Going Natural In The New Year
So you want to go natural but have no idea where to start? Step one, lock away your flat iron and curling wand (I still eye roll at myself for flat ironing and curling my naturally curly hair). Another part of step one is to omit all chemical texture services from your salon. Your natural texture is beautiful, and I'm sorry you've also gone through life, fighting it as I did. I cringe whenever heat is applied to my hair now during a haircut or for work. CRINGE! That's how much I now love my natural hair.
Step two is to OLAPLEX, OLAPLEX, OLAPLEX. I applied OLAPLEX treatments to my hair 1-3 times weekly when I first went natural. I worked from home and took 10 minutes out of my day to apply the treatment and left it on while I worked until the evening, then washed it out. I still do regular OLAPLEX treatments. I attribute how quickly my curls could bounce back with how often I did treatments in the salon and home. I did a combination of Stand Alone Treatments in the salon twice monthly, along with the use of OLAPLEX N°.3 at home. The great news is with the launch of OLAPLEX N°.0 this year, your at home treatment just got even better. The N°.0 primes the hair for N°.3 and elevates the treatment to the most intensive bond-building experience you can get at home.
OLAPLEX will rebuild your hair internally, bringing it closer to a virgin-like state with each treatment. My curl pattern was entirely out of touch and inconsistent when I started my curl journey. Wavy on one side, perfect ringlets on the other, curly at the root, and fried at the ends— my head was a buffet of curl patterns and damage. OLAPLEX does what no product can do; it rebuilds hair. OLAPLEX was the missing link all these years. People would have to either chop off their hair and genuinely do the painful grow-out period to go natural. It's nearly 2021, and going natural has never been easier, thanks to this fantastic product line.
The next part of going natural is to forget anything about your hair routine that you know. The maintenance contrast of fighting your natural texture and embracing it come from two different worlds. First, invest in OLAPLEX N°.4 and N°.5 shampoo and conditioner for gentle, curl-friendly hair washing and conditioning that simultaneously rebuild bonds. When I used to dry my hair to flat iron it, I'd wrap it up in a towel, dry it with a towel, then let it air dry without any product. The drying routine for curls is quite different! I now apply my styling products after showering; while my hair is wet, I shake it out and scrunch the excess moisture from ends to mids a few times. There is a fine line between removing moisture from my hair and creating frizz, so I've learned to get it to the point where my hair isn't dripping, then I allow it to air dry naturally.
Products are what comes next. I can't tell you how much money I spent on serums, mouses, gels, and the like until I realized less was more when it came to styling my curls. I now only use three products when styling my hair from damp. I use OLAPLEX N°.6 Leave-in Treatment Cream first, using generous amounts––about two quarter-sized drops! Then I apply a lightweight no crunch gel and top it off with a generous helping of OLAPLEX N°.7 Bonding Oil. This is what works for me, but just like skincare, everyone's routine looks different, and your practice may vary. I seize every opportunity to use OLAPLEX to repair my hair, which is why it's such an integral part of my styling routine.
Something new to me is twisting out my curls using a double twist at the root and ribbon down effect (there are plenty of videos on youtube that demo this). This helps get my curls as gorgeously defined as possible. It takes a little more work, but I love doing it, especially at the hairline for picture-perfect curls! Once my hair is dry, I fluff it out at the root, shaking with my fingers to create volume.
Patience is critical when going natural. Don't give up! You'll get there. If there's any advice you take from this routine, it's to use OLAPLEX to repair your texture. Bring your curls back to life with treatments and lay off the heat. Happy curly new year!
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