After the Transition: Cherie’s Regimen

NOTE: This post has been updated as of March 2019 to reflect product options available. Purchases from links to Sally Beauty and Amazon are compensated.

I recently completed my friend Cherie’s transition from relaxed to natural hair. She transitioned for about a year, and now that she is 100% natural, I have been trying a variety of products and methods to create a regimen for her that she can maintain for healthy hair growth. With transitioning, it can be hard to gauge what products are working best because the relaxed ends are “in the way,” so you should expect the discovery process to continue after cutting those ends away.

Because Cherie has hair that is mostly fine to medium in strand width (meaning, not coarse), but also very coily, moisture-protein balance is going to be key for her to retain moisture and strength in the hair to prevent breakage. Many of the products selected for her will have some form of hydrolyzed protein and anti-oxidants, and all will have some penetrating or sealing oils.

Cherie’s Hair Profile

• Hair texture – curls and coils
• Porosity – medium
• Strand width – fine to medium
• Density – high
• Length – medium

Cherie’s Care Calendar

I have created the following care calendar for Cherie to stay organized and consistent with her routine. In hair care, consistency is everything. You have to stick with a set of products for your current phase of growth and then assess what additions or changes need to be made. For this phase of growth, about 6 months, this is what Cherie will do to care for her hair each week’s washday:

WEEK 1:

1. Cleanse two times, in luke warm water, with a hydrating shampoo.

2. Apply deep conditioner, detangle and sit for 20 minutes with heated conditioning cap, hair steamer or with plastic cap under hooded dryer, rinse out with cool water.

3. Apply protein leave-in treatment* and leave-in conditioner, set and style.

WEEK 2:

1. Cleanse two times, in luke warm water, with a hydrating shampoo.

2. Apply deep conditioner, detangle and sit for 20 minutes with heated conditioning cap, hair steamer or with plastic cap under hooded dryer, rinse out with cool water.

3. Apply protein leave-in treatment* and leave-in conditioner, set and style.

WEEK 3:

1. Cleanse two times, in luke warm water, with a restructuring/repairing shampoo.

2. Apply repairing treatment t if there’s noticeable shedding/breakage, or elasticity treatment if curls seem limp or overly frizzy (if there’s no breakage, choose the elasticity treatment), detangle and sit for 15 minutes (or specified product time given on packaging) with heated conditioning cap, hair steamer or with plastic cap under hooded dryer, rinse out with cool water.

3. Apply leave-in conditioner, set and style.

WEEK 4:

1. Cleanse one time with clarifying shampoo, then one time with hydrating shampoo, in luke warm water.

2. Apply deep conditioner, detangle and sit for 20 minutes with heated conditioning cap, hair steamer or with plastic cap under hooded dryer, rinse out with cool water.

3. Apply leave-in conditioner, set and style.

WEEK 5 (if applicable):

1. Cleanse two times, luke warm water, with a hydrating shampoo.

2. Apply deep conditioner, detangle and sit for 20 minutes with heated conditioning cap, hair steamer or with plastic cap under hooded dryer, rinse out with cool water.

3. Apply leave-in conditioner, set and style.

Some Suggested Products

Below are some suggested products for Cherie based on what I’ve used on her and others with similar hair types. Some of these she already owns, some she does not, but all are suitable for her hair, so I am leaving it to her discretion which ones she uses and I’ll check-in with her along the way. Of course, there are lots of other products that will give her great results; this just gives her a starting point.

Shampoos:

• Ouidad Cleansing Oil
• Aveda Dry Remedy
• Aveda Damage Remedy
• Mane Choice Heavenly Halo
• Hydratherma Naturals Scalp Soothing Shampoo Bar or Mizani Scalp Care (if scalp is flaking or itchy)

Clarifying Shampoos:

• Aveda Brilliant Shampoo
• Ion Purify Hard Water Shampoo

Deep conditioners/treatments/masks (steaming recommended):

• Aveda Damage Remedy
• Aveda Dry Remedy
• Mane Choice Heavenly Halo
• Ouidad Melt Down Recovery Mask

Protein leave-in:

• ApHogee Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer

Leave-in conditioners/treatments:

• Mielle Organics White Peony
• TGIN leave-in conditioner
• ApHogee Restructurizer

Co-washing cleansers (for use in between regular washdays if needed):

• Aveda Be Curly Co-wash
• Ouidad Curl Immersion Co-wash

Daily or styling moisturizers and oils:

• Hydratherma Naturals Daily Moisturizing Growth Lotion
• TGIN Butter Cream

Styling gel:

• Camille Rose Curl Maker
• Mielle Organics Honey Ginger Gel
• As I Am Curling Jelly

Styling foams (mainly for roller/rod sets, but can be used for other styles):

• Jane Carter Solution Wrap & Roll
• Texture ID Foam

Heat protectants:

• Aveda Smooth Infusion Style Prep
• Keracare Thermal Wonder 6-N-1

Styling creams:

• Camille Rose Aloe Butter Gel
• Texture ID Styling Cream
• Ouidad Curl Immersion Styling Cream

Edge tamers:

• Design Essentials Natural Honey Shea Edge Tamer
• Mielle Organics Edge Gel

I hope this helps you see that setting a calendar for your hair care can help keep you on track for healthy growth and easier maintenance. Taking care of your hair becomes less stressful when you don’t have to guess or remember what you’ve done over the weeks!