Beginner Routine

I am completely natural but I have been wearing my hair in wigs, weaves or under hats. I really have not learned my hair yet and have never been one to play in my hair. The products I am familiar with are for relaxed hair. I have been exploring the forums and there is so much out there. I am looking for a starting point. Can someone suggest a simple hair routine and some product staples for a struggling beginner. Thanks in Advance!

Product staples for my list would include a good conditioner (RiteAid has Giovanii on sale BOGO this week lol), coconut oil, castor oil to seal in the moisture, and lots of Fotki stalking lol. You're in cold Philly so keeping the hair moisturized and protected from the weather is going to be most important. You'll want to protect your ends as much as possible. HTH a little.

I would definitely start using products that will add moisture to your hair. I don't DC often yet I prepoo and baggy my entire head w/ conditioner+EVOO before I cowash. You can purchase inexpensive conditioners like Suave Naturals, VO5 Moisture Milks, Herbal Essences, and Aussie Moist(on sale @ CVS) for your cowashes. I follow my washes with a creamy leave-in conditioner and add more moisture by shingling my hair with Curls' Curl Souffle. I always seal my ends with either shea butter/jojoba oil or Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter. You can use any natural oil(EVOO, EVCO, sweet almond, jojoba(light)) for this step. The key in any regimen for this season is moisture especially in the Northeast region.

Hey im new here but ive been lurking since May 09.... I have tried many different stuff since then and i think that ive finally found a regimen that works for me... I know everyone's hair is different but im hoping my regi can give you ideas...

SHAMPOO
I use any old shampoo(once it does not have sodium lauryl sulfate) diluted (with water) in a spray bottle. Suave green apple and orchid petal i like. I know there is alot going on about sulfates but i use them cuz of the amount of product i use in my hair and also because i deep condition everytime i poo. So i section my hair down the middle and spray the mixture on my scalp only, get my fingers under my hair and rub scalp... then rinse with water.

Next I COWASH
Instead of doing 2 poos i do 1 poo and 1 cowash. So i slather on my cheap condish (i love suave) and jus run in along the lenght of my hair. I my scalp feels like its not clean i put my hands under my hair again and rub scalp. During this step I finger detangle a bit.

DC
After i rinse the co out I do a deep condition. I use NTM triple Moisture Mask (Moisture) or ORS Pak (light protein). I interchage depending on my hairs needs. 30-45 mins under a steam cap.. I tink thats what its called .. its looks like a cone-head somewhat

LEAVE-IN AND DETANGLE
After i rinse the DC out ... I blast my hair with cold water then while it is soaking wet i spray it with coconut oil.... finger detangle a bit and then apply a good combing conditioner (see terri's method at tightlycurly.com). I use HE hello hydration and put my hair in 2 low buns. I take down the 1st half, part a smaller section and detangle using a paddle brush and wide tooth comb, when detangled (still soaking wet) i seal with a shea butter mix and do a 2 strand twist. I put a little shea butter at the ends for good measure. I do this until my whole head is in twist and leave to dry.

Thats about it really... i wear my twist as a style... i cant do a good twist-out yet.

I moisturize my twist during the week wit a spritz i made (water,glycerine,aloe vera), then spray wit coconut oil and seal with my shea butter mix (shea,castor oil,evoo and vanilla extract for scent lol)


Hope this helps...

Thank you ladies. You have been very helpful!

Hey a simple routine like twist or braids or twist outs. You can also try bunning your hair. I no nonthing about cold weather but the products I use are very simple like vo5 for cond. and Garnier for my deep condit. and olive oil.

im a product junkie so i honestly can NOT help you, lol. from experience so you dont end up in rehab like me; just keep it simple-please!! any natural oils i.e. coconut, jojoba, castor n etc are my main staples that MUST stay in stock. you can do any and everything with them. i clarify w/ suave clarifyer or dr. bronner's (which i use on my body too). my condish is either suave's coconut and HE hello hydration which will more than likely be my holy grails. i DT every week w/MJ rapid recovery and koils by nature's lavendar gel and shea butters are used for my styling.

im new to the game as well with almost 4 months under my belt. definitely by my 1st year anniversary i need to break my pj-ism down and use holy grails ONLY to keep it simple (and cheap)!!

Since products have been mentioned I decided to share my monthly routine with you. As you have heard before no two heads are alike so you can change it to fit your needs.

Shampoo once a month or as needed.
Co wash 1-2x a week
Deep Condition once a week
Protein Treatment once a month
Oil Rinse when I dont pre poo or baggy before a wash

I hope this helps.

Here is my current routine and my present product rotation. I like to have more than one product for each category to prevent my hair from getting used to the product to soon.

Tia, how did you achieve the look of your second photo on your buns buns and more buns post?

molov wrote:Tia, how did you achieve the look of your second photo on your buns buns and more buns post?

In that pic my hair was blown out, and then I separated the pony tail into 4 section, twisted each section around and just pinned each one into place. I hope that makes sense.

yes it does, thanks.. i will try on my next straight look!!!