Sorry to ask so many questions Nonie, but I'm really interested in this because braiding is what gives me the most growth, unfortunately it also dries out my hair and thins out my ends, that may be because I only wash and dc once a month when in braids, how frequently are you washing and dc'ing?
No apology necessary; I don't mind.
I wash my hair twice a week. Both times, I use shampoo, conditioner, ACV. When I shampoo I apply it undiluted directly on my scalp using my fingers, which feel through my braids to find my scalp. I focus on massaging it well into my scalp, sort of ignoring the braids--that's after wetting my head first of course. The when I hold my head under a shower head to rinse, that's when my braids get their "wash". As water runs through them carrying away the now diluted shampoo, I squeeze them in stages to get dirt out. If the suds are not white but brown with dirt (which is never the case since I wash so often and use no leave-ins), then I would shampoo my scalp again and repeat the process. I do not disturb my braids by piling them on my head but rather leave them hanging down.
Next I apply a moisturizing conditioner the way you'd apply relaxer working from near base to ends. I avoid the inch or so near my scalp for two reasons: I don't think conditioner has any business on my scalp and I believe conditioner residue is usually the culprit (along with braid spray/leave-ins) when people get knots at the base of their braids. I apply to a few braids at a time and squeeze them to encourage it to penetrate the braids. Then I plait them to get them out of the way while I work on another set. I make sure to leave them hanging down just so that conditioner doesn't drip toward my scalp but rather drips toward the ends where it's most needed. I then put on a plastic cap or plastic bag and finish my shower (wash my body). Then I rinse them same way as I shampooed: holding head under the shower and squeezing them as water runs through. I do this for a long time--until no more froth is coming out of my braids.
For the ACV rinse, I mix 1/4 cup ACV with 2 gallons of water in a basin and add 20 drops of rosemary EO and 20 of lavender EO and then kneel on the bathtub and dunk my head in the solution. I let my braids soak in the goodness while I massage my scalp to make sure no residue is left. If in a hurry, I just mix 1/8 cup of ACV in a gallon container and add about the same amount of EOs, maybe less (I just ballpark it coz I'm in a hurry, remember?
) and then pour this over my head using one hand to pour and the other to squeeze it through my braids and massage my scalp. Then switch hands to work the other side of my head.
Since I DC once a week, one of those washes involves apply AO GPB to dry hair and putting on a bag or not and leaving it in my hair for 15 minutes while I'm doing stuff around the house, and then I follow the above procedure. If I am using Emergencee for my DC, then I shampoo first and then use Emergencee after the shampoo, baggy for ten minutes, then shampoo with Therappe (yes, second shampoo) and condition with whatever moisturizing conditioner I have and then ACV rinse as before. (I am a stickler for following directions on labels hence the reason I do things differently with Emergencee. The 10 mins instead of 2 shown in the current bottles is from the original directions. They worked so well for me and according the Nexxus it's the same formula so I have no plans of fixing what isn't broken.)
I do baggy nightly and I think that is the main reason my hair never feels dry. I do not use any products and my hair seems to do OK. I actually think it might be one reason I don't experience knots/tangles...plus my face got so much clearer the year I first started to do this and seems to have stayed that way. Products make my scalp itch, so in addition to the clean feeling I have, I no longer have to endure that. It also feels nice to lean back on furniture and not worry that I'll leave marks behind.
