.

Braid the root before you twist.

Match the type of twist to what your hair actually needs that day.

Wash your scalp on a real schedule instead of avoiding water out of fear.

Get those three things right and your mini twists will give you everything they are supposed to.

That weird greasy-but-dry combo isn’t normal. It’s likely that your hair is not absorbing what you’re putting on it. So your products are sitting on the surface instead of soaking in.

Here’s why thats happening and how to fix it quickly.

Why your hair feels coated on top but dry underneath

This problem shows up most in low porosity and medium porosity hair (especially low porosity).

Porosity is how easily your hair lets moisture and product in. Low porosity hair has a tightly closed cuticle.

The “doors” on your strand are basically shut. So when you put on a thick butter, a creamy moisturizer, or a heavy oil, that product has nowhere to go.

It can’t get inside the strand so it just sits there. Layer after layer.

You end up with two things happening:

1. A coating of unabsorbed product on top of your hair, which feels greasy and heavy.

2. The actual strand underneath is still extremely dry. Because nothing penetrated it. Which is why it feels dry, stiff, and snaps easily.

So, it’s not that your hair “doesn’t respond to anything.” Your hair never received any of the moisture in the first place. It got covered, not truly moisturized.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

What’s usually causing it

Nine times out of ten, two things are causing this for low and medium porosity hair:

1. Product buildup. Heavy oils, butters, gels, and creams stacking up on the strand because nothing is absorbing and nothing is getting cleaned off thoroughly enough.

2. The wrong products to begin with. Specifically, products that are too heavy for the hair to handle.

If your hair is low or medium porosity, this usually means avoiding:

• Products that don’t have water as the first ingredient

• Products with heavy oils at the top of the ingredient list

• Heavy formulas like thick butters, dense hair creams, stiff gels

What your hair actually wants is the opposite. Lighter, more liquidy, water-based products.

Things where water is the first ingredient.

How to fix it

Here’s the routine reset you need to start off with.

1. Switch to water-based products. Read the back of the bottle. If water (or aqua) isn’t the first ingredient, put it down. Your cuticle needs something thin enough to actually get through it.

2. Clarify on a real schedule. This is non-negotiable if you’ve been building up product. How often depends on how heavy your routine is:

• Every 3–4 weeks if your products are already light and you’re not using butters or heavy gels

• Every 2 weeks if you use heavy butters, a lot of gel, or you’re not ready to let those go yet

• Every other wash day at the very most, never every wash day. That’ll wreck your scalp and strip your strands.

Clarifying is what actually lifts the coating off so your real products have a chance to work. Without it, you’re just adding new product on top of old product on top of old product.

3. Ease up on sealing with heavy oils. A lot of people seal with castor oil, hair grease, or some other thick occlusive because that’s what they were told to do.

If you have low or medium porosity hair and you’re dealing with the greasy-but-dry feeling, that sealant is part of your problem.

If you still want to seal, go light. Grapeseed oil is about as heavy as you should go. If you genuinely need something heavier on your ends to keep them from drying out, jojoba oil works, or a very small amount of something like Blue Magic (and I mean small, and only on the ends.)

What to expect after the reset

Once you clarify properly and switch to lighter, water-based products, the greasy feeling should drop within a wash or two. Your hair will start to feel like hair again instead of hay with a film on it. The dryness underneath will start to lift too, because now the moisture is actually getting in.

The greasy but dry feeling isn’t a mystery. It’s almost always buildup plus wrong-weight products for your porosity. Fix those two things and most of the problem goes away.

If you’re reading this and thinking “okay, but I have other issues and I want to know what specifically works for me”, that’s why I made the Beginner Hair Accelerator Package. You get a custom hair analysis video where I break down your issues, porosity, density, strand thickness, and what’s been working against you, plus a tailored routine built around your real hair.

If you have been struggling with where you are going wrong and just want someone to finally tell you what to stop doing and start doing…then this is for you.

Book your Beginner Hair Analysis here.

Get your Beginner Hair Analysis Here

I have worked with a lot of people dealing with this. Mild flakes. Heavy flakes that has been going on for years. And most of them got it under control faster than they expected once they changed two things in their routine.

So let me get to it.

First, an observation I’ve had

A lot of people have already been to the dermatologist. They got a medicated shampoo. They followed the instructions to a T. And they are still flaking heavily.

That happens more than people realize. A lot of people come to me saying they have spent thousands at the dermatologist just to deal with the same issue after getting treated.

I am not going to tell you what to make of that. I am just going to tell you what has actually worked for the people I have helped.

Why your scalp is flaking in the first place

Before the fix, you need to know what is actually happening.

Most mild to moderate flaking and itching is caused by a yeast on your scalp called Malassezia. Everyone has it. The problem is when it grows too much.

The thing that makes it worse is…oils. Specifically, almost every oil people are told to put on their scalp.

Coconut oil. Castor oil. Jojoba oil. Shea butter. Olive oil. Argan oil. Grapeseed oil.

All of them feed the yeast. So if you have been oiling your scalp trying to fix the flakes, you have most likely been making it worse without knowing it.

These oils are perfectly safe for the hair strand…just not the delicate skin on your scalp.

That is a huge piece of why medicated shampoos sometimes only get you so far. The shampoo is doing one job, but the rest of your routine is still feeding the problem.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

The two-step fix

Here is what I actually recommend.

1. A salicylic or glycolic acid pre-shampoo treatment

Once a week, before you shampoo, apply a salicylic acid or glycolic acid scalp solution. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then wash.

This chemically exfoliates the scalp. It lifts the sebum, the buildup, and the flakes that are stuck on there. By the time you shampoo, your scalp is actually clean and ready to absorb whatever comes next.

This step alone is what most people are missing. You cannot treat a scalp that is still covered in a bunch of old buildup.

(Only do this is you have no other scalp concerns like psoriasis or open sores)

2. The DermaZen MCT Scalp Oil

This is the one scalp oil I recommend to people with itching, flaking, or seborrheic dermatitis. And I do not get anything for saying that. I just have seen it work too many times to leave it out.

Here is why it works when other oils make things worse.

The base is MCT oil. MCT oil is one of the only oils that does not feed Malassezia. Squalane is also safe but does not get talked about much.

It is formulated with rosemary, tea tree, and peppermint, which all have antifungal properties. And it is dosed correctly so the essential oils are strong enough to do the job without burning your scalp.

This is also why I do not recommend making your own version at home. Essential oils are powerful. If you get the ratio wrong, you can end up inflaming your scalp or making the irritation worse.

What this looks like in your routine

Once a week: salicylic or glycolic acid pre-shampoo treatment. Shampoo after.

Between washes: DermaZen MCT Scalp Oil applied to the scalp as directed.

That is the routine. Just those two things.

Clients I have worked with who had thick buildup, constant itching, and years of frustration saw their scalp clear up almost completely within a few wash days of doing this.

Some still get occasional flakes. None of them are dealing with the same severity of what they were dealing with before.

When this is not enough

If you have done all of this and your scalp is still getting , the cause might not be topical.

Sometimes flaking is driven by food sensitivities, allergies, hormone issues, or internal inflammation. If you have ruled out your routine and you are still struggling, it is worth looking deeper.

But for most people with mild to moderate flaking, this is the routine.

Not sure if this is your issue?

This is exactly the kind of thing I figure out for people inside the Beginner Hair Analysis.

I look at your full hair profile, your scalp situation, your current routine, your styling habits, and the things that might actually be working against you. Then I tell you what to change and what to use based on what your hair and scalp actually need. (I do not give out medical advice)

If you have been dealing with itching and flaking for a while and you are tired of trying to figure it out alone, this is the place to start.

Get your Beginner Hair Analysis Here

But a big part of the concern comes from not knowing how hair color works. There are two types of color: one that makes your hair lighter, and one that just adds color without changing what is already there.

That difference matters a lot. It changes how much your hair gets “hurt”, how much you need to change your routine, and what you can expect to happen.

If you are thinking about coloring your hair, or you already did and something feels wrong, here is what you need to know.

Two kinds of color: lifting vs. depositing

Not all hair color is the same. The big difference is between color that takes color out of your hair and color that puts new color in without taking anything out.

Lifting color (like bleach and most permanent dye) opens up the outside of your hair and takes out the natural color inside. This is how you make your hair lighter.

To do that, the outside of the hair has to be forced open. The stronger the color, the more it opens up and the longer it stays open.

Depositing color (like semi-permanent and demi-permanent dye) does not take color out. It either sits on the outside of your hair or goes in a tiny bit without fully opening it up. You can make your hair darker or change the tone, but you cannot make it much lighter. Your hair is affected less.

How the outside of your hair is treated is the whole reason bleached hair and hair with permanent dye acts so differently from hair that has only had semi-permanent color.

What bleach and lifting color do to your hair

Bleach is the strongest kind of “color”. It uses chemicals to open up the outside of your hair and then break down the color inside for a lighter look.

After this, the outside of your hair does not close back down all the way.

The more you bleach, or the stronger the product used, the more the outside of your hair strand gets messed up for good.

Permanent hair dye with developer works in a similar way.

The developer opens up the outside of your hair, and then the dye gets inside and sets.

Even though the result looks darker than bleach, the opening-up process still happens and still puts stress on your hair.

This means that after bleaching or using lifting permanent color, your hair soaks up products faster but also loses water faster.

The outside of your hair, which used to lie flat and hold in moisture, is now open and raised.

Products that felt heavy before might feel “just right” now.

