2018 Hair Regimen Development: Design, Rationale, Revision, Reflection

[ElevatedEnergy]

Working on a warm weather regimen. I usually style my hair in 2 braids (cornrows) while in the shower, but I don't want to do that this year as I feel like I was losing more hair than I should have. So I'm working on a wet high bun (after washing) routine that I can transition into a low bun.

So far this is what I have:
Wash & apply leave in and Shea butter.
OR
Wash & Deep condition overnight then just leave the deep conditioner in as a leave in.
(I usually alternate between those 2 wash routines)

Pull hair up into a wet bun and allow the outer parts of bun to dry during the day. Before bed, put hair in a few jumbo twists so the inside of the bun can dry throughout the night and pin them down to keep them stretched.





Next morning, gather twists into a ponytail and wrap them around each other into a high bun.





The bun is fully dried now and I started the process on Sunday. I would like to now keep the bun in until the weekend. My hair is super moisturized from leaving my deep conditioner in. I did use a light coating of Shea Butter on my ends before tucking them in the bun so I am good on moisture for at least 5 days so that's when I'll take the bun down. Instead of transitioning the bun like I want into a low bun, I'll probably just wash and restart the process. I did a henna/indigo treatment before this experiment so I'll need to wash and get a clean slate so I wont have indigo shavings falling out my hair whenever I touch it. LOL

So my goal is to:
High bun for 7 days and transition into a low bun for 3 to 7 days. I usually wash weekly in the warm months but honestly it is tiring and I would like to go back to my 2 week washing schedule. Just need to find a process that will let me do that.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

@CurlyWhoCrux


Do you clarify/chelate? When you say your hair never seems healthy what do you mean? Is it breaking, splitting,etc? It looks healthy with a bit of frizz to me but you know your hair better than I do. I think that you have done a great job so far. Maybe if you tell us the look you are going for some other ladies can chime in. Why do you feel the need to detangle several times a week? Do you know your porosity? I'm not familiar with the conditioner you use. Does it have a lot of slip? Are you diluting the conditioner that you use to moisturize or are you using as is? What deep conditioner do you use? Are you using a conditioner to moisturize because you have tried products labeled as moisturizers and they failed or is it because it has worked in the past? If it is the latter, our hair and hair needs tend to change over time. Did you move recently? What is your climate like? Have you changed medication or diet recently? I'm sorry if I'm bombarding you with questions but there are a lot of factors that affect the hair as far as dryness. When moisturizing do you do it on wet or damp hair? When I moisturize on wet hair I find it necessary to moisturize again when my hair is 80-90% dry. I hope the answers to these questions help to resolve some of your hair woes.

HHG

Hi! Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Do I clarify? Well I shampoo frequently. Is there another clarifier?

My hair doesn’t break a lot. There are splits from what I would say is normal wear and tear or age. It just always seems dry though. Like it’s rarely soft, it looks dull often.

The look I’m going for is I guess you would say a wash and go. But I like my ponytail/puff and buns too so I just want hair that looks healthy (non-dull, dark with sheen, soft, movement) in any of these styles.

I detangle often because my hair gets so dry I feel it starting to tangle very quickly so I like to stay ahead of too much dryness and tangling.

My hair is low porosity. Also my strands are coarse (thick and wiry).

The current conditioner that I use has some slip but not a lot. Also the longer I leave it in the harder my hair starts to feel.

The DC I have right now is from Eden body works. The one with jojoba and monoi I think. I don’t like it very much as it also leaves my hair not feeling soft but it’s all I have at the moment.

I think both of these conditioners might have too much protein/might be too strengthening.

I use a conditioner to moisturize just because they’re more accessible to me (I don’t drive but I live next to a grocery store and they don’t have moisturizers just conditioners). I do have some moisturizers that I’m using, I’m just worried I’ll use them up too quickly so I use them infrequently.

I am originally from the east coast/Midwest but I moved to the west coast eight months ago for school. But my hair was always dry back home too.

Medication and diet are mostly the same. I could definitely drink more water but my diet is pretty high in protein.

I’ve tried moisturizing on wet hair and damp hair. I can’t remember what the different results were.

