Article found at NaturallyCurly.com and written by Evelyn Ngugi

For those new to the natural scene as well as old time curlies who just haven’t gotten the hang of it, there’s nothing more overwhelming (and time consuming) than figuring out a hair regimen! Returning to your natural texture is usually a time of education and experimentation, but to avoid wasting products, money and energy, here is a starting point for creating and KEEPING your naturally curly hair regimen.

The object of a hair regimen (in our case) is to maintain healthy, curly hair. The regimen will change depending on the qualities of your own hair (thick/thin, fine/course, curly/kinky, long/short just to name a few!) but we ALL need to achieve certain things with hair maintenance and hygiene.

Below is a good foundation for a regimen:

•Cleanse

•Condition - Detangle

•Moisturize

•Seal

•Deep Treat and Repair

Now, based on the qualities of your hair, the products you use for each category will accomplish these steps in different ways.

Cleanse:

Shampoo is meant to lift the hair cuticle, break up oil and dirt, and suspend it so it can be rinsed away. The goal is to remove environmental debris, product buildup, and production of sebum – the oil our skin naturally secretes. Our straight-haired counterparts probably can’t go one day without cleansing the hair because it is very easy for oil to travel down a straight strand. But in our case, oil has a harder time traveling down a loose wave, a tight curl, or a fro that sticks up & out! This is why the more textured your hair is, the dryer it feels. Our scalps are creating oil normally – it just cannot reach our hair!

So when we use shampoo, the focus should be on our scalps, since that’s where the dirt’s at. Apply the product to your roots and scalp, scrub with the fingertips, and the lather will make its way down your hair. Don’t toussle or scrunch the hair when shampooing. That could result in tangles! When you slather shampoo all over your HAIR instead of the scalp, you can expect a rough, “squeaky clean” feeling. Use shampoos that don’t contain sodium laurel—or laureth—sulfate. These ingredients are much too harsh for hair that isn’t that dirty, and have been known to cause irritation.

Condition - Detangle:

These two tasks are together because one helps the other out. Conditioning the hair closes the cuticle, making it smooth, slippery and easier to comb through. Conditioner is supposed to coat the hair.

Remember! Conditioner can also be used to gently cleanse the hair! Often times, conditioners have enough cleaning agents to remove dirt, especially if there’s little build up in the hair. If you exercise every day, for example, use a conditioner to wash your hair. Note that if you use conditioners with silicones in them, eventually you will have to use a clarifying shampoo to remove the buildup from your hair. If you don’t, the hair will be dull and lose body.

Moisturize:

Like described in the first step, naturally curly hair has a tendency to be dry. Fitting a moisturizer into your regimen is as simple as a morning spritz or mid-day pick me up! First and foremost, nothing will replace water. That IS moisture itself. Not all curlies have to completely soak their hair every morning – thick curls or a fro will take forever to air dry! You can simply put the water in a spray bottle and dampen the hair. When searching for a moisturizing product, water must be pretty high up in the ingredients list. Many moisturizers also contain vitamins and oils that can be soaked into the hair and scalp.

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