Wash Day | DevaCurl, Shea Moisture & My Pantry

It’s that time again. Whenever Wash Day rolls around, it consumes a lengthy part of my day if not all of my daylight hours. I try to start as early as possible, as caring for my hair means devoting time, patience and quite literally, whispering life into these dry and damaged strands to try to promote some sort of follicle photosyntesis. I digress. I started using some new products over the past few months and I’m trying to stick with this new regimen to see if I notice any growth or extra hydration. I only use a few products for styling my hair and tend to twist it up right after washing so that my ends are protected from the elements. Twisting my hair also helps to stretch it since I rarely use a blowdryer. Also because my flat twist-out game after a wash is pretty strong.

WASHING

For shampooing and conditioning I use the DevaCurl “No-Poo” cleanser and “One Condition”. I love the way my hair feels after using this combination. I can run my fingers through my curls to detangle them without removing half of my scalp. The ingredients used in the “shampoo” don’t strip my hair of all its nutrients. The peppermint oil feels great on my scalp. I love the tingly feeling. I was thrown off the first time I used it since there is absolutely no lather but now I prefer that. The conditioner is HEAVEN. I really like the way my tiny curls pop after using it.

DEEP CONDITION

There is already olive oil in the conditioner’s ingredients, however, once I’ve completely washed my hair, I take about two tablespoons of my California Olive Ranch olive oil (THIS IS THE BEST OLIVE OIL EVER AND THE 1 LITER SIZE IS ONLY $10 AT COSTCO) and evenly rub it into my hair, making sure to saturate my hair from root to tip. My hair thrives on moisture and oils seem to work best for me. More so than creamy products claiming to offer hydration. The seal the oil creates when I apply it to my strands while my hair is still wet is otherworldly. But wait, there’s more! I then use a very generous amount of the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restoretreatment Masque. I let this sit on my head under a shower cap and hair bonnet for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, I rinse the masque from my hair and then jump into styling while my hair is still wet.

STYLING

Unless I am heading out that night and this was an emergency hair wash situation, I typically just flat twist or chiney bump (Jamaican for Bantu knots) and rock it like that for a few days. I’ll then take the style out and wear it out of style it more then. My hair will have been stretched since I kept it in the style for a few days which is always a little silver lining in the terrible world that is natural hair shrinkage. It’s real y’all. I lose about a foot of hair every time water touches my hair. I use the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Leave-In-Conditioner and add a few pumps of their 100% Jamaican Black Castor Oil into the conditioner before working it into my hair as I grab each section. I also tend to add a bit more of either of the oils I use around my edges and my scalp because yes, even after all that Oil use, this hair will still be dry. Hair sponge problems.

I’ll be switching these products up in a few months, any I should keep on my radar?