Wash Day For The Lazy Naturalista

My stash of products.

In July, I will be 3 years Natural,3 whole years,no blow dries,no flat irons,no salon visits, just me and my curls/kinks and loads of learning on what my hair wants and celebrating small hair wins.In the natural hair community,because we are very organised people,we all have hair goals and my one hair goal is length,the sub-goal under this being healthy hair that is always moisturized.Let me tell you a little story about female culture in my society, when you visit your friends and family just as you are about to leave they offer you hair perfume and when you leave based on the level of maturity of your hosts they will comment about your hair 😂😂,because I am very vain I want my hair to dazzle each and everyone of my hosts, basically my mum and sister but still,dazzle I must hope to.

First things first,there is no such thing as a lazy naturalista because natural hair is time consuming and hardwork, but if you are a naturalista and love effective short-cuts like me then with time you make regimes that aren't too hard but are very effective and efficient. When I first went natural I didn't fully understand what it entailed and I thought it would be much easier than having permed hair, because I kept on reading how all new naturalistas enjoyed washing their hair as they showered,oh the bliss. As expected of all new things one tries I spent a tonne of money on products and time trying to do hair routines and styles.Two and half years later I have my routines down and such a small stash of products that I love and work for me.If you are a new naturalista or one with no hair regime and are looking for an easy one, look no further.

I wash my hair every other Saturday because I found that washing my hair every Saturday wasn't working for me as my hair is a ' dense rain forest' and takes forever to dry. One of the most important things to do is to decide how often you will be washing your hair,once you have this down below is the easiest of wash day..................................

Rice water.

Rice water-the hair growth miracle worker.

As we now all know I want long hair.Through online research I found out that rice water assists in hair growth and is what is responsible for the Yao women's hair and from the pictures I saw online,this stuff is the business!. On the Friday mornings before wash day, I make my rice water. I put 1 cup of clean rice and 2 cups of water in a bowl and mix them with my hands until the mixture is as milky as possible and then I cover it. This cloudy white liquid contains some powerful vitamins and minerals which are an excellent source of nourishment for your skin and hair.

Pre-poo

The pre-poo tools.

On the Friday evening before wash day, I do my pre-poo. Pre-pooing your hair is very important as it shields your hair from the dryness that shampoos can cause and provides the much needed moisture boost for your tresses. I use both conditioner and oil for this.First I wet my hair until it's upto 50% wet then I oil it and finally I apply a generous amount of conditioner.I then put it in 4-6 two strand twists,put on a plastic cap and my bonnet and because it's Friyaay, I pour myself a cup of tea and watch Khloe's Revenge Body.I use the Suave Naturals tropical coconut conditioner and coconut oil for my pre-poo.


Shampoo

The shampoos that are currently in my stash.

The key to hair growth is a clean scalp and therefore on each wash day I shampoo my hair.Despite all the support for co-washes, I stopped doing them when I read somewhere that doing a co-wash is the same as showering with lotion instead of soap and thinking that you will get clean!. To ensure I don't harm my hair; I dilute my shampoo so as to reduce it's moisture stripping effects,I mostly use sulphate free shampoos and those that have moisturizing properties.

The trick to shampooing is to start with the scalp, once it's clean use the run-off from the scalp for the hair strands.When shampooing I thoroughly massage my scalp as this improves blood flow in the scalp and this is said to help with hair growth.I have been loving the Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Moisture Replenishing Shampoo,Dove's Nourishing oil care and TRESemme Smooth and Silky Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo.

Conditioner

Lowkey showing off my tassle earings(ok maybe not low-key,how pretty are they?!!).

After rinsing out all the shampoo,I condition my hair and I love love the TRESemme climate protect conditioner.I use a generous amount and de-tangle my hair with the conditioner in it.I always use a wide-tooth comb to detangle.Since TRESemme isn't exactly cheap, I have been in the market for good quality but pocket friendly conditioners and I am happy to report, the Dark and lovely Au Naturale Knot out conditioner is really good and pocket friendly too,especially because I got mine a while back when they were on sale(50% off!!).

Deep Condition or protein treatment

My favourite deep conditioner and protein treatment.

Deep conditioning is important because it helps prevent damage,helps promote hair elasticity,restores natural shine and most importantly it keeps your hair moisturized. Protein treatments on the other hand are needed because they contain proteins that attach to your hair in the areas that are weak to help strengthen the hair. These proteins hardens the cuticle layer of your hair, and also puts a protective barrier around the hair.

I protein treat my hair after every 6 weeks and deep conditioner every 2 weeks.After I finish conditioning my hair if it's a day for deep conditioning I do not rinse off the conditioner, I apply my deep conditioner on top of it,put on my plastic cap and satin kitambaa and do things around the house for 30-45 minutes and then I rinse it off completely.Same applies for the days I do protein treatment the only difference is on these days I rinse my conditioner off before applying the protein treatment.I have only really used the ORS deep conditioner and hair mayonnaise, many tabs later I can confirm they are really good and my hair loves them.

Rice water

After either deep conditioning or protein treatment, I rinse my hair clean, squeeze off as much water as possible and using a spray bottle soak my hair with rice water.I then put on my plastic cap and leave it on for half an hour.Then I do a final rinse with cold water. Cold water, I have learned, works on your hair the same way it does on your skin. When you wash your face, it's suggested that you rinse with cool water, as the chill contracts your pores, making them appear smaller. When it comes to your hair, cold water helps to seal your hair cuticle, making it lay smoothly. A smoother hair cuticle better reflects light, giving your hair the appearance of shine.It also closes the hair cuticle, sealing in moisture that you applied to your hair through-out the wash day.

I am mostly done with my wash-day by mid-day and I spend an hour in the evening oiling my hair and sometimes I plait it. Ladies, what tricks do you use to make wash-day shorter, which products do you love the most and why? I would love to know.