Below, I detail my weekly wash day ritual step-by-step. Of course, everyone’s hair is different, so even if these steps don’t achieve your desired results, I hope they inspire you to try out different things until you find the sweet spot.
Step One: Pre-Shampoo Care
Mask
My mask day essentials. I take my hair in sections and cover my hair in the mask from root to end. There’s no real science to this part—just aiming to get as much nourishment as possible throughout my strands.
I always do a mask every time before I wash my hair, which is typically once a week or every two weeks. My hair can get very dry, and I find a mask is a great way to protect my hair from being dried out further. It also just helps me to detangle my hair before I shampoo and condition, which I prefer to do before I get into the shower. Sometimes I’ll do my pre-poo mask 10 to 20 minutes before I get in the shower; other times I’ll do an overnight mask if my hair needs a deeper treatment. It’s really all about listening to what my hair needs, and acting intuitively. Recently, I’ve been using Prose’s customized Pre-Shampoo Mask, but I tend to keep a rotation and love trying different products as long as they are extremely hydrating.
Detangle
A few books from my Vogue desk pre-COVID, and my detangling brush of choice.
I reach for my Felicia Leatherwood or Q-Redew brush when it comes to detangling. These brush bristles separate as you comb through your hair, meaning they’re really working with the shape of your hair rather than causing breakage. When brushing, I generally work my way up, starting at the ends and going all the way to the roots, aiming to be very gentle. The mask typically gives me enough slip to detangle my hair, though sometimes I have a spray bottle handy to give it an extra boost.
Oil
Can never go wrong with castor oil! I put it in my hair and on my brows. It promotes hair growth and prevents breakage. On the right: a gorgeous piece of artwork made by my friend, Natalie Johnson.
I love to add a bit of castor oil all over my hair before I shampoo, then let it sit. I like to focus especially on my edges and ends or wherever my hair is the driest, as castor oil is extremely thick and nourishing. I don’t like to use much oil after I wash my hair out because I don’t like anything super heavy, so this is my time to really slather it on and allow it to penetrate the hair and protect it.
Allow the Mask to Sit
I love to do wash days on Sunday mornings so that I can really enjoy the full experience and not feel rushed. Moving slow and being present with myself is super important to me.
This step depends on how I’m feeling or what else I have planned on wash day. It can sit overnight—you can wear a shower cap and bonnet to sleep—or it can just sit for a few minutes before showering. Sometimes I’ll let it sitwhile reading, watching Netflix (currently obsessed with re-watching Half & Half), or giving myself an at home manicure. This time, I decided to light some incense, give myself a facial steam, and read a little bit of Queen Afua’s Sacred Woman.
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Step Two: Wash Hair
Shampoo
This shampoo is great because it’s still so hydrating due to the manketti oil in it!
Once I get into the shower, I make sure to rinse out the deep conditioner and oil.At this point, my hair feels silky smooth. I take a few pumps of shampoo, here using one of my favorites from Charlotte Mensah. Other times, I love using a scalp rinse like the aloe-based one from Carol’s Daughter or TPH By Taraji’s version, which feels like a spa experience for your scalp thanks to its minty freshness. I make sure to work up a good lather, and stay gentle with my scalp. If I feel there is a lot of product build-up, I’ll shampoo twice, but this is rare. I make sure the shampoo and product is completely washed out.
Condition
My favorite cleansing conditioner in front of two paintings I made, and my favorite lip liner. This conditioner has major slip! My hair feels unreal soft after this.
Lately I’ve been loving this cleansing conditioner from Ouidad because it’s so moisturizing that it detangles my hair while I’m conditioning it. It always makes my hair feel restored post-shampoo. If needed, I detangle again in the shower using one of my brushes or a wide-toothed comb.
Step Three: Deep Condition
Mask
This 4CONLY deep conditioner is the bomb. It smells divine and is deeply nourishing. I love to see a line of products dedicated to the gorgeous 4C hair type. I don’t have 4C hair but it’s so hydrating for textured hair and low porosity hair like mine.
I know what you’re probably thinking… another mask? But I really swear by this step. Since I have low porosity hair, it’s really hard for moisture to penetrate my hair deeply. Instead, it tends to sit on the surface. So I like to apply another deep conditioner when my hair is wet so that my curls really soak it up, especially with the steam in the next step. Right now, I’m loving the deep conditioner from 4CONLY.
Steam & Rinse
Steaming in the winter is super key for me to avoid dry hair. Plus, it’s an excuse to have a little at-home spa day.
Because my hair is low porosity, steaming it has become essential to the health of my hair, especially in the winter. Hot steam opens up the hair’s follicle, making it so that water and moisturizers penetrate the hair shaft better; almost like a facial for your hair. I love to do this after I apply my mask for that reason; I really want the nutrients from the mask to seep deeply into my hair, especially since I only do a real regimen once a week or every other week. I steam my hair with the Q-Redew steamer because it’s super easy to use and I can control where the steam goes. It also has an attached comb, making it so that my hair doesn’t tangle up while I’m steaming it. I don’t really have a specific amount of time I do this for, just until my heart is content! After, I make sure to rinse out the deep conditioner with cold water, to close up the pores of my hair again and seal in the moisture.
Step Four: Prep Hair for Styling
Leave-In Conditioner
Oribe’s leave-in is magical and so lightweight. The whole line is a staple for me.
This step helps restore balance to my hair after all the washing, especially considering how dry it gets beforehand (I mean did you see the before image!?). I brush out my hair again if needed and then add in my leave-in, this time from Oribe, to each section of my hair from root to end.
Scalp Oil
I like to use a very light scalp oil after I rinse everything out. I’ve been using one from René Ferterur that my scalp therapist, Bridgette Hill, recommended for me. I love it because it has a slight tingle which makes my scalp feel refreshed, promotes hair growth, and doesn’t weigh my hair down at all. It has a little silver applicator, which makes it easy to apply directly to my scalp. I part my hair and trace the applicator along each parted section of my scalp. After, I massage it in.
Step Five: Style Hair
Apply Product
On the left: A photo of me and my dad underneath my curl gel of choice, which I used in each section of my hair, followed by finger coiling each strand.
Here, I choose my own adventure depending on how my hair feels or how I want my curls to look.. If my hair still feels pretty dry, I like to add another curl cream—usually one from Davines. If I want more definition, I like to add a light gel, like Bounce Curl’s or Ouidad’s. Other times I do both a cream and gel if I want both more moisture and more hold. Either way, I like to finger coil my hair after I apply the product. I personally feel my hair dries better when I do this and my style lasts longer throughout the next week or two; expanding as the days go by, which I love. When finger coiling, I gently take my hair strand by strand, and twirl it lightly around my finger, almost like a curling iron would. It’s super important to be very gentle at this part—I’ve found that adding too much tension to the hair can end up pulling it out or losing the curl’s definition.
Air Dry or Diffuse Hair
Today, I chose to diffuse my hair to cut down on the drying time and avoid getting cold. On the right: my favorite hair dryer next to a painting my boyfriend bought me for my birthday last year, of a scene from my favorite movie, Love Jones.
Sometimes I air dry, which takes way longer so I mostly reserve that for the summer. In the colder months, or when I’m simply in a rush, I like to diffuse my hair. This is really the only time I allow myself to use heat consistently, though I try my best to keep the heat on the lower side, or switch off between cool and warm if I’m in a rush. I also try to apply a heat protectant, like the one from Flawless by Gabrielle Union, before I diffuse. Diffusing with the Dyson diffuser has given me my best results—it’s super quick, lightweight, and doesn’t damage my hair as much as other blow dryers might.
Post-Dry Styling
A vintage Vogue cover with Oprah on it and a couple of my favorite styling tools from Pattern.
Sometimes, whether I’m air drying or diffusing, my hair can become frizzy in certain places, so I like to take a light oil like Jojoba or some gel to finger-coil the curls again and give the needed areas some sheen and moisture. Then, I’ll pick out my hair if I want a more voluminous look. To get more definition through the week, I’ll just leave as is. Either way, my hair expands as the week(s) go by, which is honestly my favorite part. I love watching my hair expand—I feel my hair is usually at its best a few days after washing it!
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Between-Wash Maintenance
I make sure to wear a silk bonnet every night or use a silk pillow case. I tend to prefer a bonnet because otherwise I worry about getting hair oils on my face, especially with breakout-prone skin. Either way, the silk ensures that the hair isn’t breaking off. In the mornings, I remove the bonnet and then shake out my hair, which is when I usually assess what it needs. Some days, I don’t need anything at all or I just want to go for a frizzier look, and I’ll pick out my hair completely. Other days, I want to restore my definition, so I’ll take a curl refresher spray (this time from Ouidad), and a pick for volume. I spray sections of my hair with the refresher and finger coil the same way I do on wash day. Sometimes I do my whole head, other days I just do areas that look frizzy. It really just depends on what I’m going for! I repeat this step each day until my next wash; it only takes about five minutes.
On the rare occasion that I’m late on washing my hair, sometimes I use a dry shampoo for curly hair. I love Dark & Lovely’s as well as Ouidad’s. They just relieve the itchiness and restore volume. But I try not to get to a point where I need to dry shampoo—which these days is easy considering how much I’ve grown to enjoy wash day.
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