An Easy Way To Soften Naturally Kinky Hair

By Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam

I wish I’d learned about the wonders of apple cider vinegar much earlier. All those years of groaning about hard it is to manage natural kinky hair would have been different. Last week, after I’d watched a How To Grow Beautiful, Softer and Shinier Hair video on Youtube, I decided to do something different.

First, I went to a department store. I bought 50cl of honey, 50cl of Aqua Rapha yogurt  and a bottle of Safari apple cider vinegar (and the ACV was so cheap. It cost less then N200 naira).  And I made my own conditioner.

First, I put a glop of yogurt in a cup. Then, I added a few spoons of honey, two tea spoons of apple cider vinegar, one table spoonful of mayonnaise (because it contains eggs and vegetable oils) and two spoonfuls of my Henna deep conditioner. I whisked these into a thick paste and proceeded to shampoo my hair. Again, I had put a few drops of the apple cider vinegar into my bucket of water.

Then, I parted my very think full head of hair and proceeded to wash and rinse. I wrapped a towel round my wet hair, just long enough to get excess water off my hair, before I brought in my homemade conditioner.

I sectioned my hair into three parts. Concentrating on one part at a time, I scooped some of the conditioner with my cupped fingers and applied to tinier sections of the hair, massaging the scalp as though I were applying relaxer to it.

When I finished with one section, I massaged a bit and loosely braided that section of hair. I ensured that all of my hair had sufficient contact with the conditioner. I did this to other sections of the hair and covered with a plastic cap and a hair net.

BTW, research had shown that apple cider vinegar also facilitates hair growth by covering the cuticles and lifting dirt off the scalp.

Hard as it was, I forgot about my hair, attended to housework and read a few chapters from the books I’d started reading.  After about four hours, when heat had activated the conditioner enough, I rinsed off the conditioner with the aforementioned bucket of water (with the apple cider vinegar). I didn’t use any other conditioner; and I didn’t comb my hair, until after I’d towel dried.

Then, I applied a little Cantu shea butter and some unprocessed shea butter to each section of the hair. At the tips, I used a Texture My Way detangler. Then I combed, holding the roots with one hand and working through the tips with a wide toothed comb. My kinky hair was remarkably softer. I held it with a band and braided up. I took the second half and did the same.

By morning, after my morning exercises, I went to the salon to twist my hair. It was the first time the hairdressers made my hair without complaining about its coarseness. They even commented on its softer
texture. See pictures of the end result.

My hair was softer and smoother and shinier. I even got to see more length. Now, I’m more convinced that I can manage my very kinky hair this way.

_________

Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam is a writer and blogs at Creative Writing News