So readers, I've still been having a lot of trouble with dryness in my hair. It stays somewhat moisturized on day one, but after that it's like running my fingers over a desert cactus: Dry, hard, prickly hair that feels like it might crumble in my fingers. Well, of course the only thing to do when you have a problem is to try solving it; and I think I might have found my solution. It's one I'm sure those of you researching transitioners have heard of: Chicoro's moisture method. I've read about it in passing several times on my favorite hair board, LHCF, but I'm not a bandwagon-jumper, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. This time when I ran across the name I just so happened to be fingering my natural roots and thinking about my hair drought frustration, and decided, "What the heck? Nothing else has worked for longer than a day. So some of you may be asking, "What is Chicoro's moisture method?"
Well I had to do a Google search to find the answer. A Grl Can Mac was one of the first blogs that came up. She interviewed Chicoro on her moisture method. Her method of moisture is based on layering specific types of products to keep your hair from losing moisture too fast: Moisture, oil, and an emulsifier. For moisture, I chose plain water to start (next time I'll use Shea Moisture's Hair Milk), for my oil, I used the same old Africa's Best Herbal Oil, and for an emulsifier I used shea butter since I had it on hand. So the results?
So far so good! My hair feels much softer and more moisturized than before. I will update you on my next wash day (some time this weekend). I'm hoping my hair will stay this way for the next two days.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
31 Weeks Post: New Product and Taming My Transitioning 4b Bun
Hello all! I'm so excited, I can't even contain myself! I have been having soooo many issues wrangling my hair into a bun without it looking like a helmet on my head. I really don't like using gel on my hair because it just leads to massive buildup for me, no matter how little I use. I have tried water and gel, oil and gel, water and oil and gel, conditioner and gel, oil and conditioner and gel...well you get the picture.
Anywho, none of those worked for me, and I figured that since I figured it out, I should share for those of you 4b transitioners out there that cannot tame your wild side; namely your natural roots. So here's what I did.
I took out my bun and separated it into three sections with the intention of just moisturizing my roots, but I was suddenly hit my a determination to tame my bun. I separated the front and gave myself what I call a halo braid in the front. I moisturized the front section and put it in a ponytail to moisturize the middle and back. But I realized the front section fit into a flatter ponytail much easier than my hair altogether. Inspiration struck! Why not do the same with the middle and back and see if they hold better?
So, I proceeded to moisturize the middle and attached it to the front ponytail with another ponytail holder.
Then I did the same with the back, bunned all the hair as usual...
And...
Voila! A much flatter bun with a little flair. Just add hair accessories and poof! Instant cuteness if I do say so myself.
Oh, and all of the moisturizing was done with Shea Moisture's Hair Milk. Yes. I know. I said I hate Shea Moisture products, but so many girls on my favorite hair forum LHCF seemed to love this particular product which I hadn't tried. I couldn't help myself and bought it only to be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful softness it left in my natural roots. I sealed with Africa's Best Herbal Oil as usual as well. Well that's all for today. I think I'll do this same hairstyle next week as well. Hope this helps a fellow 4b transitioner!
Anywho, none of those worked for me, and I figured that since I figured it out, I should share for those of you 4b transitioners out there that cannot tame your wild side; namely your natural roots. So here's what I did.
I took out my bun and separated it into three sections with the intention of just moisturizing my roots, but I was suddenly hit my a determination to tame my bun. I separated the front and gave myself what I call a halo braid in the front. I moisturized the front section and put it in a ponytail to moisturize the middle and back. But I realized the front section fit into a flatter ponytail much easier than my hair altogether. Inspiration struck! Why not do the same with the middle and back and see if they hold better?
So, I proceeded to moisturize the middle and attached it to the front ponytail with another ponytail holder.
Then I did the same with the back, bunned all the hair as usual...
And...
Voila! A much flatter bun with a little flair. Just add hair accessories and poof! Instant cuteness if I do say so myself.
