30 days, 30 ways...Day 5 (and Deep Conditioning on the go)

This is a bit of a 2-for-1. A little bit of entertainment, a little bit of Kinky Hair 101.

Sunday was (a VERY public...but more on that later) wash day. I've talked about how I like to deep condition for hours at a time, but believe me, this doesn't mean I'm sitting at home or in a hairdressers under a steamer for 8 hours. I apply my deep conditioner, cover with plastic cap (well, these days its cling film or a Shoprite plastic bag, as everyone on Sunday seemed to find amusing), wrap whatever piece of cloth I can find around my head as artistically as possible, and go about my merry way.

I'll have clearer pictures when I do my post talking more about the day, but here's one for now:

Towards the end, I undid the front and tied it a different way to demonstrate versatility. Here's a shot of the back (with clingfilm shining through!):

I find this especially useful if I am working out (in which case I would just tie a simple head scarf), as the body heat from exercising speeds up the conditioning effect, and acts as an on-the-move steamer.

For headwrap and turban ideas, head to Turbanista.

Stiffer materials like Ankara tend to yield much better results, but I was in a pinch, and this black cotton shawl was all I had to hand that day.

If you're just wearing a turban for aesthetic purposes, and don't have plastic protecting your conditioner-laden hair, it is a good idea to tie a small silk or satin scarf underneath, or wear a satin bonnet, so that your hair is protected from the drying effects of the turban/headwrap material.

Day 6 coming up!

Addendum: Spurred on by Curious Kinks' comment below, I realise I should point out that, as with everything, deep conditioning for long periods does not work for everybody. Some people mention getting headaches, especially if deep-conditioning overnight. People can also end up with over-conditioned or "mushy" hair. So again, it is all about figuring out what works for you and what doesn't.

My updated regimen

I have talked about my regimen before in this post, however things have changed a little bit since then so I figured I should update you all. I feel this might also answer questions for ladies who ask me where to start, because after experimenting with a load of different methods, I begin every session this way now, regardless of how I am going to end up styling (be it a twistout, braidout, twists, braids, etc).

I have settled into the routine of washing my hair once a week. I tend to do this midweek in the evening after work, so that I can have nice fresh hair for the weekend. I also now shampoo every week, which I wasn't doing when I began my "healthy hair journey", as at that time I was still struggling with moisture issues. These days I tend to save cowashing for if for some reason I decide to do a second (or 3rd) wash during the week, for e.g. if I have been working out a lot, or swimming, if I know I will not get a chance to deep condition my hair (this is rare, but happens at times like when I am travelling and don't have a lot of time to devote to my hair), if I am washing a protective style (for e.g. if I am in mini-twists, which I tend to keep in for at least 2 weeks) or if I just feel like a style has not been working and I want to do something different. But for the most part, now that I have sorted out my moisture balance, my hair seems to like a weekly shampoo. And I always follow up with a deep conditioner. As I believe I may have mentioned, I have read several articles and blog posts that mention deep conditioning is unnecessary, however I definitely notice a difference in my hair when my conditioner has been left on for longer (at least an hour). So again, different things work for different people.

Once in a while, once a month if I remember, I will do a special treatment, such as a protein treatment, henna (which I have just begun to revisit after a 1 year hiatus), bentonite clay wash or some sort of ayurvedic treatment. I will delve into these in more detail in future posts, but for now, here's what my average wash day looks like.

Step 1

I decide whether I am going to deep condition before or after I shampoo. I have heard arguments for both methods. Some people say deep conditioning on dry hair is best, because when the hair strands are not full of water they can soak in more conditioner. I have absolutely no idea if this is true, and to be honest I don't see a difference either way. However I prefer to apply my DC on dry hair before I wash solely because it is more convenient. I hate having to get in the shower multiple times during the course of a wash, so this method means I can come home from work, go straight to the mirror without even having to undress, slap on my condish, cover with a plastic cap and go about my business. I only wash first if I feel my hair is particularly dirty, like if too many random strangers have managed to get their hands into it since the last wash, or if I have been caught in a sandstorm, for example (this has happened much more often than would seem likely).

