I'm a strong believer in listening to one's hair, to decide what it needs. I fell into the traps that some other transitioners may have experienced-- YouTube. It can be a blessing but also a curse! I don't know how much time I've spent watching naturalistas discuss their hair care regimen. I've developed quite a few hair crushes and spent hours imagining what it would be like to have hair like my hair crushes. Sad, but true. I started using the products they used or adopting aspects of their regimens. Bad idea! Last month, this left me with greasy, tangled matted hair that took days to get back to its normal state.
I'm now back to doing me. If I could give any transitioner or even any natural hair beauty any piece of advice it would be the following:
1. Love you, do you, accept you (and your hair).
2. Profit from the knowledgeable advice from others on products and styling, however, tweak it to fit your needs.
3. Be patient with hair growth, since most of us don't want our lives to go by fast and want to enjoy every moment, the same should be true for hair growth. There's no overnight miracle to butt-length hair, so enjoy your hair at all stages.
With that being said, here is my current regimen, which is likely to change as I continue transitioning:
Co wash
2 x week (1 out of the two times, I do a deep conditioner). If I do sports I wash my scalp with water only, to remove any buildup or sweat.
Shampoo
once every other 2 weeks. I typically dilute my shampoo in water (1:3, e.g. 1 cup of shampoo, 3 cups of water) and apply it only to my scalp.
Pre-poo
Once every other 2 weeks (day before my shampoo). I apply a mixture of oils and honey to damp hair, plastic cap, towel on pillow, go to sleep.
Light Protein
once every other 2 weeks (on shampoo day), follow it up with a moisturizing deep conditioner.
Styles
I'm now back to doing me. If I could give any transitioner or even any natural hair beauty any piece of advice it would be the following:
1. Love you, do you, accept you (and your hair).
2. Profit from the knowledgeable advice from others on products and styling, however, tweak it to fit your needs.
3. Be patient with hair growth, since most of us don't want our lives to go by fast and want to enjoy every moment, the same should be true for hair growth. There's no overnight miracle to butt-length hair, so enjoy your hair at all stages.
With that being said, here is my current regimen, which is likely to change as I continue transitioning:
Co wash
2 x week (1 out of the two times, I do a deep conditioner). If I do sports I wash my scalp with water only, to remove any buildup or sweat.
Shampoo
once every other 2 weeks. I typically dilute my shampoo in water (1:3, e.g. 1 cup of shampoo, 3 cups of water) and apply it only to my scalp.
Pre-poo
Once every other 2 weeks (day before my shampoo). I apply a mixture of oils and honey to damp hair, plastic cap, towel on pillow, go to sleep.
Light Protein
once every other 2 weeks (on shampoo day), follow it up with a moisturizing deep conditioner.
Styles
- Braid outs are still my go to style, they're simple, cute and require low manipulation. I was having difficulties with them in the beginning, because they often unraveled. Someone recommended I roll the ends with flexi-rods, however I wasn't so happy with the end effect. Recently, I got the idea to cut up an old satin scarf into small pieces, I wrap each piece around the end of my braid and fasten it with a clip. This keeps the ends protected, allows a thicker end so the clip stays in place and stops the hair from unraveling. I'll post pictures later. I also now do 8 braids vs. 4, I find I achieve more definition and it dries faster.
- Flexirod sets, I've mastered my technique and am always happy with the results.
- Buns-- I rarely wear buns, because I find they dry my ends out... I'll probably do more buns in the winter and try using a silk hair tie.
Sleep
Satin scarf. I'm on the hunt for a satin pillowcase.
Moral of this post: Your grass should always be greener.
Peace & Love
Satin scarf. I'm on the hunt for a satin pillowcase.
Moral of this post: Your grass should always be greener.
Peace & Love
Hi there-
ReplyDeleteI saw your post on Curly Nikki and thought I'd just come over to reply.
You mention henna being messy. It really isn't unless you mix it too thin. If you create the mix so that it's thick like mud (not yogurt), then it won't drip.
When it's time to rinse out, although the tub will have brownish red water in it to start, it rinses very easily. If you are concerned, you can lay newspaper on the floor. I did the first time and hardly spilled a drop.
Once it's in your hair, all you have to do is wrap your head in saran wrap and a plastic cap. In 4 hours, you can rinse. No need to sleep in it unless you want. I can't sleep in it at all because it causes my head to itch. So after 4 hours I rinse and still get a pretty decent stain. If you are interested, you can visit my blog to see. There's a post there about Indigo from like a couple of days ago. The first pic is of me with henna before the Indigo.
Henna is very good for the hair so it's worth a shot. Hope I've helped and didn't overstep with the advice :-)
Hi, I responded to your post on my blog but here's what I posted:
ReplyDeleteOh you still have to wear gloves or your hands will end up red!
If you don't want to add the red color, you can actually use Cassia. People say it's the "other" henna. Really, it's a different plant altogether. It strengthens the hair without adding color - only the effects aren't as long lasting.
And to add to that, you really can't control how red the henna makes your hair alone. You can mix it with indigo. Mehandi sells kits that come with henna and indigo like if you wanted to darken your hair a little.
Hope this helps. Don't hesitate to ask :-)