Simplified Routines

[rcblinn]

Not sure if this belongs on the mane forum, so mods forgive me if I've misplaced this here. I'm curious to learn of other folks' simplified hair care routines-I've been on a minimalistic kick lately and would like to par down my shower routine ( as well as beauty routine but that's another story). I basically hate how cluttered my cabinets are, shampoo/condish bottles which failed to deliver crowding each other under the sink or on the shower ledge. I'd personally love to venture in the world of poo bars as they do double duty as a body wash too. So what are some simplified routines or ways other fellow long hairs have pared down? Thanks so much!

[RachelRose]

Some places have a guarantee on beauty products like Walgreens for example . Maybe where you live they have an equivalent ? I've returned shampoo and condish there before . I understand wanting simplicity I have a trashbag I mean graveyard of hair product rejects lol . I know nothing about poo bars but am interested in the replies you get .

[skeletonous]

As far as products go this is what I use:
- Organix Argan Oil Shampoo (alternate with Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo)
- V05 Shea Cashmere Conditioner (alternate with Salon Selectives Keratin Conditioner)
- Coconut Oil (for pre-poo treatments, considering using it as a leave in)

I plan on getting a leave in like Mane n Tail Leave In or Giovanni Direct Leave In, but other than that that's about it. These are all currently cruelty free items as well. :)

As for my actual shower routine...I just shampoo (I try to only do my scalp) and condition (ends) in the shower and then air dry my hair after gently patting it and squeezing it out with my towel. Sometimes I finger comb gently or use a wide tooth comb if I have to before it's completely dry. This is when I would add a leave in to my ends as well.

[Madora]

I've been using the George Michael Pink Crème Shampoo since 1982 and nothing else. I dilute a tablespoon with 10 oz of warm water and pour it over my head and length.

For conditioning, I use 5 drops of mineral oil (applied to my hands/fingers via an oil soaked cotton swab) and don't wash it out.

Daily: 60 strokes a day with my pure bbb (always detangle before brushing). I wear my hair up and braided 24/7. I wash my comb and brush every day, and do not use oils or serums or anything else.

[ARG]

I wash once a week with:
-OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo (http://www.amazon.com/OGX-Renewing-Argan-Morocco-Shampoo/dp/B0048F5ATO/ref=sr_1_4?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1419386592&sr=1-4&keywords=OGX+Moroccan+Argan+Oil+Shampoo)
-OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Conditioner (http://www.amazon.com/OGX-Renewing-Argan-Morocco-Conditioner/dp/B0048F38DY/ref=pd_bxgy_bt_text_y)
-OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Intense Moisturizing Treatment (http://www.amazon.com/Organix-Moisturizing-Treatment-Renewing-Moroccan/dp/B00IICA40I/ref=pd_sim_bt_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1X2M515CE57Q3WXDY6XS)
Then over towel dried hair I smooth this:
-OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Penetrating Oil (http://www.amazon.com/Organix-Renewing-Moroccan-Argan-Penetrating/dp/B00CQ7PM9E)

I detangle once a week with a wide toothed comb (usually before washing), I finger comb the rest of the week. My hair is usually in a bun or braided, except on wash day when I sleep with it loose after my shower.

[Chromis]

Shampoo bar user here! Very simple indeed. I do use another bar for soap, but only because my favourite bars are expensive to ship to Canada. I have finally found some nice Canadian bars though, so I might be able to change to one bar again eventually though! The current soap bar has some clay in it which gives it super nice slip for shaving though! I have two bars (one shampoo, one soap) on wooden slatted trays, a glass measuring cup, and a bottle of ACV on my bath ledge. I use one bar at a time until it is used up. Before I got a water softener I did also have to use citric acid in my rinse, but most people can get away with one or the other. I don't have much preference, but the ACV is made locally by the apple farms here so I like to support them. When the bar gets to be a sliver sometimes I can "stick" it onto the next bar or else I just toss it into the small scrap bin under the sink for future re-batching into a mutt soap bar. I have a wide tooth comb and a boar bristle brush.

I do also use Nightblooming Triplemoon oil and her hair salves but if I wanted to be more minimalist I would go back to just using coconut oil. The coconut oil also makes a good lotion substitute! (I'm sure NB's salves would too, but again shipping, eek!)

[rcblinn]

Thank you everyone, these are great ideas! Chromis if you don't mind me asking, what shampoo bar do you use?

