The Top 6 Ways to Shave Time off Your Wash Day!

I love my natural hair. Matter of fact, I love all natural hair. The springy-ness, fullness, versatility, and the look of our natural hair is off the chain.

But, LAWD knows we can have our off days! If someone asked me what would be one of the biggest complaints that naturals had when it comes to taking care of our hair, I think that it would have to be the LONG WASH DAYS!

Due to the nature of our hair, tangles and dryness can be two of the biggest factors that can extend a wash day from 25 minutes to 2-3 hours. And for many of us, that is #nobueno. But, this may not have to be the case for long because below we have 6 techniques that can help shorten your wash day.

1. Deep Condition Overnight – Time Shaved : 30 minutes – 2 hours

Next to actually styling and detangling our hair, deep conditioning* can be one of the longest processes of our wash day.

Although deep conditioning is considered a spa treatment for some, it can also mean more time added to your wash day. A great way to shorten your deep conditioning sessions is to do them overnight.

To deep condition overnight, just apply the conditioner of your choice to your hair and cover your hair with a plastic cap or plastic bag.

You do not necessarily have to cover your hair with a plastic bag or cap, but can be beneficial with aiding in the penetration of your conditioner and keeping your pillowcase oil and btms free.

2. Wash your hair in twists and braids – Time shaved:  30 minutes- 1 hour

One of the biggest issues when it comes to washing our natural hair are the tangles. Oh gosh the tangles. Although our natural hair journeys are all about acceptance and loving our hair for what it is, tangles can be so darn frustrating and can make any wash day a drab.

What I have learned and what many other naturalistas have learned is that twists and braids can be a saving grace from the headache that a bad case of tangles. Now, I know some of you all maybe saying that this is too much work, but here me out: There are actually two more benefits to doing this method next to the reduction of tangles.

When washing your hair in braids, it is best to remove a good amount of shed hair before twisting or braiding your hair. By doing this, you are reducing both tangles and detangling ( which for a lot of us can take forever and a day!). Some ladies even go as far as to use the wash braids and twists as their stretching method to prep for various hairstyles.

 3.  Turn your deep conditioner* into a leave-in – Time Shaved:2- 5 minutes

Make those hair products work for your hair! One of the easiest hair products that you can turn into a 2-in-1 is your deep conditioning* or co-washing conditioner.

How? You can use your conditioner as a leave in. I can here you guys now, “Well Danni, I mean come on, its not something new that you can use your conditioner as a leave in!”.

But here is where I am getting at. By not rinsing out your deep conditioner* or co-wash conditioner completely, you are essentially creating a pseudo leave in, which totally eliminates the need to apply a leave-in and sometimes even a moisturizer. Oh and also save you some coins from buying leave ins!

4. Using a hooded dryer* to speed up the drying process – Time shaved : 4- 22 hours

Outside of the washing and conditioning process, the most time consuming process, especially for those of us who opt to air-dry can be the drying and setting process of our hairstyles and stretching methods.

This can be such a huge bummer to those of us who want to just twist it up, let it out, and go ! I have had plenty of times where I would have just finished washing my soaking wet hair, to then have a friend or family member to call and ask if I wanted to go out.

And on top of that, I would have to be ready in 5 minutes! YIKES! If you have been in situations similar to mines and want to decrease situations like this from happening, then I’ll suggest investing in a hooded hair dryer*.

Now, most of us naturals tend to not use heat due to the possibility of having heat damage, but a hooded hair dryer* is the least damaging of all of the heat styling methods.

To make you even more assure of the usage of a hooded dryer, there has been no known case of heat damage from using them.

To use a hooded dryer to help set your hairstyle in the fastest and safest way possible, you can set the heat setting on a medium to dry your hair without over drying your hair.

By choosing an indirect heat styling method such as the hooded dryer*,  you can rock that fierce twistout or bantu knot out in no time! What are methods that you use to cut down your wash day time?