2016 Hair Routine

- Shampoos, Conditioners & Cleansers - 

What type of shampoos & conditioners or cleanser do you use in your hair?

I try to use natural hair products that say they are sulfate, paraben and / or silicone free. 

However, the first  ingredient I look for is whether the product says sulfate free or not.

What Hair Cleanser brand do you use?

I frequently use these brands below (links included): 

• Wen Hair Cleanser by Chaz Dean 
• Herbal Essences Naked Moisture Cleansing Conditioner

How often do you wash your hair?

I keep the loose rule of washing my hair once a week. There are times I have washed my hair twice a week if it feels extremely itchy, through the buildup of the products I am using. Exceptions I make are (1) if I feel my hair is really tangled, dry or puffy looking with no real curl definition, I may do a wash and go to help me restyle and manage my hair and (2) if I go to a salon and I get my hair washed, blow dried and straighten with a flat iron, I may push my hair if it does not feel itchy up to 2 weeks before washing. (When I had a chemical relaxer to straighten my hair I could actually go 2-4 weeks without washing my hair).

How often do you use shampoo?

One of the biggest changes I made with my hair was going sulfate free and co-washing  (co-washing is short for conditioning wash or conditioner only washing). So instead of shampooing my hair with every wash, I mostly wash my hair with conditioner. I follow the loose rule of once a month using shampoo.

I detangled my hair with Garnier Hair Care Fructis Damage Eraser Conditioner

- Detangling Hair - 

How do you detangle your hair?

My number one way to detangle my hair is to wet my hair and apply conditioner. I generally use a spray bottle to help me wet my hair. I like my hair to be really damp. I do try to look for products that say leave in conditioner, however, I am guilty of using the regular rinse out conditioners as a leave in more often because it is cost effective and lasts longer than premade detanglers. (A Natural Hair Youtuber made a video about using regular conditioner instead of leave in this video here). To help me detangle my hair, I use the Wet Brush Detangling Shower Brush. I also separate my hair into 2 sections to start with. I work on one section at a time. That one section, I will split into 2-4 sections as I am detangling, depending on how tangled my hair maybe. 

• The Wet Brush Detangling Shower Brush

What regular rinse out conditioners do you use for your leave in conditioner?

I do frequently use these brands below (links included): 

• TRESemme Flawless Curls Hydrating Conditioner
• Garnier Hair Care Fructis Damage Eraser Conditioner
• Suave Professionals Almond & Shea Butter Conditioner

To find out more about why sulfate, parabens, silicones, and mineral oil are not considered good for your natural hair, click on the links below:

• Why Sulfates Are Bad For Hair
• Should You Avoid Parabens