Growing up, I had girlfriends that washed their hair every morning or every other day. By comparison, my wash days were rare – with my mom washing my hair bi-weekly or once a month if I had braids.

When I returned to natural after ditching my relaxer, one of the first things I had to unlearn about caring for my hair was that water is “bad.” I soon discovered that was the farthest thing from the truth. Not only does our hair love water – it needs it. Heaps of it.  Growing healthy natural hair requires you to create a regular wash routine for your hair — like no more going 3 to 6 weeks without your hair touching water!

In this post, I’m going to share with you how some ideas to help you craft a wash day routine that fits the needs of your hair, plus a few supplies that’ll really come in handy on wash day.

Once you’ve gone through enough trial and errors, you’ll have a good sense of what steps you need to include in your wash day routine. From there, pick out some products to start with – and then modify the products you use according to how your hair responds.

Must-Do Steps For Wash Day

As you do your research to put together a wash day routine that works for you, keep in mind that you’re going to want to incorporate these five core steps:

• Detangle
• Cleanse
• Condition
• Moisturize
• Style

You can change the order or add a step if needed – but generally speaking, these five steps are always a part of wash day.

Essential Products

I’m not going to make any product recommendations because what works for my hair won’t necessarily work for others, but I can share with you just a few of  the products I use for wash day.

• Satinique™ Smooth Moisture Shampoo
• Satinique™ Revitalizing Mask
• Satinique™ Smooth Moisture Conditioner
• Artistry Studio™ Multi-Purpose Dry Oil Spray
• Satinique™ Styling Cream

We’ve discussed how to choose a routine, the essential elements of wash day, and a few  favorite products that I use. I’m going to finish up by sharing my staple wash day routine. While it’s pretty similar to most routines, what I execute differently is a thorough scrub of product build- up with multiple cycles, a scalp massage, apportion hair in sections during cleanse, and rinse with cold water instead of hot. For men and women with kinky hair (or locs) this is a great starter routine to build from.

I hope you enjoyed these tips on how to craft your OWN wash day routine.

Cheers to healthy hair and a healthy scalp!