Oh, and all of the moisturizing was done with Shea Moisture's Hair Milk. Yes. I know. I said I hate Shea Moisture products, but so many girls on my favorite hair forum LHCF seemed to love this particular product which I hadn't tried. I couldn't help myself and bought it only to be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful softness it left in my natural roots. I sealed with Africa's Best Herbal Oil as usual as well. Well that's all for today. I think I'll do this same hairstyle next week as well. Hope this helps a fellow 4b transitioner!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
30 Weeks Post and Update: Texture, Trim and Family Visits
Hi everyone! Just popped in to update you. I know it's been a while, but everyone is coming in from out of town to see my first born! It's exciting but exhausting. I've been visited by my mother-in-law (who stayed for two weeks but despite being a bit annoying was a God-send in the helpfulness factor), my sister-in-law, her husband, and their three kids (who stayed for five days at the same time as my mother-in-law...insert exhaustion here), my other sister-in-law, her husband, and their 2 kids (who stayed for...wait for it...ONE DAY, which was too bad because she is one of my favorite in-laws), and guess what? MORE are on the way! My other sister-in-law and her FOUR kids are coming to stay...sigh...can a new mom get a break? I suppose you might be wondering, "How many sibling-in-laws do you have?" Well, you may not be wondering that, but I planned on telling you anyway. My husband has NINE sisters and TWO brothers for a grand total of ELEVEN in-laws, some of which may still be on their way here! Who has time for hair with all of this going on?
Well, that's kind of the reason I decided to try the simple bun again. Now, let me tell you. I LOVE simple buns. But the combination of my natural hair and relaxed ends have something to say about that...and it's "NOOOOOO!!!!" It ends up EXTREMELY puffy in the end and kind of looks like I'm smuggling contraband of the large round persuasion in my hair. But needless to say I didn't give up and I tried the bun again. This time it didn't come out so bad. My plan going in was: WEIGH IT DOWN. I used products that I had moved to No-Man's Land in the back of my bathroom cabinet back when I was in my light and moving relaxed hair phase. I decided on Redken Smoothdown Butter Treat again. My relaxed hair loved it for moisture, but I only used it if I were going to wear my hair up.
Alright, I'll stop rambling and going through the process. Soooo...I took out my plaits and braids, trimming each plaited section after I took down the plait. I sectioned my hair off into six sections with haphazard bantu knots and claw clips for extra security. I coated each section with V05 Moisture Milks Passion Fruit conditioner as a prepoo, but on a shower cap and left it in for two hours while I did laundry and nursed my sweet baby. I rinsed this out and shampooed with another No-Man's Land product: Giovanni Deep Moisture shampoo (I forgot I owned this and hadn't even used it once!). I deep conditioned with Organic Root Stimulator Deep Penetrating conditioner for another two hours, rinsed, finger combed under running water, and used the Aveeno Leave-in and Redken Butter Treat on each section, finger combing once more out of the shower (remember: I'm purposely trying to weigh my hair down). I sealed with Africa's Best Herbal Oil and put the sections in ponytails to dry.
Once my hair was approximately 80% dry, I took out the ponytail holders and finger combed my hair back into a ponytail. I then used a little water and Organic Root Stimulator Edge Control on my edges, added a little more oil, brushed back, and tied it down for the night. The result in the morning wasn't super relaxer-flat hair, but it was definitely my best attempt at flattening my hair. In a couple of days the plan is to spritz my hair with water and braid it down for a nice braidout.
Notice I only finger combed my hair and never used a regular comb. This is my first time doing this and I'm hoping I can better manage the inevitable breakage of my relaxed ends this way. Hopefu
Anywho, here are the very few pictures I took. Here's somewhat of a texture shot with my hair in the bantu knots:
Now here's the bun process. The first two pictures are before I tied the bun down. The third shot is the bun.If I can find the shot of my puffy bun, I will post it later.
