by
Black Girl With Long Hair
Here are a couple tips I’ve developed:
2. Using natural products: In my experience, natural products are often (but NOT always) more gentle than shampoos. Bentonite clay and baking soda are two of my favorites to gently reduce buildup.
What about you? What are your wash day tips and tricks? Oh, and please share your hair texture & thickness.
58 Responses
Thanks so much for the information Jay good to know. I will definitely be using ACV rinses from now on
Does ACV rinse clarify hair? I heard baking soda is not good for your hair
Yes ACV does,it helps remove build up and as for baking soda, it helps as well, i normally use it before doing a final rinse with ACV. Its worth trying.
Hi!
I’m very fascinatedby your interesting site Will surely come back to your blog again.
Lord bless google for pointing me here.
Valuable info. Lucky me I found your website by accident, and I’m stunned why this twist of fate didn’t took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
Some really wonderful work on behalf of the owner of this internet site , perfectly great written content .
1.work in sections
2.apply no sulfate shampoo directly to the scalp not the hair
3.oil rinse
4.use cold water for final rinse
5. ACV rinse
I’m mixed race (Louisiana Creole), and I have a mop of curls on my head that hang down to my shoulders. Shampoo dries my hair out and makes it brittle, so I only use it about once a month. But on a weekly basis, I’ll first apply an all natural pomade called Nature’s Blessings (sometimes the night before, sometimes just before) to moisturize, then I’ll use my conditioner to wash my hair, scrub my scalp and detangle (with a plastic hair pick). I’ve gone through countless expensive hair products to manage my curls but found that the cheap stuff works best. I either use Motions or BB hair lotion. They don’t weigh my hair down and allow my curls to flourish.
I’ve been natural 3 years this coming November. I’ve never read the info to find out my hair type because real talk, I don’t care 😉 Hair is layered, but the length is mid-shoulder blade. It’s thin, but coarse and holds lots of water. Water and olive gives it a decent little curl.
I’m very simple and methodical in my poo/condish process which is every 7-8 days, tops. I pre-condish w/mayo. Yep! Hellman’s brings out the best. Lol! I finger separate my hair, then apply the micro-warmed (20 secs) mayo to my hair and scalp for 45mins – 1hr (uncovered). Rinse thoroughly. Then I poo 2x’s gently w/Sebastian’s Drench or Penaitraitt (I alternate between the 2 poos & condish from week-week). I do an ACV poo letting it sit on my hair for 30 mins covered and towel wrapped. Adding just a little bit of condish to the hair before rinse thoroughly alleviates that stripped/squeaky “situation”. Then I condish. Plasticap cover and towel wrap for at least 1.5 hrs. Remove cap, comb through and section then twist hair (usually 12 twists total). Note: this is the first and only time I’ve combed my hair during the whole poo/condish process. After hair is twisted, I rinse each section/twist thoroughly. Then give my scalp a 20 second shot of cold water, to close pores and seal in moisture. Lastly, I separate each twist, apply my leave in condish, which is a combo of Shea Moisture’s Curl Enhancing Smoothie, Castor Oil, Jojoba Oil and Aloe Vera Juice, comb through, then Denman Brush through and make two twist from each section (totaling 24 twists throu.
I have to wash my hair every week…if not my scalp begins to itch! I reserve Sundays as my wash day. I prepoo my hair with an olive and coconut oil mixture for about an hour. I shampoo my hair with Yes to Tomatoes and leave that in a couple of minutes (for some reason my hair always feels so pleasantly soft when I do this). I wash that out, slather on the Yes to Tomatoes conditioner on, and cover my hair with a plastic cap. I leave this on for a couple of hours.(Note: my hair is in twists throughout my wash day routine. Everything penetrates so there is no need to undo and redo the twists…yet) I wash out the conditioner. Then I start to undo each twist: I put an oil mixture (castor/avocado/olive) on my hair; I add Giovanni Leave-In; I use a denman brush and try to gently detangle my hair; and then I finally retwist that section. I am still new with being natural but I have found that I really cannot dry my hair in free form. Otherwise all the detangling would be pointless! I have fine type 4 hair.
I always wash in the shower, cannot manage in the sink anymore.
I try to keep it simple. After a handful of days I wash.
I mix any natural oil(s) with conditioner ($1 store brand).
I put the mixture on dry chunky two strand twists (maybe 6-8), avoiding the scalp.
On the scalp, I put shampoo and gently rub with a bit of water.
In the shower, I wash it all out.
