Updated: December 1, 2023
In this post, we’re going to be diving into deep, practical details on my natural hair routine and how to care for type 4 or 4c natural hair.
A lot of times, I get questions about how I grow my natural hair, or how I care for my 4c hair without getting tired or overwhelmed. It’s an interesting question because I really don’t find it stressful at all!
Because of how simple my routine was, I was sure I wasn’t doing it right. That is until my results started to speak for themselves!
So we’re going to be walking through every day of my two-week capillary schedule (aka natural hair routine) in this post.
Feel free to get inspired, and take what you need, or what might work for you!
This is a new post-series that we’re experimenting with and would love to hear your feedback on it!
Would you like to see more casual, diary-like posts? Or would you like to participate and share a week in your hair?
Feel free to email us: [email protected]
My 2-Week Natural Hair Routine
Natural Hair Profile
- Porosity: Medium-High
- Density: Medium
- Thickness: Fine-Medium
- Curl Pattern: 4B/4C
- Length: Bra-strap to Mid-back
Saturday
Saturday is usually the day I wash my natural hair, although honestly, for the sake of my social life, I should really consider moving this to Sunday.
9:30 am
I start by making my African black soap shampoo recipe. I add all the ingredients (which you can find in this post) to a bowl, add hot water, and wait for that to melt. In the meantime, I prepare my deep conditioner.
If I did a moisturizing treatment on my last wash day, this time I’ll do a strengthening treatment. We’re going with a cassia treatment today, so I start that recipe (which you can find full details on in this post).
Once all that is done, and ready to be used I start to prepare my hair to be washed.
10:05 am
Since my hair is typically in mini-twists, I’ll spray the hair lightly with Aloe Vera juice, and start to take them down. Once I loosen 3-5 twists, I’ll finger-detangle my now-loose hair and create a larger twist.
10:45 am
Once I have about 8-10 larger twists, my hair is ready to be washed. I collect my shampoo, which is now in an applicator bottle, my prepared cassia deep conditioner, and my leave-in conditioner.
Usually, I use the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor-Oil Leave-In Conditioner straight up. I know it was canceled by the natural hair community but it still works wonders for my high-porosity hair!
After this, I’ll set my products next to the tub, set up my shower mirror (this simple one that I love from Amazon), and my speakers. I create my podcast queue with something funny, then something intriguing that’s long and entertaining enough to take me through wash day. Get in the tub, then hit play.
I wash my twists by applying my black soap shampoo at the roots, then work it in with a shampoo brush (you can find one here). I’ll squeeze the foam down the length of my twists, then rinse and repeat!
11:20 am
After the shampoo process is done, I’ll unravel the chunky twists one by one apply my deep conditioner to the hair directly, and twist it back up. Afterward, I’ll cover it with a plastic bag or shower cap, finish up my shower, and step out of the tub.
11:50 am
I’m out of the shower, with an hour to kill so I make myself brunch. Once I’m done eating, doing the dishes, and finishing up an episode of the latest show I’m watching, I’ll start getting ready to rinse the conditioner out of my hair!
1:00 pm
I’m back in the shower rinsing the conditioner out of my twists one by one. Once that’s done, I’ll apply the leave-in conditioner on each twist.
My whole head is done, so I’ll wrap it up in a t-shirt and step out of the shower. I move to a comfortable seat and start to redo my mini twists. I rave about the benefits of mini-twists in this post!
I’ll unravel a chunky twist, and apply my oil (recipe here) and butter to my hair. I’ll either use whipped shea butter (recipe here) or the Melanin Hair Care Twist-Elongating Styling Cream. Each chunky twist turns into about 3 mini twists.
4:00 pm
My hair is all twisted up! It’s still damp, but that’s not a big deal. I leave the twists down to dry a little more until I’m ready to double wrap my hair for bed.
Double Wrap. verb.
Wrapping the hair first with a silk scarf or bonnet, then putting a cotton scarf or bonnet over that. It prevents the moisture and oil in your hair from seeping onto your pillow.
The hair is done for the day, and honestly for the rest of the week!
Sunday
I just went through all of that yesterday, so there’s nothing to do today.
Monday
Nothing to do! My natural hair is still shiny and moisturized from Sunday!
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
My twists are still really juicy. I wear them in an updo, or bun for most of the week and wrap them up to sleep at night.
Friday
My hair is starting to feel a little less moisturized than usual so I’m going to moisturize lightly today. I part my hair into sections and spray my hair and scalp with aloe vera juice.
I squeeze the moisture into my twists and massage my scalp. After this, I apply oil to the twists to seal in the aloe vera juice. Then, rub the excess oil on my scalp and massage lightly.
Saturday
My hair is juicy from the moisture last night, and there’s nothing to do. I won’t have anything to do to my hair for another 3 days at least!
Sunday, Monday
My hair feels fine, I don’t have to do anything.
Tuesday
My hair is feeling dry again so I’m going to redo what I did on Friday. Spray my hair with aloe vera juice, apply oil, and this time, a butter to my twists. This is gonna last me another few days until I’m ready to wash my hair again on Saturday!
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
I’m so glad my hair is still moisturized and I have nothing to do! I’m gonna wash my hair tomorrow so I might prepare some of my DIY products if I have some time on Friday afternoon, or I feel like shaving off some time from my Saturday washday! This time, it’ll be a moisturizing washday!
Let me know what you think about this natural hair routine! Is it something you would try? Does your capillary schedule look similar or completely different? Let us know in the comments!
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