Traveling with Natural Hair

I’m currently going through and editing pics from my trips to Alaska and Montreal. I found pics from my travels to South America last year. The humidity was not kind to my natural hair. My hair absorbed ALL of the humidity in the air that South America had to offer. Traveling with natural hair can be a doozy sometimes. I’m not one of those girls who likes to get braided up before trips. Although it probably would be easier, I haven’t had braids in over 10 years. I’m not a fan of sitting in the salon for hours and lets not talk about the removal process when you are ready for them to come out. Nope! I don’t have the patience.

I have to really plan out what hair products to bring when I travel. I’m learning to pack light. I’m not there yet, but it’s a goal of mine. When I went to Hawaii I almost had to pay extra to for my hair products because they made my bag too heavy. Lucky for me the sky cap was cool. He gave me a box to put them in and didn’t charge me for extra luggage. Packing for Hawaii was just a disaster period. I had just moved back to Michigan and had to leave out again so I wasn’t organized. I practically threw all of my summer clothes in a large suitcase and ended up over packing. I will NEVER do that again. I wore maybe 20% of what I packed. A complete waste. I don’t enjoy lugging around a large suitcase either. Between the large suitcase and my camera gear I looked like a bag lady. And it was super heavy.

Since that travel disaster, I have narrowed my hair products down to the bare minimum for me. Here is a list of things I must have for my natural hair when traveling.

1. Spray Bottle – I am the queen of dry twist-outs. I spray my hair down with a water and glycerine mix and twist with Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque.

2. Glycerin – See #1

3. Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque – I use it as a leave in for my dry twist outs. It leaves my hair so moisturized. Sometimes too moisturized if I apply too much glycerin in my spray mix. See above pic!

4. Satin Scarf – I wear this when my hair is twisted at night. I find that satin bonnets fall of my hair when it’s braided. Tying them down with a scarf works best for me.

5. Wide Tooth Comb – I use this to part and detangle my hair. I mostly finger detangle because I don’t want to disturb my curl pattern, but sometimes my hair knots up.

6. Satin Bonnet – I sleep with a bonnet when I wear a wash-and-go. Although it flattens my coils, it doesn’t disturb my curl pattern. They are easily revived with oily fingers or my Q-redew.

7. Shampoo: I use any store bought cheap shampoo. I know most naturals don’t shampoo and only co-wash. I tried that method for years but have found that my coils are more defined when I shampoo. So I just shampoo my scalp. Some of my favorites are ColorProof, Wen and Dove Daily Moisture Shampoo.

8. Conditioner: I’m a little more choosy with my conditioner. I need slip. My current favorites are ColorProof, Hair Rules Quench Ultra Rich Conditioner, Nexxus Humectress, Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner and Dove Daily Moisture Conditioner.

9. Deep Conditioner – I pre-mix my own deep conditioner concoction using my own recipe.

10. Bentonite Clay Mix – I follow my own modified version of the Maximum Hydration Method which requires you to do a clay rinse on your hair. I pre-mix the bentonite clay with water and olive oil. I seal it in an air tight container for travel. I swear by this method. My coils stay on #fleek.