Wash n Go Much?

March 2014, running errands; styled using As I Am Leave In Conditioner.

God bless the protective styler. You ladies (and gents) stay committed to twisting and banding and braiding up all that beautiful hair for the glory of basking in the victory of the length earned later. I admire the dedication, and truly, the great results can’t be denied. But that’s about as far as my good feelings for protective styling goes because… 

I cannot do it! I don’t have the patience for it. And I feel so strange whenever my hair is tied or tucked away for too long in twists and braids-except for a style known as the “tuck and roll” I can get down with that one! But I digress. Not only do my fine strands make me look juvenile in twists, but the sheer time and energy put into twists and braids doesn’t seem worth it for how short the style lasts. One week isn’t long enough for me to not feel like it was all a complete waste of time. But by week two, my hair is parched, frizzy, matted, and itchy. No thanks!

And that’s how wash and go’s became my primary style of choice.

New Years 2014, styled using As I Am Curl Defining Jelly

But it took some time to perfect the art of the wash and go. Yes, there’s an art to it. My hair strands needed some coaxing before they were willing to go along with my scheme. I experimented with a few different approaches, products, and techniques-because let’s face it, natural hair is all about trial and error- until I found a system that worked for me. After a few weeks to months of wash-and-go’s, I could see a difference. There was a lot less frizz and the kinks and curls started to shape on their own without anything more than some finger detangling with a good conditioner and- what I call – “the wet dog” (classy, I know) hair shake. They even stood up to a day swimming at the lake! 

I like feeling taking showers and being able to regularly feel the water go through my hair and scalp. I like feeling all that glorious mane sway in the wind. With wash n go’s, I can just…be.