Wash Day after Undoing Braid Extentions + D.I.Y Hair Mask Recipes

Hey Lovers

I already mentioned in yesterday’s post that Saturday was wash day. There has been a lot of talk about this wash day everywhere ei?

Anyhoo, I took down my jumbo twists the last weekend before this last one.(Does that even make sense? I hope you do get it) The weekend after I took down my twists was full on with travelling to Harare to and fro, so after taking down my twists I didn’t find time for wash day and I went on for a week with just daily spritz until this weekend we are coming from now. I went for a week with unconditioned roots ei and I wasn’t so happy about it too because I even imagine someone reading this part and going like; “Eh Miss Sam, you needed to deep condition that hair sooner” and of course “Yeah yeah Aunty, I know! I know!” So this here is pretty much it; natural hair care after taking down braid extensions or protective styling.

Below is my step by step wash day procedure:

I had carefully untwisted my hair making sure not to snip out my hair. I cut out my braid extensions a safe length from where I was sure my natural hair stopped because well the twists I had were too long and I wasn’t planning on recycling them.

1. Prepoo

The night before, I applied hot olive oil to moderate sized sections of my hair and twisted each section after I was done to get them out of the way of the unprepooed hair until I was done with all my hair. I put on a plastic cap (I couldn’t find my plastic caps so I modified a carrier plastic bag from a local supermarket to fit the purpose. Lol, please allow) and I covered it under my silk bonnet (A doek can serve this purpose too) before I went to bed.

2. Detangling

The next morning, I had to rush off for shopping for supplies for my D.I.Y deep conditioning mix and some errands so I put on some headwrap. (I loved how I did my headwrap considering I have to watch some tutorial before I can perfectly pull it off and after repeating the headwrap tutorial twice I tried it on my head and voila we were good to go)  When I was back home, I went on with my wash day. I applied my bomb deep conditioning mix (Banana + Coconut Milk + Olive Oil) which I had whipped up myself and left it in under a plastic cap for about 45min before detangling. Master Mixtress in the making! Huh? Anyhoo, you are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously isn’t it. (I just had to throw in that line, I saw it on IG in the morning and it went straight into my love-mail)

My conditioning mix was so runny and I opted to apply it on my hair using an applicator bottle. You would want to make sure you thoroughly mash the banana and if you can, I would rather have you using a blender so you won’t have chunks of banana’s stuck in your hair after wash day. (That wouldn’t really be pleasant, would it be? I guess not) Coconut milk contains calcium, chloride, potassium, vitamin A & E. Coconut milk contains proteins which strengthen hair and can help to minimize breakage. It also has properties that protect hair and scalp from UV rays. Banana’s enhance hair strength and shine. Banana’s are rich in natural oils and vitamins that soften hair and protecting its natural elasticity to control split ends and breakage

After leaving in the conditioner mix for a little more than 45 minutes, I took down my plastic cap and I went on to finger detangle. I made sure I gently removed all knots and tangles through each section. I brushed through with a wide tooth comb, to make sure I had removed all shed hairs. (During wash day, I prefer to handle my hair in sections, twisting each section when I’m done which is more thorough and a good way to keep my hair untangled) I shed a considerable amount of hair during the process.

3.Shampooing and Conditioning

I then shampooed my hair with my regular Revlon shampoo for color treated hair. I focused on my scalp because I knew I had a lot of buildup from the daily spritz all week and from hair under braids for a little more than 4 weeks. I co-washed with my Revlon rinse-out conditioner for color treated hair just to add more moisture to my hair. I did an apple cider vinegar rinse for clarifying my hair and then a final cold water rinse.

Shampooing and Conditioning

4. Hot Oil Treatment

I followed my cleansing and moisturizing with a hot oil treatment of honey + olive oil blend to re-hydrate and trap in moisture into my hair strands.Heat opens the hair cuticle and allows moisture to penetrate the hair shaft. Honey is a natural humectant and it absorbs moisture into my hair strands then the olive oil contributes to lock in the moisture. I had on these hot oil treatment under a plastic cap for about an hour before rinsing it out with warm water. I did a final rinse using cold water to close the hair cuticle and prevent the moisture from evaporating.

5. Sealing and Styling

I wrapped my hair with an old t-shirt to remove excess water. I then sealed my ends with castor oil and the rest of my hair with coconut oil. I basically used the LOC method to style my hair with two strand twists which I took down the next morning before church for a super duper chunky twist out after leaving it to dry overnight.

During my wash day procedure, I used two D.I.Y hair masks for my dry 4C hair . Here are a few D.I.Y hair masks you can whip up when you need more moisture and shine. I call them kitchen treasures, that is why in yesterday’s post I mentioned that my hair was “feasting”.

• Banana + Avocado + Coconut Milk + Oil of Choice (I unit: 1/2 unit: 1/2 cup: 1 tbsp)
• Greek Yoghurt +Honey +Oil of Choice (1/2 cup: 1 tbsp : 1 tbsp)
• Olive Oil + Honey (equal proportions of each)

These three are excellent deep conditioners! Many naturalists commit to spritzing their hair daily in order to give their strands an extra moisture boost. I’ve found this one effective as a leave in mix.

• Water + Aloe Vera Juice + Oil of Choice (1/4 cup: 2 tbsps: 1 tbsp)

How do you wash your hair after protective styling? What are your favorite D.I.Y hair mask recipes? I’d love to know.

Love and Sunshine

Miss Sam

Save