19 Days of No Shampooing

[Please excuse the gaps and spacing in this post...technical difficulties...]

A couple weeks ago after watching some You Tube videos of women with long, luscious, healthy natural hair and learning of their low-wash regimens, I decided to go back to a low-wash regimen myself. The videos reminded me that I was following a low-wash regimen during my first growth challenge between April and November 2011, which was when I experienced the most consistent growth. While I am content with the overall length of my hair (I think it's back to waist length again since my last trim) I'd like to continue to grow it so it can be fuller at the longest length. 

I began my "new" regimen a few weeks ago when I went 19 days without washing my hair. I'd intended to wash it a few days earlier, but time didn't permit. So how did my hair and scalp hold up? Great! I'm not sure why I was surprised, but my scalp wasn't even itchy by day 19. My hair, however, had a considerable amount of product and lint build-up.

Tip: Want to know how often you should wash your hair? Start by listening to your scalp and hair. An itchy scalp and/or hair with visible product build-up, lint, etc. are indicators that it's time to wash your hair. 

My hair at the beginning of the 19 days. This was the original braid-out from when I'd last washed my hair.

Results of the dry braid-out

On the 19th day I followed my current wash day regimen, which goes as follows:

~Wash with SheaMoisture Moisture Retention Shampoo (this shampoo cleans my hair without stripping it of moisture)
~Condition & Detangle with Everyday Coconut Super Hydrating Conditioner (I chose this conditioner because it doesn't have silicones and mostly has natural ingredients)
~Apply my modified Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner then set hair in braids to rock a braid-out (but this time I set it in fat twists and pulled them up into a high bun)

Results of the dry braid-out

                     

My hair was dirty & ready to be washed
at this point, but I didn't have time so I
bunned it for the last few days.

 







 

After washing...it felt so good to have
clean hair again! If it could've sighed
it would have, lol. 

I also added another component from my old regimen: the ApHogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor (after the shampoo and before the conditioner). I brought this product back into the mix for two reasons: 1) I need protein in my regimen but since I'm 5 months pregnant, managing my usual monthly henna treatments is becoming unrealistic, and 2) I saw great results from this product when I used it during my growth challenge in 2011. Even though I prefer a more natural regimen, this product will have to do until I'm able to work henna back into my routine. I'll probably use the ApHogee product every wash day since it's a nice, light protein that'll continue to strengthen my strands.

I plan to continue with this low-wash regimen for the next few months. I also have some styling ideas coming up for the summer too, so stay tuned to see what new styles I try! ;)

In my next post I'll share the steps I took to care for my hair during the 19 days of no washing.