We all know that natural hair is beautiful but let’s be real here it doesn’t come without its challenges!
If you are at the start of your hair journey then be prepared because the struggle is real…for real!
Having natural hair that is healthy and long takes time and patience. Some people think that having natural hair must be easy because you don’t have to relax it every few weeks but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a lot more to natural hair than simply styling.
I’m not here to talk about all the doom and gloom because it’s not even like that. Some of these natural hair problems are annoying, some of it is funny and some are just downright ridiculous.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some natural hair problems we all have to face from time to time.
10 Natural Hair Problems We All Share
1. Shrinkage
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Natural hair shrinkage really is both friend and foe. On the one hand, it’s good because you know it means your hair is healthy but on the other hand, no one wants their waist-length hair to look as though it’s just below their ears.
Shrinkage can be a major bummer for a lot of people because we like to see the length of our hair.
The good news is that there are ways you can stretch your hair without having to even look at a flat iron.
- Twist out/ Braid out
- African hair threading
- Blow-dry on low heat
- Rubber band method
Once you’ve managed to claw back a little bit of length just be sure to stay out of the rain because that baby will shrivel right back up again if it gets wet!
2. Broken afro comb
Don’t lie now, we’ve all broken an afro comb or 3 or 4 in our time. It happens.
You go in with 8 bristles and come out with 6 then you’ve got to dig deep to find out where those babies are hiding in your afro!
Whist afro combs are great for picking out your hair you have to be careful not to be too rough otherwise you could end up with quite a lot of breakage.
Have you given finger-combing a try yet? It’s really not as difficult as it seems.
3. Headscarf loss
One of the worst things that can happen to anyone with natural hair is to lose your headscarf right before bedtime.
It’s the MOST annoying thing ever.
Not only are you too tired to look for it properly but you’re also tempted to go to sleep without it.
Just don’t do it because when you have to tackle that head of hair in the morning after a night of sleeping on a cotton pillowcase it will be no joke.
RIP to all the lost headscarves out there somewhere.
4. The not so twist out
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Have you ever taken the time out to do a twist out which you imagine being absolutely perfect only to find out in the morning that your perfect twist out is not so perfect?
It took me years to finally get a good twist out.
No matter how many youtube videos I watched nothing seemed to work.
You can find out all my twist out secrets here (not really secret)
5. Bad hair day/week
Anyone with hair can have a bad hair day but when you have natural hair calling it a bad hair day just doesn’t cut it.
You should be allowed special days off work when you have a natural hair bad hair day.
No matter what you do there are some days that your hair just won’t behave itself.
Sometimes you just have to call it a day and either go for the natural hair bun or the headscarf.
Often when I have days like this I just can’t recover from it until it gets to wash day and I can start all over again.
6. The everlasting wash day
Pre-poo
Shampoo
Condition
Then add some egg and avocados and rewash again from the beginning.
I mean who does this stuff every week?
I don’t know maybe its just me but I must be a very good mood with lots of time on my hands to do some of the stuff that people recommend for natural hair.
In between children who are arguing over which TV channel to watch and me trying to get dinner done I have maybe 30 minutes if I’m lucky.
I just jump in the shower, do the best I can with the time I have and then I’m out again.
If you have huge amounts of time do to a 5 step routine before you even get in the shower then more power to you. It’s just not my thing.
7. Keeping up with what you “should be doing to your hair”
There are so many trends out there when it comes to managing your natural hair that you just can’t keep up with it all.
Washing your hair with rice water, water only washing, retwisting your hair every night, spritzing your hair with sugar water (Ok so I made up that last one but you get my point right?)
There are just so many new things that come out that you should try with your natural hair it can all get a little overwhelming. Especially if you see your favourite hair vlogger doing it who has super duper long hair, it can be hard to resist.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t try them but sometimes you have to rail yourself back in a little.
Does it fit in with your hair regimen? Is it something that you can stick to? Does it even work for you?
Just because something works for one person does not mean it works for everyone. This is true even if you think you have a similar curl pattern or hair type to the person.
If it does work don’t feel obliged to keep doing it.
8. Hair envy
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We all get hair envy it’s as simple as that. I actually prefer to call them hair crushes because I think that sounds a whole lot better than being envious of someone else.
My all-time favourite hair crush is Naptural85, her hair is thick, long and beautiful and I love it.
That’s not to say I don’t like mine but I certainly wouldn’t mind adding a few more strands of hair to my head to thicken it up a little more.
It’s nice to appreciate someone else’s hair but don’t fall into the trap of thinking yours is not nice too.
Trust me someone out there is probably crushing on your hair from afar too.
9. 100’s of broken hairbands
Today you are opting for a bun so your pull your hair together, take a hairband to wrap around and just as you do it snaps.
We’ve all experienced it before.
If you are anything like me you might even have tried to tie a knot in the hairband just because you can’t find another one.
Go on…tell the truth I know I can’t be the only one.
10. People saying stupid stuff
Is that your real hair? Like just because your hair is long it means it can’t be real.
I loved your hair when it was relaxed. Ok well here’s a photo…keep it
It must be really hard to manage your type of hair. Not really I was born with it and it’s all I know
You’re lucky you have good hair…*silence*
Final Thoughts On Natural Hair Problems
Natural hair is the most diverse hair that you could possibly have.
There are endless amounts of things that you can do with it and that’s what makes it special.
Yes, you might have some bad hair days but when you have a good hair day you know about it!
Get to learn as much as you can about your natural hair and make it your best friend.
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11 Natural hair myths you shouldn’t buy into
