The Importance of a Hair Regimen
Posted by HMH Blogger When I first decided to wear my hair in its natural state, I had no idea what I was doing. After watching a million YouTube videos over the course of two or three weeks and heading to my bathroom with a pair of hair scissors and cutting off all my long, permed hair in April 2011, all I knew was that I could wet my hair and it would stay curled for the rest of the day. What I didn't know was that if I didn't consistently use certain products and styling techniques, my hair would be a dried up mess. What I didn't know at that time was that my hair wasn't at its full potential because I wasn't using a consistent regimen. A hair regimen is a process that you perform on a regular basis to ensure the health and growth of your hair. Regimens are usually done weekly, but naturals have been known to incorporate bi-weekly steps into their regimen as well. Are you confused yet? Let me explain further. Every Sunday is wash day for me. I start by sectioning my hair into six blocks and detangling my hair with a wide tooth comb. If it's the first Sunday of the month, I'll proceed by washing my hair in sections with a sulfate-free shampoo and following up with a leave-in conditioner. I usually style my hair in flat twists with perm rods on the ends on wash day and before twisting I will detangle more and apply my favorite blend of oils. Every other day or every two days, I use the LOC method (liquid, oil, cream) and every three months I trim my ends. I also wear a satin scarf or bonnet every night to protect my strands while I sleep. So those are things I incorporate into my overall regimen. Shortly after year two of my natural journey, I got extremely lazy with my regimen. I stopped following the steps I'd normally used, I stopped trimming and dusting my ends, I sporadically slept with my satin scarf and guess what? My hair suffered! Big time. My ends were splitting, my hair thinned out on both sides around my ears, and it broke at the same rate of growth, so I didn't retain any length from Year 2 to Year 3. As soon as I started following my regimen consistently again, my hair began to thicken and grow, and it's visibly healthier. I'm still repairing some of the damages I suffered, but I'm here to tell you that keeping up with a regimen is important for the health and growth of your hair. Conduct research on some of your favorite natural hair figures and copy their regimens if you'd like. It's a start to helping you develop your own, and you'll learn more about your hair and what it likes/doesn't like as you go. Happy Styling!
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