The Regimen (as of June 2015)
Grace gets washed every 7-10 days. Frequency will vary depending on the style I have in – I wash my hair more frequently when I wear “out” styles (e.g. twistouts) to avoid product buildup, whereas I wash my hair less frequently when in protective styles (e.g. mini twists).
Wash day
- Grace is happiest when washed in sections and who am I to deny my best girl her preferences? I section my hair into 4 sections and clip with butterfly clips.
- I dampen each section with water and sometimes also with conditioner and proceed to finger detangle section by section.
- After finger detangling, I apply a generous amount of deep conditioner to each section and steam my hair for 30 minutes – 1 hour, using a thermal steam cap.
- Afterwards, taking each section in turn, I rinse out the deep conditioner, shampoo the section and once thoroughly cleansed, I rinse out the shampoo from my hair.
- Post-cleansing, I blot Grace dry with a towel, apply a generous amount of Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture conditioner with Vatika coconut oil and slap on a shower cap and let the conditioner work its magic for about 15 minutes. Once a month, I will deep condition following cleansing using my Huetiful Steamer or my thermal heat cap.
You may notice that my routine has changed somewhat from last year. I now prefer to prepoo my hair rather than deep condition following cleansing. I tried this a couple of times and really liked the results so I have kept at it. It has also drastically reduced time on Wash Day so I can get to styling a lot more quickly and get on with things! Also, because my hair has been coloured, the major focus of my regimen is to ensure that my hair is kept moisturized and hydrated at all times to prevent it from becoming dry and then breaking off.
Night time maintenance
At night, I will spritz my hair with a moisture spray (see below) and seal with an oil. If I have been wearing an “out” style like a twistout, I will retwist Grace into about 6-8 twists to preserve and stretch the curls. Sometimes though, when I am not too bothered about curl definition, I will simply twist Grace into two flat twists in order to avoid my hair tangling and becoming matted, and also to a full stretched fro. The last step in my night time routine is to slap on a satin cap and head to bed.
Products
Below, I have set out my product staples. Every once in a while I may dabble in a new product or try something out as you may see from my product review posts, but below are the core products of the regimen – they are tried, tested and true!
Cleansers
- The Body Shop Anti-Dandruff Ginger Shampoo
- Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Shampoo
- Apple Cider Vinegar
Conditioners
- Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner
- Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Conditioner
- Herbal Essences Moroccan My Shine Nourishing Moisture Conditioner
Deep Conditioners (also used for prepoo treatments)
- SheaMoisture Tahitian Noni and Monoi Smooth & Repair Nourishing Hair Masque
- SheaMoisture Yucca & Baobab Anti-Breakage Masque
- Elasta QP DPR-11+
- Huetiful Nanosmoothing masque (used as a protein treatment)
Leave in Conditioners/Moisturisers
- SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Leave in Conditioner
- Organix Biotin and Collagen Amplifying Lotion
- Carol’s Daughter Marguerite’s Magic
Oils
- Argan Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Amla Oil (mixed in with deep conditioning/prepoo treatments)
Stylers
- Design Essentials Natural Curl Stretching Crème
- SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Styling Lotion
- Cantu Shea Butter Coconut Curling Cream
- Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Pudding
- Giovanni Natural Mousse
- Fantasia IC Gel Hair Polisher Olive Oil Styling Gel
- Crème of Nature Argan Oil “Perfect Edges” Gel
Daily spritz
- SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Hold & Shine Moisture Mist
- SheaMoisture Yucca & Baobab Thickening Moisture Mist
- Urban Therapy Twisted Sista 30 Second Curl Spray
Hair colour – L’Oreal Paris Feria Wild Ombre 060 (click HERE for further details on my hair colour)
Tools
- My Fingers!
- Wide tooth comb
- Denman brush
- Butterfly clips
- Perm rods
- Flexi rods
- Curlformers
- Goody hairbands
- Goody headbands
- Bobby pins
- Satin cap
For tips on how to go about creating a regimen for your hair, click HERE.
