Back To Basics - 7 Tools You Need To Start Your Hair Journey

When starting a hair journey it’s natural to want to give it the best shot at achieving your hair goals quickly but not many of us are excited about spending a lot of money on new products or hair tools.

Over time you soon come to realize that your hair journey is going to take boat loads of patience and that spending some money is par for the course. This is especially true if you are building a healthy hair regimen from scratch. So where do you start? What tools are absolutely necessary?

Don’t worry we are here to help. Here are the 7 basic tools you will need to start your hair journey:

1. Hair clips

These are really about time saving and efficiency. It is can be a struggle to make sure that every single strand has been moisturized with your products, particularly if you have thick hair. You will also want to figure out which of your products are truly working and which ones are duds. With hair clips, you can separate your hair and make sure that each section gets properly taken care of.

It is easy to get overwhelmed when faced with the task of cleansing and conditioning thick natural hair, particularly at the beginning of your hair journey when you are still trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Using clips to separate your hair and knowing each section is getting a little love really helps. A pack of 4-5 hair clips is all you really need to start out with and they are super inexpensive too. Pro tip; the clips with teeth work better for thicker hair.

BUY HAIR CLIPS

2. Applicator bottles

Scalp applicator bottles are very useful as they help you mix different ingredients together to achieve a particular goal. For example, a mix of apple cider vinegar* and water, also known as an ACV rinse, can help cleanse your hair and scalp. On the other hand, a mix of grape-seed oil and herbal extracts can nourish your scalp and seal moisture into your hair. You will find that applicator bottles are a very convenient alternative to applying liquid products to your hair with your fingers.

Some applicator bottles even come with measurements, so you can mix products and make sure the ratios you use are correct for what you are trying to achieve.

BUY APPLICATOR BOTTLES

3. Spray bottles

A spray bottle will save your life more than once, especially at the beginning of your hair journey.

If you are running late in the morning and you don’t have time to re-style your wash n go, you can spray it with a mist of water and get your curls to plump up again. This is also an easy way of giving your hair a boost of moisture in the morning.

You will also find a spray bottle invaluable during your wash day when you are ready to begin styling. Many styles like wash and go’s twist outs and braids outs or even perm rod sets require your hair to be wet during styling to achieve the best results.

The spray bottle is truly a staple in every hair care enthusiast’s bathroom drawer.

To start off with a single spray bottle will be enough. You will want it to be able to hold at least a cup of liquid, which is enough for a couple of spray sessions but as your hair journey progresses, you may find yourself wanting a few more spray bottles.

BUY SPRAY BOTTLES

4. Comb and brush assortment

When you first start out it can be hard to figure out quick and easy ways to detangle and style your hair.

But if you have all the combs and brushes necessary for every job, you will never have to worry about your new hair tasks overwhelming you.

You will need a small tooth comb or a rat tail comb, this will help you with creating perfect parts for your protective styles or when flat ironing your hair to get super silky results with just one pass.

You will also need a detangling brush which is made for curly hair. This will help you remove tangles without stress.

The last comb to complete your basics is a wide tooth comb. This is the preferred tool for many naturals and will help you for most hair tasks including detangling or evenly distributing product through your strands.

BUY COMB AND BRUSH SETS

5. Hair scissors

A good trim every few months is important for maintaining the health of your hair and achieving flawless styling results. For this a good pair of stainless steel hair scissors or shears is absolutely necessary. You should never attempt to trim your hair with scissors that are meant for paper as cutting hair with blunt scissors causes damage to the hair shaft.

You can find really good quality and inexpensive scissors online which are great for occasional use.

BUY HAIR SCISSORS

6. Rollers, flexi rods or perm rods

What’s the point of a hair regimen without a little fun? Tools like rollers and flexi-rods allow you to enjoy your hair in a variety of stretched curly styles that do not require a lot of heat to achieve.

Stretching your hair is the best way to keep it from tangling which in turn reduces breakage. Naturally, you will retain more length than you would if you did not stretch.

Flexi rods and perm rods* are easier to use than rollers and depending on the size of the rods, you can get drastically different results which makes them an easy way to switch up your styles.

BUY HAIR ROLLERSBUY FLEXI RODSBUY PERM RODS

7. Satin bonnet or pillowcase

Your night time routine is just as important as what you do to your hair during the day. Using a satin or silk bonnet or pillowcase for sleeping will help your hair to retain its moisture over night. Cotton, although cheap, tends to rob hair of its moisture so is not recommended. It’s a good idea to get more than one satin bonnet*, you will probably need it.

BUY SATIN BONNETBUY SATIN PILLOWCASE

That’s it! I hope you found our list useful. Do let us know in the comments if we missed any hair tools.

See the other articles in the back to basics series here >>