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Minimalist Beauty

living simply with grace, discretion and faith

Minimalist Beauty

My Zero Waste Curly Hair Update

September 30, 2016 by Dawn Michelle

I’ve spent much of the summer trying to figure out what was the best way for me to care for my curls with the least amount of effort, a.k.a looking good while being lazy.  I’ve been asked about sharing an update, so here it is.  There are two things about caring for my curls that have stuck with me from the summer.

The first is that I am hands down a wash and go girl.  I know that braid outs or twist outs help to keep curls organized with fewer tangles, but I still prefer my wash and gos.  I love the look of my natural curl pattern so much better, plus I’m not interested in spending even more time styling my hair.  Once my hair’s sufficiently detangled and moisturized I’m good.  (Of course this changes a little bit later on for reasons explained here!)

The second is that not spending hours on my hair makes me the happiest girl alive.  The days of long hair care sessions for the sake of pampering are just not as exciting for me as they used to be.  I love self care, but in this case I’d rather be taking a nap, and not with a deep conditioning cap on my head in the process.

For much of the summer I’d rinse my hair daily in the shower, finger detangle under running water, and let my curls dry product-free.  I very seldomly added any oils or butters to my hair.  I did try a different shampoo bar which I didn’t really like, and otherwise I stuck with my previous zero waste curly hair care regimen.

The daily rinses kept my hair moisturized, and not using any products, oils, or butters gave me extreme volume which I loved.

Now that the seasons are changing I’ve decided to use a leave-in of some form instead of water only.  I’ve been playing around with making a conditioning moisturizer.  The simplest recipe is just blending 1-2 tablespoons of shea butter to every cup of flaxseed gel.  I use this conditioning moisturizer to detangle and as a leave-in.  Throughout the week I am only using this one product.

I can go a week without even needing to redo my hair if I define and smooth each curl individually by using the shingling technique.

This process takes me 1 1/2 hours to complete on top of the detangling process.  Or I can take the simpler route with a basic wash and go every two days.  I spend only the time it takes to detangle plus 15-20 minutes of styling.  I’m still deciding which way is better in terms of the amount of effort, yet I know my hair thrives best the more that it is fully saturated in water.  In general the more I detangle my hair the shorter the detangling process is.

The only other change is that I’ve started cleansing my hair once a month instead of bi-weekly.  I use the same olive oil soap bar followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse.  I’ve also been consistent with my bi-monthly henna/coconut milk treatments.  Otherwise not much else has changed with my hair regimen.  For more details you can see my zero waste curly hair regimen as well as see how inexpensive these zero waste hair care products used really are.

I’m curious, if you’re a curly girl do you prefer to set your hair once during the week, or wash and style frequently throughout the week?

(Image by Dawn Michelle)

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  1. ninaframbuesa says

    October 1, 2016 at 5:11 am

    First of all, as I said on instagram, your hair is perfection. 🙂
    Thanks for this post, as it reminded me that the best my hair has ever looked was when I followed the curly girl method. Then I moved to Greece, and they didn’t have most of the products that I was using before. Plus, I spend most of my time either at my boyfriend’s place, or at my place where I have a roommate, so there is none of that spending hours in the bathrooms (also because the bathrooms here are very simple, and not as luxurious as the ones I was used to in Germany and Canada). Due to the poor heating in winter I even had to go back to blow drying my hair, but I don’t have a diffuser here, so obviously my hair started to look horrible by curly girl standards.
    At least, this summer I stopped brushing my hair other than before taking a shower, and I think this post has inspired me to go back to never brushing it. I did get bangs this year, though, so those will have to be brushed and blow dried.

    Anyways, this was more like a big complaint about what I have been doing to my hair. Sorry about that, but thanks again for reminding me of proper curl care. 🙂

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 2, 2016 at 9:27 pm

      Hi Ninaframbuesa,
      Thank you so much! I hope you can find the best method to have your curls thriving again. I go back and forth with using a detangling brush. My hair seems to fair better without it though so I use it very seldomly like once every one or two months. I appreciate your comment and have a beautiful day!