Your hair can get much dryer faster between wash days.

Your hair can also break more easily if you are not taking care of moisture and protein.

If you want a full guide on how to grow out your natural hair through all the stages and changes, that is what I share with paid subscribers. Sign up to get everything, including the 180-Day Hair Growth Roadmap for your hair porosity sent to your inbox.

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What to change about your routine after coloring

The biggest change is how you deep condition. Regular conditioner is not strong enough all the time to handle the changes in your hair after coloring (especially after bleach).

You need to deep condition every wash day or every other wash day. This is not optional. It is what keeps your hair from breaking.

Protein is also a must. Coloring breaks down the protein inside your hair. Without putting it back, your hair gets too soft and breaks easily.

You do not need a heavy protein treatment every week, but you do need to use some protein every so often.

Moisture and protein need to work together. Too much of one without the other will make your hair feel or act strange.

A bond builder is one of the most important things to add too. This will help rebuild your broken down strand slowly from the inside. Helping it to keep from snapping as quickly and actually looking healthier.

You also still need to clarify. A lot of people stop using clarifying shampoo after coloring because they think it will fade their color faster or dry things out.

But stuff still builds up on your hair and blocks your products from working. A gentle clarifying shampoo every 3-4 weeks is all you need.

What most people get wrong about semi and demi permanent color

Semi-permanent and demi-permanent color sounds gentle…and compared to bleach, it is.

But gentler does not mean its not still a chemical.

Both kinds still affect the outside of your hair over time, especially when you use them again and again every six to eight weeks.

The changes happen much slower, but they do happen.

The good news is that depositing color is a much safer place to start if you want color without a lot of damage.

You can try slightly different tones and shades without hurting your hair as much.

The only thing is, trying to bleach/lighten your hair in the future after using depositing dyes is close to impossible or at-least EXTREMELY hard.

The key is to keep using moisture and protein all the time, not just when your hair already feels bad.

If you want a routine made just for your hair (one that fits your texture, thickness, and strand type) I make Tailored Hair Routines for my subs. You get a daily, weekly, and monthly plan plus product picks. Just fill out a short form and get your routine in 2 hours.

Get your tailored hair routine here

They deep condition every week. They try new products.

They do back to back protective styles.

Then they take the style down and their hair is still the same length it was six months ago.

The problems I see most with people, is sometimes forgetting hair grows from your scalp. Not your ends.

So if your scalp has buildup, inflammation, or excess shedding your growth is already being slowed before it even starts.

That is a hard thing to hear when you have been putting so much effort into your routine. But it is also really good news, because your scalp is something you can fix.

What is actually going on up there

Your scalp is skin. And just like the skin on your face, it needs to stay clean and healthy.

When there is too much buildup from product, oil, and dead skin sitting on your scalp, it can slow down your follicles and cause mild irritation.

A lot of people have that inflammation and do not even know it because it does not always itch or flake. It just quietly slows your growth down over time.

I learned this the hard way. I used to avoid shampoo because I thought it was too drying. But what was actually happening was my scalp was getting clogged and building up inflammation.

Once I started clarifying regularly, I noticed less shedding and my hair started to seem to grow out more consistently.

Finding good products matters. But your hair cannot retain length if your scalp is working against you the whole time.

This is exactly why I created my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap. It walks you through how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your specific porosity. If you want the full plan, become a paid subscriber and your first guide hits your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

What actually helps

The first thing is washing your scalp on a regular schedule. You do not need to wash every day, but going weeks without shampooing is not doing your growth any favors. Once a week is a good starting point for most people with Type 3-4 hair.

You can decrease or increase the time by a few days depending on how your scalp feels

The second thing is scalp massages.

Five to ten minutes a few times a week can help assist blood flow to reach your follicles.

Your fingers will work perfectly. A battery powered scalp massager just makes it easier and feels nice.

The third thing is paying attention to what you are putting on your scalp.

Heavy oils like castor oil and coconut oil build up quickly, especially if you use a lot of them.

If your scalp feels itchy or flaky more than usual, those oils could be making things worse and not better.

MCT oil and squalane oil are some of the only carrier oils (base oils) safe to go on the scalp if you deal with dandruff/seborheicc dermatitis.

Rosemary, tea tree, peppermint are nice add-ons to the carrier oil if you truly want to kill the yeast on the scalp.

Avoid your own mixtures at home if you dont understand percentages though. Becuase you can end up burning your scalp with the essential oils.

Dermazen MCT scalp oil is great for those struggling with seb derm or someone who wants to use a scalp oil without dealing with the itchy flakes.

If all of this is making you realize your routine needs a reset, I can help with that. I make Tailored Hair Routines built around your exact porosity, density, and strand type. You get a weekly, monthly, and daily plan plus specific product recommendations. Fill out the form and your routine is sent to you within 2 hours.

Get your tailored hair routine

One more thing worth checking

If you have been consistent with washing, massaging, and using the right products and you still are not seeing growth, it might be worth getting your iron and vitamin D levels checked. Low iron is super common in women and it shows up first as thinning or loss around the temples and hairline. I dealt with that myself and once I fixed it, my edges actually started filling back in.

Your scalp is doing a lot of work every single day. Give it the same care and attention you give the rest of your hair and you will start to see a real difference.

See you next week!

But if you have ever tried to do one on your own hair and ended up with puffy roots, crunchy ends, or barely any curl definition, you know it is not actually that simple.

The reason most wash and gos do not turn out the way you want is not that your hair is just “difficult”.

Just most tutorials give you one method and expect it to work for every hair type. And that is unfortunatly not how it works.

Your wash and go has to match your hair profile. That means your porosity, your density, and your strand thickness all play a part in how you should be doing it.

Why wash and gos fail

Before getting into the method, it helps to know the most common reasons a wash and go does not come out right.

Puffy roots with defined ends usually means you did not use enough product, your sections were too big, or you did not get enough product toward the root. It can also mean you used a mousse when your hair actually needed a gel or cream with more hold.

Hair that just will not define or clump usually comes down to not having enough water in the hair during application, skipping a clarifying wash beforehand so there is buildup blocking the curl, or using a product that is too light for your type.

Frizz after it dries is often a sign that the hair was disturbed while it was still wet, that you did not use enough product, your product combo didn’t mix well, or that you air dried in a humid environment.

Getting the product right is important. But if you are not applying it correctly for your hair, even the best product will not give you the results you want.

How porosity changes your approach

If your hair is low porosity, it repels water at first and takes a long time to actually absorb moisture. For a wash and go, that means you want to apply your products while your hair is soaking wet if you’re using a gel/cream. Actually dripping wet (with preferably warm water). If you prefer foams/mousses, then having towel dried/damp hair is best, NOT soaking wet.

Lighter products like a water based leave in and a mousses tend to work better for low porosity hair than thick creams or oil based butters that just sit on top.

If your hair is high porosity, it absorbs moisture fast but also loses it fast. You need products that help seal the hair after you apply them. A good leave-in + gel/curl cream and then a heavier sealing oil or butter on top helps lock in that moisture so your curls stay defined as they dry. High porosity hair also tends to do better with smaller sections during application so you can really make sure product is getting distributed evenly.

Your porosity is one of the most important things to understand about your hair when trying to define your curls properly AND growing your hair out. If you want a full step-by-step plan built around yours, I have exactly that. My 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap is available to paid subscribers and walks you through how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your specific porosity type. Sign up, check your email, fill out the short form, and your first guide will be in your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

Density and thickness matter too

If you have dense or thick strands, you need more product than you think and smaller sections than you think. Trying to do a wash and go on dense hair in big sections is one of the fastest ways to end up with definition only on the outside and a poofy, undefined middle.

If you have fine strands, less is more. Too much product will weigh your curls down and make them look limp instead of bouncy and defined.

Knowing these things about your hair before you try to style it is what changes the whole outcome. It’s all about knowing what your hair actually needs so you can use that product the right way.

Still not sure if your routine is set up right for your hair?

If you have been applying product, following tutorials, and still not getting the results you want, the issue is usually that the routine was never built for your specific hair in the first place. I create Tailored Hair Routines that are written around your exact porosity, density, and strand type…With a daily, weekly, and monthly routine plus product recommendations included. Get yours and just fill out the short form and your routine will be in your inbox within 2 hours.

Get your tailored hair routine here

Your hair is likely growing just fine.

The main problem is that it is breaking off at the same rate it is coming in, so you stay stuck at the same length for months, sometimes years, and it starts to feel like your hair just has a limit.

It does not. You just have not found the right combination yet.

These three things are not necessarily fancy, but they actually work, and I wish someone had told me all three at the same time instead of me figuring them out one by one over the years of trial and error.

Hack Number One: Stop Buying a New Shampoo Just to Get the Benefits

You have probably seen all the rosemary shampoos and mint shampoos being heavily promoted.

They are everywhere. And yes, rosemary oil and peppermint oil do have real research behind them when it comes to stimulating the scalp and supporting healthy hair growth.

But you do not need a brand new shampoo to get those benefits.

All you have to do is pour your regular shampoo into your hand like normal, add one or two drops of rosemary or peppermint essential oil, mix it together in your palm, and apply it to your scalp.

You get the same stimulating effect without spending extra money on a product that just has those oils added in.

Two things to keep in mind though. Adding the essential oil directly into the shampoo bottle will cause it to separate, so you want to mix it freshly in your palm each time.

And keep the drops low (1-2) because too much will burn your scalp.

