It takes me a long time, and many steps, to wash and dry my mixed race type 3 hair. And since washing your hair is actually quite traumatic, I’ve developed strategies, over the years, to avoid washing my hair more than once a week. My ultimate goal is to achieve wake up and go curly hair – a daily regimen that is under 10 minutes (preferably under 5!”>. From one Type 3 to another, here are my seven day strategies to having wake up and go hair between shampoos.
Day 1: Wash Day
I’m ashamed to admit that this is always my least favorite hair day. My hair is at its most moisturized, but also at its heaviest and least lively. I make sure my hair isn’t saturated with product – which could suffocate my curl pattern – but I also strive to leave enough product in to last a week of sleeping and environmental stress. If I do this, I end up with my best hair day at the mid-point of the week. To make sure my hair lasts the week, I make sure to pineapple and pin up loose strands, and wear a satin night cap!
Prep Time: 1 minute
Prep Tools
- Pineappling and night cap
- Shower cap
Day 2: Great Hair Day
A day of air drying and humidity restores some the volume and wildness that I love so much about type 3 hair. To expedite the process, I use an Afro pick in the morning at my roots, concentrated around my hair part and bangs, and lightly throughout the rest of my hair to give it a little zhuzh!
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Prep Tools
- Afro pick
- Pineappling and night cap
- Shower cap
Day 3 and 4: Greatest Hair Days
These are my two easiest days of the hair week where I can truly wake up and go with almost no intervention. I wake up, take off my night cap, untousle my pineappling, shake my hair up with my hands, and I’m ready to go. No frizz, better volume, and not much more to do. The extra product has soaked in or rubbed off at this point, and atmospheric humidity has restored my hair to my preferred volume.
Prep Time: 1 minute
Prep Tools:
- Pineappling and night cap
- Shower cap
Day 5: Minor Curl Management
By day 5, some wear and tear is starting to show. The curls in the hair at the nape of my neck are starting to elongate a bit – but not noticeably, I know that at this phase, only my perceptive eye can spot these little details. A few curls in well-known tricky spots – for me, at the crown of my head and along my hair line – have exploded into little balls of frizz. After tousling up my hair, only minor curl management is necessary. I grab my Curl Reviving Tonic, spritz those curls, reform them and twist them with my fingers, and let them dry back into fully formed curls.
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Prep Tools:
- Pineappling and night cap
- Shower cap
- Individual curl resuscitation with Alaffia Beautiful Curls Curl Reviving Tonic
Day 6 and 7
By days 6 and 7, my hair has gained a more volume but is also becoming a bit drier and frizzier. My curl pattern is less consistent and orderly, and is a bit wilder. Personally, I really enjoy my hair at this stage – I feel it matches my personality the best – and tend to get the most compliments from strangers at the end of the week. Though my hair is the least moisturized and tame at this stage, my hair cut still has its shape and my curl pattern is still in tact because I’ve been so careful with sleeping and showering be-capped over the course of the week.
But I also still want to feel comfortable and coiffed. At this stage, I have to pull out a few more stops in the morning to become happy with my hair. I can’t just tousle my hair and go. I need to start with very light and non-invasive finger combing to separate some of my curls back out. I might resuscitate a few curls around my hair line or crown individually, if needed. If I want to keep my hair down, I might whip out my Q-Redew at this stage post-finger combing to restore my curl pattern and cut shape. Or I can skip the Q-Redew and pull my hair back into a ponytail using a PuffCuff and then pick out the pony.
Prep Time: 5-8 minutes
Prep Tools:
- Pineappling and night cap
- Shower cap
- Finger combing
- Individual curl resuscitation with Alaffia Beautiful Curls Curl Reviving Tonic
- PuffCuff and Picking
- Q-Redew
And that’s it! My style lasts throughout the week thanks to various techniques and methods of preserving my curls.
How do you keep your hair intact?
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