Donna's Blog

Much like many other natural hair tips and advice, how to wash natural hair isn’t one-size-fits-all. That means there isn’t a singular answer when someone asks, “How often should you wash your hair?” In all honesty, the frequency of your wash days depends on your shampoo, personal preference, and the state of your natural hair. With that said, there’s a strong chance that you should be cleansing more often than you have been—or at least think you should be. It’s very common and understandable to have hesitancy about overwashing natural hair. It’s the driest of the bunch, which makes it a lot more prone to damage, breakage, and curl pattern changes. However, there’s one big takeaway that those with natural hair need to remember: Water is your friend. It’s all about balance, and with the right hair care products and hair washing routine, you can absolutely make the most of each wash day. Here’s what you need to know.   How Often Should You Wash Natural Hair? Although there isn’t an exact science to figuring out how often you should wash your hair, since it depends on a few factors. To determine how often you should wash your hair, consider how much product and the types of products you’re using on a regular basis.    Wash your hair once a week if … your hair requires heavier oils, gels that might flake after a few days, or hairsprays that leave hair stiff. This also may be what’s needed if you have an oily scalp. Piling product on top of the natural oils that your scalp produces, particularly if it’s in excess, can not only clog the hair follicle but also might lead to irritation, inflammation, itching, and in more severe cases, follicle damage or hair loss.   Wash your hair twice a month if … you add heat to style your hair with a diffuser to dry, a curling wand to define, or even if you blow dry your hair straight on a regular basis. When you add heat to style your hair, cutting the wash frequency back to every other week can be beneficial. Even if you’re using a heat protectant (which you absolutely should be), there may be some level of moisture stripping happening. When you do shampoo, use a moisture-boosting shampoo to help bring back any lost hydration.   Wash your hair once a month if … your hair is drier or if your scalp is more on the normal to dry side. Once a month shampooing will likely be an ideal step for you. Of course, you can always adjust if in between washes you’re feeling itchy or if you work out often and sweat a lot. Otherwise, weekly shampoos may better suit your active lifestyle to keep hair feeling and smelling fresh.   Should You Shampoo Natural Hair? Contrary to popular opinion, natural hair needs shampoo. A lot of naturals are die-hard co-wash fans, and this is totally fine. However, a traditional shampoo is highly needed to help remove excess oil and product buildup, something a cleansing conditioner isn’t designed to do.   What Should You Use To Wash Natural Hair? No matter your hair type, curl pattern, or the current state of your hair, what’s most important is the type of hair shampoo you use. Sulfate-free shampoo is key as it will give your hair and scalp the necessary cleansing to keep it strong and growing, without stripping any natural oils.    How Should You Wash Your Hair? This may seem unnecessary, but there’s actually a method to washing, especially if you’re shampooing natural hair. This  will ensure that you keep your hair from getting damaged and help eliminate frizz when you get to styling. Here are our hair washing tips.   Step 1: Check your water temps. Much like skin, hot water can dry hair out. Yes, we know it feels luxurious to run hot water through your hair, but the heat can strip your hair of essential oils. Wash with lukewarm or room temperature water instead, and finish with a cool rinse.   Step 2: Portion out the shampoo. Have you ever wondered, “How much shampoo should I use for my hair?” Well, let me tell you: You shouldn’t just squeeze a sizeable amount of product onto your locks and hope for the best. Pour shampoo into the palm of your hands and not directly onto hair. This will ensure that you’re doling out the right amount and not overdoing it.   It’s better to start with a smaller amount of product (about a golf-ball-size) through your hair and add more if needed, rather than to douse your head with it. It’s unnecessary. Shampoo should primarily be applied on your scalp and not the length of your hair (more on that in a minute), if you’re used to coating every inch of your strands, you may be accustomed to washing with way too much of your favorite hair shampoo.   Want to know what’s also unnecessary? That whole lather, rinse, repeat deal. We’ve already gone over that you likely don’t need to wash your hair more than once a week—you definitely don’t need to lather up multiple times during the same shower.   Step 3: Work through your scalp. Start by massaging the shampoo into your roots. You want most of the product to be concentrated on the scalp as that’s where the majority of buildup, dirt, and oil usually sits. Work the product around the scalp in a back and forth motion. Not in circles! This will tangle your hair and make it more difficult to comb through later.   