Naturals all over adore, covet, and rock the natural world renowned "Wash and Go." A perfectly defined and elongated wash and go is practically a gift from the natural hair gods, if there were any! A hairstyle that's quick (for some) and easy to achieve. Atleast that's how it's advertised. Depending on your hair texture, wash and go's can take up to 30 minutes or more to achieve one's desired look, and in order to achieve this look a lot of manipulation may be required.

What many don't realize about the beloved wash and go is
that it is often a major cause of single strand knots, breakage, split ends, and even heat damage depending on the technique. Over time, wash and go's that are done in a hurry can affect the health of your hair.

How does a wash and go lead to these problems? I'm glad you asked. Naturals with thicker and tighter curls may be more prone to these effects because the longer you wear your hair without detangling, the more likely single strand knots and tangles are to occur. With tangles and improper detangling comes breakage, and with breakage comes split ends.

Now some of you may be wondering how heat damage comes into play with a wash and go. Well, the longer the natural hair movement is in the spotlight, the more techniques that surface. One of these techniques is the stretched wash and go with the use of a diffuser. While diffusers use less direct heat, they still apply heat to the hair. If you are not careful, and/or use this technique daily, you could be in danger of heat damage. Moreso, the naturals that prefer to use a concentrator on the roots to stretch them - you may not notice any damage now but when your roots grow out you will see the evidence.

How to Prevent These Horrors