      Reply
  2. Rayna says

    October 2, 2016 at 6:47 pm

    I’m really excited that I found your blog. I’m a 4c girl and I really love being natural but I was struggling to find the perfect zero waste products/tools for my hair. Can’t wait to see more of your posts!

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 2, 2016 at 9:30 pm

      Hi Rayna,
      I’m so glad you found my blog too! Zero waste isn’t easy by any means. I hope sharing my journey will be helpful to you. I have a ways to go but this definitely is a more conscious way of being on the planet. Best wishes!

      Reply
  3. cleocreek says

    October 3, 2016 at 10:29 am

    Thank you, MB, for always being so generous and sharing with us. For me, this is the quintessential post on encouraging me to simplify my hair regimen. Years ago, I rinsed daily. I recall a softer, healthier, and thriving mane when I rinsed daily, air-dryed, and manipulated or clarified seldom. And I saved myself so much time then! It was bliss. I’ve been seeking that peace and balance now, and I wonder how I strayed away from it so easily. The present-day natural hair care movement is seductive and strong – it’s like the force be with us, at times – whew. In closing, thank you again for sharing your journey and helping to remind me of less time-consuming and healthier hair care times. Like a chia pet, I look forward to watering my hair daily again and just letting it thrive.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 3, 2016 at 6:27 pm

      Hi Cleocreek,

      You are too cute! I’m so glad this was helpful to you. I love the idea of letting your hair thrive like a chia pet. Curly hair tends to grow out before down anyway. Best wishes creating a new regimen!

      Reply
  4. Sonja says

    October 3, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    I have thick wavy hair; and most days I just rinse with water and ACV and go; but If I want a little more hold I use a combo of 1 to 4 ratio of aloe gel and water. And maybe a few drops of EO. Have you tried? Its a great moisturizer and with some finger run throughs never looks crunchy! One of my go to favorites.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 3, 2016 at 6:36 pm

      Hi Sonja,

      My hair used to LOVE aloe vera but lately it hasn’t been so for some reason. Aloe vera is amazing for hair though and I have shared other articles on it prior. Maybe my curls will love aloe again sooner than later. They can be seriously finicky. Thanks so much for sharing this and for your comment!

      Reply
  5. Carmen says

    October 6, 2016 at 1:46 pm

    Hi, I love your blog!
    I have a question. What’s the ratio of water to ACV for your conditioning rinse? I tried searching, but couldn’t find it. Btw, I tried the olive oil bar and I love it. And not just on my hair.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 7, 2016 at 3:27 pm

      Hi Carmen,
      Thank you! I use one part apple cider vinegar to 3-4 parts water. That simple olive oil bar is pretty awesome. I’m glad it’s been working for you too!

      Reply
  6. Ariel Anderson says

    October 11, 2016 at 10:40 am

    Hi Dawn,
    I find between work and work outs. Styling once a week is best for me. Also because I use a heavier gel- it takes a full day for my hair to completely air dry. I use Super wet gel- has a similar hold to eco styler- without the protein or glycerin. My curls will last an entire 7days this way. the down side to that is the fluffy look you don’t get until 3rd or 4th day. It is a pitfall im willing to take for the longevity of moisturized styled hair.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 11, 2016 at 7:42 pm

      Hi Ariel Anderson,
      Thanks so much for sharing this! I can definitely see the benefit of setting your curls this way.

      Reply
  7. Tyler Howard says

    October 12, 2016 at 10:38 am

    I prefer wash n gos for the same reasons you’ve mentioned. But, I’ve never considered making more hair regime more simplistic. I’m definitely going to try it out, because I hate spending several hours and dollars on my hair!

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 13, 2016 at 4:15 pm

      Hi Tyler Howard,
      To simplify my wash and go I only use one or two products max. It can get expensive otherwise and be more time consuming. If you make your own products, you save even more money. Thanks so much for your comment!

