My Natural Hair Care Routine
What I Do to Keep My Coils in Check
Before I dive into my hair care routine, I wanted to give a little background into the big shift I made from relaxed to natural.
Before my Big Chop in 2014, I was doing what many black women had been conditioned to do, which was relaxing and flat ironing my hair. Even when I was an adult, I had gotten so used to relaxers that it never occurred to me just how much I was damaging my hair. That is until December 2013. At this point, I HATED my hair. No matter what brand of relaxer I used or what style I tried, the results were always disappointing. That’s when I started looking into the natural hair movement. Seeing fellow black women rocking gorgeous afros, dreads, twists, and finger coils made me seriously reconsider what I was doing with my hair. But the idea of making a big shift like that held me back.
“What if I mess it up?”
“What if I don’t look good with natural hair?”
“What will my friends and family think?”
However, those doubts quickly went out the window on a bitterly cold January morning in 2014.
I was doing a quick brush up on my hair to go meet a friend for brunch. And then it happened. A GIGANTIC clump of my hair broke off on the brush and trickled into the sink. It was very noticeable as it came from the top of my head. I just stood there, staring at the clump in the sink with tears streaming down my face. “That is fucking it!”, I shouted. I slammed my brush down, texted my friend to reschedule our hangout, and walked down to the Great Clips down the street. The stylist who saw me was a short and sweet pink-haired lady with large rimmed glasses.
“What are we doing for you today, hon?”, Pink-Hair asked in a friendly Baltimore accent.
“I want my hair shaved off. All of it.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Pink-Hair smiled and nodded. “Not a problem!”, she said. Five minutes later, she spun me around to show me the results in the big mirror. My eyes went wide as I stared at my newly shaved head. All of my hair, the thing that ruined my self-esteem for so many years, was gone. It really was gone. I smiled so hard that my cheeks actually started hurting. I was crying again; only this time they were not tears of anger and frustration. They were tears of joy.
After paying for the service and leaving Pink-Hair a large tip, I walked out of the salon to show the world my new style. The natural hair movement just gained a new member.
Since then, finding the right products has been trial and error. But I eventually found the right ones. Here is my natural hair care routine. What I use and when I use them. (Side note: the maker of these products aren’t paying me to endorse them or anything like that)
- I cowash my hair 3 times a week using As I Am Dry and Itchy Olive Oil and Tea Tree Oil Cowash. One big helper in strengthening my hair was cutting back on shampoo. Shampoo would dry my hair out and lead to breakage. So I switched to cowashing which keeps in moisture and gets rid of dandruff. This is also when I de-tangle my hair. The cowash has enough slip that it makes detangling a breeze.
- When my hair is clean and still damp, I use the As I Am Dry and Itchy Leave-In Conditioner. In addition to cutting out shampoo, using a leave-in conditioner changed the game in keeping my hair moisturized and my scalp dandruff free. Plus, it makes my curls soft and manageable.
- To seal in all of the moisture from the leave-in conditioner, I use the As I Am Dry and Itchy Hair Oil. This stuff is a godsend. I love the way it fights off flakes and itchiness. Plus, it leaves a nice tingle on my scalp. Alternatively, in the summertime I switch this out for the As I Am Long and Luxe GroHair Oil. The Dry and Itchy Oil doesn’t seem to work very well during the summer, but the GroHair oil does. It does a great job with hair retention and stimulating growth.
- Now even though I don’t use shampoo regularly, I have started using a clarifying shampoo twice a month to get rid of any buildup that the cowash may have missed. For this, I use the As I Am Curl Clarity Shampoo. Not only does it get rid of buildup, it really does a great job with shining up my curls.
- Finally, I follow up on the shampoo with a deep conditioning treatment. Specifically, the As I Am Hydration Elation. Holy cow, when it comes to replenishing my hair and scalp with more moisture and treating weak spots/split ends, this stuff brings home the gold. And much like the Cowash, it has enough slip where I can easily detangle my hair. As stated, I use this after using the clarity shampoo, which is twice a month.
So that’s what I do to keep my natural hair looking fresh and healthy. What routine do you guys use to care for your natural hair? I’m always curious to learn about other products that may not have come under my radar.
I wish you, as well as your coils and curls, a Happy Holidays!
Update 2/11/2022: I recently started using the As I Am Jamaican Black Castor Oil Cowash and Leave-In Conditoner. Holy shit, this stuff is awesome! As much as I love the Dry and Itchy Cowash and Leave-In, the JBCO cowash and leave-in have twice the strengthening power and give my curls more definition. I’m still using the Dry and Itchy Oil though. I think once I use up the rest of the Dry and Itchy cowash, I’m gonna stick to the JBCO from now on. Give it a try. Your curls will thank you!
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