Hair is Growing!

O.K. Over the last 3 months since my surgery, my hair is really growing. I think I've really figured out the key to my hair! Low manipulation, protective styling, gentle handling and keeping it stretched. (pictured is me at my sister's graduation with my nephew and my "braid-out" half wig ;)

As much as I try, I don't like shampooing in the shower. It just makes me rush through my routine because my hot water starts to run out before I finish my detangling - retwisting! So, I'm going to stick with the following routine. It works best for me and my hair seems to cooperate better this way. Maybe, as my hair grows longer (shoulder length and more), I'll revisit the wash in the shower:

1). Dry detangle with fingers using melted EVOO and Coconut oil. Braid into sections (6-12) with oil mixture. (twist ends instead of braiding so it will be easier to unravel braids).

2). Spritz with Water and baggy for at least 20 minutes (pre-poo)

3). Mix shampoo mixture of EVOO and Jojoba oil or Hot six oil (whatever oils on hand), Condish - Humectant/HEHH, or Suave Coconut, etc. and Creamy Olive Oil shampoo (small dollop).

4).Apply mixture to scalp, massage in. Rinse (in the sink or lean head into shower using shower head attachment)

5). Unbraid section at a time, apply KCKT leave-in (or whatever leave in you're using at the time, Cantu Shea butter leave in, Kimmaytube's leave-in mixture, Giovonni's leave in, KCKT preferred. Make sure whatever you use has lots of slip for detangling).

6). Detangle individual sections with wide-tooth shower comb first then follow up with Denman or paddle brush.

8).2 strand twist each section to stretch. Be sure to put "kitchen" area hair at the nape of the neck either in a single, horizontal flat twist or 4-8 small 2strand twists to protect and grow.

9). Don satin cap and go to sleep ;)

10). Next day, pin up twists or wear twists under wig or half wig as a protective style.

DAY TWO - NEXT EVENING

1). Flat twist into favorite protective style (see, "Simply Younique" video), wear in this style or cover this style with wig or half wig for protective styling. Use some kind of styling cream or oil to for twists, use shea butter or some kind of oil to seal ends.

2). Repeat routine weekly.

3). Daily, if protective styling, spritz hair with water/oil (Aloe Vera Juice) spritz and Hot Six Oil spritz.

ALTERNATE STYLE - Dry braid sections to stretch for a braid-out. Use some kind of styling cream or oil for twists, use shea butter or some kind of oil to seal ends. (braid hair sections but twists ends for reasons stated above. Flexi - rod permed, stringy ends but let braids "hang"). - Refer to braid out tutorial by "Pretty Dimples" for step by step instructions.

This will be my routine for the remainder of winter. We'll see how much longer my hair grows in the next few months ;)

Maintain braid out for a week by re-braiding each night in big braids. flexi-rod permed, stringy ends.

Products in my current rotation that I love (and I'm at the point now where I don't care if they have "cones" or any other so-called "bad" products. As long as it doesn't damage my hair and produces good results - except for mineral oil or petroleum. I still try to stay away from this if at all possible. I don't like how they make my hair feel:

EVOO, Jojoba oil, Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in, Suave Coconut Condish or Suave Humectant, HEHH condish, Pantene R&N Hair Mask, Hot Six Oil, Root Stimulator Cream Olive Oil Shampoo, Aloe Vera Juice, Shea butter, Ecco Styler Gel, B&B Oil Moisturizer.

Ciao for now!

So Many New Things!

Well, It's been a while since I've blogged and I've learned so many new things and got new pictures to share! (see pics above).

First, I've subscribed to Kimmaytube, a natural Youtube site that provides a lot of informative stuff about natural hair care, growth and maintenance. Without going into a whole lot of long, boring detail, I've begun using Kimmaytube's techniques of protective styling (protecting my ends in styles that keep the ends tucked away like two strand twists, braids and protective updos most of the time) using aloe vera juice to help grow and maintain my hair's health and using half wigs and phony ponys as protective styles. I want my hair to get to it's maximum health and length so I'm going into protective mode for awhile to achieve just that. I recently had surgery and have been home from work for 6 weeks during recovery. I've worn my hair in flat twists and two strand twist styles the entire time, only taking it down to wash and condition weekly. I also have been spritzing my hair daily with a mixture of water (because water is the best moisturizer for hair), various oils - EVOO, EVCO and Aloe Vera Juice, and I've also been using Kimmaytube's leave in conditioner mixture as my leave in instead of regular conditioners alone. This mixture I use is a combination of Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, a leave in conditioner like Kinky Curly's Knot Today or Giovanni's Leave In Conditioner and Aloe Vera juice. The key to this mixture is the PH balance of the ingredients. It's important to have a good ph balance to help hair maintain moisture and to close the cuticle after washing to prevent dryness, knots and breakage. I really like this combo. It makes my hair feel really soft and moisturized. And, Aloe Vera is supposed to be particularly good for hair health and stimulating growth.

The couple of times over the last few weeks, when I did where my hair out, I wore it in a two strand twist out and sometimes added a half curly wig to the back to keep most of my own hair protected. I was a little nervous about wearing the "fake" hair, worried that people might know that it's a half wig, but I guess I blended it so well with my own natural hair that you really couldn't tell the difference. Both of my daughters were very complimentary and didn't know that it wasn't all my own hair until I told them! That made me feel pretty goodl I'm really trying to baby my hair right now and hopefully in the weeks and months to come I'll see the results. My hair has been growing and I've noticed that I'm retaining some length in the back. When stretched, the little twists reach all the way down the base of my neck now --ah...progress!

Well, that's the long and short of it. I'll post more details later about my "mixing" and protective styling later. Hope you enjoy the pics ;) I know I do. Oh, the one's with me and my oldest daughter are from her Dean's List Celebration Ceremony at her college. She made the deans list and I couldn't be more proud of her. Aint she purty??!!

Ciao for now!

LOVIN' IT!

My hair is responding so nicely to a few things that I've been doing recently. It's groing nicely in the back and all around in general. I discovered that I can do a wash n' go in a pinch - just co-wash with HH (which I've fallen in love with all over again) -or- rinse really good if I don't have time to co-wash, then add Cantu Shea butter leave in, which is working much better than I orginally thought since I trimmed quite a bit more of my perm off. My natural hair loves things that my chemically processed hair just doesn't. But, the perm is slowly but surely being trimmed away and I'm loving my real curls! They're so healthy and springy and respond well when I give them what they want. Lot's of moisture and COCONUT OIL! This stuff is the business! It keeps my hair moisturized and soft, helps define my curls nicely and just makes my hair respond so much better. I can also "shingle define" my 4b/4c curls when wet with some Cantu leave in and Ecco Styling gel! I didn't want to use the styling gel but once I did, I was hooked. It defines my curls nicely. I load my wet hair up with the gel, section it into smallish sections and brush the gel through - bam! Nicely defined curls. They're not the springy silky curls of a 3 hair type but my hair separates nicely into kinky koils that I then rake my fingers through to further define or twist smaller sections at the back and middle into "doodles" or coils. I absolutely love it!

