We all love a great high-quality lace closure/frontal wig.

Once the wig is undetectable, blends in with your scalp, smooth, soft, and shiny, we are sold on the quality of the wig. Wigs are great as a protective style as they keep your hands out of your hair, save you time as you do not have to style every day, having you look and feel like a new beauty every day. It is an easy life with a wig.

However, do not forget your natural kinks/coils underneath that need TLC too. You have to be caring for it as best as possible so that when you take off the wig, you will have ‘some’ hair left.

Here are eight ways to care for your natural hair under wigs:

1. Cleansing and conditioning your hair before installation

You have to ensure that you start the installation with a clean state, especially for your scalp. Start with cleansing your scalp with a sulfate-free shampoo to remove product build-up. Only apply the shampoo to the roots and massage it to lift the product build-up. Then rinse to ensure the remainder of the hair is clean. After, you will follow up with a deep conditioner to treat your curls.  It’s best to the deep condition since we are covering the hair for a specific period. So, you want to ensure that you choose deep conditioners that are revitalizing and replenishing your strands.

2. Moisturizing and sealing your hair before installation

While the deep conditioner is great at moisturizing, your curls need a long-term strategy. Moisturizing and sealing with the LOC/LCO method is the best option. The L stands for liquid which should be a water-based moisturizer as water is the best hydration for your curls. Then, you follow up with an oil/cream as it will trap the water molecules on your strand. Therefore, it would not be able to escape, so moisture retains in your hair strands for longer.

3. Do not cornrow your natural hair tightly:

Next, your hair is ‘cornrowed’ back, so the wig lays flat. Few people think that to get the cornrows flat; they have to be extremely tight. We are here to inform you that that is not true. You can cornrow your hair flat without it being extremely tight that your scalp or edges are hurting. If they are hurting, then you should tell your stylist to stop. Your scalp and edges are the most fragile parts of your hair, so tight styles can cause hair loss that can be short-term to long-term.

4. Letting your scalp breathe

This step is best for glue-less wigs or if you do a refresher every week for your wig. You need to let your scalp breathe from time to time. It is covered under the lace and wig cap (sometimes), and it can get stuffy under there. So, when you can let your scalp be free and breathe. For example, you can remove the wig at night so that your scalp can breathe or on the weekends if you do not have a busy schedule.

5. Sleeping with Satin:

Before putting your hair down on the pillow tonight, ensure you wear a satin bonnet or a silk scarf. Do not expose your natural hair to your cotton sheets and pillowcases. The cotton will remove moisture from your hair, making it susceptible to friction, frizz, and breakage. All of which is not conducing to our wigs being a protective style.

6. Oiling and massaging your scalp daily

This step works in conjunction with the previous step. While letting your scalp breathe, nourish it with a growth oil. This can be a DIY mixture or store-bought, depending on your preference. Ensure that it contains oils your scalp needs, such as peppermint, tea tree, castor, lavender, amla, and neem oil. These are great at neutralizing the scalp to promote hair growth and consistent sebum production. All of which are needed for healthy hair growth.

7. Spritz the length of your natural hair

After 3 to 4 days, your curls are thirsty. You do not have to do an extensive three-step method. You can spritz your hair with moisturizing spritzes or a DIY Mixture (1 part aloe vera juice + water). If the wig is glue-less, you can spritz it daily before installing or do it every week when refreshing your wig.

8. Not going four weeks until your next wash day

And last but not least is to not wait four weeks or more before rewashing your scalp and hair. Protective styles are excellent. However, we do not want to neglect the health of your coils/kinks, especially our scalp, during this time. Your scalp and hair need to be cleaned to remove excess oils, sebum, and products, and curls must be treated before installing your wig again.

Now we know what to do and what not to do. All of which is maintaining the health of curls whole under the wig. Wigs are great at making your life easier however you do not want to neglect the health of your curls during the process. It should be thriving healthy under the wig and do not you forget that.