December Update: Trim + Flat Iron + Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your friends and loved ones. The New Year is my favorite time of the year. Life feels so fresh and well new. It's time to check-in on goals and create fun new ones. With all the holiday parties and traveling I've done, I've held off on posting my December update until now.

What is the current length of your hair?
Stretched - The back is shoulder length when stretched and the sides are a couple of inches away from shoulder length. Little by little, I shall overcome the mullet shape that is my hair.

What products are you currently loving?
Avocado Oil - It does a great job of keeping my ends and scalp moisturized.

Aussie Moist - Still doing a wonderful job of keeping my hair moisturized and aiding in detangling!

Kinky Curly Knot Today  - I still refuse to pay 16.99 for the tiny 8 ounce the Kinky Curly Custard, however, this leave-in is my BFF. Love it! I always consider trying new leave-ins, but why fix what's not broken. Besides, you get your money's worth, a little goes a long way!






What products disappointed?
Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie - Not because it didn't enhance my curls, but it like my hair feel a bit dry. I was hoping for a leave-in/styling aid that would moisturize. It could be due to the cold, dry weather, so I'll hang on to it and try it in the summer or for twist outs, but definitely not for wash-n-gos. In any case, I'm not sure if I'll try any other products from the line.

What's your current regimen?

• Cowash once per week or once every other 10 - 14 days.
• Shampoo (using my special mixture), with rhassoul clay or by rubbing diluted vinegar on my scalp, once per month.
• LOC (leave-in, oil, conditioner)
• Style, preferably protective

How have you been styling your hair?
For the month of December I did a wash-n-gos and then played around with it in different stretched styles. This allowed me to achieve 6 - 7 day hair. Additionally, I flat-ironed my hair!! I was really pleased with the results. My hair looked thicker and had a nice shine to it.  I wore it down on day one, then in a donut bun for the remainder of the time.
Flat ironing is not something I plan on doing every month, but it was a nice end of the year treat. The style lasted two weeks. My morning routine was so quick!


What challenges have you faced?
Dry ends.

Any drastic changes to your regimen or hair?
I trimmed off 1.5 inches. They were not split, but they were dry and brittle. I did this after flat-ironing my hair and now it feels much better. I think I may start cutting a 1/2 inch every 3 months, if they feel a bit dry. I cut my hair when it was flat-ironed, which in my opinion was easier for me. I'll continue to cut it, when it's stretched, either in twists, blown out or flat-ironed.

Would you like to offer any hair advice for this month?
If your ends are dry and brittle, simply let them go and try to develop a rigorous hydration routine. Daily moisturizing and oiling + protective styling.

That's all for the month of December. Can't believe it's 2013!

Protective Style: Two Strand Twisted Sock Bun

I think I've been deep conditioning all wrong. The other day, I had the best deep conditioning experience ever! I mixed Aussie Moist, vatika and olive oil together and literally saturated my hair with the mixture. Normally, I'm a bit light-handed on the conditioner. My DC results are usually good, but the other day, they were great! My hair seemed to soften immediately and it had amazing slip. After saturating my hair, I covered it in plastic and sat under my soft bonnet dryer for 40 minutes.

Something, I've learned since going natural is that my low porosity hair requires heat to feel deep conditioned. No matter how long I baggy, it will never be as effective as a heated, deep conditioner. #finally figuring out my hair

After my DC, I put my hair in a protective style to protect it from the elements. I wanted something elegant and classic. I've been seeing a lot of sock buns lately and really wanted to give it a try. I wasn't sure if my hair was long enough, but to my surprise, I just managed to wrap my strands around the donut. YAY for new styles!

After rinsing out the DC

What are some of your favorite protective styles?

Natural Hair: Surviving Cold Weather

Before, I discuss my cold weather regimen, I'd like to take a moment to say my thoughts and prayers are with those back home, who have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Related to weather, now that jack frost is tapping on our front door, I've made some slight adjustments  to my hair routine. Thought it would be a good time to do an update on my routine.

Pre-Cleanse
Pre-pooing is not really my thing. I've heard it's really good for your hair, blame it on my laziness. I'd like to try it in the future, we'll see. For now, I bought Dabur Fall Control Cream, which is supposed to reduce shedding. It contains olive oil and cactus juice. All you have to do is apply it 15 minutes before shampooing. I'll try it out over the next few weeks and report back later...

Cleanse
I wash my hair with diluted shampoo, mixed with glycerin and aloe juice once or twice (if I feel like I have build-up) per month. Alternatively, I do a rhassoul clay cleanse in lieu of a shampoo.

Condition
I condition my hair once per week and every time I wash my hair, I deep condition, with heat. First, I gently detangle with a slippery conditioner and a wide tooth comb, rinse and coat my hair with a moisturizing conditioner, mixed with aloe (and depending on the season honey). I put on two plastic caps and sit under a bonnet dryer for 30 - 45 minutes. I let my hair cool 10 - 15 minutes before rinsing it.

