D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: My UPDATED Hair Regimen (Pt. 1)

Happy June, y'all! Can you believe how fast this year has been going? Oy!! As promised, I will be sharing in this post my modified hair routine. This routine is a bit special, because I will be incorporating some new products in the mix, so in addition to talking a bit about what I do to make Ms. Mooch so very Ms. Mooch-y, I will be sharing my first time thoughts on the new additions I tried.

Let me get this first out of the way and say it upfront so that there is no misunderstanding: Since the beginning of the year, I've been washing my hair once a month. Yes. Once. A month. Me. Washes my hair. LOL

It honestly started sometime in January because our apartment was frequently having water issues. We would either have no cold water, no hot water, or no water at all.. depending on the day. Either of these situations aren't really the most optimal for getting in the shower and washing my hair. The familia had to actually buy gallons of water to use for bathing and cooking (and the toilet... just saying!), so I couldn't really use up the water for my hair, so I ended up having to wait until the beginning of February to wash my hair when the water problems were fixed.

And when the blessed moment finally arrived, I noticed I had a lot less hair shed. I wondered if the change in my wash routine had anything to do with it, so as an experiment, I decided to wash my hair again the beginning of March. Again, I noticed my hair had a lot less tangles, a lot less shedding and it looked like it had grown more than usual since the beginning of the year. So I did my homework, and discovered a lot of naturals follow this same regimen. And I figure if this wash schedule works for Amel Larrieux and Cipriana from Urban Bush Babes (And be honest, who doesn't LOVE their hair!?!?), it won't hurt to see if works for me!! And so far, it has! So to get started, I will talk about my wash and condition routine in part one.

Because my wash week occurred after my flat ironing Ms. Mooch, I decided that I would give her some extra special TLC, so I started with a pre-poo using Karen's Body Beautiful Secret Weapon Restorative Hair Treatment for the very first time.

I'm not really a pre-poo kind of girl, to be quite honest. I think I can count on two hands the number of times I've actually done one in the past 6 years. But I received the jar free with my recent purchase, and I was excited about trying it out from reading the ingredients, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

The treatment has an amazing lavender mixed with something (I cannot put my finger on it) scent. I don't know if that's the scent it has, or it was scented to match my other products I ordered... 'cause I love my Vanilla Lavender!

The texture reminded me of the roux I first make when preparing gravy when I put it in my hand, but I must admit I was quite surprised how quickly it thins into an oil. My still semi-straight hair was separated into four bantu knots, so I took down each section and added a liberal amount to my tresses.

Seriously, why did I think it was a good idea to flat iron my hair?!? Poor Ms. Mooch.. she's looks beat up, huh? After it was all up and through my hair, I put on my very sexy plastic conditioning cap and waited to let the treatment work its magic.

I kept the treatment in a lot longer than the recommended 20 minutes (I watched, like, two movies!), but it did say you can leave it in over night so I figured four hours wouldn't hurt. I then hopped in the shower and was ready to wash my hair using Bumble and Bumble's Creme de Coco Shampoo.

I really fell out of love with my Mixed Chicks shampoo months ago, but out of necessity I opted to keep using it until it was finished before trying something new. I have read a lot of rave reviews on Creme de Coco online and because I am a total smell junkie, I decided I would give it a try. I did buy the 2 ounce bottle, just in case! LOL

I have the very strong feeling that I'm going to end up purchasing the bigger bottle next month, because not only does this shampoo smell HEAVENLY... it really did a bang up job in removing a month's worth of product and the Secret Weapon Restorative Treatment from my hair without leaving it feeling stripped and icky. I think I heard Ms. Mooch sigh with relief! Relief turned into excitement, because she knew what was coming up next!

Yes yes, y'all! It's Anita Grant's Rhassoul Deep Condish, which was cooling in the kitchen while I was in the shower. I raked up on this conditioner last Christmas, so I had a ton of hearts (which are all gone now!), plus a big block (which I just broke a piece off of) at my disposal. I stupidly forgot to grab Coconut Milk for my treatment, so for the first time, I was using plain H2O (mixed with a little EVOO) to make the mixture.

I was a bit worried when I noticed that the mixture was a lot thinner than it normally is with coconut milk, but I figured I would give it the old college try!!!

At this point Ms. Mooch is  in hog heaven because the curls are coming back and she knows she's just been given the good stuff! I left the rhassoul condish in my hair a little over an hour and it was back in the shower I go!

I love it when my curls get clumpy, and nothing makes 'em clumpy like the Rhassoul Deep Condish!

After my getting out of the shower, I don't apply a leave-in to my wet or damp hair. I find it makes my hair really stringy. So I put my hair in four braids.

My hair will stay in these four braids until completely dry. It is then that I apply a leave-in and product to my hair. Part Two will cover what I use and how I maintain my hair every week. Stay tuned!!!