Growing up, I used to hear the words wash day and I’d instantly think of washing the clothes. Now that I’m adult, it has taken on a whole new meaning. Wash day is what it’s called. But it actually wash day day, condition day, detangle day, and style day.

It’s enough to make your mind tired and your arms tired, but the end result can be amazing. Kind of like that feeling we get when parenting goes right.

I love my hair. I do not love doing my hair. However, I do understand that an important part of having hair that I love is taking care of it so I can continue to love it. For many women, the plight of hair is one that has great and beautiful rewards, but the journey is not always fun. Natural hair girls tend to love sharing hair advice, tips, and information, so I decided to share my hair process here. Not as a hair expert, but as a naturally curly girl who recognizes the need to talk about hair.

The Regimen

A hair care regimen – just like a skin care regimen- is something everyone needs. It’s a carefully followed process for taking care of something. When I have a hair care regimen and I follow it, my hair grows faster, I understand my hair type better, and I know where my pitfalls are and how to combat them. For me, the struggle with shrinkage and split ends is real.

At the request of a friend, I actually tracked my hair care regimen over the course of the week. If you follow me on Snapchat, then you may know the downside to my tracking week, because by Thursday I was tired and all I wanted to do was put my hair in a ponytail. Which, I almost did, but then remembered I had an event to attend Saturday so not only did I have to continue to study my hair, I needed to stretch the style.

When I wanted to say “Ain’t nobody got time for that,” I kept going. I’m glad I monitored my hair care habits this past week because this process isn’t easy, but the results are beautiful. Welcome to a week in my hair care world.

Sunday – Wash Day

It sounds simple enough. On wash day I wash and condition my hair. Once a month, I use shampoo and conditioner. The other three weeks, I co-wash, which means I use conditioner as my shampoo. There’s not a lot of lather, but there’s also not a lot of stripping my hair of its natural oil and texture either.

Once I wash/condition, I use leave-in conditioner and detangler to comb my hair out completely. This is the only time during the week that I actually use a comb.

After my hair is combed out and tangle free, I divide it into about 10 sections and twist each section. Once my whole head is in twists, I pull all the twists in into a larger ponytail and bun. It stays in that bun for the next 7-8 hours.

About 10 pm, I take my hair down, finger comb it out, and then pineapple it. It remains in the pineapple style overnight. Pineapple is a cutesy ponytail that remains on the top of your head.

Monday – Wash and Go Day 2

In the morning, I take down the pineappled ponytail, finger comb, and go.

In the evening, I wet my hair  with water and put it in the pineapple style.

Monday Wash and Go Day 2

Tuesday – Wash and Go Day 3

In the morning, I take my hair down, finger comb lightly spritz with an oil-based hair glosser and go.

In the evening, I wet my hair liberally with water, apply oil liberally, and use a curl enhancer. After that, I pineapple.

Wednesday – Wash and Go Day 4

Take down the pineapple, finger comb and go.

Thursday – Twist and Shout

Usually, on Thursdays I pineapple and am done with my weekday regimen because a ponytail or large puff is my go to style for the weekend. However, this particularly weekend, my children had a school event on Saturday, and that meant I needed to stretch the style two more days before I could dawn my weekend look.

Thursday night, I used a hair masque to twist my hair as I did on wash day, and pulled it into a larger ponytail for the night

Friday – Twist Out Day

Friday morning I took the twists down, finger combed and was on with my day.

Friday night, I wet and lightly spritzed my hair, then pineappled for the night.

Saturday – Twist Out Day

I took the pineapple down, finger combed and went on my way. After the school event ended and we were back at home, I instantly put my hair in a ponytail/ afro puff, which stayed in that style until Monday morning.

While I’m not a licensed cosmetologist, nor do I play one on TV, I do watch plenty of YouTube  videos on the subject. This regimen has worked for me, but living with two teen girls (and a teen boy who is fascinated with his natural hair as well) has shown me that one size does not fit all in hair care.

What’s your hair care regimen?