I am sure you have heard the saying, “less is more” haven’t you? If you haven’t heard that then you must have heard the saying that simplicity is the “ultimate sophistication” which can be pretty comforting if you are a ‘lazy natural’.
To be honest I do not like the word lazy when describing a regimen that is relatively simple, but often you will hear the two words being used when describing a basic regimen without the hoopla. The truth is, you can attain the same goals if you take the drama out of the process, the thing is how do you know when you are doing too much.
Here are 5 clues that will tell you that you are doing way too much in your regimen:
1. Your wash day lasts 4-6 hours
Honey*, ain’t nobody got time to be sitting around all day on Sunday or Saturday doing hair. There are naturals out there that have a ritual on wash day that literally lasts longer than 2 hours, between deep conditioning*, washing, styling natural hair, it all seems to take forever.
What we propose: Deep condition your hair over night while you sleep, cleanse and style the following day. Very simple, your hair is moisturized and you used your sleep time to do the bulk of the work.
2. Way too many products
I love a product junkie, she is interesting, she likes to try new things, but an effective product junkie knows what her hair needs and when, she isnt using every product she has on one day.
There is nothing wrong with trying something new, but if it causes confusion with your core regimen then you are doing too much.
What we propose: Forget about products, pay attention to ingredients, if you hair hates glycerin do not purchase a bunch of products with glycerin as the main ingredient only to have an unsuccessful outcome with your hair. Purchase products your hair likes based on the back of the bottle and not the front.
How am I supposed to deep condition while I sleep? Do I sleep with a bonnet? A shower cap?
I put a plastic bag or shower/conditioning cap over my hair and they put a scarf or winter hat on top
You can also try saran wrap (plastic wrap) instead of plastic conditioning caps or use them together. I feel like the plastic wrap can have a more secure hold. Then I put on my turbie twist (the microfiber turban towel).
First, I do not understand deep conditioning before you wash your hair. Seems like a waste of all the intense moisturizing goodness. I do understand the concept of a hot oil prepoo but not a moisturizing deep conditioner before washing your hair. But I do understand washing your hair and then deep conditioning overnight (or while running errands or doing chores) and rinsing out and styling hair the next day (or later that day) to save time. I have done that many times especially when I have been too tired to continue.
Second, I have fine hair and thought that I had to abide by the “your hair is fine and needs more protein than other hair types” rule. Well I ended up with protein overload and my hair was dry and rough. I knew I was probably doing too much but I ignored my gut because every thing I read said my fine strands needed protein. My suggestion is get to know your hair and pay attention to your hair’s need.