Resources


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Author Breanna Rutter created this highly requested Resources Guide to help you purchase the right hair tools and products you will need for your hair!
 
Below is a complete list of of EVERYTHING you may need for your hair ranging from essential oils to hair styling tools you should have for great hair health!
 
We arranged the products in alphabetical order so that you can easily find what you're looking for!
 
- The HowToBlackHair Team
 

 HAIR PRODUCTS & STYLING TOOLS

BEADER

This beader is traditionally used to add beads onto your hair but I suggest using it to secure the braids for your braid pattern especially if your hair is short. Watch for free the crochet braids tutorial or purchase The Crochet Braids DVD if our free quick tutorial was not informational enough for you.

 

BONNET HAIR DRYER

I absolutely love using this dryer attachment for drying my hair really fast! After moisturizing and plaiting your hair or putting it into two strand twists, connect the bonnet to your blow dryer and your hair should be dry in 30 minutes or less!

 

BRAIDING HAIR

All braiding hair is not created equal! To prevent itchy braids or an irritable scalp, always soak your braiding hair with vinegar and then shampoo wash to remove the alkaline base from the hair. Kanekalon hair is preferred for Box Braids, Senegalese Twists, and Micro Braids. Marley Hair is preferred for Havana Twists and KinkyTwists. Crochet hair is preferred for the Crochet Braids hairstyle.

 

BRAID SEALER

Stop using lighters that burn your fingertips when sealing the ends of your braids! Instead use this braid sealer to seal the ends of your braids for you by using heat instead of a flame. Its a whole lot safer sealing your braids this way!

 

CANVAS WIG HEAD

For perfectly fitting wigs, you must use a canvas block head that is the same circumference of your head! If you have thick hair, I suggest that you order a 1/2 inch bigger than your head so that you can have some extra room to for your wigs to fit your head.

 

COCONUT OIL

COCONUT OIL THIS IS THE BEST OIL TO USE ON YOUR HAIR! The reason why is because its molecular weight is small enough to penetrate through all the layers of your hair for maximum moisture! For high porosity hair, this feels more like a light moisturizer and for low porosity hair this feels more like a sealant.

 

CURLING WAND

I suggest using the HSI Curling Wand when styling your hair to create unique looking curls! When curling your hair, I suggest that you never go over 350 degrees (to avoid heat damage) and to use this heat protectant.

 

CURVED SEWING NEEDLE

Curved needles are more commonly known as C-Needles and you should use these type of sewing needles when you are doing a sew in or sewing down the braids of your braid pattern for doing crochet box braids or kinky twists for example. Straight needles can cause strain or your wrist so I always suggest curved needles.

 

DOME CAP

There are so many dome caps available on the market and they are all of different qualities! Some dome caps have such horrible construction that buying them means literally throwing your money in the trash! To avoid this disaster when you are making wigs, I only suggest that you use this specific dome cap. The stretch is perfect and it will last you anywhere from 3 to 8 months of wear.

 

DUCK BILL CLIPS

When sectioning your hair for styling, I suggest that you use these duck bill clips to keep your hair sectioned. Just twirl a section around itself and then insert your clip through your section of hair to keep your ends secured while styling.

 

ELASTIC BAND

Behold... the secret to secure flat wigs! Secure your wig to head by sewing the elastic band onto your wig. This prevents it from sliding around while you're wearing it or worse, falling off your head when your out and about! Save yourself the possible embarrassment of a "fly away wig" by sewing this elastic band to your wig!

 

ESSENTIAL OILS

There are thousands of essential oils but only a few are responsible for soothing your skin and encouraging hair growth. Lavender essential oil is responsible for soothing an inflamed scalp as well as Tea Tree essential oil but this tea tree oil specifically works best as an anti-fungal remedy (curing dandruff).

Sage and Rosemary oil are oils that are King to hair growth! To use essential oils, apply 2-3 drops of your choice of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil (like Coconut Oil or Jojoba Oil). Increase your essential oil drops per ounce upon your own scalp tolerance.

 

FLAT IRON/HAIR STRAIGHTNER

The Babyliss Pro Nano Titanium Hair Straighter is the only hair straightner that has not only lasted the longest for me, but continues to give consistent even heat without damaging my hair! I have been using this flat iron for at least 2 years and it has never failed me! This tool is a must have for straightening your hair! SERIOUSLY!

 

GRAPESEED OIL

If you have hair very similar to my texture and curl pattern, grapeseed oil is going to do wonders for your hair! Grapeseed oil is a light oil with the perfect consistency for a great sealant or moisturizer for natural hair and relaxed hair!