Shampooing consistently does matter for your scalp health, and a cleaner scalp generally grows hair “better”.

But shampooing alone, even with rosemary oil mixed in, is not what gets you to retain length over time. That comes from the next one.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through the best hacks on how to exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

Hack Number Two: Find ONE Protective Style That Works for Your Hair and Spam It

This is probably the most important thing on this list, and it is also the one most people overcomplicate.

A lot of people try protective styling but switch up styles every few weeks, take them down too fast, or pick something with way too much tension for their hair.

Then they wonder why they are still not retaining length even though they are technically doing protective styles.

What actually works is finding one style that fits your hair profile and doing that style on repeat until your hair gets to the length you want.

Something low manipulation, low tension, and something you can comfortably keep in for four to six weeks without it pulling on your edges or snapping your ends.

While your hair is in that style, there are still three things you have to keep up with.

Rinsing your scalp with shampoo every two weeks keeps buildup from sitting there and causing irritation.

Re-moisturizing your ends every two to three days with a little leave-in conditioner prevents them from drying out even while your hair is tucked away. Here’s the one I’ve been using (and co-created specifically for re-moisturizing my protective styles.

And taking the style down on time (before that four to six week mark) matters more than people realize.

Leaving a style in too long leads to tangling, matting, and the kind of breakage that ruins weeks of growth when you finally take it down.

When you are consistent with all of that, the amount of length you hold onto is genuinely surprising.

Your hair grows about half an inch a month regardless.

The whole goal is just making sure it stops breaking off at the same pace it is coming in, and a properly maintained protective style is how you actually hold onto those inches.

If you are not sure what style is right for your hair, that part matters a lot too.

A style with too much tension or the wrong technique for your hair type can do more harm than just wearing your hair out.

Knowing your hair profile before you pick a style makes a real difference in whether it actually helps you or sets you back.

(*psst* Take the free Ideal Style Quiz to quickly figure out which styles will work best for you)

But even if your protective styles are perfect, the last one on this list is still something a lot of people are missing without realizing it.

Hack Number Three: Get Your Bloodwork Done

This one is nott glamorous and there is no product attached to it, but it is probably the most overlooked reason people struggle with growth and retention for longer than they should.

Getting your vitamin D, iron, and ferritin levels checked is genuinely worth doing if you deal with excessive shedding, ongoing breakage, or hair that stays dry no matter what you put on it.

Ferritin is your iron storage, and a lot of women are low on it without ever knowing.

Low iron, low ferritin, and low vitamin D are three of the most common underlying reasons hair struggles to grow and hold length.

The reason this matters more than changing your products is that you can do everything right, good shampoo, deep conditioning, a great protective style, consistent re-moisturizing, and your hair will still struggle if your body does not have what it needs to actually grow hair properly.

When your levels are too low, your body deprioritizes hair growth because hair is not considered essential compared to like your organ functions.

So your routine can be perfect and still feel like it is barely working.

An iron supplement taken with vitamin C helps your body absorb the iron more effectively.

A vitamin D supplement brings your levels back up gradually over time.

And once your levels are where they are supposed to be, a lot of people notice that their shedding slows down, their breakage decreases, and their hair just starts responding better to everything they are already doing.

This is not a fast fix and it does take time for your levels to come up and for your hair to reflect that. At-least 1-3 months of consistent dosages to bring your levels back where they need to be.

But doing it sooner rather than later means you stop spending months fighting a battle your hair was never going to win.

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want ME to tell YOU exactly what you’re doing wrong, analyze your hair, and give you the detailed step by step plan that you need to follow for your dream hair, get the Beginner Hair Accelerator. I go in extreme detail based on your current routine, hair photos, and goals. This is my most personalized offer yet.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours below

Get Your Beginner Hair Accelerator

But a lot of people are stuck doing styles that are literally working against their hair progress.

And THAT’S what’s keeping their length from going anywhere.

Nobody really talks about this enough.

We talk about products, porosity, protein, deep conditioning. All of that matters.

But if the style you’re wearing every single week is causing breakage and dryness at the same time, none of that other stuff is going to save you.

The style you love might be the thing hurting you most

Here’s something I had to learn the hard way: not every style works for every hair type.

And I don’t just mean curl pattern. I mean your actual strand thickness, your density, and your porosity.

Those three things together basically determine what styles your hair can actually handle long term.

I used to wear wash and gos almost every week. I loved them at the time.

My curls looked great right after styling. But by day two, I had tangles.

By day four, I had a mountain of fairy knots at my ends.

And every wash day, I was losing way more hair than I should have been.

I thought that was just how coily hair worked.

I thought detangling was just supposed to be a 3 hour event every single time.

Wash and gos, especially done frequently, create a lot of friction between the strands.

Your ends are constantly out, constantly rubbing together, and constantly forming knots.

Especially with type 4 hair. I was doing that to myself every single week and wondering why my growth felt stagnant.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

Fine strands and box braids are not always a good match

If you have fine strands, then box braids with extensions might be snapping your ends off every single time you get them done.

The weight of the added hair pulls on strands that cannot handle that much tension.

So what ends up happening is: your hair grows, you wear the braids, you feel protected, you take them out, and you’ve lost a third of the length in the front and half of it in the back.

Not because your hair didn’t grow. Because the style was breaking it off.

It feels like your hair is stuck. But it’s not. It’s just breaking off from a style that wasn’t right for your hair profile.

If you have fine strands and you love the look of braids, mini braids with little to no added hair, or flat twists that keep your ends tucked, are going to do so much more for your retention.

You still get a protective style. You just stop losing length every time you take them down.

Thick, dense hair has its own set of problems with certain styles too

On the flip side, if you have thick, dense hair and you’re doing wash and gos or twist-outs back to back, your hair is probably drying out and tangling way too fast between wash days.

Dense hair holds a lot, but it also loses moisture faster when the ends are exposed, because there’s just so much surface area.

A wash and go on thick, dense hair can look amazing on day one.

But sealing that much hair long enough to actually retain moisture throughout the week is really hard to do consistently.

By day two or three, the ends are dry. By day four, they’re tangled. And dry, tangled ends break. That’s just what happens.

I thought I just had difficult hair for the longest time. Turns out I was just wearing styles that didn’t work for mine.

The goal is one signature style that actually fits your hair

If you want to actually retain length, you don’t need fifteen styles in rotation. You need one. Maybe two.

Something that consistently makes sense for your specific hair. Your strand thickness, your porosity, your density.

For fine hair: mini twists or flat twists with little to no added hair. Low tension, ends protected, easy to remoisturize underneath.

For thick, dense hair: sealed twists or well-done box braids where you’re actually checking in on your hair underneath and remoisturizing every few days.

The style protects you. But the moisture is still your job.

For high porosity hair: something that keeps your ends tucked and sealed, because high porosity hair loses moisture fast and exposed ends are going to dry out and break regardless of how good your products are.

For low porosity hair: something lightweight that isn’t trapping buildup at your scalp.

Low porosity hair doesn’t absorb products easily, so heavy styles that sit for a long time can lead to buildup that slows everything down.

If you want to make finding your ideal style easier, just answer 4 quick questions on the new free Ideal Style Quiz!

This is why your routine alone isn’t the whole answer

You can have the best deep conditioner in the world. You can use protein on schedule. You can clarify, seal, remoisturize every three days.

And if you’re wearing the wrong style for your hair every single week, you’re still going to feel like your hair is just not quite right.

The style is part of the routine. It’s not separate from it.

Once I stopped treating my wash days and my styling choices as two different things, everything started making more sense. Your style determines how much moisture your hair holds throughout the week, how much friction your ends experience, how easy or hard your next wash day is going to be, and how much length you actually keep between trims.

That’s not a small thing. That’s a huge part of your hair progress that most people skip entirely.

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I make Tailored Hair Routines. Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type. Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within just 2 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours below

Get My Tailored Routine

Many people focus all their energy on avoiding dryness, therefore they add moisture on top of moisture. Deep condition overnight. Add a leave-in product every single day days. Keep hair wet/damp. All while using NO protein at all.

Of course, in the beginning, the hair feels soft. Then, it begins to feel “off.”

If your hair feels soft but weak; frizzy with no curl structure; or extremely stretchy and does not snap back, then the problem may be a caused by moisture overload.

Similar to protein overload, this is very common and fairly easy to correct. Just like protein overload, it can mess with your progress if you fail to identify it quickly.

What Moisture Overload Really Is

Moisture Overload occurs when hair has too much moisture and not enough structure (like protein) to keep its strand intact.

Conditioners and water make the hair softer. Proteins give the hair its structure. When the moisture exceeds the necessary amount, the hair loses strength. The hair instead of being flexible and resilient is now limp, unstretchable, and unstable.

This is NOT hydrated hair.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

What Moisture Overload Feels Like and Why You Do Not Want It

Moisture Overload generally feels VERY different than Protein Overload.

Typical symptoms include:

* Hair feels soft, yet weak
* Strands stretch too far and do not spring back
* Frizz will not set
* Curls are undefined or limp
* Breakage occurs regardless of how soft the hair is
* Hair takes forever to dry

The largest indication is the hair’s stretch with no snap-back.

Hair needs elasticity, however hair also needs Recoil. When the hair stretches and stays stretched, it is at risk.

Long-term, this can cause breakage, thinning at the ends of the hair, and poor holding style.

Why So Many People Experience Moisture Overload

Moisture Overload typically results from well-intended actions.

