6 Reasons To Try a Wash and Go

If you're reading this, you've probably either attempted a wash and go or are thinking about attempting a wash and go. You might not think that wash and gos work for your hair type. You might not have found your perfect wash and go curling cocktail. But, I'm here to give you a gentle encouraging nudge to give the wash and go life a chance. Here are 6 reasons why you should try a wash and go (again):

Increased Curl Definition 

The wash and go is less about achieving a certain "style" and more about figuring out what technique + product selection encourages your strands to clump, curl and pop. There are tons of methods that you can use to define your curls (I use the rake and shake + praying hands for example). With each wash and go I've seen increased curl poppage and curl memory

Low Maintenance

I literally do nothing to my hair after wash day. No moisturizing and sealing. No detangling. No restyling.To keep my curls shaped, I band it at night using my DIY Ribbon Hair Ties and then cover with a satin cap/scarf. (You can find out more about banding here---just trust me, it's AMAZEBALLS)  My curls stay defined for days.

RELATED: DIY Ribbon Hair Ties For Natural Hair

Quasi-Protective Style

While I can't say that the wash and go is a legit style that will protect your ends. I can say this: Because of my product cocktail, my ends stay uber moisturized between washes. My shrinkage doesn't allow my curls to touch my shoulders, so I don't have to worry about the ends of my hair rubbing and snagging on anything. Then there's the business of the gel cast. The gel cast is almost like a protective curl exoskeleton (say that 10 times fast!). The cast prevents moisture from escaping (as quickly) from your strands and keeps your curls weighed down which prevents tangling.Which leads me to my next point...

Less Tangles

In the past, when I tried wash and gos, my gel application was lousy (I only used gel on my ends instead of the entire strand), my hair wasn't properly moisturized prior to applying the gel, and I didn't band my hair. All of this was a recipe for tangles, knots, and general natural hair mayhem.

Gym/Workout Friendly

I work out 5-6 days a week, 30 minutes to an hour. Now I'm not talking yoga---where you don't sweat and look cute. I'm talking 2 mile morning runs + 30 minute cardio kickboxing with a few plyometric and circuit training courses sprinkled in. I sweat like a sinner in church. But my wash and go never shows it! I shared all of the details on how I do it here: How to Maintain Your Wash and go for 5 days!

RELATED: Workout styles for natural hair

Long Lasting

My very first wash and go experience was terrifying to say he least. The style lasted all of 24 hours before I gave up, co-washed then put my hair up in a bun. Luckily, I'm stupid persistent because at almost a year later, I'm alllll about the wash and go. My curls are moisturized, defined, and last for dayssss (so far the longest I've been able to go is 8 days between wash and gos). So even if you've failed time and time again to get the wash and go of your dreams---I encourage you to keep trying. Because your curls were made for this. Literally!

If you've mastered your wash and go, share some of your fave tips below. And if you are still figuring it all out, drop a question in the comment section. We're here to support, encourage, and throw a little positive pixie dust your way!

Besitos!
KLP

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[Tutorial] Curlformer Side Bun + Double Dutch Braid Bun | The #WashDayExperience

They say that too much of a good thing is bad---and I'm guessing that applies to your hair too.

I co-washed by hair about 3 days after last week's #washdayexperience and afterwards I noticed that I had a couple places in my hair with some yucky build up at the roots.

So I grabbed my fave shampoo this week to give my scalp a thorough scrub.

Here's what I used:

Pre-shampoo- DIY Moisturizing Mist (tutorial here) + Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner  (review here)
Shampoo- Jessicurl Cleansing Shampoo (review here)
Clay Rinse- Here's the dets on my recipe
Deep Condition- Jessicurl Deep Treatment Conditioner (review here)
Leave-Ins- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Why EVCO is AMAZING here) + Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner (why I love this stuff here) + DIY Hair Butter (tutorial here)

RELATED: My Minimalist Natural Hair Regimen

And here's how I did it:

This week's #WashDayExperience theme is Detangling tips. I always detangle my hair before I hop in the shower. When I don't---my hair hates me. To get started, I spritzed the ends of my hair with my DIY Moisturizing Mist (tutorial here). Then I slathered my hair in Herbal Essence Hello Hydration (my full review here) and detangled my hair in small sections. My detangling process takes about 15-20 minutes. I let the pre-shampoo treatment sit for about 20 minutes before hopping in the shower.

