A NEWBIE THAT NEEDS HELP

[TruthInLove]

Hey everyone!!! I'm new to the site..and I'm finding it very entertaining and informative.

Anyway.. I need your help. I'm a natural..been so for a little over two years. My hair is about apl..but I have fell off the wagon..hard! I recently bought a new house..which includes a longer commute to work and I have a newborn. As much as I want to spend hours on my hair...(prepooing,copooing..lol) all of that..I don't have the time. I straightened my hair a week ago and it's been in a bun ever since. When it's in curly/kinky state I don't bother to comb it. My husband is starting to give me the face..so I know it's time to do something!

What my question is..can someone please give me simple regimen..at least til I can find some "me" time? Maybe I should give you a rundown on the products I use

I like the shea moisture line..also I use dominican products. I usually wash with tresemme(sp?) conditioners. I love oils...and I'm not an ingredient snob (maybe I should be). I just need a regimen that will keep my hair moisturized and strong...thanks

If you can suggest products that will be great! if you need more info..I will provide

 

[claud-uk]

Hi and welcome to the site! I'm quite new here too but can strongly recommend adding castor oil to your DC. Make sure you DC once a week, then moisturize and seal daily and that should keep you going for a little bit. Pay attention to your ends, make sure they're always well moisturized and check 1x per month for dusting/trimming (only if necessary, don't cut to schedule only if needed).

I'm no stylist but how about a braidout or twistout? Once that starts to get untidy you could bun, ok i know it's a bun but at least it'll have a little personality with the texture... those DH's sometimes add pressure that we don't need, huh?!

Good luck, and hopefully some pics will bring more replies... the ladies here are pic hungry lol!

 

[SEMO]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm a big believer in simplicity. If the Shea Moisture products you're using now are working for you, then there's no need to do a product overhaul. Also, I wear my hair curly 99% of the time and I only comb my hair when I wash/condition/detangle. I never comb dry hair between washes.

I've never been one to have a formal regimen, so all I can offer are a few simple tips that you could possibly incorporate (if you haven't already):

- tie your hair up at night with a silk or satin scarf (cotton really just sucks the moisture out of your hair)
- try to re-moisturize your hair at least every few days (even if it's just the ends of your hair)
- practice sealing the moisture in your hair with a butter or oil (I've been favoring butters lately, I use the EVOO & Moringa butter from Nubian Heritage, which is the Shea Moisture sister line). Even if you only do this on wash days it will help.

As I mentioned, if the products you're using work for you, no need to change them. However, in case you're still wanting a few back-up options, here are some products that I'm personally enjoying right now:

- Roux Porosity Control shampoo (been using this over a decade since before going natural. Regardless of what the bottle says it's for - prepping for a chemical service - my hair loves it as a weekly shampoo)
- ORS creamy aloe shampoo (very moisturizing for me and removes calcium buildup from hair strands from having hard water)
- Tresemme Naturals conditioner (for cowashes or regular conditioning)
- As I Am leave-in conditioner (great water-based, creamy leave-in from Sally's)
- Nubian Heritage EVOO & Moringa styling custard (works beautifully to help lay my hair down, tame frizz and moisturize)
- Nubian Heritage EVOO & Moringa hair butter (has a buttery pomade texture and has been working fairly well to seal moisture into my ends)

The last two products I've only been using for a few weeks, but my hair really likes them. The other products I've been using for months or years.

Personally, I prefer to buy products that I can get on the ground in local stores. But, if you're not opposed to internet shopping, there are a lot of great product lines for natural hair (ex. Kinky Curly, Qhemet Biologics, etc.).

 

[HairPleezeGrow]

Welcome! The ladies have offered some great advice. I say if you aren't having problems with Shea moisture then stick with it. What about doing twists? Or you could do flat twist in like a style for a bunch and when you get tired of it take the twist down and rock a twist out. Umm as said above just make sure you are well moisturized. You can even do that at night while baby asleep and style at night so you can wrap it up and have a hair style for the week. Just add a little moisture before bed and wrap it back up at night. DC once a week if you dont have the time and you can even do that at night and in morning rinse. What about puffs as well they care easy or a puff turned into a bun with some nice hair accessories. Keep ends trimmed/dusted. You been doing something right so just keep doing whatever you were doing before just maybe switch up your time of day. Sorry I'm rambling but again welcome

 

[Leslie_C]

Welcome! One good timesaver to keep your hair in good condition is DCing on dry hair overnight, then shampooing and doing a rinse out in the am. Search quick natural hairstyles on youtube also.

What hairstyles do you like to wear?

I also commute to work and work 12 hour shifts and have a young child, so I dont have the time nor the desire to spend hours and hours on my hair. Once a month I do a henna treatment and that is about the most time consuming thing I do in my regimen.

To better help you, do you work M-F and are you busy on the weekends or would you have the morning on Saturday or Sunday available?

 

[TruthInLove]

Thanks ladies! i love twist outs and twist. I think I'm going to take some time to do them this weekend (twist). I really need to remember to keep my hair tied up at night and moisturize. I'm going to review yall replies again to make sure it all soaks in..lol