how_to

The bane of every naturalista’s journey at some point in life is perfecting the Wash-n-go! We see all these beautiful pictures and lust after those perfectly formed curls but somehow when it’s our turn to have our curls pop, we end up with fields of cotton balls or even sometimes dry bushy gardens on top of our heads. In my opinion sometimes wash and go’s are not for everyone. For one, the name is so misleading! I remember my first years back on the re-unification journey with my natural hair I was excited to try the most talked about wash and goes until I sat down to actually try to perform the deed.  Not to much surprise I failed completely, with gel in one hand and a frown on my face. I felt defeated because I watched tons of videos and could not understand why my hair would not coil up to stay in perfect shape. I swore never to try again because I was scarred for life. Maybe not for life, but I was disappointed and figured that my hair just didn’t have the capabilities of lustrous curls as everyone else’s did; However, I was so wrong. A couple months ago I started to notice the curls my hair did possess when I would deep condition. I never noticed my curls before because washing my hair and deep conditioning was a dauntless thoughtless process where I wouldn’t ever dare to stare at my hair for hours in a mirror memorized by the moisture and texture I truly possessed. I had been fed up with the lifelessness for years so I never admired my hair for long in a mirror. But when I finally took the time out to take interest in my hair that day I noticed that my curls were alive and well, and the only thing missing all these years was true moisture! This of course served as exciting news to my internal pretentious hair diva. This became the catalyst to my weekly deep conditioning regimen. I even began to research more about my hair and discovered the maximum hydration method. I urge all of you to check out the site if you haven’t. It provides more information on the method as it has changed my hair’s integrity so much. This process is intense which is why I have curtailed it to fit my schedule and own personal regimen because it is way too time consuming to follow to a tee.  My version: There are various ways to conduct a wash and go but this time I have opted to go for the freshly washed hair wash and go because it features more of m curls while my dry wash and go gives me more length and less definition. It depends on the look you are going for but seeing how I just finished watching Jada with her short hair, I was inspired to embrace the shrinkage in this wash and go endeavor. 1.      The first step in my wet wash and go process is of course, washing your tresses. I choose to use Trader Joe’s tingle tea tree shampoo because my hair smells amazing afterwards and it leaves my hair tingly clean (corny I know). 2.      After I wash my hair I follow up with a simple deep condition. For this I use Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa Conditioner, but I apply the conditioner as if I am shingling my hair making sure that each strand is coated with the product. In my opinion this step is crucial because you are adding the moisture back into your hair that the shampoo depleted in the cleansing process. After each stand is coated I place a shower cap on my head and sit under a dryer for 15-30minutes. I lost track of time this time, so unfortunately I am not sure how long I sat under exactly. 3.      The conditioning stage gives my hair great slip and restoration. In this third step I bust out my Bentonite Clay. I mix this clay with Jojoba oil, honey and water. I have tutorial on how I apply my clay. It’s an old video but my process is the same from then ‘til now (just different add-ons in the mix). It is the same shingling method that I used in the previous step with the conditioner. I have adopted this step from the Maximum Hydration Method as this step helps my hiding curls to be exposed and prepares it to hold a curl in one of the final stages. I leave the clay in for 30 minutes and then wash it out.     To reduce crunch on my hair strands I like to apply a light leave in conditioner that also adds additional moisture. I section my hair into four and then work with one section at a time. Each individual section I break into three or four parts. a.       I apply the conditioner to each part and then move onto step 5                                                               i.      You can choose to add a sealer or butter to help keep the moisture in. I usually have a shea butter mixture however I ran out and the regular shea butter was leaving a residue on my hair and I discontinued use after a few trials on sections. 5.      Apply your gel to each individual section in the praying hands motion. If you are using the motion correctly you will notice that your hair will naturally clump into its own portions. 6.      After gel application I twist my roots and pin them down to my scalp, then move on to the next section 7.      By this point your entire head should be gelled and pinned which expedites the drying process. I use a diffuser to start drying the defined ends of my hair until they are 70% dry. I start with high heat for 5 minutes and then decrease to cool air after 10 minutes. I never want to add too much unwanted heat. While I could leave my air to air