Natural hair memes frequently poke fun at regimens and the idea that washing and styling is a daylong affair. While I find a lot of them funny, I wonder if they also perpetuate the idea that natural hair is unmanageable. For instance, there’s a wash day meme showing a massive stash of the products with the tagline “Natural Girls Be Like #WashDay.”
Funny? Yes! But how many people saw that and decided that natural hair was too complicated an enterprise. We’ve compiled videos of 5 natural hair techniques that can be done quickly and efficiently, no matter your hair texture.
Detangling: Detangling taking four hours or more? No good. Make sure your sections are small enough to be workable, but not so small that the process is tedious. A seamless comb will also work wonders. In this video vlogger Chizi Duru shows how to detangle 4C natural hair in just 5 minutes.
Wash and Go’s: Make your sections small enough to ensure they are coated with styling product, but don’t smooth each and every strand. That adds a good 30–45 minutes to your routine. Try out 8–10 sections and see what results you get. Here’s how I do wash and go’s on my back-length natural hair.
Night and Refresh Routine: You don’t need to use multiple products or re-do all of your twists between evening and morning. Loose buns or pineappling with a silk scarf can go a long way towards preserving your style while allowing you to sleep comfortably. It’s also super easy to fluff out the next day with your hands or using refresher spray. Here is my natural hair night routine.
Deep Conditioning: Obsessed with deep conditioning overnight? It doesn’t need to take that long. Most conditioners will absorb fully in about 30 minutes, so prolonging the session has virtually no effect. Rinse out that conditioner and get on with your day!
Twists: You can significantly decrease the amount of time it takes you to do a set of twists if you do flat twists along with regular twists. Naptural85 is a big proponent of this method. You’ll get the same curl pattern you do with regular twists, just in way less time.
Ladies, what say you? Do you think natural hair washing and styling needs to take all day? Why or why not? And what does your own regimen look like?
I have 4C hair and I cut time by detangling with oil then putting the detangled sections in twists… leave it over night (pre-poo) the shampoo the deep conditioning next morning while hair is still in twists… no need to detangle after! Also, I air dry my hair til’ 80% dry before moisturising so my hair won’t take 2 days to dry.
Talk about an ‘aha’ ? moment! I’ll definitely have to try letting my hair air dry a bit Before setting my hair. Genius
LBell
4 years ago
I’ve been saying this for YEARS…and black folks have looked at me cross-eyed because some of us are so programmed to view Afro-textured hair care as hard. It’s almost like we take pride in it…like you’re not really black if you haven’t experienced the nappy struggle. MISS me with that… The only time I remember spending more than 6 hours on my hair at a time was when I would do small twists. Even that was a while ago because for most of the last 7 years I’ve been doing wet styling and yes, my hair is mostly-4b. At its longest… Read more »
I’m so glad I found people who see the light. I am constantly trying to show people that having natural hair is much easier than they think. I can now refer them to this post as proof.
I agree! Natural hair doesn’t have to be complicated :).
TWA4now
4 years ago
So true, it shouldn’t take ALL day for wash day. I have it down to about two hours…continuous learning.
BronxChildOfDiaspora
4 years ago
My wash day would only take all day if I was at the salon. However, once I started doing my hair at home it’s saved me time and money. I found the right products that work best for my coarse hair (MicMas Remix scalp treatment and Bragg acv) and now my wash day takes only 2–3 hours from beginning to end if I wear my hair straight and one hour if I wear it natural.