Wrap a towel around the head. Wait. Squeeze the ends. No rubbing. Sit under hooded dryer for 20-30 minutes.
Open the twists, use a blow dryer with a tension method. Pull the hair. Run dryer up and down. Straightens hair. When I’m done, I part, comb a little bit, and make slightly smaller twists.
If I’m in a hurry, I skip the hooded dryer.
Hum…is baking soda a natural product ?
My hair is locked, and I wash with black soap. I spend lots of time working the soap into my scalp and rinse well. Then, I use a small amount of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil to soften the hair while it finishes drying.
Update: Ok, here’s what I tried…
Pre-poo: Olive oil with shea nut oil. There was about 3 tbsp worth and for my shoulder length locs that was more than enough. Slept in it overnight (approx 9 hours)
After shampooing, I did the ACV rinse (1 part ACV to 10 parts water) and let it sit for 3-5 min while doing a facial. Total amount of rinse was about half a gallon (2 litres)
Post-wash, I oiled my scalp with R2E Hair Butter (forgot to mention that yesterday). For my hair, I mixed 1 tbsp. shea nut oil with Infusiam 23 leave-in before letting my locs air dry.
Results? Well, it’s a bit shinier, which is good. However, all the oil hasn’t absorbed yet which I abhor but I’ll give it another day and skip the leave in tomorrow.
I love my Apple Cider Vinegar rinses to clarify my hair. I usually do 1 part ACV to 3 parts water. I finger detangle when time permits and just recently started pre-pooing with conditioner which I put on my hair with a baggy and leave for at least an hour, this makes detangling easy-breezy!
I’m somewhat new to being natural, I stopped getting perms over 6yrs ago and started straighten my hair. It then grew, grew, and grew more… about a few weeks ago I decided no more straightening… and started checking out different things to do.
I clarify my hair maybe every 2/3 weeks, once a week I wash my hair and deep condition with my own little concoction (2 avocados, eggs, coconut, rosemary, peppermint, tee tree, and extra virgin olive oil). And usually I put it in a ponytail and hide my ends. Maybe once every two weeks I try a style out that consists usually of flexi rods.
My curl pattern started really showing about 2 weeks after I started my regime, and then it started to show all over my head, along with it feeling SUPER Soft..
So this works for me, I am thinking of trying the raw shea butter and evoo mixture…
great topic!!! i am going to try pre-pooing consistently to see what results i get. i recently bought a huetiful steamer so that’s going to be added to the mix. i also like mop top maven’s steps for product application when twisting. like someone else mentioned i did part of the routine but not all steps. i saw great results when i did all the steps (only 3 products for twisting).
Hello ladies. I just want to say I Love yall, and I love this blog. I always feel good about myself after visiting.
Have a great day!
Agree with Camille – about a hump day styling/techniques. I’ve had this problem for a long time. I started washing my hair more often (at least once a week but twice if time allows) but with full time job and full time school weekday washing is not possible.
I actually pre-washed with coconut oil for the first time last saturday and honestly I didn’t see a difference.
I co wash once at least week. currently using Aussie Conditioner but I’m not a fan so I’ll be trying something different when its done.
Shampoo every other week or if I have a lot of product buildup
I use Mix Chicks leave in conditioner to define curls and coconut oil to actually moisturize
Thanks for posting this. I regularly stop naturals on the street and ask regimen/products they use. This was quick and easy response
I have 4b hair – tight coils, my hair is dense – I have a lot of strands, and about 8″ of hair.
Sectioning has made washing 50% more efficient for me – literally I cut my wash time in half with proper sectioning (6 for me). Additionally, finding a good conditioner with great slip also made the process quicker – more slip leads to easier/faster detangling (I use Earthly Delight’s Conditioner)! Finally, braiding my hair after I wash it helps me keep my curls from tangling soon after the wash.
Dreadlocks in 4c hair. I pre-poo, shampoo and then leave-in.
Pre-poo: Shea oil (Afrikan Republic)
Shampoo: Whatever was on sale at the pharmacy or an organic clay shampoo bar
Conditioner: I tend to skip it
Leave-in: Argan oil (BE Beverly Hills) or more of the shea oil
How frequently do I do this? Whenever my hair feels dry. I also have a tendency to nibble on my locs (no, I don’t eat them or bite them off) so I need my hair to be clean.
Based on what I’ve read here, I’ll bring back the ACV rinse and try mixing my shea oil with EVOO or coconut oil for pre-poo to see if that improves my process.
