From early mornings at work and in class, to late nights studying and trying to maintain a social life, the average day of a young woman can be long and stressful. Couple that with trying to maintain a head of gorgeous curls, it can be nearly impossible to manage your natural hair. Sometimes the natural hair journey can feel more like a roller coaster, and many naturalistas are tempted to just get off the crazy ride. But there is hope! If you’re a busy natural queen struggling to get back to loving your curls, here are some tips on how to keep on pushing through

1. Get on a regimen

Most busy women’s favorite line is “I don’t have time to maintain my natural hair.” And while many of us love to use this line, we all know it’s absolutely not true. One of the best parts of being a busy natural queen is that we already know how to multi-task, and your hair care routine can be a part of that as well. One of the easiest ways to do this is to couple hair time with a favorite TV shows. Do you watch How to Get Away with Murder every Thursday? Sit down with a wide tooth comb and give your hair a good detangle or twist out while you keep up with the show. If you make good hair care a part of something you’re already doing, it will feel less like a hassle and more like a part of life

2. Stop Over Categorizing Your Hair

3A, 4B, 4C, 8Z, who cares? Hair types fall all over the spectrum and many ladies often stress out because they don’t fall into a certain category. The reality is, many women have hair that can fall into more than one of the usual classifications. But in the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t matter. Accept your curls for what they are and not what people type them as. By definition, being a Naturalista means that you like to be different, so keep that mentality going strong.

3. Do NOT Become a Product Junkie

STEP AWAY FROM THE NATURAL HAIR ISLE! Because the natural world is growing and changing so much, new great products come out all the time. When one of your curlfriends comes by with an amazing hair day and is boasting about the new product she got, it’s so tempting to rush to the store and pick it up too. But we have to remember that HER curls are not always going to be OUR curls. Always do some research on a product before you rush to buy. If you have a line of products or some things that are working well for you, don’t be so quick to change up the routine. New products aren’t always the answer. Your hair and your bank account will thank you.

4. Let Your Hair Breathe Between Protective Styles

Protective styles are amazing and can help you change up your look, but a lot of times people neglect their hair while wearing them. In between all those crochet braids and sew-ins, try and give your hair some time to breathe. Make sure that you’re also taking care of your hair underneath as well and keeping up with your trims!

5. Watch YouTubers with YOUR Hair Texture

We all have natural hair YouTubers that we love, but some of us are following channels that we just can’t relate to. If you have kinky curly hair and have been natural for 3 years, it’s probably not a great idea to watch the videos of a YouTuber with loose waves who just big chopped 6 months ago. Be sure to look for people with natural hair journeys that you can relate to. Be sure to look back at some of your favorite youtubers older videos as well. This way, you can see if there journey is similar to yours and if there a good person for you to draw inspiration from.

6. Let Go of Hair Envy

All natural hair is beautiful. We all have hair goals, but all us naturalistas need to remember that our hair aspirations should be about us and not looking like others. Love curls for what they are and celebrate your hair as much as you celebrate your curlfriend’s hair. The world wouldn’t be the beautiful, kinky, coily, curly place it is without all of us!