By Geniece of Beautifully Made
There’s a myth going around town that you need to do ten steps a week in order to keep your hair in perfect health. I will be the first to admit that I don’t always practice what I preach. While deep conditioning every week is ideal, gently separating every strand is preferred and mixing your own natural products is an admirable goal, its difficult to do these religiously, if at all. The reality is that the busyness of life takes over and some of us (cough…cough…me) don’t always feel like investing that time and energy. If you’ve never been lazy with your hair then I both applaud you and side-eye you at the same time. Seriously, caring for hair can become tedious, boring and sometimes downright annoying.
Despite the bouts of laziness that have come my way during my natural hair journey I’ve managed to do the bare minimum without causing irreparable damage to my hair. Today I want to share with you how to be hair lazy without hurting your hair or ruining your hair goals.
There is an area of our hair routine that many of us particularly dislike. For you it might be detangling. For someone else it may be styling. Whatever the least favorite aspect of your hair routine is decide to be lazy in that area but be fairly disciplined about the rest. As you go through your lazy hair weeks here are a few tips to get you through those moments when you have no desire to deal with your hair.
Detangling
1. Invest in a good, slippery conditioner. It will save you a LOT of time by making detangling easier.
2. Keep hair stretched when dry to reduce knotting
3. Use a seamless wide tooth comb
4. Only finger detangle during week. Limit detangling with a comb to wash day.
Washing
5. Reduce washing to every 10 days or 2 weeks (only continue if your scalp doesn’t suffer)
6. Dampen hair and use a good moisturizer to be sure that the lack of washing doesn’t affect your moisture situation
7. If possible split up wash day (i.e. wash and apply deep conditioner over night, then rinse the following
morning)
Deep Conditioning
8. After washing apply whole leaf aloe vera gel/juice and an oil of your choice to hair. Place a shower cap on for 15–20 minutes. This is a deep conditioning treatment you don’t have to wash out, so you can style right after you’re done.
Styling
9. After washing place hair in large twists or braids (6–12). Air dry hair stretched. Remove braids the next
morning or after several hours and put hair in a simple up do.
Ladies, what tips or strategies do you use to save time on hair care?
DOES THAT DEEP CONDITIONER REALLY WORK
+1.… I need someone to vouch for that simple simple DC… Please someone try it and tell us your results- preferably on thick, super coily hair 😉
Ohhhhh, I would love for this to be my new cheapie DIY DC but I’m in braids.
I’ll give it a try tonight. I have a super coily twa, and I co-wash every night. It would be no big deal to skip the leave in and try this.
It works! I use aloe Vera gel and coconut oil mixed with Jamaican black castor oil. My is soft and moisterized after I apply this
Thanks ladies.
Do you rinse it out at all or just leave it? Thanks!
Tried it last night… I used aloe vera juice and a grapeseed and castor oil mix. I put enough gel in my hair all week long as is. It wasn’t as moisturizing as I like.…but then I needed to clarify and I’m sure that made all the difference. I got hella shine though, and while my hair was dry, it wasn’t thirsty. I will be adding this to my rotation of moisturizing at night.
LADIES!!!! LEMME TELL YA! That Aloe Vera and Castor oil is DA TRUTH!!! My Dry, TANGLY, COARSE, coily… DRY hair is feeling like BUTTA right now. I got a little spray bottle, put some distilled water (very little, just enough to dilute the castor oil a lil), about 3 tablespoons of aloe vera gel and 2 teaspoons of castor oil.… shook it up and coated my hair with it, massaged and rubbed it in (downward strokes only) then I separated it into little sections, covered each section with coconut oil, did about 9 china bumps and let it set in… Read more »
Thank you for the follow up, girls!!!
I was gonna oil rinse this weekend but I think I’m gonna try this instead. I’ll update this weekend.
Yes, it does!
I use a mixture of Lily of the Dessert Aloe Vera Gel and Castor Oil as a pre-shampoo deep conditioner. The mixture has great slip for detangling and imparts lots of moisture to my hair. In fact, it’s so moisturizing that my hair feels super-soft and well-conditioned AFTER shampooing. This is awesome for me as I don’t condition after shampooing (and haven’t done so in years).
For another more info on this conditioner mix, check out this post on the Afroniquely You blog: http://www.afroniquelyyou.com/2010/12/aloe-vera-pre-poo/
P.S. I have ~12 inches of tightly coiled, Afro-textured hair.
Is it possible to change to a aloe vera juice instead of Lily of the Dessert? They change the formula slightly and my hair acts badly to it now.
Yep! The article says that you can use either one. I’ve read about folks using both juice and gel with good results on hair care forums. Try and see!
I’ve tried two other brands and even the fresh leaf and they all work great 🙂
I actually use it as a leave-in/spritz and it’s done my hair good…
Re the other suggestions, most of them I do. Most recently I’ve given up on 100% finger-detangling because I just don’t have the patience. On wash day I use my shower comb and Denman (in that order) on wet hair that’s loaded with conditioner. There’s only so much babying I’m willing to do…
This was the best simple help tip I have seen in 5 years!
I agree!
This article is spot on b/c I know I don’t feel like the ten steps all the time. Strangely when I do the minimum, my hair is just fine or better.
I agree ‚I do the minimum which is to:
co-wash (clarify when needed)
Deep condition/pre-poo when needed
‚seal with a butter,
braid my hair at might and
sleep with a satin cap.
That is it and that is when I can be bothered.I use a cheapy condish and Anita grant Cafe latte tO seal and olive oil to unravel my braids.
