Dear New Naturalista

Tips/steps to keep in mind for all wishing to return to natural, or who have just started this journey.

1. Self Love:
First things first; let us all be very clear!! Natural hair is beautiful. It is unique, versatile, kinky, coily, curly, loud, proud, fabulous, awesome, amazing and so much more. Therefore, in an attempt to return to natural, one must solemnly declare (or at least understand) this very fact. It is important that you love yourself, or at least embark on the journey to this. As cliche as this sounds, if you need to look in a mirror and remind yourself of this every single day until you believe it, then so be it. We just ask the you at least try to appreciate your beauty as the breath-taking creation that you are. Oh and please don't forget: loving yourself also includes loving your hair.

2. Preparation:
Once you have decided to embark on the journey to self love, it makes it easier to move onto the next step. We believe that anyone who desires to return to natural needs to be prepared for it. Natural hair care takes time, effort, TLC, an open mind, patience, experimentation and much more. It is not okay to simply state that you would like to return to natural without being very prepared to work. Some may deem this journey as hard, others may say it is easy, however to some degree all can agree that it takes consistency and dedication. So please ask yourself, "do I have the time, energy, patience, or an open mind for this?". If so, let's move on to the next step.

3. Research/Knowledge:
We advise those who have cleared the first two steps, to dedicate some time to researching what a natural hair journey is. Feel free to go on Youtube to hear thoughts and experiences of other naturals. If you like to read, then blogs, brochures, pamphlets etc, are a great option as well. Try to gather as much information as you can about what it takes to be successful on this journey. Tip: we suggest figuring out what hair type you have, as this can help tremendously with your journey (you can do this by seeking hair advice from a licensed natural hair stylist). Keep in mind that everyones' experience is different, which may influence their perception and overall beliefs about the process. Essentially at this stage, we urge you to learn. Feel free to also find a friend or subscribe to a YouTube channel for support along the way.

4. Set Realistic Goals:
Once you have completed your research and "knowledge-getting", we suggest setting some realistic goals based on the learned information. An example of a realistic goal, is to achieve around 6 inches of hair growth in one year. An example of an unrealistic goal, is to achieve 12 inches of hair growth in one year. Please also keep in mind that hair growth is not the only goal you can set. Hair health is super important for hair growth also. Other goals can include not using heat for a year, water challenges, eating healthy, exercise challenges etc. Overall, have fun during this step, but remember to be realistic and work hard to achieve your goals.

5. Shopping:
There is so much to be said about this topic. Once you've found a source of information for natural hair, try to put some of those principles into practice (ex. shampoo vs. co-wash, protein treatments, deep conditioning masks etc). All of these unfortunately cannot be done until you go shopping for some products! We suggest buying a few products first. See what works for you by watching how your hair responds to the products. It might take your hair a few months to adjust to the products, so give it some time before deciding to continue use, or changing to another product. Feel free to also check out product reviews online to see what others have said about particular products: this can help with your shopping choices. Happy shopping!

6. Patience:
There are so many more categories that we could add to this list. However, we feel that "patience" covers a multitude. Returning to natural takes patience. You must understand that this process is a journey, and a journey with time. Growth, health, hair elasticity, hair porosity etc all take time to understand. Your hair will grow as you care for it and apply learned information. Be patient, but most of all love the journey.

We hope some of these steps/tips are useful to all who read this post. Please feel free to also comment on this post and share some of your experiences returning to natural. Look out for our next blog to be posted soon.

Thank you all,

Regards,

Canadian Naturalistas
Instagram: @CanadianNaturalistas
Facebook: Canadian Naturalistas
Email: canadiannaturalistas@gmail.com