3 Things You Need To Know Before You Create Your Hair Routine

We all know that the key to healthy hair is having a consistent routine. A lot of the time we have zero energy to take care of our hair as we have no idea what we should be doing with it. Other times we’ve created this overly unrealistic routine because we’ve overcomplicated the process with extra steps and fancy products that may not necessarily need to be there. Another common reason why your previous attempt at a hair care routine failed, might have been because you were too busy following Youtube trends rather than listening to what your coils actually wanted. It’s no wonder your previous attempts got overwhelming, frustrating and eventually led to you shying away and giving up!

You wouldn't go months without bathing or moisturising or shaving so why do this to your hair? We can all admit that 2020 sucks! What better way to finish the year off than to get your coils in check with a solid routine that you’re finally going to stick to this time!

So, how do you create a routine that’s simple enough to stick to but effective enough to  deliver results - yes sis, healthy long hair is the goal!

Here are three major keys you should consider when creating your hair care routine:

1. SET A CYCLE

Figure out how often you want to wash your hair. The length of time could vary depending on a number of factors such as how you’re choosing to style your hair that month or whether it’s a particularly busy period in your life right now. Another factor is the length of your hair. If you have a TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro), you could easily wash your hair every 1-2 days if you wished! However, if your hair is BSL (Bra Strap Length), a 2 day cycle would become very tedious and unrealistic. The happy medium for many naturals is 1-2 weeks however, where you have a protective style installed such as cornrows or braids, 4-6 weeks is perfect. 

Remember, when setting your cycle you want to choose a time frame that is realistic that way it can actually be achieved. When I was an undergraduate student, at the beginning of the term I was able to wash my hair every Friday. At the time I was exploring different products and this cycle worked well for me. It was when I started my final year of study and deadlines began to hit that I knew that my cycle was no longer adequate and needed to be tweaked. 

Your cycle will fluctuate throughout the year! Don’t be so rigid and force a washday just because your initial cycle dictates that It should be done every 14 days (for example). Believe it or not, forcing a washday when you’ve clearly got other things eg. deadlines at work or low energy, can in fact harm the health of your hair. The last thing you want is to rush through steps and to throw techniques out the window as you yank through your hair with a comb just because you need to get the wash done! 

What’s the point of setting a cycle if I can push my Washday date around? 

Whilst you don’t want to be too rigid, you also don’t want to defeat the purpose of setting a cycle. To achieve the best from your hair routine you want to be consistent. Consistency begins with setting a cycle and doing your best to keep to it. 

2. KNOW YOUR SEGMENTS 

Many naturals only consider ‘The Washday’ which consists of cleansing your hair, deep conditioning it and then getting your hair done. Whether that be through installing a protective style such as box braids or through throwing your hair into a puff for the week. A lot of mental and physical energy is reserved for the washday but then after the day is gone, this energy to take care of our hair also disappears and we completely forget about our strands until the next washday- which for many could mean the next 6-8 weeks!

A healthy hair routine is more than just the washday.

One key segment that makes up your healthy hair routine is Styling. Whilst it is fun to experiment with different hair styles and express yourself through your hair, if you are on a hair growth journey you need to be aware of the types of styles that you should gravitate towards and those that you should steer clear from. It’s becoming common knowledge that protective styles help with maintaining healthy hair as they protect your edges and your ends. 

Another key segment is Moisturising. If you didn’t already know there is a difference between having hydrated hair and moisturising your hair. The goal of moisturising is to prevent your hair from losing water. Done right and this could keep your hair from feeling constantly dry and rough.

Different factors will affect how successful you are at achieving this. This could be your moisturising technique and the products you use or your hair porosity! We will discuss this in more detail at a later date as this topic deserves a whole post on its own. The key thing you need to note here is that if you have a 14 day cycle, you need to figure out how you intend to maintain moisturised hair on days 1-13. Don’t just wash your hair and then abandon it until the next washday! 

With moisturising also goes caring for your scalp. Believe it or not, your scalp requires a different kind of attention such as refreshing with a spritz of water during the week and then massaging oils. Our scalp oil is infused with Ayurvedic herbs which help to nourish the scalp, reduce excess hair fall and stimulate growth - check out our Herbal Energiser Hair Vitaliser!  Team this with our Scalp Massaging Brush and your healthy scalp routine is pretty much set!

Check out our scalp care fave's !

Mercy's Mane Herbal Energiser Hair Vitaliser Scalp Treatment Oil	Mercy's Mane Scalp Massager Brush

3. BE CONSISTENT

The final point is one which should always be on your mind. It speaks for itself like anything in life, if you want to see results you have to be consistent. In doing so you’re able to make targeted decisions about your hair. You can easily spot what is not working and what you need to improve on. Many people still believe that some people were born with ‘good hair’ and others just weren’t. My hair is where it is at today because of patience, prayer and consistency. If you haven’t got a consistent routine that’s personal to you then you’re in this journey with no direction. You can’t really complain about results which you never created a reliable means of achieving. 

Hopefully these tips would have helped you to make a start with planning your routine. Set a comfortable cycle, know that caring for your hair does not just end with the washday and finally, make a habit of caring for your coils.

Next time we’ll consider in more detail hair styling options and how to properly moisturise Afro hair. By the end of the series you should feel more confident about your hair care routine.

Don’t miss out on more tips and real stories from myself and our Mane Babes! To learn more you can join the conversation by following us on Instagram - @Mercysmane!

As always sis, 

Stay blessed X