Moisturize
Lately, I've been leaving a small amount of Tresemmé Naturals in my hair. I don't liken this to the curly girl method, because the amount is very small and I only apply it to my ends. This helps my ends stay soft and supple despite harsh elements. This is something I do during cold weather, but not so much in summer.

Seal
I seal with coconut oil, vatika oil or olive oil. I apply this to wet hair and then I put a small amount of leave-in (concentrating on the ends) on my oiled hair. My hair literally feels like butter and I can go 4-5 days without moisturizing again.

Style
I'm keeping it simple now that the cold has kicked in. I usually just wear my hair pulled back. I did a lot of twists in September, but have done them less this month, blame it on laziness. =)

Preserve
At night I tie a satin scarf around my edges, I leave my hair up in the bunny tail (kind of like a pony tail for natural hair). I leave the bunny tail exposed and do not wrap the scarf around it. I do sleep on a satin pillowcase, so my ends aren't rubbing against a drying material. I found that leaving my ends open and not wrapped at night leaves my hair full and also more moisturized. Not sure why, but wrapping my ends tends to make them dryer.

Finally, we can't change the weather, but there are some things we can do to combat it. Next week, I'll be on the lookout for a humidifier. I live in the mountains and it's quite dry in the winter. I'll make sure my hair and skin stay hydrated by using a humidifier at home.

So that's it! Pretty simple, basically, I'm only styling and cleaning once per week. Easy peasy.


What kind of adjustments are you making to adapt to weather changes?

October Hairdates: Vatika Oil + LOC

What is the current length of your hair?

When wet, the back of my hair reaches my shoulders. My sides are still growing at snail speed. :/ Patience, patience. I hate the mullet look (see 2nd pic) it gives me, so if I wear my hair out, I usually pin my sides back. I threw in a pic of my hair from January (Transition chop) - I've come along way without even realizing it!

JANUARY 2012

OCTOBER 2012

 

September Update: Twists and Giovanni Smooth as Silk

 September 

What is the current length of your hair?

What products are you currenty loving?
Still loving Tresseme Naturals - This not only gives me great slip, but is also super moisturizing!
Giovanni Smooth As Silk - As the name implies, this protein treatments keeps my curls silky, bouncy, strong and moisturized!
Kinky Curly Knot Today - Great slip, nice smell and moisturizing!


What's your current wash regimen?

• Cowash 1 - 2 times per week, depending on the style.
• Shampoo (using my special mixture) twice per month (every 14 days).
• Apply an oil, apply a leave-in.

How have you been styling your hair?
Blown out braid outs and twists. Blow drying my hair allows it to stretch and gives me a bouncier, looser wave pattern. Twists are great for moisture retention and keep my hands out of my hair for about a week. Those are basically my top 2 to-go-to fall stylesl. Besides twists and blow outs, I wear my hair pulled back.

Twists in a bun

Blow out, braid out

Blow out, braid out

What challenges have you faced?
Edges, I've always had thin edges, but I want to make sure I don't put pressure on them . I try oil my edges with castor oil and try to alternate my styles.




Awkward length, unless my hair is stretched or in an updo. I'll be really happy to reach shoulder length unstretched. Patience is a virtue.

Any drastic changes to your regimen or hair?
LOC (liquid, oil, cream) method changed my life! I've been testing out the LOC method a few months. Alternating back and forth between LOC and LCO (liquid, cream, oil). Here's what I've noticed. The LOC method leaves my hair soft, supple --- it feels like butter-- and moisturized, much longer than the LCO method. Although, my curls are less defined with the LOC method, I feel a major difference in moisture, especially my ends. I rarely use the LCO method, unless I'm planning on doing a wash-n-go. My LOC ingredients consist of water, coconut oil, then a leave-in, typically Kinky Curly Knot Today.


Would you like to offer any hair advice for this month?
If your ends are dry and brittle trim them and try to deep condition every time you wet your hair. Now that we're experiencing dryer weather, I make DCs a vital part of my regimen.

Happy September!

Update August; Highlights and Brahmi Oil

As previously stated, I will write primarily monthly updates on this blog. To make things consistent, I'll be using a structured question format.

August Update 

What is the current length of your hair?

What products are you currenty loving?
Tresseme Naturals - This not only gives me great slip, but is also super moisturizing!
Brahmi Oil - Contains 22 different herbs and oils including coconut and amla. This stuff is the bomb.com!
Eco-styler - I can't believe I'm writing this but a tiny amount of eco styler mixed with olive oil has help me maintain a frizzless, defined and bouncy wash and go. My hair usually hates gel. Happy I didn't give up on trying to make it work for me!


What's your current wash regimen?

• Cowash 1 - 2 times per week
• Shampoo twice a month (every 14 days)
• Apply a leave-in or leave in a little conditioner
• Seal hair with coconut, olive or monoi oil and seal ends with shea butter
• At night I leave my hair in the puff and wrap it,wake up, fluff and go or I baggy the puff and wrap the rest. Sometimes, if my hair feels dry at night, I apply a little water and leave-in.