I've also discovered that if I leave the coils in the back and just separate them into one or two sections once it dries in the morning, I get definition and it lasts for a long time if I leave it alone. But here's what I did last night;
To dry hair I sectioned and used my spray bottle to spritz water on and then applied Cantu shea leave in to each section then the ecco gel. two strand twist (not flat twists) and leave the back where it's pretty much all natural in twists. The top and front where there's still perm, I two strand twist and then add a roller to the ends. In the morning untwist section into just a few sections,(3 or 4) and then fluff just a little bit not disturbing the coils too much. I love the results and the gel helps the curls last a little longer if I don't mess with them too much. Today I co-washed with HH and then conditioned with Totally Twisted (which I don't like as much as the HH but it worked). Let the TT sit on my hair for a bit while in the shower then rinse and blot hair gently with a towel (or preferrably an old t-shirt), then I separate into 5 sections (separating them and finger detangling as I go - because of the coconut oil and the other condishes my hair had lots of slip and detangling was a breeze!) then I add the Cantu Shea leave in and then seal with the coconut oil. I detangle with my shower comb, then detangle the sections which I split each into two smaller sections, with my denaman brush and twist each of those sections loosely to keep them separated. This I do out of the shower at the bathroom sink. I then untwisted each section at at time, starting at the back, split THOSE sections into two and add ecco gel to each section and retwist. The back I section and twist and twirl the ends but don't roller them. The top and sides I do the same but I do roll the ends on rollers because of the straight permed ends. I'm sure it will turn out great in the morning becuase I've been following this routine for a little over a week and it's awesome! I love the little coils that I either leave in the back as twists in the morning or just separate them into two sections - that's all. Gorgeous! I'll probably shampoo this weekend simply because I think I need to do that at least once a month because of the "cone" build up. Need a little sls to neutralize the cone build up but that's really not a big deal as my hair is responding nicely and growing just great! I think I've reached a milestone ;)

Ciao for now!

New Routine - Even BETTER!

So, I've discovered a new routine that works absolutely PERFECT for my hair. It keeps breakage to a minimum and detangles oh, so nicely! I got this routine off of Youtube and I think its a keeper: (I'm journaling this more for myself than anything else so I won't forget it - LOL! Also, I get good results when detangling in the shower with my old routine and the Pantene R&N Hair Mask, but that "ish" is hard to find and I don't want to feel like I have to rely on that for easy detangling when I run out of the supply that I have. Plus, I don't like being in the shower as long as I have to when washing and detangling in the shower. In my complex where I live, the hot water doesn't last for long if you take a 30-45 minute shower and I find myself trying to rush through my washing and detangling session before I'm doused in lukewarm to freezing cold water! With my thick, dense hair, rushing through the routine is a NO NO. You end up yanking and pulling at tangles and knots instead of taking your time and lovlingly detangling with patience - HA! ) SOOOOO.... I found another routine that doesn't even involve that stuff, and it works out even better for my detangling sessions because I'm using some good oils and sectioning my hair into smaller sections - SMILE!)

First - I section my dry hair into four large sections. Mix a pre-poo concoction of EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil), COO (coconut oil - smells oh, so good!) and Cantu shea butter leave in condish, warming up the oil, of course, so the COO will melt. Next I section, clip back the sections and section each large section into smaller sections, apply the pre-poo to each section at a time and finger detangle as I apply the pre-poo to my hair, scalp and ends. When I'm done detangling a section, I braid that section and move on to the next. I do this throughout my hair, making about 16-18 little braids. Then, I spritz a little water all over my hair with my water spritzer bottle and then baggy my hair and cover the baggy with a scarf and leave it on for anywhere from 20 mins to 3 hours, depending on what I'm doing that day. (Today, I covered the baggy with my satin bonnet and rocked a black tam on top of that, cocked to the side. I went downtown to the mall and everything in my tam - made up my face, wore big earrings and applied extra fly eye makeup. I was definitely feeling FIERCE - LOL, no, really!

Next, I unbaggy, mix a concoction of EVOO, Suave Coconut condish and ORS Olive Oil cream shampoo (just a little bit of the shampoo). I apply this mixture in between the parts where the braids are and message this into my scalp. Remember, shampooing is more for the scalp than the hair. My hair is still in braids. I then rinse the shampoo mixture out in the kitchen sink - I don't even have to get in the shower to rinse! Just rinse the "poo" mixture right out of my braids. This takes hardly anytime at all since the mixture rinses out so easily. I then blot my hair with a t-shirt - not a towel!

I then mix up some ORS Hold and Smooth Pudding, a little more EVOO, and a leave in condish like HE Hello Hydration or, like this time, I used Deva Curl One condish. I apply this to each damp braid individually, unbraid that section, apply more mixture, if needed, and detangle with my shower comb first, then my denman brush. The oils and condish soften my hair so that the comb and then the brush virtually glide right through my hair from roots to end (note, this particular time I trimmed my ends but, I won't need to do this every time. My ends really needed trimming. I HATE those raggedy, straight permed ends. Getting rid of them slowly but surely!)

After I detangle a section I either double strand twist it or braid it (I braided the back so that it would hold because it's shorter in the back.). Once done with all sections of my hair, I didn't roll it this time on rollers, just pinned sections back with hair pins. I don't know how the twist out will turn out tomorrow as far as definition goes, since I didn't roll the ends with rollers, but I definitely love this routine. It's probably not faster, but, I get less breakage and shedding by sectioning and my hair loves all of the oils and condish. It feels soft and manageable. We'll see how the twist out turns out without rolling tomorrow. But, like I said, this routine and the products are definitely a keeper. So much easier to work with my "4" hair in sections. LOVE IT!

Ciao, for now ;)

Best Wash Session EVER!!!!

OMG! As disappointed as I was with my last wash session (with the Hair Mayo deep condish) I was equally or even more pleased with this wash session. Here's the lineup:
Pre-poo with Hot Six Oil and Cantu Shea Butter Leave In for 2.5 hours; Hop in shower and rinse out pre-poo concoction - hair felt soft and manageable already; shampoo with ORS Olive Oil Creamy Shampoo-not too drying; Deep condish and detangle with Pantene's R&N Hair Mask - let it marinate while I shower and shave; detangle in 4-6 sections - AWESOME slip and barely any shedding at all! The comb and the Denman Brush practically slipped through my hair from roots to ends with the greatest of ease; rinse detangled clipped and twisted sections (clips in the back where the hair is shorter, twist front two longer sections). Get out of shower and apply Hello Hydration to each section. Wait a few minutes and then begin styling: Blot each section with a towel to rid hair of excess moisture, apply shea butter to each section to seal in moisture and then apply ORS Smoothing and Hold Pudding. Seal ends with more shea butter, twist and curl. My hair is soft, manageable and no tangles, knots or problems at all. Can't wait to do the take down tomorrow. Hope it's not still wet in the morning! LOVE IT! Next time I'll use the same routine but probably just co-wash instead of using the shampoo. Don't want to over shampoo. We'll see how that works!