Great tips! love it! Especialy the DC thang! Im sure this trick will save my life!
bunning it may not be fancy but it makes my hair care easy when i’m lazy. i simply keep it in a bun and take it down to moisturize and keep it moving.
on wash day, the wash n go may be ideal for some but since it increases the chances of SSKs, I am only doing it a little bit this summer
THANKS FOR ALL THESE GREAT TIPS!!
One thing I used to do (when my hair was longer, i’ve since shaved it all, but need tips for my girls), i would wet the ends of the braids and put some moiturizer afterwards.
Not sure if that was a good practice or not, but that’s what I did.
Doesn’t the aloe vera make your hair stink? I tried using aloe vera gel and the smell was stomach turning.
I’ve never had that problem. Maybe the gel had gone bad? Tried adding a couple of drops of a good smelling essential oil next time maybe.
buns are my go to when I want to limit the amount of product I use. This also helps chop down the time it takes to style my hair.
I have never bought into the idea taking care of natural hair should be complicated.
Wash day for me:
1. put detangling conditioner and oil on hair (3 mins)
2. detangle in four sections (15 mins)
3. wash/co-wash in four sections (5 mins)
4. put on deep conditioner, take a shower, rinse off deep conditioner (10 mins)
5. put in a bun (3 mins), do big twists or braids (15 mins), or wash and go (5 mins).
I just joined BLGH. The more I read, the more I’m getting tired just thinking about all of these 8–9 step regimens. I never thought it was so complicated either until I started researching on the net. :-)A simple poo, detangle w/conditioner, and twist is looking even more appealing now and has worked well in the past. I can’t take care of mine as fast as you do, you must have speedy fingers. You should a make a video, it’ll probably be shorter than those people make just on 1 topic such as sealing in moisture. 🙂
This topic is such a coincidence for me. On a whim this past weekend, I pre-poo’d with aloe vera juice and oil (grapeseed). It gave me lots of slip and made washing/conditioning a breeze (which is really saying something, since I’m transitioning and detangling can be a nightmare sometimes). I will definitely be doing that again. I’m so happy to see this post. This may prove that I’m learning something. LOL!
I am a 9 month natural, and I can say that since I figured out what works for my hair, my wash day has improved significantly. It still is a long process, but it works for me.
1. prepoo with Vatika Oil and Tresemme Naturals and finger detangle
2. Wash with non-sulfate shampoo, focusing on the scalp
3. Apply deep conditioner and detangle with a big tooth comb. Sit under steamer or dryer.
4. Rinse out conditioner, apply aloe vera juice, hair milk, and style.
Easy, peasy!
I already shampoo my hair bi-weekly, but in between washes I rinse my hair with water and massage my scalp to loosen any product build up. I still need to try that non-rinse deep conditioner.
i do the minimum and it still takes me all day. length plays a major role in that though. hair is too short for most simple updos and requires 15+ twists/braids to style which take me forever to do. stretching my hair too much during the week leads to semi straight strands standing up all over my head. oh well, just something I have to deal with until more length is gained. and going two weeks without washing? not in this heat. my scalp goes crazy.
Two weeks without washing is not in the cards for me either. I am assuming that is for those that don’t work out. I co-wash multiple times during the week because I work out and sweat a lot. Good for those that can get away with it though.
This sounds just like my regimen.…(well nearly). Here’s what I do. Style my hair in a protective style first.(I have dense 4a/b hair.very thick, but fine strands) So I try to stay away from constant manipulation. Protective style; usually something simple. Flat twists/cornrows in the front & individual twists( the twists are usually the size of an index finger or thumb) I use a safe but simple style for easy take-out and easy washing.This style is great because out of it I can generate at least 5–7 other styles with my banana clip. I wear the style for a week… Read more »
@Zelda, I thought I was the only one who couldn’t make it past a week without having to shampoo/co-wash. Even with exercise, I just sweat so much year round that at about day five I have to stop myself at work from picking up pens and pencils to scratch just a little bit until I can get home and use my spray and oil on my scalp.
Great post. I really enjoyed reading these hair care tips. Hope to see more posts like this.
I love having natural hair and now that I have worked out a routine I must say I look forward to doing my hair. Most of the tips provided by Geniece I use already. However, it is always good to be reminded that you are doing things right.
The only problem I have with my hair is styling it but I’ve decided to find 5 easy sophisticated styles I can wear to work by the end of the year. Any tips appreciated.
deep conditioning and detangling are a must! i only finger detangle my hair once a month on wash days & my hair is very healthy, I also love the mangeability & softness of my hair when i prepoo!
I’m almost three months into my transition,but while this did wonders for me as a pre-poo,it didn’t work as a leave-in and deep conditioner.
It made my hair crunchy and worsened the breakage,but maybe I used too much aloe vera,I’m not sure,I’m of the ”more is more” mindset” I may have overdone it.
Really this is very good information to make hair healthy and strong. I hope these tips also reduce the hair damage. For deep conditioner I am using Dove product and found good result. I also use aloe Vera gel with my shampoo.
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First of all thanks for shared your tips with us and can you tell me which shampoo will be best for wash long hair and I am washing my hair every day but my hair start fall when i comb my hair after wash hair?
Hi, Eemo John, I prefer any kind of mild shampoo such as baby shampoo, Havel shampoo for everyday use, because excessive use of chemical based shampoo can damaged your hair, it can reduce natural oil, that can a decrease natural strength of your hair , can accrue severe hair fall, however it is forbidden to brush you wet hair that also a reason of hair fall. This is a Tips from Angela, uniqueofsheffield.co.uk/ Hairdressers Sheffield, I hope you find good on it. Thanks for the lovely post “natural-hair-care-tips” I prefer natural ingredients for hair care treatment.
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