NATURAL CURLY/KINKY HAIR CARE ROUTINE

I've had my fair share of experimentation with chemicals and bleach and I literally destroyed my hair in the process. So in March of this year I shaved it all off. Well, the vast majority of it anyway. I've been trying to take good care of my hair since then, and trust me when I say natural hair is not at all what I expected it to be. But I'm enjoying learning my textures and curl patterns and these are the products that I use pretty much every wash day. 

PRE-SHAMPOO: Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Perfect for Salad Dressings and Drizzling all over my head. If I can't be bothered to make a hair mask, which is actually more often that I'd like to admit, I literally poor EVOO all over my head, slap on a plastic cap and then a beanie on top to keep the heat in, and marinade my hair and scalp in the oil for a good 40+mins. I do this before I wash it with shampoo as the shampoo, even though it's sulphate free, can strip my hair of some of it's moisture, so the olive oil is basically an extra layer of oil for the shampoo to remove so it helps to protect my natural oils from the shampoo. Or at least I think that's how it works; I'm no scientist. 

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER: This shampoo, Naked Rescue Intensive Care Shampoo, is so bloody fantastic and I'm really sad that the brand has gone bust! The brand is 97% natural, across their entire range of hair/skin care which means no parabens, no sulphates and no other nasties. I picked the one for frizzy, damaged hair mainly because I didn't like the smell of the one for curly hair. The sweet almond oil smells amazing, like marzipan. Plus I think hair care for damaged hair has a few extra moisturising and nourishing properties, as they often have extra oils in. I could be wrong though. To encourage more moisture I just use any silicone-free conditioner. The Tresemmé Vibrant Naturals one in the picture was on offer so I picked it up. I'll admit the addition of coconut and jojoba oils swayed my decision as well. It doesn't have tonnes of slip, but it does it's conditioning job very well.

POST-SHAMPOO: Once I'm out the shower and my hair has air-dried a little so it's damp instead of soaking wet, I use a combination of these 3 products to prep it for bed as I wash my hair in the evening. I usually divide my hair into sections and go through a section at a time. I spray on the leave-in conditioner and comb it through with my fingers. As it's designed for babies this stuff is super gentle and there's pretty much no build-up from it all because it's such a light spry. Then I go onto spread some of my amazing holy grail whipped Shea butter mix onto my hands and then I either braid or twist the section of hair that I'm working with. Once all of my hair is in plaits and I look like Crazy Eyes from Orange is the New Black - okay not quite but still, my plaits always stick up all over the place - I go over each plait/braid (whatever) with a little Hask Oil for a little extra shine. 

Then I swaddle my baby, my hair, in a satin scarf and go to sleep, and that's it.

I repeat this rigmarole on a Sunday evening, because I shampoo once a week and co-wash in between. It's a process but it's worth it, my hair looks and feels bloody great let me tell you.  

With the exception of the whipped Shea butter, you should be able to pick all of these products up by strolling into town, so I hope that this has helped anyone who has issues finding affordable and easily-accessible products for their hair. Especially my kinky/curly girls, I got you. 

Asda Extra Virgin Olive Oil, from 99p - link

Tresemmé Vibrant Naturals Conditioner, currently on offer at Superdrug, £2.47 - link

Natural Rescue Intensive Care Shampoo, £4.39 - link (get it while you still can!)

Johnson's Baby Spray Conditioner, £2.50 - link

Hask Argan Oil, £2.50 - no link b/c it's from Primark. Lol.

Thanks for reading, xo.

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