 

HAIR STEAMER

Do you have chronic dry hair or breakage? If so, its probably time for a steam deep conditioning treatment! Warm steam opens up your hair follicles allowing for your deep conditioning treatment to penetrate the deepest layers of your hair. Using a hair steamer to deep condition your hair is a MUST if you have low porosity hair (meaning moisture does not easily penetrate your hair).

 

HEAT PROTECTANT

NEVER use heat to straighten your hair if you are not using a high quality heat protectant!  This heat protectant does contain silicones but they can be easily stripped from your hair by shampooing with a sulfate shampoo. When straightening black hair, you can easily cause heat damage or breakage if you aren't careful because our hair may look and feel strong, but it is in fact very fragile!

 

HOLDING SPRAY

This is the best holding spray ever because it doesn't make your hair feel hard or sticky at all! 
It will literally make your curls last all week if you do The Pineapple Method before going to bed.

(Pineapple Method: loosely tying a high ponytail on top of your head so that when you sleep on either side, you won't lay on your ponytail.)

 

JAMAICAN BLACK CASTOR OIL

Are you trying to grow your edges? Do you have thin edges or slow hair growth? This products is like a miracle in a bottle when it comes to regrowing your hair! For some women, this stuff performs just as well as using essential oils or even better in some cases. Make sure to use this specific brand of Jamaican Black Castor Oil as it is known to perform the best!

 

JOJOBA OIL

Jojoba Oil is the only oil known to mimic very closely to sebum. Sebum is the your body's natural oil that secretes from your sebaceous glands in your skin. This protects your skin by forming a barrier against germs and by also conditioning your skin and hair. If you tend to have dry hair or dry skin, use jojoba oil as a dupe to the sebum you are already naturally producing from your skin!  

 

MANIKIN HEAD (AFRO HAIR)

You can learn so many different ways to style hair from our YouTube channel and our Hairstyling DVDs but who can you practice all these new styles on? Use a manikin head of course! This manikin head has natural hair so you can practice natural hairstyles as well as braids and twists to practice your new hairstyling skills!

 

MICROFIBER TOWEL

Always dry your hair with a microfiber towel because it prevents your from drying out your hair as you are drying your hair off. Simply put, cotton towels absorb at least 10 times its weight so while your hair is most porous after washing, the typical cotton towel will rob the deepest layers of your hair of moisture! Microfiber towels were specifically created to help your hair dry but not rob it of moisture.

 

PONYTAIL HOLDERS (SEAMLESS)

Hair ties with seams cause breakage and its damage is easily noticed if you tend to wear your ponytails in the same exact spot all the time. Use these seamless ponytail holders to prevent hair breakage and especially to stop the annoying snags that happen every time you unravel your ponytail!

 

SHEA BUTTER

This is the best sealant for those who have high porosity hair! High porosity hair has a tendency to loose moisture so easily that you end up going through an entire container of moisturizer in a week when it should have lasted you a month! Use shea butter if you have normal to thick high porosity hair. Avoid shea butter if you have thin high porosity hair or low porosity hair.

 

SULFATE FREE SHAMPOO

Guess what sulfate free shampoo I have been using for at least 4 years? Dr. Bronners Liquid Castile Soap! This stuff is amazingly cleansing and non stripping on both natural and relaxed hair! I suggest using the non-scented version if you have very sensitive skin but if not, try their scented versions, they're wonderful!

 

WATER SPRAY BOTTLE

Spritzing your hair with a water spray bottle at least once or twice a week for a re-twist keeps your hair moisturized and healthy. Create your own hair care spritzer from recipes I have in my book here or another option is to spritz your hair with water and then re-twist using your favorite moisturizer. 

 

WEAVING NET

I love using this weaving net when doing my sew in because it contours perfectly to the shape of your head with extra net left over! You can also just use a patch of net to provide a surface for sewing over bald spots or for supporting thin or sparse edges!

 

WIDE TOOTH COMB (SEAMLESS)

When detangling or combing your hair, always is a seamless wide tooth comb for a variety of reasons. The most important reason is to prevent your hair from snagging and breaking against the seam found along the teeth of typical combs and also, detangling with a wide tooth comb prevents breakage because the teeth are wide enough to gently comb through your hair without causing pain.

 

WIG COMBS

When creating upart wigs you want to use these specific wig combs because they cause zero hair breakage! Sometimes wig clips cause a tight pulling feeling and can cause breakage at the roots of your hair while wig combs slide underneath your braids very comfortably. 

 

WIG STAND TRIPOD

If you are a wig maker, a sturdy quality wig stand tripod is a must if you mean business! Whether you make wigs for yourself or for others, invest in a great wig tripod stand to keep you efficient in organized in your wig making process. 

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