One of the dopest things about rocking natural hair is the endless styling options I have. Recently I rocked this Janelle Monae look for a week. The entire following week was a full-blown effort to get the bounce back in my curls and relieve my tender scalp. Here’s what I did during the workweek.
Day 1 – Deep condition at work
Oftentimes I like to mix my favorite moisturizing conditioners together to form my own ‘deep treatment’ rather than using an actual d.c. I just like to have more control over the ingredients I use based on what my curls need at that time. On the first day of my detox, I applied my deep conditioner recipe – Obia Natural Hair Care Babassu Deep Conditioner, sweet almond oil, and Innersense Pure Inspiration Daily Conditioner, before work. I left it on until I got off — a grand total of 9 hours. It doesn’t work for every hair type, but I certainly get the best results from deep conditioning this way. On days like this, I usually wear my satin cap over my head and underneath a hat or a headscarf.
Days 2, 3, 4, and 5 – Low manipulation styles
Wash-and-gos were my best friend during this week–absolutely no ponytails, twists, or braids. In the morning, I used a detangling brush to really let my co-wash penetrate my scalp. After taking out my protective style I noticed some white bulbs around my hairline on the roots of my hair. This meant that my ponytail was super tight, putting tension on my follicles. To soothe my scalp, I gently massaged my scalp with Darcy’s Botanicals Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Conditioning Oil and then co-washed with Yes to Carrots! Scalp Relief Conditioner.
[prodmod]
I stayed away from these
- tight styles–buns, ponytails
- bobby pins
- head bands
- styling tools
- silicones (or any man-made, harsh ingredients that clog pores”>
I used more of these
- headwraps or hats
- wash-and-gos
- moisturizing oils and butters
- scalp soothing cleansers
- hot
- nourishing, natural oil blends
