Hey there, Naturalistas!

I get a lot of questions regarding my hair care regimen, so I wanted to share it with you all. My regimen below details how I care for my hair on a day-to-day and week to week basis. Check it out!

I set aside one day a week to pamper my hair. My schedule can get pretty hectic at times, but I ALWAYS make time to pamper my hair once a week. I do EVERYTHING to my hair in sections. Sectioning my hair into four ponytails makes it a lot easier for me to work with my kinky/curly texture. I begin my pampering session with a pre-poo or pre-shampoo. A pre-poo is a treatment that is applied to the hair prior to shampooing to add moisture, soften the hair and make the cleansing process easier. I normally pre-poo with a combination of conditioner and oils by mixing the two together, applying the mixture liberally to my sectioned hair, covering my hair with a plastic cap and letting it marinate for 30 minutes to an hour. Heck, sometimes I leave it in for a few hours or pre-poo overnight. By the time wash day rolls around my hair is dry, tangled and yearning for some TLC. Pre-pooing helps tremendously by adding moisture to my hair follicles, softening my hair and making it a lot more manageable prior to shampooing.

After rinsing out the pre-poo treatment, I shampoo my hair in sections with a moisturizing shampoo. I massage my scalp and the length of my hair to ensure that I work the shampoo throughout my entire head. Once every 2-3 months I shampoo with a clarifying shampoo to rid of product buildup and thoroughly cleanse my scalp.

I treat my hair to a steam session every week with my favorite deep treatment masque. (I also do hot oil treatments and protein treatments as needed.) I then detangle my hair (in sections) with a wide tooth shower comb, working my way from the ends of my hair to the roots. After deep conditioning, detangling and rinsing my hair, I do an apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse. A good ACV rinse removes product buildup, restores the pH balance of the scalp and hair, promotes blood circulation in the scalp–which can stimulate new hair growth–and give the hair a soft, healthy sheen.  I mix about two cups of spring water with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a water bottle. I pour the mixture over my entire head and massage it into my scalp. I DO NOT rinse it out. A mild vinegar scent may linger for a minute or two, but it fades away quickly. I absolutely love how my hair feels after an ACV rinse!

Now it’s time to thoroughly moisturize and seal my hair. When you moisturize and seal your hair properly you can maintain soft, moisturized hair for days without adding any additional products. I use the LOC method, which consists of applying a water based leave-in conditioner (or just plain water), an oil and cream or butter based product to your hair in that specific order. This method of moisturizing and sealing is very effective and beneficial on my hair. I can go several days without applying any additional products to my hair; it’s soft, shiny and manageable for days.

Now my hair is pretty much ready to go for the rest of the week. I’m not too savvy when it comes to styling so I usually rock my wash n’ go turned curly afro, a puff, an updo or flexi rods. (Check out how I achieve my wash n’ go and flexi rod sets.) I keep it pretty simple when it comes to styling. I refresh my hair 1-2 times a week by misting it with a water/aloe vera juice mixture and sealing with oil or my shea butter cream. I cover my hair with a plastic cap (to keep it moist) and a satin bonnet every night.

Check out my product stash below!

Cleanser

• Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo
• Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo
• Shea Moisture African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo

Conditioner/Deep Conditioner

• ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner
• VO5 Moisture Milk Conditioner
• Shea Moisture African Black Soap Purification Masque
• As I Am Coconut Cowash Cleansing Conditioner

Protein Treatment

• Aphogee 2 Min Keratin Reconstructor
• Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment

Moisturizers/Leave-In Conditioner

• Water
• Shea Moisture Yucca & Baobob Volumizing Leave-In Conditioner
• Water & Aloe Vera Juice Mist
• Shea Moisture Yucca & Baobob Thickening Moisture Mist
• Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Oil

• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Jamaican Black Castor Oil

Other

• Ecostyler Olive Oil Gel

That pretty much sums up my weekly hair care regimen. Consistency is key when it comes to attaining healthy hair, so stick to your regimens and enjoy the journey! 🙂