This was the most incredible washing experience. No fighting with my hair, tugging pulling or problems at all. I actually enjoyed this wash session. It brought a smile to my face ;)

Ciao for now! (Note to self, remember these products in this particular rotation. Your hair loves it! Also, probably should blot hair with the towel before applying the HH condish as a leave in. I felt like I was blotting out alot of the condish along with the water. Just reverse this process next time - lol!)

Hey, I'm on Curlynikki.com!

I submitted my picture to Curlynikki.com's Fierce Friday" post and she posted it! It's kinda cool (see pic above).

I'm currently pre-pooing with Cantu Shea Butter Leave In condish and Hot Six Oil. I warmed the oil, made a mixture of the oil and about 2 tablespoons of the leave in condish and applied to my curls. Put a plastic baggy on my head with a scarf on top of that and I've been doing house work and waiting for the towels to dry with this concoction on my head for about an hour. As soon as the towels are dry, I'm going to jump in the shower and shampoo with ORS Creamy shampoo. It's about the mildest shampoo I've tried so far. I'm going to go ahead and shampoo because it's got a little bit of SLS in it to clean my hair of some of the cones from my diff products. After I shampoo I'm going to use R&N Hair mask to condish and detangle, and then use Hello Hydration as my leave in (or maybe I'll give the DevaCare One another try). Then I'll do my tnc with ORS Smooth and Hold Pudding and seal with shea butter. I'll post the results when I take it down tomorrow ;)

Still loving my fro. The thicher my natural hair grows, the easier it is to take down and hide the part lines. My curls last for several days if I don't disturb it too much after the take down.

Ciao for now!

Hair Mistakes and BIG Disappointment!

Well, it's back to what works for me. ORS Hair Mayonnaise...my hair HATED it. My hair was crispy, matted, tangled and not even close to being soft after I pre-pooed with oil, co-washed with HH Totally Twisted, DC'd with the Mayonnaise, baggied it for 20 mins. went to wash out the mayo, and ugghhh!!! My hair was so tangled I couldn't even finger detangle!!!! I proceeded to rinse that crap out, and put in the Cantu Shea Leave In condish. Nothing. No slip, no detangling. Nothing. Rinsed that out and tried to use my beloved Hello Hydration to get some slip so I could DT. Even that didn't work at this point, my hair was so rough and crunchy! The permed ends were so tangled and knotted I almost got the scissors and thought about just doing the BC right then and there. I had to get back in the shower and slather my hair with my Pantene R&N Hair Mask Condish. Finally, some slip. Detangled, rinsed and sectioned, and, in my attempt to at least give the Cantu Shea leave in another try, (because at least it smells REALLY good), applied that to my damp hair. I then applied my ORS Olive Oil Holding Pudding and sealed the ends with shea butter and then two-strand twisted and curled. We'll see how it turns out in the morning when I take it down but I was so upset I wanted to cry!

I'm going back to what I know works. No new products for me for a while: Co-wash with Suave Tropical Coconut Condish, Deep condish with my Pantene Hair Mask, let that sit on my hair for a little while, detangle, rinse, apply my Hello Hydration as my leave-in and then apply my ORS pudding and then TnC. At least then, I know I won't be yanking and pulling at my hair to detangle and I know the results come out well. Guess you live, experiment and learn!

Ciao for Now~

6 months into my Transition...Thoughts

Well, I've been taking 1000 mcg (micrograms) of Biotin for the past 3 weeks, and I really can see some difference in my hair health and even my nails are growing, it seems, a little faster and stronger. My hair isn't shedding like it was and it's really thickening up, especially in the back where it is mostly natural now. I may up the dosage to 2000 mcg and see how that works. I've read that some people take up to 5000 mcg and I've seen bottles of 5000 dosage in the drug stores. Biotin has no side effects so I can't hurt. Its water soluable so what your body doesn't absorb just comes out through your urine. My hair does seem to be much healthier, though.

It's funny because I look at pics of me when I first started transitioning 6 months ago and I started getting a little discouraged because my hair was longer, my twist-out looked more "lush" for a lack of better term. But then I realized, that wasn't my natural hair, that was mostly the permed hair. My natural hair is growing like crazy now, while my permed hair is phasing out, either shedding or from my trimming it away periodically. So, my twist outs look shorter and pouffier because they are! It's my natural hair taking over. But, it seems to really be growing thick!

I've been using the "Worlds of Curls" activator on mostly the back of my hair where it's almost completely natural for a couple of days now. It doesn't do much in terms of curl definition (although I have yet to apply it as a styling gel for my twist out), but it definitely moisturizes (the first two ingredients are water and glycerin) the dry hair in the back and keeps my hair looser and softer. I think I'll continue to use it. Especially after I BC because my natural hair seems to like it. I don't use a whole lot because I don't like for my hair to feel greasy, but it feels soft and I like touching it. It doesn't feel crunchy in the back anymore and it's not shedding at all. I'm going to have to do a re-styling session tonight, though, because when I took down my TnC yesterday, it was still wet and now I've got a lot of frizz! I may just TnC the back. I don't know. We'll see how I feel when I get home from work this evening. ;)

This weekend I'm going to try "Kinky Curly Coily's" routine: I'll apply olive oil to my hair (my Hot Six Oil) and co-wash, apply Organic Root Stimulators Hair Mayonnaise, comb through and let it sit with a plastic baggy for about 15 minutes, detangle, rinse and then apply Cantu Leave in Condish (if I can ever find any!). After that I'll probably use the ORS curly pudding that I have and flat twist probably seal my ends with shea butter. See how that turns out ;) I want to try the Hair Mayo because I want to see if it will be a good replacement for my Pantene R&N hair mask when it all runs out ;(

I think I'll continue to co-wash and skip shampooing altogether, my hair seems to act better when I don't use shampoo. I haven't really found one that doesn't make my hair feel stripped of all moisture! Maybe I'll just shampoo once a month with a shampoo that has some "sls" (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) in it just to get rid of build up and the "cones" in my conditioner and other products. I'll probably use the Organic Root Olive Oil Cream shampoo. It seem to have been the gentlest on my hair so far of all the shampoos I've tried and it does have some sls in it, but I'll wait another couple of weeks before I do that.