That's all folks!
Well, that's kind of the reason I decided to try the simple bun again. Now, let me tell you. I LOVE simple buns. But the combination of my natural hair and relaxed ends have something to say about that...and it's "NOOOOOO!!!!" It ends up EXTREMELY puffy in the end and kind of looks like I'm smuggling contraband of the large round persuasion in my hair. But needless to say I didn't give up and I tried the bun again. This time it didn't come out so bad. My plan going in was: WEIGH IT DOWN. I used products that I had moved to No-Man's Land in the back of my bathroom cabinet back when I was in my light and moving relaxed hair phase. I decided on Redken Smoothdown Butter Treat again. My relaxed hair loved it for moisture, but I only used it if I were going to wear my hair up.
Alright, I'll stop rambling and going through the process. Soooo...I took out my plaits and braids, trimming each plaited section after I took down the plait. I sectioned my hair off into six sections with haphazard bantu knots and claw clips for extra security. I coated each section with V05 Moisture Milks Passion Fruit conditioner as a prepoo, but on a shower cap and left it in for two hours while I did laundry and nursed my sweet baby. I rinsed this out and shampooed with another No-Man's Land product: Giovanni Deep Moisture shampoo (I forgot I owned this and hadn't even used it once!). I deep conditioned with Organic Root Stimulator Deep Penetrating conditioner for another two hours, rinsed, finger combed under running water, and used the Aveeno Leave-in and Redken Butter Treat on each section, finger combing once more out of the shower (remember: I'm purposely trying to weigh my hair down). I sealed with Africa's Best Herbal Oil and put the sections in ponytails to dry.
Once my hair was approximately 80% dry, I took out the ponytail holders and finger combed my hair back into a ponytail. I then used a little water and Organic Root Stimulator Edge Control on my edges, added a little more oil, brushed back, and tied it down for the night. The result in the morning wasn't super relaxer-flat hair, but it was definitely my best attempt at flattening my hair. In a couple of days the plan is to spritz my hair with water and braid it down for a nice braidout.
Notice I only finger combed my hair and never used a regular comb. This is my first time doing this and I'm hoping I can better manage the inevitable breakage of my relaxed ends this way. Hopefu
Anywho, here are the very few pictures I took. Here's somewhat of a texture shot with my hair in the bantu knots:
And here are a few shots of the ponytails I airdried in. They also show my 4b texture:
Now here's the bun process. The first two pictures are before I tied the bun down. The third shot is the bun.If I can find the shot of my puffy bun, I will post it later.
That's all folks!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
What Inspired My Transition to Natural and March vs. June Length Shot
Well, for this post let's start with a blast from the past...I believe this picture from mid-August 2012 when I got my next to last relaxer.
I had an AWESOME stylist. I still love her! I wish she did natural hair...
Anywho, now you may be wondering like soooo many others in my life..."Why would you transition to natural? Your relaxed hair looks great and you can maintain it, unlike so many others with relaxed hair." I heard some variation of this comment from several family members and friends. You want the truth? Honestly?
The first time I attempted to transition, I made it to 26 weeks post relaxer, then gave up. I was doing it for the wrong reasons for ME. I wanted to be chemical free for health reasons...now you're thinking, "Since when is being healthy wrong?" It's not! It just wasn't enough of a motivator for me to go natural. Once I started having to deal with the tangling, breakage, and lack of styling options (in my mind), I RAN to the creamy crack!
This time, I'm motivated to be natural because...I want a change! I finally realize all of the styling options for my natural hair and said to myself, "Hey, self!" (don't judge me. Yes, I talk to me ALL the time, lol) "Look at all of these gorgeous 4b transitioning and natural hairstyles on youtubers, bloggers, family members, and friends! What are you talking about when you say you can't find any styles? You're being lazy because you don't want to LEARN to do those styles. Come off it and try something new! Be free from the stinky chemicals! Go natural!"
