My Routine for Dry Natural Hair

My hair has been very upset with me. Until recently, my hair shed really badly and felt dry and brittle. On the average day, it's dry, fine and is prone to some serious build up, but until recently, my hair has really hated me. The reason why is actually pretty silly. I still didn't know what products to use on my hair! Let me explain. I've been natural for about 4 years now, I've gone through product after product, oil after oil and texture after texture. However,  one thing that I've learned is that my hair's needs are constantly changing. As my hair grows, deals with changing climates, and reacts to new products it changes. So on top of just learning about how to care for my hair, I had to take into account the effects of change.
   With this in mind, I feel like I have finally learned the secret to length retention and growth for my hair- minimalism. In college, I was obsessed with growth and if you came into my dorm everyday at around 9am, 2pm, and 8pm you'd find me messing around with my hair and checking my length. I was literally obsessed. For some girls, moisturizing hair twice a day is totally effective, but I learned that for me it's a total travesty. My hair shed as quickly as it grew and build-up inhibited hair growth. My obsession was stunting my hair growth. For successful hair growth, do as little manipulation to my hair as possible. However, the problem was that my hair is SUPER dry, SUPER fine, and is low porosity, meaning it resists moisture. All the odds were stacked against me and I didn't know what to do. My curls looked frizzy and dry, if I used product, the  product never dried in my hair making it even more frizzy. Grrr!!!! On top of that, I found out that my hair sheds really badly when I don't finger detangle it often enough. So yeah,...
   Now my hair is bra strap length and I learned exactly the right way to keep moisture in and define my stubborn, stubborn curls. Now I'm going to share what I've learned with you!

About my hair:

Porosity: Low Porosity
Density: High Density
Type: 3C
Strands: Fine
Length: BSL

DAILY 

Every night, I do an oil scalp massage and put a water based moisturizer into my hair. I try to keep the manipulation to an absolute minimum, so I gently finger detangle to get the product through my hair. After I apply the moisturizer, I also twist up that section and twist tightly to force the product through. So far it has been excellent for avoiding build-up. After that I put my hair into two crown braids and go to sleep. Most of the time, I just leave the crown braid in during the day so I don't over manipulate. I try to keep manipulation down to once a day. I've recently been using Shea Moisture's Mint & Ginger Detox & Refresh Hair & Scalp Leave-In Detangler, and I have been incredibly satisfied with the results! My curls are finally defined, healthy and not frizzy and gross. I will write a review for this product with full details.

Products:

1. Shea Moisture's Mint & Ginger Detox & Refresh Hair & Scalp Leave-In Detangler
2.  Oil Mixture: Aloe gel, coconut oil, Amla, Rosemary essential oil, Lemon essential oil, Grapeseed Oil

WEEKLY 

Every week, I do an ACV rinse on my hair to get rid of any build up. Build up has been a HUGE issue for me, so as much as I wish I could just wash it once a month, I really cannot. After the ACV, I do a quick shea moisture deep conditioner. After that I apply my Treseme conditioner and detangle my hair with a wide tooth comb very thoroughly. (Note: the only time a comb touches my hair is when my hair has gotten wet. Without it, my hair becomes a hot tangled mess.)

Products

1. Apple Cider Vinegar
2. Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Masque

MONTHLY 

Once a month, I do a protein treatment because I find that too much protein makes my hair dry, brittle and crappy. For a protein treatment, I use Avacado, olive oil, two eggs, yogurt and neem powder. I let that sit for about one hour and rinse. Then I style as usual.

Notice that I never mentioned trimming my hair. That's because I don't, UNLESS my hair really needs it. If my ends are frayed and dry, I will trim them. Otherwise, there is no need to. Trimming hair regularly is actually just a myth. Besides, I noticed that those with the longest hair don't trim their hair at all! Well, I hope this post was some what helpful.