For years I didn’t have any kind of routine for my hair. I was totally willy nilly and boy was that a rollercoaster. One week I would co-wash everyday then the next week I wouldn’t wet my hair at all and slather it Shea butter. Plus I don’t even want to talk about the number of products I would use on my hair at the same time! Now that I am really trying to retain length and maximize my hair’s health I have worked on coming up with a regimen that will help me get to my goals. My entire routine is listed below. I am not going to touch on specific products that’s for a later post .

 Deep Conditioning/Finger Detangling

I deep condition at least every 2 weeks. If my hair is loose I do it weekly and if it’s in a protective style, every other week. I stick to moisturizing deep conditioners with little to no protein. I also tend to deep condition before I wash and I use the conditioner to help finger detangle my hair. I work in 4- 8 sections covering each section with conditioner and detangling each as I go. Now, I don’t completely detangle but all the big knots are removed and a lot of the shed hair. When I get in the shower to rinse the conditioner out I finish detangling with the help of the water at this point I remove the remaining knots and tangles.

Deep conditioning is extremely important for my hair and helping it stay moisturized. This year I have become very strict about doing it with heat to help open my cuticles and allow my strands to absorb the moisture.

Washing

I wash my hair with my mud wash usually every 2 weeks to a month. It really depends on how my scalp feels. My hair is usually already in sections from my detangling/deep conditioning session so I wash each section separately. I use a color applicator bottle with my mud wash diluted with water. The dye bottle helps me apply the mud directly to my scalp and then I massage it in with the pads of my fingers. This helps loosen the product buildup and grim on my scalp to get it nice and clean. Then I use the wash on the length of my hair. I rinse with luke warm to cool water. Then right before I get out of the shower I do a cold water rinse to close my cuticles and seal in moisture. My sections are normally braided or in bantu knots because my hair will completely unravel in twists.

I have been using a mud wash for almost a year and I really feel like it does a great job cleansing my hair and scalp. It also makes it really convenient because I can deep conditioner before I wash and I don’t have to worry about my hair being stripped and dry after washing.

 Moisturizing

I moisturize and seal my hair every other day. Water is always the first step in moisturizing my hair and then I seal with my homemade leave in. I primarily use this leave in but sometimes I use the LOC (liquid, oil, cream) method to moisturize. Water again is always the first step.

So it took me a loooong time to find something that keeps my hair moisturized. Once I found this leave in mixture (Kimmaytube) I stuck with it.

 Styling

For 2013 I am all about long-term protective styling and I have been alternating (not on purpose ) between braids and twists. I tend to start all my styles with stretched hair, so I let my hair dry overnight in braids. If I am wearing a style like a braid out or bantu knot out I style on damp hair and let it set overnight. Product wise it depends on my mood, sometimes I use a curly butter or pudding, Shea butter or just my leave in.

For my hair low tension long-term protective styling helps me retain the most length. Low tension for me is something where the style is not very tight or pulling on my strands. And long-term is a style I can wear for at least 3-4 weeks.

 Protein Treatments

When it comes to protein treatments I do them as needed. I wrote here about my hair and how I use protein. Sometimes I will use a store-bought protein conditioner or I will make a homemade treatment with eggs, oil, and yogurt. I always follow-up a protein treatment with a moisturizing deep conditioner.

 Co-washing

I usually co-wash about once a week if my hair is styled in braids or loose. If I am in twists I don’t co-wash at all because it will cause major shrinkage and frizz. When I co-wash I tend to use a ton of product so I use a cheapy drug store conditioner. I work in 4-8 sections, wet my hair in the shower and smooth through the conditioner. I sometimes gently detangle a bit, rinse with cool water and right before I get out of the shower I do a cold water rinse.

Co-washing is excellent for my hair because it loves water. I get to saturate all my strands, detangle a bit and give it some much-needed moisture.

 Nighttime Routine

At night I always wear a satin or silk scarf covered by my satin bonnet. This really doesn’t vary as it normally fits with all my styles. When I am wearing my hair out and loose I typically re-braid, re-twist, re-whatever style I am wearing at the time. My hair loves to be undefined so to keep any definition I need to “re-whatever” at night.

I hope I haven’t forgotten anything. Written out like this it seems like a massive routine, but I promise it is not. I am a low maintenance girl so something difficult I probably wouldn’t stick to. Let me know the abridged version of your routine. Do we do anything similar?

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