A few days ago Mazeratie (pictured above) was featured as a hair icon. A curious reader left a series of pointed questions, requesting further regimen details. Mazeratie responded with this email;
Reader: Does she not suffer from dryness esp. in summer when wearing her kinky/curly fro?
Mazeratie: I was actually pretty lucky to find a product combination that literally keeps my hair soft and moisturized (for days sometimes) – even in dry, hot AZ.
Early on in my journey I started experimenting with mixing and I discovered glycerin. The only caveat was that because it was a humectant, it could actually dry out hair in non-humid climates b/c it would absorb and hold moisture from wherever it could be found. As I was reading, I saw that the “trick” to glycerin was to mix it with equal parts water so that it would be fully “saturated” and not need to absorb water from the hair strand. So I started using a spritz made of Aloe Vera Gel/Juice, Rosewater, and Vegetable Glycerin.
The Aloe Vera is a light protein that adds shine and curl definition, and the glycerin/rosewater work together to soften and moisturize. This is the magic bullet for me. Some similar consumer products are S-curl or Stay Soft Fro. In addition I’ve made castor oil an integral part of my routine as a sealant. It is so thick and rich that I only need to use it once a week or so while styling and it will keep working for me the entire time. If it is too thick for you, consider diluting it with thinner oil like coconut, olive or jojoba.
R: Does she not get split ends or single strand knots from the puffs and fros?
M: Because my hair is moisturized and sealed my hair truly doesn’t tangle that badly and the castor oil helps to protect my ends from wear and tear. It also stays soft and pliable so I don’t see breakage from brittleness. I actually have very few single strand knots, and I don’t get tons of splits either. I think the counterbalance to me wearing my hair out constantly is the fact that I don’t manipulate it, so I don’t have a ton of mechanical damage from styling. I almost never use heat or high tension styles either. But everyone’s hair is different, and this routine may not work for you.
R: Does detangling after wearing these out styles not take forever?
M: Depends on your definition of forever. These pictures are all wash and go styles. Twists or braid outs may take a little longer to detangle because the hair is so clumped together. When I detangle my hair is in 4-6 sections. Sometimes I dampen with water or use Amla Oil to soften before detangling. I usually do it in the shower after deep conditioning.
After I rinse the deep conditioner, I apply a lighter co-wash conditioner and go to work. If I’m just finger combing it’ll be 15-20 minutes. With a wide-tooth comb it takes 20-30 minutes probably. Before straightening I detangle REALLY well. But I start with fingers, and then go over with a wide tooth comb, then a detangling comb and FINALLY a Denman, so the detangling is very gradual.
R: How did she grow her hair so long? Was it protective styling?
M: When I was transitioning I wore protective styles 24/7. Once I became fully natural I pretty much stopped. I definitely believe that protective styling can help you retain length and reach your goals that much faster. I would recommend it, especially if you’ve reached a stalling point in your growth. However, my hair is SO thick that most protective styles seem like more work than they’re worth, although I might try braids or twists again for Fall.
I tried wearing twists for a while, but they took time to do and I missed my hair. Also, I felt like I had to put my hair through a lot of combing etc to put them in. So far it’s too thick to bun, but I haven’t tried wet bunning. My hair has been out 95% of the time since my big chop and it looks like I’ve retained length pretty well. I will keep an eye on it to see if it continues.
What are your thoughts on Mazeratie’s regimen breakdown? And how do you approach detangling, breakage and protective styling?
