In this post, you learn how to “Build your own hair schedule”.

I will start this blog post by saying that a good curly hair care schedule will be the best thing you can ever do for the health of your hair.  

I know…you’re probably thinking…here…we…go…again……

But wait, and hear me out! I promise that you will not regret it. Have you read Transitioning to Curly Hair in 2024 – A Guide For Curly Heads? Exactly! My hair was screaming for help and had I not come up with a plan, I don’t think this blog would even exist today. So come in, grab your cup of tea, and read it all, take it all.

In my world, a natural hair schedule is not just washday and styling it – nope! It’s about taking the time to take my hair to a spa (my version). Often time I get asked what product I use, and I happily share that information with anyone who asks. But truly, the question should be, HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN your curls? That’s a totally different question! And the answer to that question is simple: I maintain a hair schedule that keeps my hair strong and healthy!

My hair schedule is a method that became VERY popular in Brazil many years ago, and when I was transitioning to curly hair, many curlyheads would share tips and talk about it. Before that period in time, I had never had a hair schedule, nor had I considered taking such an approach before. It was not too late for me, and it’s certainly not too late for you either.

What is the curly hair schedule?

Simply put it’s a method that structures the extra hair care your hair needs at different times through the month/year. This method is all about three simple yet powerful hair care days: nutrition day, hydration day, and reconstruction day. Each day is repeated once you build your schedule and it will be the reason for your hair being 100% healthy. If this sounds interesting, or even intriguing to you, let’s uncover this process in an easy step-by-step now!

Hair Care Stages Uncovered

Each stage of the hair schedule has its own particular function. Before we jump into the step of step, I want to tell you what each stage is supposed to accomplish.

• Nutrition: It will protect your beautiful curls against the day-to-day factors that damage the hair by causing dryness, frizz, and weakening of the hair fiber. The main goal here is to build back the natural oils of the hair that is formed by fatty acids. The natural oils keep the cuticles aligned and closed and it prevents the loss of hair hydration.
• Hydration: Also known as deep conditioning, this is the reason that your curls will be bouncy, soft, and free from dryness. Your hair will benefit from deep conditioning because it offers natural water that guarantees protection against breakage, resulting in more soft curls.
• Reconstruction: This is what saved my hair, especially at the beginning of my transition, because I had very brittle and thin hair due to chemical treatments. This is also known as a protein hair treatment, which restores the hair strength and prevents breakage ultimately resulting in thicker hair.

How to build a hair care schedule?

Step 1) The first step is to identify what your hair needs. What’s the current status of your hair? Is extremely tangled all the time? Is it extremely frizzy no matter what you do? Perhaps you got brittle curls? Those are all aspects of hair that need nutrition! Your curls are thirsty, girly!! However, if you feel like you have dry and non-bouncy curls, you might need to start by deep conditioning it.

I thought my hair checked all of the boxes when it came to the damage status. I needed to rescue my hair health and so I did. But if your hair is like mine once was, don’t worry because I got you! So how to truly know what your hair needs? Well, get a strand of hair and put it in a cup of water – voila! If your hair strands float, hydrate it! If it doesn’t float, get your hair nutrition game up! How about if it drowns??? Yes!!! That’s right! Reconstruction!!!! – See the picture below for specifics, my visual friends.

I would rotate between these 3 stages every week at the very beginning of my transition, and I never missed a day! My curls felt the love because my hair grew healthy and long!!! I’m not joking, I got length and thicker hair by taking the time to truly provide the correct agents my hair needed.

Choosing the correct hair products

Step 2)  It’s important to choose the correct hair products, with the correct agents so that you achieve the goal in each stage of your schedule. For example, when it comes to hydration, we are talking about deep-hair conditioning. That is, the hair mask must have those ingredients that restore the hair’s natural moisture. Some of my favorites include vitamin B5, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid. Over the years, however, I have become way more of a naturalist, and when it comes to a good hair mask aloe vera score 10/10!

When it comes to nutrition, however, you will need to prioritize natural vegetable oils because they are rich in fatty acids, vitamins A and E, and omega 3,6, and 9, which will protect your curls from the day-to-day harsh aggressions. The oils I’d recommend are argan and coconut oil. But obviously, there are many other oils that you can use such as macadamia and avocado oil.

Finally, the reconstruction! This was one of my favorite steps in my schedule but definitely the one I used the least because I did not want to overwhelm my hair and this stage does count on more strong products. I will show you how to build your schedule, so keep reading. You should invest in a good protein hair mask for your reconstruction, as well as amino acids because these are the elements that make up the hair fiber and that restores/strengthens it.

Monthly Hair Care Schedule

Step 3) Create your own hair care schedule. Now it’s time for you to organize yourself so you can treat your hair. To get started with this process, you will have to plan so that your hair gets through each stage of the schedule in a way that each stage complements each other. Do ALWAYS start your schedule by deep conditioning your hair (hydration). The traditional schedule, which was the one I used, is a total of 8 deep conditioning (hydrate), 6 nutrition (oils), and 1 reconstruction per month. However, if your hair needs more nutrition than hydration, then you can decrease the number of one so as to increase the number of the other. Below is a template, you can adjust it as needed.

Like anything else in life, seeing results may take a while. The most important thing is consistency! Make sure to follow through with your schedule and choose the products that will provide the necessary nutrients to keep your hair healthy. Once you start seeing results, you will be more inclined to keep your schedule. Let me know if you will try this method, and if you have any questions, in the comment box below.

With love,

Eve