RELATED: My 5 Steps to Detangle FAST!

In the shower, I rinsed the conditioner section by section then applied my Clay Rinse with a narrow tip applicator bottle. This week, I started the application from front to back. My curls in the back are completed defined from root to tip. So I started with the front to give these curls some more love. Fingers crossed that I can get the curls in the front to POP like the ones do in the back!

Next, I deep conditioned with my all time fave conditioner Jessicurl Deep Treatment Conditioner (review here), coated my ends in Extra Virgin Coconut oil (here's the kind that I use $) to seal in the conditioner and plopped under my hooded dryer for about 30 minutes.

RELATED: Why I'm in love with the Coco (Coconut Oil of course!) 

I t-shirt dried for about 10 minutes then installed Curlformers using a little more Extra Virgin Coconut Oil + Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner (why I love this stuff here) + DIY Hair Butter (how to make your own Hair Butter here) as my leave ins.

I sat under the dryer for an hour then took down the curlformers and tossed my hair into a side bun.

I thought about doing something more glamorous the next day.

But I just didn't feel like it.

So into my staple Double Dutch Braid Bun the curls went. Aside from a simple ponytail--has been my favorite workout style since my relaxed days. You can check out more of my workout styles here. 

What are your detangling tips and how did you style your hair this week?

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Steps To Detangle Your Natural Hair Faster

Detangling your hair doesn't mean ripping it out, spending hours haunched over in the shower or having to cut out huge knots. I noticed that the better I get at detangling my hair, the better my curls clump, the easier it is to style, and the better products seem to absorb into my curls. Here are my steps for detangling my crazy thick curls:

P R E - W A S H

I've found that detangling before I wash is the best way to identify and remove tangles before they turn into large knots. Detangling before I wash makes my wash day faster and gives me less work to do in the shower. 

S L I G H T L Y   D A M P

I start my spritzing my ends with this DIY Moisturizer. It only has 4 ingredients and it works like a charm to re-hydrate and soften up my curls. At this stage---you're not gonna want to completely saturate your hair; especially if you have super dense curls because they will just shrink up on you. (Side note: A plain ole mist of water will do the trick too.)

Related: The BEST Moisturizer for Natural Hair (and it's cheap too!)

S M A L L   S E C T I O N S

Gently divide your hair into several sections. I usually start with 8; 4 in the front of my hair and 4 in the back. Then I further divide these sections into 2 parts then apply a little conditioner to my ends before using my fingers to detangle.

F I N G E R S   O N L Y

Your fingers are the best tools for detangling your hair. You can feel for knots and unravel them inside of ripping them out. Your hands will create less friction  and it gives you the opportunity to really get to know where your hair tangles the most. I've found most of my tangles at the ends of my hair vs the roots and the middle of my head is usually more tangled than the back or the front. This reminds me to keep that section of my hair better moisturized between washes.

My method is pretty straight forward: I take the section, stretch it out with my fingers and rake downwards to remove shed hair. If I encounter a tangle, I isolate it and pick it apart. For those pesky single strand knots---I just grab my scissors. Ain't nobody got time for that!

While it's basically impossible to eliminate single strand knots, I have noticed that I have less knots, tangles and splits now that I'm sticking to my minimalist hair regimen.

Oh and if you just have to use a tool--try this amazing seamless comb.

Related: Detangling Comb From The GAWDS!

K E E P   S T R E T C H E D

After you've detangled each section twist, braid or bun the section to keep it stretched and tangle free.

What are your secrets for detangling your hair?

