Grace in captivity – my 10 step Protective Styling Regimen

I know it’s been a minute since I did an update on how Grace is doing. She’s doing great, and I’m on a serious growth mission, so I have decided that she needs to do some custodial time away from my niggly fingers and manipulation. I don’t know if my hair has already grown significantly since my haircut in May but it is definitely feeling really healthy and strong so I am going to keep up the regimen that I have been doing and just keep an eye on progress. Grow Grace Grow!

I have set out below a basic outline of the regimen that I am following. It is close to the one I outlined in this post.

1. Pre-poo treatment – SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque and scalp massage using Jamaican Black Castor Oil.
2. Detangle first with fingers and then with wide tooth comb.
3. Thoroughly rinse out pre-poo.
4. Cleanse with The Body Shop’s Ginger Anti-Dandruff Shampoo or Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Shampoo.
5. Condition with Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner.
6. OR if no pre-poo, then deep condition with SheaMoisture Tahitian Noni and Monoi Masque/Huetiful Strengthening Hair Masque/Elasta QP DPR 11 (these deep conditioners are on a weekly rotation). Use the relevant conditioner with Vatika Coconut Oil and/or Amla Oil. Steam hair with Huetiful Steamer for 20 – 40 minutes.
7. Thoroughly rinse out conditioner or deep conditioner.
8. Apply leave in conditioner mix – outlined in “The Regimen”.
9. Twist Grace into medium-sized twists with Carol’s Daughter’s Marguerite’s Magic or Cantu Shea Butter Coconut Curling Cream
10. Seal with Jamaican Black Castor Oil.

There you have it. This is more or less the regimen that I will be following for the next couple of months (although I may change a product or two once in a while if doing a product review). I don’t plan on breaking out a ruler or tape measure every couple of weeks to measure my growth – it’s not that serious – but I do hope that following this regimen will enable me to experience visible growth and report on the progress made in due course. I think Grace and I may need a break from time to time, so if every 3-4 weeks, you see Grace out in a twistout or curly fro, do not be alarmed; she’s probably just out on day release.

What are your thoughts on protective styling? Do you have any tips? Do you follow a strict regimen and if so, what are the components?