Building your reggie ….something very basic….

So I have a million things to share with you. My mind is firing off in a million different directions. But I will start from the beginning and build from there. today we learn the basics of a hair regimen to take with us on our hair journey. (on a side note: its sooooo hot here  in Joburg! here I am sitting in my lounge with olive oil in my hair and deep conditioning it with a plastic hair cap on my head. am i crazy?! the things i do for this hair!)

How do we start our hair story?

The basic things to note are that African hair needs moisture. It LOVES moisture. Moisture is your friend. BUT it can’t survive on moisture alone, too much moisture and you will damage your hair. It also needs protein. Protein is the stuff that builds and strengthens our hair.

Each of us needs to find that moisture/protein balance. I will go into more detail on this in a later blog.

So to start off your hair journey, I would recommend you shampoo the hair with a shampoo like ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo. This will rid if of the product build up. Try not to dry it the way I used to back in the day, i.e. vigorously rubbing my towel through it. After this make use of a leave-in condish. Gently let the air dry if you can or by using an old t-shirt(like I used to when I was relaxed). When its about 80% dry, moisturize and seal in the way we just discussed above.

One thing is for sure, most of us need to moisturize our hair every day.

So first things first, go out and get your self a good moisturizer.

I live in South Africa. Although from time to time I get my products from the UK I have learnt to look for products here in SA that work just as well.

One great product is ORS Moisturizer. I usually get this from Clicks. Don’t let the price deter you. The cheaper stuff typically is bulked up with ingredients that do nothing for your hair (more on that in another blog). ORS is thick and spreads well on relaxed hair. You need a very small amount as you will be moisturizing your hair everyday and do not want to weight it down.

Another great product I came across  is Sof n Free n Pretty Gro Healthy hair lotion . This product I randomly came across in Dischem. And my natural kinks LOVE IT!!! Ok so it is for kids, but still I’m in love. Why? It contains no mineral oil, is free from parabens and is pumped with moisture. (I would say natural hair needs more moisture than relaxed hair)

When I put it in my hair, I can hear my hair thanking me for it. Lol!

So what happens when I cant run out and buy a new moisturizer? Easy! I take a clean spray bottle, in goes some water, some glycerine (super cheap), a few drops of my favourite oil, a dollop of conditioner……shake shake shale, et voila! A lovely spritz for my hair. This works well with braided hair too. It keeps hair lovely and soft J cant be mad at that right?

So we have moisturized our hair, what now? We have to seal in that moisture. This requires natural oil. I love my oils. There are so many uses for them but in this context there are some oils I can recommend for sealing. Feel free to test out a few and see what works for you. They are also great for mix n match purposes.

I usually seal with a mixture of coconut oil, olive oil and avocado oil. The oils are great for the hair shaft and help strengthen it, so I have mixed them to make a powerful combination J do not b heavy-handed with the oils. Remember you will do this routine once or twice a day, so just dip your fingers lightly in your oil and use that. Do not slather it on, u will just end up with a greasy mess.

I moisturize and seal my hair in sections. I divide it into about 8 sections and work the moisturizer and oil through them section by section (sounds like a lot of time? Don’t worry, soon you will be whizzing through this part in a short time)

You are making sure all the hair gets product.

This is the foundation of any hair journey, And both my relaxed sisters and natural sisters will need to do this routine to set them on the path to beautiful health hair.

Look out for my next blog where I talk about taking the routine to the next level. as you can see from the picture above, i am a product junkie. i am trying to treat this problem, and we will learn together how to build a simple and effective reggie thats easy on the pocket