The weekends are hair time! My daughter gets her hair loosened, shampooed, conditioned and woven into cornrows. This typically happens from Friday to Saturday.
I wash her hair with Black Soap. If you want to know why I don’t use commercial shampoos anymore, let me know in the comment section and I will do a post on it. Just before I stopped using commercial shampoo, I would spray her hair with a mix of coconut oil and some conditioner, loosely braid her hair in 4 to 6 sections – detangling (with my fingers or a wide toothed comb) while doing so and then shampoo section by section.
Now that I use black soap, which is not as stripping as commercial shampoo, I do not always bother with the pre shampoo (a.k.a. pre poo) step. I may pre poo if I think that her hair needs the extra moisture.
- Her head get a really good wash as doing the wash section by section helps me pay adequate attention to her entire head.
- It minimizes tangling of hair. If you don’t wash carefully, you may end up losing a lot of hair per wash which is an unnecessary waste.
I loosen each section to wash it. Depending on my mood, I may either put it back in a loose braid to rinse or not re-braid and just rinse everything out altogether. When I use the latter method, I am careful not to manipulate her hair much. I just let the water run through until it runs clear.
Some good guidelines are
- Don’t wash with your fingernails, just use the pads of your fingers and thumbs. This is because you do not want to scratch at or irritate the scalp. You want to use massaging motions to loosen the dirt on the scalp so that you can rinse it away easily.
- Don’t scrub your hair like you would wash clothes. Remember your hair is delicate – treat it with care. The rubbing motion on your scalp is more than adequate for loosening dirt. No need to yank your hair from side to side, scratch your scalp with your nails like they do in salons.
- If you do use commercial shampoo, dilute your shampoo. 3 parts water to one part shampoo is a good mix.
- Make sure you get ALL the shampoo off when you rinse. Leaving it in there can cause your hair to be dry, flaky and itchy.
- Lastly, don’t rub your hair when you are drying it. Just dab. Rubbing tangles the hair and damages the cuticles. Tip: An old T-shirt actually works better than a towel. It may be less absorbent but it is also less damaging.
When done right, shampooing will stimulate blood supply to the scalp and hair follicles – actions that promote healthy hair and growth.
