I’m sure you’ve seen all of the memes circulating online about wash day for natural hair. Well, you can put your mayonnaise, salad dressing and 50 million products back in the fridge. There’s also no need to sigh or dread the process. We know you’ve got places to go and people to see, so we have a few tips to make sure your wash day doesn’t take FRO-ever.
The keys to any successful wash day are moisture, manageability and manipulation.
Say it with us…MMM!!! Sounds satisfying, doesn’t it? Yep. But nothing from your fridge required.
Moisture
We’d be doing you a disservice if we didn’t stress the importance of using the right hair products for your hair type. Natural hair, particularly type 4 hair, needs moisture, every step of the way. And have we got The product line for you; cleansing, conditioning and styling products, chockfull of moisture and made with premium natural ingredients. Now, this isn’t a shameless plug. The truth is the truth. And our pre-shampoo, by itself is THE TRUTH. It’ll knock a good 30 minutes, or more, off your wash day. See, detangling can be a naturalista’s nightmare. Your hair is already in its most fragile state when it’s wet. Then, it will likely try to test your patience and try to knot up on you. Well, not today.
We combined the natural healing benefits of aloe vera and coconut water into an ultra-conditioning formula. It’ll help your coils, curls and kinks retain moisture, making them stronger and detangled in the process. So be sure to get your hands on some pre-poo, before you ever touch your hair.
Speaking of cleansing, a hot shower might feel great on your body, but it’s a no-no for natural hair, drying it out and making it feel parched; which you definitely don’t want after all of that pre-poo goodness you just put into it.
The same goes for conditioning. First of all, you definitely don’t want to skip, or skimp on, this step. You can decide on the level of conditioning your hair needs, based on how it feels or how you intend to style it. Whether you choose an instant conditioner, hot oil treatment, or deep conditioner, you will need to lock that moisture in. So, always rinse out conditioner with cool to cold water, to seal the cuticle and boost shine.
If you don’t have a removable shower head, it’s going to be FR-REEZING. But we like to think that’s better than being FR-RRRUSTRATED. So just go ahead and take one for the team; team natural that is.
Manageability
There are certain natural hair types that are just more prone to tangling. The pre-poo and other moisturizing products in your regimen should also help drastically with manageability. So will doing your hair in sections. Be sure to divide your hair into at least 6 sections, twist or braid them up and work with each one individually.
Manipulation
Low manipulation essentially means keeping the handling, styling and maintenance of your hair to a minimum. While most people tend to think of protective styles like braids, wigs and weaves, when it comes to low manipulation, most of those options won’t work, if your goal is to shave some time off your wash day routine. Ideally, you want to select a style that’s easy to install AND that you can maintain, for at least a couple of days, without having to touch your hair.
That makes a twist out our number one choice. But what we also suggest you do, is delay the out part of your twist out, for a few days.
As long as you’re going to keep your twists in for a while, you have the option to air dry them, as opposed to spending time sitting under the dryer. More time reclaimed.
There are also lots of styles, including buns and updos that you can achieve without having to unravel them.
Then, in a few days, you can take down your twists, if you want, and wear your hair out in all of its natural glory, remoisturizing as needed.
Wash day will of course be here again before you know it. But the great news is that it should no longer take you an entire day. If it still does, after using these tips, you might have to reevaluate if you’re Team Doing Too Much.
Happy Wash Day!
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