I try to keep most of my routines as simple as possible – the less fuss, the better. The one area that takes a lot of time and a variety of products though is my hair. Fortunately, I only have to go through a long routine once a week. (The daily upkeep is pretty minimal.) Once a week though…
1. I give my hair hot oil or some other type of deep conditioning treatment. Right now, I love using Mama Mio’s O-Mega Body Oil, which does double duty as a deep conditioning hair mask. I comb it through my hair in the morning and leave it on as I run my errands for the day. Right before I’m ready to wash it out, I cover my hair with a plastic cap and use blow dryer heat on it for a few minutes.
2. I wash my hair immediately when I get in the shower. Then, I apply another conditioner and put the plastic cap back on while I’m taking the remainder of my shower. I tend to switch up my shampoos and conditioners. My “go to” line is Pantene’s Relaxed & Natural line, but now I’m using Matrix’s Smooththerapie line because a wonderful Mom in the City reader sent it to me as a “thank you” for a Mother’s Day gift package that she had won. (How sweet is that?!)
3. After rinsing out the conditioner at the end of my shower, I spray Infusium 23 Leave In Conditioner on my hair. (I water it down though, because in the original state, it is too heavy for my hair. I learned that tip at the Dominican-owned hair salon that I used to frequent on a regular basis “pre-kids”.)
4. Once I get out of the shower, I towel-dry my hair. Then, I blow dry it out. I recently stopped using the dryer’s comb attachment because it was pulling my hair too much. I notice less hair loss and breakage when I simply use my hands and the blow dryer.
5. After my hair is almost completely dry, I apply a dime-sized drop of Mizani’s Spradiance High Gloss Serum to my hair before using a flat iron. (I haven’t owned a curling iron in almost a decade. I always used to burn myself with them!)
I have a wonderful friend / hairstylist Shanelle who does my hair relaxers and/or color. (I can’t do chemical work myself. The last time that I tried to do an at-home hair color, chunks of my hair came out!) After graduating from Aveda, Shanelle worked at this high-end salon where she was able to get their (admittedly wonderful) products at a discount. I wanted her ceramic flat iron, but it was $225 – not happening.
When I was offered the chance to review a Hana Salon’s ceramic flat iron, I jumped at it. (Their full-sized irons start at a much more reasonable $130.) In my opinion, they work as well as the $225 model. Since the plates that you put your hair in between are 100% ceramic, there’s much less pulling and breaking (in my experience). I knew that the flat iron was a winner when (understated) Shanelle commented “Nice. I like it.”
Below is a short clip of Shanelle using the Hana flat iron on my hair and the finished result. (For the record, I don’t have on any makeup and my house is a mess because the video was taken the morning of the day before I moved to our new apartment. What can I say? I REALLY needed to get my hair done…)
I wonder…do women of other racial backgrounds go through all of these hair steps or is my hair routine simply one of those Black things?
