Hair Routine Diary

[Greengable]

Hello furry beauties, we can put our daily routines here. I'm trying to keep a diary and be more consistent in my hair care and I'll probably learn a lot. What do you do every day for your hair? Also weekly and monthly routines.
Me today

Morning
Cream
serum ends
Brushing
Scalp massage
bun

Evening
Cream
serum for ends
Brushing
braids
cap

[Kelp]

Fun thread! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's routines.

I don't have any hard and fast rules, but this is generally what my week looks like. If it was a dirty work week, I'll have two wash days.

Non-wash day: Braided at night, bunned during the day, detangled with a wide-toothed comb. I'll use NightBlooming's Selkie and a leave-in conditioner spray as needed throughout the week. My scalp is covered with some sort of cap when I'm working.

Wash day: I'll sometimes oil the lengths the night before. I shampoo my scalp, use conditioner on the length, and detangle in the shower. I gently squeeze my hair dry, plop in a microfiber towel, and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. I take it down, spritz in leave-in, and let air dry. I usually braid when it is still damp.

Other: I'll use Olaplex no.3 about once a month. If I'm going to an event and wearing my hair down, I'll use Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine serum to reduce tangles.

[embee]

Morning:
Brush out and bun for the day

Evening:
Brush out and topknot for the night

Otherwise, NW/SO and Benign Neglect.

[mochichichi]

Daily
Morning: Finger detangle, oil as needed, brush, bun, headscarf
Evening: Give myself a little scalp massage to relieve tension or pain, bonnet for the night

Washing
Scalp Wash
Braid in a ribbon from about shoulders down, tie a loop in the ribbon and hook my braid to the curtain rod. Scalp massage dry, then get everything wet, work in a little conditioner, shampoo twice, rinsing inbetween, then condition and rinse. Wrap up in a towel and air dry.

Full Wash
Oil lengths heavily with EVOO and scalp with castor oil + rosemary the night before.
Next morning, apply a mask (3 parts conditioner, 1 part aloe, 1 part EVOO), shower cap and bonnet for 1 hour+
Wet my hair down and shampoo twice, then rinse everything really thoroughly and condition again. Rinse.
The last rinse I let catch in my bucket (I wash standing over the bath and use a little container to keep my hair from going down the drain) and redid my hair in it to get just a little bit of the conditioner left on the length. Wrap up in a towel for about 20 minutes.
After towel drying, apply leave ins (EVOO or commercial) and air dry the rest of the way.

Monthly
Full length wash, progress pictures/measurements. If I see a lot of dead ends I'll do a little search and destroy.

[Greengable]

Wow thank you so much ♥️
I have noticed that making a bun gives me head ache in the crown, because the hair is is in the opposite direction to its growth, so I try not to wear buns everyday.
Today I have it very smooth as I have been using a serum that I make with karite and this is magic for my hair, so just refresh with rose water, two drops of serum, dentangle with my fingers and put a clip on. I have a silk scarf on because today is really windy and we know what happens lol.

[ETJ CURLS]

I'm most consistent with Washing and Detangling once a week.

During the week I'll sometimes shampoo again without combing my hair if my scalp gets itchy, or if a product didn't agree with my hair (made it too oily or too dry) and I need to get it out.

Some weeks I'll put my hair in braids or twists and keep it that way the whole week, other weeks I'll start with a braid or two, and then switch between braidouts, buns, and braids until next washday. I try to get two-three days out of a style before switching it up.

I often tuck a single braid under and pin in place or twist two braids together and pin in place to create an updo when I need to go out. If I have a braidout, I will alternate between down, half up, or a bun of some sort.

I do not comb my hair at all between styles during the week until it's time to start from scratch. I do brush the sides of my hair to neaten them up if wearing a bun or single braid.

I ALWAYS bun, band, (confining the hair with silk scrunchies) or braid my hair at night unless I'm wearing a wash-and-go (curl set) in which case I use a buff to maintain the curls overnight without tangling.