      Reply
  8. Mykia says

    October 13, 2016 at 12:09 pm

    How do you blend your shea butter with the flax seed gel? I tried it but it turned liquidy, still worked great though.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 13, 2016 at 4:19 pm

      Hi Mykia,
      I use a hand held immersion blender. You can also use a food processor. I hope this helps!

      Reply
  9. Monique says

    October 19, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    Hello Michelle
    Your hair looks great. I know it’s a combination of eating right and quality hair care. When you say tightly curly method…what is that technique? Thank you

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 20, 2016 at 8:03 pm

      Hi Monique,
      Thank you! In the Tightly Curly Method you use the shingling technique to smooth and define each individual curl. I actually changed the term to shingling to be more clear as I think more are familiar with the shingling process versus the Tightly Curly Method. It is time consuming, yet you have long lasting defined curls as a result, and less tangles on your next wash day.

      Reply
  10. canela says

    October 20, 2016 at 10:04 am

    Glad to see a recent post!! Are you still using rhassul?

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 20, 2016 at 8:05 pm

      Hi Canela,
      I haven’t used rhassoul clay for hair or skin in a very long time. You can see my most updated hair care products here with the addition of what I shared in this article. Have a beautiful day!

      Reply
  11. Naya says

    October 24, 2016 at 9:49 pm

    Your hair looks fantastic. How do you manage to keep the luster using the shampoo bar & water only with California’s water? Has the ACV rinse been enough?

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 25, 2016 at 11:23 am

      Hi Naya,

      Thank you! I don’t use a shampoo bar regularly so it is not drying to my hair at all. Apple cider vinegar rinses help a lot yet having a shower water filter helps even more. The filter prevents mineral deposits for the water from collecting on my hair strands which gives hair a grey dull appearance.

      Reply
      • Naya says

        October 26, 2016 at 10:56 am

        Oh nice. I’ll have to look into a filter. It wasn’t so much the dryness I was worried about but more so the icky residue that can sometimes occur with hard water and bar soap. My favorite bar right now is from 22nd Century Natural Products but I’ll definitely have to check out the KMF one as that’s more readily available. Thanks for answering!

        Reply
        • Dawn Michelle says

          October 26, 2016 at 6:10 pm

          Hi Naya,
          The water filter makes a huge difference! I’m glad I could be helpful. Have a great day!

          Reply
  12. Jean says

    November 4, 2016 at 9:08 am

    Hi Dawn!
    Always enjoy your blog and your outlook on life! I love the necklace you’re wearing. Is it one of your own creations?

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      November 4, 2016 at 2:22 pm

      Hi Jean,
      Thank you! The necklace in this photo was a gift from my mother years ago.

      Reply
  13. IB says

    May 11, 2017 at 9:20 pm

    Hello Dawn Michelle,
    You are amazing to take the time to answer every post and sharing your hair journey to help others, thank you! I have learned so much. How long does the leave-in shea butter and flaxseed gel last before it will go bad; and when you make yours, are you more likely to use 1 or 2 tablespoons of shea butter to the flaxseed gel? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      May 12, 2017 at 11:49 am

      Hi IB,
      I don’t make this mixture anymore now that I’m locing my hair, yet the mix can last in the fridge for up to two weeks. I would start with one tablespoon of shea butter and see how your hair responds before adding another tablespoon to your recipe. You want to make sure that it doesn’t weigh your hair down too much unless that’s what you want to achieve. Have a beautiful day!

      Reply
  14. Naya says

    May 28, 2017 at 12:37 am

    How were you keeping your henna treatments zero waste? I used plastics caps in the past but they’re pretty wasteful.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      May 29, 2017 at 3:19 pm

      Hi Naya,
      Instead of using plastic caps I would use an old sleep cap to catch any initial henna drips and wrap the sleep cap with an old towel. Because I would mix henna with coconut milk, the consistency is really good and is not super messy. I am locing my hair now so I haven’t used henna since I started my loc journey at this point.

      Reply
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living simply with grace, discretion and faith

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