Ghanima is a bilingual cosmetologist from Chicago who lives in the Dominican Republic. As a stylist and beauty consultant, she has been in the industry for a few decades, doing hair and makeup, product formulation and consultancy. But for the past seven years, my focus has been on research and writing. It’s taken her everywhere from brow bars to beauty subscription boxes, body contouring clinics to black hair sites, microneedling newsletters to Amazon best seller lists. You could say she's gotten around! Her knowledge happily spans all skin and hair types, most procedures and all sorts of products, but she still keeps checking out the new ones and making up her own.
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Once you’ve used this routine, moisture will be locked into your hair and scalp, and hijab hair loss won’t be as much of a threat.
Covering up your hair doesn’t mean you may compromise on hair care; on the conrtary, unless you follow a good hair routine, the scarf rubbing will cause hijabi hair to become so dry it snaps. If you’re wearing a hijab and have noticed excessive dryness and breakage, your hair needs a dedicated care to prevent more severe outcomes such as hijab hair loss or bald spots.
As a stylist, I have been giving hair advice for many years now, and here is my personal basic hijab hair routine I can swear by.
@therighthairstyles
It is important to follow all the steps of hijab hair care, as skipping one step may reverse the effect of another one. For example, washing adds hydration to the hair, but only if you lock it in. If you wash your hair and don’t use a conditioner to lock in the hydration, your hair will be damaged from rubbing against your scarf. So, here are the basic steps you should rigorously follow:
Wash hair regularly (around twice a week might work well) to help you avoid buildup. In this case, there shouldn’t be a need to use a clarifying shampoo or a sulfate shampoo to remove dirt and grease, and you can choose a moisturizing shampoo instead, the one that contains aloe vera or other ingredients to hydrate your strands. Make sure to rinse the shampoo thoroughly until your hair runs clear.
While your hair is still dripping wet, apply your hair conditioner. If your hair is normal to dry, you can start at the roots of your hair and apply it all the way to the tips. If you have oily hair, only apply the conditioner to the tips of your hair. Use a wide tooth comb to detangle your hair during the two minutes that you’ll leave it in. Rinse it thoroughly.
A regular hair conditioner will leave a coating on your hair to lock in moisture, but you want to fortify that coating with a leave-in conditioner. Choose a light leave-in if your hair is fine or a thick one if your hair is coarse.
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if you’ve used too much oil while your hair is wet. It’s a good idea to wait until your hair is dry to add a few drops of hair oil to your scalp and hair. Hair oil acts as another layer of protection against dryness and nourishes your scalp and hair.
Make sure to apply an oil or butter to your edges, as that’s where the fabric rests. An extra coating of oil will help you avoid “frayed” and thinning edges.
A bonus tip: Choose your fabrics wisely. Cotton, Silk, Jersey or Chiffon are good options, as they are soft and let your scalp breathe. Once you’ve used this routine, moisture will be locked into your hair and scalp, and hijab hair loss won’t be as much of a threat.
Featured image via Freepik
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