Embracing Your Natural Hair During Quarantine
Something unexpected happened when the world slowed down. With salons temporarily closed and daily routines turned upside down, millions of people had no choice but to put down the flat iron, skip the blowout, and see what their natural hair actually looks like. For many women in Boca Raton and across South Florida, this was the first time in years, sometimes decades, that they allowed their natural texture to show. And the results have been nothing short of eye-opening.
Rediscovering What Grows Out of Your Head
There is a strange kind of liberation in being forced to confront your natural hair. For years, many of us have been so committed to straightening, smoothing, or otherwise altering our texture that we genuinely forgot what our real hair looks like. Quarantine changed that. Suddenly, curls that had been flattened away started to make an appearance. Waves that had been blown out every week began to show their natural pattern. Hair that had been chemically relaxed started growing in with its real texture at the roots.
For some people, this was a pleasant surprise. They discovered that their natural texture was actually beautiful, much more interesting and full of movement than the flat-ironed look they had been maintaining for years. For others, it was a learning curve. Natural texture requires different care than straightened hair, and figuring out what products and techniques work best takes some experimentation.
How to Work With Your Natural Texture
Whether your natural hair is straight, wavy, curly, or coily, the first step to embracing it is understanding what it needs. Different textures have fundamentally different needs when it comes to moisture, protein, and styling.
If your natural texture is wavy, you are in luck because waves are incredibly versatile and relatively easy to enhance. A lightweight mousse or sea salt spray scrunched into damp hair and air-dried will give you beautiful, beachy waves that look effortless. Avoid brushing wavy hair when dry, as this breaks up the wave pattern and causes frizz. Instead, finger-comb or use a wide-tooth comb while your hair is still wet and loaded with conditioner.
For naturally curly hair, moisture is everything. Curly hair is structurally drier than straight hair because the natural oils from your scalp have a harder time traveling down the twists and turns of each strand. A rich conditioner, a leave-in product, and a curl-defining cream or gel are your core essentials. The key technique is to avoid touching your hair while it dries, as disrupting the curl pattern while it is setting causes frizz.
If you have coily or tightly curled hair, deep conditioning becomes a non-negotiable part of your weekly routine. Heavier creams, butters, and oils are your friends. Look for products with shea butter, coconut oil, or argan oil as primary ingredients. Protective styles like twists, braids, or buns can also help retain moisture and reduce breakage.
Ditching the Heat: What Actually Happens
One of the most dramatic changes people notice when they stop heat styling is how much healthier their hair becomes. Heat damage is cumulative. Every time you run a flat iron over the same strand of hair, you are breaking down its protein structure a little more. Over months and years, this leads to hair that is dry, brittle, prone to breakage, and unable to hold style or color properly.
When you give your hair a break from heat, several things happen. First, your ends stop splitting as quickly, which means you retain more length between trims. Second, your hair’s natural shine starts to return because the cuticle layer, which heat damages over time, begins to lie flat again. Third, you may notice that your hair feels stronger, more elastic, and less prone to tangling.
The improvement is not instant. If your hair has years of heat damage, it will take time for the healthy new growth to replace the damaged lengths. But even a few weeks of heat-free living shows noticeable improvements in texture and condition. Many of our clients who took this quarantine challenge discovered they did not want to go back to daily heat styling afterward.
Products That Support Your Natural Hair Journey
If you are transitioning to wearing your natural texture, investing in the right products makes the process dramatically easier. Look for a gentle, sulfate-free cleanser that will not strip your hair of the moisture it needs. A rich conditioner with slip, meaning it helps detangle, will make managing natural texture much less of a battle.
Leave-in conditioners are essential for almost every natural texture. They provide an extra layer of moisture and make hair easier to style. A good leave-in should be lightweight enough not to weigh your hair down but rich enough to keep frizz under control, which is no small feat in Boca Raton’s humidity.
Styling products depend on what you want your hair to do. Mousses and light gels define waves without crunchiness. Curl creams enhance and define individual curls. Oils and serums add shine and seal in moisture. The key is to start with less product than you think you need and add more if necessary, because it is much easier to add than to remove.
Making Peace With the Process
Embracing your natural hair is as much an emotional journey as a physical one. There will be awkward stages. There will be days when your hair does not cooperate and you reach for the flat iron. That is completely fine. This is not about perfection or rigid rules. It is about giving yourself the freedom to explore a side of your hair you may have been suppressing for years.
When we reopen and you come back to the salon, your stylist can help you navigate this transition. We can recommend cuts that enhance your natural texture, treatments that improve its condition, and products that make it easier to manage. Supporting our clients through these kinds of transformations is genuinely one of our favorite things to do.
Book Your Appointment at Sofia Loren Salon
Ready to get professional guidance on embracing your natural texture? Visit Sofia Loren Salon in Boca Raton for a consultation on cuts, products, and techniques tailored to your natural hair. Call us at (561) 444-0720 or book online at sofialorensalon.com.