Wash Day: The Last One of The Year!

Heyy booskis!

Tomorrow is Christmas day! Whoop! ^_^

Our Big Fat Giveaway closes on Boxing Day. You can still enter over here.

My hair is currently in Marley twists. Long, fat, not so many twists. Apart from the classic fro, I think I’m happiest (hair wise) with my hair when it’s in this state. Faking it till I make it, Rasta baby!

Last Wash day, the last one of the year, was one I took very seriously because I was washing in preparation for this protective style which I’ll wear for about four weeks. Harmattan was playing games with my hair and scalp, and I wasn’t ready! See, Harmattan never really comes to Lagos and even when it does, it’s like fairly used Harmattan lol (when you compare elsewhere) so, I was surprised that this time it came early and that my hair was acting up. It was all good last year!!

Anywayyyy. Here’s how it went. 🙂

FIRST, HAIR PREP!

First, I really love this photo. Haha.

I finger detangled very carefully. I lightly misted hair with water, and then applied olive oil section by section, for slip. This took about an hour or longer, watching The Grand Budapest Hotel as I did so. Washday is really like the only time I actually watch “TV”. I twisted up each section as I went, because I had no bands. This approach to detangling is the longest for me, but I really appreciate it on days when my hair really needs that work! I was able to remove all the shed hair, without breaking any. I wish I could be this patient all the time!!

Shed hair 🙂

It’s easier for me to detangle efficiently when my hair is not wet. This way, I can feel my strands properly, and identify all the knots and tangles. You can say I killed two birds with one stone at this step, finger detangling & prepooing.

All detangled and twisted up

DOUBLE POO?

I contemplated using a very sulfatey shampoo to deep cleanse since I’ll probably not wash my hair for the duration of these twists, but changed my mind. Maximum moisture was the goal last Wash day. So I used my sample sachet of Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream. I had about 0.5oz of that, and forgetting that it takes a lot to lather, I’d mixed it in a bowl with some water. Hair was super dirty because of the dusty Harmattan breeze, and so my 0.50z wasn’t enough. What to do, what to do…. So I remembered the Miss Jessie’s samples MeeMee sent me. I decided to risk the Creme De La Curl. It surprised me by being a really thick paste. Truly, thick like a creamy leave-in.

Miss Jessie’s Creme de La Curl

It is a no-suds formula, so I applied it to my scalp very well, and then bent over to rinse it off. The results, very clean hair with no brown dusty water in the sink. Plus, my hair did not feel stripped!

OIL RINSING

I still don’t know if Oil Rinsing is going to become a regular part of my routine. I like the Wash, DC & seal life. But it helps a great deal with moisture and this season I need all the help I can get! So I oil rinsed- applied olive oil generously with the help of an applicator bottle (favorite tool!) and rinsed off with not so warm water, 5 minutes after. Hair felt great but we weren’t done yet,

DC, DC

I deep conditioned with the Shea Moisture African Black Soap Purification Masque, which I can officially say I love. I have one use left, so when I try that without oil rinsing, I’ll give my review. I smoothed the masque into my hair, doing a little finger detangling and then twisting to secure. The Miss Jessie’s ingredients are not exactly 5 star, so I was happy to still get some cleansing action in with this masque. I applied it to my scalp too.

After finger detangling again with DC

I tied two plastic bags around my hair, and with the aid of a blow dryer, applied heat. Don’t go too close or forget the dryer in one spot, it will burn the plastic, lol. I did this for 30-40 minutes as I finished the movie (RIP Monsieur Gustav!!) and when I was done, I rinsed off with cool water. Hair was happy and super shiny.

MOISTURISED AND SEALED

Finally, I put my hair in chunky twists, moisturizing each section with Cantu Argan Oil Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream and sealing with Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade. Its been a long time since I used a leave-in after Washday, but I had to this time. It was also at this point that I used my comb, to go over after smoothing/ finger detangling, just to make sure I got all the knots out.

At the end of the night, when my hair should have still been butter soft, I could feel the base of the twists drying up again (ugh) so I applied more leave-in to those parts.

The next morning, I went with my slightly damp hair to the salon. I didn’t let them blow-dry it, had them twist just like that. So bye bye fro, see you next year. 😀

How did your last Washday go? How is the weather at your end? Have you made any changes to cope with it?

A very merry Christmas to you and yours, from the both of us!

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