Post contains affiliate links.
Ever since I cut my waist length hair in middle school (WHYYY!), I have been trying to grow it back. It’s been decades. DECADES!
But! One of my moods of 2019 is dogged determination, and I’m not giving up. And it looks like it’s starting to pay off. In the last 6 months, I’ve done developed some habits, and created a way to really keep my hair health going strong. And it’s not super complicated, it doesn’t require a ton of experimentation, and it’s also great for those of us gals with looser curls of the thirsty and thinner variety.
Long Curly Hair Goals for 2020!
I spent a year trying to get my over-sunned and professionally bleached hair healthy again.
I don’t know if the body’s natural process of re-doing all its cells every 7 years had the most impact or if my actions did, but I like to think it was a combination of both.
Curly hair regimen + my body regenerating 100% of its cells every 7 years? recipe for success.
Since the main tenants of hair health are no heat, no color, no bleach, less styling, less touching, treating hair like a delicate Faberge Egg …my hair goals have been very natural (I have like 3 gray hairs so I’m not dyeing), at little heat as possible, and I’m going for length.
Just in the last few months I have reached a real apex in hair health — it truly brightens every day knowing that something I’ve done to help myself has actually had an impact! I love seeing the health that caring for my hair brings. I know it sounds like a total duh, but it really is cool to see your efforts turn out results.
Bored and just wanna get the best thing on the list?
Get the vibrating shampoo brush.
If you wanna know more now that you know your Vitagoods shampoo brush is on the way …. read on.
How to take hair from unhealthy to healthy in less than a year
How did I do it? I do all the typical advice like, don’t use too much heat and don’t wash your hair every day all the time. But beyond the obvious things, there were 5 stages of care that got my hair to where it is now, which is collarbone length and ready to go the distance!
The 6 Stages of Curly Hair Health
The pre-shower stage
What you need.
- spray bottle
- deep conditioner
- heat hat
The shower stage
- no sulfate/light sulfate shampoo (I use aveeno thanks to the recommendation of Claire Foutain aka CBquality)
- more conditioner
- vibrating shampoo brush!
- curl creme
- cheap tresseme gel (lots)
The post shower stage
- parachute robe
- microfiber towel and/or handy shammy
- old tshirt
- sharp hair scissors
- a nice mirror
- slippers!
- diffuser attachment
- blow dryer you got from TJ MAXX
The night night go to bed stage
- a springy hair tie
- peppermint oil
- a satin pillow
- leave in from Shea Moisture w. lavender
The morning/day stage
- leave in
- peppermint oil
- spray bottle
- dry shampoo / talc / cornstarch
- bobby pins
- curling iron (!) Yes.
The do as much as you can stage
- drink water
- eat vegetables
- do yoga
- walk / get active!
- smile / feel joy
I realize that 6 stages is KINDA intense. But when you start incorporating it into your life (the spray bottle – deep conditioner – heat hat is a game changer) … you’ll start seeing the difference quickly!
Can a hair health routine can make you high on life? YES!
You’ll get a little mini-dose of dopamine when you check off one of these things (or anything really) from your list of goals. The more you do, the better you’ll feel. And feeling should really be our motivator — not looking like a beauty standard, or keeping up with some blogger …. how you feel should be your north star.
So go out and follow your north star! (and tell me about it!)
Shop the Curly Hair Must Have List!
If you’re ready to get started, here’s the shortlist of low-cost resources to get your hair in gear!
- curly girl book
- sharp scissors
- shea butter manuka honey
- aveno shampoo and conditioner (ht cbquality)
- dry shampoo
- essential oils
- vibrating shampoo brush
- heat hat
- microwave
- robe
- slippers
- yoga mat
- diffuser attachment
- blowdryer
- curling iron
- clip in hair extensions (low heat styles … more on that later)
The Best Curly Hair Bloggers and YouTubers Out There
There are about 5 bloggers who helped me. They are: Hif3licia, Curly Susie, Dana Marie, Real Life Curly Girl, JustLikeJackies, Mandie.cg.journey … and of course the Curly Girl Method (which I adhere to like a French person adheres to a diet, which is to say, loosely but faithfully).
A moment for credit where credit is due.
Also very worth noting (and I don’t see it noted enough) that all of the techniques that have helped me on this journey were pioneered by women of color almost/absolutely 100% exclusively, so if you’re at the beginning, you better be going to visit the mountaintop and consult the masters!!!!!