I don’t know about you, but holidays, for me, go perfectly along with lazy days sleeping till late am, toning down intense exercise routines, giving into some food temptation (not all, gotta mind the weight) and, if I’m really feeling lazy, putting my hair washing routine on halt. Surprised?! Don’t be, the secret is in making sure my curly hair is moisturised. If you ever feel like this, here are a few tips for the lazy holiday hair regimen.

I actually shared these tips with my newsletter subscribers about a year ago, but since then it grew exponentially and I thought why not share it with my readers again? Why not share it with all my readers, right? 😉

There’s really not much of a secret here, just common sense. You just need to make sure your hair is moisturised at all times, as with everything you do to your hair, really. But before I spill the beans I should warn you that there are a few people who shouldn’t be following the tips in this post.

Who Is This Not For

This is not because they can be potentially bad for your hair, but because your present hair condition or health may require you to continue with your well-developed hair routine. If you need help to develop your hair regimen read this post and grab a free worksheet that will help you build yours. In the meantime, you shouldn’t be following these tips if:

Your hair is breaking or shedding out of the ordinary. Please continue with you normal hair routine and pay special attention to your deep conditioning sessions.
You easily get build and consequently, an itchy scalp. In this case, you may want to continue using your cleansing hair product, meaning your sulphate free shampoo or your clay mix.
You are planning on making this your hair regimen. This lazy hair routine lacks in giving proper care to your hair such as deep cleaning of the hair or deep conditioning for moisture and protein. It is also something you shouldn’t be doing for more than two weeks.

What I did differently

Because this is a lazy hair routine, there was no oil pre-poo for me. This is something I do regularly the night before my wash day. It helps to keep my hair deeply moisturised, plus it helps to melt your tangles and knots when it’s time for detangling. Nevertheless, I paid true justice to the meaning of the word ‘lazy’ and skipped pre-pooing altogether.

My sulphate-free shampoo was also given the boot as was my regular LOC method. Shampoo helps to get rid of dirt, oil, product residue and gets the scalp clean, however, jumping this practice during the holidays wasn’t too bad since it was only for a short period of time.

Though I love my LOC method, it is a 3-tier product application system. I like taking small sections of hair and applying my products with time making sure my low porosity hair takes everything in. This, of course, takes time so I made a modification.

Finally, I omitted my deep conditioning session. Yeah, right, I know, it sounds bad. Here I am always telling you to make this a weekly practice and then I bypassed it. Well, in all honesty, if your hair is healthy like mine is, and there are no breakage or moisture issues, your hair is not brittle you’ll be okay if you deep condition at least twice a month.

Now let’s move on to the actual tips.

TIPS FOR THE LAZY HOLIDAY HAIR REGIMEN

#1| Co-Wash

I can’t go too long without washing my hair, so although I didn’t use my sulphate-free shampoo I did wash my hair but with my regular conditioner (co-wash). A conditioner has sulphates in it, like shampoos, which will help clean your hair but you can use a cleansing conditioner, which is more effective for the task.

It’s like killing two birds with one stone, three actually. Co-washing cleanses, detangles and moisturises the hair all at the same time. It’s perfect for when you’re feeling lazy and it saves you time.

It’s important to release all the dirt and oil from the hair and scalp by rinsing well with water and massaging with the pads of your fingers before applying your conditioner or cleansing conditioner. A co-wash is a cleanser, but not like your regular or low-poo shampoo, so give the hair and scalp a good scrub to make it more effective.

Once finished, rinse with water but leave some of the cleansing conditioner on your hair, it will help keep your hair moisturised.

#2| Seal With Oil

It’s important to seal the moisture in our curly hair otherwise it will become dry and frizzy very quickly. Because I skipped the LOC method (go here and here to know more about it), which basically has a two-step process to seal the moisture in your hair with the use of a vegetable oil (O) and butter or creme (C), I used a vegetable oil to seal in any moisture that was left on my hair after I partially rinsed my conditioner.

My oil of choice was coconut oil, which is a penetrating and sealing oil. You can use any vegetable oil you have, but a sealing oil will work better as it delays moisture release for longer. You can read a post I wrote and grab a list sealing and penetrating oils you can use.

#3| Keep A Spray Bottle

Having a spray bottle at hand with a simple mixture of water and conditioner, or one these concoctions will help to quickly moisturise your hair whenever it feels dry. This may seem too simple, but it really is that simple and effective and, if you add a vegetable oil in your spray bottle it will help retain moisture for longer. However, the real reason why this leave-in may be all you need to keep the moisture at bay is in the next tip.

#4| Do Protective Styles

With a lazy natural hair holiday hair regimen, protective hairstyles are the way to go. These will protect your hair against moisture loss, breakage, the ‘Hand to Hair Syndrome’, excess manipulation and it will spare you from having to style your hair every day or every other day. Perfect wouldn’t you say?!

Plus, the ends of your hair are completely tucked in which makes it harder for them to get dry and damaged since they are the oldest part of your hair. I personally went for the hair bun. Yes, the universally known bun. It’s simple, easy and quick to make yet, it is also elegant and stylish for any occasion. You can never go wrong with it!

This allowed me to keep my hair moisturised while running a hair regimen on low maintenance and on auto-pilot. Still, you can do any style you like just make sure your hair is moisturised.

#5| Use a Light Moisturiser

If you ever feel your hair is dry and needs something a little more substantial than a concoction in a spray bottle, just reach for your water-based hair moisturiser. Going for a heavy buttercream may weigh your hair down and make it feel mucky – in need of a wash much sooner. Use your judgement.

This is it, this is the simple, fuss-free, lazy holiday hair regimen I used during my Christmas-slash-New-Year holiday last year. This is how I washed and maintained my hair when I skipped a regular washing day. It was a pretty low-key routine but I manage to still wash my hair, keep it moisturised, protect it and all while looking stylish in a bun. 🙂

Please don’t turn this lazy routine into a regular one, although pre-pooing is an optional choice that will give your hair an extra boost of moisture, deep conditioning is essential to achieve any goal on your natural hair journey. Plus, shampooing (whether regular or sulphate free) is also necessary to remove build-up and keep your scalp clean.

If you find yourself falling into the lazy hair routine more than you should then you may need an intervention. Read the post 3 Ways to Overcome Laziness In Your Natural Hair Regimen, download and work on the free workbook and get out of that rut.

(Update: my hair routine has changed tremendously, follow my most recent post for my latest advice. I no longer do DIYs or follow a LOC method. Life isn’t static, we learn and we grow! My experience and knowledge have changed and so has my hair routine. 😉 )