Hair Care Tools

Regardless of if you like to wear your own hair natural/relaxed or if your preference is a weave/wig, there are some tools you will need to arm yourself with in order to achieve and/or maintain your chosen style option and for the overall health of your hair. Many of you will have have some if not all of these, if you don't and have made a decision to look after your hair properly this year, now is the time to invest. Some tools are absolute must have's and some are just optional great tools that can be bought as and when needed and will dramatically reduce your visits to the hairdresser saving you money in the long run.




Wide Tooth Comb

This is the one item that every woman of colour should own without exception. Whether your hair is relaxed or natural, long or short a wide tooth comb is essential. Its excellent for detangling and minimises hair loss/shedding.




Hooded/Soft Bonnet/Blow Dryer

A dryer is another essential for the longterm health of your hair. Both the hooded and the soft bonnet dryer are good for deep conditioning treatments, roller and wrap sets. Let your finances dictate whether you should invest in a hooded or a soft bonnet dryer. They are both very similar but the hooded dryer drys hair faster, but the soft bonnet dryer does have its advantages. One is the cost. They range between £8-£15 as opposed to a hooded dryer they start from £35. Also storage of the soft bonnet dryer is easy because it can be folded, unlike a hooded dryer which can be bulky and hard to store away.

A blow dryer is good for those days when you have to wash and go but unlike the hooded and the soft bonnet the blow dryer does not provide constant and even heat. Heat from a blow dryer is concentrated on one section of the hair at a time, which if done to often can result in heat damage. (In the near future I will be doing a post on the pro's and con's of a hooded v blow dryer ) I would recommend that if you do a lot of roller and wrap sets to go for the hooded dryer, if you mainly use a dryer for deep conditioning then you could just work with the soft bonnet.

Silk/Satin Scarf, Bonnet or Pillowcase

 

The head scarf is yet another essential tool, one which many of us can not be parted from. I'm wearing mine right now :)

Whether its keeping your straight styles nice and sleek or keeping those curls from tangling, a head scarf is a fantastic way of preserving your do overnight. If you find it uncomfortable sleeping with a scarf or in my case it never stays on till the morning, you could try a silk pillow case. Even though this option will not maintain your hairstyle it will minimise shedding and breakage and stop you waking up with frizzy hair. Unlike regular cotton pillowcases which can suck moisture away from your hair satin pillowcases can help retain moisture.

Rollers

Rollers come in many different styles, shapes and sizes. Fantastic for natural and relaxed hair, also great on weaves and wigs too. Always handy to have a size that can give you a regular roller set, and try satin rollers for overnight sets.




Pins & Clips

Hair pins are a very useful tool to have. They are great for creating buns and ups do's as well as securing wigs and other styles. Duck bill clips are another favourite of mine as they help when working with your hair in sections, they help hold hair away from the section of hair you are working

Shower/Plastic Caps


These are very inexpensive and can be found more or less anywhere. Absolutely essential for those deep conditioning treatments.





Hair Straightners/ Curling Iron

When purchasing a hair straightner there are one or two things to consider. Relaxed or natural, heat must be kept to a minimum, so a temperature control is a must. Cheap hair straighteners work just as well as expensive ones but the damage done to your hair will be more. If you must straighten your hair, a tourmaline or ceramic (not ceramic coated) are your best choices. Tourmaline is a natural source of negative ions so will leave your hair feeling and looking silky and moisturised, while the ceramic ensures the heat is distributed evenly. A curling tong might not be necessary if you have a good straightener as most of them have curved edges that allow you to curl your hair while straightening it. If you still decide to use a curling tong or wand make sure it's ceramic.

Brush

A brush is very handy to have. Can be used for detangling and for blowouts, if using a brush for blowouts make sure your hair us at least 60% dry first. A paddle brush really gets up in those weaves, and a bristle brush is great for slicking down your hair.
My personal favourite is the Denman brush.

Tail/ Small Teeth Comb

Tail combs have several uses. It can be used to part the hair more precisely and for general styling. My favourite use is to scratch under my the weave/wig :).

To avoid breakage please make sure your hair is completely detangled before using a small tooth come on your hair.

Fingers

Those things at the ends of our hands are probably the best styling tool ever and they are completely free!

 

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