When I say a natural hair summer, I mean a whole summer with just your natural hair and no extra hair added. That means a wash and go, two strands, or braids with your own hair. This is the summer we try to do our own hair, and I want to challenge you to go fully synthetic free, just to see if it makes a difference.

Now I know wearing a wash and go on vacation sounds like a lot of work, but hear me out. It can be the best thing you do for your hair all summer if you can get through it. Here is why. A wash and go on vacation means you are washing or at least rinsing your hair at least three times in one week. Do that, and I promise you will have the most hydrated hair you have ever had. It is me low key tricking you into hydration. Consider it a trick and a treat at the same time.

1. Is This Your Summer?

Before you decide on a natural hair summer, take a few things into consideration. What do you have coming up? Is your hair all natural, or are you dealing with bond damage, a relaxer, or a texturizer? Do you need a haircut to take some damage off?

If you are carrying damage, or struggling with straight pieces on the ends, this might be a different regimen for you. But if you are wearing your natural hair and just struggling with a little hydration, I got you. That is exactly what this guide is for.

We are going to cover three styles for your natural hair summer: wash and goes, two strand twists, and braids with your own hair, whether those are hanging plait braids or braids to the scalp.

2. The Foundation: A 7 Day Wash Schedule

Everything this summer is built on one habit. I want you to challenge yourself to wash your hair every seven days, whether you are swimming or not. If you are swimming we will add a few steps, but the baseline is the same: wash every seven days.

Pick your day. Say you shampoo on Sunday. After your shampoo, apply Mizani Miracle Milk, Flourish Cream-Oil, and the Flourish Moisture Butter. That is your reset, and you build every style off of it.

Protect your scalp. Any style where your scalp is open and out in the sun, wear a hat or put sunscreen on the scalp. It is hot out there and your scalp can scorch.

Every four weeks, swap in a clarifying shampoo and add a moisturizing deep conditioner to that wash. That is your monthly deeper reset.

3. Braids or Twists to the Scalp

This is braids to the scalp or flat twists to the scalp. After your wash day product, braid the hair to the scalp in five to ten braids, making sure to saturate the ends. On the seven day schedule you do not need to put anything on the hair throughout the week.

Around day five or six, take it down and wear a braid out. Then on day seven, wash and do it all over again. Rinse, repeat, all summer long. If it is super hot, wear a hat so we do not scorch the scalp.

If you are swimming

1. Wet the braids before you swim and dab a little Mizani Miracle Milk and Flourish Cream-Oil onto them. Get in the water with the braids in.

2. When you get out, rinse completely for four to five minutes.

3. Swimming again within the next four to six days? You do not need to wash. Just dab Mizani Miracle Milk and Flourish Cream-Oil back onto the braids, maybe a little Set Me With Ease foam or butter. Tie it down and keep it moving.

4. Not swimming again? Stay on your seven day clock. Watch for when seven days hits from the last time you shampooed, and wash then.
   

4. Wash and Go

A wash and go summer follows the same rhythm. Set your wash and go on your wash day, then tie the hair down depending on your texture.

Here is the mindset I want you to have. Release yourself from feeling like your hair has to be perfect. We are not stretching with a blow dryer. We are not doing all the extra stuff. We are letting the hair be free. You wash it, you put all your product in it, and you do not obsess over definition, stretch, or shrinkage. We obsess over getting to know our hair and moisturizing it before anything else.

If you swim before day seven

Mist the hair with water and put it in two braids with ponytails on the ends, or four braids with a clip or rubber band on the end. Get in and swim. Get out and rinse in those braids for four to five minutes. In those same braids, apply your product again, dry it, and keep it moving.

5. Two Strand Twists

I will be honest, I am not a huge fan of two strand twists in the summer if you are swimming. I would rather you wear flat braids instead, lots of braids with just your own hair. But if you are set on two strands, here is how to do them right.

Two strands follow the same schedule as the braids, except you can leave two strands in longer than a week. The catch is that if you decide to swim with them in, you will have to wash after seven days.

Why I am cautious with two strands and swimming. Two strands are already swelled and fluffy. When you get them wet they start to drop, and shed hair collects inside that loose twist. That makes takedown really difficult and harsh on the hair, especially when they have been wet and left in for a while.

If you are swimming with two strands

1. Before swimming, fully wet the twists, spray Mizani Miracle Milk and Flourish Cream-Oil, then braid the twists into two braids to the scalp so they are tight and contained, not loose.

2. Rinse in these braids and dry in these braids too, so the twists cannot swell and tangle between each other.

3. After swimming, rinse three to four minutes, squeeze in Mizani Miracle Milk and Flourish Cream-Oil, and a little Flourish Styling Foam. Tie it down and dry.

4. Swimming the next day? Rinse and repeat. Done swimming? Shampoo. That is when you take the braids down, take the twists out of the braids, then rinse, shampoo, condition, and spray. Braid them back down and dry in the braids, whether hanging or to the scalp.
   

6. Plait Braids (Hanging Braids)

Plait braids are hanging braids off the scalp, and they are a different situation. Because the hair is contained, you can wear plait braids for up to four weeks straight without taking them down.

You will still need to shampoo your hair while it is in these braids. And the biggest thing, the thing I cannot say enough, is keep your hair moisturized. Keep your hair moisturized. After you shampoo and condition, mist the hair with Mizani Miracle Milk, squeeze in Flourish Cream-Oil, squeeze in the Flourish Moisturizing Butter, and then dry the hair.