Spring Cleaning

Illustrated by Jacqueline Davis Moranti

Winter is finally looking like it's coming to an end, the days are longer, the layers are lighter and i'm sneezing a little bit more! With the dawn of the new spring season comes the daunting task to 'spring clean' and not just your wardrobe but also skin/ hair routine. As a naturally kinky/ coily haired woman, switching up my routine can be quite overwhelming because you don't quite know what to expect since naturally textured hair can have a mind of it's own! Honestly, having coily hair is a lot of work, not even going to lie! Additionally, the fact that people tend to take women of color less seriously when their hair isn’t "maintained" and there you have a nice cocktail of social, societal, and personal pressures to look "decent" at all times. Even today, in 2019, hair is still constantly politicized, which is ridiculous to say the least, but at the same time, we don’t really have a choice but to take good care of our hair because of how different it is. Hair routines are a big part of being a WOC since our hair is part of our identity. You have to take care of your waves, kinks, and curls. And adjusting your hair care routine for the season is just as equally important. This season I'm taking it a bit further by trying to stick to all natural products for my hair, for which i'm secretly telling myself, "Buckle up, cuz this venture is going to be a long ride!"

*Not sponsored, I just love their products and mission statement!

The spring season is usually a very wet season. We get lots of rain, yet it’s still not quite warm enough to go outside with damp  hair, and we’re probably suffering from seasonal allergies...I know I am! The extra moisture in the air, is always causing hair to act up with frizz. Curls and kinks typically don’t react well to humidity and the higher the barometer reads for the day's humidity levels the worse it is for hairstyling. Say bye bye to your beloved blow dryer and diffuser because the moisture in the air causes curly hair to revert from it's stretched stage to shrink! Alas, I have learned that the trick to good hair days this spring/ summer season is to work with the weather than working against it. 

The extra moisture in the air is definitely something worth embracing. Winter can take a really big toll on curly hair types and it may be an adjustment, but springtime is the best time to start a transition period and I've been doing that through the help of Belle Bar Organics products. I've created an all natural regimen with their Henna Gloss, Fenugreek Mask, Green Tea Rinse, Marshmallow Root Rinse, Hibiscus & Black Soap Cleanser, Onion & Garlic Herb Oil, Argan Oil Butter, Guacamole Mask, and even some of their face masks! As you can tell, I wanted to get a hold of the entire line up!

I'm a huge fan of Garnier Fructis, Aussie, Aunt Jackie, and Kinky Curly's products but I felt that going cone free, paraben free, sulfate free, preservative free, and even gluten free (is that a thing?!) was the next big step towards healthier and stronger hair. How easy is it to just pump out some product and just slather it on to your strands, that definitely isn't the case with Belle Bar Organics. Everything is packaged for you to prepare as soon as you use it.

I start off by doing a pre-poo (pre shampoo) treatment with the onion and garlic herb oil on my scalp and lengths of hair the night before wash day. On wash day I make sure to dampen my hair and then section it out into 4 or 6 sections. I wash with the hibiscus & black soap cleanser, it has a surprising amount of lather and you prepare it by scooping out a teaspoon, add it to hot water in an applicator bottle and shake, shake, shake until it's completely mixed together.

Next step is the most important part, the deep conditioning mask and I'll switch between the henna gloss or guacamole mask. My hair tends to switch between low to normal porosity and depending on that I'll use either mask to suit my hair needs. Belle Bar Masks are essentially made the same, take a teaspoon of the mask, add add water/ coconut milk/ aloe/ honey and then mix it up with your favorite conditioner. Leave it on for at least an hour and then rinse it off.

After I rinse off the mask, I detangle with the marshmallow root rinse, it truly helps with this process! I also apply this in an applicator bottle and go section by section with a wide tooth comb. This product has helped me with my knot problem, my coily curls tend to stick together so hard that they create what I like to call 'fairy knots.'

The last part is styling, as I have mentioned before I do the LOC method (Liquid+Oil+Cream). I use the green tea rinse in a spray bottle, then use a dash of the onion and garlic herb oil, and then use the argan oil butter to lock in the moisture.

All in all, I'm in love with the results I've been getting with Belle Bar Organics, my hair is stronger, shinier and curlier! Everything smells amazing and also give me a sense of self care. It has been less than a month since I've began my journey with Belle Bar Organics products so I can't truly say what the long term effects are, but I will definitely give an update next month and so on! Dear readers, have you tried Belle Bar Organics products before?