 

[faithVA]

@CurlyWhoCrux, I'm not going to add many questions yet. Answering @Missjaxon's question should give us a good start.

What do you mean when you say your hair never seems healthy? Why don't you think it is healthy? Is it dry, breaking, thinning? ETA: You answered this.

How long does it usually take you to do your hair?

 

[faithVA]

Hi! Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Do I clarify? Well I shampoo frequently. Is there another clarifier?

My hair doesn’t break a lot. There are splits from what I would say is normal wear and tear or age. It just always seems dry though. Like it’s rarely soft, it looks dull often.

The look I’m going for is I guess you would say a wash and go. But I like my ponytail/puff and buns too so I just want hair that looks healthy (non-dull, dark with sheen, soft, movement) in any of these styles.

I detangle often because my hair gets so dry I feel it starting to tangle very quickly so I like to stay ahead of too much dryness and tangling.

My hair is low porosity. Also my strands are coarse (thick and wiry).

The current conditioner that I use has some slip but not a lot. Also the longer I leave it in the harder my hair starts to feel.

The DC I have right now is from Eden body works. The one with jojoba and monoi I think. I don’t like it very much as it also leaves my hair not feeling soft but it’s all I have at the moment.

I think both of these conditioners might have too much protein/might be too strengthening.

I use a conditioner to moisturize just because they’re more accessible to me (I don’t drive but I live next to a grocery store and they don’t have moisturizers just conditioners). I do have some moisturizers that I’m using, I’m just worried I’ll use them up too quickly so I use them infrequently.

I am originally from the east coast/Midwest but I moved to the west coast eight months ago for school. But my hair was always dry back home too.

Medication and diet are mostly the same. I could definitely drink more water but my diet is pretty high in protein.

I’ve tried moisturizing on wet hair and damp hair. I can’t remember what the different results were.

If you are low porosity you may want to try a few things.

First shampoo less. Shampooing often can be drying out your hair and you aren't giving it enough time to rebalance itself. Instead of shampoo try just water rinsing mid-week and putting conditioner on the lower half of your hair to detangle if you can.

If you need to use a conditioner for a leave-in, dilute it heavily. Try 1 oz of conditioner to 6 oz of water. My hair is low porosity and it doesn't really do well with conditioners being left in. I have found taking a leave-in which is already thin and diluting it and applying to my hair works better than applying things straight.

Check your products for silicones - dimethicone. You may want to avoid those while you are experiencing dryness issues. Amodimethicone should be water soluble and OK.

See if you can stick to the same products for a while. If you are low porosity I don't think you will be able to just use anything. Low porosity hair tends to be quite picky.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

If you are low porosity you may want to try a few things.

First shampoo less. Shampooing often can be drying out your hair and you aren't giving it enough time to rebalance itself. Instead of shampoo try just water rinsing mid-week and putting conditioner on the lower half of your hair to detangle if you can.

If you need to use a conditioner for a leave-in, dilute it heavily. Try 1 oz of conditioner to 6 oz of water. My hair is low porosity and it doesn't really do well with conditioners being left in. I have found taking a leave-in which is already thin and diluting it and applying to my hair works better than applying things straight.

Check your products for silicones - dimethicone. You may want to avoid those while you are experiencing dryness issues. Amodimethicone should be water soluble and OK.

See if you can stick to the same products for a while. If you are low porosity I don't think you will be able to just use anything. Low porosity hair tends to be quite picky.

Thanks!

Ok I will try shampooing less. I shampooed yesterday so I will try to hold off until next Monday.

Yes diluting has worked for me in the past, I don’t know why I always fall off from doing it. I’ll dilute from now on.

I already stay away from silicones and waxes and polyquats if I can help it.

The reason I would shampoo so much even tho I don’t use the aforementioned ingredients is because it seems like very quickly my hair seems dirty again. Although this could very well be due to just too thick of products (and maybe this will be solved with diluting heavily).

 

[faithVA]

Thanks!

Ok I will try shampooing less. I shampooed yesterday so I will try to hold off until next Monday.

