An African-American Guide to Natural Hair Care: Tulani Kinard's No Lye

Taking care of black hair is no easy task. As most black people know, our hair is not managed as easy as other textures of hair. Many black women are now abandoning the perm and straightening systems and now going back to their roots by growing their natural hair.

When a black woman spends her entire life straightening and perming her hair, she can feel completely lost when and if she decides to go natural. I know because that is how I felt when I decided to chop off my perm and start anew. I began searching for easy and healthy ways to grow and manage my natural hair. I found that there are several ways to keep a beautiful head of hair naturally when I read No Lye by Tulani Kinard. This book is an African-American guide to natural hair care. I found great tips that I would love to share with others who are thinking about going natural or perking up their own natural styles.

I am going to start with locking and twisting your hair. Kinard didn’t start her book at this point, however, I would like to start here because I have found that this is one of the healthiest ways to grow African-American hair. Locks have the ability to be beautiful, unique, and regal. I cannot help but to notice that other races of people have adopted this hairstyle also.

I find it intriguing that locking your hair can say much about your personality. People how grow locks are very patient and committed. Unlike most styles that can be achieved by a long day at the beauty shop, locks can take several years to reach a good length. I have personally been growing my locks for almost 2 years and they still haven’t reached my goal length, however, my hair has grown dramatically during this time.