My Hair Journey

 

I remember being young and having a full head of hair. When I was in my teens, people would always come up to me and say, "When you were a little girl, your hair was sooo long and thick, it would take two people to comb it." And for that reason, my mother decided to perm my hair when I was about 11 years old. It was too difficult for her to manage and figured perming it wouldn't be so bad. Boy was she wrong. Within the next couple of months my hair started to break off. I started getting my hair braided and then as I got older I discovered weaves. When I discovered it, it was like a whole new world to me. Straight or curly? 1b or 2? Bang or no bang? The options were endless. So, throughout high school, I experimented with that. Getting it done every 6 weeks and touching up my edges to make sure everything blended right. My hair stayed like this until my junior year in college. I can recall talking to my friend one day and she was going on and on about how she's natural. She kept saying that her hair is so much stronger without the perm. So I began to research natural hair to see what the hype was about. That's when I realized having hair free of chemicals is a beautiful thing. You don't have to worry about it breaking off when you perm it, putting a flat iron on it every day to make sure it blends with the weave or worry about getting out of the salon in at least eight hours. Setting a level of freedom that shows you are no longer bonded to what people "say" is good. After this realization, I began my journey to becoming natural in December 2008 and I haven't looked back since!

 

 

Review: Naturally Silk Elements Curling Cream Gel

I cut my natural hair short again due to breakage and have been looking for a product that will make my curls pop when I shingle it. I was using As I Am's Smoothing Gel and absolutely loved it! The only down side was it left my hair with a white ball type of residue. So after spending at least an hour in Sallys Beauty Supply, I decided to purchase this product by Naturally Silk Elements for $6.00. Now, before I buy anything, I hop on the internet to check some reviews. Everything looked good for the most part so I purchased it.

That night, I washed my hair with Phytonectar shampoo followed by a deep conditioning treatment. I then two-strand twisted my hair with the product. Upon application, my hair felt moisturized but still a little dry. It even produced a little curling effect at the end of the twist. After I was done, I noticed that the product dried pretty quickly but left my hair feeling crunchy and extra dry.No feeling of moisture whatsoever. So the next morning, I spritz my hair with some water/conditioner mix and it felt moisturized again but once it dried, the same crunchy feeling came back.

Now, would I recommend this product? No, because it left my hair feeling dry, which you know is a no go. I will try it again by adding some type of leave in or conditioner to my hair first before adding this. I just hope it doesn't create flakes or a white type of residue like the other product.

Natural Hair Update

For the past 2 months, I've been wearing my natural hair out and I LOVE it! It's like a breath of fresh air. You don't have to worry about blending your leave out in the morning or securing your wig in fear of the wind blowing it off.  But I must say, it can be a hassle when it comes time to styling it. I often check out various blogs for ideas but sometimes find myself stumped because A. my hair isn't long enough or B. it just isn't working lol. So what style do I usually revert to? The puff. Don't get me wrong, I love my puff but I also want to try other styles.

Also, about 2 weeks ago I went back to my stylist for a trim and twist out. I'm mad at myself for not taking a picture of it because it turned out really nice! Since my hair is so thick, it takes time to do that and since I'm usually so busy, I can't. So, we shall see what styles I come up with. I'm actually putting in braids tonight and giving my hair a rest for like 3 weeks. I'm excited because I can't tell you the last time I had braids.

Hair Cut Time!

After wearing protective styles for a year, I decided to rock my natural hair again. I realized that in order to do so, I had to get it cut. So I returned to my stylist Maisha at Bibi Salon in Harlem, NY. I love her salon because its cozy and she takes her time with you, unlike most salons that try to rush you in and out.  Now, the last time I was there my hair was a mess. It was dry, brittle and broken off in so many places. So after taking biotin for a year, my hair grew back tremendously. She gave me a fresh cut and recommended a shampoo and conditioner by Phyto. I haven't used them as yet but plan on putting them to work this weekend. Check out my pics below of the process from start to finish.

Length Check: Post Nov 2011 Install

I was trying to hold out till my next install but I couldn't take it anymore.The velvet hair was shedding like crazy. Something as simple as pulling it away from my face, resulted in a couple of strands in my hand. So that happening at work, every 10 minutes, was not happening. So I took out my weave last week and I was surprised by the growth. I think my hair is starting to get back to the way it was. When I was younger, my hair was extremely thick. I remember always crying when it came time to have my hair combed because it would hurt so much and thats exactly how I felt when it came time to comb this out. Below is a picture comparison:

Its my Nappiversary!

