Singer and actress Gail Mabalane has joined a growing number of black women who are embracing their natural hair and launching their own haircare brands.
But meet Vivian Shiburi, the founder of Sheer Elegance and a qualified cosmetics scientist with more than 20 years of experience in the hair and beauty industry.
Shiburi is the brains behind VIP Cosmetics Laboratories. She also runs Sheer Elegance, which strives to find solutions for natural hair.
According to Shiburi, African hair is versatile and sometimes considered a challenge to treat. “But more and more, the hair industry has come up with innovative solutions for African hair textures,” she noted.
She said the common hair types such as 3C, which is curly hair, is defined by having an S-shaped curl pattern, 4A is known as kinky or coily and can easily be dehydrated and damaged, 4B bends into sharp angles like the letter Z with a curl that is less defined.
“The 4C hair type is more susceptible to tangles, matting and knots because its strands are so tightly coiled, they’re more prone to wrap around each other and cause tangles,” shared Shiburi.
“It craves moisture as it does not retain it as well as other curl patterns do, and it dries out rather quickly. And 4C coils are prone to breakage.”
Shiburi said with 4C natural hair being one of the tightest hair textures, it also comes in various densities and porosity types. But it has qualities that make it easily noticeable compared to other curl patterns. Shiburi shared the following tips:
- Trim your hair as often as needed. Doing so will help you minimise split ends, hair breakage and extremely knotted dry ends. There’s no use in holding onto dry split ends for the sake of length. Split ends tend to travel further up the hair shaft and then you end up having to cut off more hair. Remember, healthy ends will help you retain length.
- Detangling your hair during every wash is very important. This helps loosen the tight coils. Be gentle during detangling, do it in sections, on wet hair and add a conditioner to add slip to make the process easier and minimise breakage. Use your fingers to detangle, as they are the gentlest tool one can use.
- Avoid products that contain silicones and alcohols. Most silicones coat your hair, preventing it from absorbing moisture. Alcohols in products like gels tend to dry out your hair, causing it to break in the long run. Therefore, these two ingredients are a no-no for caring for 4C hair that needs moisture. Invest in a great moisturizer. We recommend using the Sheer Elegance Afro Naturals 6-in-1 leave-in conditioner.
- If your goal is to retain length, ensure that you’re tucking those ends away by putting your hair in low manipulation styles like flat twists, freehand cornrows, loose low buns, bantu knots, etc. This will not only ensure that your ends are less likely to break, but it also avoids knots and tangles because your hair is stretched, making detailing it easier as well.
- Love your coils. The best care that you can give your 4C hair is to love and accept it. Embrace the beauty and versatility of your kinky hair. Don’t try to change it or wish you had a different curl pattern. Once you love and accept that your hair is beautiful, you’ll be in a better position and mindset to care for it. Once you’ve achieved that, your hair will flourish. Protect your hair at night and do not use cotton when you have hair that doesn’t retain moisture very well. Sleep on a satin pillowcase or wrapping your hair in a satin scarf or silk bonnet will help it retain moisture and avoid breakage.
Patience pays off as Gail Mabalane launches new haircare range
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