For Long, Healthy Natural Kinky and Curly Hair - Your Dry Hair Days Are Over!
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise
Search

The weekly wash-condition-detangle routine that's brought my natural African hair back from hell!

9/6/2012

 
Picture
Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.


FYI, THE VIDEO ABOVE INCLUDES ALL THE INFO BELOW.

Until last year I completely took my hair for granted. It was effortlessly beautiful. Then, I undid my latest braids to find it wasn't. It was all broken, unhealthy, thin - ugly! Since then, I have treated my hair with reverence and it's thankfully beginning to look healthy again. I hope I don't have to start going blind before I start treating my eyes with the same respect!

PictureZero-effort hair, believe me!
I dedicate two hours every single week (usually on Sunday) to washing, conditioning and detangling my hair. I conditioned my hair even when I had braids over the winter.  This is my basic routine:

1. Detangle hair gently with fingers before you start washing especially if it was in plaits. No combing - it's still too dry.

2.     Wash hair with just WARM water
  • Warm water a) loosens up dirt and oil and b) it opens up the hair cuticles;
  • I actually feel the hair getting softer and the strands becoming more separable;
  • Water is the ultimate moisturiser;
  • I rub my hair and scalp as I wash it to determine when it’s been fully hydrated.

3.     Shampoo hair once
  • I do it once only because I don’t want to over-strip my hair of its natural oils; generally I don’t think my hair is that filthy, I don't use heavy products like gel often and I don’t get dandruff - touch wood!
  • If I think it needs a little extra cleaning I just use a little more shampoo and I massage the scalp  and hair for a little longer.
  • I work the shampoo into my hair using the flats of my fingers to avoid irritating my scalp with my fingernails. 
  • I rinse my hair first with just water then with c. 3l of water with 10 drops of peppermint of oil in it. Peppermint is great for hair growth and as an anti-itch solution.
  • My hair look super coily after this stage
4.     Add conditioner generously.Like all my hair products, my conditioner does not contain any: Gluten, Parabens, Paraffin, Petrolatum, Phthalates, Propylene Glycol, Silicone, Sulfates, PABA (paraaminobenzoic acid) or DEA (Diethanolamine).

5.     Put a shower cap over the hair.
Picture
6.      Blow dry on top of the shower cap for 2-3 minutes for maximum effect. Heat helps hair to absorb all the good stuff out of the conditioner and essential oils. If you are using bad products, it will absorb those too! I don't apply heat directly to the hair.
  • Because my shower cap gets cold once I stop blow drying, I usually put a hat or thick scarf on top of the shower cap as soon as I have stopped blow drying to seal the heat in.
  • Leave for 15-30 minutes to deep condition.
7.     Remove shower cap and with the conditioner still in there detangle the hair. Using a combination of your fingers and a wide tooth comb section by section starting at the tips. I never force the comb, if it gets stuck I detangle with my fingers first and then resume using the comb. I twist each section as soon as it has been detangled and combed.
  • Before the hair is combed, it is still very kinky and the visible length will double or even triple as you comb it out.
  • I have seen people use brushes in their hair at this stage but I personally never do because I think they are too rough for my hair and the wide-tooth comb seems to be doing a decent enough job for my purposes.
8.     Rinse conditioner out 
  • You can either do this straight after twisting your hair or if you need to do some household chores, put the shower cap back on and do it later. 
  • I don’t think keeping the conditioner in for longer makes too much difference at this point.
9.     Blot hair dry with a towel or a shirt
  • Apparently rubbing it dry leads to kinkiness so it’s better to just dab at it or wrap a shirt around the head. 
  • It appears that the material shirts are made from is better for drying hair with but I am yet to do in-depth research on this point. 

Picture
Picture

Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.


