Many people’s first thought about natural hair is that it is difficult and even expensive to maintain. Fact check? It’s not true. As with many other things, there are ways to splurge or go luxurious with your hair care if that’s what you want.
However, pocket friendly ways to maintain your natural hair do exist. In this article, find out five practices that are sure to help you grow and maintain your natural hair on a budget. Let’s dive in.
5 Tips for Maintaining Your Natural Hair on a Budget
- DIY your products
- Go for pocket-friendly brands
- Do your own styling
- Have a simple routine
- Minimize heat styling
- DIY your products
Creating your own hair products in place of shopping for them can help reduce expenses. You can get herbs, oils and other materials that you can use to make multiple products in larger batches than store-bought packages.
Plus, making your products yourself will allow you to control the ingredients that go into your product, ensuring they are safe and of high quality. Examples of DIY products you should try are hair growth oil, flaxseed gel, hair cream or butter, leave-in conditioner and homemade deep conditioning mask.
- Go for pocket-friendly brands
Many affordable natural hair products work effectively and produce good results. What is “affordable” differs from person to person, so you may need to conduct your research for products that suit your budget.
Note that smaller brands may, sometimes, offer less expensive products that are organic and are often homemade. While some of these cut corners with quality, many ensure quality control and one way to be certain of this is to check if they have the relevant approvals and permits. Another pro tip is to look out for sales and buy products at discounted prices.
Some hair care brands to seek affordable products from include – Cantu, Mega Growth, Ors, Shea Moisture, and As I Am.
- Do your own styling
Styling your hair yourself has a lot of benefits. In addition to putting your hair away in a protective style, self-styling reduces the likelihood of breakage caused by rough handling. Also importantly, it is free.
If you are not very good at making your own hair, you can begin with easy protective styles such as two-strand twists, single braids, or even a bun. Don’t hesitate to search for style inspiration and tutorials to guide you.
- Have a simple routine
A simple hair care routine is very important for maintaining your natural hair on a budget. It will ensure that you eliminate unnecessary steps and products, thus saving time and money. Here are the essential things to include in your natural hair routine –
- Wash at regular intervals (spacing washdays can help extend product use)
- Deep condition after every wash
- Moisturize and seal often (2-5 days intervals, depending on your hair’s needs)
- Minimize the use of heat styling tools
Heat styling at a salon can be expensive. Moreso, regular use of heat styling tools can cause breakage and dryness to your natural hair, a setback which would require more money to rectify.
So, to maintain your natural hair on a budget, you could reduce the use of heat styling tools (hair straightener, flat iron, hair dryer, curling wand etc.) and substitute them with twists-out, roller set, braid-out, Bantu knots, etc.
Bottom Line
Even amidst inflation, it is possible for curly, kinky, and coily women to maintain their natural hair on a budget. As this article has shown, going pocket friendly means embracing homemade hair products, buying affordable hair care products, following a simple hair care routine, styling your own hair, and reducing or even avoiding the use of heat styling tools.
When you combine these practices, you’ll find that you are more in control of your hair care and your hair expenses are well within budget, allowing you to enjoy your hair journey rather than feel burdened by it.