NATURALS! PLease Post Your Regimem Here!

[kbragg]

Ok, so I'm doing it, I'm going natural! No more perms for me....Now I have no clue what to do with my head! Do I keep bunning/protective syling, or should I just wear the hair out and let the relaxed ends break off (I'd rather not trim if at all possible as I don't believe in cutting the hair for religious reasons)?

What products should I use. Help me please!

 

[patient1]

I'm just bumping this up for you. I've been natural for a loooong time but I wouldn't say that I have a set regimen. Right now I'm in braids to save TIME!!!! If you send me a pm with your address, I'll send you a document I give to other naturals. It has a lot of info that might be useful.

p1

 

[Poohbear]

Every since I've been natural, I've never had a consistent regimen mainly because I like doing different hair styles. Natural hair is sooo fun...

...However, just recently, I have been sticking to daily water rinsing or co-washing and wearing my hair in it's shrunken state. I just shake my hair after washing or rinsing. I have given up applying products afterwards, just naked hair! At night, I wear a satin bonnet over my hair. That's it!

My hair is too short to bun it (only 7-8 inches in length). Once my hair grows to a length where I can bun it, I'll surely do it!

Best wishes to you on your journey to natural hair!

 

[NOEChic]

i don't have a set regimem, but what i am doing right now:

wash with elunece (sp?)
mix the elunce conditioner w/ Oyin Whipped Pudding, Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Creamm Qhemet Biologics Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm

put that in my hair and comb it through.

I was my hair about 2 or 3 times a week

 

[thefineprint]

I don't know if I really have a set regime. But I condition wash every day or every other day, and wear my hair shrunken or in twist outs. i shampoo once every 2 weeks and deep condition once a week. I keep meaning to try some protective styles but I never get around to it.

 

[Shawnee66]

I wash my hair once a week. I use Dr. Bonner's soap and conditioner. I then put shealoe in my hair and twist. I a lot of things and found this is what works for my hair. I can't wash and not put some kind of moisturizer in my hair and I have to spritz it daily or else it will fall out.

 

[thefineprint]

Also I transitioned because I didn't think I could handle a TWA - Tyra banks forehead twin right here! So i wore 2-strand twists and each time I changed them out I snipped off a few inches of hair. I never had to work with the two hair types and my hair was growing safely in a protective style!

 

[lsubabiedee]

I have an "as needed" regimen.
I do everything as i feel it's needed.
I wash whenever my scalp says it's time...which is usually a couple times a week.
I had been co washing almost daily, but i havent been doing that for the past month b/c im out of my suave conditioners.
Use a leave in daily. Right now I use Aussie Mega.
Deep condition at least once a week.

 

[patient1]

I got a few requests for the hair regimen info I mentioned. You can just send me an email at [email protected] and I'll attach the document in an email with the subject line Hair Regimen - Patient1. It's not necessarily specific to natural hair btw.

p1

 

[Dearlove]

I transitioned for 9 months then cut it all off. I've been wearing two strand twists or a twist out since 4/02. Since coming to this board, I've added a few steps to my regime. Now, I pre-poo with whatever oil I have, currently hot six oil, overnight or for at least an hour. Then I wash. I lather the hair three times: once with either the generic paul mitchell tea tree oil or aloe rid, then I lather two times with CON with the green label.

After, I either quick condish or deep condish with redken all soft heavy cream and detangle and rinse. Once out of the shower, I apply a bit of Paul Mitchell the Conditioner (the real one) mixed with a bit of shea butter oil and diluted infusium 23. I apply MTG to the scalp and twist using the Cantu heavy leave in. Every night, I spritz with diluted infusium and apply a bit of the shea butter oil.

It seems like a lot of steps, but in the morning, I just pull off my bonnet and go. I spend less time on my hair now than when it was relaxed.

 

[FlawedBeauty]

i am tryin to do the natural thang myself. i havent used heat or had a perm since 9/5/06.

currently i wash every night and dc once or twice a week.

when i dc i leave the condish on my head for about 1-2 hours while i watch the tv, actually while im typing this i have ORS replenish pak on my head covered with a plastic bag then covered tight with my silk scarf.

i rinse and towel dry.

then part my hair down the middle while damp with my finger and make 2 two-stand twists on each side

then i apply profective breakfree to my entire head and top that with the qhemet alma and heavy cream

then i put on my sexy silk scarf and call it a night

i take the scarf off in the morning add a little moisturizer and go, leaving my two two strand twists in until i wash again that night

 

[Incredible1ne]

I cut all my hair off in May. At first I cowashed everyday and then sprayed it with Sta Sof Fro or S Curl. I cut cowashing out all together now. Now that my hair is a little bit longer I wash and deep condition every Sunday and then get it cornrowed. I undo the cornrows on Sundays and wear it in a puff. The products that work for me so far are Qhemet Biologics, KeraCare and Elucence. I am still on the search for a good spray moisturizer but so far I've been using Oyin's Greg/Frank Juice and it seems to work well.