Ciao for now!

Dissappointment - again

Well, I tried using just the DeVa Curl line of products for my washing this week and I was very dissappointed with the results. Everyone raves about this line but I don't think my hair really likes it and you have to listen to your hair. Maybe my hair just likes some of the products, but I was very dissappointed in the "No Poo" - I thought it was a bit harsh and left my hair kinda rough. I used DevaCurl One Conditioner as a detangler and was expecting great results, instead I got a lot of tangle and knots at the ends. Maybe it's my permed ends that didn't like it. Maybe it was because I used the No Poo first, but for $17.95 a bottle, I expected the tangles and knots to melt away like they do with my Pantene R&N Hair mask. No such luck. I don't think it did as good a job as my $3.00 HH Hello Hydration. I will go back to co-washing with Suave Coconut Condish and detangling/leave in with HH. When I run out of the Pantene, I'm going to try Organics Hair Mayonnaise as a replacement for my Deep Condish. I may go to Trader Joe's and get the their Nourish Spa Condish - I've hear good things about it but we'll see. I still like the DevaCurl "Set it Free" to set my curls, but, I'm just not happy (for the price) with all the products combined. My hair feels soft but it looks very dry and dull. Maybe I used too much. I don't know. Well, I tried it but it's back to what I know works. Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's the best ;) Also, I have to go with what I know my hair likes. It didn't like this stuff very much. Also, I realize that I need to trim my ends more often. Especially when the they start knotting and tangling alot. Gotta get rid of these permed ends. I did a "twist n trim" after my washing. Probably shou'dve trimmed more than I did but I'm not quite ready for the BC yet. These stringy ends are getting on my nerves, though.

Ciao for now!

Lovin' the new routine

Soooo....last week I did a hot oil "pre-poo" with my Hot Six Oil. Warmed the oil and saturated my hair with it, put a plastic baggy on and let it soak in for about 25 mins. ( I would've left it on longer, but I couldn't stand the oil dripping down my neck and face...I don't know how people sleep with oil and a baggy on their heads at night. Maybe they drap a towel over their pillows. Seems to me you'd get oil all over your face and eyes. Maybe I'll try it sometime because I've heard the benefits are great, just not use so much oil ???)

Anyway, after the pre-poo, I co-washed with Coconut condish and then detangled with HH Hello Hydration. I don't know what it is but the HH didn't give me the slip that I really was looking for so I had a hard time detangling and my hair was knotted pretty bad at the ends. But, after my styling session, which consisted of blotting my hair after the washing and conditioning and then adding Totally Twisted as my leave-in, I added shea butter, did my TnC and then spritzed each section with Deva Curl Set it Free. It turned out pretty nice.

So, I decided to do some protective styling later on in the week instead of re-twisting so I did the pompador updo and put a satin scarf on it at night to protect. Wore it like that for two days with minimal manipulation. I liked the low-maintenance of it. On this Sunday, I cowashed again but this time I used my beloved Pantene Relaxed and Natural Hair mask (which I'm down to my last jar and a half and after it's gone I don't know what I'm going to do because I can't find it anywhere. I think it's been discontinued!!!) Detangled beautifully in the shower with the R&N, hardly any shedding at all. After that, I used shea butter to seal and instead of doing a TnC, this time I did the "Cinnabun" hairstyle. (see above and left. Pics are NOT me, my cinnabun had a pomp in the front - lol) I loved it! It might be a little too "different" for work (well, maybe without the pomp in the front) but I really liked it. Wore it like that for two days (scarved it at night), no manipulation at all and it looked great!

Decided to go back to my TnC for work on Tuesday so I took down the cinnabun, spritzed each section with my olive oil, water and condish mixture, sealed the ends with shea and spritzed a little "Set it Free" on each section. Woke up this morning, curls were soft, defined. Just finger separated and fluffed a bit at the roots. I'm loving this new routine and letting my TnC be a fro instead of trying to pull it down. I'll try to get some more pics up soon!

Oh, I also got a compliment from my cousin Glenna on my cinnabun style and even from my sister who is the hair guru extrodinaire! She can do some hair, y'all, so I always feel good when she compliments me. She said I did a good job and it looked like one of those "african" hairstyles, lol. My cousin Tonya said it was "interesting" but I have the face to pull it off - LOL! Not sure if that was exactly a compliment but I'll take it as one ;)

Ciao for now!

My 'FRO

So, I've learned a few more things since my last post. The less I pull and tug at my hair the better. When I take down my TnC, I've been really tugging and "fluffing" at my hair to stretch it and make it look longer, especially in the back where I think it is most delicate. I have 4b hair. I'm no 3a or 3b or really even a 4a (maybe 4a a little in the front). My hair is not going to look like this (see pic at right) It looks like and wants to be this: (see pics below) That is to say, it is not "hangy-downy" hair - LOL. At least not at the length it is now anyway, if ever. My hair doesn't grow down. it grows up and OUT! and the more I try to coax it into something that it's not, the more frustrated I get and dissappointed in the mornings with how it looks. Occassionally I get it to have that length look in the front, but the more my natural hair grows in and my permed ends phase out, the more shrinkage I'm getting. My hair is growing but doesn't look longer (and it seems to be growing very healthy and thick thanks to my treating it more gently and taking Biotin supplements. These supplements help support hair health and growth and I think it's working). But, it's not going to look longer because it's too dense and tight. It's also not going to have a super-defined curl pattern. Well, it will if I use some serious styling products and styling utensils (hard rollers) and techniques. But, I can't sleep on hard rollers and I'm becoming more and more o.k. with my FRO. I am definitely a FRO girl. I might try the more stretched styles every once in a while but, for the most part I'm going to work this fro. I'm going to keep it healthy and make it as BIG as possible - LOL because that's how my hair is...not long, BIG!

I just need to treat it with loving kindness. As much as I appreciate and love the "Curly Nikki" website, my hair is not going to look like hers. It looks like mine. And I have to use products and styling techniques that work for me. For instance, I can't do that fluff and "running your fingers through your hair from roots to ends" thing that she does after a take down. My hair's too thick and dense for that and it gets all frizzy. That's also why I can't hold my style/curls for longer than a day or so. TOO MUCH MANIPULATION. This week, I did a wet twist n curl, with my water/oil mixture, sealed with shea butter and spritzed a little Deva Care Set It Free on each twist after rolling twists TO THE SCALP (no more of that loose, hanging rolling). In the morning I took it down and just carefully massaged my scalp to blend the lines (especially in the back) and split the twists into 3,4 or even 5s for volume and style. It wasn't as big and "stretched" but I tell you what, I'm into day 4 and I still have some curl and it doesn't look all fried and frizzy. I'm really liking this and liking getting to know what my hair likes. And, my hair likes, low manipulation, water, shea butter, condish and it likes being a FRO!

