Wash n'Go Girls!!!!!!

[ckisland]

I've realized that I am a wash n'go girl imph power ! In the past 6 months or so, I've gone back and forth between regimens that incorportate twists, braids, buns, and rollersets and I keep coming back to wash n'goes. I mean I like protective styles but when I put a set of twists or braids in my hair, I say to myself, "You know what would be nice right now? A good ole fashion wash n'go." And I will take down hours worth of work just to set my hair free! If I'm having a really good day, I'll do a wash n'go. If I'm having a really sucky day, I'll do two or three to make myself feel better (It works by the way). I don't need no stinkin' gel either. I leave in my conditioner, maybe seal with some butter, and I am good to go . I've been doing wash n'goes about 80% of the 2.5 years (I hit the half this month) I've been natural and I don't think I can let it go.
But me and my hair, Xena's her name, are coming on hard times. I've been at almost BSB since December and I've maybe gotten an inch since then. I'm also noticing a lot of ssk's. Most would say give protective styling a chance, and I would agree, but I CAN'T DO IT!! I just don't have that kind of discipline. I'm a wash n'go girl dangit . Plus I get a lot of knotting with twists and braids and I get matting if I don't watch my buns close enough. I need to revamp my wash n'go routine and I need some help and inspiration .

So ladies, who here's a wash n'go girl? Who's growing and has grown their hair out with cowashing and wash n'goes? What's your routine and are you a curly primer, a rake n'smooth, shake n'go, shingling, conditioner only, etc?

Y'all, I'm trying to get to here with as little time and effort possible .

 

[lilsparkle825]

It worked well for me when my hair was shorter, but the detangling and SSKs get me now. Don't get me wrong, I lurve them, but I have had to restrain myself (which sucks because I keep buying liters of cheapie conditioner to cowash with). I get great growth with all that moisture, and they are super easy since all I do is wet my hair, smoosh in a lot of conditioner, and rinse out most of it -- but like I said....my ends rebel too much. I can't wait to get my kinky curly partial sew-in so I can WNG to my heart's content. Till then....it's senegalese twists and then twistouts when these come down.

 

[choctaw]

I read some where that ACV rinses help with tangling and single knots. My hair is a lot shorter than yours. I do shake n go or smooth it up into a puff. I dust the ends every 2 months and that prevents ssk. I want to do ACV but not sure how often or exactly which step it should take. If ACV closes cuticle, do you add leave-in conditioner/curl activator/gel? before the ACV rinse? How often can you use ACV?

 

[ckisland]

It worked well for me when my hair was shorter, but the detangling and SSKs get me now. Don't get me wrong, I lurve them, but I have had to restrain myself (which sucks because I keep buying liters of cheapie conditioner to cowash with). I get great growth with all that moisture, and they are super easy since all I do is wet my hair, smoosh in a lot of conditioner, and rinse out most of it -- but like I said....my ends rebel too much. I can't wait to get my kinky curly partial sew-in so I can WNG to my heart's content. Till then....it's senegalese twists and then twistouts when these come down.

I feel you completely. I'm just hitting this point, but I'm trying to fight the good fight . How often were you detangling? I found that I have to detangle at least twice a week if I'm doing wng's regularly. Which reminds me. . . I have not been doing that lately .

 

[ckisland]

I read some where that ACV rinses help with tangling and single knots. My hair is a lot shorter than yours. I do shake n go or smooth it up into a puff. I dust the ends every 2 months and that prevents ssk. I want to do ACV but not sure how often or exactly which step it should take. If ACV closes cuticle, do you add leave-in conditioner/curl activator/gel? before the ACV rinse? How often can you use ACV?

Thank you for this! i didn't even think of ACV rinses at all. I hope someone comes in with some knowledge on this because I have no clue. I also haven't had a trim since my BC. I need to give dusting a try.

 

[Soliel185]

I like to put castor oil on my ends to seal them and help keep them protected when I wng.

coconut & olive oil mixed together is another good mixture. Even a couple drops of serum will help coat the strands and keep them from tangling.

I moisturize daily with s-curl, and I'm currently using a mixture of aloe vera juice, water, and a couple tablespoons of conditioner to re-dampen my hair in the mornings before I shake/fluff for work. I also love Stay Soft Fro for keeping my hair soft & hydrated.

 

[Sharpened]

"I'm a lazy nappi, short and stout..."

This thread came right on time for me. Usually, when I get to the point where I now I am going to have to do some protective styling, I chop it back to a ceasar. I am determined this time to get over this hump.

Right now, I finger-comb with running water and/or oil to get the shed hairs and tangles out almost daily. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but I am going to try.

 

[Lola Laughs]

I feel you, OP. I'll spend hours twisting my hair only to take it down a coupla days later. Now that the weather is warmer I have slipped back into WnG mode. I am determined to beat the SSKs even though I rarely wear protective styles. Here's what I have been doing for the last 4 weeks that has decreased them (not stop all together unfortnately) dramatically: (1) spraying ends with a water/glycerine based product (HS14:1 works well for me, smells good) on top of my regular moisturizer (2) sealing ends with a serum (3) only detangle once a week even though I co-wash every other day (4) stopped playing my hair, twirling around my fingers and the such.

