Hey guys, I hope everyone is doing well! I thought it would be super fun to compile a list of all the well-known terms in the natural hair community and boy do we have a lot! From A-Z, these are some of the well-used terms we like to throw about among ourselves leaving people that don’t know like whatt?? Lol. I also tried to find definitions and videos that explain it in detail! I hope you enjoy (P.S- I am also doing one for beauty)
A – Apple Cider Vinegar aka ACV. ACV has many benefits for your hair, but probably the most used one in the natural hair world is to use it as a clarifier or to balance pH levels. If you can stand the smell (Guys I tried, I really did, and I just couldn’t), buy from Holland and Barrett for £1.75
B– Bagging method/ BSL. The Bagging method is when you cover your hair with plastic bags in order to trap heat to allow your conditioner/oil/treatment to penetrate deeper into your hair (also see Greenhouse effect). It’s a good method to use if you do not have a steamer/hood dryer. BSL– Bra Strap Length- a term used to measure the length of your hair. When you get to BSL it simply means your hair is now reaches your bra strap.
C– Co washing/ Curly Girl Method. Co-washing- using a cleansing conditioner to wash your hair instead of a shampoo. This is said to add moisture compared to shampoo stripping the moisture away. Read more about this and see product recommendations in my Cleansing series post. Curly Girl Method– I must admit, I don’t really understand this method nor have I tried it lol but I found a video that can help you.
D– Detangling/ Dusting your ends. Detangling- combing/ fingering through your hair with either an oil/conditioner to help ease out shed hair and tangles. Dusting your ends– quick and easy way of trimming our own hair. After putting your hair in twists, you simply trim a bit of the ends
F– Finger detangling. See Detangling. Instead of using a comb/brush, you use your fingers to detangle your hair
G- Greenhouse effect. See Bagging method. Trapping heat on your hair so that it helps the treatments penetrate your hair.
H- Hot oil treatments/ Heat train/damage. Warming oil and applying it on your hair as a treatment. Warming the hot helps it penetrate deeper into your hair. Heat train– watch a video of it below. Heat damage– when you use high heat on your hair for a long period of time usually without a heat protectant, your hair becomes dry, brittle etc and the only way to get rid of it, is to cut it.
I- Indian oiling method/ inversion method. Read more of the Indian Oiling method here. See a video on the Inversion method below
K- Kitchen. The back area of your hair. Hair in the nape area that is usually dry.
L- L.O.C method. The method of moisturising dry hair using a Liquid Oil and Cream. This is very effective for dry/4c hair. There are a number of variations to it L.C.O L.O.C.O, see how to do it below. Dark and Lovely have a whole line to help you take out the guess work, read it here
M- Maximum hydrating method. Another method I haven’t used, fear not watch a video below
N -Nappy hair. BS some people call natural hair lol
O- Oil rinsing. After shampooing, saturating hair with oils before applying conditioner to help retain moisture. Or applying oils after you rinse out the conditioner and lightly washing out the excess.
P- Pre poo treatments/ Protective styling. Pre poo treatments- a treatment before you shampoo to help retain/ protect your hair from hydral fatigue, read more here. Protective styling– a style to protect your hair from the elements or to prevent you from manipulating it too much which could lead to excess breaking/shedding. This can be wigs/braids/ buns etc.
S- Stretching my hair/ Shrinkage. Stretching- after washing, twist/braiding/threading etc your hair in order to elongate it or manipulate your curls so the lay flatter/longer. This prevents shrinkage.
Shrinkage– natural hair esp type 4 has the tendency to shrink/ lose length when it gets in contact with water. This is perfectly normal and is doesn’t mean your hair is damaged. 
T- Threading. Wrapping thread around your hair in order to stretch it. Wash the demo below
U- U part wigs. See Protective Styling. A wig that has a u part style in the front that allows you to leave your hair out. It’s so easy to make, watch a tutorial below
W- Wash and Go/ Water washing. Wash and Go- after washing your hair, applying gels or curl defining creams and allowing it to air dry. Water Washing– using water only to wash your hair. See a video on it below!
That’s all for now folks! I missed out some letters because I couldn’t think of a term for it in the NHC. If you can think of any, please help us out! Drop a comment below! I would love to get all the letters!
Which of these terms are you guilty of using?
sarah fynn 