Why Wash and Go's are More than Just a Summer Style
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The temperature is rising and the natural girlies are getting ready to wear their hair out! But what if I told you that you didn’t have to wait until the summer to give a wash and go, a go? (See what I did there?)
The dew point is directly related to the amount of moisture in the air. The higher the dew point, the higher the amount of moisture in the air. For example, a temperature of 40 and a dew point of 40 has a relative humidity of 100%, but a temperature of 80 and a dew point of 60 produces a relative humidity of 50%; however, it would feel much more “humid” on the 80 degree day than the 30 degree day because of the change in dew point.
As someone who wears a wash and go year round, I’ve found that my go to combos every season revolve around a combination of three styling products.
My main styler, year round, is Innersense Organic Beauty’s I Create Hold. This product is my tried and true styler that has NEVER let me down. The brand recently released new 32-oz refill pouches for their stylers and the way I ran to purchase as soon as I got the email is low-key embarrassing.
The other two auxiliary products that I use change a bit from season to season, but they mostly revolve around the day’s dew point. In layman’s terms, the dew point is the temperature that the air would need to be in order for the relative humidity to be 100%. Have you ever noticed that your hair doesn’t frizz out on a cold rainy day in October when the relative humidity is at 100%, but it gets absolutely destroyed on a hot day in August when the relative humidity is at 70%? That’s because relative humidity is exactly that, relative. Dew point is a much more consistent measure that doesn’t rely on the actual temperature outside, and ever since I made this change my styling has been better than ever!
No matter the season, my styling routine consists of a light hold styler applied in the shower before the I Create Hold, and some type of foam or gel to finish.
Keep reading if you want to hear more about why I use the dew point to choose my products during different seasons.
Dry Dew Point
Generally speaking, a dew point below 40°F is considered to be dry. At this temperature, naturally curly hair benefits from deep moisture provided by products such as leave in conditioners and light hold. It is preferred to use products with emollients to help lubricate the stands and ensure that moisture doesn’t escape the hair as quickly as possible.
Since my goal during the cooler dryer temperatures is to maximize moisture, ingredients like the organic mango fruit extract, organic slippery elm, and marshmallow root in the Kinky Curly Knot Today help to lubricate my stands and ensure that my hair is adequately prepped for the star of the show, the I Create Hold. Another thing to note is that due to the dry air, I do not worry about layering any additional products with hold, since the I Create Hold does a good enough job of giving definition and hold on its own.
To help me achieve some lightweight volume, bounce, and added shine, my final layer during the dry months is the AG Care Natural Cloud Light Volumizing Mousse. After adding this step, my hair feels light, airy, and moisturized. Throughout the week, my hair retains its bounce and the wash and go lives its last few days as an Afro.
Comfortable Dew Point
While temperature preferences are relative, a dew point between 40° and 55°F is comfortable for most people and means that there is a good balance of moisture in the air. At this dew point, naturally curly hair benefits from some light moisture provided by aloe based products and up to medium hold. It is also a good time to begin to introduce humectant based products into the hair to allow the hair to take advantage of the slightly higher levels of moisture in the air.
My routine at this point doesn’t change aside from switching out the Knot Today for my trusted Uncle Funky’s Daughter Curly Magic Curl Stimulator. The main reason behind this switch is that the curly magic provides some light hold from step one of the routine compared to the Knot Today. Thanks to film-forming humectants like aloe vera leaf juice, it serves as a great primer for the I Create Hold. The AG Care Natural Cloud Light Volumizing Mousse serves the same function as it does under slightly drier dew points.
Slightly Humid Dew Point
Any time you walk outside and comment on how humid it’s starting to feel, there’s a good chance that the dew point is somewhere between 55° and 65°F. Walking a couple of blocks isn’t as comfortable as it normally is, and it’s time to start to worry about your hair losing definition a bit faster than usual. At this dew point, naturally curly hair can still benefit from humectant products to hold moisture in the hair strands, but it’s time to start thinking about products with anti-humectant properties to keep the hair from absorbing the moisture in the air.
To achieve this, I continue to use Curly Magic as my base and I Create Hold as my main styler, but now I swap out the AG Cloud mousse to The Doux Crazy Sexy Curl Honey Setting Foam. When layered over these two products at the end of my styling routine, I get a satisfying amount of smoothness and crunch that will still help me maximize the humectant properties of the Curly Magic and I Create Property while simultaneously blocking the hair from absorbing any more hair from the environment. This foam plays well with the other two gels, and it makes mid-week touch ups super easy!
Humid Dew Point
Once the dew point goes any higher than 65°F I immediately feel like it’s time to go. These are the days when the humidity is so palpable that your sweat can’t even evaporate because there is too much moisture in the air. At this point, my main priority is styling my wash and go in a way that will allow me to maintain curl definition for as long as possible. This means lowering the amount of humectant-based products in my hair and increasing the amount of anti-humectant products.
Interestingly enough, Kinky Curly Knot Today makes a return at dew points this high because in the same way that it protects the hair from losing moisture in dry dew points, it also protects the hair from absorbing moisture in high dew points. At this point, I swap it back in for my base since the Curly Magic would make my hair feel too gummy at this level of humidity. After the I Create Hold, I go for one of two products that lock in all of the moisture and give me a firm hold that softens throughout the week. The first option that I tend to reach for is the Trepadora Curl Therapy Bamboo Ginseng Curling Glaze. I recently used a half dollar sized amount of product to finish my hair before a week long trip to Mexico, and my hair fought back for the entire week. Since this gel is on the pricier side, my second favorite option during high humidity days is the Innersense Organic Beauty I Create Definition. Users beware, this foam will give you FIRM hair that can last up to 10 days if you are heavy handed. Since tweaking my application, I’ve figured out how to get exactly 7 days out of my wash and go with this product.
Since summer is coming, let me know in the comments what products you use in the summer to fight humidity!