Thanks, ladies
Thanks Clara! I’m gonna mess around with my shea some more and see what I come up with. I mostly wear protective styles (I am also 4a/4b) so it should be a little easier.
I am a newly naturalist, just did my big chop Friday 13th. Currently I am using HE Hello Hydration and Shea Moisture Deep Conditioner. I am still reading on the benefits of pre-poo.
@ Cammille
I typically go through the same thing and adding water is not the answer for my 4a/b hair. I get that it ‘revitalizes’ the style for certain people but not me.
Since I usually rock a twist out I just take some of my shea mixture and retwist my hair but in bigger chunks to maintain the original style that I do on a Sunday. I take out the twists the next morning and it doesn’t look like a Monday morning fresh twist out but a more full, less sculpted, with more body version.
You could also add a little water right before retwisting if you think you hair needs the moisture.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for this. I am an olive oil girl myself. Works charms.
I’m sure you are backed up with upcoming posts, I’d love to hear from others about hump day ideas. I wash on Saturday or Sunday, and by Wednesday by hair is looking like party’s over. I’ve been trying to do the Kimmay suggest of wetting my hair and remoisturizing every few days, but my hair is NOT into it. What to do?
The night before I wash my hair I pre-poo with olive oil. I wash my hair in the morning with rhassoul clay or a shikakai shampoo bar. I then follow with a conditioner to detangle and also use as a leave-in. I use the Tightly Curly Method to style for the week. I have found that I can do buns, ponytails, or wear it out without extreme manipulation with this method. I make my own curly hair serum and usually add vegetable glycerin and castor oil to whatever conditioner I’m using at the time. I’m thinking my hair is a 3B.
My routine is pretty simple and can hardly be called a regimen at all lol. I’ve been trying to bring down the amount of products I use. My products are now: shea butter, olive oil, Tresemme conditioner, and water, and I could actually do without the conditioner.
I pre-poo with shea butter and olive oil. I let it sit for a few minutes, 10 maybe 15, and then I wash with conditioner. Lately I’ve actually been doing without the conditioner and my hair feels fine.
I’m mostly 4a btw, with small amounts of 3c and 4b.
After I wash I rub some olive oil/ shea butter through my hair and let it dry or style it, whatever.
This is my thing lately and my hair (which already felt soft) is feeling softer and healthier. Yay!
so you don’t use shampoo, and now you’re not using conditioner either? isn’t that somewhat gross? I’m just saying…
This post is timely, since I am on a new regimen and enjoying seeing my 4c coarse/thick hair bloom before my eyes.
I used to hate wash day with a passion. I was always walking away from the experience with too much hair loss as a result of too much detangling. Now my regimen has everything to do with a as little manipulation as possible.
My tips for my bi-monthly wash-day regimen:
1. Definitely the pre-poo (as simple as olive oil and a plastic cap, or as concocted as avocado, banana or an egg mixed with some condish and some oil)
2. A tiny amount of low to no sud shampoo, being careful to use the pads of my fingers in a slow systematic rub. And mostly I allow the water to do a lot of the work.
3. I condition and then I’m out. If I don’t air dry with my castor and rosemary oil and shea butter mix, then I wring ever so slightly with a cotton tee and add the same mix and style.
I would say i’m mostly 4a with a little 4b my hair is not very porous at all water just beads on it and my thickness i would guess is pretty thin.
I don’t prepoo i just use a gentle shampoo that doesnt have sulphates. I actually wasn’t specifically looking for it but i’m a former product junkie so i was in cvs for whatever reason and it was half off so i picked it up. Its Giovanni hydrating-clarifying shampoo for normal to dry hair. Though its clarifying it doesn’t dry out my hair and leaves it feeling smooth and leaves my scalp feeling clean.
Then for conditioner i use aphogee keratin 2 minute reconstructor (was another impulse buy at sallys about 2 years ago) and after detangling with a wide tooth comb (the 2 minute reconstructor doesnt have a ton of slip but i detangle under running water so it works out) i pat off the droplets and put whipped shea butter (by oyin handmade) all over.
Sometimes i’ll change it up but these are my go to products. These work pretty well for me. When i first became natural i remember using all types of products and my hair would get rough after a few hrs but now it stays soft for days(probably mostly because of the shea butter).
Oh I shampoo and condition every 3 or 4 days and the only thing extra i do is wear my hair in a bun all the time cause i’m in the military now and wear a night scarf.
