Long time no talk! In the past couple of months, I have been extremely busy with work and home life. I haven’t had the time to blog, do my Selfcare Sundays or even hit the gym (oh how I miss the steam room at Equinox). One of the things I have managed to do while is successfully cut my wash n go / maintenance routine in half. Actually come to think about it, I’ve probably cut it down by more than half 💅🏾💅🏾
I big chopped aka cut all my locks off back in August of 2016. I thought that would mean my hair would be easier to do and my curls would be poppington all the time!
WRONG!! Remember William from Girlfriends? Yes. That would be me since I couldn’t manage to figure out how to keep the moisture locked in all while simultaneously defining my curls. All the girls on YouTube make it so easy!! I had my spray bottle, olive oil. satin bonnet and Shea Moisture curling smoothie!! why weren’t my curls on FLEEK dammit?! I became a total product junkie, which I believe actually is allowed when you first big chop or transition to natural hair. I was trying everything! But none of the methods I would try would give me the results I wanted.
Insert – the conditioner rinse method. It sounds like what I’ve been doing and what I’ve been hearing about already. Cowashing right? Nope. It isn’t. Most cowashing products still have some sort of cleansing ingredient in them. A cowash or “cleansing conditioner” is what you’d use on your wash day in place of shampoo.
Cowash vs. Conditioner
This is strictly conditioner rinsing using an actual conditioner. Howeverrrrrrrrr the difference here is, after rinsing the conditioner of your choice, you’re applying the leave in + styling product to soaking wet hair. Sounds like a disaster right? That’s what I thought too. Even with my TWA, after I got out of the shower, my hair would start to dry immediately when applying the product to damp hair and I would end up having this ungodly white cast. The key to this method is introducing water as your base and source of hydration (hello, think of why water based products work best) and then sealing that hydration in with a moisturizer before the water starts to dry out. Your curls will be shiny, have movement, bouncy, soft and most of all moisturized!
This 5 step method is simple, easy, and takes maybe 5 minutes give or take depending on your hair length.
Step 1: Get in the shower and run that glorious water through those curls. This is my favorite part tbh. So I might just stand there for the whole 5 minutes If I have the time to do so.
Step 2: Add a healthy amount (NOT NO DIME SIZE) of your favorite detangling conditioner.
(Because what the hell is a dime size of anything going to do for me?)
This is the important part here, you want it to be a conditioner with a lot of slip to make the detangling process easy breezy in this piece. I like to alternate between Trader Joes Spa & Tea Tree Conditioner. They’re super cheap and come with a lot of product. Plus, the slip is the bomb dot com. I SEE YOU TRADER JOES!!
Step 3: Detangle. Don’t be shy, get all the way in there. Your hair is dripping wet so this process shouldn’t take that long. You see why I told you to hop in the shower? Doing this over the kitchen sink would have your bathroom floor and mirror looking like a nightmare. I use my fingers during this process, but if you think you really need a comb, then go for it babe. You’ll start to feel your curls clumping together and you’ll have MAD MOVEMENT SON. This part is crucial because in essence, THIS is the part that determines your definition.
Step 4: I like to let the conditioner sit while I finish the rest of my shower duties (wash, shave, exfoliate etc.) Rinse. Rinse it all out baby!
Step 5: While hair is still soaking wet. While hair is still soaking wet. While hair is still soaking wet. While hair is still soaking wet. Don’t touch that cotton T shirt!!! Put it ZOWN!! Apply your leave in and styling product of choice. I currently like to use the Camille rose naturals coconut water leave in or the Kinky Curly Knot today leave in since both are lightweight with hella slip. After, I apply Camille Rose Naturals Moisture Milk as my styler. You can hang up this step as you see fit and only use a leave in or only use a moisturizer, whatever suits you best. But the point is to get sectioning and spray bottles TF outta here. Nobody got time for that. Seriously, I don’t have the time.
Step 6: I know I said it was 5 steps, but I don’t even count this as a step because this is the fun part. SHAKE! Shake it like a POLAROID PICTURE! HEYA! Shake that mane to the front, to the back and to the side! This part gets the curls nicely and naturally clumped without having to finger coil.
AND DAS IT. I like to let it air dry but you can choose to use a blow dryer or diffuser if you feel necessary or to speed up the drying process. Please let me know in the comments below if you’ve tried this method!
As Always, spreading Love and Lavender,
Knight