Some common causes:

* Complete avoidance of protein
* Too frequent or too lengthy deep conditioning
* Keeping hair wet/damp most of the time
* Daily application of multiple moisturizing products
* Leaving hair wet overnight
* Only air drying (don’t overthink this one, just take it a grain of salt)

These practices are typical in routines of people who fear dryness or protein.

Moisture Overload & Porosity

All porosities can experience moisture overload; however, it manifests in different ways.

Low Porosity hair typically becomes soft & feels coated. Definition Falls Flat.

Medium Porosity hair can fall into overload if protein is avoided for too long.

High Porosity hair is extremely susceptible. high porosity hair absorbs moisture quickly, yet still needs structure to remain strong.

Take the free hair porosity quiz if you don’t know your hairs porosity!

The way to quickly fix moisture overload is just to use a protein treatment. Something like the Aphogee 2 step protein treatment works pretty well. Just be wary to not overdo it. You don’t protein overload next. Which we will be talking about in the next post.

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I make Tailored Hair Routines. Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type. Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within just 2 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours below

Get My Tailored Routine

Here’s the thing that seems to surprise a lot of people.

Basic haircare is the same for men and women.

Porosity, products, moisture, protein balance, breakage prevention, and technique all work the same way. Hair is hair for the most part, regardless of gender.

Where things actually change for men is usually scalp care, hair loss prevention, and hairstyle choices (mainly because men tend to wear shorter hair).

That’s what this post focuses on (plus product recommendations and usage tips at the bottom).

If you are a man with longer hair, around five inches or more, the same protective styles recommended for women apply to you too. Mini twists, mini braids, loose cornrows, flat twists. Length just changes your options.

Male pattern baldness, explained simply

Male pattern baldness, also called androgenetic alopecia, is genetic and progressive.

That part matters. For most people, it cannot be fully reversed. But it can be slowed down, sometimes significantly, especially when caught early.

Male pattern baldness usually shows up as:

• thinning at the crown
• receding hairline
• widening temples
• gradual loss of overall hair density

This type of hair loss is caused by sensitivity to DHT, a hormone that causes follicles to shrink over time. Smaller follicles produce thinner hairs, until eventually they stop producing hair altogether.

This is not caused by hats, shampoo, or washing too often. But poor scalp care and tension can make it worse.

Common types of hair loss men can recognize at home

I’m keeping this to hair loss types that are easy to loosely identify, not conditions that require microscopes to inspect.

The most common ones are:

• androgenetic alopecia (genetic thinning)
• traction-related thinning from tight styles or waves
• inflammation-related shedding from poor scalp health

This is not a diagnosis. Until you see a dermatologist or trichologist, avoid labeling yourself too confidently. But recognizing patterns early helps you act sooner.

Before getting into solutions, it’s important to say this.

The following approaches align with trichology-backed methods, including what is taught and approved in IAT-aligned education.

So basically I mean I’ll be discussing evidence-based methods first only.

What actually helps with hair loss and thinning in men

Minoxidil is one of the most effective over-the-counter tools for men.

It helps increase blood flow and extend the growth phase of the hair. It does not fix the genetic cause, but it can significantly improve hair density and slow down hair loss.

Minoxidil works best when:

• it’s used consistently
• it’s applied to a clean scalp
• it’s combined with weekly derma stamping or derma rolling
• it’s paired with tretinoin if prescribed, which increases absorption

There may be an short initial shedding phase. That is normal and temporary.

Finasteride is an FDA-approved option that blocks DHT. I do not personally push it hard because some serious side effects are there and not talked about enough.

That said, if you have no underlying health conditions and your doctor approves it, it can be effective for prevention and slowing progression.

Finasteride tends to work better for preventing further loss than regrowing areas that have already been bald for a long time.

Oils, supplements, and scalp care

Oils alone will not fix baldness. That needs to be said clearly.

However, certain oils and supplements have been shown in a few studies to support hair density and scalp health when used correctly.

They work best as support tools only.

Oils can help reduce inflammation, improve scalp environment, and support existing follicles. They cannot revive dead follicles.

Supplements like pumpkin seed oil or saw palmetto oil have had few studies showing it to be a natural DHT blocker. Use supplements with your doctors OK first before trying anything.

Check the paid section at the bottom of this post for my specific researched backed recommendations for growth and scalp care for men.

Common mistakes men make that speed things up

A lot of men (with curly/coily hair) unintentionally make thinning worse.

The biggest ones I see:

• brushing aggressively
• washing too frequently with harsh shampoos (more than 2x a week)
• using heavy greases on thinning scalps
• wearing tight waves, braids, or hats on already thin areas
• ignoring trims and scalp care entirely

If your hair is naturally low density or your strands are fine, these habits matter EVEN more.

When to see a professional

You should consider seeing a dermatologist or trichologist if:

• hair loss is sudden or patchy
• shedding increases rapidly
• the scalp is itchy, painful, or inflamed
• you’re considering prescription options like finasteride
• you want an accurate diagnosis before committing long-term

Self-education is helpful but professional evaluation makes it actually precise and drama free.

Proven Products That Support Hair Density in Men

Below are products and supplements with research-backed support for improving hair density and supporting scalp health in men. These are not miracle cures, but they are tools that can make a real difference when used consistently and correctly.

Read more

Chronic dryness is one of the biggest reasons people feel stuck with their hair.

Like it’s not growing, not retaining length, and breaking more than it should.

Feeling like nothing works even though they’re using “good products.”

And the worst part is that most people don’t realize their hair is considered “chronically dry”. They think dryness is just how their hair is.

It’s not.

Chronically dry hair usually means three things may be happening at the same time.

Your hair is not holding water well. Your moisture habits are inconsistent or working against you. Or your hair is damaged to some capacity.

Dryness is sometimes not super obvious.

Sometimes it just shows up as hair that never feels all the way there.

Welcome to Ep.8 Afro Academy - Dryness

The biggest myths keeping hair dry

One of the biggest lies people are told is that some hair is “just dry naturally.”

Hair types can be different, yes.

But chronic dryness is not a natural state. It is a big sign that something is missing or mismanaged.

Another common belief is that moisturized hair means heavy products.

That thicker creams and butters automatically equal moisture.

They don’t.

Heavy products can sit on top of dry hair and make it feel softer for a short time without actually fixing the problem.

A lot of people also think applying product alone is better than using water.

Water is the foundation of moisture. Products help manage and keep that water in.

Product without water just covers it.

And softness gets confused with health all the time. Hair can feel soft and still be dry, weak, or breaking off.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 90-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.

It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

Dryness and damage are connected

Dryness can exist without obvious damage at first.

Your hair can look fine and still be chronically dry.

But constant dryness is not normal.

Dry hair has less flexibility. When hair can’t bend well, it snaps.

Over time, dryness leads to breakage, split ends, and thinning.

Dryness also makes every other type of damage worse.

Heat damage looks worse on dry hair.

Chemical damage progresses faster on dry hair.

Mechanical damage happens easier on dry hair.

This is why people feel like their hair suddenly starts breaking “out of nowhere.”

It wasn’t sudden. The hair was dry for a long time before it broke.

Habits that keep hair chronically dry

One of the biggest issues I see is infrequent washing.

Washing your hair does not dry it out when done correctly.

Infrequent washing often means buildup, blocked moisture, and hair that never gets properly rehydrated.

Skipping deep conditioner is also common.

Conditioner is not optional if your goal is moisture retention.

Deep conditioning helps the hair hold onto water longer and improves flexibility.

Air drying only is another habit that sounds healthy but can backfire.

For many people, especially in cooler or dry environments OR low porosity hair, air drying leaves hair damp for too long without sealing.

Which can lead to dryness and frizz later.

Constant product reapplication is another sign of chronic dryness.

If you are applying product every day or multiple times a day, that usually means moisture is not being retained, not that you need more product.

Not sealing if you are high porosity matters too.

High porosity hair loses water faster. If you skip sealing, dryness comes back quicker.

And sleeping without protection dries the hair out through friction and moisture loss night after night.

Together, these habits keep hair stuck.

How often hair actually needs moisture

A good rule of thumb for most people is re-moisturizing every two to three days.

That usually looks like lightly reintroducing water and following with a leave-in conditioner (ideally water as the first ingredient).

For most porosities, this keeps moisture levels steady without doing too much to it.

If you go much longer than that, your hair will likely start feeling very dry again.

If you feel the need to reapply product daily, that is usually a sign something earlier in your routine needs adjusting.

Low porosity hair is the exception sometimes.

Some low porosity hair does better with less frequent reapplication.

But for the majority of people, every two to three days is a solid baseline.

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I also make Tailored Hair Routines.

Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type.

Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within 2 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours here

Get Your Tailored Routine Here

Product Types That Help Chronic Dryness

If your hair is chronically dry, products should support water retention, so here’s the best products I would recommend.

Read more

This episode is meant to help you recognize early warning signs, understand common non-emergency causes of hair loss, and know when something is outside of at-home care and needs a professional. If you have been dealing with hair loss for a long time, if it is getting worse, or if it came on suddenly and aggressively, you should be seeing a medical provider or dermatologist.

This post is for people who are noticing changes and want to understand what they might be looking at before things progress further.

Welcome to Ep.7 Afro Academy - Hair Loss

Not all hair loss looks the same

Hair loss is often lumped into one category, but there are some important differences.

Small bald patches are small areas where hair is missing entirely or almost entirely. The scalp is visible and growth looks reduced or absent.

Hairline or edge hair loss usually shows up around the temples or perimeter of the head. Density decreases over time and the hairline slowly recedes.