[Nadine <3]

I can't stand the bathroom being cluttered either, so I bought little travel sized bottles to store my shampoo and conditioner in. The big bottles go in the pantry, I just refill them as needed. I will admit to having a massive plastic tote with a ton of reject products in though....

[Baby_doll]

I have been doing water only ( that's about as minimal as it gets) but because my hair was having a stringy phase I wash with shampoo every 10-15 days. I also use little travel size containers but I put a few drops of my shampoo or vinegar into it and fill the rest of the way with water. I condition and that's it for washing and then i use a bbb every few days and braid before bed. Besides that I don't do anything. I will probably go back to a almost water only regimen, but wash anytime it strings up.

[Knifegill]

Wash about once every 5 days. Wash is dry massage, scritch, boar bristle forward and back 2 or three times about 200 strokes. End with hair back, wash with cool water, forward, backward, then ACV soak for about 2 minutes, rinse and shake to curl.

Non-wash days just massage and scritch, and finger detangle/style. Little bit of water to form if it's frumped from sleep.

[Halliday]

Wash twice a week (every 3-4 days).
Naked intensive repair shampoo and Tresemme Naturals conditioner.
WCC with L'Oreal Elvive Nutrigloss mask after conditioner.
No combing wet.
Leave in conditioner + 2 drops of argan oil.
Headbang (shakes the waves so they loosen and form seperately!)
Air dry.

I use a widetooth comb to detangle in the mornings, and either sleep with my hair loose or in a braid. I wear my hair down like twice a week and wear cinnabuns, ponytails, French braids, sidebraids etc.

Doesn't look that minimalistic now I look at it, but all it really is WCC, no heat and protective styling.

[Chromis]

Thank you everyone, these are great ideas! Chromis if you don't mind me asking, what shampoo bar do you use?

My favourites are Chagrin Valley, but I have tried quite a few!

[Laurenji]

I wash my hair once 1 to 1.5 weeks using diluted shampoo and the WCC method. Shampoo is Suave Professionals Almond, first C is Suave Eternal Sunshine, second is Dove Moisturizing. Then it's air dry, maybe a little bit of oil (but usually not).

My regular showers are pretty minimal, because I use water on most of my body and don't really shave all that often. The only place I use soap is on my bum, so I just use a little drop of whatever "manly bodywash" DH has decided to buy.

[lapushka]

I use the same products over and over again - mostly the same. I have what I use most stockpiled (sales and such). I keep it simple, and believe in KISS (keep it simple, stupid) all the way. My routine is WCC + LOC, has been for many years. I don't divert from it - ever.

[meteor]

My simplified routine (which works beautifully in clement weather conditions) is simply SC: a few drops of shampoo diluted with warm water in applicator bottle, followed by about 10x as much conditioner/mask on length only.
I also often do scalp-only washes instead of full washes: I braid and low-bun my hair, put 2 plastic caps on and wash scalp only with diluted shampoo. I love this routine because it really saves time on drying, detangling and significantly reduces hygral fatigue and mechanical damage.

Whenever the weather gets mercilessly dry, I tweak my routine to add pre-poo oiling, leave-ins and gradual oiling post-wash. Everything else (protein treatments, DTs) are very much ad-hoc.

Oh, and on non-wash days, I just braid and bun my hair for the day, take the bun down for the night and sleep with that same braid. Super-simple and very low manipulation.

[jeanniet]

I CO wash, rinse, add leave in, detangle, add gel, scrunch, plop, diffuse, clip, air dry. So that's 10 steps total, but most of the steps take less than a minute. I wash generally every 3 days. Between washes I run a little conditioner+ water over, scrunch and shake. Takes a minute or two. I don't detangle between washes.

[sarahthegemini]

I co-wash, rinse, then add a tiny blob of leave-in conditioner. Wait 2-3 hours for it to dry. Once dry, flip my head upside down to loosen it and voila. Then I bung it up. I wash every other day but I still feel that my routine is incredibly simple. No pre-pooing, no deep conditioners, no treatments or oils. I don't even specifically detangle (as soon as I apply my co-wash, any tangles just slide out)

Edit: Lol auto correct turned co-wash into computer wash

[Halliday]

I use the same products over and over again - mostly the same. I have what I use most stockpiled (sales and such). I keep it simple, and believe in KISS (keep it simple, stupid) all the way. My routine is WCC + LOC, has been for many years. I don't divert from it - ever.

