Regimen/Routine Building

When I’m with some of my fellow newly naturals and especially those transitioning to natural, I’m always asked what regimen/products/styles do I like to use. So I thought it was good idea to share my personal regimen with those who are going through some of the same trials I did. These tips can be used for those with relaxed or natural hair. And I have click-able links to where you can buy the majority of the products listed below. I hope you find it useful, and if you have your own regimen or advice make sure to comment! It’s not a competition it’s about us all being on the come-up! We should help and support each other as much as we can!

The things that’s important to remember when building a healthy regimen is that its purpose is to help reach your personal hair goals. For most of us our goals include healthy hair and retaining length. To meet these goals it’s important to develop a routine featuring these steps:

A Pre-Poo treatment: Because the ingredients in shampoos can be harsh and strip your hair of the natural oils that your hair needs to stay healthy.

Cleanse: Washing out the build-up from the products you use daily.

Conditioning: helps to restore nutrients that may have been stripped from your hair during the cleansing step. Also helps with detangling.

Detangling: So you can prevent knotting and excess pulling on your stands.

Deep Conditioning (DC): Penetrates the strands deeply. DCs Adds nutrients for strength, shine and softness.

Moisturize/Seal: Because African American hair tends to be dryer than other ethnicities it’s important to add as much moisture as possible so your hair maintains softness and less breakage. It is also important to use natural/essential oils to help lock in that moisture.

Style (protective): Use your favorite styling products to create your favorite hair styles. Also try to add protective styles to your regimen. They help protect the ends of your hair which will help you retain length!

My Current Routine:

Every other Saturday or Sunday…

• I first thoroughly saturate hair with water and then divide my hair into 4-8 sections.

• I use a mixture of olive, castor and coconut oil as my pre-poo (also known as a "oil rinse"). I apply the mixture to each section and then cover my hair with a shower cap and keep it on for 30 min. to an hour.

• I then rinse the oils out of my hair (while they are still in sections) and then apply my shampoo (Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure Castile soap, Carol’s Daughter Tui Herbal Shampoo), and work it through each section.
• I rinse the shampoo out of my hair (while they are still in sections).
• I apply conditioner (Yes To Tomatoes Nourishing Conditioner, Aussie Moist) to each section and using my tangle teezer or a wide tooth comb I carefully detangle my hair starting at the ends and working my way up to the roots.
• While my hair is still in sections I rinse out the conditioner and then add my favorite deep conditioner (Curl Harmony Intensive Deep Conditioner, Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner). I place a shower cap on my head. Depending on how late it is and what I have in mind for styling, I let the DC stay on my hair from 1hr to overnight.
• I then wash it out and add my leave-in conditioner and moisturizer (Yes to Cucumbers Color Care Leave-in Conditioner, Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream, Carol’s Daughter Tui Herbal Leave in Conditioner, water/conditioner mix) evenly throughout my hair.
• I seal in the moisture using either coconut oil or vatika oil. I seal my ends by adding my own shea butter mixture (which I’ll share with you all in a later post!)
• I then style my hair as follows:

-Bantu Knot-out: (Miss Jessie’s Curly Meringue)

-Two-strand Twist-out: (Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie)

-Wash and gos: (Kinky Curly Curling Custard, Eco-Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel, Homemade Flax Seed Styling gel, Smooth ‘N Shine Polishing Super Shine Conditioning Gel)

I hope this gives a little insight on regimen building. Don’t feel as if you have to use the same products or exact same steps as I do. Find what works for you! You can only do that by experimenting and playing around with different things. Once you do, let me know your routine/regimen. I’m always looking for tips and better techniques!