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.

"How Often Should I Wash My Hair?"

I often hear this from women who are transitioning or newly natural. It’s a good question because keeping your hair and scalp clean is key to growing healthy hair. Dust particles and lint are easily caught up in the kinks of our hair, and when these particles combine with product build-up, this can lead to clogged hair follicles on the scalp and tangles in the hair. Clean hair is also manageable hair.

A good general “rule” is to wash your hair at least once a week. But the frequency of your wash day is going to be determined by your lifestyle. If you exercise several times a week then you’re going to want to consider washing your hair more than once a week. But if you exercise only once a week or not at all, then you can probably get away with washing only once a week. The key is listening to your scalp and hair. A scalp that is frequently itchy all over is “asking” to be washed. Also, when you look at your hair and you can easily see lint particles or product build-up, then it’s time to wash it.

The bottom line: you have to figure out what works for your hair. Some naturals can get away with washing their hair less often. For example, I haven’t gone for a run in the past 14 days. Two weeks ago yesterday, I washed my hair and set it in large twists. I took the twists out this past Thursday and rocked a twist-out for two days then bunned it for the Walk the Talk event and didn’t take it down until Sunday night. Aside from the fact that I had to wash all that gel out, I knew my hair needed to be washed because A) it had been two weeks and that is my hair’s limit when I don’t run (when I do run, I have to wash it once a week); and B) I massaged my scalp after taking out the bun and I could literally feel the dirt on my scalp, plus it was itching. I cleansed with a sulfate shampoo diluted with distilled water and a little grapeseed oil and slept in my deep conditioner.

What do I use to DC? Stay tuned to find out ;)

Gel Sealing

I actually used this pic in a recent post where I'd reset my hair in between
wash days. But I did use gel in this pic to set the style, so that's why I'm
including this pic here.

Tonight makes my fourth wash day with the protein conditioner added into my regimen. It's also the fourth wash day that I've used gel to seal. Previously I'd never been too interested in using gel to style because I thought it would leave my hair hard, crunchy and dry. But I researched gel as a sealing "tool" and, even though I didn't find much information to confirm this suspicion, I had this hunch that, when used properly, gel could act as an amazing sealant.


I was right!


The gel adds definition to my braid-outs, and it also appears to enhance the sheen of my hair. And - get this - my hair is SOFT when I take out the braids!! Yeah I know, who woulda thunk it?! LOL!


Here's the order of product application:


1. Apply coconut oil to each dampened section of hair.
2. Apply modified KT leave-in (only 1tsp of each oil + Vitamin E oil)
3. Rub a little bit of gel between my hands and run both hands down the section of hair.


I braid up each section as I go and then criss-cross them around my head to stretch them out (not too tight though) as seen in this post. After taking the braids out, I've been resetting my hair in braids a second time that week and taking them out again to wear a braid-out. I'm aware that by increasing the manipulation in my regimen I'm making my hair more vulnerable to breakage, but I'm comforted by the fact that I'm balancing this change with the protein I've incorporated into my regimen as well. I'm still seeing growth so that's encouraging. I still don't plan to straighten it until after my 5K in May. Maybe that will be my reward to myself for completing the 5K.... ;)


A word of caution: should you choose to use gel to seal, keep in mind that more products = more product build-up, and if left unchecked, product build-up can lead to breakage. Make sure you're washing your hair at least once a week with a moisturizing shampoo or a softened shampoo. 

Softened Shampoo Recipe

Here's the recipe I've been using prior to applying the protein conditioner to my hair. I've modified it each time, but here's the way I made it last time.


1oz sulfate shampoo
1oz grapeseed oil (LOVE this stuff!!)
2oz water


Shake in spray bottle. It's very convenient that there's water in it; that way I don't have to worry about it distributing and lathering evenly since I apply this mixture with the shower water off. Thanks to the grapeseed oil, my hair doesn't feel stripped and straw-like afterwards. Back when I switched over to a sulfate-free shampoo, I swore I would never go back to using sulfate shampoos. But fortunately I follow Shelli on Hairscapades where I learned that you need to clarify your hair prior to doing a protein treatment so that the protein can bond to your hair and do what it's supposed to do. YAY for natural hair friends! :)

My New Regimen!!!

Drum roll please...

I kept the twists in for the entire time between wash days,
which ended up being 13 days. Keeping the twists in and waiting
until almost the 2-week mark to wash were both totally unintentional moves.
I'd much rather wash my hair once a week (which it seems to need).
But since I started using coconut oil for between-wash moisturizing,
my scalp has been itching much less.

I've changed up my regimen!! 

This is a huge deal for me because I'm learning what works and what doesn't work for my hair. Before I started pre-pooing with coconut oil, I used to use olive oil to detangle and section my hair for washing. I also did a lot of ACV rinses, which were fine for the summer, but apparently my scalp doesn't like them in the colder months, so I cut those out completely. And I always thought olive oil was the best thing for my hair, but I didn't have anything to compare it to. 

Until now! Since I've started the coconut oil pre-poos (and just using coconut oil in general) my hair has been responding so well! It's softer, shinier and altogether just looks, feels and acts healthier. Hooray!!

My new regimen also includes a new step: finger detangling. Now, when I first heard about ladies with hair my length finger detangling their hair before detangling with a comb and/or brush, I thought, now that seems kinda fanatical....But, there's one thing I know about fanaticism and that is this: 

That which is considered fanatical to the undisciplined is passion to the disciplined. 

So now I finger detangle my hair with coconut oil, and by doing so I'm minimizing the amount of brushing I need to do which cuts down on damage.

Other changes I've made:

• Section my hair into 8 sections instead of 6
• Co-washing exclusively - no shampoo
• Only use the Tangle Teezer - no more comb or Denman (more on the Teezer later ;))
• Add more oils to the Kimmaytube leave-in
• Seal with Shea Moisture CE Smoothie
• Moisturize scalp and hair with coconut oil in between washes

These next two aren't regimen-oriented but I think they've definitely helped:

• Wear a beanie out on really cold days
• Replaced my winter wool scarf with a satiny one

Thanks to these changes, my hair feels stronger and healthier!

The amount of hair that came out after finger detangling
(don't worry - I didn't run it down the sink, lol!). I'm assuming
it's mostly shed hair. I don't take the time to look through it
cuz I don't want to stress out over every single hair. 

Sectioned into 8 instead of 6. This makes
washing and Teezer detangling easier and faster.

I took this picture to show how moisturized
my hair was up until wash day. I pre-pooed my
hair (while still in twists) and scalp with coconut oil
4 days prior to wash day, which was yesterday.
I'm amazed at how soft and moisturized it stayed
between washes.

What changes have you made to your regimen? 

How has your hair responded?