My Relaxed Hair Regimen

Here is the hair regimen and the products I currently use on my relaxed hair. You can see more about how I care for my hair by reading my Wash Day and Hair Update posts or watching my hair update videos.

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Updated 7.4.26

About my relaxed hair

I have relaxed hair that I typically wear around shoulder length, but may shorten or let grow out, depending on how I'm feeling.

I get relaxer touch-ups in the salon and go 10-12 weeks between touch-ups. I share how I prep my hair for a touch-up in my post How I Care For My Hair Before A Relaxer Touch-up.

My hair is higher density and leans on the high porosity side.

 

My current regimen

• OPTIONAL: Pre-poo before washing (I don't do this every week)
•  I make my pre-poo by mixing a rinse-out conditioner and natural oils 
• Wash weekly, lather twice using one of the two combinations 
• 1. a sulfate moisturizing shampoo and a sulfate-free shampoo most weeks
• 2. a deep cleansing or sulfate shampoo when I need to clarify my hair, followed by a sulfate-free moisturizing shampoo
• I'll use a dry shampoo if I need a quick refresh between my weekly shampoos
• Hair treatment
• If I feel like my hair needs a bit more strength or protein, I do a light or medium protein treatment before I deep condition
• Green tea rinse
  • For some added oomph, I'll do a green tea rinse and sometimes mix in apple cider vinegar
  • This helps with shedding and sealing the cuticle
  • Sometimes I apply the rinse before deep conditioning and leave the rinse on during deep conditioning. Other times, I leave it on for 5 minutes and then rinse it out before I apply the deep conditioner
    
• Deep condition weekly 
• Most weeks, I use a moisturizing deep conditioner
• If I feel my hair needs it, I'll swap my moisturizing deep conditioner for a strength-based one
• I use my Hot Head Deep Conditioning Cap or my hair steamer each time I deep condition 
• Dry my hair 
• First, I apply a leave-in conditioner, hair serum, and heat protectant
• I typically dry by doing a roller set 
• If I'm not able to roller set, I use my Shark Flexstyle. If I blow-dry, I try to towel and air-dry for a while beforehand to remove excess water from my hair
• Moisturize and seal 
• I do this several times a week at night (see my moisturizing and sealing routine here)
• Scalp care
• I do some things to give my scalp some extra care during wash day and between wash days
• On wash day, I may use a medicated shampoo only on my scalp and/or use a scalp massager when shampooing
• Between my wash days, I use scalp serums to help with shedding, hair retention, and overall scalp health
• OPTIONAL: Baggy my ends
• Do this as needed during the week to add moisture. I try not to exceed 3 times during the week (see how I baggy my ends here)

Products I’m currently using

• Pre-poo: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Moist Deep Conditioner alone or mixed with Jamaican Black Castor Oil
• Shampoos: Joico Moisture Recovery Shampoo, Design Essentials Agave & Lavender Hair Bath.  I lather my hair twice, and sometimes alternate which shampoo I use first
• Clarifying: ORS Olive Oil Creamy Aloe Shampoo or L'Oreal EverPure Clarifying Shampoo as needed
• Dry shampoo: Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo, as needed to refresh my hair after working out or sweating
• Hair treatment:
• Aphogee 2 Minute Keratin Reconstructor or L'Oreal EverPure Bond Repair Pre-Shampoo Treatment
• Deep conditioner: Been rotating between a few hair masks
• TGIN Miracle RepaiRx Deep Hydrating Hair Mask
• Briogeo Don't Despair Repair! Mask
• Redken All Soft Heavy Cream Mask 
• Roller set/drying hair:
• Amika Hydro Rush Intense Moisture Leave-In Conditioner
•  L’Oreal Dream Lengths Heat Slayer Pre-Iron Heat Protector
• Moisturizing and sealing:
• Moisture: TGIN Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer, TGIN Super Moist Green Tea Leave In Conditioner (read my review here), or Mielle Organics Avocado Moisturizing Hair Milk as an alternative
• Sealing: TGIN Argan Replenishing Hair & Body Serum, or TGIN Miracle RepaiRx Anti-breakage Serum for daily sealing
• Hair styling:
• Mielle Mongongo Oil Pomade-to-Oil Treatment or Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Sleek and Stay Heat Activated Serum as a heat protectant on my dry hair
• TGIN Argan Replenishing Hair & Body Serum when using steam rollers
• Scalp care:
• Neutrogena Hair Restore Scalp Serum and Pantene Abundant & Strong Daily Scalp Serum,  applied to key areas on my scalp between washes
• Nizoral Anti-Dandruff Shampoo when I'm having scalp issues. This is only applied to my scalp and not my hair.

Tools I'm currently using

• Hercules Sägemann Magic Star Comb: This is a seamless, wide-tooth comb
• Hot Head Microwavable Deep Conditioning Cap: Use to add heat for pre-poos and deep conditioning
• Hair steamer: For the weeks I don't use the microwavable deep conditioning cap
• Magnetic rollers: These are the ones I use when I do a roller set
• Hair dryer: I use this when I don't have time to do a roller set
• Hooded dryer: I use this when I do roller sets or want a quick way to dry my hair without direct heat
• Shark FlexStyle: This is the blow dryer I use. The attachments I use most often are the Styling Concentrator, Wide-Tooth Comb, and FrizzFighter™ Finishing Tool. I don't use it as a styler

Tips for starting your hair regimen