I like this quote from the Curly Nikki site interview (unfortuntely, I don't remember the person's name but I'll find it and post it):

"If something doesn't work...ditch it right away! Be patient with your hair and let it tell you what it needs. Try not to get caught up in curl patterns and length(itallics added by me) There will be some days when you are a hot mess but don't be discouraged! Keep trying to find what works for you. Oh and take lots of pictures!! For my transitioning divas, don't ever let anyone pressure you into doing a BC because it "changed their life", do what works for you! I'm totally all about short hair but if you are not, that's ok. Your happiness is always more important. Find as much information as you can about how to transition properly so that you don't get a lot of breakage."

On my next post, I'll talk about all the new styles I'm learning to do with accessories. Love it!!

Ciao for now!

A Few Houskeeping Items

Well, o.k. so, I flat twisted my hair last night (15 twists in all). I started by spritzing my dry, tired hair with my concoction of water, Hot Six Oil and Suave Tropical Coconut condish. After my hair was thoroughly damp, I melted some pure shea butter in my hands and spread it all over my hair and massaged into my scalp. I then did the twists and spritzed each one a couple of times with the DeVaCurl Set It Free. It's supposed to set your hair as well as lock in moisture for up to 48 hours, control frizz and leave you with shiny, defined curls. It wasn't bad. My hair turned out good today but I don't know if it was from the DeVaCurl or a combination of all the stuff I used. I mean, it's good. My hair doesn't look all dried out - looks healthy and moisturized and not all greasy. But, I'm thinking I'd probably get the same result with my Organic Root Pudding. Plus, the pudding is MUCH cheaper and I don't know if the DeVaCurl is worth $17.95 a bottle vs. less than 5 bucks for the pudding. The DeVaCurl isn't worth $17.95, I don't think. I'll try all the other product samples this weekend and see how well they all work together. I'll let you know ;)

Thinking about doing a modified puff tomorrow with the front of my hair flat twisted in 4 twists (see pic examples of someone who is not me, LOL). I don't know. We'll see. Or, I may put it up on the sides with the new combs that I just bought.

I was also thinking about doing a wire-roller flat twist n curl this weekend instead of my usual sponge/satin curls. Gives me a looser curl like I had when I first started. Just wondering what that might look like again. Will try (I know, I know) to get pictures ;)

Ciao for now!

Getting Itchy

I'm getting really itchy to do a BC. I want to get rid of my permed ends so bad! I'll be patient, though and let my natural hair grow some more before I cut. The back of my hair is almost completely natural. This is due to the weak permed ends just pretty much shedding off. I went too long without washing or deep conditioning so when I finally did this past Saturday, I had so much shedding - it was crazy. Really shouldn't go that long without washing and deep conditioning. Don't want my new growth to start to suffer. But, I do need to do some "dusting" of my ends the next time I wash. Gotta get some hair scissors for that too.

My hair looked pretty good yesterday. Kinda like it did in my most recent picture only bigger - LOL. I put it in two puffs on each side of my head last night and covered it with my satin bonnet. When I woke up this morning, the permed ends had pretty much lost their shape. I was going to pull it back into "pompador updo" (which I may try tomorrow), but my scalp was really itchy - I think I left too much leave in when I washed Saturday, or my scalp was just really dry, so anyway, I mixed up my concoction of water, hot six oil and suave coconut condish in my water bottle and spritzed it on my head. Instantly, the itching stopped. I just about straightened all of my curl on the ends, but I liked how it looked because more of my new growth is visible and I can get an idea now of what it's going to look like when I do BC. I like it. It's bushy and springy and kinky - no real "structure to it", but I like it! I also discovered that my hair doesn't like oils (olive oil, etc.) when it's dry. It just sits there on top of my locks making them feel greasy. It does like shea "butter" though because shea absorbs into my hair. The oils I'll need to apply when my hair is damp or with water to seal in moisture so it won't just sit there being greasy.

I want to get one of these shower combs that everyone says works so great at detangling.

Oh, I also went out and splurged on some DevaCurl products yesterday - samples. Got them at Circle Center Mall. I'm excited to try them out, everybody raves about how good they are. We'll see ;)

Well, Ciao for now!

A Good Picture

Finally, a decent picture of my flat twist n curl! I was on my way to church. Washed and conditioned my hair yesterday with Olive Oil Shampoo (not too bad) co-washed with Suave tropical coconut condish, deep conditioned with Pantene Relaxed and Natural Hair Mask (my favorite!) and used HH Hello Hydration as my leave in and a little bit of pure shea butter. Styled with Organic Root Smooth and Hold Pudding. I made 11 or 12 flat twists, put on my satin bonnet and went to bed to let it dry overnight. I did the take down in the morning and moisturized with BB Castor Oil Creme moisturizer and sealed with Hot Six Oil. The result was full, well-defined shiny curls - and the style even turned out well. I like it muo muo much!

Unfortunately, it was raining and terribly humid so my hair lost some of it's definition and frizzed a little bit later in the day but I'm hoping it will hold up until tomorrow for work. We'll see.

Finally!!

Pictures of me and my hair. These aren't the best pictures, though. I'm wearing my reading glasses because I was on the computer and I have a weird look on my face because I didn't want my picture taken at the time. (one of my eyes looks "weird" too). Anyway, in these pics I'm rocking an old, tired, dry twist n curl that I pulled back with a headband. LOL. Maybe one day I'll get some pictures on here when I'm having a "good" hair day.

Ciao for now!

For a GREAT Twist out

My hair was "terrible" yesterday. I hadn't styled or twisted for several days, just went to bed with my satin bonnet on and woke up yesterday morning to flattened, dry strands of stringy,frizzy permed hair with no curl or definition at all. Just straight and bushy! UGGHHH! So, I pulled it back into a semi-puff with a headband and tucked the straight ends under in the back. It looked acceptable then so I wore that style to work.

Didn't feel like washing it when I got home yesterday evening so I decided to just restyle and was going to do curly nikki's dry braid n curl, but I decided against that because my hair was just too dry and straight. Sooo, I smoothed a generous amount shea butter all over my hair while it was still dry, made one section in the back, one above each ear, one framing each side of my face, one behind each of those one at the crown and - an one kinda funky one sorta in front of the one at the crown but to the left a bit, for a total of 9 sections.