Do you know what today is?? ITS MY NAPPIVERSARY (little Tevin Campbell plug lol). Yes! I'm at the 3 year mark of being natural and I loveeee it! I've definitely had my share of ups and downs but I'm glad I pulled through. From the countless products to researching high and low on Black Hair Media forum, I have to say thank you to the following individuals that have and still continue to inspire me: NaturallyNiké, Naturally Obsessed, Nikkimae2003, ItsMsHeatherNicole, & Rusticbeauty.

Below is a picture of my hair when i took out my weave last month.

I started taking biotin and fish oil over the summer and it definitely has made a difference in my hair growth. I can now put my hair up into a ponytail without having to pin the "i can't make it" sides. I can't wait until later this month when I have to take out my weave again. I will post an updated picture for you guys.

My Natural Hair Story

My natural hair story is like a roller coaster. Some people laugh at me when I say this but it hurts when you think your doing all the right things when your actually not. I'll explain....

Do you believe in Andre Walker's Hair Typing System?

When I first started going natural, I found it difficult to maintain my hair. I didn't know what products to use or where to turn. After doing some research I came across Andre Walker's "Hair Type System". Many of you might know Andre as being Oprah's hairstylist for 20+ years. So basically what this does is place your hair type (straight, wavy, curly, etc) in a specific category that is then broken up into a sub-category according to your texture. I find it very useful because if you're a 4a another person with 4a hair can recommend products that work for them. And yes, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another, but it can steer you in the right direction. Check out the link below to see what hair type you might be!

http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types 

Natural Hair on Vacation....

I've decided to take a little break and have a protective style installed. I haven’t had a weave for the last 2 years so it was almost like a new world to me again. So after heavy manipulation with my natural hair I wanted to give it a rest. I think I will continue to weave my hair until April of 2012. Until then, I will have my hair washed every 2 weeks, deep condition when I take out my weave and make sure I get a trim when necessary.

Hydrate Me 8)

Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Conditioner
I just bought this product yesterday and I love it! After reading alot of natural hair blogs I noticed that alot of people liked using it. From this line I sometimes use the totally twisted conditioner as a detangler.

This is what I did after taking out my braids:
1) I detangled with water and VO5 Moisture Milks.
2) Applied Giovanni's Tea Tree Conditioner and covered my hair with a shower cap.
3) Let it marinate overnight.
4) The next morning I rinsed out the conditioner and parted my hair into 4 sections.
5) I washed with Burt Bee's Baby Bee Shampoo and rinsed.
6) I then applied the Hello Hydration and let my hair air dry.
**When it dried, my hair felt soooo soft. Definitely a product I will be using more often.**

Kinky Twists

I attempted to put some kinky twists in my hair. After watching numerous youtube videos I decided I was going to try to "twist" it from the root instead of "braiding" it. This was a lot more difficult than I thought. I used some left over hair I bought from clairhair.com and bought 3 packs from a local beauty supply store in color 30. The hair I bought from clairhair.com was so much better than the beauty supply store one and it was cheaper. I only kept in the braids for about 2 weeks because I started to miss my hair.

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My Hair Regimen

Brushes & Combs by Jilbere de Paris
Shampoo by Burt's Bees

Hey everyone! I have been natural for 19 months and tried sooo many products just to find out what works best. So below I have listed a brief list of my hair regimen thus far. What I do to detangle, wash, deep condition, seal, etc.
DETANGLE
1. Spritz water all over my hair
2. Use two pea size amounts of World of Curls Curl Activator and spread evenly throughout my hair.
3. Gently separate my hair into 4 sections and then detangle from the ends to the roots with a wide tooth comb.
**The Worlds of Curl makes it ALOT easier for me to comb through my hair
WASH
1. With my hair now in 4 sections I shampoo each section with Burt Bee's Baby Fragrance Free Shampoo.
**Prior to this shampoo, I used Creme of Nature Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo but I found that it gave my hair this dry, brittle feeling afterwards (sulfates). And the Burt Bee's shampoo is ultra light so depending on how thick your hair is its best to separate it into sections. Otherwise, your scalp may be left with a good amount of build up.
DEEP CONDITION (Protein)
-1 egg white
-2 tbsp. of olive oil
-3 tbsp of Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Dryness Reversal Treatment
1. Combine all of these ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix until it’s a creamy consistency.
3. Distribute evenly throughout hair and put on a shower cap.
**I let this stay on for 2 or 3 hours and then rinse with cool water.
STYLING
1. Spritz my hair with a combination of water, VO5 Moisture Milks Conditioner, and a drop of glycerin.
2. I then 2 strand twist each section with Dr. Miracle's Intensive Spot Serum.
That’s about it for my regimen. At times I switch it up and use the Giovanni products and Infusium 23 (just depends on what my hair needs).