I'm not diverting from WCC or LOC either now you introduced me to it! :flower: Thanks by the way :Star:

[Nique1202]

I have low porosity hair with a tendency to dry length/ends and waxy sebum buildup on the 2-3 inches nearest my scalp. Every Sunday night or Monday morning, I:

1. Wash twice (Tresemme deep cleanse shampoo)
2. Condition (I alternate between a coney Tresemme rinse-out conditioner and a cone-free Body Shop conditioner as a leave-in)
3. Wait for hair to feel dry (~2-3 hours, or overnight if I do it Sunday evening)
4. Oil everything below the nape, lift the hair on the top of my head up and oil it from a couple of inches away from the scalp to the ends (Body Shop dry oil, about 5-6 drops)
5. Wear in a bun pretty much all the time to avoid losing the oil and tangling
6. Let down once a day through the week to detangle, brush, massage scalp to keep it happy, and re-bun it.

Sometimes, I need to oil again around Wednesday-Thursday. If my ends are dry on Saturday, I can usually brush some of the sebum down and take care of it until I wash again. Except for leftover lotion on the ends sometimes, only the products I listed touch my hair.

[julee]

My routine at the moment is sulphate shampoo and coney conditioner, every second day, finger detangling as it dries then throw it up. No leave in or pre oiling (hair seems now to dislike coconut oil :confused:)

If I want wurls/curls, clarify, then conefree CO and scrunch with the same conditioner as it dries.

[Panth]

S&C wash every 3-4 days, with one of the sulphate-free Boot's Naturals shampoos and with L'Oreal Elvive Full Restore 5 conditioner. Air dry or blow dry on cool.

Comb every morning with a wide-toothed wooden comb, plait and put into a plaited cinnabun with spin pins. Occasionally do a nautilus or a coronet braid instead.

Take the plait down to sleep. Sometimes use a silk sleep cap over that.

No trims. Occasional S&D with sharp scissors.

That's all I do...

[lapushka]

I'm not diverting from WCC or LOC either now you introduced me to it! :flower: Thanks by the way :Star:

You're absolutely welcome! :D

[QMacrocarpa]

To use up reject shampoos, I put them in a pump soap dispenser and use them for hand-washing or as a body wash.

I tried a shampoo bar when I was given one as a gift, but it was clear I would need to readjust my routine, and honestly I had a routine I liked and didn't want to change it up, so after one try I just used it up as a normal bar of soap and went back to shampoo and conditioner every 10/11 days (I like Suave Naturals), followed by a bit of cheap, non-virgin olive oil on my ends the day after wash day (and then as needed on following days). Daily detangling with a tangle-teezer, near-daily updos, a braid for sleep. That's it. I am more frizz-tolerant than most, so I'm sure my results fall far short of "wow" for the world at large, but I'm pretty happy with my hair, which I never knew I could grow this long (a bit past waist).

[CremeTron]

My hair is not long yet but my routine is this:

Every Thursday or Friday I wet my hair in the shower and co wash hair and scalp detangling with my fingers and a brush.

On wet hair I apply conditioner or a moisturising gel to my hair, running my fingers through to detangle again.

I leave my hair down for about 2-3 hours so it dries quickly and go about my day and then when it is dry or mostly dry I loosely ponytail it if I am at work or wearing a high collar.

At bed time, I wear a sleep cap over a loose ponytail.

In the mornings I wet my hands and pat them on my hair and ends. I don't apply any products apart from some oils to the ends if dry and sometimes I put some around my parting as the hair at my temples looks as though I have had an electric shock!

In the summer I do the Thursday/ Friday wash thing everyday.

That is it!

[Saldana]

I'm a big fan of minimalism, and have pared down my products to basically nothing (lol), and as natural as I can get them.

Shamp/cond: Desert Essence Tea Tree, with added Bergamot oil
Facial moisturizer: Jojoba oil
Body moisturizer: Coconut oil
Body soap: Whatever hippy-dippy homemade goat milk hemp oil unscented chunk of soap we happen to have in the shower

Hair routine:

S/C 2x week
Up in messy buns most of the time
Two braids to sleep

Wide-toothed comb, finger de-tangle, BB brush when I remember, occasional bit of jojoba oil on the ends, random spritzing with home-made hair mist I keep at work

.....that's about it.

Oh! And I have a tube of aloe vera gel that I'll sometimes put on my hair and/or skin, if and when I remember I have it, which is not really very often.