EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PROTECTIVE HAIRSTYLES

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One of the best ways to nourish and support natural hair is with a protective style. But while we’re giving our strands the TLC they need to grow, our scalps can feel neglected. From itchiness and increased exposure to buildup, protective styles bring more attention to the scalp, especially if we’re prone to dandruff. We’re getting to the root of the issue with some practical and easy solutions to make your curls or coils look and feel gorgeous, from a healthy scalp to hydrated ends.

Why Some Types of Protective Styles Damage Scalps

When hair is in a protective style, we don’t need to manipulate and wash it as often. While this is good for hair strands that need a break, it is less beneficial for scalps that continue to produce oil and buildup. For any of us who naturally have dry or dandruff-prone scalps, this issue can intensify because our scalps aren’t getting refreshed with a wash. Tight protective styles can also cause itching, pulling, aching, and other side effects, which are both annoying to deal with and damaging for our scalps. The solution? Prep your scalp pre-style and refresh with rinses.

Protective Style Scalp Protection

Cleanse and condition

Before we do anything else, our scalps need a completely clean base to work with – it could be a few weeks to a few months before it gets a deep shampoo again. Start with a nourishing shampoo, like our Royal Oils Moisture Boost Shampoo, which hydrates hair and relieves dry, itchy scalp*, and then follow with Royal Oils Moisturizing Hair Conditioner, which is expert designed to restore scalp health for natural, relaxed, kinky and coily crowns.

Nourish and treat

Nourishment is necessary if you want to undo your style and see gorgeous, healthy looking hair. After locking in your style, it’s important to give your scalp a lot of love while the protective style keeps out damage from the elements and manipulation. Treat your scalp with our Daily Moisturizing Scalp Cream. This daily leave-in moisturizes the scalp and prevents flakes and dandruff itch, which can compromise your style.

Refresh your scalp

Lastly, help extend the life of your protective style with our Royal Oils Refreshing Root Rinse. Refresh your roots and remove buildup; no washing necessary, to give your scalp the TLC it needs.

Developed specifically for black hair by a team of black scientists, Royal Oils lineup provides expertly designed scalp relief and luxuriously moisturized hair for all natural, relaxed, and coily crowns. Shop our entire collection here.