I filled my spray bottle with water and Suave Coconut condish and sprayed each section before flat twisting (I just double-strand twisted the two near the crown of my head) rolled the ends with my satin/foam rollers. I then sprayed a bit of Hot Six Oil mist on the sections and in between on the scalp area and then went to bed. This morning, my curls were shiny, bouncy, defined and had a nice little bit of weight to them because of the conditioner. I love the way it looks. I even parted it down the middle and the way it turned out looks pretty good on me today. The only problem I had was that a couple of sections in the front were still a bit wet so I had to blow dry them a bit and then leave the rollers in until I got to work. The sections were pretty much dry then but one section right in the front was BONE straight at the ends - about an inch, soooo....I just cut the straight part off with my scissors! (It's perm anyway, would've eventually been cut off in the end). Other than that, my hair looks great! Will definitely be repeating this routine using these products again. I'm also noticing some growth in the back, where my hair is the most damaged and shortest. Lot's of new growth coming in and lengthening when I stretch it out. Getting a little itchy to cut some more perm off! Will definitely co-wash and maybe try the braid out on just washed hair tonight or tomorrow. We'll see.

ttyl!

Going Out!

I'm going out to dinner tonight, trying to decide what to do with my hair. I did try the WOC gel (sans water) on my hair this morning and it perked up my flat curls pretty good. I decided not to add the water because I just wanted to see what it would do on dry hair. Not too bad. It is pretty sticky and greasy though and I prolly used a little too much so I'll know better next time. I'm going to try it with my leave-in this weekend when I co-wash. See how my hair responds. I really want to see if I'll have product build up and need to wash with a little shampoo next time. I've co-washed the last 2-3 weeks so I'm wondering if I need to go ahead and do a shampoo wash maybe once a month. We'll see.

So, back to this evening. Do I want to:

1). Pull back one side with a clip and flower?

2). Just put a flower behind one ear?

3). Pull back just the front with a wide/decorative (sparkly) headband?

4). Pull it up on both sides?

5). -or- spritz some water on it and make it really big and puffy? ;)

Guess it'll depend which looks best with what I'm wearing. Actually, I'm not going to dress up, just gonna get out of this YMCA work shirt that I'm wearing today. Maybe wear a nice bright sweater or something.

By the way, the pic above, I'm thinking that's about how my hair will look once all the perm is out. That looks like it might be about my texture. Love it! Can't wait. I know that my hair is not going to just "hang" in ringlets from my scalp when I'm au naturel. Not this puffy 4b/c hair. But, I don't want it to. I want to rock it in all of it's Nappy glory! LOL ;)

Welll....ciao for now ;)

Smokin'!

Styled my dry, crunchy hair last night using water spritz, shea butter and olive oil smoothing/hold pudding. did a two tier flat twist with about 10 twists total (4 on the bottom, 2 on either side of my head, one directly in front on my forehead and just one regular two strand twist at the crown.). Rolled these all up to the scalp with my satin covered foam rollers (I think I need to get some that are a little bigger than the ones I have currently, or those flexirods. But that'll have to wait 'til my next trip to the bss). Got up this morning and did the take down and the curls were looking super-fab! Love it. My hair looks something like this - only not as long in the back ;)

I went ahead and got some curl activator, ended up getting World of Curls instead of the Long Aid because WOC came in a smaller jar. Didn't want to get the great big jar of LA because I may not like it. I'm going to just cover my hair with my satin cap tonight and refresh in the morning with a little water and the WOC, we'll see how that turns out ;) Then, when I co-wash this weekend I'll use the WOC with my leave-in condish and see how THAT works. I'll keep you posted. And I will really, really try to get some pics on here this weekend ;)



Oh, and I can't remember which site I got this pic from so I don't know her name (sorry) but I'm putting this pic up as a reminder to myself that if my refresh doesn't go well in the morning, I can always wear my hair like this. It is a cute style that I'd like to try sometime soon.




I saw this statement by "Luka Lomi" on the curly nikki site today:
"My staple styles are the twists and twist outs. I love to change my hairstyle constantly. Each state it's in changes my mood inversely, I change my hair to suit my moods. I love how my hair changes everyday. Every night I sleep on it, it gets better and more unique. Curly hair has a mind of its own. I've learned to just roll with the punches when it comes to dealing with my mane. If my hair is super frizzy, dirty, or tangled then I put it in a high pony."

Couldn't have said it better my self ;)

Ciao!!!

New Styles

(Pictured is not me, of course - still no new pics of me yet. This is a picture of "Gigi" that I got off of the www.curly.nikki.com website. But, I am wearing my hear similar to this only my flower is a bit smaller).

Finally decided to wear the flower in my hair today with my afro-puff. It's cute. I like it ;)

I really do need to re-twist or wash my hair tonight. I can't go 4 days without retwisting. My hair is DRY and looking frizzy!

This pic is my grandbaby. I love her little natural "fro". I may style my hair like this for the next few days in honor of her - LOL. Of course, her little baby curls are much cuter than mine ;)

ciao!

STILL LEARNING

I've discovered what I call "settling" time with my hair. When I wake up in the morning and either take out fresh twists or refresh my twists, once I arrange them the best to my ability, I have to let my hair 'settle' for a bit without touching it either to let the water and conditioner set and/or oil spritz to dry and let my hair relax into the style that it wants to for that day. I've left my house so dissappointed with the way my style looks and then by the time I get to work and look in the mirror, it TOTALLY looks great. Much better than it did when i left the house. So, when I'm working with my hair in the am and start to get frustrated because it's not looking like I want, I just leave it alone and reevaluate after I get to work. It really makes a BIG diff!

Been reading posts online about using LongAid Aloe Vera Curl Activator on wet hair after washing, in place of or in addition to my leave in. I'm really thinking about trying it. I remember using this stuff when I had my jheri curl back in the day, but don't know how it will work on transitioning hair. I've read that it works well, really conditions and adds lots of curl definition. I checked the ingredients and most of them are o.k. Only a couple that give me reason to caution, but those have to do with the gel flaking once it dries. I figure if I don't get too heavy-handed with it, should be o.k. I'm curious to find out if it works as well as my Olive Oil Smoothing and Hold pudding.

Well, toodles for now! Still no pics yet ;( Although I am rocking the afro puff today. Woke up this morning to an old, tired twist out that couldn't be salvaged no matter what I did - lol! Although, I thought I wouldn't be able to salvage it yesterday and it turned out o.k. just a little on the dry, frizzy side in certain spots. Discovered that when one side is a little flat or frizzier than the other, I can pull it back with a clip and it actually looks cute. Maybe I'll try that flower next time. Still haven't gotten up the nerve to wear a flower in my hair to work yet, HA! Anyway, will re-style tonight.

Huey is my hair idol - HA!