 

[patient1]

I posted the Hair Regimen document as a blog entry on the myspace page in my link. That way folks don't have to worry about sending emails, etc. Feel free to print it out or share with others and email me suggestions for making it better.

I've been so overwhelmed that I haven't properly proofread and refined it, but I think it may be helpful to those attempting to build a personal regimen.

HTH,
p1

eta: If someone knows how to set a blog so that it's public and you don't need to be friend, please send me a pm! Thanks!

 

[pattycake0701]

Ok, so I'm doing it, I'm going natural! No more perms for me....Now I have no clue what to do with my head! Do I keep bunning/protective syling, or should I just wear the hair out and let the relaxed ends break off (I'd rather not trim if at all possible as I don't believe in cutting the hair for religious reasons)?

What products should I use. Help me please!

I've slightly tweaked my current schedule as I've been having difficulty with dryness and breakage. After studying Sistaslick's thread regarding breakage (which is a sticky by the way), I finally discovered what my hair needs, more moisture. Additionally, I realized that even though my hair seems to like products that are heavy in cones, the buildup prevents my hair from receiving moisture.

My regimen includes washing/deep conditioning 1-2 times weekly. I wash my scalp with a 50/50 mixture of Hebiclins (the stuff doctors use to wash their hands) and a zinc shampoo (this was recommended by my dermatologist to prevent a folliculitis). I wash my hair with a glycerine or natural soap bar, after rinsing the soap, I do an ACV rinse then I apply my deep conditioner which is a mixture of cholestoral, EVOO, and a moisturizing conditoner. Twice daily, I spray my hair with a mixture of water and a cheapy conditioner and apply a leave-in. I wear my hair in a phony pony everyday.

 

[angellazette]

I mostly poo once a week, and deep condition after every poo.

I didn't do it this week so I've been doing CWs instead with VO5 contioners. I use Elucence MB or Oyin's Honey Hemp Condish as a leave in. I can use the Elucence alone, then follow up with Blended Beauty Happy Nappy Styles. When I use the Oyin Honey Hemp Conditioner, I follow up with the Shine and Define and then the Burnt Sugar Pomade. I'm probably going to switch to the Whipped Pudding because the Shine and Define gives me stiffness.

If I do twists, I like to do them on dry hair and I'll use Blended Beauty Happy Nappy Styles or Oyin's Burnt Sugar Pomade.. If I'm doing a twistout puff, I do the twists on wet hair and let dry overnight. I'm not really creative when it comes to styles, I suck lol

 

[Ms Lala]

Congrats on your decision to go natural!!!! I am still "perfecting" my regimen but it changes as my hair grows and changes. When I was transitioning I kept my hair in braids or slicked back in a pony tail. I washed with CON shampoo and made sure to keep my hair moisturized. I eventually did the BC though. Now I am about APL, I just started trying to really grow my hair in August. I am doing a low poo routine. I wash as needed with Lekair Cholesterol and Tea Tree Oil. I add some Tea Tree Oil to the cholesterol and it gets my hair clean and my scalp feels good. About once every 4-5 weeks I clarify with Suave Clarifying poo. My favorite moisturizer is ORS olive oil lotion, my hair just loves it. Many times I don't even have to seal when I use this except for the ends of my hair. ON my ends I use Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil. It has really helped w/splits. I only comb my hair when it loaded with conditioner and wet or damp using a wide tooth shower comb then I put it into big braids or twists to dry. My hair is will dry into one big tangled mass if I don't braid or twist it up. I hope this helps.

 

[brownsugarflyygirl]

I wash, deep condition, and ACV rinse my hair every two weeks and put it into a protective style usually an afro phony pony (my current favorite) or two-strand twists (after a week or so I wear a twist-out)...sometimes cornrows with extensions.

I spray my hair with water and seal with jojoba and castor oil mixed as needed between washes to maintain moisture. I also oil my scalp once or twice a week. Cover with a satin bonnet or scarf nightly.

Ideally, I would wash weekly...but I just flat out dont have the time right now...and this regimen is working for me.

Products:
Shampoos: Elucence & Burtsbees More Moisture
Conditioner: Giovanni 50/50 & Aubreys GPB Mixed, GiovanniDirect Leave In
Styling: Qhemets Heavy Cream, CarolsDaughter HealthyHairButter and Mimosa Honey
Scalp Oiling: Leeza's Request (may replace )
Oils: Castor, Jojoba, Olive

Thats it...trying to keep it simple

 

[balisi]

I don't have a regimen, per se. What I do to my hair is dictated by my hairstyle and my scalp, which gets itchy at times. I usually never go more than a week between shampoos, with conditioner washes in between. I clarify and deep condition when I feel I need it. I change my hairstyle frequently, sometimes 3-4 times a week. I cover my hair every night for sleeping. I don't pre-poo, take vitamins, baggy, or moisturize daily. I keep things simple and it works for me.

When I first went natural, I went wild, buying all kinds of products. Over time I found that all of that was highly unnecessary. You'll find what works for your hair.