Moisturising natural hair is always a major concern for anyone who decides to let their natural hair texture grow. If you know a little bit about curly hair you’ll understand why that is so and why we’re are always looking for the best products or hair care practices that will help retain hair moisture. But while we mainly focus on these, there are a few hair tools you can use that add moisture to your natural hair.

Tools, Monica?! What do you mean… tools!?

Yes, my dear transitioner, TOOLS! You may think that the only way to keep your hair moisturised is through:

Hair products you buy from your favourite curly hair care brands;
Natural/Organic ingredients which have suffered little or no human intervention and preserve most or all of their composition and benefits: or
Hair care practices, such as adopting protective hairstyles, pre-pooing your hair or following the Curly Girl Method.

These are all great ways to keep your curly hair moisturised, and you’re off to a good start if you’re following all these different avenues. However, there are some tools you can use in your hair regimen that can actually make a difference in how much moisture your hair can retain.

What can lack of moisture do to your hair?

As you may know, lack of moisture will initially make your hair feel dry and rough to the touch. With time and continued moisture deficiency, your hair will start to develop split ends as it becomes brittle and straw-like. In the end, you will be left to deal hair breakage that can easily escalate into extreme breakage when you’re transitioning.

Why is it more serious when you’re transitioning?

Transitioning hair is more vulnerable to lack of moisture and hair breakage than natural hair because of the Line of Demarcation. This is the place where both hair textures, natural and relaxed hair, meet as you go through your hair transition and let your curly hair grow.

Because your new hair texture is much stronger than your weak relaxed hair, lack of moisture followed by excessive manipulation increase the chances of hair breakage. While hair breakage is an unavoidable event in any hair transition, you can control the extent of it by keeping your hair moisturised, reducing manipulation, paying attention to products being used and introducing practices that promote hair moisture.

Additionally, and staying on topic with today’s blog post, there are indeed some tools you can introduce in your hair regimen to meet your hair’s moisture needs. Let’s have a look at some of them.

Oh, but before we do, if you need a little help with all the jargon being said here you can download a handy 15-page dictionary that will help understand all the lingo in the natural hair community. Plus, if you do so you will also have access to many different resources to help you on your hair journey for free, ‘fo real! But, if you prefer to just read the post you can click here.

Okay, so now off to your hair moisture-boosting tools.

6 TOOLS FOR MOISTURISING NATURAL HAIR

#1| SHOWER FILTER

Those of you who signed off to my newsletter, are familiar with this item as I mentioned it when I shared my hair adventures with fighting dry hair because of the hard water here in England. If you live in an area that has medium to hard or hard water one of the best things you can do is to buy a shower filter, this is the one I use and I can’t fault it, I felt an immediate change in my hair when I started using it.

This relatively inexpensive tool will remove hard minerals from your water which over time deposit on your hair creating a film around it and preventing proper moisture intake. By using this tool you increase moisture retention by significantly reducing the mineral deposit on your hair.

#2| THERMAL DEEP CONDITIONING CAP

Thermal deep conditioning caps or wraps are great because they make your deep conditioning sessions more effective. These weekly treatments strengthen your hair, improve elasticity, increase moisture retention and reduce breakage.

The wonderful thing about these caps or wraps is that they increase the benefits of your weekly conditioning treatments because the ingredients in your deep conditioner are able to penetrate more easily and deeply into your hair structure than they would if you’re just using a plastic cap. This happens because of the heat they generate and sustain.

So think about investing in one of these caps and you’ll notice the difference on your hair since day one. They are very easy to use, you just need to heat the removable packs in a microwave or in a bowl with hot water. For more info about deep conditioning treatments and which one your hair may need, read this post.

Cheaper Version: if you wanna save some money a much cheaper version of the thermal cap is using a plastic cap, bag or cling film. You just place a towel, scarf or beanie over it to generate heat, and that’s it! It will take you longer to do the same but it will do just about the same thing. I guess we’re all familiar with this option.

If you like to DIY you can also do a version of the thermal cap using rice or bean bags. Sounds strange? Take a look a CurlyProverbz tutorial here.

Shower Filter; 2. Thermal Deep Conditioning Cap/Wrap; 3. Hair Steamer; 4. Q-Redew Handheld hair Steamer; 5. Humidifier.

#3| STEAMER

Well, if a thermal cap is definitely a great buy for your hair regimen, then a hair steamer may be the ultimate buy. A hair steamer uses water to produce steam, these tiny water droplets will penetrate deeply into the hair and keep it moisturised for longer.

You can use it for your deep conditioning sessions, hot oil treatments or even your pre-poos. The only downside to using hair steamer is that they are more expensive than all the other tools I mentioned so far and therefore represent an investment on your part. However, the benefits you get from it far exceed any expense you have with this purchase.

#4| Q-REDEW

I almost feel like crying when I talk about this tool because it is not for sale here in the UK. The Q-Redew is basically a handheld, portable hair steamer. It is perfect to use to help detangle, moisturise, deep condition, stretch and give new life to frizzy old hairstyles. It uses steam just like a hair steamer and its benefits are the same.

In terms of price, we’re not talking about cheap here, but I believe it is another great investment just as the hair steamer is. It may come out to be a little bit cheaper than a portable hair steamer, but on the other side, deep conditioning in one go is not possible.

#5| HUMIDIFIER

If you live in areas where the weather is hot and dry, or you have your house air conditioning or thermostat turn on for long periods of time the humidity in the hair is very low and your hair can’t draw moisture from the air making it dry. If this is your case, keeping your natural hair moisturised should become a concern to you.

A humidifier is a device that is capable of increasing moisture to a room or building in such conditions. When moisture is added to hot and dry air your hair will be able to also draw moisture from it and become hydrated. Assess your situation and consider if buying a humidifier is your best choice.

Now that you know a few more ways to increase moisture to your transitioning hair you can choose one or two and incorporate them into your hair regimen, especially if moisturising your hair has been a particular struggle in your journey to natural hair. If you need some guidance building your hair regimen you can read this post which comes with a downloadable free worksheet where you can build yours.