REGIMEN AFTER MY HAIR CUT – part 1

When I used to have longer hair, my regimen consisted of: shampoo and conditioner (or hair masque 2 weeks prior to having a relaxer), leave-in and setting mousse before setting my hair on magnetic rollers, air dry then 5 to 10 minutes under a hooded dryer, remove rollers, flat-iron new growth if I have any, grease scalp, wrap my hair and use a sheen spray for shine. I was using ORS products at the time. I did not do any deep conditioning before or after I shampoo, did not know anything about co-washing, rinses, hot oil treatments… I was pretty much doing the very basics just to keep my hair decent looking.

After getting my pixie haircut, my regimen was pretty much the same, except that I did not use any rollers because my hair was too short. I would just blow dry and flat-iron. I still did not know that I had to use a heat protection hair serum to protect my hair from heat damage. I would grease my scalp with Palmer’s Olive Oil Growth Therapy every other night and tie my hair down. I was still stuck on the basics.

The first time I washed my hair after my haircut was a disaster! I decided then I needed to be better at taking care of my own hair without breaking the bank. So, my research on Google, Youtube and hair blogs and forums intensified.

One website that particularly helped in building my regimen was Wikihow. The original link may have been edited, but their current instructions on the subjects are similar. Here is a resume of the guide I found on their website:

Ø  Shampoo hair once a week with moisturizing shampoos – shampoos with no alcohol, sulfates, gluten or harsh ingredients – in order to keep scalp clean and pores unclogged.

Ø  Do a light protein treatment once a week for 30 minutes for stronger hair.

Ø  Deep condition at least once a week for 45 minutes or overnight.

Ø  Moisturize and seal every day. Moisturize the hair, mainly the ends, and then coat hair with either pure olive oil, coconut oil or castor oil.

Ø  Oil and massage your scalp two to three times a week with a pure oil to promote blood flow to your scalp.

Ø  Clarify once a month with a harsh shampoo.

Ø  Do HARD protein treatments once a month - egg mixed with a few natural oils, put the mixture on hair and cover with plastic cap for two hours. This is to strengthens the hair and prevent breakage.

Ø  Coat your hair with essential oils and cover your head with a plastic bag overnight, making sure to add layers, to create a “steam effect” on your scalp that supposedly triples your hair growth.

Ø  Use heat protection hair serum.

Ø  Cut split ends every 5 – 6 months.

Ø  Take vitamins/multivitamins, drink lots of water, and exercise.

Ø  Wear protective styles.

Ø  Create a regimen.

Ø  Join a hair website.

On my next post, I will write about the products I’ve been using since I created my hair routine and how often I use them, and the hair websites/forums I’ve joined ever since.