Diffuse thinning looks like overall loss of density across the scalp. Hair is still present, but it feels thinner, flatter, or less full everywhere.

Each pattern points to different causes and different ways to alleviate.

Common causes of small bald patches and hair loss

One of the most common causes of small bald patches and hairline loss is traction alopecia. This is from repeated pulling and tension over time. Tight styles, braids, wigs, ponytails, or anything that constantly pulls on the same areas can slowly damage the follicles. Early traction alopecia can be reversible if the tension stops. Long-term traction can permanently damage follicles.

Postpartum and hormonal shedding is another major cause, especially for diffuse hair loss. After pregnancy, childbirth, stopping or starting hormonal birth control, or major hormonal shifts, many hairs enter the shedding phase at once. This usually happens two to three months after the trigger, not immediately. This type of hair loss is called telogen effluvium.

Telogen effluvium can also happen after illness, surgery, extreme stress, rapid weight loss, or significant life changes. Hair loss shows up months later, which is why people often don’t connect it to the original cause.

Scalp inflammation and buildup can also contribute to hair loss. Chronic irritation, heavy buildup, infrequent cleansing, or untreated scalp conditions can mess with healthy growth. Inflammation does not always itch or hurt. Sometimes it just quietly disrupts the scalp.

Alopecia areata is another cause of small bald patches, but it is autoimmune. It cannot be treated at home and requires medical care. Patches are often smooth, round, and appear suddenly.

(P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair, check out my 180-Day Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber. It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your hair porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.)

Subscribe now

Why timing matters

Hair loss does not usually show up right when something goes wrong.

For stress-related shedding, illness, or hormonal changes, hair loss typically appears two to three months after the event. This delay is normal and well documented in trichology research.

Regrowth, when it happens, is slow. Hair grows about half an inch per month on average. Even when follicles recover, visible fullness takes time.

Waiting too long matters most for traction alopecia and chronic inflammation. The longer follicles stay under stress or inflammation, the harder it is for them to snap back. Early intervention gives the best chance of regrowth.

Lifestyle factors (that most people don’t look at)

Stress plays a HUGE role in diffuse hair loss. Chronic stress can push more hairs into the shedding phase and keep them there longer. This does not mean stress alone causes bald patches, but it absolutely worsens thinning.

Under-eating and nutrient deficiencies also matter. Iron deficiency and low vitamin D levels are strongly associated with hair thinning and shedding. These deficiencies do not usually cause small bald patches on their own, but they can significantly worsen overall hair loss. Many people do not realize they are deficient because they do not get routine blood work (please get your check ups).

This is why unexplained or persistent hair loss should always be evaluated medically.

What can be done at home…and what cannot

At home, the focus should be on reducing stress to the follicles and improving scalp health.

Avoiding tight styles and rotating hairstyles is critical if traction is involved. Hair needs breaks from tension to recover.

Cleansing the scalp regularly helps reduce inflammation and buildup. A clean scalp supports healthier growth.

Scalp massage can help increase blood flow and reduce tension. Gentle massage a few minutes a day is enough.

Topical support has been proven to help with symptoms. Ingredients like rosemary oil, pumpkin seed oil, saw palmetto, and aloe vera gel have research showing potential benefits for scalp health and hair support. These are just supportive tools though, not cures.

Stress management matters more than people are aware of. Poor sleep, constant anxiety, and emotional stress can prolong shedding phases. Calming routines, meditation, and consistent sleep scientifically support overall stress induced hair recovery.

Nutrition matters too. A balanced diet and appropriate multivitamin can support hair health, but supplements should not replace medical care when deficiencies are suspected.

When to see a professional

If bald patches are expanding, if hair loss is sudden and severe, if shedding continues beyond six months, or if the scalp looks smooth and shiny with no regrowth, it is time to see a professional.

Autoimmune hair loss, long-term traction alopecia, and severe nutrient deficiencies cannot be fixed with oils or massages alone.

At-home care is for support and prevention. Diagnosis belongs to medical professionals only.

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I also make Tailored Hair Routines. Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type. Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within 2 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours here

Get My Tailored Routine

Tools and tips for hair loss worth knowing about

Read more

A little bit here and there can happen. But if every detangling session leaves a pile of tiny pieces of hair on your sink, your desk, your shirt, or your lap, that is your hair telling you something is wrong.

And if that something does not get fixed, your growth will stall. That’s because it is breaking at the same rate it grows. Or worse, it will lead to chronic split ends that travel up the hair shaft.

Welcome to Afro Academy Ep. 6 – Hair Breakage.

Shedding vs breakage, explained simply

Shedding and breakage do not look the same.

Shedding is a full-length hair that has fallen out from the root. You can usually see a small white bulb at one end. Shedding hairs are long. They match the length of your hair or come close to it.

Breakage is short. Sometimes very short. Tiny pieces. Inches long or less. No bulb. No root.

If you are seeing a lot of tiny hairs after detangling that is breakage.

Shedding happens naturally as part of the hair growth cycle. Breakage happens when the strand cannot handle what is being done to it.

A few of you are probably thinking: “Why should I listen to anything she says??”

That’s a great question.

I’m a certified Trichologist (hair & scalp expert), who has spent 9 years studying the science of hair. I used to have NO clue what to do for my permanently ear length, chronically dry, frizzy, coily hair.

I personally have dealt with every type of hair damage, used almost every hair product on the market, AND been every single hair porosity there is.

My hair’s been through the ringer. But those years of insight and trial & error has given me the knowledge to finally be able to grow my hair out from ear length to lower back length.

Now I help others achieve the same. I decided to become a Trichologist last year so I can help other naturals even more in-depth with better knowledge and clinical training.

Why constant breakage matters

Occasional breakage can happen. Constant breakage is a problem.

If a decent amount of breakage shows up every wash day, every detangling session, or every time you touch your hair, that means your hair is under stress.

Hair that breaks constantly will struggle to retain length. Ends will stay thin. Styles will not last. Split ends will form faster than you can trim them.

Breakage is not something to ignore just because your hair still “looks fine.”

The biggest causes of breakage

The two most common causes I see is mechanical damage and dryness.

Mechanical damage is physical stress on the hair. Rough detangling. Detangling without enough slip. Pulling through knots. Using the wrong tools. Handling the hair when it is fragile and dry.

Dryness makes mechanical damage worse. Dry hair does not bend well. When hair cannot bend, it snaps. This is why people who do not moisturize or condition consistently see the most breakage during detangling.

Protein and moisture imbalance can also play a role. Hair that has too little protein/structure can feel really soft and weak. Hair that has too much protein can feel stiff and brittle. Both break easily. We will go deeper into protein and moisture balance in later Afro Academy episodes.

Heat and chemical damage also increase breakage risk. Hair that has been weakened by heat or chemicals has a lower tolerance for stress. That damage does not have to be extreme for breakage to show up.

Porosity plays a role too, but lightly. Hair that loses moisture quickly will break faster if moisture is not maintained. Hair that struggles to take in moisture will break if the conditioning steps are skipped.

P.S If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 180-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your first guide will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.

Subscribe now

Why detangling is where people notice it first

Detangling is when breakage becomes obvious.

That is when tension meets with resistance. If the hair is dry, poorly conditioned, or already weakened, it will snap instead of stretching.

This is why people often say, “My hair breaks the most when I detangle.” Detangling is not the problem. It is just exposing the problem.

If your hair is moisturized, conditioned, and handled gently, breakage during detangling should be pretty minimal.

How fast breakage should improve

Once you fix the main issue causing breakage, you should see improvement fairly quickly.

Not overnight. But within a few weeks, you should notice fewer tiny hairs after detangling. Less hair snapping. Better stretch to the hair and better slip.

If nothing changes after improving moisture, conditioning, and handling, that usually means there is deeper damage or imbalance that needs to be addressed.

Tools, Techniques, and Products That Help Reduce Breakage

Here’s some products and tools I found that can help reduce breakage a-lot.

Read more

That belief is the reason this post is being made.

If your curls have gotten looser over time, if your hair suddenly lays flatter than it used to, or if you feel like you “trained” your hair with heat, this is not me shaming you at all. This is me explaining what is actually happening.

Your hair can still look good while being damaged. That part is true. But damaged hair is not hair at its best. And calling damage “not damage” just because you like how it looks does not change what is happening inside the strand.

Today on episode 5 of Afro Academy (or Natural Hair 101), we’re breaking down the three most common types of hair damage I see as a trichology student and hair educator. Heat damage. Chemical damage. Mechanical damage. Each one looks different. Each one feels different. And each one needs different repair techniques.

If you don’t know what damage looks like yet, this will help you catch it early. If you think your hair is damaged but you’re not sure why, this will help you get to the cause.

First, something you should know about damage

Damage is not a “failure”. It is not a sign you “don’t know your hair.” It is not always instant, and it is not always dramatic.

Some damage is fixable with time and technique. Some damage is manageable but not reversible. Some damage needs to be cut for your hair to fully bounce back. And some parts of your hair will never come back the way they were before. That is normal.

Hair does not regenerate once it leaves the scalp. Repair is about improving strength, flexibility, and appearance. Not turning damaged hair into brand-new hair again.

Now let’s go through each type.

Heat Damage

Heat damage is one of the most misunderstood types of damage because people think it only counts if the curl never comes back.

That is not how heat damage works.