Okay, maybe the self-conversation wasn't exactly like that, but you get the point. I was afraid that I wouldn't find any styles for my 4b hair because I thought 4b hair was unmanageable (I know, folks! Please don't stone me!). But I've grown, and looking at my 29 weeks post relaxed hair now, I can't help but be in love.
It's soft and fluffy and holds great potential and a million possibilities. That's why I was inspired to go natural. I finally saw what I thought was impossible as very possible thanks to all of the gorgeous 4b ladies before me rocking ridiculously lush natural hair. Thanks ladies! Thanks family! Thanks friends!
Length shot for your viewing pleasure (or pain if you're looking at the state of my hair, lol). Don't mind the bra difference. Use the armpit as a guide. Breastfeeding kind of...ahem...lowered the girls...depressing I know...
I had an AWESOME stylist. I still love her! I wish she did natural hair...
Anywho, now you may be wondering like soooo many others in my life..."Why would you transition to natural? Your relaxed hair looks great and you can maintain it, unlike so many others with relaxed hair." I heard some variation of this comment from several family members and friends. You want the truth? Honestly?
The first time I attempted to transition, I made it to 26 weeks post relaxer, then gave up. I was doing it for the wrong reasons for ME. I wanted to be chemical free for health reasons...now you're thinking, "Since when is being healthy wrong?" It's not! It just wasn't enough of a motivator for me to go natural. Once I started having to deal with the tangling, breakage, and lack of styling options (in my mind), I RAN to the creamy crack!
This time, I'm motivated to be natural because...I want a change! I finally realize all of the styling options for my natural hair and said to myself, "Hey, self!" (don't judge me. Yes, I talk to me ALL the time, lol) "Look at all of these gorgeous 4b transitioning and natural hairstyles on youtubers, bloggers, family members, and friends! What are you talking about when you say you can't find any styles? You're being lazy because you don't want to LEARN to do those styles. Come off it and try something new! Be free from the stinky chemicals! Go natural!"
Okay, maybe the self-conversation wasn't exactly like that, but you get the point. I was afraid that I wouldn't find any styles for my 4b hair because I thought 4b hair was unmanageable (I know, folks! Please don't stone me!). But I've grown, and looking at my 29 weeks post relaxed hair now, I can't help but be in love.
It's soft and fluffy and holds great potential and a million possibilities. That's why I was inspired to go natural. I finally saw what I thought was impossible as very possible thanks to all of the gorgeous 4b ladies before me rocking ridiculously lush natural hair. Thanks ladies! Thanks family! Thanks friends!
Length shot for your viewing pleasure (or pain if you're looking at the state of my hair, lol). Don't mind the bra difference. Use the armpit as a guide. Breastfeeding kind of...ahem...lowered the girls...depressing I know...
March 2012
June 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
The Half Wig: Hubby Update
Hey folks! Just a quick update on the half-wig. So remember I mentioned hubby's aversion to half wigs, right? I just had to relay the conversation. It was hilarious to me. Here's how it went:
Hubby: "Baby, your hair looks great!"
Me: "Thanks!"
Hubby: (an hour later) "Baby, I can't believe how good your hair looks!"
Me: "Thanks!"
Hubby: "No, really! It looks amazing! I like it a lot!"
Me: (big smiles, trying not to laugh)
Hubby: (pause)"...It looks good...REALLY good...(sounding more suspicious) It's perfect...Wait a minute! Is that YOUR hair?"
Me: (HUGE smiles)
Hubby: (shakes his head and smiles) "I don't know if I like it anymore..."
He's so funny, lol. But he can't complain about this one since he thought it was real! He thinks that since I already have hair that I shouldn't need extra. But he's finally starting to understand the benefits of protective styling.
Hubby: "Baby, your hair looks great!"
Me: "Thanks!"
Hubby: (an hour later) "Baby, I can't believe how good your hair looks!"
