My Hair Washing Routine
When I first went natural, I wondered why my hair was still dry even after using a conditioner in addition to a leave in conditioner. After further research, I found out how important it is to not only use a water based leaving conditioner, but also to seal this leave in conditioner into your strands with an oil of your choice. Ever since then my routine has been the following:
1. Detangle my hair section by section with a wide tooth comb.
2. Wash my hair
3. Condition or Deep Condition (as needed)
4. Spray with water and apply leave in conditioner section by section
5. Seal leave in conditioner into hair using an oil/water mixture. My oil of choice lately has been virgin coconut oil.
My Natural Hair Staples
Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Invigorating Shampoo
When I shampoo my hair, I have one of two goals. If I have used a lot of products leading up to the wash, I want to clarify, or remove the product build up from my hair. I love the Giovani Tea Tree Shampoo (Whole Foods Market, Naturally Me Hair Store) for this purpose. It is not a full out clarifying shampoo, being that it does have some moisturizing effects, but it leaves my hair squeaky (literally) clean. When I finished, I'm pretty confident that all of the prior week's product build up is removed from my hair.
Everyday Shea Moisturizing Shampoo
The 2nd goal I have, which is the one that occurs most often, is to moisturize my hair using a shampoo. My favorite moisturizing shampoo so far (product junkie translation: until I try another one, lol) is Everyday Shea Moisturizing Shampoo (Whole Foods Market). It has a nice, rich lather and a little goes a long way. Not to mention, it comes in a liter container for a very reasonable price. The fact that it is formulated with real shea butter is an incentive for me too. Shea butter always seems to give my curl definition an extra "oomph".
Giovanni Smooth As Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner
Giovanni Deeper Moisture Conditioner (Whole Foods Market, Naturally Me Hair Store) is a great conditioner to use every time you wash or also as a deep conditioning treatment by leaving it in longer (20-30 mins with a processing cap). It leaves my hair soft and it also smells great!
Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave In Conditioner
Awesome, awesome, awesome! Found at Whole Foods Market, this is the first out of 3 of my go to leave-ins, it smells great and when I put it in my hair, my curl definition is greatly improved. It also couples well with Kinky Curly Curling Custard which has a tendency to not mix well with other leave in conditioners. This leave-in also has impressive detangling capabilities.
Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream
This is my 2nd go to leave-in conditioner (not 2nd in ranking though, I love all 3 equally). It can be found at Wal-Mart and smells wonderful. It leaves my hair very soft and manageable. It is also very successful at defining my curl pattern. This one can even be used for beautiful twist outs and wash and gos!! I'm guessing this is because of its shea butter component.
Giovanni Direct Leave- In Weightless Moisture Conditioner
This is the last leave in conditioner that I use on a consistent basis. When I first used it, I was a little taken aback because of its foaming action. Don't worry, it disappears as you style. This one has great moisturizing qualities and of course my favorite, curl definition.
