
I’ve finally perfected my wash and go routine after almost eight years. The shingling method was once my go to for styling my type 4 hair. But although the results were beautiful, it was extremely time consuming. Then I moved on to comb coils. I was able to get very similar results in a shorter amount of time. I’ve since discovered the three row comb and it’s been life changing. I’m able to achieve a super defined, juicy wash and go in about 30-40 minutes. That may seem like a long time. But the shingling method took about two hours. Now it was time to figure out what products left me with the perfect wash and go. A combo of mousse and gel. That’s it.

I used to style my hair religiously using the L.O.G. Method. A water based leave-in followed by oil to seal, then my trusty Eco Style Olive Oil Gel to give my coils definition and hold the style. My hair always turned out beautiful. But it would take forever to dry. Sometimes two full days which is not ideal when it’s cold out. I realized this was because I would mostly use heavy leave-in creams. Since my hair is low porosity, it was having a hard time absorbing such heavy products. Even if they were water based. I began to experiment using lighter leave-ins and noticed that my hair would dry much faster.
One day I decided to use a moisturizing mousse combined with gel on wash day. I simply parted my hair in sections and applied the mousse to extremely wet hair. Followed it with the gel. Then used my 3 Row Comb to define my coils. When I tell y’all it was the most perfect wash and go ever… my hair looked so bomb. My coils were firm yet bouncy, and straight poppin. I haven’t looked back and this has now been my go to way to style my hair the last few months.

Now I usually only use mousse when I do a Perm Rod Set. I always thought that my hair required heavy moisturizers for wash and gos since it’s so thick. But that’s not the case. Mousse works extremely well on type 4 hair, including 4C hair. It just needs to be a moisturizing formula. My current go to mousse is the Creme of Nature Coconut Milk Curl Quenching Mousse. It leaves my coils so juicy and defined. I also love the Design Essentials Almond & Avocado Curl Enhancing Mousse. And I’ve heard really good things about the tgin Honey Whip Hydrating Mousse and can’t wait to try it.
You can try different mousses to see what formula works best for your hair. Also try different mousse and gel combos until you achieve your perfect wash and go. Watch my 3 Row Comb Wash n’ Go Tutorial to see how I style my hair.
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2 Responses
I have thin fine natural 4c hair..gels are too heavy and weight it down and hardens it..mouse also. I use a curling cream and black castor oil butter combination as a wash and go..is there a gel that’s good for fine 4c hair and do I need gel…Thank you.
You don’t have to use gel. A light curling jelly should work to give your fine hair some hold