How to care for your hair at home under COVID-19 restrictions |22 April 2020

Noussira Daman, owner of ‘My Hair Affection’

Many people, very attentive to the care and beauty of their hair, are really feeling the brunt of the COVID-19 ‘stay home’ restrictions which are causing them to miss their weekly visits to their hairdressers which is resulting in their hair losing their glow and volume and becoming lifeless, dull and weak.

“I’m not sure what to do with my hair as I was so busy at work and missed visiting my hairdresser just before the restrictions came into force. Now I believe I will have to wait until after the three weeks,” laments Mary-Jane, who told me gloomily that it has been a long time since she has lost the habit of taking care of her hair at home.

For other women like Rose and Dorrina whose hair are much softer in texture, the closing down of hair salons is not such a problem as their hair can be easily managed. So they believe this break from visiting hair salons is a good time to give your hair a break, especially if you heat style it all the time.

“Just wash your hair, let it air dry, maybe who knows you'll come to like and prefer the way it looks naturally, and maybe who knows you will have a new natural look when you go back to work,” Dorrina believes.

For Doris and Jeannine, who have both opted for braiding a couple of years back, their problem is not the fact that they will not be able to visit their Ivorian lady friend to have their hair re-braided but more how to tame their kinky hair which has grown quite considerably.

“It is really hard for me to have to comb my hair each day even though I use coconut oil each time,” says Jeannine.

“As I work in an essential service, I have to work under the restrictions so I have to be up earlier in the morning to spare some time to arrange my hair in some semblance of style to be presentable to go to work. This is why I opted for braiding African style; it is more orderly and neat,” says Doris.

In fact Doris and Jeannine’s dilemma is shared by many other ladies lamenting the annoyance caused by salon closure the world over and small Seychelles where the numerous hairdressing and braiding salons have all closed their doors to respect health restrictions and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Time to go back to home hair care

It is a real hassle and inconvenience for many women to go back to the old fashion habit of home hair care but the current situation provides no other choice as hair salons around the world including here in Seychelles are closed to curb the spread of the virus while many stay-at-home clients are being inspired and many have been taking matters into their own hands by taking charge of their hairdos. Some remain in touch with their hairdressers to get the best tips to prevent their treated hair from breaking.

Noussira Daman, a hairdresser and owner of 'My Hair Affection' – a hair salon and hair products shop located at Unity House – agrees that the situation is a real challenging one.

“Nobody was expecting that and it is really annoying for many clients. The only thing for them to do is grab their shampoos and conditioners and go back to washing and conditioning their hair in their showers before adding their hair cream and braiding their hair still damp. We have to go back to the old fashion way of taking care of our hair,” she advises.

“I believe once the restrictions are lifted all salons will have to rethink the way they are providing hairdressing services because deep down I believe that until a vaccine is found, COVID- 19 will continue to instill fear and definitely we will have to think of the best system to adopt moving forward if we want to embrace social distancing as the norm,” says Ms Daman.

Coconut milk and aloe vera as hair conditioners

Ms Daman also advises that fresh coconut milk and freshly extracted aloe vera gel make good hair conditioners.

They can be applied generously to and massaged into any types of hair once they have been shampooed before being rinsed off.

She added that aloe vera, a plant found at many homes, will disinfect the scalp, prevent hair breakage while the coconut milk will strengthen the hair and increase its lustre.

Compiled by M-A.L