Caveat: If I straighten my hair for a week or so, I will comb it every day.

Monthly, I will do olaplex, purple shampoo, and DC treatments, doing one each week. (Not all at once!)

[tuanyiji]

Morning: Wake up, put on an octopus-shaped head massager while I do my 15 minute Duolingo French practice, then spend 10 seconds to make a braided bun and go about my day. I try not to redo my bun more than twice during the day.
Before Bed: 30 second quick oiling from scalp to end, fingercomb only detangling the braid and harvest the daily shed in a container, plait into a single braid, put on my silk bonnet and sleep on my silk pillow case.
This is a cycle that I find most comfortable with.
5-minute Water only rinse once a week, 30-minute double-shampoo+conditioner once a month.
I no longer take hair pics or measurements, just benign negligence. In fact I rarely look at my hair in the mirror these days.

[Greengable]

Thank you so interesting habits!
Today I have preoiled and then herbal shampoo, conditioner, cream and serum. But I think this cream doesn't go well with my oils because I have no shine in my hair. Is the first time in 5 years that I use a cream not made by myself and I don't like the results. Hair is super soft as always but matte lol, disgusting. I will try to fix it tomorrow.
This night just sérum in the ends and braid+cap.

[angel-baby]

Wash day AM:
Gently detangle hair, then brush with a wooden brush to stimulate my scalp.
Pre-poo with a scalp oil for a couple hours, then shampoo 2x, use a hair mask in the shower, and condition.
Apply mousse and gel in the shower, plop, then air dry or diffuse. Scrunch with a little bit of oil once the gel cast is formed.

Wash day PM:
Tiny bit of oil on ends, then braid or pineapple before bed.

Non wash days AM:
Refresh waves if needed with water + leave-in conditioner, scrunch with a little bit of oil.
Lately I've been leaving my hair down most of the time, but if it's extra windy or if it's raining I'll braid my hair or put it in a claw clip.

Non wash days PM:
Tiny bit of oil on ends, then braid or pineapple before bed.

2x month: Clarifying shampoo to remove any buildup, wash tangle teezer and wooden brush

1x month: S&D

[neko_kawaii]

Morning
put hair up

Evening
Take hair down, sleep cap on

Wash days
1-3 times per week
Maybe comb first
Shampoo scalp
Condition length (let sit while scrubbing body, then rinse)
Air dry
Maybe comb

Monthly-ish
Comb
Oil
Sleep
Diluted conditioner for minimum 20 minutes
Rinse and wash as usual

Now and then
When feeling rough clarifying shampoo
When still feeling rough chelate
Rarely protein treatment

[Greengable]

Thank you, you have put it very well and complete, I will copy you and put in the washing and dyeing routine.

WASH
prepoo with oils in the scalp and lenght
Cap
Wash the scalp
Selfmade conditioner to length
I don't use masks hardly ever but I am trying this autumn
hat 1 hour
rinse and let dry on the towel
mid-lengths and ends serum
(now I am recovering my hydration routine, I don't always do it and it is wrong)

MONTHLY
Apply cassia and plants
Selfmade scalp scrub
I want to recover my routine with selfmade gel, aloe vera and homemade masks, but sometimes I don't find time, so that's why I bought a mask and some cream-sprays from the store, they make my life easier lol.

NON WASH DAYS
Serum morning and evening
Massage once a day
Bun or braids morning and evening

[yvainee]

My current routine:

Non-wash day: Use wooden brush and lightly oil ends if necessary with my DIY hibiscus oil (jojoba and almond infused with hibiscus)
I will usually wear it open or half-up the first days and then braid it or at least braid it at night

Wash day: I will lightly oil my scalp and massage usually with another jojoba and almond oil mixture but this time with rosemary essential oil. Right now I'm using my homemade shampoo not because I think I have to but I enjoy the process of making it and using it feels so natural but I might change it up in the future when I get too lazy to make it. I make a big batch and freeze it in portions. The main ingredients are soap nuts, shikakai and rose petal powder and some kind of tea (right now I'm using hibiscus). Since my hair is tangle prone I'm still using a commercial conditioner after this, whatever I have on hand (silicone-free). After washing I use flaxseed gel to scrunch my waves. My hair is always very wavy right after washing but it always becomes straight over the next few days. Still if i don't style my waves after washing I get more frizz so I just roll with this technique right now.