Heat damage happens when heat changes the internal protein structure of the hair. Hair is made mostly of keratin. Heat breaks hydrogen bonds easily and can weaken disulfide bonds over time. When this happens repeatedly, the curl pattern loosens, the strand loses strength, and elasticity changes.

For most people, heat damage is cumulative.

Using heat once and seeing your curls bounce back does not mean you are immune. Damage usually shows up after repeated exposure. Two, three, four, five times over time. Especially if the hair is already dyed, chemically treated, fine, or high porosity.

Some people are more heat sensitive than others. I am one of them. Some hair cannot tolerate even one poorly protected heat session. Other people can flat iron several times before seeing damage. That difference does not always mean one person’s hair is healthier. It means hair responds differently.

Signs of heat damage include curls that look looser than they used to, ends that stay straight after washing, hair that feels softer but weaker, and breakage that starts at the ends.

What helps heat damage is reducing or stopping heat exposure, focusing on protein and bond support, and protecting the hair from further stress. What does not help is deep conditioning only or continuing to apply heat hoping the curl will “come back on its own.”

You should start seeing improvement in elasticity and strength within four to eight weeks if the damage is mild. If the curl never returns in certain areas after multiple wash cycles and treatment, that damage is likely permanent.

That does not mean your hair is ruined. It means that section has changed and needs a trim.

(P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 90-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent to your inbox within 10 minutes.)

Subscribe now

Chemical Damage

Chemical damage is more aggressive because chemicals alter the structure of the hair on purpose.

Bleach, permanent dye, relaxers, texturizers, and perms all work by breaking bonds inside the hair. Bleach removes pigment and weakens the cuticle. Relaxers and texturizers break disulfide bonds to permanently change texture.

This type of damage often shows up as excessive dryness, snapping instead of stretching, mushy or overly soft hair when wet, rough texture when dry, and breakage that happens even with gentle handling.

Chemical damage is not just from one session usually too. Overlapping bleach, frequent coloring, improper neutralization, and poor aftercare make damage worse over time.

Repairing chemical damage requires strengthening the hair structure, restoring protein balance, and protecting the cuticle. Moisture alone is not enough. In fact, over-moisturizing chemically damaged hair can make breakage worse.

Improvement usually takes months, not weeks. If the hair stretches too much and breaks easily or feels gummy when wet, that damage may not be fully reversible. At that point, trims are part of repair, not failure.

Chemical damage can be managed, but some changes are permanent. Especially with relaxers and heavy bleach use. The reality matters so people stop blaming themselves for hair that will not behave the same again.

Mechanical Damage

Mechanical damage is physical damage. This is the most common and the most ignored.

Mechanical damage comes from rough detangling, tight styles, repeated tension, friction from pillowcases, aggressive brushing, and manipulation without enough slip.

This type of damage does not show up immediately. It builds pretty slowly. Split ends, thinning edges, uneven length, fairy knots, and breakage around the crown or hairline are common signs.

Dry hair makes mechanical damage worse because dry hair has less flexibility. When hair cannot bend, it breaks.

Repairing mechanical damage means changing your habits. Gentler detangling. Less tension. Protective styling that actually protects. Using lubrication when handling the hair.

Products help, but technique matters more here than anything. You should see reduced breakage within two to four weeks once handling improves. If damage is severe, trims are necessary to prevent splits from traveling up the shaft.

Mechanical damage is the easiest to prevent and the hardest to undo if ignored.

Knowing when repair is working and when to stop trying

Repair is working when the hair feels stronger, stretches and returns without snapping, holds moisture better, and breaks less during detangling.

Repair is not working when hair continues to snap, stays limp or gummy, or shows no improvement after consistent care over several months.

At that point, trimming is just allowing healthy hair to grow without being dragged down by compromised ends.

Healthy hair can still be damaged. But damage should not be the goal.

Damage Repair Tools and What They’re Best For

Below are products commonly recommended for damage repair, and what type of damage they are most useful for. These are not magic fixes. They support repair when used correctly.

P.S. If you need help finding the right products for your porosity, check out the list I made for products perfect for each porosity type below

FIND MY PRODUCTS

Read more

Density tells you how much hair you have on your head, not how wide or big each strand is. That’s strand thickness, which we talked about already. Density is how packed your scalp is with hair, and how much hair grows in one area.

Knowing your density helps you choose the right styles, parting size, and how much product you actually need. It doesn’t tell you everything, but it explains why some hairstyles look full on others and flat on you, or the other way around.

What Hair Density Is

Hair density is the number of hair strands growing on your scalp.

It answers things like:

• Does my scalp show easily?
• What styles should I wear?
• Do I use more product or very little?

Density is not something that you can change overnight. You can increase density slowly over time with good and intentional scalp care, but density mostly describes how your hair naturally grows.

There are three main density types:

• Low density
• Medium density
• High density

P.S If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 90-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent immediately to your inbox.

Subscribe now

Why Hair Density Matters

Density mostly affects styling and appearance.

It tells you:

• How full your hair looks
• How much hair you need for braids or twists
• How big your sections should be
• Which styles can or can’t work for you

Density matters a little less for breakage and more for visuals + hair loss issues. That’s why thickness usually comes first when learning your hair. But density still matters, especially if you wear protective styles or want fuller-looking results.

Low Density Hair

Low density means fewer strands grow per square inch on your scalp. Your hair may look flat or thin, even if your strands are thick.

Signs of low density hair

• You can easily see your scalp
• Your ponytail feels small
• You don’t need a lot of time to detangle
• Certain styles “don’t look right”

Pros

• Easier wash days
• Less product needed
• Faster drying time
• Lightweight styles feel better

Cons

• Styles may not look very full
• Braids and twists need larger parts
• Too much product can weigh hair down
• Tight/heavy styles can stress the scalp very easily

Medium Density Hair

Medium density hair is the middle ground. The scalp is not very visible, but not fully hidden either. This is the most “flexible” density type.

Signs of medium density hair

• Scalp shows only when parted
• Ponytail feels average in size
• Most styles work well
• Product usage feels balanced

Pros

• Easy to style
• Works with most part sizes
• Balanced fullness
• Less styling stress

Cons

• Can easily shift its density with shedding or stress
• Needs maintenance to stay full-looking
• Too many products at once can cause buildup

High Density Hair

High density means many strands grow close together. Hair looks very full and thick, even if strands are fine.

Signs of high density hair

• Scalp is hard to see, even when parted
• Hair feels very full
• Takes longer to wash and dry
• Uses more product overall

Pros

• Very full-looking styles
• Braids and twists look thick
• Most protective styles work well
• Hair appears voluminous

Cons

• Wash day takes longer
• Uses more product
• Needs smaller sections to detangle/style properly
• Can feel heavy if overloaded

Density vs Thickness

This part matters a lot, so let’s make it really clear.

Density = how many strands you have.

Thickness = how wide one strand is.

You can have:

• Fine strands with high density
• Thick strands with low density
• Medium strands with medium density

Density affects more how your hair looks.
Thickness affects more how your hair behaves.

Both impact your product use, but thickness slightly matters more for breakage and product weight. Density matters more for styling, fullness, and sectioning.

How To Find Your Hair Density

Here is the beginner-friendly way to check your density.

1. Look at your scalp in the mirror.

2. Part your hair down the middle.

3. Check how visible your scalp is.

4. Pull your hair into a ponytail and notice the size.

Results

• Very visible scalp + small ponytail = low density
• Some scalp visible + average ponytail = medium density
• Scalp hard to see + thick ponytail = high density

You can also try the free hair density quiz on my website here (make sure to scroll down)

Free Hair Density Quiz

Important Notes

Density can change slightly over time. Stress, illness, hormones, and nutrition can affect how full your hair looks. But density changes slowly. It’s not something you fix in a week.

You can support density with good scalp care, gentle styling, and consistency. We’ll talk about that in later posts. For now, your goal is just understanding what you have.

Final Thoughts

Hair density explains hair fullness, not your hair’s strength. It tells you why your hair looks the way it does in styles and why some people need different styles or more product than others.

You now should know:

• Your hair type
• Your porosity
• Your strand thickness
• Your density

This is the foundation of natural hair care. Everything else builds on these basics.

Next, we’ll move into the best hairstyles and product basics so you can actually apply what you’ve learned to YOUR hair!

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I also make Tailored Hair Routines. Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type. Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within 48 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours for 10% off.

Get My Tailored Hair Routine

P.S. If you need help finding the right products for your porosity, check out the list I made for products perfect for each porosity type below

FIND MY PRODUCTS

Strand thickness is how wide each strand is. It is not how much hair you have on your head. That part is density, and we will talk about that later. But thickness tells you how strong or fragile your strands may be, what products feel too heavy, and what styles your hair can handle without breaking off.

A lot of people skip this step, and it makes hair care harder than it needs to be.

My Story: Why Thickness Mattered For Me

I’ve always had medium-thick strands. Not super thick. Not super fine. Just in the middle. I learned very early that my strands were not as strong as someone with naturally thick strands. They weren’t “thread-like,” but they also weren’t super sturdy. Because of that, I had to be more careful with tension, detangling, and certain styles.

Medium or fine strands break easier. That’s not a bad thing. It just means you need the right techniques and the right product types. It’s one of the reasons hair thickness is slightly more important than density when choosing products. Thickness affects how much product your strand can hold before it gets weighed down or stressed out.

Density matters too, but mostly for styling.
Thickness determines what your hair can actually handle.

What Hair Thickness Really Is

Hair thickness is the width of each individual hair strand.

