“The dreaded wash day.”
The thoughts that creep into your mind as your scheduled wash day quickly approaches. Instead of proactively conquering the ritual of cleansing, conditioning, and styling your coils; you simply place them in a bun and carry on into the next week. Another wash day begins to peek its head around the corner and like clockwork, excuses begin overflowing. This time your headwrap is your saving grace. Seven more days go by but there’s no place to run at this point. It’s you, your tangles and the mirror all judging you. After 3 weeks of product build-up, flakes, and an irritated scalp; you realize the repercussions of playing hide and seek with washing your curls.
Honest moment. We love the end results of clean hair but the work that goes into it; not so much all the time.
Many of us have mastered tips and tricks to extend our styles but often forget putting off wash day can come with consequences; seen and unseen. Your hair seriously needs moisture. Without moisture, your strands become brittle and rough. As a result, your hair will get tangled and will be the host of fairy knots. Plus, adding product on dirty strands becomes counterproductive. Not being able to penetrate the hair shaft; your curls do not receive any benefits from the products.
So let’s tackle the reasons you avoid it + solutions to allow you to embrace it:
Reason #1: Sis is tired. That’s it. That’s the reason.
You’re simply exhausted. Life is stressful as it is and by the weekends the only productive item on your to-do list you’re looking forward to is getting 8 hours of sleep. Remember, when you’re tired, frustration is the second emotion in line and it will come out on your hair through yanking, pulling, + skipping steps.
Solution: If you do not have enough energy to complete it, move it to another day (and stick with it). It doesn’t always have to be on the weekends. Pick a time that makes the most sense for your schedule. Or split up your wash day steps to match your energy level. If detangling is all you have energy for; detangle, separate hair, put your hair in chunky twists, take a break and save the rest for the next day.
Reason #2: You honestly don’t think it affects your hair or that it even matters.
The only concern you may have when postponing your wash day is that your style isn’t looking as flawless as it once was. But that’s a myth, it can cause real damage.
Solution: If length, health, thickness, and definition are on your hair goals list; you’re going to want to nurture your coils on a regular basis. So the next time you think you’ll opt for a puff instead of wash day, remember your goals are the ones that will suffer.
Reason #3: You’re low maintenance and your wash day is not.
When they coined the term “lazy natural” your soul jumped for joy because you knew they were talking about you. You love your hair but you absolutely do not have the urge to spend half of your life styling it. Not blaming you.
Solution: Simplify. Even though some of your fave YouTubers/curlfriends have an extensive and elaborate regimen that can honestly feel like a full 24 hours; yours doesn’t have to be. Not every wash day experience has to include a hot oil treatment or a deep conditioning session. Now, we’re not saying to throw these methods out the window completely but schedule them as needed. Sometimes it’s just about getting to the basics. Shampoo, condition, leave-in, and style your faithful twist out. Oh, and a cowash comes in clutch when wanting a simple wash day too!
Reason #4: It’s a chore, not self-care.
It’s a chore on your ever-growing life list of responsibilities that you must complete. And it’s hard to find the joy in tasks we have to do on a regular basis in order to keep our life rockin’ and rolling.
Solution: Don’t look at your hair as a chore, but as a time to cater to yourself by pampering your curls. Shift from I 'have to' to I 'get to' and make it a part of a full spa experience. Playlist, candles, wine, + don’t stop there. Set a reward for yourself after you complete it. If it's ordering food that night or even unplugging for the rest of the day, do it. So when you think of wash day, your brain automatically goes to ‘treat yourself’ mode.
Photo credit: Unsplash
Reason #5: Running through products + your pockets?
The more you try to stay on your wash day schedule, you get off-track on your weekly/monthly budget. You can’t help but to notice you can only get 2 uses from that deep conditioner or shampoo before you have to buy an entire new bottle. In some cases that can be another $50~100 out the window weekly/ or bi-weekly.
Solution: Find quality yet affordable hair products. *EDEN BodyWorks just entered the chat* Yes, we’re not going to humble brag, we’re into FULL brag mode right now. All of our collections are made with high-quality products with you in mind! From college student to CEO, you can afford to include quality products into your lifestyle. Also, take advantage of special programs and deals like subscribe + save. If you know you need the same products every 2-3 months, sign up for monthly subscriptions and save some coins. In EDEN’s case you save 11% off each order!
Now, we’ve all postponed wash day and honestly we’ll more than likely slip up again in the near future. But slowly remembering these tips can transform your thinking which can transform your tresses.