Yes diluting has worked for me in the past, I don’t know why I always fall off from doing it. I’ll dilute from now on.

I already stay away from silicones and waxes and polyquats if I can help it.

The reason I would shampoo so much even tho I don’t use the aforementioned ingredients is because it seems like very quickly my hair seems dirty again. Although this could very well be due to just too thick of products (and maybe this will be solved with diluting heavily).

Unless you are break dancing on your head the probability your hair is dirty in a week is highly unlikely. You may want to try diluting your shampoo as well and concentrate on your scalp. And only lather once since you shampoo frequently.

 

[Missjaxon]

Hi! Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Do I clarify? Well I shampoo frequently. Is there another clarifier?

My hair doesn’t break a lot. There are splits from what I would say is normal wear and tear or age. It just always seems dry though. Like it’s rarely soft, it looks dull often.

The look I’m going for is I guess you would say a wash and go. But I like my ponytail/puff and buns too so I just want hair that looks healthy (non-dull, dark with sheen, soft, movement) in any of these styles.

I detangle often because my hair gets so dry I feel it starting to tangle very quickly so I like to stay ahead of too much dryness and tangling.

My hair is low porosity. Also my strands are coarse (thick and wiry).

The current conditioner that I use has some slip but not a lot. Also the longer I leave it in the harder my hair starts to feel.

The DC I have right now is from Eden body works. The one with jojoba and monoi I think. I don’t like it very much as it also leaves my hair not feeling soft but it’s all I have at the moment.

I think both of these conditioners might have too much protein/might be too strengthening.

I use a conditioner to moisturize just because they’re more accessible to me (I don’t drive but I live next to a grocery store and they don’t have moisturizers just conditioners). I do have some moisturizers that I’m using, I’m just worried I’ll use them up too quickly so I use them infrequently.

I am originally from the east coast/Midwest but I moved to the west coast eight months ago for school. But my hair was always dry back home too.

Medication and diet are mostly the same. I could definitely drink more water but my diet is pretty high in protein.

I’ve tried moisturizing on wet hair and damp hair. I can’t remember what the different results were.

@CurlyWhoCrux
I see that @faithVA has jumped in and given you a great start to a resolution. A clarifying product will remove product buildup left behind by regular shampoo. A chelating product cleanses more deeply by removing mineral buildup often found in hard water.

 

[Missjaxon]

Unless you are break dancing on your head the probability your hair is dirty in a week is highly unlikely.

@faithVA
I think I found this more funny than it was. I needed a laugh though. I love your wit with wisdom approach.

 

[faithVA]

@CurlyWhoCrux
I see that @faithVA has jumped in and given you a great start to a resolution. A clarifying product will remove product buildup left behind by regular shampoo. A chelating product cleanses more deeply by removing mineral buildup often found in hard water.

I figured since you had such great questions, you would be back to give your feedback. I just gave my feedback being a lo po head who has had years of issues. I just scraped the surface though.

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA
I think I found this more funny than it was. I needed a laugh though. I love your wit with wisdom approach.

I'm glad you got a good laugh. Did you get a good visual? Could you see the hair twirling and the feet flying in the air

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

Unless you are break dancing on your head the probability your hair is dirty in a week is highly unlikely. You may want to try diluting your shampoo as well and concentrate on your scalp. And only lather once since you shampoo frequently.

When I said dirty I meant like sticky from product; so I guess it felt product-y...

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

This week I have followed @faithVA ‘s advice.

Every day/night (depending on when I feel like doing my hair) I go in with a mix of water and a leave-in or moisturizer. I don’t know the exact measurements but it’s a incredibly watery mixture and I use a spray bottle to apply it. So I spray spray spray away until my hair is dripping and then I rub it in (probably spray some more lol) and then I put grapeseed oil on top and braid it up. I usually end up with eight braids on each side depending on how much work I feel like doing.

There was one day (I think Thursday) where I felt like I needed to wash my hair but I just water rinsed in the shower and did a super speedy cowash. When I got out I did the same method as above.

My braids only look good for like a day but sense it’s summer and I’m not going anywhere I just redo them each day. It gives me a chance to remoisturize and seal my hair that way too.