There are three main categories:

• Fine
• Medium
• Thick (also called coarse)

Thickness has nothing to do with how much hair you have. You can have:

• Fine strands with high density
• Thick strands with low density
• Medium strands with anything in between

This is why people get confused. Thickness and density are two different things, and both matter for hair care, but thickness comes first when you’re trying to understand product choice.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 90-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It’s a series of guides that walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent to your email immediately.

Subscribe now

Why Thickness Matters

Thickness affects almost everything you put on your hair.

If you use the wrong products for your strand size, your hair won’t behave the way you expect. Here’s why strand thickness matters so much:

• Fine strands break easier
• Fine strands get weighed down fast
• Thick strands need richer products
• Thick strands can hold more tension
• Medium strands can go either way depending on the routine

Your thickness tells you the “strength level” of your hair.
Your density tells you the “fullness level” of your hair.

Both matter, but thickness slightly wins when it comes to product choice.

Fine Hair

Fine strands are smaller in width. They bend easily and break easily.

How to know if you have fine hair:
• A single strand is hard to see without light
• It feels soft and delicate between your fingers
• Heavy creams weigh it down fast
• It struggles with thick gels or butters

Pros:
• Lightweight products work great
• Dries fast
• Easy to moisturize if routine is right

Cons:
• Breaks easily
• Can look flat if overloaded
• Doesn’t like heavy tension or heavy styling products

Medium Thickness Hair

Medium strands are the middle ground. Not too fragile, not too strong. This is where a lot of people fall, including me.

How to know you have medium strands:
• You can feel the strand, but it’s not extremely thick
• Your hair can handle most products, as long as you don’t overdo it
• It doesn’t break as fast as fine hair, but still needs care

Pros:
• Flexible with most routines
• Not too sensitive to product weight
• Easy to style if kept moisturized

Cons:
• Can break if you assume it’s “strong enough”
• Needs balanced moisture and protein
• Can get weighed down if product layers are too heavy

Thick (Coarse) Hair

Thick strands are wide and strong. They are not “better,” just different. These strands can take more tension, more styling, and more product before showing stress.

How to know you have thick strands:
• You can easily feel a strand between your fingers
• It feels firm and strong
• It holds heavy products well
• It resists breakage unless damaged

Pros:
• Stronger, more resilient
• Handles thick creams and butters
• Great for styles that need more shaping

Cons:
• Can feel dry if products aren’t rich enough
• Takes longer to fully soak in moisture
• Needs more time with conditioners to soften

Thickness vs Density

A lot of beginners mix these up. Here’s the easiest way to remember:

Thickness = how wide the strand is.
Density = how many strands grow on your head.

These two things are not the same.
They do not behave the same.
They do not affect your routine in the same way.

Density helps you understand the best styles.
Thickness helps you understand breakage, product weight, and strength.

Both matter, but thickness is slightly more important when you’re trying to choose products that actually work for your hair.

How To Find Your Thickness

Here is the beginner-friendly guide:

1. Take a single strand from your brush or your shirt.

2. Place it on your finger or a piece of white paper.

3. Look at it in the light.

4. Rub it gently between your fingers.

Your results:

• Hard to see + barely feel = fine
• Easy to see + can feel but not super noticeable = medium
• You can clearly feel it + it feels sturdy (almost like thread) = thick

Take the Free Strand Thickness Quiz if you STILL don’t know your hairs thickness! (Disclaimer: this quiz is HIGHLY dependent on how well you know your hair. So results may not be the most accurate if you don’t know much about your hair)

Free Strand Thickness Quiz

Final Notes

Your hair’s thickness helps set the foundation for your routine.
It teaches you:

• How fragile or strong your strands are
• How much product your hair can handle
• What type of styling is safe
• How to moisturize without stressing out your strands

We’ll talk about density next, since density affects fullness and styling, but thickness is the part that tells you what your hair can manage day-to-day.

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I also make Tailored Hair Routines. Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type. Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within 48 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours for 10% off.

Get My Tailored Hair Routine

P.S. If you need help finding the right products for your porosity, check out the list I made for products perfect for each porosity type below

FIND MY PRODUCTS

Porosity tells you what products work for you, how moisture moves through your strands, how long your hair stays hydrated, and even how often you should wash or deep condition. Once you know your porosity, everything becomes easier. Your routine makes sense and your hair finally seems to start acting right.

I learned this the hard way.

My Story: How My Porosity Changed Over Time

My hair used to be low porosity for years. That’s why I did so many steam deep conditioning treatments, why I needed lighter products, and why my hair took forever to get wet. It was just the way my hair grew from my scalp.

Then I bleached and dyed it.

And over time, it became high porosity. My hair started drying faster, feeling rougher, and soaking up products like a sponge. I had to switch to thicker creams, richer conditioners, better oils, and treatments that actually filled in the gaps in my strands.

And here’s the part people don’t talk about enough. Porosity can change from many things, not just damage. Your porosity can shift because of:

• Medication
• Hormones
• Bleach or color
• Pregnancy
• Heat damage
• Stress
• Aging

And yes, some people are born with high porosity hair naturally. Not because of damage. Just because that’s the way their cuticles grow. The idea that “everyone is born with low porosity and high porosity only comes from damage” is false.

Your hair can exist anywhere on the spectrum from the start.

What Porosity Really Is

Porosity is how well your hair absorbs and holds water.

Your cuticle is the outer layer of your hair. Tiny scales line the strand like shingles on a roof.
Those scales can be tight, loose, or somewhere in between.

That’s what makes your hair low, medium, or high porosity.

If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 90-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent immediately.

Subscribe now

Why Porosity Matters

Here’s why porosity is the number-one thing new naturals need to learn:

• It tells you how fast your hair dries.
• It tells you how long your moisture lasts.
• It tells you what type of products work best.
• It tells you how to deep condition.
• It explains why some routines work for others but not for you.

Hair typing can’t tell you any of this.
Porosity can.

Low Porosity Hair

Low porosity hair has tight cuticles. Water sits on top before it sinks in. This hair type can feel dry even when it’s coated in products, because the products don’t enter easily.

Pros of low porosity hair:
• Holds moisture once it gets in
• Less likely to frizz as quickly
• Loves heat during deep conditioning

Cons:
• Hard to get moisture inside
• Easy to get buildup
• Can feel stiff or coated
• Takes longer to fully soak with water

Medium Porosity Hair

Medium porosity hair has a balanced cuticle. It absorbs water pretty well and keeps it for a good amount of time. Many people aim for “medium porosity,” but it’s just one of the many natural variations.

Pros:
• Easier to moisturize
• Holds definition well
• Less buildup problems
• Works with most products

Cons:
• Can shift up or down from heat, chemicals, or hormones
• Needs a real balance
• Can dry out fast if routine is inconsistent

High Porosity Hair

High porosity hair has open cuticles. It soaks up water and product fast but loses it just as quickly.

Remember, you can be born with this. It is not always caused by damage.

Pros:
• Absorbs products easily
• Takes in water fast
• Responds well to thicker creams and rich conditioners
• Accepts protein well

Cons:
• Dries out quickly
• Gets frizzy if not sealed
• Needs more moisture throughout the week
• Can be sensitive to harsh shampoos

How To Find Your Porosity

Here’s the simplest, most beginner-friendly way. No “float tests” either.

Do these:

1. Wet your hair. Does it take a long time to get wet? Or does it soak water right away?

2. Deep condition. Does your hair take forever to soften? Or does it drink the conditioner fast?

3. Let it dry. Does it stay wet for hours? Or dry in 30 minutes?

4. Add products. Do they sit on top? Or sink in immediately?

Your answers reveal your porosity:

• Takes long to get wet + product sits on top = low porosity
• Absorbs quickly + dries quickly = high porosity
• Does both at a seemingly normal speed = medium porosity

If You Want the Fastest Way…

If you want a quicker way to guess your porosity, you can take my free porosity quiz. It’s meant to give you a faster starting point.

But I still recommend reading this guide, because the quiz can only help if you know enough about your own hair. If you’re brand new, reading and observing your hair will always be more accurate.

Take the Quiz Here

Final Notes

Porosity shapes everything you do with your hair. It explains why some products work and others don’t. It explains why your hair behaves the way it does after wash day. It explains how to moisturize the right way for you.

Your porosity can change.
Your routine can change.
And your results will change once you start working with your hair instead of against it.

In the next part of the Natural Hair 101 series, we’ll talk about some few more important hair profiling neccesities like, density, thickness, and the basics of what every routine should include.

For now, start here. Learn your porosity. Everything else will make sense after that🪮

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I also make Tailored Hair Routines. Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type. Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within 48 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours for 10% off.

Get My Tailored Hair Routine

P.S. If you need help finding the right products for your porosity, check out the list I made for products perfect for each porosity type below

FIND MY PRODUCTS

Before we start, I want to tell you a little about me. I’ve studied natural hair for almost ten years. I’ve taken hair & trichology courses, tested hundreds of products, and built my whole platform around teaching people how to grow and understand their hair. I care about making hair care simple and honest. I started this series because so many people want to take care of their hair, but they don’t know where to begin.

And trust me, I was there too.

When I first went natural, I thought my hair was 4C. I had a mini fro, my curls didn’t seem to exist at the time, and I wrongly assumed “well, if I don’t see coils, this must be the tightest type.” But that wasn’t true (4C hair definitely a visible texture pattern, misinformation at the time told me otherwise). I didn’t know that my real pattern was hiding under dryness, old product, and buildup. I ALSO didn’t know how to wash my hair the right way. One day, after two clarifying shampoos, a real deep conditioner, and a leave-in that actually worked, my curls showed up. I saw coils I didn’t know I had.

