Wash day:braids out

It has been 9 months since I went natural and I can’t tell you how much I have fallen in love with the journey. The shrinkage, the growth, the do’s and don’ts and figuring out what works for my hair. It’s just amazing. Looking back, I remember the confusion. There was too much information that was available and contradicting (heck! I still don’t get the difference between deep conditioning and deep treatment) but at least I know the difference between a moisturizing treatment and a protein treatment. Honestly am still figuring it all out but I have really learnt and understood how to listen to my hair. It actually tells you what it needs.

Currently I want to explore DIYs. Mixing up all natural products to get your own regimen is something am really interested in and it will save my pockets (somehow).I don’t want to be that product junkie.

Anyhow I had my braids out this weekend and I spent my Saturday taking care of my tresses. My wash day had all new products from the shampoo to the oils and I will talk about each product.

Pre-poo:

After undoing my braids, I used coconut oil for my pre-poo, covered it with a black paper bag, tied a scarf and went to sleep. I use coconut for pre poo because it slips through my hair easily making detangling much easier and since shampoo tends to strip off the moisture, coconut oil covers for that.

Detangler:

First of all I don’t think it’s necessary, but I bought mine for two reasons:

1) Because I was in a hurry and I picked it up

2) Due to my schedule I sometimes can’t make time for pre-poo

I used SIRI Tony Airo’s hair detangler for kids.Lol I know am not a kid but I have never tried any of Tony Airo’s product. This was my first and I loved how my hair could easily be detangled (I guess the coconut oil helped too).I might try more of his products as time goes by.

Shampoo:

Normally I use Alberto Balsam sun kissed raspberry shampoo but I forgot to carry it when reporting back to campus. So I found this new shampoo-Oliive 7Oils cream shampoo while doing my shopping at tuskys supermarket. It retails for about 105 KES (100ml) and it is sulphate and paraben free, something naturalistas should look for when buying hair products.

Verdict: It has an amazing smell and left my hair still moisturized unlike other shampoos. Would definitely use it again.

Conditioner:

This has to be my favorite part of this review because I have just discovered the perfect conditioner for my kinks.VO5 moisture milks moisturizing conditioner-ooohhh how I am in love with it. It works even for my boyfriend’s hair!!It actually brought our curls back to life!!It shocked us. I love how it easily slips through the hair and the moisture!!You just have to experience it yourself. It’s the real deal for real (did you see what I did there👉Vo5 making me rhyme words now)

Deep Treatment:

I didn’t do my protein treatment (I use ORS hair mayonnaise) unfortunately but will try a DIY protein treatment next week (promise to talk about it).However, I did use Amla Legend hair mask deep treatment. I didn’t love it that much. It left my hair a little bit dry and repeated a wash with V05 moisturizing conditioner. I will mix it with olive oil next time and see how it works.

LOC (Leave-in,oil,Cream):

After rinsing of the deep treatment, I used Cream of Nature Lemongrass & Rosemary Leave-In crème conditioner for dehydrated hair as my leave-in.I like it because it’s not heavy and still leaves my hair so moisturized. It’s about the moisture for me.

I then applied castor oil on my hair roots and kentaste coconut oil for my strands. I love how divine the smell of kentaste coconut oil is. I am also protective of my hair ends because they break easily and loose moisture much faster.

Lastly, I used my own whipped shea butter to seal in the moisture and twisted my hair. This was my first time having the twists so it wasn’t as expected (plus they were mini twists) but I hey! Am learning.

Since I am planning to be out of braids for some time, I will turn to my daily spritz for maintenance and moisture. My daily spritz contains rose water, glycerine, castor oil and lots of water.You can add aloe vera juice as well. Again, it’s all about what works for you.

Finally loves, our hair has different texture and what works for me might not work for you.Don’t worry about that though, you will find your own regimen with time. Don’t stress about it like I did the first time. Oh and if you feel the products are too expensive there are dozens of DIYs recipes online and you can create your own regimen from things you find in your kitchen. It’s not a whole lot of work really. Just have fun with your naps.

Hair at 9 months