I tried hopping on the shea band wagon via the Butter Than This from TMC, but that stuff does not work well on my wet hair and I know part of the shea technique is to seal on wet hair. I still have half a container left of it so I either apply it as the very last step when M&S and only use a tiny amount, or I use it on completely dry hair for an expedited M&S session.

Tomorrow I’m gonna wash my hair. Gonna try diluting the shampoo and see what happens. My hair does fine with the shampoo I use so it’ll be interesting to see if diluting is somehow even better.

And then I’ll DC. I’m thinking of mixing together two conditioners and then diluting them heavily and spraying them on. Then I will braid my hair and leave the DC in for awhile. My hair seems to be moisturized when I braid it as opposed to twisting it or leaving it loose.

After I rinse out the DC, I’ll just restart the M&S method that I did this week.

 

[Missjaxon]

I figured since you had such great questions, you would be back to give your feedback. I just gave my feedback being a lo po head who has had years of issues. I just scraped the surface though.

@faithVA
I wanted to give her time to try your suggestions first because you have more experience with lo po hair. My hair behaved as though it was lo po at the beginning of my natural hair journey but now it seems more normal to high.

I'm glad you got a good laugh. Did you get a good visual? Could you see the hair twirling and the feet flying in the air

Yes, I could see it all. My mind is overly active. The visual played over and over. I was in tears laughing.

 

[Missjaxon]

This week I have followed @faithVA ‘s advice.

Every day/night (depending on when I feel like doing my hair) I go in with a mix of water and a leave-in or moisturizer. I don’t know the exact measurements but it’s a incredibly watery mixture and I use a spray bottle to apply it. So I spray spray spray away until my hair is dripping and then I rub it in (probably spray some more lol) and then I put grapeseed oil on top and braid it up. I usually end up with eight braids on each side depending on how much work I feel like doing.

There was one day (I think Thursday) where I felt like I needed to wash my hair but I just water rinsed in the shower and did a super speedy cowash. When I got out I did the same method as above.

My braids only look good for like a day but sense it’s summer and I’m not going anywhere I just redo them each day. It gives me a chance to remoisturize and seal my hair that way too.

I tried hopping on the shea band wagon via the Butter Than This from TMC, but that stuff does not work well on my wet hair and I know part of the shea technique is to seal on wet hair. I still have half a container left of it so I either apply it as the very last step when M&S and only use a tiny amount, or I use it on completely dry hair for an expedited M&S session.

Tomorrow I’m gonna wash my hair. Gonna try diluting the shampoo and see what happens. My hair does fine with the shampoo I use so it’ll be interesting to see if diluting is somehow even better.

And then I’ll DC. I’m thinking of mixing together two conditioners and then diluting them heavily and spraying them on. Then I will braid my hair and leave the DC in for awhile. My hair seems to be moisturized when I braid it as opposed to twisting it or leaving it loose.

After I rinse out the DC, I’ll just restart the M&S method that I did this week.

@CurlyWhoCrux

After following @faithVA suggestions, does your hair still feel sticky? You can use Shea on just damp hair. The key is moisturized hair which doesn't necessarily equate to dripping wet hair. I also find that pure whipped Shea is far more effective for me and the other ladies in the Shea thread. I read the reviews for the conditioner that you are using and a lot of them mentioned not having enough lasting moisture. I don't recommend making too many changes at once because if something works you won't know what it was. Of the moisturizers that you own, do any of them give more than one day neat braids and moisture? If you don't already, I would suggest adding heat to your regimen. For instance, when diluting the conditioner use warm water and deep condition with heat if you can. Heat may also help your moisturizer penetrate better as well. Try body heat first with a plastic cap. Since you diluted the DC anyway just gently squeeze the excess out and seal with the butter. But whatever you try make sure to record what you tried such as products, techniques, heat, etc. so that you have a reference.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

@Missjaxon

My hair felt less sticky. Also a bit dry. I think I just need to figure out a consistency that works better. I think I was using too much water and not enough moisturizer.

I typically use heat via a blow dryer with my soft hooded dryer. For the next month I won’t have that option. But yes, it’s something I do implement when I have the proper tools.

