No Shampoo Since Last Year

This is so unlike me. I typically shampoo my locs every two weeks, but sometimes life be life’n. And already in 2022, life is trying to take over habits that I know serve me well. It has officially been 3 weeks and 6 days since my last shampoo and I refuse to say 4 weeks. That means I have some serious life decisions to make. But first let me tell you how I ended up here— less than 24 hours away from “a month since my last shampoo”.

No Shampoo Since Last Year…

The last time I shampooed my hair it was in December— when I refreshed my hair color. During that shampoo session, my sister stepped in to help me. She applied my hair color and rinsed it out AND shampooed my hair— it was wonderful! Much like when you have someone else clean your house, why would I then choose to do manual house labor?! And yet, there is no regular Loctician or replacement to shampoo my hair. Just me. But for some reason it felt like if I waited long enough someone would come to save me from the task. Spoiler Alert: they never came. The reality is that I purposefully mark on my monthly calendar when I shampooed my hair and when it’s shampoo time again. This helps to hold me accountable. Since I am a visual type of person, seeing it hanging on my bathroom wall every day is the gentle reminder I need.

Where did the time go?

Now let’s fast forward to the part where the gentle reminder turns into a reality check. When I took that check to the bank I earned a valuable lesson. I learned that when your practice involves a PRINTED wall calendar you should order a new one at the beginning of the month, NOT December 31st— to maintain said practice and commitment. Who would have thunk it?! Many people I’m sure, but this self-inflicted accountability is a new space I am growing into. I’m at a point in my life where I am aware of how keeping commitments to myself is one way that I show respect for myself. How can I expect other people to uphold commitments to me, or to themselves, if I don’t also practice and show self respect?!

So, if you’re like me, and your life be life’n sometimes too, I encourage you to build a practice that fits into your lifestyle and by default will hold you accountable. For me, that looks like shampooing every two weeks, because my scalp and hair deserve the cleansing, but also marking it on my calendar so I don’t forget or find myself at 3 weeks and 6 days wondering what happened with my life. With that said, I am going to go shampoo my hair now. I’m also going to try a new hair style (yikes!) —wish me luck!

In the comments, let me know how you keep yourself accountable for regular shampoo sessions!