Do You Know How To Wash N Go…

Happy International Women’s Day! I am inspired by so many gorgeous naturalistas! I wanted to highlight my top 3 real quick before I dive into my routine!

@Happycurlhappygirl on Instagram – Rayna (YouTube link in her IG Bio)

She is probably the most hilarious YouTube page I watch! It was her videos that finally showed me the way to Wash N Go! She loves Brandy and Tamar Braxton and her videos show how much personality she has! She is one of those vloggers that I could see myself being friends with in real life!

MahoghanyCurls on Instagram – Jessica (search MahoghanyCurls on YouTube)

Not only is she a Soror of mine, she also showed her progress from beginning to end. I still remember back in 2009 watching her videos where she used eco styler as well to give her curls a pop. She has now grown into a major influencer and brand ambassador. I even had the pleasure of meeting her at Essence Festival back in 2014.

@_jnatay – Jasmine on Instagram

It is crazy how I went from admiring her big hair and curls for days to really seeing her as a great person to know! She is in the accounting world as am I, and get this, we ended up actually being coworkers! Watching her videos taught me how to wear my hair straight and preserve the volume and curls! The flexi rod and perm rod technique is the bomb!! Her hair is gorgeous both straight and curly and she is a new mommy that has been giving me so much inspiration and encouragement on my journey!

March is off to a great start, and I have a ton of things to get done in the next few weeks. The pregnancy has my curls absolutely flourishing and I thought I would share my wash n go technique for this blog. I am very simple when it comes to products. Who knew in the case of hair for me less was actually more! It took me years to get this thing right, but what kinda naturalista would I be if I did not share what I learned! So hope you learn something and maybe find something that helps your curls pop as well!

Shampoo/Conditioner/Deep Conditioner

I like to wash my hair once every week or two. I think the longest I have gone without washing my hair is 3 weeks. Either way, because my hair is a gel lover, I like to use shampoo to get rid of product buildup. I do not cowash. I used to back in the day, but I just prefer not to these days cause I like a good clean start for wash n go’s. These are my products of choice for my routine.

Nourish Spa can be found at Trader Joe’s. I consider this a staple in my wash routine. It is reasonably priced and the shampoo gives me a good cleanse before conditioning or using a different moisturizing shampoo. I go in behind the Trader Joe’s shampoo with the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Shampoo. My hair has that rubber sound clean after Nourish Spa, so the Shea Moisture shampoo gets my hair back feeling soft yet clean before I go in with conditioner. I rotate my conditioner between the two brands as well. It really just depends on what I am feeling that day. I massage that in for at least 3 minutes on drenched washed hair, and I rinse that out.

Deep Conditioner

There is never a wash day that I do not deep condition. Being natural and being in Houston my hair can always benefit from some extra attention. I switch up between deep conditioners that provide protein and moisture mainly.

I have a heavy hand when it comes to applying my deep conditioner. I divide my hair into 4 sections and apply to each section generously and put in a clip when done. Once all 4 sections are coated and ready to condition, I put a plastic bag on my head and go do other stuff for at least 45 minutes or to whenever I feel like rinsing out lol (I can get to watching something and rinse out about 4 hours later…that conditioner has gotten DEEP you hear me!?). From here, I rinse out and prepare to style!

Wash N Go Products

I only use 2 products for my wash n go…YEP you read it right! 2 products ONLY! I learned over the years that my wash n go’s were an epic fail because:

1. I was using WAY too many products (I was doing leave in, oil, cream, and gel) My hair takes FOREVER to dry and loading all these products on my hair made that process pointless and a waste of time.
2. My hair hates cream for a wash n go. Now I am not saying my hair doesn’t like creams all together cause when I do a braid out or a twist out, creams are my BFF! They give me the moisture, shine, and definition I desire for a FYE style (Fye is a Memphis thing…I get laughs on that one here in Houston unless it’s a Memphis transplant! We deep outchea!). With a Wash N Go, my hair needs definition more than anything. With creams…it looks amazing wet and maybe even great on Day 1, but by Day 2 I got a poofy frizzy fro with little to no definition. I like my styles to last!
3. I was using leave in conditioners that were not water based. This could slick fall into number 2, but I learned that even the choice of leave in could effect my end result. Using a thicker leave in caused my hair to flake when I mixed with gel. When using gel…water based is the way to go for my hair!
4. I was neglecting my roots! I was so focused on getting product on the ends that I was not making sure my roots were getting product. You don’t want your ends to be on fleek and them roots looking poofy and weak! Make sure no root is left behind ladies!

So, after learning these things, these are the products I use:

I section my hair into 4 sections (like I did for deep conditioning), and I take 1 section and begin the process. I spray the entire section with my leave in and make sure that section is good and coated. Then, I will more than likely apply eco styler gel to that 1 section in 3 or 4 smaller sub sections. I know I know “That’s too much work. I don’t have that kind of time.” I promise you if you take the time to be tedious and thorough in the beginning, it will last you longer than you think! Rushing through these styles is part of the reason yours may not be working for you as well. Plus, I have thick hair so for every curl to pop, I got to take the time to distribute product on every curl! I start by applying gel to the roots then I work it on down all the way to the ends. Work that gel in with palming method and your fingers. Once the sub section is coated you can start separating so you can make sure your curls don’t need more gel.

Once I am done with the section I may use an oil to seal it all in (that would make 3 products) but depending on what eco styler gel I use, it is not always needed as they contain oils themselves.

Air dry for a few hours or overnight before I stretch my roots and style with Blow Dryer.

For my blow dry technique check out the link!