Neither of the moisturizers I used this week kept my hair looking neat. Soft, but not neat. But I was only using the leave-in/moisturizer and oil, so there was no reason for me to expect hold I guess lol. I just don’t own any stylers except a couple of gels that I rarely use.

 

[faithVA]

When I said dirty I meant like sticky from product; so I guess it felt product-y...

OK I understand.

 

[faithVA]

This week I have followed @faithVA ‘s advice.

Every day/night (depending on when I feel like doing my hair) I go in with a mix of water and a leave-in or moisturizer. I don’t know the exact measurements but it’s a incredibly watery mixture and I use a spray bottle to apply it. So I spray spray spray away until my hair is dripping and then I rub it in (probably spray some more lol) and then I put grapeseed oil on top and braid it up. I usually end up with eight braids on each side depending on how much work I feel like doing.

There was one day (I think Thursday) where I felt like I needed to wash my hair but I just water rinsed in the shower and did a super speedy cowash. When I got out I did the same method as above.

My braids only look good for like a day but sense it’s summer and I’m not going anywhere I just redo them each day. It gives me a chance to remoisturize and seal my hair that way too.

I tried hopping on the shea band wagon via the Butter Than This from TMC, but that stuff does not work well on my wet hair and I know part of the shea technique is to seal on wet hair. I still have half a container left of it so I either apply it as the very last step when M&S and only use a tiny amount, or I use it on completely dry hair for an expedited M&S session.

Tomorrow I’m gonna wash my hair. Gonna try diluting the shampoo and see what happens. My hair does fine with the shampoo I use so it’ll be interesting to see if diluting is somehow even better.

And then I’ll DC. I’m thinking of mixing together two conditioners and then diluting them heavily and spraying them on. Then I will braid my hair and leave the DC in for awhile. My hair seems to be moisturized when I braid it as opposed to twisting it or leaving it loose.

After I rinse out the DC, I’ll just restart the M&S method that I did this week.

How did your hair feel this week? See what works for you and make adjustments as necessary.

 

[faithVA]

@CurlyWhoCrux

After following @faithVA suggestions, does your hair still feel sticky? You can use Shea on just damp hair. The key is moisturized hair which doesn't necessarily equate to dripping wet hair. I also find that pure whipped Shea is far more effective for me and the other ladies in the Shea thread. I read the reviews for the conditioner that you are using and a lot of them mentioned not having enough lasting moisture. I don't recommend making too many changes at once because if something works you won't know what it was. Of the moisturizers that you own, do any of them give more than one day neat braids and moisture? If you don't already, I would suggest adding heat to your regimen. For instance, when diluting the conditioner use warm water and deep condition with heat if you can. Heat may also help your moisturizer penetrate better as well. Try body heat first with a plastic cap. Since you diluted the DC anyway just gently squeeze the excess out and seal with the butter. But whatever you try make sure to record what you tried such as products, techniques, heat, etc. so that you have a reference.

I agree. Don't change too much because you won't know what works. And definitely document. It helps when you can look back on it and see what worked and what didn't.

 

[faithVA]

How did your hair feel this week? See what works for you and make adjustments as necessary.

ETA: I asked before I saw your post. No need to answer. And yes you do need to work on the consistency of the conditioner. If you have a rinse out conditioner that is better to dilute than a deep conditioner but you have to use what you have.

 

[Missjaxon]

@CurlyWhoCrux

I'm glad to hear of your success in the other thread. My one suggestion is that you record the ingredients of what worked for you so that you can compare them in the future to other purchases and it may yield greater success in finding products that really work for you.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

@faithVA

Faith, I was looking through a very old thread recently on the CG Method and you posted frequently in the thread. You were having success with CG according to your posts. Why did you stop? Did something change with how your hair reacted to it?

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

@CurlyWhoCrux

I'm glad to hear of your success in the other thread. My one suggestion is that you record the ingredients of what worked for you so that you can compare them in the future to other purchases and it may yield greater success in finding products that really work for you.

Good idea.

