Regimen Update: My Ridiculously Easy Wash Day

20140303103325.jpg 

Lately, I've been on this whole keep it simple tip. Hence, me trying to zero in on my 2014 must-haves (which I promise I'll finish soon). I felt like wash day was getting entirely too complicated, and required too many products and trinkets. After all, I always needed:

Pre-Poo & Detangle:
  • 6 butterfly clips
  • pre-poo oil (usually coconut or palm kernel)
  • Suave Professionals Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner (a LOT...like half a bottle)
  • spray bottle of water
  • Q-Redew
Cleanse & Condition:
  • shampoo or conditioner for cowashing
  • deep conditioner
  • those 6 butterfly clips
To ease up on the complication, I took some cues from Curly Nikki-- about detangling in the shower with a lifetime supply of conditioner. Recently, I had committed to revisiting a transitioning staple of mine -- Aussie Moist Conditioner. I had been using Aussie Moist to cowash my hair, but I was still using Suave Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner to detangle out of the shower, with my fingers, a spray bottle of water, and my Q-Redew.  But once I re-read that article (seriously, this is like the 4th time I've read it), I decided to actually take Nikki's advice and just go balls to the wall with my Aussie Moist in the shower. I prayed before hopping in that I didn't have a 2 hour, pruny-fingered shower disaster on my hands. Turns out, life was easier than ever. Literally, this is all I used:

Pre-Poo:
  • Darshana Ayurvedic Oil
Detangle & Co-Wash:
  • Aussie Moist Conditioner
Deep Condition:
  • ApHogee Texture Treatment
Seriously, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, by not having to walk into my shower with a small arsenal of products. or spend the next 15 minutes after detangling cleaning all the conditioner gunk from my Q-Redew. I walked in the shower with two bottles. Praise the Lord. Now, before I get into the nitty gritty of what I did and how ridiculously well it worked, let me remind you that I performed this little experiment on hair that had been worn in a wash and go state for 7 days without detangling sessions inbetween. No buns, no twists, nothing protective or remotely detangling had been done. My hair was just as tangled as you would expect it to be after 7 days of wearing hair out, pineappled, working out, and more.

About 20 minutes before hopping in the shower, I covered my hair and scalp in a fair amount of this new oil I'm trying out, Darshana. I actually had the chance to sit down over coffee with Darshana's creator, Shana. She's a sweet and funny curly girl with a passion for Ayurvedic hair care. I love meeting fellow LA naturalistas/curly girls, and entrepreneurs. Anywho, I'll likely do a full review on Darshana Ayurvedic Oil once I have more time to test it out, but just for now know that I am loving it. It is a great pre-poo oil, scalp massage oil, and end sealer. I left that on my hair for about 20 minutes, and didn't even attempt to detangle my hair at this point. Check it out at www.darshanabeauty.com.

I hopped in the shower with zero clips and a full super sized bottle of Aussie Moist. I let the shower water run over my hair and thoroughly saturate it for about a minute. Then, I applied massive gobs of Aussie to my hair from root to end. I can't count how many pumps. I definitely used at least a third of the bottle just saturating my hair. If you think you've used too much conditioner, you haven't used enough. Seriously. After my hair was thoroughly drenched in conditioner, I separated it section by section into 4 total -- down from my 6 that I normally do. I twisted each section down to the ends. Next, I undid one section, ran it briefly under the water to increase slip, added a few more pumps of conditioner, and then began detangling.

I.
Was.
SHOCKED.

The slip, the creaminess, the ease with which my fingers just gliiiiiiided through my tangled hair. Sure, I did have a small number of knots (like 3 on my entire head) that I had to gently tug at and untangle, but even that was a walk in the park compared to my usual. After each section was detangled, I rinsed it out, and applied a few more pumps of conditioner to cowash with. After cowashing, I rinsed each section and slapped in the ApHogee Texture Treatment. I twisted each section up, and left that in for about 10 minutes while I handled my showerlies. An important note here is that I didn't really miss having my shower clips. I had been so used to using 5 or 6 as a transitioner, that I really didn't realize I probably didn't need them to keep my hair sectioned anymore. In the future, I will likely drag at least 1 or 2 in, to keep my hair off my neck, back, and face while I deep condition. 

After rinsing the Texture Treatment I followed my new usual, which is going back to each section and putting in about 2-3 pumps of Aussie Moist on, as a stage 1 leave-in of sorts. One follower asked what my natural texture was before manipulation, and with minimal product. Here goes:

Nothing but wet hair with a little Aussie Moist in each section.
I totally expected to lose more hair to breakage and shedding, because of what is said about hair being weaker when wet. On the contrary, I think I lost less hair, and I saw significantly fewer of those pesky wispy hairs that signal end breakage/weathering. I saw less breakage overall. I will definitely be sticking to this method for this foreseeable future. I was only in the shower about 40 minutes, which is how long I am in there on a typical wash day anyway. No extra time, no extra drama, no extra hair lost. For those interested in the oddities, here is my shed hair from detangling, washing, and conditioning in the shower:

Shed hair beez in the trap, beez, beez in the....nevermind.
Overall, this method is a total 184% success for me. My wash days involve fewer products (hallelujah), and have been made scores more manageable. If you're concerned about the cost of using excessive amounts of conditioner, don't be. Aussie Moist is one of the most cost effective conditioners out there -- at under $6 for 29.2oz. I personally score mine from Target every time, becuase CVS and Walgreens be playin' games with their pricing. And if this entire process only costs me about 1/3 of a bottle every week, that's only 1 bottle a month. But if I get back on my twice a week washing game (which I really should soon), that is only 2 bottles a month and a little over $11. Still a win, either way it goes!

Will you be trying the excessive conditioner method? Lol...I love how everything becomes a method when it comes to natural hair. Let me know how it goes, and what conditioner you're using!

6 Comments

  1. I'm definitely going to have to try this today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. πŸ™ŒπŸ½πŸ™ŒπŸ½πŸ™ŒπŸ½yes!

      Delete
  2. Uhmmm. 40 min in the shower? I thought I was the only one who was in there for 40 minutes just co-washing. I will incorporate some of this in my regimen- thanks for the helpful hints.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do you put you hair in a cap on non wash days? Or a bun? Im just curious as to what people do with it in the shower.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I personally pineapple or clip mine back, cover with a scarf and then a shower cap. Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete