Hair shouldn’t take all day [4 tips to chop down styling time]
Ever find yourself frustrated with how long it takes you to do your hair? Well hello! Welcome to the natural hair community! I wish I had a statistic on how many naturals a day spend ALL DAY on their hair. The number would probably blow us away. But if cutting down on the time is something you’ve been trying to master when it’s crunch time, I have a few tips I think will help:
Invest in versatile products
My friend Deidre reiterated this very point on our “Curl Talk It Out” podcast episode that you can get to here.
Photo Credit: Charisse Kenion
There’s many products that can serve multiple purposes for you. I know sometimes it can seem that we have to have a separate product for detangling, and then moisturizing, and then sealing, and then styling…but that’s not necessarily the case. Yes I do think it’s a good idea to find a staple product that serves a specific step in our regimen, but it’s also a good idea to have multiple regimens for our lifestyle because each day in our life is not exactly the same. When you’re in a rush but have to do something to your hair, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice a thing!
For example one of my favorite DIY mixtures is Glycerin and Water. It’s super moisturizing! And when I want to detangle, I’ll add a deep conditioning product to it and that’s it! I can still use the mixture for days on end to re-moisturize and it saves so much time.
Twist/Style in the shower
Some naturals, likely with high porosity hair, have a race with the clock once they get out of the shower. Before they get a chance to begin styling, their hair is already starting to dry and tangle up. If you’re anything like that I suggest taking a few additional seconds to twist your hair in the shower. This is temporary but will help preserve some moisture while keeping your hair separated as you style. However, if you want to make it “not” temporary, then so be it. Style your hair in the shower and be done with it!
Moisturize one day at a time
This is something that works well for me. Now I don’t know if it’s because I wear a wash and go most of the time but I find I don’t necessarily have to do every single step of my regimen in one day. Maybe the first day I’ll wash my hair, finger detangle and moisturize. The next day I might deep condition and then REALLY detangle with my comb. And then the next day I might try a new style or re-moisturize so I can define my curls better. This allows my hair to have a slightly different look each day with my curls because I love all variations (super defined, semi-defined and even frizzy)
Trim those ends
You can avoid sooo much wasted time if you trim your ends! Honestly, I should be yelling this to myself because trimming my hair subconsciously slips my mind because I’m on a journey to butt-length hair. But don’t hold on to those fractured ends just to say you got some length. It’s a wiser decision to lose what’s holding you back from living your best life! When you’re dealing with split and feathered ends, it’s easier for your hair to get knotted up and that’s a nightmare to work with. Trust me, I wear wash and go’s every doggone day! Shave off some time by shaving off those dead ends.
These tips are just few that I think can help you the very next time you’re dealing with your hair. So test them out and let me know what other methods I should’ve included!