I tend to deep condition with Aubreys Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner for the most part (usually adding a bit of honey and olive oil to the mix), alternating with Aubreys Organics GPB every 2 or 3 weeks. I do this because my hair craves protein, but again, I will go into detail on this in a later post.

Step 2

I begin by sectioning my hair into 4. It has become impossible to wash my hair in one loose mass now, unless I want to revisit the 3 hour detangling sessions of yore. I only wish I had figured this out much earlier, it might have saved a lot of heartache.

If I am doing the DC first, I apply it to each section, gently detangling my hair with my fingers and separating any knots I come across. When that section is completely covered in my conditioner, I braid it up and then move to the next until all 4 sections are done.

I then cover with a plastic cap, and go under my hooded dryer for a few minutes to open the cuticles. Then I cover with a towel to trap in my body heat, and do whatever I need to do: dinner, work, etc. I tend to leave my DC's in for at least an hour, and have been known to leave them in overnight (although this is not advisable for everyone, as some people might experience over-moisturised hair. This has never been the case for me).

If I plan to shampoo my hair first, I work in the same 4 sections, but I gently finger-detangle with coconut oil instead. I leave this on for a few minutes as a pre-poo treatment (coconut oil is said to prevent too much water entering the hair shaft and causing hydral fatigue. This is the only time I can use it on its own. Generally my hair can't stand plain coconut oil.)

Sectioned hair with coconut oil pre-poo

Step 3

Then I hop in the shower, undo one of the sections and apply my shampoo. I always start at the front so that the dirty water when rinsing runs into the unwashed sections at the back, which will be washed eventually. I was using Giovanni Smooth As Silk Shampoo, but have just switched to the Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo, which I absolutely love. I hold the section of hair at the tip so it doesn't tangle and knot, and apply the shampoo to my scalp, and the parting between the sections, rubbing with the pads of my fingers, and never my nails. (Scrubbing your scalp with your nails can damage your hair follicles). I squeeze the section to distribute the shampoo through my hair, and smooth it down the length of my hair, as always not allowing the section to tangle.

I usually then apply a little bit of conditioner over my shampoo before I rinse it out in a downwards motion, as this helps prevent the stripped feeling that can come from shampooing.

Step 4

If I have already deep conditioned before shampooing, I take a bit of my detangling conditioner, usually whatever conditioner I use as my cowash conditioner (at the moment it is the Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner or Tresemme Naturals. Pretty much any cheapie conditioner will do). I divide the section of my hair into 3-5 smaller sections, and comb through the conditioner with a wide toothed comb. Then I clip that section out of the way and begin to work on the next section, until all 4 quarters of my hair are washed, detangled and twisted. Then I rinse the conditioner out of my whole head with my hair still in twists. This way, I never allow my hair to tangle up, combing is no longer a problem, and I am normally able to detangle and twist my entire head within 30 minutes.

If I didn't deep condition before, this is the point at which I do. As above, I apply my DC making 3-5 smaller sections as I go along, and gently detangle with a wide toothed comb before I twist it up, and then move on and do the same for the other 3 quarters of my hair. I find that the Aubreys Organics Honeysuckle Rose does not have much slip on its own, so is not very easy to detangle with. Adding olive oil helps with this problem considerably. Once my DC has been applied to my whole head, and I have detangled and twisted, I cover with a plastic cap, use heat for a few minutes, then cover with a towel as before. Once it has been in for a while (again anything from one hour to overnight), I rinse my entire head without undoing the twists.

This step is quite messy, so I have not been able to get any pictures of it, but as I work in the same twists from here until the end of my routine, the pictures in the next step show roughly how many, and how big they are.

Step 5

Once out of the shower, with my hair rinsed, I squeeze some of the water out using a t-shirt, since conventional towels can cause unnecessary frizz. Then I apply my leave-in conditioner, making sure to rake it through with my fingers so I can cover as much of my hair as possible. Sometimes I undo each twist, sometimes I just apply my leave-in to the twists, squeezing it in so it penetrates them. Then I seal with either my shea butter and oil mix, or the Kinky Apothecary Whipped Shea Batter, retwist and leave it to dry. They don't have to be tidy and in fact very rarely are, as they are not a style but just a drying aid.

