Natural Hair Rituals; Getaway Edition
The last thing that I want to think about is styling my hair while I’m on vacation. I initially wanted to do faux locs or box braids, but considering this was a late anniversary cruise I wanted to wear my hair exactly how my husband prefers it, naturally curly.
Mother Nature was in my corner since the weather wasn’t as humid as it was when I last visited The Bahamas in May. Another thing that helped was the ocean breeze - walking the decks or standing on our stateroom balcony was like a 24/7 blow out that helped to elongate my curls.
It can become pretty overwhelming trying to decide what natural hair products to use nowadays due to the never ending selection of promising catchphrases and pretty packaging. When I was younger, I relied on Blue Magic grease, water and gel. #dontjudgeme
Courtesy of Devacurl.com
If you’re anything like me, you will find something that works wonderfully for about 2-4 weeks before having to search for another staple product again. Add in the elements of the weather and that’s an entirely different struggle. Let’s get into my favorite products that are long lasting and vacation approved: low maintenance and great results in under five minutes!
I started with a washngo using Devacurl No Poo Decadence Shampoo and One Condition Decadence Conditioner. I finger detangled with African Pride Olive Miracle leave in conditioner and let my hair dry with a tshirt tied on the top of my head.
Once dry, I moisturized my hair with Shea moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and placed it into a high bun. This allowed me to finish packing and do all of my last minute mom/wife stuff before departure.
When we got onboard and settled in, I let my bun down and freshened my curls with Cantu Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream and Eco Style Olive Oil Gel for my edges. That’s literally all I did the duration of my trip.
I was so impressed with my WashNGo, I opted to wear it down for our formal/elegant dinner. It is important to note that I was able to achieve the same results after swimming at Paradise Island that I had before leaving home. I simply repeated the same steps mentioned above (washngo, apply leave in conditioner + detangle, curl moisturizers, lay them edges).
It took me about 20mins to detangle my hair after swimming at the beach all day, but that’s the longest I spent styling it out of a four day vacation. Every other time I touched it was only five minutes and 3-4 products.
I forgot my satin scarf, so I just slept with my hair in a pineapple before letting it down every morning.
