No oils, butters or even water on your natural hair? Let’s discuss the Hair Detox Debate!

This detoxing hair routine consists of shampooing, conditioning, and using a styling product, such as mousse, gel, or leave-in spray. The shampoo and conditioning steps are essentially how you moisturise your hair. This hair detox aims to maximise hydration of the hair and allow it to breathe. I saw someone use this comparison and I thought it was perfect: in skincare you have a basic routine of cleansing, moisturising and SPF, then other products are added depending on personal needs. The case is the same for hair care, you build a solid foundation to maintain the health of the hair, and additional products are optional.

This works by:

Shampoo- cleansing the hair and scalp to allow the acceptance of moisture.

Conditioner- restores the pH balance of the hair and softens it, leading to styling being safer.

Styler- helps with definition and hold of your hair style of choice.

I initially came across this concept on twitter from actual hair estheticians and it definitely caused a huge stir within the natural hair community as it was a full 180 from practices that have been ingrained in us. Blue magic and oils on our scalps have been the “norm” since childhood, along with the growing popularity of leave-ins, overnight treatments, and use of have butters to maintain moisture. So what is the issue?

Firstly, let’s discuss some of these hair estheticians

One hair stylist that has been sharing this information is Hair by Jennifer-Rose, who is the owner of The Fro Haus, which is a salon for textured hair based in Jersey City, New York. She describes herself as a hair stylist and educator.

She actively provides her hair expertise on social media and her clients have shared a great deal of positive feedback about her services. After researching her methods and the information she shares on social media, she is a huge advocate for throwing out the leave-ins, creams and oils, and just stripping it down to the basics of wrap foam or a gel. She also discusses regular hair complaints and points out things what we should and should not be concerned about which a lot of naturals found very comforting.

If you’re curious to look into her:

Personal: https://twitter.com/JenniferRoseNYC

Business: https://twitter.com/thefrohaus

Another set of licensed hair professionals who have been sharing these beliefs are a quite well-known duo, and the founders of Black Girl Curls. This includes Aisha (aka @chocolatecurlsbeauty) and Aeleise (aka @hairloveart) who are Digital Tight Curl Stylists and Educators.

This concept was nothing new to them as they started educating this hair routine in 2015. They have similar beliefs to Jennifer-Rose, however another aim within this hair routine that Black Girl Curls wanted to convey was that it discourages individuals from using DIY products and raw oils. They have made it clear that they are not anti oils, butters or creams, but we often use these inappropriately, or when these ingredients are not processed correctly. In addition, they aim to overall shift the perspective of individuals and allow them to be more open minded with their approach to hair.

They have a book written on their methods, called ‘Wash Your Damn Hair’, and they discuss their experiences on their YouTube channel, where they also have a podcast ‘Curls Disrupted’, if you would like to have a further insight into their methods:

BlackGirlCurls Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh7-DEc1Ftw

Website: https://www.blackgirlcurls.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamblackgirlcurls/?hl=en

Responses from the natural hair community

As you can probably imagine, the initial response to this was negative. From your family having a set hair routine for generations, having a plethora of products to choose from everywhere you turn, and your favourite influencer showing you her holy grail products, to being told that all of this may be doing more harm than good. The community became very defensive and confused.

I’ve also noticed many individuals did not necessarily disagree with this method, but felt the delivery of these messages were extremely blunt and undermined people’s knowledge of their own hair. Furthermore, many were not aware that they still enjoy these products, they just do not approve the way in which people use these products, or many feel these are necessary in getting healthy hair, when all that matters is having a healthy foundation. This resulted in the community feeling that this method is an attack on hair influencers, who’s brand involves experimenting with different products, DIY’s and hair methods. It has been clarified that this was never their intention, but their education and their methods just do not match with the methods of many popular influencers.

Following this, Aisha, from BlackGirlCurls, proposed a challenge to her clients, to help them become more open minded. This involved going 30 days without using leave-in conditioners, butters, raw oils or even water on the hair, and actively keep the scalp and hair clean and conditioned. She recommended washing every 1-2 weeks, and more often if you exercise or live in a humid environment where one may sweat often. The results from this 30-day detox surprised a lot of naturals. They found that their wash days were going from 3-4 hours, to 30 minutes! And without the use of products, they got to know what their hair authentically feels like. However, we know that all hair is different, so some found that this detox was not for them and actually struggled much more with their hair and felt their hair was not improving hydration and the method just was not for them.

As of recently, this challenge has become a trend on the natural hair side of YouTube. I’ll link some of the videos that I have come across if you are interested in seeing people’s experiences with this:

TruleyTalentedBeauty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXclVDVURU0

MrsB 81: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNPvjtrSOAU

Khristian Simone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-3GvvquNW0

My thoughts

I personally feel that even if there are individuals who do not wish to try this hair routine, it can at least demonstrate that not all hair methods, for example the LOC or LCO method, should be blindly used, just because of its popularity.

I also feel this it’s odd that licensed estheticians, who are specifically trained in natural hair have gotten so much backlash on the methods that they have been taught, and have used on clients. However, hair influencers who are only going off of personal experience, or what that have seen from another influencer are less questioned, and the community is rapid to use these methods as they are trending, or due to the influencer having long hair which appears healthy on camera. An influencer could advise to use onion water, or a mix of eggs and mayonnaise in the hair (both real examples), and the community will be open minded in participating in these DIY’s, however a licensed hairstylists advice, which is less known and more unpopular is viewed as an after thought, and is met with negativity. I do not believe that the hair methods of influencers are invalid, but why is the community so quick to pit professionals and influencers against one another, and why are we only open minded to deviate from the “norm”, only when its trending, and our favorite influencer is participating?

Let me know your thoughts on this below, or on the @knotlessknatural instagram page.

Hope you enjoyed this and thank you for reading.