Oils are great for your hair and because there is such a variety, all with different properties. There is almost an oil for your each of your hair needs... well except one; MOISTURISING. Water (or any water based product, like a good leave-in conditioner) is the only one true moisturiser. Oils are more like aids, working in conjunction with a Liquid/ Leave-in conditioner in order to get moisture to your hair cuticle, or by keeping moisture LOCed in.



Oils can be separated into two categories: Moisturising oils (I don't like the phrase) and Sealing oils.

Moisturising oils

Moisturising oils refer to oils whose molecular structure is such that it can penetrate the hair shaft , bringing the moisture in. A very limited quantity of the oil penetrates the hair,  meaning that most of the oil that doesn't penetrate the shaft will also end up coating the hair shaft. This coat will however thin down during the day, and eventually disappears.

What do they do:

• Prevent hygral fatigue (hair cuticle expanding excessively when wet and contracting when dry, which leads to hair stretching excessively causing breakage over time).
• Strengthen Hair
• Improve elasticity 
• Retain moisture

When to use  Moisturising (penetrative)

• As a pre-poo (to prevent hygral fatigue)
• In conjunction with your liquid/leave-in conditioner, so in your daily spritz mix
• Oil Rinse 
• Add to deep conditioners

Examples of Moisturising oils:

• Avocado Oil
• Babassu oil
• Coconut Oil
• Olive Oil
• Sunflower oil

Sealing oil

Oils that do not penetrate the hair shaft and work best to LOC (seal) the moisture. Since the oils sit on top of shaft, they add shine/ lustre to hair. If you have thin hair, or low porosity hair, then heavy oils such as Jamaican Black Castor oil might weigh your hair down, leaving your hair feeling limp and greasy. Opt for lighter sealant, marked with (L) in below list.

What do they do:

• Seal in the moisture
• Frizz control (here you want to use oils that are both penetrative and sealing e.g argan oil, grapeseed 
• Add shine 
• Retain Moisture
• Prevents (slows down) the evaporation of water (moisture)

When to use sealing oils: 

• After you have washed and moisturised your hair

Examples of Sealing oils: 

• Flaxseed oil
• Grapeseed oil (L)
• Hempseed oil
• Jojoba oil (L)
• Jamaican Black Castor Oil
• Sweet almond oil (L)

I am one of those people who grew up not washing their own hair. When I was younger, my mom would wash my hair and as I got older, I would go to the salon. Granted, I did not wash my hair every week, maybe once a month (no judgement please), so my wash days always coincided with when I needed to relax my hair or when I went for treatment. So when I went natural, having to not only wash my own hair, but to do it weekly was a daunting task.



Despite the complaints, wash days aren't that bad, especially if you start looking at them as part of your self care days. Get some wine, create a playlist and do everything systematically.

1. Detangling

First things first, section your hair. Afros are A LOT, and when you combine that with a big head, approaching your kinks as one task will not only leave your frustrated but you are likely to be left confused.

What you will need:

- Water (or aloe vera juice)
-Hair clips (to section your hair)
- Coconut oil (which will work as a pre-poo)- provides slip and penetrates cuticles, hydrophobic so it prevents your hair from soaking up too much water
-Your fingers (manicured so they don't snag and break your hair)
- A wide tooth comb (and or a detangling brush)

The Process

• Dampen your hair. (damp, not soaking wet).
• Divide your hair into sections and work with one section at a time. If you get to a section that's dried up, spritz it again.
• Apply coconut oil and wait approximately 2 minutes so your hair can soften and the coconut oil can penetrate your cuticle
• Go through each section with your fingers unravel any major tangles with your fingers. You might have to cut any knots you locate, especially if they are on a single strand.
• Start from the tips to the the root and comb your hair using a wide tooth comb (NB- You can leave the combing for when you have conditioner on)

Step 2: Pre-poo

Now if you have read natural hair blogs, you would have seen the words 'pre-poo' or pre-'treatment'. This refers to applying an oil onto your hair before washing it. This is done to prevent hygral fatigue - damage to your hair caused by your hair shaft expanding when wet and contracting when dry. Because of the oils hydrophobicity (oil repels water), it prevents the hair shaft from expanding too much (yeah I know that's a whole lot of science things). Anyways, since you used coconut oil to detangle, you incorporated pre-pooing into your detangling (YAAASS!!!)

Step 3: Shampooing

Well there isn't much here except to remind you to use sulphate free shampoo. Also concentrate on your scalp, gently rubbing it with the tips of your fingers, not your nails.

Step 4: Apply deep conditioner or hot oil treatment

I normally undo each section, apply my conditioner or hot oil mix then re-twist my hair. You don't have to do the same, I just want to make sure that every section of my hair gets the goodness (LOL). I then wrap my head in clingwrap or I just put a plastic bag and tie a knot.

Now this is the waiting part. You can either:
a) Put on a cap and go for a quick run to generate heat
b) Put on a head wrap and run some errands
c) Warm a towel and wrap around your head and watch your favourite show
d) Put on a doek and sleep


Basically find something, anything to do in the 30, 45mins or even 8hrs that you are treating your hair

Step 5: Rinse with a conditioner

Use a conditioner to rinse your hair and wrap it in a cotton t-shirt to dry (note most sponsored t-shirts are cotton so you don't have to go out and buy one).  Co-washing refers to jumping from step 1 straight to step 5. This is a shortened wash day, one that you do to tick a box of being a good natural who does her weekly washes (Im kidding)

Step 6: Base scalp, LOC and style

• Base your scalp with a light oil (sweet almond, jojoba and or argan oil)
• Moisturise your strands using the LOC method (see instagram post on LOC method)
• Comb through using a comb and detangling brush
• Stretch and/or style

If you aren't looking to do a twist out, or bantu knots, I suggest just plaiting your hair, leaving it to dry and stretch without using any heat. Depending on your hair, it can take a full day for your hair to dry. I have low porosity hair so drying mohair is a long ting. I either stay at home the whole day, or I head wrap my hair and go. It's honestly up to you.


And that's it. A complete wash day. For my products, please see My Current Products and Regime. I also have posts on Natural Essentials that include Tools and Products that I believe every natural should have.

Some Resources:

They aren't South African but the videos aren't too long (Data struggles) and entertaining:

1. Chizi Duru Wash Day- Its 5 mins, the brand she used isn't available in SA but you can substitute it for AfroBotanics products, that way you will be support a Black woman owned proudly South African Brand. She uses a towel instead of a T-shirt  **side-eye**
2. Apple Cider Mix Wash Day
3. Finger Detangling
4.  A Wash Day that doesn't take all day