Developing a Hair Regimen

As I stated in my previous post, having a regimen is very important. It tells you what to do and when to do it. it has to be said that developing an effective Regimen is only the begining, Patience is KEY in any journey. As you hair grows, you need to maintain your routine.

what you'll need to work out is when you would like to

• Wash
• Condition
• Seal/Moisturise
• Style

Wash:

You need to decide how often you would like to wash your hair and what you'll be washing it with. i need not remind you that whatever product you choose will greatly impact  the health of your hair. Using regular shampoo have been shown to dry out hair and strip it off its natural oils so i wouldnt recomend it. However, this doesnt mean that you cant use them. i would suggest washing your hair with a sulphate free shampoo (sulphate is an ingredient that dries out your hair) theres loads on the market. An inexpensive option would be Tresemme Naturals which is what i use. it isnt neccesary to shampoo wash your hair every week, i wash my hair atleast once  a month, and if need be every 2 weeks. This isnt a rule but only a guideline , if you have lots of build up, regular or clarifying shampoo can be used.  Please note that there several types of shampoo seven to be exact ( i only know of 7 anyway lol)

Condition

once your hair has been washed, the next step is to condition. this step is less complicated. different conditioners do different thigs for your hair, (i.e if your hair is damaged you'll need a conditioner for damaged hair. if its dry or needs moisture you'll use a moisturising conditioner) again i like to use Tresemme Naturals smoothing conditioner. do use your research to find a suitable conditioner for your needs.

When you're not washing your hair with shampoo, you can opt to wash it with condtioner instead, this is called co-washing, this is an alternative way to cleanse your hair. A good rinse out conditioner is used to wash hair as normal, this will leave your hair well moisturised without the dryness of shampoo. Again, any shampoo can be used ilike to use Herbal Essenses :Hello Hydration when i co-wash

Tresemme Naturals Shampoo and Conditioner

You might also like to deep condition your hair. This optional but highly recommended. The simplest way to do this would probably be to use a conditioner of your choice (I like to add some olive oil and some honey)  wrap ur hair up and either put on a steaming cap or walk around/ do whatever you need to do for about 30 minutes. This way your body/scalp will generate heat on its own which will inturn condition your hair. Rinse out will cool water so your cuticles are closed and moisture is retained.

Moisturising

Once your hair has been rinsed out, follow up with a good leave in conditioner. I like to use the kera care brand. Hair especially Black hair needs moisture so it is important that you get this right. As always it will be a case of trial ands error finding the right products for your hair. Some will over moisturise or even dry out your hair. Natural butters such as Shea butter are always a good place to start. You can opt for readymade moisturisers but be sure to check out the ingredients amd ensure that they do not things like parrafin. Also always seal your ends with oils light oils like EVCO,EVOO. And if you suffer from really dry ends heavier oils like castor oil will keep those ends moisturised. 

Styling

This the fun part. You can be as daring, creative, crazy, experimental as you like the possibilities are endless. For example: afros, puffs, twist outs, braid outs, bantu knot outs etc .If you do not wish to have your Afro out all the time, you can also choose to have some protective styling. This is your chance to try different styles that you wouldn't otherwise have on your natural hair. I.e. you can choose to straighten your weaves as supposed to your natural hair. Options also include but are not limited to cornrows, Senegalese twists, Marley braids, solange braids, locks, wigs, half wigs etc 

Protecting your hair while you sleep is also crucial to prevent breaking, snagging etc. satin bonnets, silk pillow cases, scarf can prevent this from happening. 

Hope you found this post helpful I'll include some pictures of how I like to style my hair with some protective styling included. :)xxx

Twist out on twa.                       

Protective styling-braids

Protective styling - weave

Full blown fro

Newly Natural???

For me, going natural was a fairly easy decision. I had pretty much stopped relaxing my hair for around 7 months, I'd taken my hair out and I looked like a troll doll (quiet literally lol) and at this point I was saying to myself 'it's not that bad, I can always relax it and it'll be fine...' But in reality, it WAS that bad. My sister had just taken the plunge and I had just helped her with her "big chop" and 1 month later in true 'YOLO' style she suggested I did it too and I said "Yes, why not?" and that was the start of my journey. It seriously was the best decision I made last year even though I didn't think it then.

Are you considering going natural? Have you already taken the plunge or are you currently mid transition? The best advice I can give is that you should really think about WHY you want to take this step, as you really need to do this for the right reasons. I'm sure you've all heard the phrase "if you rush in, you'll rush out" and some of you might think 'no way does this apply to hair', but sadly it does... I have some friends who caught 'the fever' and thought "I'm ready to do this!" and sadly a couple of months in, they were seriously struggling and couldn't reach for the 'creamy crack' soon enough. I understand that 'natural' hair isn't for everybody, you might find that your hair is really thick and difficult to comb through and it just hurts or you just prefer the 'relaxed' look. The fact is that no ones hair is the same. Your friend's hair may be curly and soft and full of life and you may be expecting the same from your hair, sorry to disappoint you (and for some it's really a disappointment) but we all have different hair textures, not to talk of genes lol. So expecting your hair to be like that of your friends, or even sister (yes sister) is a big no no!

Yes, I took the plunge mainly because my sister made me do it. She had just 'bc'd' and she felt lonely, I wasn't really thinking about it and I went ahead and chopped it all off. I didn't know how to feel about it, some days I loved it, others I cried (yes I HATE cutting my hair, something about getting a trim or haircut gets me teary lol x_x) and on several occasions I wanted to reach for the relaxer because I missed having hair. Sometimes, I feel as though all of that could have been avoided if I had thought about it a bit more and done it for ME and not because my sister needed a 'buddy'. In all I'm very happy I stuck with it and didn't wimp out.

So have you decided to take this step (for the right reasons)? If so, then stay tuned and read through my suggestions.
I'm sure you will find this helpful. This is a truly rewarding journey (if done properly) and I'm confident that you will find as much joy as i have in seeing it through to the end.

1) To put it quite simply, if your newly natural, you need a hair Regimen. If not, you might find yourselves clueless and struggling, I know I did. It got to the point that I had no clue what to do, I was so used to getting my relaxers then a couple of weaves then relaxer again, that when it came down to me actually looking after my own hair, I struggled. Making a routine for yourself will definitely help and for that you might want a diary/calendar, anything you feel will help you remember when you're scheduled to do certain things.

2) Keep it simple. No doubt as a new natural, your bombarded with lots of products on the market and people telling you to get 'this' or 'that', "Trust me it works", "Your hair will grow loads". I'm not saying they are definitely wrong, but the one thing you don't want to be is a 'product junkie'. It will not only cost you money, but please save yourself the disappointment when a product someone swears by does little or nothing for your hair. I can not stress this enough we're all DIFFERENT. (I think that should be my motto lol).

3) Expensive doesn't mean effective. Don't be fooled, just because a product is marketed quite cleverly by a big brand doesn't mean it's more effective than a cheaper alternative. Do your research! A brand named moisturiser can cost £15 or so, whilst raw Shea butter, which costs less, can do the same if not a better job.

The basis of this is that you need to:
-Wash
-Condition
-Seal/moisturise
-Style
Now for most this is the hard part. It's all about trial and error, you're going to love some products and hate others . It can be costly and frustrating but once you get the right products you'll be good to go.

I feel like I've ranted enough (I get quite passionate when I start to talk about hair lol) my next post will talk about those 4 steps highlighted above and I'll delve into them a bit more.

Thanks for reading guys xxx