Step 4: Cleanse and finger comb the hair. Use your fingers only and not any brushes or combs to gently work the shampoo through the length of your hair. Try to gently detangle a little bit as you go. You want to start the detangling process while you have product in your hair, so that even if it’s not all the way knot-free before rinsing, you can at least run your fingers through larger sections.   Step 5. Massage as you rinse. Once you’ve worked the shampoo through to the ends, it’s time to rinse. How you do this is equally as important as how you applied and worked it through. Rub your hands all the way from root to tip as water flows through your hair. This will ensure that all of the shampoo gets out, and your hair is ready for your conditioner. You don’t want any shampoo residue to get in between your strands and the conditioner or detangling cream you’ll be applying next.   Step 6. Follow with conditioner. You knew this was coming. Cleansing and conditioning go together just as perfectly as any dynamic duo ever has. After washing out all of your shampoo, apply your conditioner. It’s best to stick with a conditioner that coordinates with your shampoo—aka one that’s part of the same hair care system—instead of mixing and matching. Apply the formula to your hair, focusing it on the mid-lengths to ends rather than your roots. Let your conditioner sit for the designated amount of time—probably between two and five minutes—then rinse it out with cool water.   Step 7. Use a leave-in. Squeeze any excess water out of your hair to prep it for a leave-in conditioner. Pick one based on what your hair needs. Does your hair need a boost of definition? Is it dying for more moisture? Are you trying to fight off frizz before your hair dries? Choose wisely!   Step 8. Dry your hair. Don’t want to leave your hair sopping wet? We get it. To soak up a little bit of the water, use a soft cotton T-shirt to gently dry your hair. This will be more gentle than a terry cloth towel. If you’re in a rush, you can break out your blow-dryer, but make sure to use heat protectant, and we’d recommend reading up on our previous blog “Air Drying vs Diffusing”, first.   When Should You Wash Natural Hair? Aside from the frequency, it’s also important to note the best time of day to wash your hair. Of course, this tip is merely a suggestion, but it could impact the long term health of your hair. Hair is most fragile when wet, so you typically want to avoid sleeping on wet hair. Knowing that, you should give hair enough time to air dry—before you go to bed—if you prefer to style it without heat. Even with a protective bonnet or satin pillowcase, any bit of friction against damp or wet hair may lead to breakage and frizz. For this reason, many people with natural hair prefer to wash their hair in the morning to give it plenty of dry time.   You should also take note of your hair’s porosity. This will determine things like how long it takes your hair to dry and even plays a part in how your hair absorbs and retains moisture when you wash it. With that, check out our “What’s Your Hair Porosity?” blog!   How Often Should You Condition Natural Hair? Once you know the answer to how often you should cleanse natural hair, it only fits that you ask how frequently your hair should be conditioned. And believe it or not, there is such a thing as over conditioning your hair. Of course, soft, moisturized strands are the goal, but using too much conditioner, deep treating it too often, or leaving a conditioner on for longer than the recommended time frame can leave hair limp and fragile. Determining when to lay off with conditioning shouldn’t be too hard. You’ll be able to tell pretty easily if your waves, curls or coils look lifeless or if you’re having a hard time getting your hair to hold a style. If this happens, you’ll need a product with Protein in it to help Balance your Moisture level.    To get your hair on a better conditioning routine, try using a conditioner on a weekly basis. Weekly treatments with a natural hair conditioner are ideal for all curl types. If your hair is drier, you can amp by adding hair masks or a deep conditioner on a bi-weekly basis. For finer hair or strands that are not typically super dry, you can cut back to using the deep treatments once a month, but stick with the regular conditionings with a light leave-in formula.   Take note of how you condition as well. We touched on this a little, but the point of the conditioner is to replenish moisture, rebalance, and help seal in water from washing your hair. There’s no need to apply conditioner to your scalp, even if it tends to be dry. There are other products such as Donna’s Strength Hair Oil that you can use at the styling phase to help soothe a dry scalp. Even super coily and dry strands don’t need conditioner at the roots, instead, apply it from the mid-shaft down to the ends of hair. Remember, natural hair especially needs the most moisture at the tips, so focus the application there.   Share how you cleanse and condition your hair on social media using the hashtag #DonnasRecipe! Feel free to follow and tag us on @DonnasRecipe to be featured!  

