March 2018 |
Yesterday marked my three years natural hair anniversary.
My first thought was: WOW, I can’t believe it’s been three years already (I mean three years is a crazy-ish long time to go without the creamy crack especially when you consider I was relaxing my hair at least once a month). My next thought was that a lot has changed in those three years, with one of the main things being my hair wash schedule. A random thought to have I know, but then again I often have random thoughts in regards to my hair. Further still, I read an article on CurlyNikki last week about how often one should wash their hair. That was the catalyst for me to write this post and share my own experience.
August 2018 |
Before I started this journey, I was only washing my hair once a month – or whenever it was being retouched. Once I stopped using relaxer and began paying attention to my hair, I was washing it about once a week. At the time I was unemployed so it was easy for me to set aside a day and experiment with a whole load of products and ingredients without worrying about time.
But then something happened. I got a job and I suddenly had a lot less time. Weekly washes and crazy experiments slowed down while I tried to figure out how best to manage my time. I switched from washing every Wednesday, to washing every second Saturday, to now washing every second Sunday.
The CurlyNikki article brought up a lot of things I already agreed with, however, there was one thing in particular that really stuck out to me:
“There is no need for a wash day schedule just because we are used to one. Wash your hair when it is dirty and that can be anywhere from 1-3 weeks for some…”
I am guilty of this to the nth degree. It’s funny because before this article I had been thinking of this a little bit. I’ve become so used to keeping a schedule and making sure I never miss a wash day (just look at the calendar in my phone), that sometimes it feels like I’m putting all this extra unnecessary pressure on myself. Some wash days I find that my hair isn’t dirty, there isn’t a lot of build-up and that my hair could honestly go another few days before washing. But because of feeling like I need to keep such a strict schedule, I always wash my hair. After reading this, I’m going to be more proactive in reacting to my hair’s needs instead of forcing actions on my hair.
June 2017 |
I now wonder how my hair schedule will change in the next three years, and if I’ll loosen up with my current situation. Only time will tell. How often do you wash your hair? Let me know in the comments below.
alice
xo