"Been such a long time/I forgot that I was fine" These are Ms. Erykah Badu's words, but they fit my life right now.
I've 100% been neglecting myself lately. Especially my hair.
Life has gotten extra busy, and I'm finding that it's hard to find the time I used to have to dedicate to styling, trying new products, or hell, even detangling properly. Over the past few months, I've been washing when I can, throwing in some sloppy 2-strand twists, and hoping for the best. I usually end up resorting to some kind of updo, either pulled back in a bun/puff or pinned up, but I find that when I leave my hair in protective styles for too long, the tangles almost have to be torn out. Not good, and totally defeats my intent of having healthy, happy hair.
Tonight, I decided I would take some time for me, and properly take care of my hair for once. I plugged my iPhone into the bathroom speakers, hit shuffle, and jumped in the shower. Here's a quick glance at what I did tonight:
I wet my hair a bit and used my fingers to pull apart the biggest tangles, then slathered on my favourite cheap conditioner, Herbal Essences' Hello Hydration. This stuff is the truth at like $3 a pop....I love it as a detangler and a leave in - which means I go through this stuff like toilet paper. Anyways, I made sure to use enough conditioner so that it covered all of my hair and squished through my fingers. Let it sit for a minute while I washed my face, then used my handy-dandy wide tooth comb to detangle my hair, patiently, section by section. I could tell my hair has been crying out for some TLC...the amount of shed hair wasn't DRASTIC, but definitely showed my neglect.
Next, I rinsed out the HEHH and applied my newfound hair nectar of the gods...Elasta QP's DPR-11 - a deep conditioner with 11 different botanical ingredients (see product description here) to transform dry, parched hair into silky smooth goodness. This is my 3rd time using it, and every time I do, I fall in love all over again. I slapped the DPR-11 on and massaged it through my hair from root to ends, then pinned my hair up while I showered - I call it the Poor Chick's Steam Treatment. If you have time, you could also use a heating cap with the DPR-11, or wrap your hair in Saran wrap and then cover it with a towel - leave it on for 15-2o minutes, then wash out for a cheap deep treatment. I'll be honest - I wasn't that ambitious tonight.
After my hair was pinned up, I took a nice, long, hot shower. The very last thing I did was rinse the DPR-11 out with cool water - cooler water seals your hair cuticle and locks in moisture, so the colder, the better. I also learned a new drying trick: instead of drying hair with a regular ole towel, I read about using a microfibre towel, or if you like to cut corners like me, a cotton T-shirt. Bath towels easily tear your hair, so using a cotton T-shirt soaks up the excess water without damaging your curls.
I decided on my staple style - the 2-strand twist, simply because it's quick and easy, and when I take my time, it comes out looking pretty damn good! At Afrobella's event on Saturday, I won a beautiful gift basket courtesy of I Heart My Hair. Included was a bottle of JessiCurl's Confident Curls Styling Solution, which claims to "form and define touchably soft curls"....this may be a better product for a wash n' go, but I used it to set my twists (about 20 in total), and sealed the ends with shea butter. This being my first time using this JessiCurl product, I'm curious to see how it'll turn out...
I'm sitting here now, with some clean, soft, yummy-smelling hair, and I'm glad I actually took the time to properly take care of business. Once my hair is completely dry (a process that seems to take longer and longer these days), I'll see how this JessiCurl/shea butter concoction turns out....stay tuned!