Confessions

Hi there,
  In 2004 Usher Raymond released one of my favourite songs of that time Confessions. Do you remember that song? Well its confession time for me. I have been very very naughty. When I started my healthy hair journey I took special care to do all the necessary things. I pre-pooed, deep conditioned, cowashed, finger detangled and did all the other good stuff  with so much joy and zeal. Now though it seems like I've lost some steam and I've begun to break some of the cardinal rules...I hope my hair forgives me. Here are some of my sins:

Failure to prepoo prior to shampooing
This is the worst of them all. Prepooing with an oil or conditioner(or even both) before a shampoo is super important. This is because it protects the hair from the harsh sulphates in shampoos which dry out our hair and damage the cuticle. I know this but because of laziness I have defaulted a couple of times and for that I hang my head in shame.

Ripping out my SSKs
Single strand knots are the bane of my (and every other natural's) existence. I get them often and the wisest thing to do would be to identify the knot, add a bit of conditioner and gently tease the strands apart. Sometimes I think this route is too long and I tug and pull at the knot till it lies in my palm carrying with it  neighbouring strands of hair. Each time I stare at the clump of hair in my palm my lips tremble ever so slightly and droop into a frown...but by then its always too late.

Using rubber bands
This is a no no for any kind of hair but most especially for natural hair. These nasty little things always snap my hair off and I still don't know why I use them. Seamless hair bands are best but sometimes when I cant find any I reach for a rubber band only to regret hours later when I find my precious strands wrapped around it in a death grip.

Towel drying
Towels are cool for drying myself after a nice cool shower but they are not so good for my hair as the texture of a towel can rub hair the wrong way (literally) causing frizz, breakage and split ends. I have an old t-shirt which is best for drying hair but when I cannot be bothered to find it I use a towel. Bad bad bad!

Applying Moisturiser/conditioner to soaking wet hair
Moisturisers are best applied to damp hair or even dry hair, applying them to soaking wet hair is not a good idea. This is because the hair strands are already swollen with water and the moisturiser cannot really penetrate the hair strands as much as they would have if the hair was either dry or damp. Also as the water drips off the hair it carries the moisturiser with it leaving your hair you thought was moisturised as moisture-less as glass. I know this but I still do it because of ...well impatience :-(

So there, I have laid bare my sins. I cannot continue like this so starting  today I will repent and turn around. Hopefully I can do a post about correcting my bad habits sometime soon.

KimB