There are countless stunning ways to style natural, textured hair. Whether you wear elegant locs, chic puffs, or trendy braids, chances are you’ve heard people talk about the importance of letting your hair “breathe” between styles. While this advice might sound simple, giving your hair time to rest between protective or high-tension styles is the key to strong and happy natural hair.
After all, the best advice is often the simplest: get some rest. A great night of sleep can work wonders if you feel a cold coming on; giving yourself a few days to think before making a big decision can give you clarity. Similarly, allowing your hair to rest after a period of high-tension styling can keep your natural tresses nourished and lovely. So, here’s what to know about letting your hair breathe: what it means, why you should do it, and how.
What Does It Mean to Let Your Hair Breathe?
Just like a word starts to sound strange when it’s repeated too many times, sometimes we hear advice so frequently that it starts to lose its meaning. Whether your mother or stylist has told you to let your hair breathe for as long as you can remember, or your favorite natural hair influencer recently started discussing this topic, you might be wondering what exactly letting your hair rest looks like.
Letting your hair breathe means taking a break from your usual styles and opting for low-manipulation, low-tension looks. If you like changing up your appearance with wigs, love the look of your go-to puffs, or opt for protective styles like braids, switching up your style can benefit your hair in plenty of ways.
Luckily, you don’t have to curate an entirely new haircare regimen in order to let your hair rest. If you use high-performance, nourishing textured hair products, you can still use your go-to hair products to style and strengthen your locks while you give them a break from your usual routine. The same keratin protein-infused leave in conditioning milk that you use to prepare your strands for braids can be used to hydrate your hair as you explore a wash-and-go routine.
Why Is It Important to Let Your Hair Breathe?
Rest is essential to just about everything. Great bakers know that the key to chewy, delicious cookies is giving butter time to soften to room temperature before baking. Renowned chefs know the importance of letting a juicy steak rest before serving in order to let all of the flavors absorb. Even competitive athletes make rest an essential part of their training routines, allowing their muscles to repair and become stronger.
Allowing your hair to breathe by giving it a “rest” from your usual style can promote softer strands, allow your tresses to soak up your favorite nourishing textured hair or loc maintenance products, and build strength. Here’s how letting your hair breathe can benefit your tresses.
Softens Your Strands
Whether you adorn your crown with locs, braids, or wigs, health-focused hair products and rest can help you achieve soft, nourished strands. If you usually scoop your rooted locs into an elegant updo, refreshing them with a rosewater for locs spray and letting them lie naturally can help them stay hydrated and reduce tension on your scalp. If you prefer braids, nourishing your strands with an enriching leave in conditioning milk between styles can help your strands stay soft, hydrated, and happy.
Allows Your Hair to Absorb Nutrients
While you might nourish your box braids with lightweight nourishing oils, giving your hair a break from protective styles allows you to use other products that might be too heavy for these styles. By infusing your hair care routine with a moisturizer cream for hair, you can introduce your strands to rich ingredients that you might typically avoid otherwise. Whether you opt for a wash-and-go routine during your break from your usual look or sweep your strands into a low-tension style, using the L.O.C. or L.C.O. styling method can help your locs absorb plenty of nourishing oils for healthy, happy hair.
Permits Time to Repair
Letting your hair breathe and switching up your go-to style is primarily about preserving the strength of your scalp and strands. Over time, tight hairstyles can strain your hair follicles and contribute to breakage; when you let your hair rest in between styles, you allow your strands to rebuild their strength. Just like stretching after a workout or taking time for self-care, rest can help your hair stay resilient, strong, and happy. While a low manipulation routine is great for restoring the strength of your hair, high-performance products for textured hair can help your strands build strength as well.
How Can You Let Your Hair Breathe?
You might prefer to pamper yourself by lighting a scented candle and curling up with a good book, whereas your best friend loves to unwind by cooking a delicious meal while listening to a podcast. Just like your dream self-care routine might look different from someone else’s, the best way to give your hair a break from your usual style is unique to you.
With so many incredible ways to style natural, textured hair, there are a few different ways to let your hair breathe. Letting locs breathe might mean avoiding pulling your locs into tight styles and choosing loc care and maintenance products that clarify your strands without leaving behind residue. If you’re dedicated to your wash-and-go lifestyle but typically pull your curls up into a high puff or space buns, shaking things up with a silk scarf or headband can be a great alternative to a high-tension updo. If you typically wear protective styles, such as box braids or wigs, giving your hair a break of a week or longer between styles is key. This break allows you to reduce tension on your scalp, nourish your hair with a leave in conditioning milk, and refresh your strands with a clarifying shampoo.
While the best way to let your hair breathe depends on your go-to styling routine, the main things to remember are to opt for nourishing products and low-manipulation styles. Plus, a break from your go-to style might help you discover other ways of styling your strands and even inspire you to try out a new signature look.
Tying It All Together
Your hair is a celebration of your inherent beauty, your individual style, and your natural radiance—so giving your strands time to rest and recover is essential. While the best styles are the ones that boost your confidence, make you feel like your most authentic self, and celebrate your natural hair, the right products and downtime can keep your hair healthy. With opulent hair products for textured hair and a balance between high and low manipulation styles, you can achieve soft, nourished, and strong hair.
About Jaycee Naturals®
Celebrating your natural radiance and achieving your best hair starts with innovative products that merge health and beauty. Jaycee Naturals®, a luxurious hair product brand tailored to textured tresses, was founded by Jewel, Jenna, and Jackie—three sisters with a shared passion for haircare. When these three women had difficulty finding hair products for textured hair that nourished their natural tresses, they combined their unique expertise to develop efficacy-driven, nourishing products. With opulent ingredients that visibly support scalp and hair health, Jaycee Naturals® offers products for every stage of your hair journey. Whether you’re looking for loc care and maintenance products or nourishing oils, this Black and women-owned brand can help. Whether your crown is adorned with locs, braids, or puffs, Jaycee Naturals® can help celebrate your beauty and style.
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