Braidout on Short Natural Hair update day 1, 2

I've been pretty much wearing my hair like this for the past couple of weeks. I've been running around a lot this week and I find this style is classic and simple. I can wear it like this 3 days straight, refresh with a spray bottle and continue wearing it like this another 2 - 3 day.

However, convenience does not always = fun, so I decided to mix things up a bit and do a braidout. Twistouts have never been my friend. During my transition they never worked or looked good on my hair. Even after I went natural, my twistout results were noting to run home and brag about. Tonight, I decided to revisit my good old-faithful braidout. This is my first attempt on my natural hair.

Here's a pic of my hair all braided, tomorrow I'll unveil the final result. I have a total of about 16 braids and it took about 40 minutes to do. I did the braidout on dry 3 day old hair. I divided my hair in 4 sections. refreshed each section with water and moisturized only my ends with leave-in and argan oil. I'll post pictures of my results tomorrow.
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DAY 1

 

 

 

DAY 1

 

 

DAY 2

DAY 2

xoxo

Hair goals update

Products/ Goals
I am on a quest to streamline my products and find products where I live (tired of having an overweight suitcase). The other day, while shopping at a new store, I found this:

Garnier mild conditioner with avocado oil and shea butter

I had seen the shampoo in my local grocery store, but never the conditioner. This morning I used it for the first time and let me just say, not only was it creamy and moisturizing but it also gave my hair the perfect slip for detangling. Now that's what I call 2 in 1! The leave-in smells heavenly, it's creamy but not too thick or heavy and leaves my hair feeling super soft. I am not sure whether I prefer Garnier's Triple Moisture leave-in or this one, it's only day 1, so I'll give it some time.

Hair goals/ length
Today, I did a length check and was surprised to see that the back of my hair is just past shoulder length, the sides are collarbone length and the front of my hair is jaw length (guess shrinkage in the front is more intense than the back)! So it looks like I've reached my hair goal, before the end of the year. I hope to get 3 more inches before the end of the year, that would be great!

Thick dandruff
I've never had an issue with dandruff, but the past 2 months I've noticed thick white flakes near my hair line and the center of my hair. I don't think it's related to stress nor diet, I have a healthy diet, exercise and try to keep stress to a minimum. My suspicion is that it may be due to product build-up on my scalp.  I've taken measures to combat it head on and so far so good. Here's what I do, to ensure a healthy moisturized scalp:

• While shampooing (1 x per week), I give myself a head massage (using the tips of my fingers, not nails). I put pressure on my scalp and move my fingers in a circular motion, to break up any dirt or grime.
• Make sure I completely rinse out conditioner and shampoo.
• Do not apply any leave-ins or heavy oils near or on my scalp.
• Lightly rub jojoba infused with peppermint essential oil on my scalp 1 -2 times per week. Jojoba is great because it's light  and mimics the sebum found in human skin). The peppermint tingles and refreshes my scalp. Research shows that it reduces itching and dandruff; it moisturizes the scalp and stimulates growth follicles--- again 2 for 1!

Styling goals
I think at the end of this week, I will do a light blow out, then set my hair on flexi-rods. I'm excited to to try a new style!

Mission Destroy Afro-Mullet

In an attempt to coax my hair through its awkward phase, I tried something new last night.

So yesterday's wash-n-go headband combo (see prior post), worked really well. My curls were really defined, moist and shiny. Last night, I thought it would be unfortunate to throw on a satin cap and wake up to flat, matted curl, after having a good hair day. So I revisited a styling method I used during my transition, the bantu knot out. Why didn't I think of this sooner?! The results were much nicer than the twist-out attempt and it calmed down the volume of my hair! My hair is super thick and dense-- so I'm all set with volume. Today, I'm enjoying "flat hair". The bantu knot out was done on a dry wash n go, with conditioner as my leave-in, I just slicked on a small amount of jojoba before styling.

Aaaaaw

KWARD!

I knew this day would come. I thought I was prepared for it. Being a follower of Curly Nikki's blog, I'd encountered this topic, read about the solutions and thought "I can handle this, no problem" (dusts shoulders). 

Boy was I wrong... It all started on Sunday, I put my hair in flat twists to avoid washing it until Wednesday. I've been really busy trying to meet deadlines, so did this to shorten my morning routine. Well, yesterday I took out the twists and I had an instant twist out. Unfortunately, I didn't like the way the twist out looked so just jumped in the shower to co-wash. After, as I stood in front of the mirror styling my hair, I realized two things: 1) my hair has grown a lot and 2)it's definitely reached the awkward phase. IMO it looks like a square mullet-- no bueno! To lessen the severity of the  afro-mullet I slicked back the front and slapped on a head band. It came out cute, but am not sure how long this solution will last.

Seeing that I don't plan on cutting and am focusing on growth,  I need to find a way to live in awkward harmony with my hair until it grows out of this phase. I should find more styles that hide awkward lengths. I'm not a very adventurous person in the styling department and never have been. Heck, I thought I was avante-garde when I rocked a braidout. I'm a plain jane when it comes to my hair, but I guess I'm going to have to start walking on the "wild" side soon.

Give and Take

Lately my hair has been a tangled mess! I was really frustrated with it and dreaded wash day (i.e. spend hours detangling my hair web)! I didn't understand why this was happening to me. I followed the key transitioner tips that most haircare experts and bloggers suggest: deep condition, finger detangle, co-wash, wash in sections, etc... what else was I not doing right?? Then it suddenly hit me, I never trim my relaxed ends! Upon close examination, it was clear that I had serious split ends. So I chopped off about 2.5 inches of hair and can I tell you that has made such a difference!

How could I've not realize that I was holding on to all kinds of split-end baggage, which would cause lots of breakage in the long run! So until my big chop, I'll be sure to continue cutting my relaxed ends as my natural hair grows in.

My hair has thanked me in so many ways and for the time being, I do not dread wash day!! After I finished cutting my hair, I realized it was the same length as when I started my transition, which made me happy to see it had grown so much! I imagine that I'll do one or two more drastic haircuts and then bite the bullet and transition chop... I'm becoming bored with having two textures and am liking the idea of a short hairstyle more and more--- I think I will definitely be a wash, shake and go kind of girl! I've become really knowledgeable about styling methods during my transition, but really am looking forward to shorter hair and less time styling!

Here are new growth comparison shots showing how my hair is progressing. I'm really proud about how far I've made it into the journey! I've changed so many of my ideas on what is beautiful. That for me is the beauty of transitioning.

about 6 months ago

Now

Hair Regimen Update

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

• 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