Me: "Thanks!"
Hubby: "No, really! It looks amazing! I like it a lot!"
Me: (big smiles, trying not to laugh)
Hubby: (pause)"...It looks good...REALLY good...(sounding more suspicious) It's perfect...Wait a minute! Is that YOUR hair?"
Me: (HUGE smiles)
Hubby: (shakes his head and smiles) "I don't know if I like it anymore..."
He's so funny, lol. But he can't complain about this one since he thought it was real! He thinks that since I already have hair that I shouldn't need extra. But he's finally starting to understand the benefits of protective styling.
The Half Wig!
Bought this a while ago and I really didn't like it on me, but with braids in the front, I think it looks great! Next time I'll leave the braided front out and just do braids straight back with this half wig. Wigs give my husband heart palpitations, but if I can convince him of the benefits of wearing the half wigs to preserve my length while I'm transitioning, he might go for it. Here's the pic (I know, no makeup, looking haggard. I'm a breastfeeding mom of a 3-week-old. So sue me, lol):
Friday, June 1, 2012
28 Weeks Post - The Wash and Rebraid: Nursing and Washing Hair--WHEW!
Hey guys! The little one is asleep and I had a three hour nap this afternoon, so I'm awake and ready to go wit a new post!
Soooo....I undid my braids in the FRONT of my hair only (remember the back is in plaits with my own hair), coated the hair with V05 Moisture Milks conditioner, detangled, and washed all of my hair yesterday morning in the shower with my Creme of Nature Kiwi and Citrus (I was going to take a texture shot but...i kind of forgot! Next two weeks, I promise!). I then used Organic Root Stimulator's Deep Penetrating Conditioner and coated all of my hair with that. I did a few chores, nursed my newborn, then washed it out about 3 hours later. I would normally prefer 45 minutes (the recommended amount of time), but I'm and on-demand feeding supply, lol.
Anywho, after I rinsed out the deep conditioner, I added a little Aveeno leave-in to all of the hair, put the front of my hair in two ponytails to airdry. Once dry, I used As I Am twist cream to braid up my hair. The braiding probably took 3-4 hours all together (without all of the nursing and naps in between). Remember, I'm a novice braider. This is only the second time I have ever braided my hair. The braids are getting better I think, but I need to work on my parting. Here's the results:
I think it came out better with the twist cream. They are neater. But that might have to do with the size of the braids. Anywho, I'm happy! I still have a few plaits to redo in the back that are HUGE because I got lazy, lol. Oh! And I have a half wig that I think will go perfectly with the braided front. Stay tuned!
Soooo....I undid my braids in the FRONT of my hair only (remember the back is in plaits with my own hair), coated the hair with V05 Moisture Milks conditioner, detangled, and washed all of my hair yesterday morning in the shower with my Creme of Nature Kiwi and Citrus (I was going to take a texture shot but...i kind of forgot! Next two weeks, I promise!). I then used Organic Root Stimulator's Deep Penetrating Conditioner and coated all of my hair with that. I did a few chores, nursed my newborn, then washed it out about 3 hours later. I would normally prefer 45 minutes (the recommended amount of time), but I'm and on-demand feeding supply, lol.
Anywho, after I rinsed out the deep conditioner, I added a little Aveeno leave-in to all of the hair, put the front of my hair in two ponytails to airdry. Once dry, I used As I Am twist cream to braid up my hair. The braiding probably took 3-4 hours all together (without all of the nursing and naps in between). Remember, I'm a novice braider. This is only the second time I have ever braided my hair. The braids are getting better I think, but I need to work on my parting. Here's the results:
Gosh I have a big head, lol.
I think it came out better with the twist cream. They are neater. But that might have to do with the size of the braids. Anywho, I'm happy! I still have a few plaits to redo in the back that are HUGE because I got lazy, lol. Oh! And I have a half wig that I think will go perfectly with the braided front. Stay tuned!
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