10.     In my final step, I undo each twist. Moisturise the section with a mixture of leave in conditioner, a shea butter based moisturiser and my homemade jojoba plus essential oil mix. I then redo the section in a plait or a twist. Let me explain in greater detail:
  • I rub my shea butter moisturiser into my hands until it has dissolved, add a bit of “Neno Natural’s Hair Growth Stimulator” to my hands, a blend of Jojoba + lavender + rosemary + cedarwood + Ylang Ylang and when I find it, I'll add Thyme)

  • I undo a twist and rub the hair butter/oil mix into the hair making sure I rub it all the way down to the roots
  • I then re-plait the now super moisturised section of hair into a 3 strand braid. I prefer this to twists right now because they produce a better curl pattern for my current length of hair. I keep my plaits in until my hair is dry. 
  • This stage is critical for two reasons: i. Adding moisturiser to the hair whilst it’s wet leads to a shinier, glossier finish. I only added this to my routine a year after being natural. I used to leave the twists in my hair after I’d showered, I let them dry naturally AND THEN I moisturised. This does not work well for my hair. By then it is already too dry and clumpy.
    ii. If I don’t leave my hair in plaits until it's dried up, my hair becomes rock hard by the next day and I have so much trouble managing and styling it. 
If you want your hair to stay look stretched you need to plait or twist your hair every evening for at least three nights as it starts reverting back to a kinky afro. If you replait for three nights in a row, it should stay pretty stretched for another two or three nights without re-plaiting. I like the afro look so I sometimes allow it to revert to type.
I usually wash my hair on Sundays and I don’t unplait it until Monday or even later in the week if I don’t need to go anywhere special. I usually wear some sort of headgear when I have the plaits in. The texture and curl pattern when you undo the twist is magnifique!

In developing this regime, I received a lot of inspiration from kimmaytube on YouTube. I give thanks. The key difference between my routine and hers is that I'm very into essential oils. I've been using them since 2006 when I learnt the art of massage. 

I plan on experimenting with different conditioners and moisturisers (both bought and homemade) until I feel that my hair cannot come out any better.

On a daily basis spritz with water and massage Neno Natural's Hair Growth Stimulator.

Follow me @NenoNatural and check out Neno Natural's Haircare Store.
ivy link
4/11/2013 10:05:12 pm

Wow, been enlightened. I guess I need to put much effort in my routine from now on wards. I Am just not sure if I can get Neno Products here in Malalwi.


Comments are closed.
    I now blog about wealth creation - so if you have any money questions meet me there, you can do all sorts of cool things like leave me a voicemail.
    Follow @NenoNatural
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    By Heather Katsonga-Woodward

    I was a natural hair blogger and mixtress living between London & Chicago from 2012 to 2017. I always thought I was 4C but some say 4B; images below - you decide! Heather xx

    p.s. I now blog about wealth and personal finance on my personal website.

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    About
    Aloe Vera
    Bad Chemicals
    Bad Hair Practices!
    Baggying
    Big Chops
    Braids Weaves Wigs
    Brands
    Breakage/thinning
    Butters
    Carrier Oils
    Carrier Oils & Butters
    Children
    Color
    Conditioning Hair
    Co Washing
    Cultural Issues
    Damage
    Dandruff
    Detangling
    Detangling/combing
    Diet & Hair
    Dreadlocks
    Essential Oils
    Events
    Exercise
    Food For Hair
    Frizz Control
    Giveaways!
    Growth Phases
    Growth Stimulators
    Growth Tips
    Hair Type
    Hard Water Solutions
    Heat
    Homemade Hair Recipes
    Ingredients In Products
    Interviews
    Itchy Scalps
    Lice
    Magazines
    Makeup
    Matted Hair
    Max Hydration Method
    Microfiber
    Moisturising Dry Hair!
    Other Naturals
    Ph And Hair
    Porosity
    Pregnancy
    Press And Publicity
    Product Reviews
    Protective Styling
    Queen Of Kinks
    Random
    Regimen Building
    Salon Reviews
    Scalp Conditions
    Science
    Shampoos
    Shiny Hair
    Silicones
    Sleeping
    Stretching Hair
    Styles
    Swimming
    Texture Issues
    Thin Hair
    Tips & Challenges
    Tools & Products
    Transitioning
    Trimming
    Vitamins
    Washing
    Weather

    Picture
    Click for free eBook!
    Picture
    Check out the podcast!

    Archives

    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    October 2011

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from robertivanc
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise