As many of you out there know, everyday I wear my fro out and I love the feeling of it catching a little Summer time breeze (isn’t that the best!). Since I started growing out my hair, I’ve only had one style…the wash and go. To me, it’s the perfect method to achieve a textured afro look and it lasts for days. While the name is a little misleading, I’ve gotten my styling routine down to a science and can execute it in 20 minutes flat, which is saying a lot when you have a thick mane like mine. Here are my 5 Steps for the Perfect Wash and Go!
- Shampoo: Some of my favorite shampoos are Kinky Curly’s Come Clean and Frederick Benjamin Invigorating Cleanser. The key to a good cleanse for me is to get my hair completely saturated with warm water. I know it sounds simple, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to wash without completely saturating my hair and ended up with less than stellar results.
- Condition: The key to this step is using both a rinse out conditioner and a leave in, or a dual purpose one. After cleansing, use a super slippery conditioner like Aussie Moist Conditioner or Curly Kinks Satin Roots to detangle. And let the product sit on your hair for a few minutes before moving on. I usually finger detangle and find that I generally shed less hair and have a bit more control over each section I detangle.
- Light Rinse: If I use a rinse out conditioner, I’ll completely rinse it out and then apply a little leave in to my ends before applying a styler. If I’m using a leave in on double duty, I lightly rinse my hair underneath the shower stream while I finger detangle a bit more.
- Rake, smooth, shake and scrunch: Once my hair is wet again from the quick stop underneath the stream, I rake in my styler (these days I’m loving Curly Kinks Coil Jam). To do this I put a quarter size amount of product into my hand, rub them together and then “comb” the product through each section with my fingers (I usually rake in about 4-5 sections). Once I’ve raked in my product I put a little bit more on my hand (about a dime sized amount) and then smooth onto each section pretty quickly. Once I’m done with that I bend over forward and shake my hair like crazy. You’ll know you are doing it right when you feel like a shaggy dog! After the shaking is done, I take my hands and scrunch out any extra water.
- Fluff!: Once out of the shower, I usually let my hair air dry but occasionally I diffuse if I’m in a rush. Once I’m almost all dry I fluff with a little bit of pomade or oil that I’ve emulsified in my hands. Lately, I’ve been loving Shea Radiance Moisture Rich Hair Butter. That’s it!
What’s your key step in your wash and go routine? Please share!
Hm. The key step for me is defining my curls. this can come in the form of my twirling each spiral around my finger to achieve finger coils, or running my fingers down each curl just to smooth all the hairs in a uniform motion. If i don’t do this, i’ve negated the purpose of wash day lol Wash day for me is synonymous with detangle day!
Hi,i really like your hair,i recently cut my hair short to grow an afro,i have no idea how to go about it,i am just growing it.any advice you can give me?
Hi Senewa, thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. Personally, I think my hair grows insanely fast, so keep in mind that your hair growth, in part, is based in genetics. Otherwise I would strongly suggest making co-washing with sulfate free conditioners as part of your weekly regimen (perhaps 1-2 times per week?). My hair stylist has told me that might have contributed to my growth. All in all, if you hair is anything like mine (dense and fragile), keeping it moisturized should help you retain length. Oh, and I would check out this video from Chescalocs too… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ciMuVhDXA. Good luck!