Again, I might change up my routine in the future especially since I found out my hair loss might have been due to a thyroid issue. I've been taking the medications for it for a while now and I feel less like I need to find some magical topical treatment for my hair loss. The routine has stuck for now though because I feel like it has been making my hair extra shiny and smooth.

[Greengable]

My current routine:

Non-wash day: Use wooden brush and lightly oil ends if necessary with my DIY hibiscus oil (jojoba and almond infused with hibiscus)
I will usually wear it open or half-up the first days and then braid it or at least braid it at night

Wash day: I will lightly oil my scalp and massage usually with another jojoba and almond oil mixture but this time with rosemary essential oil. Right now I'm using my homemade shampoo not because I think I have to but I enjoy the process of making it and using it feels so natural but I might change it up in the future when I get too lazy to make it. I make a big batch and freeze it in portions. The main ingredients are soap nuts, shikakai and rose petal powder and some kind of tea (right now I'm using hibiscus). Since my hair is tangle prone I'm still using a commercial conditioner after this, whatever I have on hand (silicone-free). After washing I use flaxseed gel to scrunch my waves. My hair is always very wavy right after washing but it always becomes straight over the next few days. Still if i don't style my waves after washing I get more frizz so I just roll with this technique right now.

Again, I might change up my routine in the future especially since I found out my hair loss might have been due to a thyroid issue. I've been taking the medications for it for a while now and I feel less like I need to find some magical topical treatment for my hair loss. The routine has stuck for now though because I feel like it has been making my hair extra shiny and smooth.

I love reading this ����, I think it's the best quality for hair making our own products, I always was quite sensitive for skin and scalp products so now I make everything and I have never been so good.

[rosenester]

Daily routine:
Brush in sections in the morning with either tangle teezer or tek brush
Braid, bun, or wear loose through the day
Lightly oil (jojoba) or serum and brush in the evening
Wash bangs and airdry
Bun loosely at nape with silk scrunchie for sleep

Wash 2x a week
Alternating currently with head & shoulders or ion hard water shampoo, and repeat
Double Condition, usually with a conditioner bar swiping through the ends and squeezing out excess water, then drugstore conditioner for second
Wrap in microfiber towel for 10 or so min
Apply curl cream
Airdry

Other rotating steps:
K18 treatments on maintenance schedule, 1x every other week
Maria Nila toner on bleach growing out sections about 1x per month
S&D when the mood strikes, like my hair is down and I see splits or I run into a tangle and investigate to see if there are splits there)
Trim lengths every 3 months, trim bangs monthly

WOW that looks involved but I don’t feel like it’s a chore at all :laugh:

[lapis_lazuli]

Morning
Cursory finger-detangle
Put hair up for the day

Evening
Leave hair up or redo bun if it's coming loose, sleep on satin pillowcase

Weekly
Full finger-detangle
Scalp-only wash with sulphate shampoo for SD, currently using Nizoral

Every few months / as needed
Full wash, sulphates on scalp, non-cones on length
Microtrim every two months to maintain

[Hedera]

Non-wash day; brush briefly with BBB, put in bun or braid.
Sleep with braid, usually.

Wash every 4 - 6 days.
The night before if I wash in the morning; heavily oil length with unrefined coconut oil, sometimes oil scalp with ayurvedic oil.
(If I wash in the evening, I often put my hair in one or two oiled braids that day)

About 2 hours before washing: defrost one cube of henna goop, make a portion of flaxseed gel, let that cool a bit and mix with the henna.
Apply to hair focusing on scalp, hairline, temples, part, cowlicks.
Cover hair (this is a whole thing, involving various bits of plastic, showercap, a cut-up Buff and an old merino hat), leave for 1 - 1,5 hours.

