by NaturallyChelsea via NaturallyCurly
As a college student, you will quickly realize that 24 hours simply isn’t enough time to get everything done. Between classes, assignments and extracurricular activities, sleep will become a luxury, and curly hair care a distant memory. But, as curlies, we know that ignoring our tresses can mean disaster in the long run. So here are some curly hair tips to help you seamlessly fit hair care into your everyday routine.
Study Hard, Curl Hard!
- Cleansing. I know the feeling of always wanting to have gorgeous curls, but school should always come first. So back away from the shower, put the conditioner down and just let your hair be. Grab your hairband and put your hair up in a bun, add a cute accessory and go to class. A few extra days without washing will not kill you. Having said this you will need to wash eventually. Try washing your hair early in the morning, so you can use the entire day to let it dry.
- Deep Conditioning. Deep conditioning can be a long, drawn out affair, but it’s vital to your curly hair care. Try to get at least one session in a week by applying your DC, putting a shower cap over it and wearing either a silk scarf or a hat. Then feel free to leave the dorms and go about your scholarly activities. No one has to know your little secret.
- Styling. If you need your twists or braid outs to set, leave them hanging down and grab your favorite beanie or hat. Make sure that it is lined with satin to prevent frizz, or put on a bonnet or silk scarf before putting on your hat. This will allow you to look cute and be able to leave your dorm room while letting your hair dry. You can also try styles that last longer and require spending less time on your hair. Buns, braids, twists and updos will help you keep your styles in for at least a week, so you will have time for other fun things.
- Hot Oil Treatments. Instead of just a study day, why not make it a study/spa day? Use this day to do your ayurvedic treatments, deep conditioning, face treatments and more. Apply your muds, pastes treatments, etc and let them work their magic while you study. Then use your break times to rinse, apply another treatment, snack, etc. Two birds with one stone!
- Maximize your sleep time! Out of a 24-hour day, approximately 8 hours are spent merely sleeping, when it could have been spent on hair care. Use your sleep time wisely to get in extra deep treatments, ayurveda treatments, set braid or twist outs, and anything else! Use a shower cap, then scarf to prevent dirtying your sheets, and tuck cotton pleats under your shower cap around your head to catch any drips.
- Extras. To do lists are not just for your parents. Getting everything done can be a problem when you can’t remember what needs to be done! Write down what needs to be accomplished and set due dates and time limits, and watch your life become organized and stress free. Once organized, pencil in time for hair care.
Final Thoughts
What time saving curly hair tips do you use? Let us know and help out other college curlies!
Long-lasting protective styles are a godsent! (Just remember to moisturize) I wear twists for two weeks at a time, then a twist out for a week. 3 weeks out of one styling session! Right now I'm going hard with my protective styling so I'm wearing cornrows under wigs. These cornrows can last me a month. I just shampoo and deep condition them weekly, and cowash them after my workouts (usually daily or every other day).
in response to Chimmy,
I was in the same predicament as you. I have gone back to natural and it has been a complete roller coaster. I became a huge product junkie, and I was disappointed by most of the products. You may have to go very basic. for me less is more. I did small two strand twists on my hair, and I wash and re-twist when needed. I wash and condition my hair with them in. I moisturize my hair, and oil the ends. Since my ends are straight, i rod the ends. I think you need to develop a simple routine with a long lasting hairstyle. I stick to shampoo, conditioner, hot oil treatment, oyin homemade honeydew, and shea butter…Sometimes simple is key.
This is my final year of college yay! When I first started out I would style my hair in the morning and rush to class. Now I make sure I deep condition, style, etc. on my day off, that way my style won't become a disaster ( I kind of know when a style won't turn out right because there's a certain look it gets). I start early in the morning so I have enough time to complete my projects. When I have a lot of work I throw it in a bun or puff.
Since I transitioned while in college, I learned a lot about taking care of my hair. I do the "spa-day" too. I will do my hot oil treatment while studying for a test. I also wore wigs and sew-ins during my transition….now I just have to learn how to braid! eek!
I love this post. I'm a grad student abroad and I braid my hair up and wear beanies most of the week (which look hot on me, I must say) and then rock a braid out for a few days and then do my weekly pre-poos and washes on weekdays when I'm home writing.
If you also manage to get your exercise in during the day, your workouts are a great way to deep condition and/or pre-poo too! Just apply, don a baggie and a scarf or winter hat/skullie (my preference) and get it going. The heat from your workout (and we know how much our heads sweat) will aid your treatment and you didn't have to sit under a dryer!!
Also, long-lasting protective styles like braids, cornrows or twists (with or without extensions … of course, the longevity is dependent upon which option you chose). Regardless, don't forget that you still need to wash, condition and moisturize. But, they make mornings and styling a breeze! Also, if you do on your own hair, you can get two styles in one when you wear them for a week and then release for a twist-out!
Shelli
Like over 2 years ago I was pretty good about doing my hair here at college. Then this semester hit, I started not washing my hair for a month and not even moisturizing. I have gotten so busy and started to hate my extremely coily tight kinky curly hair. I really suck at time management and to top it off I suck at the styling part. My hair is either in a beanie put in ugly braids or worn out in huge twists that are also ugly. I went through a product junkie phase that left my pockets crippled to find the right products for my hair and still nothing makes my hair easy to style. It always feels bad. I used to really love taking care of my hair, but my lack of very good time management skills has really just zapped my love for it. I'm even thinking of 2nd big chopping because I can't stand my hair anymore. I just…I'm not ever thinking of a relaxer, that's not the case, I'd much rather start over. I also feel like this semester I have just destroyed the hair that I have. UGH sorry about my rant, just senior year college + Taking care of my hair = nothing good. I was really hoping to have a good first year nappyversary but I'm not lucky like the gurus I've seen. Definitely started having hair envy again. Wow this is a depressing comment. Sorry for anyone that read it.
Yeah… ALL of these tips are vital to my ability to pass classes and still have healthy hair. For the past few years I was just wearing a wet afro out the door and suffered so much damage. Now I am finding ways to take care of my hair and still save time. Wendy15 gave a great tip! I'm thinking of doing braids like every 3 months or so to give my hair (or really, myself) a break from styling.
im a curly college girl 🙂 I've had my hair pressed since middel school by a pro and she passed away when i was in HS, so i had to do my own hair (horrific.) So when i got into college i was like definitly not (thats a 3hour process.) ANYWHO! While my hair is still damage from being straightned for so many years, my natural hair texture is reving and I LOVE IT!!! i will never straightned my hair EVER again. I feel so confident and beautiful knowing im comfortable rocking the kinky-curly tressess i was born with.
One thing that I always did was deep conditioned by hair over night or while I went to class (What! nobody knew lol). This saved me a lot of time. Also, I wore a lot of protective styles because I rarely had time to do my hair. I mainly rocked mini twists or a nice wig.
When I started undergrad I had my hair relaxed. I realized that 24hrs in the day was not enough to get everything done. I got my hair braided to save time as well as money on relaxers…I mean I was broke most of the time with funds going to tuition, books and just trying to survive. The braids saved SOOO MUCH TIME…well how about by the time I graduated I had a full head of natural hair..I started wearing it natural towards the end, but it was the first time as an adult I learned about MY hair…so for the college curlies, if you like braids, try it. I did singles wet and wavey braided just past my actual hair with the ends loose. I was able to be more versatile with the styles I wore without having to spend alot of time twisting etc….I wish this site was around then…..:)…..best of luck curly college girls 🙂