mrsphatandnaptural,  Napturals

The Journey to Hairvana – (the best haircare regimens for any curly)

Hey Curlys, Have you ever seen another natural and wondered what they used. I am always wondering what they did to achieve that style. Sometimes I even go up to them and ask what they are using. It took me quite a while to find what worked for me. I was watching all kinds of YouTube videos and trying all kinds of product and most of it was not working for me. I think this is what makes some of us give up on the process. Every Curly has to find their own regimen on this journey to reach hairvana. I know this is a process and it takes some effort on your part, but it’s so worth it! I found that a good hair regimen ( click here to purchase your Journey To Hairvana products) is the key to successfully moving on down the road. If I had to break it down, there are basically 3 types of natural regimens . We are going to call them:

imageThe Lazy Girl-
Don’t let the label fool you. Very often The Lazy Girl’s hair looks great. She is consistent and has found the best goto practices and product for her life and style. She sees Hairvana as the KISS girl Keep It Short and Simple.

The Active Seeker-
She is always looking for the next best thing. She tries lots of products and styles because she is actively seeking the newness and excitement of her natural hair journey. She always has another style, product or process that she has been using. Hairvana for her is the versatile nature of being natural.

The Tress Lover
This Curly LOVEs her tresses. She spends as much quality time with her hair as she does with anyone else. She is diligent about her routine and very often there is no other way to Hairvana for her. She gives her hair love and attention as if she is cultivating a garden to cure world hunger.

Hair care means different things to these girls. Although they all seek healthy hair, lifestyles, time and hair goals make the difference in where you may fall in the spectrum.

The Lazy Girl-

I think I’m just past lazy and just behind seeker. Although there are times when I am full on Lazy. In these times my regimen is simple and quick. Usually it consists of a Cowash and rinse out conditioner, the LOC method, then my puff or whatever goto style I’m sporting. I can get by with this for at least 3 weeks before my hair needs some TLC. Being a lazy natural just means you don’t have a lot of steps to your routine and you probably have a signature goto style. You are truly the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it kinda girl. imageThe key to pulling this off is not to get so lazy that you damage your hair, and finding the right products and goto style to always look pulled together. For me my puff is my 5 minute updo and the Green top Ecostyler gel, took me beyond the wall. I didn’t find it until I was natural for a few months. The Cantu leave-in was my mountain top experience. Once I found it I used it everyday. It’s my leave-in after I wash, my gel for my puff, and my cream for my LOC method ( LOC means Leave-in +Oil +Cream) after I cleanse and condition I apply the leave-in next I rub through my oil ( almond, coconut, jojoba ect.) then I rub the cream or sometimes I use butters ( Shea, marula, mango). So just because your a Lazy Natural that doesn’t mean your hair looks like it. Find the right products and go to style and you’ll be in like Flynn. Who ever Flynn is, I don’t know but he was always in, lol. So if the last thing you need is another tasks to squeeze into your day, you might need the Lazy Girl regimen.

Follow these easy steps to keep your hair looking great.

1. Make sure you are realistic in you hair goals. If you are lazy don’t expect to wear a style that requires a lot of maintaining.image
2. Find the right products and remember some do double duty. Your conditioner may work to detangle. Your leave my keep your hair laid like a gel.

3. If you wear protective styles, make sure you moisturize, and don’t keep them longer than 8 weeks.
4. Deep condition at least monthly.
5. Employ the LOC Method it will help keep your hair moisturized.
6. Find your signature style, and rock on!

The Active Seeker-

This is why I say I’m in between, I do change my hair about every week. I usually wash it every week and when I can, I get a new style. Although I go through phases of just the puff, or the 2 French twists, when I can’t get it done. I like to wear braids and twist styles that I change after I wash. I suffer from a dry itchy scalp so I need to wash it every week when I wear cornrows. In true seeker form I recently tried a scalp detox and it definitely worked for me. If you suffer from imagean itchy scalp like me, I would suggest you try it. Its a simple process that I used in place of my monthly pre-poo. It’s pretty simple you mix the ingredients section hair in small parts, gently rub the mixture onto your scalp in small circles. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes then rinse it out, and proceed with your wash/ cleanse routine. Lol, I have my moments! Oh but you know if you are the Seeker. You probably change your hair styles often and you are the one most prone to become a product junkie. Believe it or not most Curlys that fall into this category are the ones that end up with unhealthy hair. Sometimes you can do so much to your hair and never give it time to adjust to the new product or style before you do something else. This is probably in your DNA. It’s not just with your hair, you are this way with almost everything in your life. So if you are a seeker here are some tips to help you out.

1. Try to stick with a product or style for at least 1 week. This will give your hair time to adjust.

2. Stick to cowashing and or sulfate free shampoo, because if you keep using harsh shampoos you can dry your hair out. Add the scalpimage detox to your regimen. This will ensure you are allowing your scalp to get clean of buildup.

3. Be careful of too much pulling and tugging on your hair. This can cause undo breakage. Surly you’ve heard of traction alopecia. This is caused by too much tight tugging and pulling of hair and the shaft weakens and eventually snaps off. Most commonly on the edges but it can happen anywhere on the head.

4. Invest in a hooded dryer you will need to keep you hair well conditioned. This is a no brainier but I’ll say it for good measure.