How do you use the Bentonite clay and baking soda? I heard using the clay for other things…..
After I wash my hair with shampoo, I add coconut oil to my conditioner. This leaves my hair feeling soft. At the moment I’m using the Honey Hemp Conditioner by Oyin and coconut oil I bought from my local whole foods store.
I wash every 3 to 4 days to keep my hair clean and clear. I also sleep with Miss Jessie Rapid Recovery treatment. Yes I know it’s alot of money But my hair love this stuff. Then I twist my hair up. With Shea butter , cocunut oil stuff I made up and I am good.
I’ve just had a light bulb moment!!!! I used to pre-poo when I had relaxed hair, why am I not doing this with my natural hair? Thanks for the reminder everyone.
I have 3b/3c hair and I wash it once a week when I deep condition. What I do is warm up some conditioner then mix it with a spoon of honey and a spoon of evoo then I leave that in my hair with a plastic bag for about an hour. Then I’ll before I’ll shampoo my hair and then separate my hair into four sections and comb and apply the mixture. I’ve found pre-pooing makes my hair smelly and greasy so I rarely do it.
I put in some conditioner before I wash. I also use the Shea Moisture Deep Clean shampoo, it rids my hair of all the extra build up but doesn’t leave that squeaky clean feeling. I luv it.
“Where do you get this shampoo from?”
Hmm…..lately, washing my hair hasn’t been such a great and terrible task. Well first off getting into the natural (ish) washing my hair was an EVENT! Yo, I was doing all kinds of concoctions and my hair grew grew grew, but then I got lazy :(. And the hair grew and I couldn’t necessarily handle it that much, had to get accustomed to it, it’s not super long, just a little longer than APL approaching MBL. I’m 4a 4b hair texture. So yea I got and tend to get alot of knots, but what’s been working for me especially in this lazy phase is a detangler, found an amazing one the other day some proline softener, and it really helps me out as far as knots go, detangling with this stuff is like magic, but I just started using it like a week ago but it works! Detanglers go a long way for naturals. I know its not like organic i guess the effects are left to be seen on the long run as I just started using it but this has simplified the after wash detangling process for me big time. I wash with castille peppermint soap, in an attempt to not strip my hair of too much oils, the soap has its own oils, It cleans my hair, and can clean it till it squeaks, I try to avoid this only shampooing once. But I don’t think the pH it leaves my hair at is ideal, my hair is hard to the touch, like it would be hair suicide to put a comb in it at this state back then I would add conditioner and go from there timely detangling, now I just use the detangler I mentioned earlier and detangling is a breeze. I know its not all natural but…yea its working for me right now. So yea, I’m a babbler as obvious, my hair recommendations are get a shampoo that shouldn’t dry your hair out, and invest in a good detangler. Oh and rinsing after the wash with Apple Cider Vinegar is an EXCELLENT idea. I don’t do this too often because I can be lazy at times, when I do, the length retention or growth I experience is yea….goood. 🙂 That’s my two cents.
do you mind sharing those ‘concoctions’ that made your hair ‘grow, grow, grow’?
I use Kinky Curly’s “Come Clean” shampoo followed up with “Knot Today”. Works really well.
Since I’m a freeform locer, my routine is so simple. All I ever do is wash my hair once a week, if not more, use ACV to clarify, and apply just a little bit of oil to my scalp. That’s it! The trick for me is just using prolonged rinses and, of course, using as few products as possible.
ps: their new formula is paraben free and sulfate free: http://www.avlon.com/keracaresulfatefree.html. yea!
i use KeraCare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo. love it. and it leaves my hair super soft.
Letting the oil and butter settle in overnight isn’t weird at all, I do the same thing with shea butter mixed with almond, olive, neem or amla oil with essential oils like rosemary. This way my scalp is already clarified when I wake up in the morning, as I use ayurvedic herbs such as bhringaraj, amla and shikakai. When washing with shampoo, even natural ones, I always get this ‘crispy’ hair feeling and a lot of tangles, even though I wash in braids.
I detangle prior to pre-pooing when my hair is dry, as it tangles super easily when wet and removing tangles on dry hair is easier for me. A quick tip: for those single strand knots I found that needles can be a hairsaver. Before I would just cut them out if I couldn’t unravel them, now I put a little oil or conditioner on the hair, take a very thin needle, look for the hole, and unravel the knot. Works in almost every case!
“Hi Maureen I would like to know where you get your items to do your hair?”