Wash: usually CO (occasionally CV shampoo bar), then condition the ends again with a very rich conditioner, diluted vinegar rinse.
Squeeze water out, apply rich leave-in conditioner on the ends, twist up in hair towel for a while before detangling.
Usually air dry.


Sounds like a bit of a production! :D
I've got my workflow down pretty well though, and I try to wash on a day off so I can just sit around and have a long breakfast while the henna gloss works; I skip the henna sometimes if I'm in a hurry, but I try to do it at least once a week, otherwise my ashy roots start to peek through.

All the rich conditioners are because my ends are still a bit bent in all kinds of directions from being in dreadlocks for years; I'll eventually cut them, but that would mean taking off at least 5 cm (~2 inches) or more, and right now I badly need that length for updos... and since I barely have any splits, and I never really wear my hair down unless it's drying, they don't really bother me.

[Greengable]

Non-wash day; brush briefly with BBB, put in bun or braid.
Sleep with braid, usually.

Wash every 4 - 6 days.
The night before if I wash in the morning; heavily oil length with unrefined coconut oil, sometimes oil scalp with ayurvedic oil.
(If I wash in the evening, I often put my hair in one or two oiled braids that day)

About 2 hours before washing: defrost one cube of henna goop, make a portion of flaxseed gel, let that cool a bit and mix with the henna.
Apply to hair focusing on scalp, hairline, temples, part, cowlicks.
Cover hair (this is a whole thing, involving various bits of plastic, showercap, a cut-up Buff and an old merino hat), leave for 1 - 1,5 hours.

Wash: usually CO (occasionally CV shampoo bar), then condition the ends again with a very rich conditioner, diluted vinegar rinse.
Squeeze water out, apply rich leave-in conditioner on the ends, twist up in hair towel for a while before detangling.
Usually air dry.


Sounds like a bit of a production! :D
I've got my workflow down pretty well though, and I try to wash on a day off so I can just sit around and have a long breakfast while the henna gloss works; I skip the henna sometimes if I'm in a hurry, but I try to do it at least once a week, otherwise my ashy roots start to peek through.

All the rich conditioners are because my ends are still a bit bent in all kinds of directions from being in dreadlocks for years; I'll eventually cut them, but that would mean taking off at least 5 cm (~2 inches) or more, and right now I badly need that length for updos... and since I barely have any splits, and I never really wear my hair down unless it's drying, they don't really bother me.

I have never heard of applying henna after oils, does it work well for you? supposedly it takes less color.

[Hedera]

Greengable, it seems to work just fine!
It's only a tiny bit of pre-mixed henna, mixed with a whole load of flaxseed gel, but apparently effective enough to colour my new growth to match / blend in with the rest of my hennaed head.

In one of the older henna threads, a while ago, there was the saying "Henna don't care" - as in, it doesn't care about oils, dirty hair, etc etc.

The very first time I applied henna I applied on dirty hair, with heavily oiled ends, and it took it from an ashy 60% grey to so-bright-you-could-see-from-space orange...
(It wasn't great quality henna even)
I tamed that initial application shortly after with a Khadi mix (Henna Amla Jatropha), but that was around 2 months ago; since then, I've only done this weekly gloss on oiled hair, and there is no visible demarcation.

Henna is going to dye (bright) red/orange, and nothing is going to stop it! ;)

[Hedera]

... But yes, the idea of these frequent but light & short glosses is to keep dying the new growth, while at the same time not darkening the length! :D

So far it seems to work; in fact, I would like my length to get quite a bit darker still, so I might do a full-on, head full of mud, left on for hours, application again....
Even then I will put coconut oil on the ends beforehand! ;)