Lifestyle

It is worth noting that I am a grown woman who works in a corporate office environment. I am incredibly lucky that my workplace allows natural hair to be worn without penalty.

I rarely use heat, as it risks damage, and it takes long to dry my hair. I do not go to the salon/braider, so my hair care will truly be the bare minimum to save energy because I struggle with fatigue, joint/muscle pain and more.

I currently live in an area that gets very humid, especially in the summer. An old friend who visited once described it as "feeling like your swimming through the air", which is a nightmare for natural hair! I have had many styles ruined or succumb to almost full shrinkage because of the amount of moisture in the air.

I tend to wear my hair in large twists in a bun (I don't use gel, to prevent build up!), so I don't have to stress about planning my hair styles based on the weather. Twists are also low maintainance and predictable.

The fun part? If I get tired of twists, I can unravel them and wear a twist out ! Two styles in one.

Examples of my twistouts:

Skipping wash day

Ideally, I wash my hair every week or every other week, then immediately twist my hair. It could be 4 twists or 20, depending on how I feel.
During flare ups, if I don't wash my hair I hydrate weekly instead. I take my spray bottle, separate my hair into sections, wet my hair, brush WHILE wet to prevent breakage, then add leave in conditioner or oil before retwisting. Sometimes I skip brushing. After that, I am done for the week.

I use a similar method during wash day, so read below for the details.

Wash Day: Self-Love & Holy Grails

It is not uncommon for black woman to say it takes hours or days to prepare/wash their hair. That used to be me, until I learned how to work with my hair and eventually found products that help cut down time. What I will explain below is after years of trial and error and learning how to accept my hair.

Wash day Routine:

Entire Duration: 1.5 hours or less

I typically prepare my hair outside the shower, then wash it inside the shower. If I am not feeling well enough to stand, I use a shower chair, which I have linked in the Link/resources sidebar section.

• Prepare to detangle by parting the hair into sections
  


• Spray each section with water
  


• Use a detangling brush on each section. Always brush/comb on wet hair. Dry hair will rip and break off. Start brushing from the ends of your hair to the root, to minimize breakage.
  


• I loosely twist it back to get the hair out of my way before washing.
  
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  Ways to wash the hair:
  
  Small sections
  Each half of the head separately
  Let the hair free and lather the entire head at the same time.
  
  I prefer washing each half of my head separately, so my hair does not tangle like it would free. I don't have a holy grail shampoo or conditioner, so I switch between Aussie and Head and Shoulders. I noticed that they help reduce itchiness after periods where I can't wash my hair. Optionally, using a scalp massager helps clean each section, when my hands hurt too much. I don't always use conditioner, but when I do, I leave it in for five minutes (which is not long) since I always use a leave in later.
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  Drying the hair:
  
  I dry my hair enough so it doesn't drip, by wrapping it with a 100% cotton shirt, then squeeze some of the water out of my hair. The cotton shirt helps reduce frizziness afterwards.
  
  While still soaking wet, I add in "Camille Rose Curl Love Moisture Milk" leave in conditioner, twist my hair, may or may not tie it into a bun, and let it air dry.
  
  Twisting throughout the process may seem tedious, but it prevents tangling for me. The final twists are at least in four sections because my hair is thick and they would unravel otherwise. Throughout the week, I may make each section smaller, so the style will last longer.
  
  This entire process from detangling to the final twists take 1.5 hours or less !
  

  Final Hair (front)

  
  
  Here is how my twists look from the front. I let it air dry until damp and retwisted for some volume. I pinned it so it wouldn't stick out as well. The back is four large twists in a bun which are not pictured.




• Bonus:

  Here is my product list for when I want to go all out during wash day: After washing hair, I use the LCO method: Leave in, cream, and oil. Then I twist my hair neatly enough to wear it down instead of in a bun.
  
  
  
  I sometimes use a deep conditioner instead of a leave in/regular conditioner, at least until I hydrate my hair between washes! I deep condition with a foiled cap or plastic cap on my hair for 30 minutes+.

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You can email or comment on my guesbook if you have any questions !