I have 4b hair a little past my shoulders. The most important thing for me is putting my hair in sections whether I pre-poo with an oil or conditioner. The sections allow me to focus on my scalp once it’s time to wash.
@Joanne so sorry chick!!!! 🙁 At least you know now!!!!!!
I’ve bee natural almost 7 years, it’s taken me almost 6 years and 2 BCs to know what i know now!!! I would wash my hair literally EVERYDAY when first went natural with all kinds of shampoos and was left with a hair dry and full of confusion and knots!!!!! With the help of blogs and youtube I’m becoming a little more wiser,and i’m still learning new tricks everyday!!!!! God bless you and your beautiful hair chick!!!!
I deep condition before I wash. I started that when I was relaxed at it has been smooth sailing ever since. I spray my hair with some water (sometimes and oil mix and water) and then I apply my DC.
I usually let that set over night and then I rinse it in the shower. I shampoo (which is a must for me) and then I add my quick conditioner (as of right now HE Hello Hydration). I leave that in for a few minutes then I rinse it out. As soon as I get out of the shower I apply my Darcy’s Botanical’s leave in (that stuff right there…no words for how great it is) and then add my shea butter mix to seal. Style as usual.
I think DC’ing on mostly dry hair has made a hug difference in how my hair absorbs the conditioner as well as how much moisture I retain throughout the week.
i always pre-poo with oils and sometimes condish for atleast a couple of hours before clarifying with either castile soap, a sulfate free poo or doing an ACV rinse…if i forget to pre-poo then i just do a co-wash and then wash later in the week. on wash day i wash, follow up with a co-wash, detangle with my fingers, and then DC…i like DCing overnight w/o heat the best, and since i only do WnGs i just rinse it out in the morning, shake and apply condish as a leave-in and then do a cool rinse, or just spritz with whatever is in my spray bottle and push back w/ a headband
I do a pre-poo as well. Sometimes I just soak olive oil in my hair overnight. Another thing I like to do is after I was, I don’t do a whole lot to it, I spray a little leave-in conditioner (maybe), then just braid it up and put some olive oil on my scalp and let it dry. When I take it down it’s usually very soft and well moisturized. I have medium thick hair.
Where was this post last night. i washed yesterday
and my hair is so clean and for natural’s thats not
always a good thing :(, it’s so dry im trying to load
my hair up with oils and some moisture to get it back
to being the hair i knew and loved before i washed.
BLAH I’m so irritated right now
my hair is thick and some 4a, some 3c. I have found that pre-pooing is a godsend! hair is soft and lush, way less tangles/knots, and feels fine after shampooing (not stripped or squeaky clean).
Fingercombing through hair with lots of conditioner is also key before trying to do it with a comb.
I like the setup that Mop Top Maven shared for her twists/twistouts which was to use a leave in, then a moisturizer, seal with oil, then twist with styling/holding butter. I’d always just done part of those steps, but I liked the results with doing all of it! and it wasn’t time consuming or a lot of product used, just had never thought to do it all at the same time
http://socialitedreams.wordpress.com
One thing I strongly believe, as 3rd time loc-er, that people who loc must treat their hair differently than other naturals. It is not enough to just co-wash, you must shampoo because locs are more prone to buildup. I use clarifying shampoos and humectant conditioners. Even if they have those so called “bad” chemicals I use what works for my hair. And I wash my hair on the same schedule that I did when I was relaxed, and a non-loced natural. Some people believe the myth that locs should not be washed often. Giving into that myth are what gives locs a bad connotation. Those are my $.02 😀
1.Putting conditioner in my hair first to make my hair smoother to wash
2.Sectioning my hair in 5 big sections
3. Using sulfate free shampoo
4.gently scratching my hair to see where the build-up is
5. Putting conditioner then tons of oil
6. Rinse then apply a little shea butter and massage coconut oil to the scalp
Thats my wash routine thats helped me the most
Oh BTW i have very thick shoulder length 4b hair……
Before i wash my hair,i apply olive oil and melted shea butter (I really could just use one or the other, but what the hey!) to my hair and scalp and detangle with my denman brush, after which i place big plaits all over my head and go to bed to let the oil and butter settle in (is that weird?)
The next morning i co-wash with Queen Helene Cholesterol Conditioner, and once every two weeks i wash my hair with black soap and then condition my hair with Queen Helene.
When i’m done washing i moisturize with olive oil and/or shea butter, twist, style, puff,or whatever i’m doing with my hair for the day or week, and go be cute!!!!