Friday, December 26, 2014

My Current (Winter) Hair Routine

So...shockingly, I appear to be bad at posting consistently.  Whoops.

Anyway.  Hair.  Because this is me, and when in doubt, I talk about hair.

My hair tends to be decidedly picky about what works for it.  I've been trying to fine-tune what I use on my hair for the past three years or so, and am just now actually starting to figure stuff out.

So, I'm going to briefly go over my basic hair-care routine.  Because this is my blog, and I can.

I do a loose version of "CWC" - "condition, wash, condition."  I put conditioner on my hair, let it sit there for a bit, then shampoo, then put a different conditioner on my hair.  I let that sit for a while, rinse it, and then apply oil.

Currently, the first conditioner I use is Desert Essence Coconut Conditioner.  It's quite moisturizing, contains no protein, and is good for hair that tangles easily.  All of which are exactly what I need in a first conditioner, as my hair dries out easily and is very sensitive to the amount and type of protein that goes on it.

I smoosh about a quarter-sized blob of that conditioner down my length, then actually put my hair up in a nautilus for a few minutes and do other shower things.  Because it's got the conditioner in it, it doesn't tangle.

After I'm satisfied with the time the first conditioner has been on my hair, I take it down, and shampoo only my scalp.  I don't use a lot of shampoo, and dilute what I do use with water.  If it runs a bit down the length, I let it - the conditioner helps protect it.

Once my scalp is shampooed, I rinse the first conditioner mostly out of my hair, and smoosh in the second.  I actually use Alba Botanica's Cocoa Butter Hair Mask as a second conditioner most of the time, even though it's recommended to only use it every week or two because it's pretty heavy and contains a lot of protein.  But it works far and away better than anything else I've tried, so I stick with it.  I also use a lot more of it than normal people, but it works, so I go with it.

Then I bun my hair again for a few minutes.  This is a good opportunity to sing in the shower.  Or talk to yourself at length about things like the meaning of life (the answer is 42), plan out your research schedule for the next few days, debate your favorite flavor of ice cream, etc.  Then I rinse my hair.

While it's still quite wet, I put a couple pea-sized clumps of coconut oil in it, mostly avoiding the ends.  For whatever reason, it seems to work best if I do this while my hair is still soaked.  Then I plop it until I remember to let it down to air dry.

Brush as needed with a wide-tooth comb.  Add additional coconut oil to the length if it seems dry.  Repeat every few days.

Also, I have to adjust the amount of moisture to the weather, so I need a lot more of it during the winter months.  Come summer, I'll have to adapt my routine to fit that humidity.

I'm pretty sure I think way too hard about this stuff...

For a list of products by category ("high slip," "no protein," etc.) click here.




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