Is Laziness Hurting Your Hair?

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The other day I wrote about how so many naturals are doing too much to their hair. Then on the other end of the spectrum are the lazy naturals. It's all: 'I wash my hair only once a month'. 'Oh yeah?! Well, I don't even sleep with a scarf.' 'Scarf schmarf. I use sulphates AND grease!' #OKyouwin

I'm not knocking the lazy brigade, hell, I'm slowly joining the ranks (no, that's a lie but I do subscribe to low manipulation because that works for me too). Lazy is the new black. But if your hair is hard, dry or breaking, then your laziness is more likely than not also your undoing. When lazies ask me why their hair isn't growing, my first question is always, 'Whats your regimen?'. And their answer is almost always: 'Oh, I'm too lazy for all that maneno, I just shampoo my hair, apply some oil and go. But by evening it's so dry and hard and painful to comb. What can I put to make it soft?'. Or, 'I'm so lazy, I usually braid/weave for 2 months, undo, treat (always a cholesterol treatment in the salon), blow dry and rebraid.' Or, 'Please, who can be bothered with doing nightly matutas, I'm too lazy, I just sleep. On my cotton pillowcase. Without a scarf'. 

If any of this sounds familiar and you're suffering from dryness and breakage then you need to take a minute to reassess. Many new naturals who choose the lazy route confuse laziness with neglect. I get it. You see all these naturals doing all these crazy things to their hair and it just seems like so much time and effort that your head hurts just thinking about it. Then you see the other lot, the lazies, and they all have great hair and they get to have lie-ins and their weekends aren't spent elbow deep in henna and you're like 'Thats more like it, I TOO want to do nothing, just like them'. 

But you're wrong! 

They don't do nothing to their hair, they have a regimen. It may be basic, and sporadic, but it exists. They care for their hair; they've just figured out what works and what doesn't, whittled out all the extra steps and streamlined their haircare practices. So if you, too, want to be a successful lazy natural, here are a few basic things you need to do to keep your hair on your head, and not in your sink:

1. Keep your scalp clean. A clean scalp promotes hair growth so make sure to shampoo and condition every so often.

2. Deep Conditioning is pretty important for keeping your hair strong and moisturised. 20-30 minutes under a shower cap is all you need once or twice a month.

3. Moisturising and sealing. If you find a really effective method of sealing, this need not be a daily chore. Since I modified the LOC method, I only need to moisturise once a week.

4. Low Manipulation. This is Standard Operating Procedure for lazies. This doesn't necessarily mean weaves and braids. Three-in-one hairstyles are great if you're lazy. Your twists or braids can transition into a twist/braid-out and finally, when that loses definition, into a bun, which can carry you through to your next wash day. Low manipulation has the added bonus of keeping tangles at bay, which shortens your detangling sessions. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Nobody wants to have jacked up hair, but that's exactly what you'll get if you're a lazy natural without a plan. Create a regimen that works for you, your time and your budget and keep it moving.