How have you been styling your hair?
Puffs and an occassional wash and go. I'll probably start twisting again in September when the weather cools down.


What challenges have you faced?
Trimming my hair. My hair is really dense and destroy and search is a bit difficult. I'm trying to find an effective way to trim. I think I may have to have my hubby go back to trimming duty, at least the back of my head, that's the most difficult part to trim.

Any drastic changes to your regimen or hair?
Highlights


Would you like to offer any hair advice for this month?
Brahmi oil, this stuff is incredible and it works great when mixed with conditioner. Some people complain about the smell, but I think it smells mostly like coconut oil. It's so moisturizing and imparts shine.
Vinegar rinses to help cuticles lie flat and add sheen to the hair. I use about 4 cups of cold water and 1/8 cup of vinegar, a little goes a long way. I do this once or twice per month.

Happy August!

Hide Your Awkward,

Hair that is. As I've posted previously, my hair is in the awkward stage. It's chin- to almost shoulder-length, when wet, then shrinks up to ear- to chin-length, when dry. The part of my length that I find most awkward is definitely the front and sides of my hair. They grow significantly slower than the back of my hair and I always end up with a mushroom-do once it dries. Because of this, I usually wear my hair in puffs or buns. However, I really love wearing my hair out and miss it so this week, I decided to wear it out and try to hide my awkward lengths.
To do so, I simply smoothed them back the front and sides of my hair, almost as if I'm putting my hair in a half-up style. I then secured the hair in place with hair pins. I tied a satin scarf around the front of my hair for about 10 minutes to smooth my edges. And voila, a simple solution to wearing my hair out and not feeling like a giant mushroom!

Is your hair in the "awkward" stage, what are some of your favorite styles to get you through it?

Protecting the Ends II

I've fallen in love with two strand twists !! My hair feels more moisturized than ever! I put my hair in twists on Thursday and left them in until Saturday afternoon. On Saturday, I took out my twists, which was a breeze. My hair is still quite defined and today is Monday. I'm planning on redoing my twists on Wednesday or Thursday night. It's wonderful to have found a protective style that works for my hair at it's current length. Additionally, my morning routine is über quick now. It took me about 1.5 hours to twist all my hair, but for me it's worth it in the long run. This week, I'll probably leave the twists in longer, at least 4 -5 days.

When my hair was in twists, at night I put the twists in 3 sections and put on a satin scarf. When I took my untwisted my hair, at night, I pull them together or made two sections. I really feel this style works well to keep my ends hydrated. Hopefully, this will help me on my goal to reach APL (stretched) by my 2 year mark (Mar 2013).

How long do you keep your twists in? Do you think twists assist in length retention?

Hair Goals 2012

 

I like goals! They steer and enhance performance and give us things to look forward to. Every goal we accomplish, the more rewarding the journey is. I always set personal, financial, health and life goals, but rarely do I set hair goals. I simply state healthy, long hair is a goal of mine. So here is my 2012 Hair Goal List. I hope to reach these goals by the end of this year.

Hair length goals
1. Maintain healthy, moisturized, split-end-free hair.

2. Grow hair to a little past shoulders when stretched. Current length is just above shoulders in the back.

3. Speed up the growth of the front and sides of my hair. This part of my hair grows incredibly slow! While the back is almost grazing shoulder length the front of my hair is like ear length. Business in the front, party in the back = no bueno!

4. Protect my hair and look cute in the summer. Accessorize with more hats and scarfs to protect my hair from the heat of the sun, especially between 12-3pm.

Product goals
5. Streamline products

There is nothing wrong with being a PJ (product junky). It helps you discover new products that work for your hair and keep an open mind. However, I'm tired of shopping around. Our city is not exactly a haven for curly hair products. Besides, I'd like to go to the store, pick up the exact product I require and move on. My goal by the end of this year is to have: 1-2 shampoos, conditioners, styling products and oils that work well for my hair and no more!

6. Stop buying things that do not work for my hair.

Case and point, gel. I have a huge tub of eco styler taking over my medicine cabinet. Gels have never worked on my hair and I need to move on and accept this!


Style goals
7. Stop fearing the flat-iron! Words like heat damage and loss of curl pattern, have terrified me from picking up the flat iron. The versatility of being natural is that you can rock straight or curly hair. Of course, I don't want to flat-iron my hair weekly, but I would like to do a blow-out/flat-iron/roller-set every 3 months i.e. 4 times per year.

8. Have a salon experience. I haven't been to a hair salon in over a year! I miss it so much! The chatter, the female bonding, the gossip, having someone else's hands play in my hair. So, I would like to have a pampering salon experience at least once per year. I'm thinking of going to my old stylist and getting a roller set on my trip home this summer or checking out Aveda salon to receive a pampering deep conditioner and head massage.

Will keep you updated on my progress.

What are some of your hair goals?

My little pony

Back in December after my transition chop

April