Regimen 2014

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Behold my extension-free glory!

I have further simplified my already pretty basic hair routine.

The Tools:

(Left to Right, Top to Bottom) Microfiber Towels, TRESemme Naturals Conditioner , Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque ,Curlformers

The Process:

Step 1: I divide my (dry) hair in eight sections, four on each side.

Section by Section

Step 2: Cleanse each section with apple cider vinegar and water.

I no longer use shampoo.  I mix equal parts Apple Cider Vinegar and water together in a spray bottle and use that on my scalp and roots instead.  My scalp has been much less itchy and dry since I switched to this combo.  This both cleanses and dampens my hair for the next step.

Step 3: Slather on conditioner, detangle, and twist.

I still use TRESemme Naturals Conditioner and I have it in a handy pump bottle for this step.  I finger detangle the follow up with a wide tooth comb.  If I had a lot of knots or afro seeds, I might follow up the comb with the Denman.  More often than not, I don't.  Once I have the section detangled, I put it in a big twist and move on to the next one.

Once all the sections are done

Step 4: Rinse in the shower. 

Most of the time I just give the twists a squeeze.  If my hair was really dirty or otherwise funky, I might undo each one and do a second conditioner rinse.  I usually don't though.

Step 5: Wrap my head in Microfiber Towels.

I use two towels like these designed for drying cars.  (Not the actual ones linked but these are a similar size, texture, and price.)

They soak up a lot of water.  I wrap my twists in the first towel and leave it for five minutes or so.  Once that towel is soaked, I go in with the second towel to blot my roots and squeeze more water out of my twists.  When I do this, my hair is mostly dry.

Section by Section

Step 6: Apply Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque as a leave in and apply seven or eight Curlformers to each section.

I got these Curlformers years ago and ignored them for a long time.  I use them now because I have discovered that with these, I can have dry hair in about three hours-which is a little like performing miracles.  They are also a really versatile styling tool for natural hair.  Naptural85 has a lot of really great videos on the subject.

I also like them because they stretch my hair without heat and pre-section it for twisting. 

Curlformers aren't cheap (in a less mature age this statement would have called for at least one f-word.) If you are interest in them, invest in the longest ones available.  I bought the long and wide and now my hair is so long that it is sticks out of the ends-you can see the fuzzy evidence below.  If I had bought the extra-long to begin with, I wouldn't have this problem.

Step 7: Release Curlformers and twist.

Generally I put each curl in one twist.  If it's a big curl or if it's feeling a little scalpy, I might split it into two twists.

I leave these twists in for a couple of weeks usually before untwisting.  (The twists themselves I usually wear in buns or ponytails.)  The resulting twist out usually looks pretty good for another week.  Hence, three weeks of stretched-out, styleable hair per wash.  

The Verdict:

I cut out quite a few steps to expedite the process.  I don't do a separate deep condition.  I don't henna or color as often.  I don't do a thorough detangling every wash.  I don't dry in twists.  I don't sleep on them and style in the morning.  

These changes have resulted in a process that allows me to finish my hair in one day instead of two (or more).  I have not noticed any ill effects from cutting out deep conditioning and extra-tender handling.  If anything, my hair seems to be thriving on lack of attention and constantly being fucked with.

Regimen Building: Beauty, Skincare Edition

It has been many months since my last henna and indigo.  Hence, I have a giant, honking white hair right up in the front.  This hair is even wirier than the rest of my hair-the better to stick out no matter what style I attempt.

It's giving me major angst.

It really does look like a trick of the light when you look at it.  Unless you KNOW.  If you know it looks like this.

Personal Image

What's funny is that I never thought I would be the type to freak out about aging-probably because I never really thought I would.  I have a chubby baby face and good genes.  I have aunts who haven't seen thirty in decades who still look like they are in their late twenties.  Why can't my hair get with the program?

As I was ogling my gray hair in the mirror, I noticed something else.  I have a smattering of blackheads and a few things that look suspiciously like pimples.  What the hell!  I have never had issues with these things in the past.  Is this what edging up on thirty will bring?  Will it be wrinkles and turkey neck next? 

Okay-I knew I had some issues.  This bad boy has been stressing me for months.

Personal Image

All of my efforts to remove it have met with varying degrees of failure.  Wes and I tried squeezing it out with an extractor tool.  That was working, however, the pain of pressing against that particular area was too much for Wes to take.  (It hurt like a mother so I couldn't force myself to do it.)  Wes backed out when my eyes started to tear up.

Me: Seriously-is this what birth is going to be like?
Wes: Are you comparing squeezing a blackhead with birth.
Me: Don't change the subject.
Wes: You know, you could do this yourself.

Since that episode, I've left the spot, and my hair, alone while I did some of my trademark internet research.  (This consists largely of product reviews on Makeup Alley and youtube)

Can I just add-googling "blackhead" will send you to some of the grossest, nastiest . . . . horrible videos on the internet.  It's late for Halloween but OMG.  You really might not want to click that link.

My next henna treatment is going to have to wait until we have our own place because it's an involved process and my application skills are still a little messy.  As for my face-I determined that what I really needed was to establish a skincare regimen.  

Personal Image

A regimen is defined as a way of life or diet for the promotion or restoration of health.  A skincare regimen for me, specifically, would include those factors I believe necessary to restore the balance of my skin and maintain that balance.  

I decided on cleaning, treatment, and maintenance as my key areas.  I also decided to invest.  

1, 2, 3, 4

For regular cleansing, I decided to go with (2) SheaMoisture's black soap because it doesn't contain any gross stuff.  That is my general term for sulfates, parabens, etc.  This soap is not drying and it can be used for face and body.  However, it is pricey so I have only been using it on my face.  It is also black soap which means the lather will be black.  This can be a little jarring the first time you use it.

On the treatment end, I also picked up the (1) St. Ives Apricot Scrub.  It contains salicylic acid which is used to treat blackheads.  Additionally, for direct application I went old school with an (3) astringent from Clean and Clear.  I only apply this on affected areas-so that giant polka dot on my nose gets the treatment two or three times a day.  

The centerpiece of my new regimen is this little at-home microdermabrasion tool from (4) Olay.  This one was pretty expensive at 29.99.  There are less expensive machines out there by other brands but I chose this one because it was the most flexible and most cost effective over time.  You can use this with the exfoliating product it comes with or the product of your choice.  Additionally, the brush is multi use and replacement brush heads are ten dollars.  Similar products require you use their replacement products and I really didn't want to commit to that.

The first time I used this I was surprised that it was much more gentle than I expected it to be.  It was actually more gentle than most facial scrubs I have used.  After using it though, I noticed that my face was brighter and noticeably smoother.

My tentative skincare routine will include morning cleansings with black soap followed by astringent on problem areas and moisturizer.  Three evenings a week I will use the microdermabrasion tool followed by moisturizer.  The remaining evenings I will clean with soap, treat with astringent, and moisturize.  (After this attack phase, if you will, I think I will switch to using the St. Ives scrub two or three nights a week, followed by astringent and moisturizer.)

In other words.  . .  out, damned spot; out I say.

I'll let you know how it goes.

*As far as moisturizers go, I generally prefer Cetaphil.  I do have a sample size of a Eucerin moisturizer that I have been using but I'm really not feeling it.