Well, I discovered this morning that I CAN do the "Tightly Curly" method (www.tightlycurly.com) for refreshing my hair in the morning, even if I still have lots of perm left. Instead of spritzing a bunch of water on my hair, I wet my hands (as is recommended on the tightly curly website) and rubbed onto the top of my hair, smoothing it down. Then, I applied a little of my HE Totally Twisted conditioner to my hands and rubbed that onto my hair, smoothing downward again. I repeated the same process with my Hot Six Oil (coconut oil and other fabulous oils) and then kinda rubbed that through my hair and "misted" just a little oil in the back since it was a little drier and a bit frizzy. The results were GREAT! I'll be using this refreshing technique more often as opposed to retwisting my hair almost every other night. I want to manipulate it as little as possible and I think this is the way to go. Just sleep in my satin bonnet and REFRESH in the morning! I've also decided that I will no longer use the Optimum hair cream on my hair (unless absolutely necessary and I have nothing else to use) because it has Mineral oil as it's second ingredient and when I use it, it does make my scalp itch like crazy!!!

I also thought about putting a big flower in my hair today, but didn't know how well that would go over at work - LOL. Maybe I'll start off tomorrow with a small, understand flower and just start from there ;)

My next co-wash, I'm going to use the Suave Naturals Coconut conditioner, Suave Humectant conditioner as my rinsing conditioner, maybe deep condition again with the Pantene Hair Mask and then, of course, my leave in condish will use the HE Totally Twisted. Thought about going back to using my "Motions" shampoo last time I washed but decided not to. I want to see how my hair reacts with a few co-washes, no-poos.

I also ran across this sight that gives great tips for two strand twist out techniques, suggesting starting at the back and making horizontal rows as you go up, then when you get to the top parting the hair on the side or middle and using clips to direct where you want the hair to fall. I might try this with parting my hair in the front down the middle, or even going back. We'll see. I'm sorta torn between doing that or just doing 5 or 6 big rows of flat twists going back away from my face to see how that turns out. We shall see. I SWEAR I'm going to post some pics as soon as my husband takes some and loads them for me - LOL!

By the way, this is how I eventually want my hair to look once I'm through transitioning and it's all grown out to a decent length - My DREAM HAIR! ;)OL ;)

FIERCE!

That's how I've been feeling lately. I'm really starting to love and appreciate my transitioning/nappy hair more and more everyday. I was beginning to get really frustrated with it but I'm discovering that if I treat it right I can let it do what it wants to do and I don't have to coax it into doing something that it doesn't want to do. It does what it wants to do and looks great! I've also gained SOO much more confidence in myself. I don't know what it is about wearing your hair out but I put on my heels, some nice accessories, and "work it"! LOL. It feels so good. I was so afraid to wear my hair natural when I first started - was so worried what people would think, but I said the heck with it, I'm going to do what I do and not worry about the looks and comments.

I also think I've discovered my own signature style that works best for my hair. That's funny too because at first, I thought I wanted my twist outs to "hang" down, but I think I've mentioned before that I like it better as a big, spirally fro' - LOL! I definitely get a lot of attention but have received many compliments too. I went out to lunch a few days ago with co-workers and they just went on and on about how they loved my hair and how do I get it like it is - HA! And I've gotten lots of compliments on my big, pouffy afro puff when I pull it back into that style as well. This weekend I'm going to try either the messy side bun or two messy buns behind the ears. We'll see how that turns out. Always looking for different ways to wear it, especially when my twist out starts to fizzle but I'm not ready to restyle. I might even try a braid out this weekend after I wash and condition. We'll see. I am falling in love with my natural hair more and more. Found a couple of new blogsites that I think are just awesome. Check out this one, LITK ("Leave In The Kinks" I LOVE that!) and what she has to say. All I could say after reading her article was "DITTO"

http://www.leaveinthekinks.com/


TTYL!

Best Twist Out Yet

I think I've discovered my best twist out routine yet. I spritzed my hair with the water/coconut oil mixture, sealed with shea butter and applied a little bit of Organic Root Smooth and hold pudding. Then I flat twisted my hair into a total of 10 twists - one directly in the back one on each side framing my face, 3 on each side and one chunky two strand twist at the crown, twisted forward. I then secured the puffiness around the top twist with clips on both sides, rolled the ends of all the braids about midway up and put on my satin bonnet. This morning I had GREAT curls and definition and was very happy with the way it turned out. Also, when I took the twists out, I tried Curly Nikki's technique of seperating the curls from the root down the length of the curl but stopping before you get to the very end to prevent the frizzies. It works. I'm lovin' my hair today!

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to retwist tonight or just see how it looks if I sleep on as is with the satin bonnet. Maybe I'll just retwist. I really like how it looks ;) I'll try to get some decent pics on here to show you.

"There’s just an certain aura a woman exudes when she has natural hair. She walks differently. Her swag is on full tilt..."

The rest of the above quote goes, "...There's a sense of confidence and je ne sais quoi that emanates from her spirit. Whatever it is it's sexy as all hell and turns me on" Anslem Samuel.

I found that quote on another website. I liked it so much, I thought I'd borrow it ;)

I tried the flat twistout and clipped the ends instead of rolling them. Don't like it on me. At least not with all the perm I still have in my hair. The ends were just too straight. So, I pulled my hair back in a semi messy ponytail-like bun. No, actually, it's more like an afro "puff". It looks pretty good! I've gotten lots of compliments on it here at work today. Probably because it's smoothed back at the front and a more "controlled" look than my regular twistout - LOL! I don't care. Besides, I like the more poofy, bigger twist out on me anyway. I'll be going back to rolling the ends this evening and sporting the big twist n curl fro tomorrow, so look out! HA!

Lots to Share!

O.K. so, I'm starting to figure my hair out in terms of styling and what to do with it. I've come to the realization that if I spritz it with water and coconut oil (mixture in my spray bottle) and seal with shea butter, then flat twist it and curl the ends tightly (up to my scalp), I end up with a kinda curly "fro" twist out. (duh!). If I leave the curled ends dangling, then it's a smoother, more stretched twist out (Rocket Science, huh?) Also, if I do a dry flat twist, while I'm transitioning, my permed ends don't like this and the curl definition ends up very weak. I've also discovered that when it doesn't turn out exactly the way that I want, I should just let it do what it wants to do instead of trying to make it do what I think it should look like i.e. if it turns out too short or a lot of shrinkage when I take the twists out, instead of trying to stretch it to look longer, and getting all frustrated when it doesn't, ending up with a lot of "frizz" - just go with the curly fro! Or, I can always throw a headband on and do the curly puff or messy bun if all else fails. I guess that's part of listening to your hair and working with it instead of against it - LOL! (By the way, I need to get the book pictured above).

I never realized how many versatle styles you can get with your hair like this. It's kind of exciting to wake up every morning not knowing exactly what you're hair's going to do but waiting to see how it turns out and rocking that style for the day. I'm loving it! Much better than just slicking it back into a straight ponytail or bun or french twist everyday.

