101 Natural Hair Tips: Wash Day Hair Tips 21-30

First things first…confession time. As much as I love my hair, I am not a lover of the wash day tango! I’ve heard the argument.

” If you don’t love your washday, maybe you need to change your regemin”.

 

I think there may be some truth to that statement, but in my case I can’t agree. I’ve never liked washday, even when I was a kid. My hair has always been very thick and adding water is my kryptonite!  Unfortunately for me there is no way around it, to have hhealthy hair, you have to keep it cleansed. Since returning to natural I’ve found a few tips and tricks that help cut down on time and stress to my tresses. BT dubs, this is also post 3 in series of 10 billion on 101 Natural Hair Tips. For now check out our washday tips and I’ll link the other post ( Natural Hair Basics 1 and 2) at then end of the post.

 

21. Detangle Hair before washing.

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but it’s the number one tip to reduce hair loss and cut down on wash time. Section the hair into as many sections as needed ( usually 4-6). Depending on how tangled my hair is I sometimes start with as many as eight and combine a few of them in larger chunky twists as I go along. Try added some conditioner and water to aide in the process. Use a clip to pin up the completed section.

 

22.Detangle using a wide tooth comb, detangling brush, or your fingers.

My fingers are my magic tool of choice. When using your fingers, you get to feel the hair as you are detagling. However I also love detangling combs and brushes. The wider the tooth the better. Make sure your comb or bush doesn’t have any missing or broken teeth. They could snag or pull on your hair and cause damage to your strands. I usually end up with 4 sections.

23. Start detangling from ends and work towards the root.

There is one very simple rule in place here. Don’t comb from the root to tip. By starting at the ends and working your way up the shaft it minimizes hair loss. The most effective technique that I have found is to add the conditioner, and finger detangle under running water.

24. Wash your hair in the sections

This simple step will avoid retangling your tresses. Apply the shampoo at the root and work towards the ends. Make sure to cleanse the scalp, by gently massaging the scalp with your finger tips. Then work the later down the twist to the ends. Avoid using a circular motion this can encourage tangles and clumping of the hair.

 

25. Use sulfate free shampoo, cowashs, or ACV rinses to cleanse your hair.

Now I’m not hear to agrue for or against either method. I’ve used all three and they all work. However, if you find that your normal products aren’t working you may need to do a clarifying shampoo. I do one every 2 or 3 months.

26. After shampooing spray hair with olive oil.

After shampooing but before conditioning, run some Olive oil through your hair. I find this helps with manageability and softness,especially between deep conditioning. Rinse all the shampoo out. Run some Olive oil through your hair. Work down the shaft, the rinse.

27. Apply conditioner with praying hands method.

I know it sound weird but just give it a try. It will decrease the opportunity for tangles, as well as coax the cuticle to lay flat. The cleaning process raises the cuticle, and now we need to make sure it starts the process of closing to lock in the moisture.

28. Deep condition with heat.

Adding heat helps to penetrate the hair shaft increasing the  effectivness of the product. If you don’t have a hooded dryer, use a plastic cap, or plastics bags and use your own body heat.

29. Be careful of protein overload.

Although protein is good for your hair, you don’t want to over do it. I’ve read if the label says “repair” wither its a DC or a leave in, it has protein in it. Too much protein will cause excessive drying and damage. It’s almost as bad as heat damage, which ironically protein prevents…but that’s for a future post.

30. Document The Process !

I can’t stress this enough. I can’t tell you how much impact this will have on increasing the amount of good hair days. It’s like cooking from a recipe verses cooking from memory. By keeping a simple hair journal of what products you used and how you used them, you’ll easily be able to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Now here’s to an easier washday! For more tips click the links below.

Natural hair basics 1-10

Natural hair basics 11-20

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