First Wash And Go

The infamous, "Wash and Go"! Hmm I think its safe to say that the wash and go that we're all familiar with is not really it claims to be. What's a wash and go you ask? Well according to the natural hair community, a wash and go is suppose to be exactly what it says; you wash you're hair( with shampoo and or conditioner), add a light leave in and GO! YES! GO! Leave your hair! Leave your house! Do nothing else to your hair!! It's suppose to be a process where your natural curls and definition show with little to no manipulation. But the " wash and go" process has changed to where a conditioner and styler is used to manipulate those curls and help them enhance!! Now with my hair being a 4a-4b type( very tight curls) I can understand why one would want to use products to help those curls pop and elongate; which would turn a simple 20 min wash and go  into a 45 to 90 mins wash and go. The time it takes to perform a wash and go along with the crunchiness and wet hair made me VERY skeptical about trying a wash and go but after receiving the Beautiful Textures Curl Definer Styling Custard from Curlbox, and also since it's summer I figure I should give it a try. Before I give my final thoughts, let me run you through the play book.

Here are the items I used!

From the right: Motions Naturally You Radiating Gloss, Ouidad Curl Cowash, Crème of Natura 100% Pure Argan Oil, Beautiful Textures Curl Definer Styling Custard, and UR CURLY Quinoa Conditioner 

 

Now after doing thorough research on Google, curlynikki.com and youtube.com. I felt confident and a little annoyed with the  Wash and go must do's and mustn't do's.

 

Before performing a wash and go, your hair have to be thoroughly detangled to prevent knots and tangles when applying the products and after it has dried. "DETANGLE HAIR!!!!" That was what I yelled out when I read that on numerous sites. I thought a wash and go was suppose to be simple. Now if you're hair is fairly short such as a TWA( Teeny Weeny Afro) this may not be a problem for you but for those with longer hair that is prone to always be tangled up, this will be a night mare!!

 

Step 1. Normally my hair a stretched from a 2 week style but that day it was not and I'm a finger detangler, so my wash and go began with a 30 to 45 min detangling session Yaaay!

 

 

Now after detangling i was ready to HOP into the shower like a little kid hopping into a bouncy house! Yes it was THAT serious! But I also read that a wash and go requires moisturized hair due to the fact that one is using a styler ( usually a gel). And we all know that gels make the hair hard and crunchy. Step 2 So I decided to do a slight deep condition, which is where the UR CURLY Quinoa Conditioner came in. So I sectioned my hair into 4 sections, and saturated the first section with warm water, then added the UR CURLY, twisted that section and moved on to the next. Now the UR CURLY called for it to be left in for 5 mins, which worked for me since I did each section at a time.

 

Step 3. I then rinsed out the conditioner and used the Ouidad Curly Co-Wash to well.....co wash my hair. Allow me to bow my head in a moment of prayer to thank God for this AMAZING product. The Ouidad Co-wash did things to my hair that I would never imagine!! But that's for another post..*hint hint review on the way* Anyways, I added the Ouidad to the section making sure I apply it to the scalp also, and lightly massaged the scalp and ran the product through the section, twisted and moved on to the next section. The Ouidad suggests that it's left in for a while; so I presumed with my other shower activities(bathing, washing face ect) Step 4. Before rinsing out the conditioner, I did a detangling check up; which is just a quick detangle with a shower comb or deman brush. Then rinsed out the conditioner and hopped out the lovely shower!

 

Step 5. Once out the shower I place a t-shirt on my head to absorb the excess moisture while I get dressed and apply make up.

 

I then picked a conditioner( usually a rinse out conditioner) to apply to my hair under the gel. I chose the Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Conditioner. Step 6.Before apply in the conditioner, I applied to the first section the Crème of Natural Agran Oil to seal the moisture in my strands. Then applied the conditioner and distributed it evenly.

 Now for the styler! I must admit, I was very skeptical of using the Beautiful Textures Styling Custard. I've read reviews about it being hard and crunchy just like gels and leaving a residue. But of course, I thought to myself that the reviewers applied it wrong or too much or whatever, so I decided to give it a try.

Step 7. I sectioned the first section into  a smaller section, took a dollop of the custard and raked it through the section with my fingers. I raked until my curls clumped up and popped into their natural pattern. I HAVE to be honest, I got length and definition but it was WET and STICKY and ANNOYING but I went ahead and pulled a smaller section and repeated the process with the custard until the section was complete.

I was feeling the length and the curls YAAAY GIIIIRLL. So I continued onto the next sections until my head was complete. I was so excited that I shook shook and shook the heck outta my hair; I then realized it was a love hate experience. Again, my hair was WET and STICKY!! UGH.

Step 8.( optional, can also air dry but AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!) So I grabbed the diffuser and my hair dryer and dried my hair. It dried well but was now hard, lacking movement and, like the reviewers said, covered with WHITE RESIDUE. I could not believe it; my hair was covered in white flakes after drying my hair and hard and crunchy. Boy I was disappointed....so later on in the evening I co washed my hair again with the Ouidad Cowash( yes that little bottle lasted TWO washes and I still have some left YAAY)

 

So that's my first experience with a wash and go! It was successful, with the clumping of curls and such but I hated the crunchy hair and white residue. Now I'd blame the residue on the product and not the wash and go process. Will I ever try it again?! YES!! HAHA don't look at the screen like that! I want to experiment more!! I want the try it with conditioner alone or with gel and not that custard UGH! But that's the point of trying something NEW! SHUCKS I came this far by going natural and that's way new and I had to adjust to it until I got comfortable with it, so I plan to do the same with the wash and go. I love experimenting and I encourage you too esp if you're new at the natural hair scene.

 

Here are some pics of my failed wash and go!

 

After adding styler

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After dried