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA

Faith, I was looking through a very old thread recently on the CG Method and you posted frequently in the thread. You were having success with CG according to your posts. Why did you stop? Did something change with how your hair reacted to it?

Um, I don't know. I was having success? Can You share the thread?

I probably stopped because I changed from using a permanent color to using a semi permanent color. And my semi permanent color bleeds from my hair if you look at it funny.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

Um, I don't know. I was having success? Can You share the thread?

I probably stopped because I changed from using a permanent color to using a semi permanent color. And my semi permanent color bleeds from my hair if you look at it funny.

https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/curly-girl-cg-challenge.543511/

 

[faithVA]

https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/curly-girl-cg-challenge.543511/

Wow that's been a while. Ok so this is what happened. I had a hair analysis done and the results came back that i had permanent heat damage. So I cut my hair to 2 inches. I thought CG would work on my short hair but it didnt. My hair was hard dry super shrunken and hard to deal with. And since I no longer had length it was too much trying to cowash often.

I've been waiting for my hair to grow to some reasonable length since then so I can do some type of rinse more often but I'm still waiting.

I've given up on having any type of wng hair and just sti,k to washing weekly.

Thanks for coming that.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

Wow that's been a while. Ok so this is what happened. I had a hair analysis done and the results came back that i had permanent heat damage. So I cut my hair to 2 inches. I thought CG would work on my short hair but it didnt. My hair was hard dry super shrunken and hard to deal with. And since I no longer had length it was too much trying to cowash often.

I've been waiting for my hair to grow to some reasonable length since then so I can do some type of rinse more often but I'm still waiting.

I've given up on having any type of wng hair and just sti,k to washing weekly.

Thanks for coming that.

Oh okay.

The reason I brought it up was because CG method was how I started my hair journey years ago and like you it didn’t work and I’ve been struggling for hydrated hair ever since.

But because of your suggestion to spray on my moisturizer I sort of feel like I’m back to CG because I use a conditioner and I saturate my hair and I only finger comb and I do it everyday. It feels like a modified type of CG and seems to be working for me. I don’t bother to style my hair with gel or stylers at this time so I also don’t do wash and gos. But yeah anyways it was just something I had been curious about.

 

[PlanetCybertron]

My gosh. I’ve had to completely revise my entire regimen. But it’s a good thing since I’ve paired two products together, that cut my wash days down to 30 mins. Tops.

The first is this one by Elizavecca:

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator



This is a protein treatment.

I’ve been interchanging between the treatment and the ion injection, but they both work similarly and very well.


The second is this one by Ichikami:





This one being an intense moisturizing treatment


**************************

My last wash day went like this:


•Spritz scalp with diluted conditioner

•Rinse/ T-Shirt dry excess water

•Protein treatment (w/heat 10 mins tops) then rinse

•deep conditioner (w/heat 15 mins tops) then rinse/detangle

•Optional: lightly oil scalp with whatever I have, after air drying a bit.

•Put up into braids.


DONE.



These products do contain cones, but they keep me from having to re-moisturize all the way until my next wash day which is every 4-5 days, and they’re heavy enough to trap in moisture when I wear protective braids.


I was trying to combine them with other products but there’s really no need, since the products are thick enough to get the job done fairly well. This new version of my regimen has also cut out an extra 3 steps, and cut out me needing to use 6-7 different products. At max I’m using 3 products, and have four steps total to my wash day.


I ran out of my last stash rather quickly. But it’s been about a month now since using these two products exclusively, and they work very very well for my wash days. These products are Japanese and Korean products, and they’re mainly meant for people who style their hair with high heat on a daily basis, or use dyes/bleaches on a monthly basis. So it’s geared towards salon-type customers. I figured with me relaxing my hair, the products would do my hair some good and they sure did. They’re relatively cheap as well, and both last me 2-3 weeks so I have time to buy more.


Love, Love, Love. I don’t think I’ll be changing anything up for quite a while, since things have been made a lot easier for me.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

Ok, I wanted to type up what I've been doing this past week. My hair is really responding to it which makes me happy. Here goes:

At night, I take a shower. While in the shower I rinse my hair out. That's it. I don't detangle or wash it. Actually, I have cowashed twice but nothing incredibly extensive. I just scrub my scalp with the conditioner and rinse. Put my hair into four twists.