I really think its the glycerine that's made the buggest difference. hth

 

[vainღ♥♡jane]

the first time i went natural, all i did was wash n go. my hair was just fine and i had a lot of growth. i'm goin back to those now, because my hair looks best in that style and its easy. ♥

 

[choctaw]

Thank you for this! i didn't even think of ACV rinses at all. I hope someone comes in with some knowledge on this because I have no clue. I also haven't had a trim since my BC. I need to give dusting a try.

ok, I found it but it references baking soda as better than ACV in this particular instance to remove tangles and knots:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=45826

ok, I hope some folks knowledgeable with both acv and baking soda respond. I read that baking soda must be followed by acv.

 

[Coil Tresses]

Wash n go Sistah right here!!! I co-wash daily, I have several selections of conditioners, I switch it up or combine a few. I put my Long Aid activator in my hair as a sealant along with some S-Curl spray. I stopped using hair bags; I let it dry and sleep with a bonnet. No hair loss here, I love the feeling of washing my hair daily to keep it moist.

 

[Vashti]

I wear wash n gos or an afro puff all of the time. Mostly because I don't know how to twists or braid very well . I keep on top of them by adding olive oil to my DC and also I oil my scalp and hair with it during the week at night along with using SCurl to moisturize. I still them from time to time. Hopefully when my hair gets shoulder length I'll be able to braid it up.

 

[ckisland]

I like to put castor oil on my ends to seal them and help keep them protected when I wng.

coconut & olive oil mixed together is another good mixture. Even a couple drops of serum will help coat the strands and keep them from tangling.

I moisturize daily with s-curl, and I'm currently using a mixture of aloe vera juice, water, and a couple tablespoons of conditioner to re-dampen my hair in the mornings before I shake/fluff for work. I also love Stay Soft Fro for keeping my hair soft & hydrated.

Soliel, you are definitely one of my wng hair idols :lovedrool:. Your hair gets so big when you wng, which is the opposite of what my hair does . But my hair gets bigger on day 2 and beyond . I'm going to experiement with butters, oils, and serums to see how they help my ends.

 

[ckisland]

"I'm a lazy nappi, short and stout..."

This thread came right on time for me. Usually, when I get to the point where I now I am going to have to do some protective styling, I chop it back to a ceasar. I am determined this time to get over this hump.

Right now, I finger-comb with running water and/or oil to get the shed hairs and tangles out almost daily. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but I am going to try.

@ "I'm a lazy nappi, short and stout" That's me to a T . We are going to get over this hump together! My only suggestion would be to maybe give combing or brushing (paddle brush) weekly a try along with your finger-combing. I used to only fingercomb, but around APL I had to start using my paddle brush because I was finding all of these little matts . A little brush twice a week helps keep some of the ssk's away for me.

I feel you, OP. I'll spend hours twisting my hair only to take it down a coupla days later. Now that the weather is warmer I have slipped back into WnG mode. I am determined to beat the SSKs even though I rarely wear protective styles. Here's what I have been doing for the last 4 weeks that has decreased them (not stop all together unfortnately) dramatically: (1) spraying ends with a water/glycerine based product (HS14:1 works well for me, smells good) on top of my regular moisturizer (2) sealing ends with a serum (3) only detangle once a week even though I co-wash every other day (4) stopped playing my hair, twirling around my fingers and the such.

I really think its the glycerine that's made the buggest difference. hth

I'm going to give your methods a try! I see I need to work on my sealing since it's what a few ladies have mentioned. I used to use HE None of your frizzness sealed with WOC gel and I loved it! The thing is WOC is hard to come by here so I moved on to other things erplexed. I didn't notice a problem with the glycerine either even though I live in New Mexico and it gets so dang dry here. I'll give my LongAid gel a try and see how that goes.

 

[Soliel185]

Soliel, you are definitely one of my wng hair idols :lovedrool:. Your hair gets so big when you wng, which is the opposite of what my hair does . But my hair gets bigger on day 2 and beyond . I'm going to experiement with butters, oils, and serums to see how they help my ends.

My hair definitely grows throughout the week too.

I could only imagine what it would be like in an environment with any kind of humidity.

 

[Filmatic]

I really want to go back to my WnGs since I had such great growth with them my first year. The only thing I have found for SSK is Crisco. I am on a protective kick now but I am going to try baking soda and mixing the crisco with castor oil since it's so thick.

 

[lilsparkle825]

I feel you completely. I'm just hitting this point, but I'm trying to fight the good fight . How often were you detangling? I found that I have to detangle at least twice a week if I'm doing wng's regularly. Which reminds me. . . I have not been doing that lately .

I would say two or three times a week.

 

[Sharpened]

Gel hair for retention

I am willing to give it a try for a month or two. Anyone want to join me?