You’re looking in the mirror and you know something just isn’t right. Where did your lovely curls and your natural curl pattern go?! This is the moment that you realize it's the result of repeated flat ironing, blow-drying, perm after perm, dyeing, and bleaching. Your curls that were once defined, bouncy, and happy are now stringy, limp, and lifeless – almost like they forgot how to curl! Now you’re wondering, “How can I undo all this damage? How can I get my curl pattern back?” Well, the truth is – you can’t jump in a time machine and travel back to its original state of health. What you CAN do is restore its strength and train your new growth coming in. First and foremost, the most important step to embracing your natural curls is to make the decision that you want to commit to loving your curls no matter what. Applaud yourself and give yourself credit for having the courage to do this!   1.  Avoid heat, please! Burnt hair can’t be restored or repaired. The only solution for excessive heat damage is the growth of new hair. So, put the heat-styling tools down, right now! Or simply just throw them away. For drying your hair: Instead of a blow-dryer, use a microfiber towel or cotton t-shirt. It will remove excess water from your hair without irritating or drying out your strands.  If possible, try to air-dry your hair after using the microfiber towel. A good air-drying tip is to add leave-in conditioner, styling cream/gel and Donna’s Hair Strength Oil to your damp hair, quickly do your hair in a protective style or wash & go, and let it dry while retaining moisture.   2. Physically train your curls when styling If you're transitioning, more than likely, your ends don't resemble your natural hair texture or curl pattern of your roots. Therefore your ends need to be trained to curl and spring up again. When it's time to style your hair, finger coil and scrunch each loc of hair. Yes, it may be time consuming, but this will subconsciously tell your curls they need to start curling up again. They won't curl back immediately, but they will naturally make it a habit to curl on your own in due time!   3.  If you must use heat – do so wisely. Limit how often you use heat and when you do, use the lowest and coolest setting possible. If you must use a blow-dryer, flat iron, or other heat styling tools, remember to ALWAYS use a heat protectant. A heat protectant forms a protective layer around each of your strands guarding the cuticle from extreme heat. Another helpful tip is to avoid using heat-styling tools on your wet hair. Water molecules can absorb a lot of heat, so frying your strands from the inside will cause all the moisture to evaporate. Make sure your hair is only damp (not soaking wet) before you turn that blow dryer on (if you MUST).  4.  Give your hair a deep conditioning boost. Whether you lost your curl pattern to damage caused by heat or chemical processing, moisturizing your hair is and will always be key. The best way to do that is with weekly deep conditioning. Deep conditioners or hair masks are excellent ways to hydrate and moisturize your strands, scalp, and follicles. They also are nutrient-rich to help boost hair health. To ensure you get all the goodness from your deep conditioner, consider using a clarifying shampoo before deep conditioning. This will help to remove buildup so your deep conditioner can actually get to your scalp and cuticles to work its magic. Damaged hair tends to be dry and brittle, so use a leave-in conditioner to hydrate and moisturize your hair on a daily basis.    5. Lay off the dyes, bleaches, and relaxers for a while. At this point, coloring, highlighting and chemical straightening your hair should take a back seat. Your hair can’t take more manipulation. Dyes and bleaches are notorious for damaging and weakening your hair. Relaxers chemically change the structure of your stands, therefore changing your curl pattern.  If you still choose to color your hair, at least avoid any color that will require you to bleach your hair. Instead, go with a tone that matches your natural color to avoid bleaching.     Finally, transitioning your hair back to its natural curl pattern will take time, patience and LOVE! Use this journey as a way to get to know your hair type and texture better. Take the time to find out which styles and products work best for your hair. Develop a hair care routine that helps you nourish your strands into thicker, healthier hair as you proudly show off your natural curl pattern!    

Hey cousins! We’re back with Keeping Up Kurls With Kiana! Even if you are using the exact same styling products, you could  get completely different results based on how you choose to dry your hair. Drying is all about PATIENCE!  First things first. Let’s talk about the products that you’re using. If you’re a no product, water only and splash of coconut oil type of girl, this unfortunately can cause tons of frizz and your curls will only last a day or two. If you want your curls to last longer, have a strong hold and be frizz free, you’ll need to incorporate a styling product, or two, or three (leave in conditioner, cream, or gel...the combinations are endless!). Great tip* You can add 2-3 drops of Donna’s Recipe Strength Hair Oil to your leave in conditioner to add provide moisture & seal in the moisture.  Such ingredients in Donna's Recipe such as avocado, castor and olive oils offers great moisture.  Just a couple drops will be good.   Did you know there’s a thing as diffusing too early? Diffusing too early is like touching your nail polish when it’s still wet. If you diffuse immediately after applying your styling products, this can actually cause frizz throughout your hair. Instead, before you start to diffuse your hair, let your hair AIR DRY until it has that slight caste on it. Let your hair air dry for about 15-30 minutes until you start to feel a hold or crunchy-ness to your curls. This is your curls way of telling you it’s time to start diffusing so they can be frizz free!  Here are the Pros and Cons for Diffusing: PRO: Diffusing dries your hair so much faster compared to air drying. You’re looking at 30 minutes versus 3 hours! Diffusing will automatically break away the caste in your hair, leaving it extremely soft. With diffusing, you’ll get a lot more volume, drama and pizazz! CON: The downside to diffusing is that you will get more shrinkage to your curls, because when placing your curls in your diffuser and diffusing upwards, you’re subconsciously telling your curls to spring and curl upwards.   