5. In all your seeking seek healthy hair. Educate yourself as you go. Although you may love that new style if it’s not good for your hair imagedon’t do it. I see this over and over. The sacrifice of healthy hair for a short term style.
The Tress Lover-

And last to mention the The Tress Lover. We could all use you in our life. You love you, it’s not just a hair regimen. Your practices promote self love. lover girl you take pride in your mane! Often you imageconcoct your very own products and develop your own styles to show your hair just how much she is appreciated. Time spent caring for your hair is often scheduled like some women schedule their nail appointment. You never miss a washday! You are usually not as quick to jump on the band wagon for the next latest and greatest thing. But you will invest in those things that make sense to you and or have been proven to be beneficial to your hair. You spend hours stroking and training your hair. You are probably more apt to use a lot of natural products just to be on the safe side. You know that what you eat is just as important to your mane as what you wash it with. There’s almost no advice I can give to you so, instead I’ll share some of your secrets.

1. Get to know your hair. If you listen you’ll hear her talking. She’ll tell you when she likes something and when she does not.

2. Make appointments with yourself to spend time taking care of your hair.

3. Never sacrifice healthy hair for a style. Styles come and go but you want your hair to grow and show.
4. Make sure you are using the right products for your hair porosity. Do a porosity test. Drop a strand of hair into a glass of water. If itimage sinks quickly you have high porosity. Which basically means your hair shaft is open and you loos moisture quickly. If it floats a while then sinks you have lower porosity. This is “normal”. If it doesn’t sink at all you have low or compact porosity. This means the shaft is closed and most likely the moisture doesn’t penetrate the hair shaft. So once you know then what? High porosity -try using steam after you condition. Apple cider vinegar closes the cuticle. Always rinse with cold water. Low/ Compact porosity- try baking soda or glycerin, please test first. Hot water opens the cuticle, this is the key. Stay away from oils, they will only seal the moisture out. You can add ½ c imageof baking soda to 1 c of your favorite conditioner let it it for 15-20 minutes then rinse throughly with cold water.

5. Don’t be afraid to chose yourself first. You deserve it. Make an weekly appointment with yourself for some me-time. Schedule it in just like you schedule everything else. Plan it out and look forward to your beauty time. Invest in the right tools to keep your thing right. At the very least, a satin scarf or bonnet. Your going to need a wide tooth comb for detangling. A shampoo, a conditioner, a leave-in, and some hair/bobby pins, and scunchies are great for starters.

6. Read ingredient labels, the FDA requires that the products are listed in the order that they are added.

If it says it has Shea butter in it and it’s not listed in the 1st five ingredients it probably doesn’t have that much of it in there. The rule is the 1st 5 things are the base for the product.

I must admit there are times for me when I vacillate the different categories depending on what is going on in my life. When I do the research and I see what some of the other Curlys do, I say to myself I must be a Lazy Natural, lol. But I must admit I have been in every phase that I talked about here. The bottom line is if you feel that what you are doing is not working for you, don’t stick to it just because it works for someone else. Don’t get me wrong being imagenatural takes work on every level. But it’s one of the those things that you won’t believe you didn’t do it sooner.

On a personal note, as I was typing this I realized that I had hit an important point in my journey to Hairvana. This week I wore a dry twist out to work and it wasn’t as tame as the cornrows, twist, or my puff. Nor was it as defined as my twist outs and braid outs. Although I got a few compliments, I happened to be in the Cafeteria getting coffee when one of the Spanish guys from the warehouse approached me. He proceeded to say to “what’s up with your hair ?” “It looks like you just woke up”. My first though was obviously you never woke up with a sister because we do not wake up with loose hair! 🙂 but I didn’t say it. I smiled and told him well I’m a natural, which means I don’t chemically straighten my hair, nor do I try to fit into what other people feel comfortable with. I reminded him of when he started 8 years earlier and he had a long bushy ponytail, he sat back and smiled and said “yeah I had to cut it because it was imagegetting thin on the top”. That lead into a lighter conversation about if he had a daughter her hair would probably look like mine. Anyway afterwards I realized I didn’t even get offended. I felt very confident that my hair looked good to me so too bad if he doesn’t like it. As I walked back to my desk I started to feel very proud of myself. I was able to deflect his shade and even if he didn’t mean it he sounded fond of my choice to be natural. So what ever drove you to the decision to go natural, strap on your seat belt because it gets bumpy. All in all I know that my hair won’t please everybody, but as for me and my hair we are happy to be nappy!

Any who wether you are Lazy Girl, or Tress Lover, are even the Seeker, you have to find the best product to work for your approach. With the right products your regimen can be as simple as you need it to be and your hair will still look great! Don’t for get to visit our store for all your hair care needs.

Click to visit our store

http://bit.ly/mrsphatandnap

No matter how many steps you add to your process there are really only 3 basic elements, cleansing, styling and maintaining. How and what you choose to perform them is up to you. Just as anything else in your life if you put in the work, the results will show.image

Throughout the post I’ve dropped some tips and tricks that should ease you right on down the road to Hairvana!

So Curlys I encourage you to find your level and always practice good hair care. Remember make an appointment with your hair and keep it, listen to your hair she’ll tell you what she likes, and when in doubt reach out. You can leave comments here or on Facebook and Instagram, and if you are shy email us at mrsphatandnaptural@gmail.com.
But for now.

See ya Phatty!

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