Step By Step Guide To 4C Natural Hair Wash Day Routine -

Wash day, wash day, wash day. Such a love and hate relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I love washing my hair and feeling cleansed but it can be such a hassle, especially when you’re trying to figure out what works but, that’s where I come in. I’m here to give you a step by step guide to 4c natural hair wash day routine.

Over the years, I think I’ve somewhat perfected my wash day routine and have learned what products my hair likes, dislikes, and how to achieve certain styles. Now, my routine isn’t perfect and I’m still testing out new products and go through trial and error but most importantly, I know which brands won’t work on my hair and waste my time.

Alright, let’s start with a little hair history talk first. Much like a lot of black women, our hair has gone through some stress. We’ve all gone from the healthy locks growing up to the terrible stages in high school to joining the natural hair movement. Growing up, my hair was healthy and thick but due to texturizers and a ton of tight sew-ins, my hair became extremely damaged.

Once the natural hair movement became more popularized and everyone was big chopping and posting numerous youtube videos, I started investing in better products and learning the proper ways to care for my hair. But, it wasn’t until 2018, my senior of college that I cut some of my hair off and started to actually care about it. From there, my hair has been thriving.

Now into the routine that I personally think helped with my hair health and just keeping it simply clean.

*Affiliate Links Included*

Pre-Poo

First things first, we should all be pre-pooing! Especially if you usually wear protective styles. The protective style I normally do is Marley twists and sometimes, I curl them. After keeping them in for a while, you. need to remove them properly and carefully. For this, I use the Shea Moisture Braid up and take down Detangler. This helps to soften the hair as your untwisting and not damage your roots.

After the twists are all out, I then oil my hair up with Shea Moisture hot oil treatment. This helps in rehydrating your hair so when you shampoo, it doesn’t strip all of the moisture. Next, I use the Aztec Indian healing clay. Now, I only do this once a month. I’m not sure how many times you’re supposed to this but I suggest only once. But, I love putting this product in my hair. I think it has helped with the health of my hair and every time I use it, my hair feels extra soft.

Shop

Shea Moisture Braid up and take down Detangler

Shea Moisture Hot Oil Treatment

Aztec Indian Healing Clay

Wash Time

Once the 30 minutes are up, its time to wash! I split my hair into fours and twist it down before spraying water all over it to soak it in. Afterward, I start to shampoo; section by section. For my shampoo, I use Auntie Jackie’s moisturizing and softening shampoo. I absolutely love Auntie Jackie’s and I honestly think it’s one of the best products I’ve ever used on my hair.

After shampooing, I condition. Since moving to Spain, I have been testing different conditioners since I haven’t found the exact same products I used back in the states. For this routine, I used the Garnier Fructis Hair Food Banana. I actually really loved the way it felt and how it easily glided into my hair. When conditioning, I also detangle and leave in the product until I’ve done each section. After that, I rinse it out in order of the way I put the product in.

Next, I deep condition. Just like the conditioners, I have also been testing out products. For this routine, I used Creme Of Nature’s Intensive Conditioning Treatment. Since I normally wash my hair on Fridays, I deep condition overnight and I love it. I think overnight deep conditioning allows you to really lock in all the moisture.

Shop

Auntie Jackie’s Moisturizing and Softening Shampoo

Garnier Fructis Hair Food Banana

Creme Of Nature’s Intensive Conditioning Treatment

Post Wash

The next morning, I wash out the product and let my hair dry a little before doing the LOC method. Once it’s damp, the first thing I do is put in some leave-in conditioner. I use Auntie Jackie’s Moisture Intensive Leave-in and it feels great, Afterward, I use Doo Gro’s Mega Thick Formula Hair Oil and Kuza Indian Hemp to oil and moisturize. I just recently started using the Indian hemp and its amazing!

My hair feels sooo moisturized and I believe it has made it grow longer and thicker in the last month or two of using it. Lastly, I use Twisted Sista Curl Activating Creme. Twisted Sista is another brand that works wonderfully on my hair. Once all my products are in and sealed, I twist it up quickly and let my hair rest until the next day. The next day, (most likely Sunday) I redo my Marley twists and prepare for the workweek.

However, for this routine, I did a twist out. Since it is quarantine, I’ve been letting my hair free and, my twist out actually came out really well! Normally, I have problems with my twist outs but I think because of these products, it made them better. My hair looked so nice, I did an impromptu photoshoot for the heck of it.