My Entry into Water Only Washing

Hey!
So if you read my last post you know that I'm trying to build a healthy hair regimen. I began this journey with the Max Hydration Method. I loved what it did for my hair, discovered a lot but is just not practical for my lifestyle and involves (in my opinion) too much manipulation of the hair for us kinky haired gals/guys.  I stumbled upon the water only washing method which has been receiving a lot of attention on YouTube. My first reaction was to roll my eyes, but then I happened to watch a video by Naptural85 and her updated washing routine. I was intrigued, liked what I saw and it kind of made sense to me.  So if you don't know the water only method consists of washing your hair with only water in order to allow your natural sebum to coat and protect your hair strands. You assist the "washing" (I consider it more rinsing) with the following steps:
1.Massaging - your scalp on dry hair anywhere from 5 -10 min.
2.Scrinching - not quite scratching but sorta scratching your scalp lightly in order to loosen up debris and the sebum on your scalp. This can be done on wet or dry hair
3.Preening - Smoothing the sebum down the strands of  your hair. this too can be done on wet or dry hair.
You rinse your hair under warm or as hot as you like it water. In the beginning you won't get full sebum coverage on your scalp so you can supplement this by adding an oil (preferably light) to coat your strands until you get full sebum coverage.
For a more information check out: http://wateronlyhairwash.com/
Before embarking on this method you should clarify your hair first either with ACV, clay wash, co wash or shampoo (sulfate free if you don't use silicones, heavy oils or waxes). I decided to try this and guys I must say so far, so good! I pretty much follow Naputral85's way of doing it except I keep my hair in twists. I use coconut oil and then after for my sealant I use flaxseed gel and my hair seems to like it (the sealant isn't part of the method, but so far it's working for me). I love that the whole process is quick, which means I more likely to be consistent with it and my hair feels great, I have amazing sheen and my twists look so damn juicy I can't get over it. With all that being said I do feel at some point I will need to go in and wash my hair. I plan to wash my hair with  bentonite clay and I will deep condition with my diluted conditioner. My thoughts so far? I like it! It's simple, easy, cheap, my hair loves it. Oh!  I forgot to mention, I don't rinse my hair everyday, I plan on rinsing twice to once a week and once a month I'll go in with my clay wash and deep conditioner in my amended version of the Max Hydration. I'm still in the testing phase of this routine. I'm going to try this out for a good solid month and if all goes well, I might just have found a regimen that works for me!

2nd time of water only washing, can you see the sheen?

close up

one more, my twists seem fuller

My Max Hydration Experience

Hey Girl (and Guy) Hey!

I'm back from my life was happening hiatus and it's good to be writing again.  During this haitus I let my blog, my YouTube channel and my hair slip. Folks my hair took such a backseat and was so disrespected that things finally came to a head and it said ENOUGH!!!! I had extreme dryness, breakage and my edges, the horror!!!! Gone were the monthly henna treatments, deep conditioning and protective styling became code for neglect. I am trying to reform and turn over a new leaf. I now want to nurture an environment for healthy hair and realize the full potential of my hair. What does this have to do with the Max Hydration Method you ask? Well in my quest for Operation Hair Resuscitation, I decided to try the 7 day Max Hydration Method (http://maxhydrationmethod.com/). I had heard about it before, but those steps, I mean who has that kind of time?!?!? It's amazing what desperation can do, because I found the time.  So for seven days I did the 5 steps religioulsly. I chose on the third day to switch to an  ACV rinse (apple cider vinegar) to claritfy because I wasn't comfortable with using baking soda on my hair that much. The results after this seven day challenge were awesome!!!! Will this be my new regimen? HELL NO! I don't have that kind of time, I don't want to manipulate my hair that much and I have concerns about hygral fatigue. My goal is to have moisturized hair that is relatively easy to detangle, I'm really not that concerned with my hair clumping and my ability to wear a wash and go.  In conclusion, I am glad I tried this because it added the much needed moisture my hair needed. I feel it has put me on the right track of creating a hair regimen that I can be consistent with. Doing this forced me to really get to know my hair in regards to density, porosity and texture, so I could understand why things worked and why certain things don't work. Things I learned:
I need to deep condition my hair
I love washing my hair with clay
lighter products are better for my hair
I need to wet my hair more often, this going two weeks without washing is not the business
Flaxseed Gel Yaasss!!!
Consistency, Consistency, Consistency
I will definitely keep elements of the Max Hydration Method but I will not be doing the 5 steps every three days. Would I recommend this method? Yes and No. If your hair is in desperate need of moisture and you are at your wits end try it but if you are currently happy with your hair and you have a solid regimen that is working for you then why fix what ain't broke. On that note lovlies, Ciao!

day 1

day 2

day 7 

Conclusion on Finger Detangling

Hello Lovlies,

I completed my February finger de-tangling challenge and these are my final are thoughts. I did notice significantly less hair shed when I finger detangled and it was also VERY time consuming. So will I still continue to finger detangle? Well here's the thing, I think part of the reason I was noticing more shed hair when I detangled with my comb is that I was still combing through my hair as if it was still in it's teeny twa.  As my hair grows longer, I'm starting to experience the  issues other naturals with longer hair have, specifically single strand knots. My hair tangles oh so very easily and I hadn't modified my detangling routine.  During my finger detangling challenge I learned that it is easiest for me to detangle my hair when it has been stretched either via twists or braids. I also learned I need to go slowly and it is best when I section my hair and then detangle. So post finger detangling challenge I  will continue to do this. I now lightly finger detangle my hair first to get through any single strand knots, then wet my hair and apply my co wash (currently using AS I Am) and follow up detangling in the shower with my  seamless comb slowly and gently. Should I come across a single strand knot I missed, I use my fingers to detangle. I find doing things this way saves me time but I'm not pulling out my hair roughly.  The shed hair seems to be the same amount as when I was just finger detangling. Long story short,  I've learned that I need to be more gentle with my hair and while I may have shortend the time of detangling  by reintroducing my comb, it is still a tedious but necessary task.

Cheers!