THE HAIRPOLITAN MAGAZINE VOL 5 APRIL 2017

KNOW - HAIR
Wash Day
Vikky’s Bi-weekly
regimen:
STEP 1:
Cleansing with a
sulphate free shampoo.
STEP 2:
Detangling under
running water (in the
shower) with a silicone
free conditioner
Vikky Wambui:
Inspiring you to grow &
care for your long hair
May 2017 will mark 5 years since my Big Chop. 5 years of learning, unlearning and re-learning my natural
hair. I say this because I started this journey with pre-conceived ideas of what to expect but as I quickly
found out, natural hair can be as unique as fingerprints and one should never compare or expect the
same results. Also, as the journey progresses, your hair’s needs change and you need to be keen to
detect the changes and adapt accordingly.
In this article, I’ll summarize the top 3 lessons learnt that have helped me grow my hair & retain length.
Simple regimen
Twist Outs
Experience had taught me that it’s not so much the products that I use that matter, but rather how
consistent I am with my regimen and also how well that regimen fits into my lifestyle.
As my hair has grown longer (it was 18 inches last length check last year) I have had to tweak my regimen
STEP 3:
Deep conditioning
(for at least 30 min)
with a moisturizing
deep conditioner that
is mineral oil free &
silicone free
STEP 4:
Moisturizing using the
LOC (Leave-in, Oil,
Cream – in that order)
method
STEP 5:
Finally I twist with a
butter to seal in the
moisture even further.
so that I still I provide it with proper care &
nourishment without spending excessive amounts
of time on it.
I will normally wear my hair in 2 strand twists for
about 3 days, then in a twist-out for 4 days and in a
bun or a “roll, tuck and pin” style for the another 7
days before its time to wash again.
In between washes, I will spritz my hair lightly
with some water and seal with oil if it feels dry.
However, this rarely happens, as I am able to
retain moisture for up to 2 weeks without having to
moisturize again.
Low manipulation
Contrary to popular belief, natural hair is extremely
susceptible to breakage due to its curly nature.
Therefore, if you want to retain your length it is
critical that you refrain from over-manipulating your
hair. This includes excessive brushing/combing,
wearing tight hairstyles and using heat/heated
tools.
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