I noticed long after that I was only wearing one earring. These pictures show that I lost the other one right at the start of the process. Sigh.

Once my hair is about 80% dry (either a couple of hours later if I didn't DC overnight, or at the end of the next day if I did, and then rinsed and applied my leave-in the next morning), I undo, apply whatever product I am going to use (normally a gel if I am doing a braidout or twistout, or some Whipped Shea Batter if I am just going to be wearing smaller twists), and then style.

This is another difference between my current method and my old regimen. I am normally in a braidout, twistout or twists, and used to style on soaking wet hair, but it would take forever- days in fact- to dry when I did it that way. Allowing my hair to dry in twists before means that when I style, my twistout or braidout normally sets overnight or in a few hours. They are not as defined, and do not hold as long as when they are done on wet hair, but I quickly became sick of having my hair drip all over my clothes all day, and so I altered the way I went about it.

I just find creative ways of pinning up my fat twists to make them look presentable for as long as I need to keep them in.

Styling on dry, already stretched out hair leads to less shrinkage and longer, fuller-looking braidouts, twistouts and even twists, and I'll describe how I go from fat twists to these styles in the next post.


Some tips for coming up with your own regimen

I really can't stress enough how important it is to come up with your own hair care regimen. It helps to understand your hair and having a routine can help to eliminate frustration. Again, you have to bear in mind that different things work for different people, and you have to experiment with different methods and then find what suits you best.

I get so many people approaching me or writing to me to say their hair is unmanageable. I used to think that about my hair too but if we look at the things that make us consider our hair unmanageable (1/ dryness and breakage, 2/ difficulty detangling, 3/ denseness), you quickly realise that if you figure out how to deal with those issues one at a time, doing your hair becomes just a process, and less of a chore. Coming up with your own routine will help you figure out how best to do this for yourself.

Products

When I am asked by customers for product recommendations and where to start, I always explain that there is no set product that will achieve this or that for everybody. The important thing is to ensure that you understand the ingredients so you quickly figure out which ones may be detrimental to your hair in particular, and therefore should be eliminated, but also what ingredients your hair loves so that you can try and incorporate them as much as possible.

The basics to begin with are a good cleanser (either a cowash conditioner or a good moisturising shampoo), a deep conditioner, a leave-in, and a sealant. These are just the basics. Obviously depending on how you want to wear your hair, stylers are also important (i.e. gels, puddings, etc). People with drier hair may need to follow up the leave-in with a moisturiser before sealing. I used to have to do this.  Some products can perform multiple functions (e.g. the Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner can be a cowash, a detangling conditioner, a deep conditioner and a leave-in. Most leave-in conditioners can be used as light moisturisers and vice versa)

It is all about experimenting, and of course you can try as many as you want, or you can keep it simple, figure out basics that you love and stick with them.

I test out many, all in the name of business (I know. It's a tough life!) but I do have my staples that I come back to. Our range is expanding considerably over the next month, so there will be a much larger variety to choose from, however once you find what works for you, it is best to stick with that and not be tempted to jump from brand to brand...although that IS a lot of fun.

Sections

Working in sections allows me to break up the task so it doesn't seem so daunting. Also my hair is braided and twisted for much of the process, and is never allowed to tangle, thereby eliminating long painful combing sessions.

Stretching

For me (and most people with kinky and tightly-curled hair) it is very important to keep my hair stretched, so the focus of my wash days are to get my hair clean, and stretched out without heat. Hence the fat twists. But other methods of doing this are braiding, banding, threading (like we used to do as kids but forgot about as we grew up), etc. Figure out what method you prefer and work with that.

Breaking up the process

Another thing that has helped is that I now break the process up into stages. Sometimes it is nice to have long hair spa days, but these days I am always so busy, I rarely have the time for this. As I alluded to earlier, I can typically apply the deep conditioner one evening, leave it overnight, wash the next morning, twist, go about my day, and then style in the evening ready for the following day. That way I am not having to set aside 3 hours in one go. Once I figured out how to make my fat twists look semi-presentable, I was good to go.

