Natural Hair Tools - Are They Necessary?

Welcome back to Dominican Curly! If this is your first time here, I hope you enjoy my site! I blog about healthy natural hair care, and my goal is to help everyone embrace their natural crowns - regardless of texture or curl pattern. If you would like to join my mailing list, you may do so here.

Today I’m discussing hair tools. Are they necessary? That depends on the tool, and also on who you ask. Because we are all so diverse, every head of hair is different! This is one of the things I love about the natural hair community. It’s so satisfying to see so many different patterns on women from all over the world. With that being said, there is not a “one size fits all” hair tool.

I personally use a few! As someone who started off their natural hair journey with scrunchies and a wide tooth comb - I think they make my life so much easier. In my opinion and for my hair, the following are necessities. Let’s chat!!

Scalp Massager

This is a tool I saw online a lot for a while, but it was kind of pricey. I was like eh, seems cool but I don’t know if I need that! Eventually, I’m on Amazon buying things I don’t need and I came across this one. It didn’t vibrate like ones girls on YouTube use, but it was affordable. I had to give it a shot. I love it. I massage my scalp with it after I apply my pre-poo and I also use it after I have applied my shampoo. It feels great, it helps remove build up from the scalp and it increases circulation. It’s also a very soft material, it doesn’t feel heavy or hurt to use. I have had this one for over a year and it still works wonderfully. 

Detangling Brush 

If you read my blog when it first started in late 2017, you may remember that I challenged myself to finger detangle for 2018. You don't remember and that’s okay!! Lol. I said that because I was TIRED of ripping out my hair with a wide tooth comb, only to still have tangles! I also tried the Denman brush and omg that brush was the devil detangling my hair. I started finger detangling and although it added a century to my wash day, I was happy with the results and I found it to be worth my while. Sometime in 2018, Finally Amber compares two Wet Brushes (it’s a brand) and I feel confident enough to buy one after hearing her thoughts. I finger detangle as I apply my deep conditioner, but after that, I run the Shower Flex Brush through my hair to ensure it’s 100% tangle free. Although I do finger detangle a bit while pre-pooing or if my shampoo has some slip, I know this isn’t my only form of detangling, so I am not spending years on it like I was before. I am glad I decided to add this to my routine. You can see me using it on my Instagram! Post 1, Post 2, Post 3. Note that I work from bottom to top - this avoids unnecessary breakage. I love that this brush had a hook handle too! It only left the shower to film the above videos. Lol.

Denman Brush

“Didn’t she just say this was the devil?” 

Yes, LOL, it was the devil fordetangling. For me though, not necessarily for you! I learned to use the Denman brush for styling, which is apparently what it was made for! I use it to distribute product through my hair. After I apply my leave-in conditioner, I usually brush each section once or twice! You can see it in action here. I mention “once or twice” because I have found that running the Denman through your hair multiple times unnecessarily, simply moves all the product to the ends of your hair!Leaving your roots more prone to dryness and frizz. In that linked video I also distribute my styler with this brush. I do this whenever I am going to braid to help my hair lay flat. See another example here. If I were styling a “wash and go” I wouldn’t use the brush again after my leave-in. This is apersonal choice. In that case, I prefer to distribute my styling product and define my curls manually. A lot of women use the Denman brush to define their curls, @chelliscurls for example. It really does give you perfectly defined curls and I was into that when I had shorter hair. Now, I find that this gives me way too much shrinkage!! After it’s dry, I then have to separate a bunch of curl clusters. I’m just not a fan of that anymore.  

Lastly, this brush appears to be easy to clean. See below.

Yet in my experience, it’s extremely difficult to push that red part back in! Just a heads up. I have never been able to put it back in “all the way” - but I’m still able to use the brush. I also removed every other row of teeth (I have the 7 row) to make it more gentle on my hair. I also found this causes less shrinkage as well, as it doesn’t clump the curls as much.

Heated Deep Conditioning Cap

As a low porosity natural, it’s harder for products to penetrate my hair. Adding heat lifts the cuticle, making the process much easier! Deep conditioning with this cap has changed the game for me! However, I’m sure if I had a hair steamer it would take its place lol. High porosity naturals can benefit from added heat while deep conditioning as well, but from what I have read and see often in other bloggers, 10-15 minutes is usually more than enough. As always I recommend that you research and pay close attention to your hair, to see what is working and what isn't. I actually have an old blog post on porosity here. PS - the deep conditioning cap I linked is Black-owned! 

Satin Scarves/Satin Bonnet

When I go to bed at night, I always wear my (real satin) bonnet or wrap a scarf around my head. It doesn't matter if my hair is a wash and go, or a bun -  protecting my hair at night has proved to make my styles both less prone to frizz and last longer! Wearing a satin scarf or bonnet also helps your hair retain moisture better, it’s really a win, win. My bonnet is from a small, Black-owned shop on Etsy, Sew Crowned. Rayne Storm is another Black-owned shop that you can get bonnets from! Both of these are owned by women as well! I still have a few scarves left in my shop too. I’m not sure I will restock the same colors again, but I do have some cute bandanas coming very soon!

Those are 5 natural hair “tools” I can't live without! What about you? Do you use any? I’m always down to try new items and new techniques.

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you love taking care of your natural hair or simply would like to start, definitely subscribe to my site here.

Thank you so much for reading!

XO

Consy