As a hijabi, it can be a challenge to care for your hair. I know I sometimes used to forget to brush my hair at all for days when I first started wearing hijab! It is easy to get lazy about haircare maintenance because it stays covered for most of the day,  but showing your hair a little TLC will go a long way. With these easy haircare tips for hijabis, your hair will be happy, healthy and naturally beautiful in sha Allah.

Nourish Your Hair With a Supplement

Hijabis may start to notice thinning hair after major milestones like having a baby. Hormones that makes your hair lush and beautiful during pregnancy start to wane and all of that extra hair falls out! If you do suffer from hair loss, the best way to fight against it is to take an extra supplement. Taking a biotin/collagen supplement will not only promote new hair growth, it will also make the hair already on your scalp shiny and strong too. I highly recommend Biotin Beauty Bursts because it tastes like candy, so it is easy to remember to take. The one caveat is that it makes your hair grow EVERYWHERE so expect to use hair removal more often on other parts of your body.

Tie Up Your Hair Carefully

I can’t tell you how many hijabis have told me about headaches they get from wearing hijab. I sometimes suffer from these headaches too. Often, the culprit of these headaches is tying your hair too tight before you put your hijab on. And it isn’t just about headaches. If you tie your hair too tightly on a regular basis, you start to suffer from traction alopecia. This is hair loss​ from pulling your hair too tightly. As a long time hijabi (I’ve been wearing hijab for 23 years!), I was definitely guilty of this and I noticed my hair part was getting wider and wider. Finally, I had to stop pulling my hair into a high bun and start pulling it into a looser lower bun. It truly helped. Pull your hair back carefully ladies!

Change Your Hair Part

If you keep the same hair part over the years, it will start to get wider because your hair and scalp are getting pulled in the same direction over and over again. I personally suffer from a cowlick, so my hair naturally wants to part the same way. But with a little persistence, you can change your part. I did this by switching my part right out of the shower and using a gentle hair molding paste.

Massage Your Scalp

Massaging your scalp helps stimulate the roots and also oil production. I have naturally frizzy hair, so I add a few drops of olive oil with rose essential oil on the pads of my fingers, massage my scalp, and then brush it all out. This tip will leave you with incredibly shiny and healthy hair. It is a nice way to start unwinding for bed since it relieves any tension your scalp may be holding. I love scalp massages so much, I even bought this scalp massager to help really get a great massage.

Brush Your Hair Regularly

If you really want to have nice hair, ask yourself: “Do I brush my hair longer than a minute?” The answer is most likely no. I am not saying brush your hair a 100 strokes or more like Marcia Brady, but brushing your hair is one of the easiest ways to get healthier hair. Brushing removes dirt and debris from your hair. It also improves blood circulation to your scalp. Lastly, it encourages your scalp to release the right amount of oil (sebum) to keep give your hair a nice sheen. It also distributes that oil throughout the hair versus having all of that oil clog up your scalp at the roots.

Dry Your Hair Carefully

This tip is one that most of us are guilty of. We just yank our wet hair into a bun and go versus taking the time to towel dry, air dry, or blow dry. Don’t wring water out of your hair. Take an absorbent towel and massage the water out and then twist into a turban while you get ready. It allows your hair to dry quickly. Also, take the time to blow-dry​ your hair every once in a while to smooth the shaft. While heat styling can damage your hair, blowdrying your hair every once in a while actually improves texture. Just be sure to use a heat styling protective product.

Do a Weekly Hair Mask

Why save #selfcaresunday just for sheet masks? Take a time during the week to indulge your hair in a weekly mask. Since my hair is frizzy, I tend to gravitate towards hair masks that are very rich in natural moisturizers like shea butter. If you have oily hair, there are purifying masks too! One piece of advice: Don’t go too heavy, since it can cause scalp breakouts and leave it on long enough. If you don’t leave it on long enough, the mask won’t sink into your hair and you won’t get the results that you want.

Use a Silk Pillowcase

Before you laugh this off as being too high maintenance, just know that using a silk pillowcase prevents hair breakage and doesn’t rough up your hair cuticle as much as a regular pillowcase. Hair cuticles are like tiny scales on your hair shaft. When they lie down smoothly, then you have shinier hair. So, sleeping on a silk pillowcase will give you smoother hair. I highly recommend investing in a silk pillowcase. The bonus is that it will crease your skin less too.

Trim Your Hair Regularly

This sounds a bit counterintuitive, but if you trim your hair more frequently, it will help you grow out your hair. Regular trims prevents split ends which in turn weaken and damage your hair. So even if you want long luscious locks, make sure to keep regular appointments to cut that hair!

Embrace Your Natural Color and Hair Texture

The less you process your hair, the healthier it will be. If you have dark brown hair naturally, and you want to become a blond, chances are that you will need process your hair extensively. If you have curly hair, and you keep relaxing it or blowdrying it, it will eventually get damaged over time. Embrace your hair. I am at the point where I am not ready to give up coloring my gray roots, but I have stopped processing my hair to point where it gets damaged too much. Love the hair you were given and it will love you back.