Patience

The fact that I am saying this cracks me up, because I am one of the most impatient people I know. However, it really is important to try not to do your hair when you are in a rush, or frustrated as this  can lead to you ripping your hair out, or causing more tangles and therefore breakage. Especially while detangling. I try and do as much as possible in front of the TV (although this applies mainly to the styling stage which I haven't really talked about in this post) as I find that if I am watching something and entertained, I am less likely to get bored and rush.

Practise makes perfect

You may have to try many different methods before figuring out what works best for you, but don't be discouraged by this. Keep going, and you will eventually get there.

Hope all this helps. Some things were quite hard to describe and I may not have been entirely clear, so let me know if you have any questions.

Until the next time!

My regimen

At the last Champagne, Cupcakes and Curltalk, a few people asked me to describe my regimen, so I promised I would do a series of posts on how I do my hair, and also giving general styling options for kinky hair.

Now I actually love playing with my hair, so tend to experiment with a variety of styles, in the order in which I most do them:

- Chunky twist outs (using fat twists for the purpose of wearing my hair out, and not to wear the twists as a style)

- Mini twists (smaller, neater two-strand twists that I DO wear as a style. These take longer to do, but then I don’t have to do anything else to my hair- except moisturize- for the next 2 weeks)

- Braid outs (the same as a twist out, but braiding hair in about 10-15 sections, instead of twisting)

- Wash n Go’s (I do these infrequently because my hair tends to get really tangled if I don’t stretch it out to dry. But as this is the quickest and simplest method of styling a fro, I come back to them once in a while)

- Kinky twists (twists with afro-kinky extensions)

- Braids with extensions

I used the last 2 as methods to grow my hair back the second time I transitioned to natural hair, however I have not done these for a while now.

As this is the routine I've been rolling with most often recently, I'll start with a quick feature on my chunky twist outs.

These are much simpler to do than proper twists, as they don't have to be aesthetically pleasing since they are only to set the style and you are not going to wear them out in public (well, I have been known to, but that’s a different story altogether). So they only take a fraction of the time to do.

I experiment with a wide variety of products (how else would I know what to recommend to Kinky customers?) but will keep this simple by talking about the ones I use most often.

Also let me apologize in advance for picture quality- I'm terrible at taking photos of myself!

I start by washing my hair. First I make sure my dry hair is free of any major tangles, by just going through it gently with my fingers. I usually cowash with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner, or if I’m experiencing any build-up, I wash with one of the Dr Bronner’s liquid soaps (very heavily diluted, and just on my scalp), Giovanni 50:50 shampoo or plain old black soap. I then deep condition (I do this every week without fail, unless my hair is in mini twists) with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner or Elucence Moisture Balancing conditioner and sometimes add melted shea butter, honey, extra virgin olive oil, or whatever raw/unrefined oils I happen to have on hand at the time. I slather this mixture all over my head, cover with a plastic cap, and use one of those inflatable plastic hairdryer attachment thingies (I’m sure that’s the technical name) for about 20 minutes, or longer if I can be bothered to hold the hairdryer, then I cover with the towel and go about my business until the conditioner has been in my hair for an hour.

If I’m in a rush, or washing midweek, I skip the deep conditioning stage, but then I ensure I make up for this at the weekend.

The next step is to detangle my hair in sections with the conditioner still in, first using my fingers and then running a wide tooth comb through. This is the worst part of my routine, and sometimes I actually begin to hate myself. I have very thick hair that tangles really easily, and detangling can take forever! However I find making sure most tangles have been removed before wetting makes the process much easier. I run water over each section I am detangling (some people do all their detangling under running water- I do not! The amount of time it would take would mean I would waste so much water) and then quickly detangle with my fingers. Then I run my comb through when I think I’ve gotten rid of most of the knots. If I hit a snag, I put more conditioner on and gently loosen it. Once I’ve detangled a section, I braid it up with the conditioner mixture still in, to stop it from tangling again. I end up with about 5 or six detangled braids.




I then rinse all the conditioner out of my hair with it still in braids.

I get out of the shower, undo each braid and run some Giovanni Direct Leave-In conditioner through it, and then I two-strand twist the section back up (divide the section in two and twist them over each other- much quicker than having to re-braid the section).

