A beautiful wig can make all the difference in self-esteem and personal appearance. There are many considerations when buying a wig. But simply putting your hair down under a wig won’t help you take advantage of the wig’s protective style. Read our advice on how to keep hair healthy when wearing a wig for Black women to ensure your natural hair stays in the best condition possible.

Regularly Wash Your Hair

Preparing your hair in anticipation of wearing a wig should be part of your wig routine. This starts by ensuring your hair is clean and free of any prior product buildup, as this can lead to breakage. Using a suitable shampoo is critical, as you want something gentle but effective enough to do the job. You will also want to use a conditioner.

Use a Conditioner

Afro-Caribbean hair textures are famous for taking as much hydration moisture as they can get. The curl pattern of natural hair makes it harder for natural scalp oils to travel down the strands, contributing to breakage. A little moisturizer goes a long way.

Scalp Care

It’s easy to get caught up in hair care, but scalp care is just as important. After all, it is the root base for the hair. Ensuring regular cleanliness is a big part of scalp care, but cleaning too frequently can lead to excessive dryness. We recommend washing your hair every ten days and adjusting from there. For example, if you exercise a lot, you might find that you need to wash your hair more frequently.

Breathe

Let your hair and scalp breathe away from your wig. It can be a great help to the health of your hair, and it’s not a difficult thing to do. Small things like removing a wig when you are relaxing at home can go a long way in allowing your hair short but regular breaks.

Wig Application

We recommend consistently applying your wig from back to front. Make sure not to apply your wig over wet hair. Apart from being uncomfortable, it could cause your hair to break. Also, consider the attachment method. Clips, combs, tapes, and glue might sound like a good idea, but they’ve been known to cause problems such as traction alopecia. This happens slowly over time, so it can be hard to recognize. An alternative wig attachment product is recommended.

It might seem like a lot of extra work to take care of at first, but once you set a hair routine and stick with it, it just becomes part of your daily life. Having a solid, consistent routine will give your hair the nutrients it needs. We hope this guide on how to keep hair healthy when wearing a wig for Black women will help you keep your hair healthy while wearing a wig. If you prefer to wear a wig, keep the hair under it as healthy as possible to ensure a lifetime of happy wig wearing.