I think when I wash and condition my hair this weekend I'll try the flat twists with no rollers at the ends - just put clips on the ends to keep them from unraveling. We'll see. I'll post more pics soon.

I also "co-pooed" for the first time this weekend (no shampoo, just wash scalp with a light conditioner. - I used Suave's Humectant). I then did a deep condition with Pantene's Relaxed and Natural Hair Mask and used Herbal Essence's "Totally Twisted" as my leave in conditioner. I think I like this because my hair seems to be much more soft and moisturized than when I use shampoo. I will still shampoo, maybe once a month, just to make sure I'm getting rid of any build up, but for my terribly dry hair, this seems to be working great so far. I will eventually Big Chop, but I'm not ready for that yet. I'll see where we are at the 6 month stage. I'd like to try and transition for at least a year but we'll see how that goes. I'll also need to start trimming every time I wash my hair, in order to start getting rid of of some of this permed hair. ;)

I also went on the http://www.tightlycurly.com/ website and went through the answer bank and realized that I can't do the curl-defining techniques that she suggests (finger twirling or "doodling" and smoothing) because I still have too much perm in my hair. Those techniques are for totally natural hair. So, the best way for me to define my curls right now is the two strand twist or two strand flat twist or french braids. Actually, one other website said that the two strand flat twist works best for transitioning hair. I can and do still follow all of the other techniques on the tightly curly site, for washing, combing and conditioning my hair.

I've been reading a lot of different sites and posts about the whole "controversy" over the wave of women going natural these days. People keep trying to say it's political. I don't think it is. At least not for me, anyway. I'm not trying to make any type of political statement at all. If people want to be straight, curly, nappy, whatever, I say let them do what they want. Live and let live. I decided to let my natural hair grow out and stop perming because it was destroying my hair and I was tired of doing nothing but pulling my hair back into a ponytail or bun. Where's the fun in that? Now, I'm really getting to know my hair and looking forward to seeing it natural. I'm not pushing my agenda on my daughters (15 and 22), they both have long beautiful permed hair and that works for them. They both also take really good care of their permed hair, go to a hair dresser regularly, etc. I didn't do any of those things when I was perming. I did it myself. I refuse to sit in a beauty shop for hours every other week (as they suggest), wasting my Saturdays and dropping $60 - $100 bucks everytime, then avoiding rain and water like the plague until the next touch up. I'm more of a do-it-youself person. So, the natural thing just works better for me. Not political at all. Just lazy and selfish, really. LOL!

Well, that's all for now.TTYL!

Yiiiiiikes!!!!

Near disaster this morning! I washed, deep conditioned and flat twisted my hair last night. Left it really wet in spots, but applied the shea butter (miracle product!), Organic's "pudding" stuff for hold and coconut oil spritz. I put on my satin bonnet and went to bed around 11:45 pm (I was waiting to pick my daughter up from her basketball game that was an hour and a half away. They didn't get back in town until almost midnite!) Love this barbie, by the way!

Anyway, I woke up this morning and much of my hair was still wet when I took the twists down! (Womp, Womp!) And I didn't have time to blow dry it. So, I left my hair in twists with rollers at the end, put on a scarf, grabbed some snap clips, hair bands and hair pins and dashed to work, hoping that it would be dry by then, but totally expecting to have to pull it back in a big, messy ponytail. I got to work, avoided contact with ANYONE and dashed into the ladies' room. No luck! Started to untwist my hair and spots were still damp, others were still very wet! Ugh. Luckily, I was able to clip the front back (the front and top are the longest parts of my hair and take the longest to dry so they were still very wet, no curl at the end!) It actually turned out better than I thought, the ends were a little stringy in spots were it was still wet, but I did notice that with the shea butter, coconut oil and pudding combination, my hair is very soft and shiny and the curls that were dry, were very defined. Even my new-growth roots had taken on a bit of a wave. I'll try it again, maybe this evening, but may do a dry twist or just mist it a bit with a spray bottle and not get it so wet this time.

By the way, I tried a couple of products that have been suggested on several natural websites and here's my take on them:

Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Shampoo - It was alright. I wasn't impressed with it much, just the smell. I still like my "Motions" shampoo better. Thought I got much better results from it - even if it does contain "cones".

Pantene's Relaxed and Natural Deep Conditioning Hair Mask - I liked this pretty well. Made my hair really soft. Wish I had left it on a little longer than I did, but it was late and I didn't feel like sitting around for 15-30 mins with conditioner on my hair last night.

Herbal Essence Totally Twisted Conditioner - I used this as a leave in. Liked it o.k. Smells great. Again, though, I still think I get a better feel to my hair with my "Motions" conditioner as a leave in. I will admit, though, that my curls were more defined and shinier this morning. But I don't know if it was because of the Herbal Essence or the shea butter and coconut oil (??) Guess I'll have to keep experimenting!

Hot Six Oil Hair Mist - I LOVE this stuff! Awesome. It produces a fine mist and is very light. Great stuff!

Don't have to be perfect!

You know, I didn't twist up my hair last night, just slept in my satin bonnet and my hair still looked pretty good today. I've decided to stop trying to make my twist outs look "perfect". Every curl doesn't have to fall in place and it doesn't have to look uniform from all angles, as I've always believed a hairstyle should. I'm just gonna let my curls do what they want to do. If it looks a little wild, then so be it - LOL! I think part of going natural has to do with changing your mindset and your preceptions about you hair. That's almost as important as the hair change itself. (I love Syesha's "wild" look - see pic above)

I'm also going to stop comparing the way my twist out looks to the way others' looks. Everybody's hair is different and unique and mine doesn't have to look like anybody elses'. I've got to rock my own style ;)

'til later....

Two strand flat twist-out "fro"

So, I finally got some recent pics posted. I think this is my best 2strand flat twist out yet. The pictures that I posted yesterday don't look as good as I think it does in real life but I discovered that if I do just a 2 strand twist in the front going away from my face, I get a better result and the style is more flattering - to me anyway. It's really more like a curly "fro" since I do the twists and then roll the entire twist all the way up to the scalp. My hair turned out really big on the top so I had to pin the front down a bit with a bobby pin - I actually like the really "big" look, but I thought I'd better tone it down a little for work. I've freaked enough people out as it is with my new hair - LOL.

It's amazing how different your hair turns out depending on the way you twist it, how many twists you make etc. I've discovered a couple of other hairstyles that I can rock when my twist-out starts to fade and I don't feel like retwisting for a few days. I found these on "curlynikki.com" website (which I love, by the way). I'll post my hair in these styles as I wear them.

One I wore this weekend was a fat, loose ponytail. I'll post a pic of mine the next time I wear it, but here is Curly Nikki's:

I really like this look.

Recent Pics

Here are some pics of my hair today. Not TOO bad: