Wash and Go Tips You Didn’t Know You Needed

It really surprises me how much wash and go’s are avoided in the natural hair space. I hear things like “My wash and go’s never come out right” or “Wash and go’s don’t last”. 

There are a few things you probably didn’t know about wash and go’s that may be the key to making them work for you and help to improve your results.

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Wash and Go’s Work Best on Shampood Hair

I know a lot of naturals like to avoid shampooing regularly for fear of drying out their hair but that’s a big mistake when it comes to wash and go styling. Product build up isn’t helpful for any style and your hair needs a clean slate so that you can get beautiful shiny curls. 

I’m not saying you can’t have nice results without shampoo but after weeks and weeks of buildup, nothing looks as good as it could. Simply wetting hair without clarifying and applying more product on top can also be grounds for product flaking and a film like residue left on your scalp and hair. 

If you’re afraid of drying out your hair try a moisturizing shampoo like the Nexxus Humectress line. This is a great shampoo that cleans the hair well without stripping away everything. 

To be clear, my idea of regular shampooing is weekly. In an ideal world, your wash and go should last 5-7 days and you would have a fresh shampoo in between each wash and go style.

Heavier Products and Wash and Go’s are Friends

Another point that may be contrary to popular belief is that wash and go’s that last are the ones with a nice saturation of product on the strands. 

Leave the lightweight products to those with finer textures or for the folks who like bigger hair without much definition. For the rest of the curly girls who want their curls to pop, you need to slather on the product. 

I’m not saying to use up an entire bottle of product but rather making sure you apply a liberal amount and distribute it evenly by raking or combing through. 

Applying a good amount of product whether that be your leave in or your styler sets your wash and go up for success from the start. Your style will last longer and you’ll have more definition.

Ultimately it’s a waste of time to skimp on a product if you want good results.

Tools Aren’t Always The Best at Defining The Hair

At one point I was seeing all these viral denman brush videos with women using them to define their curls. When I tried it I quickly realized this was not the trend for me. 

Depending on your type and texture, this trick can work. For me, I ended up with spiraled ends and puffy roots. Not every trend is for you.

Much of the time, tools are separating the natural places your hair wants to clump. They do a great job detangling but sometimes they comb out all the nice curl clumps. 

I believe in thorough detangling at the conditioning step but once it’s time to apply your leave in and styling products, you’ve got to put the tools down. Your fingers will do fine distributing the product. Your styler should do its job of defining your curls. 

There Are No Magic Products

Buying up every curly hair leave in conditioner will be no help when it comes to wash and go’s. There are no magic products out there and nearly all of them require proper manipulation and technique. 

My suggestion is to work with a product even if you didn’t get the most favorable results the first time. The good news is a lot of natural hair products come in 8oz bottles so as naturally curly girls, we can use that up pretty quickly. 

If a product wasn’t as moisturizing as you would like, try pairing it with heat or steam from the shower. Then you can test to see if that helps it penetrate the hair better. If a shampoo left your hair feeling dry, try using that on the days you need the most clarification. You can do a pre-poo or hot oil treatment first to minimize the harshness of the product.

Learning to work with what’s already in your stash first will build your muscle on creating good techniques for products and it will save you a lot of money. In the past, I’ve shelled out nearly $300 shopping at Target for hair products that I only used one time. Spending that amount of money in any economy in the name of experimentation is wasteful. I know better now. 

Wash and Go’s Are a Game of Technique, Not Type

Anyone can do a wash and go. They aren’t exclusive to a particular hair type. Sometimes it’s your mind that’s messing with you because you’re probably not used to seeing your hair this way. 

Obsessing over every detail isn’t helpful. Continuing to practice and tinker with products and different combos will move you further along. Before you know it, your wash and go will be someone else’s goals.