Patience. Persistence. Consistency. Alignment.  These are four words that come to mind when I think of my four-week long challenge to wash and deep condition my hair once per week. 

Prior to the challenge, I had not been consistent with a weekly wash day nor did I deep condition every time I washed my hair.  I wondered how the consistency would affect my mane.  On Saturday, January 26^th I fed my curiosity and engaged in my first week of washing and deep conditioning.  The following three Saturdays I did the same ritual and I learned…

Patience.  This is a time-consuming process.  Hours can pass between pre-pooing, shampooing, deep conditioning, combing out, and styling. It’s best to prepare yourself mentally and not to rush.  Rushing leads to frustration and damage to the hair.  Take your time to nourish your hair with your treatments and to gently detangle your tresses.  A deep condition is ineffective if done too quickly and you’re likely going to break your hair if you’re rough while combing it out.

Persistence. I used different brands each week when I did my challenge.  I wanted to see which products my hair liked best and discover what combination kept my hair moisturized the longest.  When a product line left my hair feeling dry, I made a mid-week refresher to pull the moisture back into my twists. 

Consistency.  In order to see if different actions will yield a different result, you must be unwavering in your approach.  That meant me doing each step of this ritual on the appointed Saturday even when I wanted to push my wash day a few days. I noticed how my hair enjoyed the weekly pampering, how I could free my tresses of tangles easier each week using my fingers, and how my scalp like the massages.

Alignment. I felt in tune with the health of my hair.  I had more patience in caring for it and saw how that positively affected the health of my strands.  Pre-pooing reduced the shedding and tangles; deep conditioning gave my curls softness and definition; sectioning my hair in fours allowed me to detangle and style faster with less breakage.  I could feel the damaged parts and learn which sections of my hair needed more TLC.

I cut my hair week two of the challenge and my hair felt considerably healthier; however, I still experience breakage at the ends.  When finger combing my hair, I see curly Qs falling.  While I have yet to determine the reason for the continued breakage, my weekly regimen has helped me identify good methods and affirmed my resolve to listen to my mane.  I’ll continue listening to her until I learn what’s causing her breakage.  I enjoyed sampling the different product lines; although, next time, I will use the same brand for that length of time to see if the results from the products match week to week.

My four-week challenge inspired creativity, gave me the opportunity to see which products my hair preferred, and helped me to better understand my hair’s needs.

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Will you take on the challenge?  Is this already part of your routine? I’d like to know; please comment below.