Regimen update time!! This is essentially the regimen that I’ve been following all fall/winter and I have no plans to make any changes for spring/summer.
WINTER/SPRING 2014 REGIMEN
Weekly to Bi-weekly:
- Option: Pre-poo with Aubrey GPB, Honeysuckle Rose and/or Vatika Oil. (I used to pre-poo wash day, but haven’t been doing it as much as my hair has been doing well. So, as long as my hair doesn’t feel excessively dry, I have been cutting it out to save time.)
- Shampoo hair in twists with DevaCare No Poo or Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship shampoo diluted in water (approx 2 oz. shampoo to 5-6 oz. water). Rinse.
- Apply Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe Restorative Treatment (or Sally GVP Joico K-Pak), gently finger comb through hair (protein) and rinse after 10-15 minutes.
- Apply Herbal Essences Hello Hydration (HE HH) to thoroughly finger detangle hair and finish detangling with Ouidad Double Detangler. Rinse.
- Deep condition with my awesome DIY goat milk hair mask (60 minutes with Hair Therapy Wrap).
- Use “Cool and Seal” DC technique to rinse DC with diluted HE HH.
- Blot hair damp with an old t-shirt or Curl Cloth.
- Apply styling products (these can vary, but generally):
- Leave-in: Kinky Curly Knot Today
- Cream styler: Curl Prep Sweet Butta
- Hold: Aloe Vera Gel (cosmetic grade) *prior to applying gel, gently detangle hair with shampoo brush from tip to roots.
- Seal: JBCO/EVOO mix.
- Style:
- Part hair into 12-14 sections and braid roots, twist length and set ends on small grey perm rods; or
- Place hair into two pigtail braids and wear in a crown braid for work; or
- NEW: Place hair into 4 twists, stretch twists across head and dry (tutorial coming soon!).
- Air dry (experimented with the bonnet dryer on the “NEW” style and it worked well, so may be doing that more often).
- Wear out styles for 2-4 days.
- Protective/low manipulation style as needed once braid-out becomes too frizzy (buns, updos, side braid, etc.).
- Nightly: Loosely French twist hair and secure against crown with Goody Comfort Flex barrette, leaving curled ends out at top of head (click here for “How To” video). Wrap edges in satin scarf /bonnet for bed; Sleep on satin pillowcase.
- Apply JBCO/EVOO mix or WGHO to scalp and hair as needed, usually 1-2 times during the week. I’ve also started to use Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter again (an old holy grail product of mine) to smooth my edges and moisturize the length of my hair prior to sealing.
Deducting the time spent “marinating” a pre-poo and DC, the actual work time for my wash day is probably about 2-3 hours to wash, condition and style. I spend very little time on my hair during the week. All the heavy lifting is done on either Saturday or Sunday, but usually Sunday after hot yoga.
Every 8 Weeks (or so):
- Two step henna/indigo (roots only full strength application/gloss on length).
And that’s my regimen! I am really loving the products that I am using and think they are working very well. My shedding and breakage have been significantly reduced since incorporating goat milk into my regimen and reincorporating Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in. So, my PJ ways have been seriously curtailed and I am pleased and content with the state and health of my hair. Though, I really need to schedule a trim since I haven’t had one since last June!!
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Have you found a regimen/products which is/are working well for you?
hairscapades 
My word your hair looks absolutely gorgeous, healthy, shiny, long… need I go on? Simply beautiful! 😀
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Your hair looks amazing as usual! God bless!
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I’m ashamed to say after all these years I still haven’t taken the time to create a regimen for my hair which would explain it’s current state… But I do love HE HH!! I plan on leaving my hair in protective styles more since I’ve been neglecting it. I figure it is better to leave it alone in a protective style than to keep putting old tangled braid outs in buns which is just creating a nightmare on wash day when I finally do get around to wash day (holds head in shame). I’ll definitely try what you’ve listed above as it seems simple and obviously effective 🙂 Thanks again for the tips. Your hair looks amazing!
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Your goddess braids are beautiful!
KLP | SavingOurStrands
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Awwww, thank you!
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Love the way your curls are poppin’ 😃
My regimen is a little similar but I still haven’t tried that Goats Milk condish yet! I’m really loving Edens Heart. Daily condish and Sweet Vanilka Butter
I tried your 4 twists retwist at night when I saw you first post it and I like! I’m getting a longer WnG and twistout style- lasted me 4 days 😀
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Thanks Michelle!!! That Eden’s Heart is definitely awesome on your hair!! And glad you like the 4 twist twist-out!! I want to do a tutorial on that next wash day!
