Hi people, what's been on?

Life can sometimes be a hyperactive dog on a flimsy leash and you need to hold on with two hands..... which means your hands won't be available for the business of hair!
When I get these moments, I switch my hair routine to a low manipulation one.

For my fine hair, I noticed low manipulation styles with extensions actually break my hair especially if I want to leave them in for longer than 2-3 weeks. This is why I rarely braid or weave my hair when I'm trying to grow my hair out for a major trim. I also feel I'm wasting the whole day in the salon to put the extensions in.

This low manipulation routine I adopt, usually lasts a month and I repeat the cycle every month.

WASH DAY

The day before washday (usually Friday evening), I'll either do an overnight henna treatment,   wash and deep condition using a portable steam cap the next day or simply do a keratin protein treatment using Beautiful Textures TMS.
The deep conditioner helps hydrate my hair to prepare it for days when I won't even be bothered about moisturising my hair. I follow up with my oil mix on scalp and strands and finally a leave in conditioner.
Then I put my hair in chunky twists to dry and wrap with a pashmina scarf so it dries faster and just in case I need to go out.

STYLING

Now here's where the sacrifice begins....the 3-4hrs long twisting sessions. I don't really mind because it's about the same time I'll spend in a salon (that's if I do not add the waiting hours if I didn't have an appointment).
I put my hair in mini or medium twists depending on my mood. The twists are installed in such a way that they should last for two weeks plus. My secret to long lasting twists is in this post

As extra insurance so my style stays neat, I

•  Twist on damp to dry hair
• use a twisting butter with some level of hold (I use NappyGirl Pudding). You can also use a small amount of Ecostyler gel to twist too.
•  do not wet my hair. I only scrunch in a little leave in conditioner and oil.
•  cover my hair at night.
• don't manipulate it.. no pin ups....just pony tails for stretch...nothing to make my frizz prone hair do what it loves.

After two weeks, I carefully take down the twists for twistouts. I don't fluff, separate or pick out my hair. This helps maintain the definition for the next two weeks. As the days go by, it gets bigger and frizzier but not in a messy way.


Towards the end of the two week twistout period, I start stretching my hair out stylishly in preparation for washday and to make detangling sessions easier.
I do this by putting my hair in buns and updos.


I also notice that as long as the source of moisture is a water based leave in conditioner and I apply oil afterwards, my hair is generally tangle free .

The day before washday, I'll apply a slippery conditioner to dry hair, fingerdetangle, apply henna overnight and start the cycle all over again.
On my laziest days, I'll do a keratin protein treatment on washday instead of the overnight henna.


That's it for my low manipulation, time saving month long routine.

How do you care for your hair during a very busy month????