Besitos!
KLP

[Hairstyle] Perm Rods + Tangles | WashDayExperience

 
I learned a lot about my beautiful multi-textured hair this week. 1. It's defiantly stubborn. 2. It's a bit bi-polar and 3. Without a good stretch on wash day---the rest of the week is miserable. I refused to repeat my mistakes from last week, so I broke out some old faithfuls from Jessicurl and dusted off my perm rods. Here's how my #washdayexperience went:

1. Pre-Shampoo- I slathered my hair in extra virgin coconut oil whilst I detangled. I put my hair in about 6 bantu knots to keep my hair sectioned.
2. Shampoo- with Jessicurl Cleansing Cream applied to each section.
3. Extreme deep condition- I deep conditioned with Jessicurl Deep Treatment on the length of my hair. Then I massaged my stands with extra virgin coconut oil, covered with a plastic cap and left it for a few hours.
4. Tea Rinse- using 1 black tea bag and 1 green tea bag steeped in 2 cups of water + 2 tbsp of glycerin.
5. Smoothing Treatment- with a large dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution.
6. Air Dried- I applied a bit of Chi Silk Infusion to 80-85% wrapped in a cotton t-shirt.
7. Leave ins-I used Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner to moisturize and the teensiest amount of Tangerine Vanilla Whipped Hair Butter to seal then set my hair on about 35 orange perm rods and left in overnight

It wasn't pretty for a while y'all. I had to cut out 3-4 knots. My nape was a tangled nightmare and suffered the worse of it all. Pre-wash detangling took about an hour vs my usual 15-20 minutes. I'm nervous that whenever I get around to straightening, I'm gonna have a janky hemline. *shudders* I'm still kicking myself in the butt.

There were a few tears shed and there might have been a few fudge bombs dropped. But, it all changed once I slathered my hair in Jessicurl Deep Treatment. Omgosh, this stuff is amazing. My hair simply soaked it up. I didn't use heat---I just let it sit for a few hours. And when I went to rinse---Ladies----we were back in business!

I still suck at installing my perm rods. Maybe I'm too meticulous---or maybe my fingers are still getting the hang of it all, but I feel like 1.5 hr installation time is ridiculous! I'm off to YouTube to find a quicker way! In the meantime---LOOK AT ALL THIS STUPID SHRINKAGE! Yes---I'm still amazed at how I go from MBL to barely even chin length overnight. Shrinkage is the devil!

It's pouring rain in my part of the world, so in a high bun all those curls went and I was on my way! Take a look at my roots---no gel, jam, or edge control. Glory be to perm rods for what they do to smooth my roots! And check out that silly straight end that never wants to act right! There's always one right?

I hope you had an amazing #washdayexperience chica!

Besitos!
KLP

An InLinkz Link-up

[Hairstyle] Criss-Crossed High Bun + Tangles | #WashDayExperience

The last 67 weeks of this stretch has been fairly simple and straight forward. Stretch hair with curls. Wear hair down for a few hours. Bun it up or twist it back. Well, I kinda didn't follow my own plan of attack and now I'm really asking myself if it's time to throw in the towel. Here's how my #washdayexperience went:

1. Extreme deep condition- I fully detangled my hair then applied Matrix Biolage Hydrasource Conditioner to my roots and Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe to my ends. Then I massaged my stands with extra virgin coconut oil, covered with a plastic cap and let sit for a few hours.
2. Tea Rinse- using 2 green tea bags steeped in 2 cups of water + 2 tbsp of glycerin.
3. Smoothing Treatment- with a large dollop of Matrix Biolage Detangling Solution.
4. Air Dried- I applied a bit of Chi Silk Infusion to 80-85% wrapped in a cotton t-shirt.
5. Leave ins-I used Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner to moisturize, extra virgin coconut oil to seal and stretched my hair using banding. 

The Results: 
Without my signature curls, I really had NO CLUE how to style my hair. I looked into my Bun Effect (my favorite protective styles) backlog for answers. I tried a low bun; But I couldn't smooth my edges back. I tried my 30 second old faithful updo; Trust me---you don't want to see pictures of that catastrophe. So I went straight into a high bun. 

I know exactly where I went wrong today---my hair wasn't properly stretched. SHOCKER right? I used all of my favorite products. I even deep conditioned overnight. But without a proper stretch to blend my super curly roots. It's. All. In. Vain.

BUT...there's an upside. I usually shed like a cat when the seasons change. Not this Fall! (Yet) My lost hair was sincerely a joke this week. I pray that the trend continues!

How was your #washdayexperience?

Besitos!
KLP

An InLinkz Link-up