Hi there! Welcome to Think & Grow Chick! I recognize this may be your first time checking out my blog! The post below is one I wrote well over a year ago when I was utterly fed up with my tedious natural hair routine. I had no idea this would become the most popular post on my blog with over 100 comments! I have since experimented with a few different minimalist hair regimens which you can check out here, here, and here. The regimen I currently use can be found here.So check out the post below but when you're done, won't you stay a while? This blog is about soooo much more than hair -- I invite you to click the categories above to discover even more resources to help you on your self-improvement journey.[su_divider top="no"]*[/su_divider]Pictured here is a natural hair disaster. This tragedy befell me over the weekend after an attempt to wash and style my hair. Can you believe I actually had to go to work with my hair like this?!?!?

I have come to the conclusion my natural hair regimen is a problem, which is why I am giving it up. Sort of. Let me explain…

“The Incident”

The day started out like any other Saturday. I woke up with full knowledge and intent to do what always must be done on Saturdays: wash, detangle, and style my hair.The only problem was I could hardly bring myself to do it.I sat with my ipad on the couch for a good two hours procrastinating from what I was convinced would be a nightmarish chore.Get in shower.Stand on feet for an hour with arms cramping from all the sectioning and detangling.Step out of shower.Stand on feet for another hour with arms cramping from all the sectioning and twisting.Ugh. My stomach sank at the mere thought of wasting my Saturday doing all that work. Was all this even necessary??? I was utterly fed up with my hair.Unfortunately for my salty mood, I couldn’t really wallow in the fed-up-ness with my hair, as I had a birthday dinner to attend that evening. At bare minimum, my hair needed to look presentable.With two hours wasted sulking in my underwear on the couch and less than three hours until my anticipated arrival as a sane and groomed dinner guest, panic began to set in. The above picture is the “haistyle” I haphazardly threw together.After two days of wearing my hair like that (one of those days at work no less! Oh, the horror…) I decided that decent looking hair shouldn’t be at the mercy of an insanely long hair regimen. Surely a girl can obtain healthy, long, polished hair without the excessive time and effort, right?Because I am convinced that the answer is “Yes!” effective today, I am quitting my natural hair regimen. Now off to find a new one. But first…

The Current State of the Natural Hair Regimens

1. Pre-Poo
2. Detangle
3. Wash (in sections)
4. Condition
5. (Deep Condition)
6. Leave-in Condition
7. Style
8. Moisturize
9. Seal

Does this regimen look familiar? It should, as it is basically the “model” hair regimen that many naturals follow.A cursory look at most natural hair blogs or forums will reveal this regimen (or something similar) as a general template for taking care of your natural hair. I even promoted this regimen almost exactly in my 2010 “My Natural Hair” Youtube video–a video that has received nearly 300,000 views. Clearly this regimen is the regimen of choice for many Naturals.

The Problem with The Typical Natural Hair Regimen

Though there isn’t anything wrong with the above regimen per se,it is not always the perfect regimen for every Natural. For me at least…

It takes too much time.

Take a look at the “typical” natural hair regimen. How much time would you say it takes to do all those steps? I don’t know about you but as a 3c/4a natural with just past bra-strap length hair (BSL), it generally takes me at least 3 hours from start to finish. Washing alone can take nearly an hour. Who wants to stand pruning up in the shower for an hour?!?!

It has too many steps.

Again, take a look at the above listed regimen. The basic natural hair regimen features 8–9 steps (depending on if you deep condition). Add in henna or hot oil treatments and the typical natural hair regimen can get pretty complicated!

It requires too many products.

Let me say upfront that I enjoy trying new products just as much as the next person. What I don’t enjoy is needing to use several different products just to get through my regimen. A good natural hair regimen should be like a well-oiled machine that runs on a handful of consistently effective products.

It is too conflicting with our lifestyles.

Too many naturals (myself included) latch on to a regimen without considering whether or not it works for our lives. There’s this notion in the natural hair community that if a specific technique or process is beneficial to your hair, then you have to add it to your regimen.The question, however, should not be whether or not a technique will benefit you, but rather is benefit worth the added time, energy, and (sometimes) money needed to achieve it? It is perfectly acceptable to acknowledge that a technique has its benefits but choose not to do it because it doesn’t work with your lifestyle and the things you are already doing are beneficial enough.

Mistakes I Think I’m Making with My Regimen

In addition to the (potential) issues with the Typical Natural Hair Regimen, there are specific mistakes that I am personally making with my natural hair regimen.

Washing

As I mentioned before, my current wash routine averages about 45 minutes which is simply too long to spend washing my hair given my schedule and lifestyle.

Detangling

Closely related to my washing woes, not only does detangling take forever, but my hair has been shedding and even breaking a lot lately. Both my tools and my technique need a complete overhaul.

Styling

Because I work in a professional setting, I tend to wear my hair in “highly defined” styles (twist/braid outs) compared to more free form, undefined styles. In order to get that definition, I find myself having to spend hours twisting or braiding my hair after an already marathon-length detangling/washing/conditioning session. This cannot continue: I need to find a technique that is more time-efficient.

Products

I’m still a bit all over the place when it comes to products. I need to find my “holy grail” hair products and consistenty use them in my routine.

But What About Having Fun?

As with any move towards simplicity, I imagine some will worry that all this cutting stuff out will remove the ability to be creative and spontaneous with their hair. I believe this will NOT be the case and that the opposite effect will happen.Right now, I’ve actually been less creative with my hair because I’m always dreading and stressed out about needing to “do” it soon. If a basic hairstyle requires so many steps, how can I possibly feel excited about trying a new hairstyle that will likely require even more steps?With a streamlined, simpler regimen, I’ll be freer to do new, time-intensive creative styles when I want to…and freer not to do them when I don’t.Can you relate to anything I’ve posted here? Perhaps you are utterly tired of the hours spent doing your natural hair or maybe you’ve finally found a simple routine that works like a charm. If so, please leave a comment and share on Facebook and Twitter (buttons are below).I am also looking to feature Natural women who have met their length retention hair goals on a simple, time efficient regimen. If that’s you and and you want to be featured, contact me directly by ending me a message on facebook or by emailing me here.***P.S. -- This is an old post. The regimen I currently use can be found here.***