Wash and gos are arguably one of the easiest-looking styles that have actually been made to be more complicated than they really are. For those who aren’t natural, the wash-and-go is a wet set style made popular by naturalistas. Naturals use styling products, typically gel, to set their curls in their natural state.
So why are so many naturals having trouble achieving the perfect wash and go? Well, from chatting with hundreds of women, I’ve discovered seven main reasons why some wash-and-go styles are more like a wash and no.
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1. Your hair isn’t clean.
The Internet has led many astray when it comes to the topic of shampoo. I’ve heard about women using water only, washing their hair once a month, and those who exclusively co-wash.
If popping curls are what you want, it is imperative that shampoo is used to cleanse your hair. Not only is shampoo important, but clarifying shampoo is an absolute necessity for every curl friend’s hair regimen. The shampoo process sets the stage for your end results and if you have eliminated it from your regimen, your wash-and-go is not going to have curls that POP!
2. You’re using way too much and too many products.
After your conditioner, some of you are layering on 95 million products and you’re pilling them onto every single individual curl. The more product you use, the longer it takes for your hair to dry and the more money you spend trying to keep these products in your arsenal to make your wash-and-go happen.
At the very most, you only need one to two products beyond the cleansing and conditioning process to create a wash and go as opposed to a wash and no.
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3. You need to re-evaluate your products.
Every single product in your collection needs to be re-evaluated, down to your cleanser and conditioner. Most people are not aware that the cleansing and conditioning process lays the foundation for your styling. This means that you should be choosing products that are rich in botanicals that give you well-defined and hydrated curls.
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4. Your application and technique need work.
How you apply the product and how you go about distributing the product throughout your hair are critical to the outcome of your wash-and-go.
The two most common problems that come up are that most people are not applying styling products while
