Happy New Year!

4 Months TODAY!!!!

I'm 4 months NATURAL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am learning so much about my hair. I have started a regiment which I am very excited about and I have notice hair growth!

Every Sunday I deep condition with a homemade avocado mix.
1 avocado
1/2 can coconut milk
2 tablespoons of pure honey
2 table spoons of coconut oil
a few squirts of Suave Rosemary and Mint Conditioner.

I use my emergent blender to mix everything up. After I shampoo and condition my hair, I put the mix all over and then use a plastic cap for the mixture to sit on my hair for about 1 hour. After the hour, I rinse out with cold water, apply a leave conditioner and then style.

Since it has been cool in the mornings, I haven't done many wash and goes. So for my protective style in November, I rocked braids using the Kinky Twist hair for three weeks (hence my absence of posting :).

I am still experimenting with different products, but still keeping in mind, not to turn in to the ultimate product junky. I have read so much about Yest to Carrots and Giovanni. While at my local Target, I found mini samples of each that was in my budget and of course I had to buy and then if I didn't like it, I didn't spend a whole lot of money nor do I have gigantic bottles of product just sitting around.

I have also been visiting my local health food store, the Vitamin Shoppe. I was able to find the J/A/S/O/N products half off!!!!! So yes, I did buy it, although it was in its original bottle, I didn't feel bad if I didn't like it since I only paid a few dollars.

I am still continuing to research to find out different product's that may work for my hair. I am still madly in love with Shea Moisture products. I have purchased Tressemme - only used once. Yes to Carrots - love the conditioner. J/A/S/O/N - only used once. I am currently using ECO Olive Oil Gel which I love, but I have come across a homemade recipe for gel using FLAX SEEDs...this is a must try.

I have been thinking about straightening my hair during the Christmas Holiday's to get my ends clipped. I am a little nervous about it because I have been reading about heat damage. So I must continue my research to find the right product to protect my hair while straight.

NEXT THOUGHT - Protecting hair from heat damage.

Here are a few styles that I have been wearing during my 4 months.

Experimenting

I am still continuing to research this life of Natural Hair. I have found lots of interesting facts and recipes. One of my favorite blogs to visit is MopTop Maven. She has a conditioner recipe that I tried last night which is suppose to help with dry hair. 1 avocado, 1 can of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of raw honey, 2 tablespoons of favorite oil (I used cocunut oil) and I added about 2 tablespoons of Suave Rosemary and Mint conditioner. I let it set on my hair for about 1 hour. I had lots left over, which I stored in the refrigerator. My results....my hair was soft and had lots of mositure. For sleep, I added my leave in conditioner ( Ganier Leave-In) and put my hair in 2 strand twist bantu knots. This morning my hair was soft and still full of moisture.

I am proud to say I can do a puff now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So cute :0)

Next thought...protective styles for the winter.

Still Researching

I am still trying to find a fix to my sometime dry, fizzy hair. I am still not wanting to become a product junkie, so I am retrying the products that I currently own until there are used up. I have been using the Shea Moisture products; Curl Enhancer and Deep Conditioning. I think I have found out that the Curl Enhancer doesn't mix well with the Coconut Oil I have been using to lock in moisture. Right now I use Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Shampoo and Conditioner, Garnier Leave In Conditioner and Curls curl enhancer products. I haven't use the Coconut Oil with curls, but my hair seems not to be frizzy.

I have also tried a couple of different styles which I will post pics later.

Next thought: Next product to try...I'm almost done with what I have...heee,heee,heee!

Creative Me

I am so loving my hair!





I am continuing my research on conditioning, moisturizing, product and styling. As I mentioned previous post, I don't want to become a "product junkie". So I have been using Herbal Essence Hello Hydration and Shea Moisture Deep Conditioning and Curl Enhancer. I have also started to like ECO styler gel.





One thing I have learned is the difference between conditioning and deep conditioning. Conditioning is just a regular shampoo/condition that we would normally do when using a relaxer, but a deep condition is needed to make the hair stronger especially after using so many products and it has to sit on the hear a length of time while using heat, be it a hair dryer or a hot towel. I have been using my deep conditioner, but not applying the heat. This will be my next experiment to see it I notice a change in my hair.





So...back to not being a "product junkie" or "accessory junkie" which I am. I decided to make my own accessories. I have save a couple of dollars which I can use towards my product fund to try new products. I purchased flat jewels from JoAnns Fabric, hair clips from the dollar store and Walmart and hot glue guns I already had stashed in my "creative me" box, which my husband has been trying to get rid of for years. I did purchase a few cheap head bands, but I wanted to focus on some "bling" accessories.

Next thought: Protective styling.

Bad Hair Day

Well, it's been a few days but I have so much to share.

Last week was actually a bad hair week to start and to end on Friday, it was a really bad day. I didn't take as much care to my transitioning hair as I usually doing. Following my routine, of wash, condition, water soak and then gel. All I could think was, "next week will be my big chop, just wait a little while. Then Friday came...I called my best girl to get her natural stylist name and number. I called to make my appointment for my BC that afternoon.

Salon of choice...Running Water Natural Hair Salon. While I waited for the stylist, she informed me that the owner will cut my hair. Now I'm thinking, hmmm, that's nice, the owner is actually considerate and wants to make sure I have "quality service" :). To the shampoo bowl I went. The stylist shampooed, conditioned and conditioned and I sat for a while with the conditioner. My thought's....wow, my hair really feels clean, squicky clean and she released the water from my hair. Then I waited for the owner to finish twisting a new transitioning client's hair. While sitting, I wasn't chicking out, I was actually really excited that I was getting ready to have my big chop.

When the owner was finished, I showed him a style that I liked, he said ok. Then...CHOP!!! Suprising I was calm, but I would have never thought I would hear a pair of scissors cut the way his scissors. Then my chest started to hurt, lol. But I made my self calm down and then it was over. My permed ends were no more, I am now a Hair Naturalist!

Next thought...more research on what to do...keeping my natural hair moisturized!

New Product

During my research on natural hair, I found out there are lots of products out there that gravitate to going natural. I said I didn't want to be "a product junkie", but in order to know what works for your hair and what doesn't, being "a product junkie" really isn't that bad, expensive, but not bad.

My first products to use was the Deep Conditioner by Shea Moisture. This past weekend I went to one of my favorite stores "Target" to find a new product. Keeping with the same line, I decided to try the Curl Enhancing Smoothie by Shea Moisture. I shampooed and conditioned with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration (my new love) and then used the Curl Smoothie. My hair felt greasy after applying, but as it dried, by natrual hair curled to nice soft curls, while my permed ends where straight. Through out the day, I was very pleased with the results. The next morning, I used a spray bottle with water to bring it back to life, and the results were still pleasing.

I will keep the Shea Moisture products in mind.

Next thought....BC day is getting closer, I think I may do it this time.

Oh yeah! I think the hubs is enjoying going through this transition with me! No complaints yet.