I've been natural for five months now, and through trial and error I've reached a point where I'm 100% satisfied with my regimen. I focus on hair health above everything, but I still have a certain look that I like to achieve! Also, I have to confess... I'm a lazy natural. I know, I know. No product-junkie-ism, exciting new styles, or constant research for me. It does look like fun but.. I do not have the energy! Okay, so before I tell you about my regimen, I should probably tell you as much as I can about my actual hair. Currently, my hair is neck-length when stretched. Length doesn't really affect much, except for detangling time. When my hair was shorter, it took less than ten minutes to detangle and my shedding seemed to be non-existent! Now it's grown a little, detangling has definitely become a little more effort than it once was. If you follow the hair-typing thing, then you'll want to know that my hair is multi-textured: predominantly 3c, with some 4a areas at the sides of my head, and some 3b in the crown and the back. My hair tends to be softest and easiest to detangle at the front and around the nape, while the crown of my head always feels much coarser and gets much more tangled. I have low porosity hair that is fairly thick--definitely not fine! So, first of all, here's what wash day, which is once a week, looks like for me: The night before, I pre-poo with coconut oil. I apply it to dry hair, cover it with a plastic bag, and wrap it with my scarf to make sure it stays in place. The next day, I get my hair soaking wet under the shower head. Then I take a small squirt of shampoo--about the size of a fifty pence piece, and add a couple of drops of Jamaican black castor oil (JCBO) before applying it to my hair. I don't avoid any particular ingredients and I'm not super picky about the shampoo I use, but I always go for ones advertised as moisturising. I'm currently using Garnier's Ultimate Blends The Sleek Restorer shampoo, and no matter what I use, I always add my JCBO I apply the shampoo to my scalp and take my time massaging it in. Then I use warm water to rinse it out, massaging my scalp as I do. I only ever shampoo once--no repeat for me, thank you--and only every seven days. Next, I apply my conditioner. My favourite is Palmer's Olive Oil conditioner, which smells delicious, is very reasonably priced, lasts well and has great slip while still being thick. These are all the things I look for in a conditioner, so I'm in love! I section my hair into four: a 'level' from my nape to the middle of my ears; one from there to my crown; the next from the crown to the middle/top of my head and the final section at the front. I use about a fifty pence piece size dollop for each section, and finger detangle as I go. I then follow through with my wide-tooth comb to make sure every area has been properly erm... dealt with! After this I rinse out my conditioner with cold water. I can stand absolutely freezing temperatures on both my hair and my body, as long as I lower the temperature gradually--but if you can't, go as cold as you can. You may find that once you get used to lukewarm, you can transition to cool, and so on The next step is to apply my deep conditioner; these vary. I buy a different one every time I run out, and I'm currently on Shea Moisture's Tahitian Noni and Monoi hair masque, which is pretty nice. I love the fact that it's full of great natural ingredients, but it is a little pricier than, say, Cantu's treatments, which are also great. I keep my deep conditioner in for 30 minutes only! After 30 minutes, there's not really that much more absorption that can be done. Like, there's no room in the hair inn. It's full already. That sort of thing. Plus I have stuff to do! While I'm waiting my 30 minutes, I give myself a pedicure! Summer is coming and so are my favourite sandals. I hop in the shower to rinse out my deep conditioner with cold water. Then I squeeze all of the excess water out of my hair, and tip my head upside down, and wrap it up in a cotton t-shirt. The cotton is less drying than using a towel, and trapping my hair while upside down gives me more volume, which I like! I do after-shower things for ten minutes or so, then take down my hair and decide what to do with it... but that's a whole different post! |
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