How Long Detangle Your Hair in Washing Day?

Who wants to spend a whole day washing your natural hair? Not me. I will admit, there was a time when it literally did take me a whole day to complete the process. I would spend several minutes shampooing, up to an hour or two deep conditioning, a few hours detangling, all night air drying in chunky twists and a few hours the next day twisting. Sigh. However, I have gotten tired of that lifestyle and have found some ways to shorten the task. In this article, I'll share two of my faster wash routines that may hopefully give you ideas on where to cut corners:

         

1.HEATLESS OPTION:

If I want to avoid using heat, I have to accept some level of shrinkage (not a lot), but that is usually fine with me. This routine is one I've done sporadically and it works out well when I don't have much time on my hands. Here are the details of each process:

Wash – 10 minutes:
I first finger separate my Brazilian body wave hair which takes no more than 10 minutes. Then I put my hair into up to eight big twists. I bend my head over the tub, wet it thoroughly, dilute some shampoo with water in a squirt bottle, and squirt the mixture onto my scalp and roots. I massage for up to 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. The goal isn't to get my hair super duper squeaky clean but clean enough.

Deep condition and detangle – 45 minutes:
This is one area in which I've shaved off a lot of time with the realizations that:

1) finger detangling for hours does not benefit my hair any better than a few minutes of finger separating followed by gentle comb detangling with conditioner.

2) so long as I keep my hair in a fairly “detangled” state between washes, the detangling process goes by easier.

Plop to dry – 15 to 30 minutes:
This step is really easy and just involves me sitting with a towel wrapped around my virgin hair bundle deals with closure for that time period while doing something on the computer, watching a show, etc. The goal is to get my hair anywhere from damp to damp-dry – but not completely dry – for styling.

Moisturize, style and done – minimum of 20 minutes:
Finally, I moisturize and style into big twists or braids, which can take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes.

2. LOW OR INDIRECT HEAT OPTION:

When I don’t have much time but also don’t mind using a little heat, the following routine is usually my go-to these days. My aim is not to get my hair bone straight or completely dry but very stretched and almost dry in a short amount of time. Here are the details of each process:

Wash – 10 minutes:
Same as above.

Deep condition and detangle – 45 minutes:
Same as above.

Plop to dry – 10 to 15 minutes:
Same as above but for a shorter period of time. The goal is to remove excess water and get your hair such as Brazilian straight hair bundles closer to damp than damp-dry.

Moisturize, protect and low-heat drying – 30-45 minutes:
This is something I did a couple years back and to which I am recently returning. Again, my aim is not to get my hair bone straight or completely dry. Rather, it is to get my hair very stretched and almost dry in a short amount of time.

Style and Done – minimum of 20 minutes!
Moisturize and style into chunky twists or braids, which take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes.