I am asked about my hair care regimen often so I figured I would create a blog post that will hopefully answer some of your questions. I will break my regimen down in 3 categories: wash day, morning, and night time routines. Please keep in mind that this is what works for my color treated, 4a/b hair and may not work for you.
On wash day: I cleanse my hair weekly using Terressentials mud wash. If I feel like my hair has a lot of build up I do an ACV (apple cider vinegar) rinse first. As I apply the mud wash to my hair I detangle and twist my hair into about 10 chunky twist. After allowing the mud wash to sit for 30-45 minutes I rinse my hair, keeping the twist in. This prevents the need to detangle my hair for the rest of the process.
The mud wash leaves my hair so soft that I do not feel the need to condition afterwards however every other week I do deep condition. I saturate conditioner on each twist and then sit under the steamer for 30 minutes. Prior to receiving the steamer I would don a plastic conditioning cap and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes. I rinse the conditioner out using the coolest temperature I can stand.
I then apply a leave in conditioner or moisturizer and proceed to style my hair. I generally wear twist outs so I do small to medium sized twists so that my twist are defined enough to last the week.
Sidenote: I've recently decided to stop using traditional shampoos just because I prefer the results of cleansing with a mud wash. However, on days that I am preparing to do a henna treatment I shampoo with Reve' Essentials Hair & Body Wash and follow essentially the same routine that I do when cleansing with Terressentials.
In the morning: I lightly spritz my hair with a water/aloe vera juice mix and then seal with an oil or butter. If my hair is in twist I rub that same oil or butter in the palms of my hands before removing the twist to avoid getting the frizzies. If I pineappled the night before I remove my silk scarf used to crop my hair on top of my head, spritz with water, seal with oil or butter, and then shake my hair into place. By the time I get out of the shower my 'fro has fallen into place perfectly and I'm off to work with hardly no time spent on doing hair. Regardless of how my hair is styled I apply moisture to my hair every day whether it's in the form of water or a water based moisturizer. It is an essential step in caring for my kinky and color treated hair.
At night: I end my day much like how I start my day. I lightly spritz my hair with water, seal with an oil or butter, and set my hair for the next day. If my hair needs to be retwisted I use a water based moisturizer such as Reve' Essentials Moisturizing Creme. I apply the product to each section of my hair before twisting. Once I have completed my entire head I do one final spritz of water and seal the moisture. I sleep on satin pillowcases therefore most evenings I don't wear a satin bonnet. The bonnet smashes my curls and my 'fro tends to the shape of the bonnet which causes me to manipulate my curls too much so I just prefer to do without it.
As you can see my hair regimen is pretty simple. After much trial and error I was able to find a routine that works for me and was completely surprised that it didn't require much work. I can't stress enough how much moisturizing and sealing has changed my life...lol!! While I don't think every thing will work for everyone, water and natural hair go hand in hand so you can't go wrong with that. So no matter what your regimen be sure to incorporate moisturizing into it.
