While I love being natural, I often find myself hating all the rules like begging told that if I do this and that and refrain from everything else I’ll grow long, healthy hair. When I first started my journey I did it all: deep conditions, pre-poos, protective styles, sealing — all that good stuff. Then one day I said, “That’s it. I’m done.”
Now I don’t have a hair regimen and I refuse to develop one. There are many reasons for this, and while the journey to natural hair or the task to keep hair healthy is different for everyone, my lack of a hair regimen comes from the following reasons.
Time
I went natural because I was tired of worrying about my hair and I wanted to simplify my routine. Yet, after going natural, I found myself following one implicated regimen after another. I don’t know how some women do it. How does one start the day off doing their hair and finish well into the night or maybe even the next morning?
I want healthy hair just as much as the next woman. But before this revolution, back when we were kids, many of us had healthy hair, and it was with the simplest of routines. I’m the kind of girl that likes the path to least resistance, so even if it takes me a few more months or a year to reach my goals, I don’t mind, because all the time I would have spent on doing hair related stuff, I actually spent out and about with friends and family, truly enjoying the hair that I had.
Money
I’m not the first to say it and I certainly won’t be the last, but man does money matter! Attempting to be a finically responsible natural, I cannot fiscally afford the products and the testing for which so many hair regimens require.
The more complicated a regimen, the more money it seems to require. Washing and styling your hair once a week and deep conditioning once a month is going to be a lot cheaper than daily styling and weekly deep conditioning treatments. And that is just the #truth.
It’s All Hype
Healthy hair is healthy hair and there is only one way to get there: treat it right, regimen or not.
Many of the long winded processes and extras that naturals are convinced solve all possible hair woes, from dryness to split ends, are all hype. Many women want to know that there is some magical cure and are willing to put the work in if it means getting to their destination. Truth be told though, there really isn’t a magical cure. Healthy hair is healthy hair, and there’s only one way to get there: treat it right, regimen or not.
No Spontaneity
I love doing my hair. I love to feel my hands in it as I wash it and love putting it into a style and seeing the finished product. I love just walking into my bathroom and going with the flow and just doing whatever it is that I want to do at that moment. Having a rigid hair regimen takes all the fun out of hair care for me.
If I do the same thing all the time, it becomes downright boring. I want to just go in and pick out random products to mix and match. I want to make up my style as I go along and make room for trying out new techniques and doing new things. I just don’t know how some people can have the same regimen for years then say that one of the things they like about natural hair is the versatility. A strict regimen and consistent wash-and-go doesn’t seem versatile to me.
Listen to Your Hair
Lastly, I like to listen to my hair and do what it needs and not what the schedule says. If my hair is thirsty, dry and a frizzy mess, I won’t wait until the allocated wash day to give it what it needs. Also, if my hair is on point and does not need to be washed, why would I waste a perfectly good awesome hair day because its wash day? I mean, how many of them do you get?
Scheduling does not make allowances for the fact that stuff happens sometimes. Rain falls, wind blows and frizz happens. Hair gets sticky and products react badly. It happens.
I throw caution to the wind and do as I please, and if you’re with me, then comment down below. If you like to follow the rules you made, then also feel free to let me know. I’m open to trying out a simplified routine as long as it fits my needs and allows for spontaneity!
As always, remember to have love, peace and curly haired bliss.