When I am ready to style, I undo a big twist and part it, normally in 3 or 4 sections. I comb through the small section to make sure it is smooth, run some product down it (usually IC Fantasia gel, for hold, whipped with Shea Aloe Mix and a bit of olive oil), and proceed to do smaller two strand twists.

I repeat the twisting process all over my head, dividing each big twist into 3 or 4 smaller twists, so ending up with about 20 twists in total. If a section starts drying up, I re-wet it by spraying with a mixture of water and leave-in that I keep in a spray bottle. People have different preferences: some prefer to twist wet, and others dry. I prefer twisting my hair while still wet as I find it works better with my curl pattern, and I get better definition and hold than if I attempt to twist my hair dry. But it’s worth trying both ways to determine what works best for you.


(Ignore the bottle of Keracare on the bathtub. I’ve had this since before my curly girl days and now use it to wash make up brushes and combs... no offence to Keracare afficionados.)

When that is all done, I lightly re-wet the end of each twist and seal by twirling some Castor Oil over the end. This can be done with a variety of natural oils depending on individual preference, helps lock in moisture and smooths out the ends helping to prevent knots and split ends.

And that’s it. I then wait for it to air dry. If I’ve done it at night, I’ll hold the twists down with a satin scarf, and go to bed.

The next morning, or whenever I’m ready to go out, I lightly coat my fingers with castor oil, and begin to unravel the dry twists. Again this can be done with any oil, butter or leave-in product, based on personal preference. I have found unraveling with dry fingers causes hair to frizz unnecessarily, so I never do this. I fluff out each twist, et voila!




To maintain overnight, I usually ‘pineapple’ my hair- making one or two high bunches- and then tie with a satin scarf. Midweek I re-twist in big sections (about 6 or 7), with a little bit of leave-in spray, and without combing the hair first. (Note that the only time in this process that I ever really comb my hair is when I am detangling with conditioner. This cuts out unnecessary breakage.)

And that is it. It does seem like a long process. I'd estimate that it takes 30 mins to wash and detangle, an hour with deep conditioner in my hair and then just under an hour to twist. 2.5 hours on my hair is not too bad a way to spend a Sunday evening, especially considering I don't do anything else to it for another week.

Hope this answers some questions. I have been trawling the net for more regimen and styling ideas- especially for short hair- and will start to post up some of these really soon.

Until next time, happy experimenting!

Product feature- Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturising Conditioner

Ingredients: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rosa Mosqueta Rose Hip Seed Oil, Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile, Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Angelica, Forsythia and Magnolia, Honeysuckle Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E)

This was the first conditioner I used when I started taking an interest in ingredients and the effect on my hair. All the natural ladies seemed to be raving about it on the blogs and forums I had read in the course of my research, so I decided to give it a try.

It has 100% natural ingredients and contains no protein, which is great for the protein sensitive. It also has no humectants, which makes it suitable for drier climates (note to anyone living in the North, or those who make regular trips to more wintry climes). And the best feature, for me anyway, is that it smells great!

After the 30-something years of prior abuse I had put my hair through, Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturising Conditioner (or AOHSR, as it is known in hair-world) was definitely the best product to have ever come in contact with my parched barnet! I noticed a huge difference even after the first use. It felt like a completely new head of hair after rinsing. I had just taken out braids, and the dry brittle locks seemed to have been instantly replaced with softer strands with improved elasticity.

A true product junkie, I experiment a lot, trying out different conditioners- which I will review in due course- but I always come back to AOHSR. It is definitely the best deep conditioner my hair has ever met. It keeps my hair moisturized without ever getting that greasy product build-up feel, and I don’t have to be too heavy-handed with the moisturizers during the week to keep it that way.

It has a very thick consistency (so thick that I sometimes find it hard to get the last bit out of the bottom of the bottle without pouring some water in and shaking it up), so I have never tried to use it as a leave-in, although some people do. This, however, would be most effective if mixed with a lighter conditioner or diluted.

The only con is, due to its consistency, it’s not a great detangler. The two ways to get around it are to detangle with a more slippery conditioner first, usually whatever cowash conditioner I have used, and then apply the AOHSR. Or I find that the addition of Olive oil gives more slip, and makes it easier to run a comb through.

All things being equal, I don’t think I could ever give up this conditioner!