So before we even get into the chart, I want you to know this: sometimes you can’t see your hair type yet because your hair has buildup, is dry, or weighed down. And that’s normal. We’ll talk more in future modules about moisture, products, and buildup, but for today we’re keeping it simple and focused on hair typing only.

This lesson is made for type 3 and type 4 hair, but type 2 hair can still use some of these tips too.

(If you rather watching than reading, check out my Youtube video on this topic below.)

Watch the Youtube Video

What Hair Typing Is

Hair typing is a chart that shows what kind of texture you have.

The chart goes from straight to wavy to curly to coily ( I didn’t add straight to my chart). It’s meant to help you understand where your hair fits on the spectrum.

Hair typing is helpful for a few reasons:

• It helps you find products that make sense for your texture.
• It helps you search for styles and tips online from people with hair like yours.
• It gives you a starting point if you’re new and confused.

But hair typing is not the most important part of hair care. There are other things that matter more, like density, damage, or porosity. We will talk about those topics later in this series. For now, as a starting point, you only need to know what texture family you’re in.

P.S. If you’re serious about growing your hair, check out my 90-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent immediately.

Subscribe now

Why Hair Typing Helps (But Only a Little)

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think the letters part of hair typing help very much. For example, 4A, 4B, and 4C don’t explain the full range of coily textures. There are tighter coils, looser coils, and even “Z” curls that don’t get talked about enough. Three letters and 4 numbers can’t describe all of that.

I personally think the chart should’ve gone from Type 1 to Type 5, but here we are.

Still, the chart is useful if you’re brand new. It won’t tell you everything about your hair, but it gives you quick clues about what might work. It’s also the first thing people look up when they start their natural hair journey, so I want you to have a clear version that actually makes sense.

The Four Main Hair Types

Here’s the easiest way to break it down:

Type 1: Straight
Type 2: Wavy
Type 3: Curly
Type 4: Coily

Since this series is focused on type 3 and type 4 hair, here’s the simple difference:

• Type 3 curls look like spirals or rings.
• Type 4 curls look like tight coils or zig-zags.

That’s it. No need to overcomplicate it right now. We’ll get into full hair profile examples later in the series.

My Story: Why My Hair Type Was Hidden At First

When I first big-chopped, I thought I was 4C because my hair didn’t curl. But the real issue was kinda simple: I wasn’t washing or moisturizing the right way. My hair had so much buildup that the curls couldn’t show.

One day, I did the routine that changed everything:

• I clarified twice. (Paul Mitchell Shampoo Three works great.)
• I used a deep conditioner that actually softened my hair. (Amika Hydro Rush Mask.)
• I rinsed well and added a leave-in that didn’t sit on top of my hair. (Amika Leave-In Mask.)
• I brushed my hair in small sections with a good brush and let it dry without touching it.

That’s when my real curl pattern showed up.

This happens to a lot of people. They think they have no curl pattern. But most times, the pattern is there, it’s just covered, weighed down, or stressed out.

We’ll cover product choice, moisture, and buildup in later lessons. For now, just know that clean, soft hair is the only way to see your real type.

How To See Your True Hair Type

Here is the simple beginner-friendly way:

1. Wash your hair well. Use a clarifying shampoo if you haven’t washed in a long time or you use heavy products with a-lot of oils.

2. Use a real deep conditioner. Let it soften your hair and rinse well.

3. Add a leave-in conditioner. Pick one that does not feel greasy or heavy.

4. Brush in small sections while your hair is wet. Use a brush that clumps curls.

5. Let your hair dry without brushing it out again. Don’t disturb it while it’s forming curls.

When your hair is clean, soft, and wet, your pattern will show up. That’s the moment when you compare it to the chart I made.

Can You Have More Than One Hair Type?

Yes. Most people do.

You can have:

• Two textures
• Three textures
• Or even more, though that’s a tinyyy bit more rare

Sometimes this happens naturally. Sometimes it happens because of damage, stress, or hormones. It’s normal. You are not “supposed” to have perfect, even curls everywhere.

The only way to “fix” multiple patterns in the hair is to manually curl the hair with flexi-rods/curlers OR get a perm to even out the pattern ( I don’t recommend the perm method since your roots will grow out the same texture they were originally and it’s extremely damaging)

Knowing your hair type is JUST a tool. It just helps you understand what you’re seeing.

Very Important Reminder

Hair typing only affects what types of products might work for you. That’s it. It does not tell you your moisture needs, your routine, your breakage prone-ness, or how to grow your hair. Those topics come later in this series.

And please don’t ignore products just because the bottle says “for straight hair.” Some of the best products for type 3 and 4 hair were not made for curls at all. Don’t accidentally limit yourself.

Final Thoughts

Hair typing is the easiest place to start when you’re new. It shows you the general shape of your curls or coils and gives you language to describe what you have. But it’s not the full picture of hair care, and it’s not something you should obsess over.

Your goal right now is simple:
Learn your type. Understand your texture. Then build from there.

In the next parts of the Natural Hair 101 series, we’ll talk about things that matter even more: porosity, density, damage, products, and routines.

For today, just start with clean hair, take a clear photo of your dry curls, and compare it to the chart.

How I Can Help You Right Now

If you want a full plan written just for your hair, I also make Tailored Hair Routines. Each one comes with a weekly, monthly, and daily routine plus product recommendations for your exact porosity, density, and strand type. Just fill out the form and get your routine sent to you within 48 hours.

If you’re ready to fix your routine and start seeing results, you can grab yours for 10% off.

Get My Tailored Hair Routine

P.S. If you need help finding the right products for your porosity, check out the list I made for products perfect for each porosity type below

FIND MY PRODUCTS

Take the free hair porosity quiz here if you don’t know your hairs porosity!

Frizz is usually not one single problem. So the fix has to match the cause.

One thing people get wrong is thinking that frizz always means their hair is thirsty. Dryness can cause frizz, yes. But so can product buildup. Buildup makes the cuticle feel rough and keeps water from getting in. When the hair cannot absorb water, the strands lift up. That creates more frizz, not less. Many people add more creams or oils on top, which makes the problem worse.

Another mistake is trying to fix frizz with the wrong technique. Some style on damp hair when their curls need to be soaking wet. Some over-apply products that coat the hair instead of helping it form a curl. Some rake too hard and break up the curl clumps. Some do not use enough water during styling and blame their hair instead of the method.

Frizz also shows up when the hair is damaged. Damage lifts the cuticle. A lifted cuticle catches on other strands and creates roughness. No cream can change the shape of a damaged cuticle. It can only make it feel a little softer for a moment. This is why many people feel smooth on wash day and frizzy again the next day. The actual issue is deeper than just slapping a product on top.

So…how do you fix frizz for real? The first step is knowing what type of frizz you have.

If your hair feels a little rough, tangled, and dull, the frizz may be from dryness. If your curls are softer at the root and frizzier at the ends, that can be from old damage. If your hair frizzes right after styling, that may be a technique problem. It is not always one thing. If your hair is frizzy at the roots and defined at the ends, it may be a buildup issue. Many people deal with two or three causes at once.

P.S. If you need help finding the right products for your porosity, check out the list I made for products perfect for each porosity type below

FIND MY PRODUCTS

The fix starts with water. Curls and coils cannot form properly without water. Raking products through dry or halfway wet hair breaks up the pattern and creates frizz. Styling on soaking wet hair helps the strands clump together. It also helps the product spread evenly instead of sitting on the surface. This one change can reduce a lot of the frizz you may be dealing with.

The next step is cutting back on products that build up. Heavy layers of creams and butters feel good at first, then create more frizz over time. They block water and stop the curl from forming. Many people think the answer is more cream, but the real answer is a cleaner base. When the hair is clean, it takes in water, forms curls easier, and holds shape longer.

BTW, If you’re serious about growing your hair based on your porosity, check out my 90-Day Porosity Hair Growth Roadmap by becoming a paid subscriber.
It walks you through exactly how to grow, moisturize, and retain length based on your porosity. Just sign up, check your email, and fill out the form. Your routine will be sent immediately.

Subscribe now

Damage definitely needs a different approach. If the ends are frizzy no matter what you do, the cuticle may be lifted or broken. You cannot “repair” a broken cuticle with moisture alone. You need a mix of moisture, strength, and time. Trimming helps too. A damaged strand will always frizz faster than a healthy one.

If your method is the problem, the fix is learning how to use water, tension, and smaller sections. Curl definition techniques do not change your pattern. They just help your pattern form. When people skip these steps, the curls fall apart. That creates frizz, even when the hair is healthy.

So the real question is not “What product fixes frizz.” It is “What type of frizz do you have.” Once you know that, the fix becomes pretty straight forward.

The last thing people forget is that some frizz is normal. Type 3 and type 4 hair is not supposed to form picture perfect curls every day. Small amounts of frizz are not a sign of failure. They are a normal part of textured hair. The goal is not zero frizz. The goal is manageable frizz that does not get in the way of moisture, curl formation, or styling.

If you want the full breakdown of routines that fix each type of frizz, paid readers get the full guide below. This includes what to do if your frizz is from dryness, if it is from damage, or if it is from technique mistakes. It also includes simple steps and product lists that you can follow on wash day so your curls hold better with less effort.

Fixing Frizz From Dryness

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