With gaining more definition, it all depends on your curl pattern. If you have wavy hair or bigger looser curls (2a-3b), and your hair looks straight when it’s wet, using a diffuser will make your curls or waves look more prominent, because diffusing your curls will train them to curl upwards. Here are the Pros and Cons for Air Drying: PRO:  If elongation is your goal, then air drying is the way to go! Definition is more guaranteed Less frizz! CON: When air drying, it will naturally leave in the caste, so you’ll have to crunch out the caste with your hands. Can take HOURS to dry! Maybe even a day or two. If you choose to diffuse your curls, make sure you know how to properly use the diffuser. Even though we want our curls to dry as fast as possible, setting your diffuser to the hottest level at full blast will detrimentally dry out your curls and lose all of its moisture. So make sure to pace between the lowest and middle setting, and between the cool and warm setting. Now let me know what method you use to dry your curls! Are you Team Air Dry or Team Diffuse?!   Order below and enter code: MONDAY (Cyber Monday 40% off)    

Hey loves! I'm Kiana Rae and I'm a new member of the Donna's Recipe Fam. My curly hair journey didn't start until 4 years ago. Before that, believe it or not, I was straightening it every single day for 15 years. YIKES! Since then, I've dedicated my time to educate myself on everything curly hair related, such as hair types, porosity levels, curl friendly brands and ingredients, and the wash day process. With that, I want to share my Curly Hair Care Tips to you all! For wash day, the thing about curly hair is that you shouldn’t and don’t have to wash your hair everyday. At one point, we all used to do that (including myself), and we didn’t know any better. Not washing our hair everyday is great because we'll get more volume and our natural hair oils travel throughout our hair making them bloom. Letting our hair last longer can help show us which products work best for us. But, you or anyone might be having some trouble making your curls last all week. So I’m here to give you my inside tips to help you out! These will include how to reduce frizz and what products you should be using on which day to make your curls last as long as possible. When refreshing your curls everyday, one of the main ways to make sure your hair looks good in the morning is how you go to bed the night before. That is by sleeping on SATIN, ON SATIN, ON SATIN! It’s the number one fabric that prevents hair from frizz. The less frizz you have, the easier it will be to refresh your curls every single day. Satin is and always will be your curls best friend! Pull your hair back and use a satin head wrap that wraps around your edges and underneath your neck. This will help protect your edges and bottom layer curls from getting irritated, matted and frizzing out. Place your entire hair in a satin bonnet. That way all of your curls will be protected. Finally, make sure to use a satin pillowcase. Imagine your satin bonnet and satin pillowcase are two magnets. Rather than using a satin bonnet and a cotton pillowcase, satin on satin will never cause friction with each other, just like magnets. Your hair will gracefully slip and slide while you're sleeping along all that satin.  * ALSO!*  Bring your own satin pillowcase while traveling to put over the hotel pillows as well as your airplane seat (that’s my little secret, so don’t tell anyone)!    So, what products should you be using everyday to refresh them?  On day one (aka your wash day), start with a frizz free product that give your curls more hold. Mainly a product that will give your curls a caste. These products can range from a mousse, or to a gel. The caste will slowly go away, but the hold will still be there.  On day 2, your curls should've been kept safe from all of your satin products overnight. So remove your satin products one by one, flip your hair over to each side, slide your fingers into the roots and shake your hair vigorously. That’s it for day 2! On day 3 and maybe day 4, your hair may be asking for a little more moisture. Well guess what?! Your curls second best friend is water. No, you don’t need to drench your curls every single day. However, hair products are activated by water. First shake out your curls just like your day 2 process. Spritz your hair throughout with no more than 5-10 sprays. Yes, water can activate your products, but over spraying with water can cause frizz. Now this part is KEY! After spraying your hair, DO NOT touch your hair until it’s dry! Touching your hair while wet can also cause frizz, because it'll only confuse them while the products are trying to activate. You need to give your curls time on their own to wake up, think, and do their thing. With day 5 and 6, if your scalp is feeling a little greasy, consider applying a dry shampoo. Just lift your hair so you have access to your roots, spray, and then shake your roots with your fingers and slightly rub the dry shampoo in your scalp. It will not only give you a  cleaner feeling scalp, but it will also provide great volume. Instead of purchasing a curl refreshing spray, you can make your own (and save a few dollars)! Grab a spray bottle, fill it with cold water and add 3-5 drops of Donna's Recipe Strength Hair Oil, then shake it all together. Cold water will help retain your moisture versus warm water which will dry out your hair.  Just 3-5 drops of Donna's Recipe Strength Hair Oil. And VOILA!  If there are some obvious strands of hair that need a little more TLC, spritz the strand with water, add a pea sized amount of product, then coil that strand with your finger. Then allow time to dry. The main take away from these tips is to really listen to what your curls need on that day.  At the end of the day, the healthier your hair is, the better your curls are going to look throughout the week. Which means more Curly Hair Care, and less straightening *wink wink*!   Let's all help each other out. How do you keep your curls longer?