How to Take Care of Your 4B Natural Hair

How to Take Care of Your 4B Natural Hair 4B hair is distinctly different from 4A Hair and 4c Hair. Its unique Z-shaped curl pattern makes it quite distinguishable from its Type 4 counterparts.

What is #4BNaturalHair?

Before getting into the specifics of taking care of 4B Hair, we need to define what the 4b natural hair type is & how it differs from 4A Hair Type & 4c Natural Hair.

4b Natural Hair Type: Here are the general characteristics of this 4c curl type: ♥ 4B Hair Type has a Z-shaped pattern rather than an S-shaped curl pattern than other curl patterns; ♥ The curls contain angled bends, sharp rather than ringlets. ♥ The curls are all about as wide as a ballpoint pen

4B Natural Hair Texture: There are 2 known hair textures for the 4b hair type (i.e., how it feels).

• Generally, it can be fine, wiry textured Hair/feel more coarse.

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If you have 4b hair strands, you most likely experience shrinkage, meaning your curls shrink up tightly once dried.

It can make your hair look shorter than it is, which can be annoying for many naturals who want to show off their length.

How To Take Care of 4b Hair: • • •

4b Wash Day Routine All great natural hair routines for 4b strands start with wash day.

Your hair washes day routine is instrumental for hydrated, juicy coils.

Moisture starts with wash day, & the angular coils of this curl type require deep hydration by reducing the chance of breakage.

In general, your 4b wash day routine should look something like this: • • • • • •

A pre-poo Shampoo cleansing conditioner for one week shampoo the next week) Conditioner (& use this time to detangle), rinse out cold water.

Deep condition/protein treatment Style using a hydrating leave-in conditioner, a cream, & an oil/gel Shampoo It is recommended that all naturals wash their hair with shampoo. Like other hair types, natural Hair builds up dirt & product build-up. Dirty Hair needs to be cleaned routinely to ensure a healthy scalp.

However, for 4B Hair Naturals, shampooing weekly may be too drying and cause unnecessary breakage.

To mitigate this, shampoo your 4b coils twice with a cleansing conditioner on alternate weeks. It will help your Hair retain as much moisture as possible, while the surfactants like the detergents in the shampoo will still make your Hair is nice & clean.

Conditioner: Conditioners aren't essential in a natural hair routine (some naturals prefer to deep condition immediately after shampooing).

But for 4b hair coils, the emollients from the conditioner will soften the hair & help with reducing friction between the strands. It is recommended to always condition your hair immediately after shampooing and before deep conditioning.

Related Articles: Check out the Difference between 4B vs. 4C Hair

Deep Condition: Deep conditioning this hair type is non-negotiable. You always deep condition after washing your hair, especially if you've used shampoo.

The best deep conditioners for 4b hair strands are moisturizing & frictionreducing ingredients. Look for deep conditioners with all the ingredients such as aloe Vera, honey, butter, and fatty alcohols.