In the early days of my hair journey, I would lovingly gaze upon the hair of some lucky person who had fabulous tresses. The first thing I would think to myself was, "I wonder what her routine is." Once I found out the magical secrets, either by asking the person, or by researching online, I would be somewhat disappointed.
The routine of this person would not reveal any hair growing secrets that I was so desperately longing to hear. Worse yet, her routine would consist of similar steps that what I was doing week after week.
That's when I decided to fine tune my routine instead of constantly seeking salvation in another person's way of styling. Don't get me wrong, I definitely picked up some great ideas along the way. But overall, I can confidently say that I know what she did to achieve such great lengths. She was consistently using a solid routine that she worked long and hard to perfect.
So for those of you who are still experimenting with your routine to see what works best. Here are some ideas on how to make your routine the one that others will want to know about.
Start with an objective
The simple premise of creating a hair routine is to develop a series of steps, you can replicate, that will result in similar (fabulous) results time after time. There should be no guess work in how your hair will turn out. In fact, you should have a visual picture in your mind of how you want the end product to look even before you start your routine. Take a few minutes to visualize your hair if it turned out absolutely perfect. The more clearly you see the picture, the better.
In fact I would even take it a step further and develop an idea of what you want your hair to look like at every step of the process.
Scrutinize every step
Your wash routine should consist of multiple steps. Whenever anyone works on a complex task, there is bound to be room for error. Washing and styling our hair is no different. You should think if the process as one that is of high importance and must be done to precise standards. If anything goes "wrong" along the way, you're stuck with hair that must be bunned to avoid the shame of your shabby styling skills (believe me, I've been there). Noting can be worse than having to walk around with hair that does not meet expectations.
So when I scrutinize each step, it looks something like this:
Prepoo
Objective-"I need to make sure to saturate all sections of my hair with the oil/conditioner before I wash.
End result-"My hair will be evenly be covered with the product. I will also make sure to saturate the ends."
Make certain-"That I don't get lazy and just put the product on the top of my hair and not take the time out to section and saturate each one of the sections completely, including the ends."
Shampoo
Objective-"To cleanse any product, dirt, and buildup from my hair. I also want to treat my dandruff. I may also want to use the opportunity to massage my scalp."
End result-"My hair will be clean and my scalp will be treated. The hair will be ready to receive deep conditioning."
**You then ask yourself which product(s) work best to create this result.**
Make certain-"That I don't tangle my hair in the process. If I do, I will create havoc for myself later on when I try to style."
Condition
Objective-"To provide much needed moisture and strength to my hair for maximum health."
**Again, you want to scrutinize all of your many conditioning products to see which one(s) will create the result you want.**
End result-"My hair will detangle easily. I will also increase the moisture levels of my hair along with adding a light or heavy protein depending on the needs of my hair.
Make certain-"To assess the needs of my hair before I condition. Do I need more strength or moisture?" "If I provide more moisture when it needs more protein, I will still be fighting unnecessary breakage and my objective will not be reached."
Styling
Objective-"To produce healthy shiny looking hair. I also want to wear my hair straight this week so I need a styling method that will allow me to easily achieve that style."
End result-My hair will reflect shine naturally. It also will feel soft and healthy to the touch. I should be experiencing less breakage."
Make certain-"That I take my time when rollersetting. Any wrong moves and my entire rollersetting experience is down the toilet. I need to make certain I dry my hair completely under the dryer and each individual section is properly rolled in a way that will result in a smooth curl (you can even take it a step further and breakdown the rollersetting process step by step).
Notice that I tried to keep the format as generic as possible. The reason for this is because ultimately you have to fine tune your routine to what works best for you. Think about what you want for your hair. Then dissect each step until you achieve it one step at a time. When you break your routine apart into sections, there is also a better likelihood that you can isolate areas of weakness much more efficiently.
For example, lets say you know that you have a hard time with styling your hair. You can break down each incremental step of the process until you isolate the step that is not working for you. Once you find that step, modify it over and over again until you have what you want. The goal is to create a fool proof system that will work for you time and time again to produce magnificent results.
Even if you did implement my weekly routine step by step it probably won't "work" the same way. Your hair is different. It reacts differently. Your job is to develop your personal routine by taking a more systematic approach to entire process. Once you have the system down pact, you won't have to worry about how your hair will turn out for a special event. Your results will be consistent and your hair will flourish. Best of all, wash days will become less of a hassle.
Great luck.
-Here's to the health of your hair.