Yes! One of the initial reasons I went natural was because I wanted to be free of the obligations of needing my stylist every other month. I feel like the natural hair community overdid it initially with the “berries and juices” ideology, and while a natural diy conditioner recipe is cool, it’s not always necessary. After a while of watching 10 hour wash day videos, I started to feel like there had to be a simpler way of being natural, so I made that my goal on my natural hair, growth journey. I felt like being natural was depicted as… Read more »
Essa
4 years ago
I think this depends on certain factors. My wash days mainly take long if my hair is tangled. i have thick, long, but fine hair. So when it tangles I have to careful because it can break easily if I rush through detangling. A comb won’t do it.…my fingers have to do the detangling.…but this is all only if my hair is tangled. If its not tangled, I still section my hair in either large braids or twists (maybe about 6–8)…and then wash section by section. Leaving all of my hair out is no longer an potion lol. It will… Read more »
Claire
4 years ago
Of course wash day takes the whole day. what other excuse will i use to get out of dates with people.
This is not realistic. My hair is always tangled. Always. There is no way I can take 5 minutes to detangle my hair. It’s a 2 day process. Natural hair does take a lot more time. It’s not a misconception. But we are women, so if we think it makes us look beautiful then we will take the time to make it happen even if it takes forever.
I have 4C hair and I cut time by detangling with oil then putting the detangled sections in twists… leave it over night (pre-poo) the shampoo the deep conditioning next morning while hair is still in twists… no need to detangle after! Also, I air dry my hair til’ 80% dry before moisturising so my hair won’t take 2 days to dry.
Awesome!
Yes, I do a similar routine using MicMas Remix scalp treatment and it’s also helped tremendously with my hair’s breakage.
Talk about an ‘aha’ ? moment! I’ll definitely have to try letting my hair air dry a bit Before setting my hair. Genius
I’ve been saying this for YEARS…and black folks have looked at me cross-eyed because some of us are so programmed to view Afro-textured hair care as hard. It’s almost like we take pride in it…like you’re not really black if you haven’t experienced the nappy struggle. MISS me with that… The only time I remember spending more than 6 hours on my hair at a time was when I would do small twists. Even that was a while ago because for most of the last 7 years I’ve been doing wet styling and yes, my hair is mostly-4b. At its longest… Read more »
Yes, I agree! Once you’ve found a good WnG routine, stick with it! There’s no need to overcomplicate it :).
Excellent! That’s great! What is APL and WNGS again? 🙂
APL = armpit length (stretched in my case)
WNG = wash and go
I’m so glad I found people who see the light. I am constantly trying to show people that having natural hair is much easier than they think. I can now refer them to this post as proof.
xx Siphi
thatmnisigirl.wordpress.com
I agree! Natural hair doesn’t have to be complicated :).
So true, it shouldn’t take ALL day for wash day. I have it down to about two hours…continuous learning.
My wash day would only take all day if I was at the salon. However, once I started doing my hair at home it’s saved me time and money. I found the right products that work best for my coarse hair (MicMas Remix scalp treatment and Bragg acv) and now my wash day takes only 2–3 hours from beginning to end if I wear my hair straight and one hour if I wear it natural.
Yes! One of the initial reasons I went natural was because I wanted to be free of the obligations of needing my stylist every other month. I feel like the natural hair community overdid it initially with the “berries and juices” ideology, and while a natural diy conditioner recipe is cool, it’s not always necessary. After a while of watching 10 hour wash day videos, I started to feel like there had to be a simpler way of being natural, so I made that my goal on my natural hair, growth journey. I felt like being natural was depicted as… Read more »
I think this depends on certain factors. My wash days mainly take long if my hair is tangled. i have thick, long, but fine hair. So when it tangles I have to careful because it can break easily if I rush through detangling. A comb won’t do it.…my fingers have to do the detangling.…but this is all only if my hair is tangled. If its not tangled, I still section my hair in either large braids or twists (maybe about 6–8)…and then wash section by section. Leaving all of my hair out is no longer an potion lol. It will… Read more »
Of course wash day takes the whole day. what other excuse will i use to get out of dates with people.
LMAO!!!!
This is not realistic. My hair is always tangled. Always. There is no way I can take 5 minutes to detangle my hair. It’s a 2 day process. Natural hair does take a lot more time. It’s not a misconception. But we are women, so if we think it makes us look beautiful then we will take the time to make it happen even if it takes forever.