Hi guys! My Joy is absolutely full knowing that my crown is thriving!
If you have been following my hair journey, you would know that I decided to choose health before length and made a full transition back to my natural hair texture on the 25th of September 2021.
The journey has been insightful so far. Don’t get me wrong, there have been challenges along the way but I feel like I am getting the hang of it baby!!
I am currently learning more about my hair. Discovering It’s likes and dislikes have been my priority. The truth is that, you certainly won’t know how to care for something until you understand it well.
So here is what I have gotten so far
I strongly feel that I belong to the medium porosity, high elasticity and super shrinkage gang (like guys! My hair shrinkage can be unbelievable at times)
I did the famous float test severally on clean hair strands, and got confusing results. So I decided to desist from relying solely on the test and instead studied my hair strands better.
You could do the same with your natural hair. For better instructions on how to go about it, please refer to my previous hair post on “Discovering your hair porosity“
Reasons I drew my conclusions on being medium porosity
- Many of my hair strands seemed to float or sink to about a third of the filled glass cup with the float test, therefore being low porosity is unlikely.
- To buttress this, I noticed that my hair doesn’t take too long to get completely wet, and then it retains moisture quite satisfactorily; it doesn’t get dry too fast.
- When I take a bath, my hair and body parts dry almost at the same time.
- Finally, running my fingers through my hair strands from tip to root it feels super silky and smooth.
Therefore, with my above points, I hope I have been able to convince and not confuse you about being a medium porosity naturalista.
So what’s my current hair care routine ?
While hair care routines are necessary, please note that they may change occasionally owing to new discoveries or new hair needs.
With that being said, a routine is something that should be followed through and through! Yeah, it might be difficult but there is no room for Laziness if you would like to see progress.
My monthly hair cycle breakdown
Week 1: FULL WORKS
I commence with prepping my hair for a thorough wash and deep conditioning (as per the full works); pre- poo (most times with coconut oil, it works amazing for my hair), then I shampoo my coils and rinse out.
Next I infuse some “pampering” with my deep conditioners, these help to reduce breakage and promote length retention. I usually use two deep conditioners by the way and I have no regrets.
After applying the deep conditioner, comes the introduction of low heat with either a heat retaining cap or hair steamer for better penetration of the conditioners. I wait for about 30-40 mins before rinsing out.
Finally, I go in with my leave in conditioner, hair cream and oil to seal in the moisture. After my hard work, its time to throw in a protective hair style to keep them wandering hands off my hair ; I usually opt for corn rows or two strand twists and keep them in till the end of the second week.
Week 2: LOW MAINTENANCE WEEK
On the second week of my hair cycle, I almost always have a protective hair style on. I only continue with my daily LCO (Leave in conditioner, cream and Oil) regimen as I did all through the first week.
However a few times, especially if my protective hair style is the two strand twist, I do a quick co wash with my conditioner alone at the beginning of the 2nd week.
Week 3; FULL WORKS
By this time I’lld have had about 14 full days of access to my scalp with my daily LCO ( Leave in, cream and oil regimen)
Therefore we are ready for another full work session, prepoo, shampoo and deep conditioning to combat any form of product build up.
Week 4: Low Maintenance Week
Trust me to be on protective styling, never missing my LCO regimen and maybe having another co wash into the 4th week, depending on the allowance given by my protective style. By the end of this week I am ready to repeat the hair cycle.
Product choices for my current Hair care routine
Please note that these products are subject to change as I forge ahead on this Natural hair journey. Not to worry, Links to purchasing products would be included.
Shampoo: TruthbyTasala’s Aloe Detangling Shampoo ( this shampoo would literally blow your mind with how soft it makes your natural after use!)
Deep conditioners: TruthbyTasala’s restore conditioner and Shea moisture’s Strengthen and restore treatment masque (with Jamaican Castor oil)
Yep I usually add in both conditioners and they work pretty well for curbing hair breakage. The restore conditioner has this menthol effect that feels so good!
Oil: Q7’s Paris Coconut oil and when I am out of this, Afrovirtue’s herbal hair growth oil or Tasala’s shea mango hair butter
Hair cream: Hair wonder’s rich daily moisturizer
Leave in conditioner: This one is anyway the wind swings o.
I have a few favs at the moment: Tgin’s miracle strengthen repair leave in and Shea moisture’s strengthen, grow and restore leave in conditioner.
Now, some of these products don’t come cheap but I assure you, when money, time and energy are invested into hair care, there would never be a moment of regret.
