A couple of weeks ago, I started wearing my hair in its’ natural curly state again and while I love the length and general health of the hair, natural afro curly hair is extremely difficult to maintain, especially with someone like me who likes to be really low maintenance with hair!

I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I managed to grow my hair to this length; I’ve always had extremely thick/long-ish hair as a child until I was made to shave it all of while attending a Catholic Primary school in Ghana (but that’s another story!). A lot of my hair grew whilst they were in braids and I regularly moisturised my scalp with coconut oil. Recently, I’ve developed a little regiment using some hair products that cater for dry/curly hair. I’m still learning in regards to looking after my hair so don’t use this as gospel!

Shampoo and All Round Hair oil: Simply Argan Shampoo & Coconut Oil

– On hair washing day (typically every Sunday), before I begin washing my hair, I put a liberal amount of coconut oil and leave it in for up to half an hour before washing. This step ensures that my hair stays moisturised and smooth while washing. I also have a previous step to washing my hair but that will be explained below.

– My favourite shampoo at the moment is Simply Argan’s Argan and Violet shampoo. It contains no sulphates and parabens and contains 100% organic argan oil, which makes de-tangling so much easier. It also gives a great lather, smells amazing and leaves my hair ultra moisturised.

 I normally wash my hair once or twice, using a ‘swiping/smoothing down’ method with my hands. I never claw through my hair when washing as this causes MAJOR tangles!

TRESemme Naturals Conditioner (£5.00) & a Tangle Teezer (£10.20)

Detangling is an ESSENTIAL part of my regimen. In step one where I put some coconut oil in my hair, I also add in some conditioner in sections and begin to detangle my hair using the tangle teezer which is amazing for getting all the knots out. I do this before washing my hair as it makes the process so much easier.  TRESemme Naturals is a blogger favourite and rightly so; containing no silicones and sulphates, the conditioner makes even the driest hair extremely soft and nourished.

Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque & Cantu Shea Butter

Now I don’t use these both at the same time, I use either one depending on the state of my hair. After I’ve finished washing my hair, I use the Shea Moisture Masque as a deep conditioner (i’ve done a thorough review of it here) and leave it in my hair for about an hour before washing out. I LOVE THIS CONDITIONER. Containing loads of shea butter and no mineral oil/sulphates or silicones, my hair feels extremely soft, shiny and healthy! Unfortunately, the website where I ordered this from no longer sells products from the Shea Moisture brand anymore so It looks like i’ll have to stock up when I hit the states!

My hair loves shea butter so I try to stick to conditioners that contain it as a main ingredient. Cantu Shea butter (available here) is a great leave in conditioner – however I find it a bit too rich for my hair so I mix it with water and use it as a spray when my hair feels dry or right before I go to sleep/wake up. I always try and make sure my hair is damp with this solution before adding any curl enhancing creams to it, so it doesn’t frizz. 

Urban Therapy Twisted Sista Curl Activator and 30 Second Curl Spray

After I’ve fnished washing and conditioning and detangling my hair, I wait for my hair to dampen, then I add in the Curl Activator and twist my hair into medium sized sections and leave it like that for at least 6 hours. When I release the twists, they create gorgeous curls that aren’t frizzy or stiff and they don’t have that ‘greasy product’ smell that a lot of creams tend to have. If I want to rejuvenate my twist out after a few days, I will use the 30 second curl spray. First I use my conditioner/water spray to wet the hair, then i spray in the product and scrunch my hair up a bit and in about a minute, my curls are reactivated. Great product! Twisted Sista products are available in Superdrug. 

There are also a few brands that I would love to try soon such as:

Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding.

Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Masque.

Have you guys tried any of these products?

Do you have any products you can recommend?