I Needed A New Hair Regimen After Moving To The East Coast - My 5 Step Plan

As my husband and I just made the BIG move to the east coast one thing became very clear, we aren’t in Texas anymore! Growing up in Texas the heat and I have developed quite a unique relationship and when I went natural my hair seemed to love the heavy humidity even more.

As we adapt to the mix of cold, rain, and snow my curls are taking on a complete adaption of their own. I have developed over the past year or so a pretty consistent regimen for myself and my curls but as soon as we touched down in the east coast, change was on the horizon but that’s just a part of life, right?

I decided early on in my journey never to get too comfortable, as change is evident and now here we are. What is a girl to do when you must adapt your curls, coils, and kinks to winter weather climate? Embrace it.

Everyone should know by now I love my old faithful ” wash n’ go” this style has proven to be my favorite and my absolute go to.

In Texas the humidity in the air help keeps my hair moisturized and my wash n’ go style at bay. The first time I visited Ohio my wash n’ go felt very dry and even more shrunken than normal.

I thought, well now… we are going to have to figure out a solution to this and shake up some things. I preferred early on in my natural hair journey to moisturize my hair twice a day mainly due to the fact I was new at it and trying to discover what worked best for me.

Many months later, through trial and error, I tapered that off some and went with moisturizing my hair only once a day. I know some may say that’s too much, but it worked well for me and my thirsty, virgin curls! Now that the winter dry weather is sucking up all of the moisture out of my curls, I will have to make some changes.

1. Drink more water

I noticed I needed to up my water intake. I normally drink loads of water but during our big move and due to time constraints, I failed to get in my normal intake of water. No excuses. This should be a must whether you are natural or not. I am huge proponent for what goes in will reflect out. If you are experiencing dry scalp and thirsty tresses I would highly recommend drinking more water.

2. Moisturize first thing in the morning

I am going to go back to moisturizing in the morning when I style my hair and in the evening moisturizing lightly with a butter or cream, sealing it off with a oil scalp massage.

I used to do this earlier on in my natural hair journey religiously. My hair was in love and it healing my dry, itchy scalp. I also will plan to put my shampoo in timeout and co-wash for awhile to help keep my moisture in tack. I will shampoo only when absolutely needed.

I follow the L.O.C. Method so I try to be thorough in making sure to moisturize my hair properly without doing too much. However in this new climate I need all the moisture I can get.

3. Protective styling

I am getting more and more comfortable with the idea of protective styling especially since our move to a colder climate. I haven’t arrived yet but I am getting there.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with protective styling, however, many people neglect their hair and leave in protective styles way too long. I love the mini twists and plan to try them sometime this year. There are so many different protective styles out there to try! Do your research and have some fun experimenting.

4. Cover my hair with a bonnet

I recently purchased a satin-lined beanie cap (SLAP) and that small innovative cap has been just what the doctor ordered! I had given my old one to my aunt and as soon as I found out we were headed east my fingers couldn’t hit the BUY button fast enough to snag a new cap.

This cap is wonderful on those cold balmy days when you just don’t want or have the time to do much with your hair. I mean who doesn’t love protecting their hair while looking cute at the same time. Now, just because I wear this cap doesn’t give me the right to neglect my hair underneath. I still make sure I moisturize and seal my hair before wearing my cap. Protecting my hair with style is timeless.

5. Deep condition

My hair loves its weekly treatments of deep conditioning*. Now that I am learning how to combat this cold weather this treatment became even more vital than before. I personally wash my hair twice a week and will deep condition after each wash.

When I deep condition I always use my trusted heating cap. If you don’t have one you need to get on that– it will change your life!

My wonderful husband helped me elevate my deep conditioning* game up even further this year when he bought me the Q-Redew* Handheld Steamer* and if you never experienced a steam treatment on your hair there is nothing like the results and benefits. This will definitely help banish cold weather woes on your hair!

I hope the steps I am taking and our talk help shed some insight into cold weather and natural hair. I will continue trying out new ideas until I find a regimen that sticks for me.

I know I am still new to this cold weather natural hair edition, so for you seasoned winter naturals, what are some of your winter hair secrets?