Then, I let my hair air dry. Usually for like...30mins at minimum. Sometimes longer, it really just depends on when I feel like getting back to it.

Then, I take a spray bottle filled up with conditioner and water. The consistency should be very very liquidy and creamy when it sprays on my hair. Too watery and it drips everywhere. Too thick and it probably won't penetrate my strands. I apply the mix section by section, always making thin sections and reeeeeeally working the mix in. I also finger detangle at this stage which is super easy when the consistency of the spray is just right. Then I apply grapeseed oil to the section and braid it up. I usually end up with about five braids on each side of my hair.

Then, I put on a shower cap and wrap a shirt around it.

The next day, I either take the braids down and put my hair in a bun, or I leave the braids in and put them in a ponytail.

This has been helping to moisturize my hair and keep it detangled. It also allows for consistency which is what I've been struggling with. I know exactly what I'm going to do each day and at every single step. The one variable is when I wash my hair.

Now. I've done this every day since I made my other post about the spray method being successful. In my mind, it's very much like the Curly Girl method, except I can't cowash in the shower so I have modified to doing it out of the shower. I think this method works because it's allowing me to get a good amount of water onto my hair. When I wet my hair in the shower, I just can't seem to saturate my hair fully. It also helps to be able to look in the mirror and see what I'm doing and how my hair looks. I've also lost less hair this way. And it's helping to save water. I'm gonna continue this method moving forward. Right now, my schedule allows me to do this method consistently. I'm hoping by the time school starts in the fall my hair is more hydrated and can go a few days without needing to be re-moisturized. At the very least, I hope that the time it takes to moisturize actually decreases. If the time it takes to do decreases then I wouldn't mind having to do it everyday. We'll see.

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

This is the conditioner I've been using.

Suave Essentials Everlasting Sunshine conditioner
Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Fragrance (Parfum), Lactic Acid, Potassium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, PEG-150 Distearate, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1, 3-Diol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Polysorbate 20, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Passiflora Incarnata Flower Extract, Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Red 33 (CI 17200)

It does not have the best ingredients, but it's silicone free. And it's cheap and easily accessible. Plus if I buy the family size, I get 30oz for 2$. So for now, in this early stage, it works.

These are the other products that I used too. I was mixing them with the Suave (with more Suave in the mixture) and then adding water.

As I Am So Much Moisture! Hydrating Lotion
Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Erythorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Royal Jelly, Glucose, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Equisetum Arvense Extract, Glycerin, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceterayl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Sodium Chloride, Lactoperoxidase, Glucose Oxidase, Fragrance/Parfum (Limonene), Potassium Sorbate, Dimethyl Stearamine

SM Lo-Po Protein Free Leave-In/Detangler
Glycerin (Vegetable), Water, Propanediol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter**, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Menthol, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Extract, Salvia Sclarea (Clary) Extract, Panthenol, Fragrance (Essential Oil Blend).

Not Your Mother's Tahitian Gardenia Flower and Mango Butter Conditioner
Water (Aqua), Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Gardenia Taitensis Flower Extract, Quaternium-80, PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Ethylhexanoate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Fragrance (Parfum), Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

All three of them seem to work fine with the Suave. The NYM conditioner is the only one that I like to use on my hair by itself. I think it's also the cheapest of the three and smells the best.

Just to clarify, I don’t use all of these mixed together at same time. First, I used the Suave mixed with the SM Lo Po LI. Then after I ran out of the SM, I used Suave mixed with AIA Hydrating Lotion. After I used all of that then I used the NYM conditioner. Right now, I’m just using the Suave by itself.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

I was able to detangle in the shower!

Hair sectioned into 6ths using the Goody Ouchless barrettes the Luv Naturals lady recommends and sells (also available from EBay, Kroger, etc.).

Detangled section by section using the Denman D4 and Jane Carter Solutions Untangle Me Weightless Leave-in.

Was done in no time, with very little hair in the brush and with warm shower water still remaining!!! Even having shampooed twice and showered!!!