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I tried your regimen and absolutely love the way my hair feels. I think the protien and the combination of the cool and seal (fantastic-btw) was a game changer. My hair feel so good. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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That’s awesome!!! Thank you for letting me know!! You used the goat milk conditioner? The Joico K-Pak? Something else? Whatever it was, just happy that sharing my regimen was helpful!!
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Hi Shelli- sorry I wasn’t specific. I tried your regimen as I didn’t have one (baby steps, girl, baby steps) as my hair STAYS dry!
Here’s what I did: I pre-poo’d with EV coconut oil and AHSR overnight. Haven’t re-purchased Vatica yet but its on my list. Next day after the gym, co-washed with Aussie Moist (AM) then rinsed. Then co-washed with Joico K-pack for 10 min then rinsed, next applied Aussie Moist again then rinsed. Applied the AHSR to wet hair, twisted into 4 twists, plastic cap, then sat under my hooded dryer for 45 min. Last, diluted some AM with cool water in an old squeezy bottle and after letting the hair cool, hopped back into the shower then applied diluted conditioner over twist and finally rinsed with cool water. LOVELY!!!
Then I was planning to stretch using the banding method (my new thang) so a I applied SM Restorative as my leave-in, then sealed with KBB Butter Love, then applied Carols daughter Macadamia setting Foam- last sealed with grapeseed oil and banded all the way down to my ends. Sat under my hooded dryer on cool then low (this hooded dryer I bought from the Goodwill is All-that for a no-heat girl) for about an hour and got too tired to finish so I slept in the bands. Got up the next morning- and used my porcelain heated rollers on medium to give a good bend to my stretched hair. Once I took the rollers out, I pinned curled each sections, flatted the curls with a skull cap then put on my cute hat and some hoop earrings for the day. Next day took out my pins- shook my hair and I had a super cute, big hair (my hair is crazy thick), VERY moisturized, rollerset. I got so many compliments on the train going to work and in the office 🙂 The style lasted for 4 days- with me pin curling nightly with a little KBB butter love from root to ends, then pin curling and scarf to flatten and sleep.
I’m replying to this post as its wash day again today and I plan to do the same thing- but just so you know my hair still feels great. So as you can see I used different products but I lacked an order and more important- the protein moisture balance which is what I so desperately needed. I have to admit, I don’t like having to get out of the shower to sit under the dryer then get back in the shower- but my hair responded so well. I’m going to try the goat milk conditioner because it sounds like a winner so thank you and I will keep you posted on the results. Thanks Shelli! 🙂
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Hi Shelli I’ve used the goat milk dc and loved it! I decided to amp it up a bit. I went to earth fare and saw they had condensed goat milk. It’s concentrated. I figured this may give more boost to…why not right? Well I’m going to try it out this weekend. Have you tried the condensed goat milk before?
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Hey Emilia! No I haven’t! But that is because I get a free supply of goat milk straight from the goat from my friend at work!! I definitely want an update after you try it though b/c it sounds like a great idea!!!!
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Tried it out and it’s great! It elongated my hair as well so I have less shrinkage. Super moisturized. My spin on the mix is: biolage conditioning balm + joico moisture balm + condensed goat milk + infused carrier oil blend. I loved it!
Getting the fresh milk I’m sure by far is better than store bought though. Thanks for the goat milk post last year. It has my hair feeling great 🙂
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you have the most gorgeous head of hair I have ever seen. What are you doing that I am not. And where do you live? Where Im from, you dont see black women with a head of hair like yours. Simply in awe! Just beautiful! Maybe you can help me on my hair journey with tips and tricks of the trade.
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This is wonderful! Can you recommend a goddess braid style for shoulder length (when stretched) hair?
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Hi Aisha, you could cornrow the hair around the head (part hair down the middle with 1 cornrow on each side) starting from the back and braiding to the front, then crossing the ends over each side. You could also do a traditional crownbraid (you can find lots of tutorials for that on YT. Lilith Moon has a good, easy to follow tutorial for this).
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Okay okayyyyyy, so I’ve been skipping the pre-poo too w/the adage “Shelli does it…” knowing deep w/in the recesses of my mind that there was an “IF/AS LONG AS/etc.,” part of that included on the blog, but I digress…. Since I now reside FULL TIME in that VERY CAVEAT, I shall restart pre-pooing the next wash!!! Promise! No really – believe me!!!
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Hey ladies have you heard of B-ty Institute where you can discover the art of natural hair care? B-ty Institute is a school of natural hair care where you can obtain your Natural Hair Care license, but it is also open to the public for services at a low cost. My friend and I discovered it last weekend and got our hair done by the students and it looks better than most salons that I have been to. Check it out for yourself at http://www.goBTY.com or you can call them at (877) 776-7770
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