Hair of the Day: Twistout Day 3

 I hadn't separated the twists from my twistout until today.  I really liked it! Let's see if I can stretch this hairstyle to tomorrow...

Hair of the Day: Defined Twist Out

I twisted my hair on Friday using my new and improved Shea Butter Mix.  I wore it under a beanie yesterday, and today I wore the twistout.  Like usual, it gave my hair great shine, moisture, and definition.  Below are pics of my hair before I did the twistout and after.

New and Improved Shea Butter Mix

Perhaps you recall my previous Shea Butter Recipe that I made for the first time a while back.  Well this recipe right here!? It's the absolute best.  After watching some videos on YouTube of how to achieve that fluffy texture I was going for, I found that all I needed to do was mix longer and add more coconut oil.  I also slightly melted the Shea Butter so it was partly liquid when I began mixing.  I'm not going to list the ingredients because this is something that can be and should be free-styled.  But if you need a recipe to get you going, just refer to my previous one and adjust the coconut oil measurement to 1/4cup. I added some other secret ingredients that I'll keep to myself for now :).    With the first batch, I was afraid that if I mixed the butter too long, it would be too runny.  To my surprise, that is exactly what the mix needs to be in order for it to fluff up. 

YouTube Special: Crunchy Curls

This was a hairstyle I experimented with on Thursday.  It looked nice, but it felt very hard.  Check out the video of how I did it, and keep scrolling to see more pics of this look. Enjoy!

Quick Style: Protective Twists

Again, another late post.  This was my protective style for this week.  I did it on Saturday and made a video.  It sucked lol mainly because even though the twists may appear neat, I'm still not good at making my two strands clean.  So don't look too closely, and you def don't want to see the back of my head.  This style lasted until Wednesday and was very frizzy by the time I took it down.  And because I didn't twist cleanly, the definition of the twistout  was horrendous (no need to wear it in public).  Anyways, here's photos of my protective two strand flat twists of the week.

Yes, the edges were laid!

Hair After the BC: Unexpected things to Expect

My bald spots after the BC

For some people, the Big Chop is a Big Deal.  It takes some soul searching to get to the point of being ready to let it all go.  You really need to be prepared for the emotional and physical differences that are bound to arise.  To help you get there, I'm going to let you in on 5 things people don't really tell you before the Big Chop.  Before I start, please note that none of these things are meant to sound negative and can be easily overcome with patience and care, so don't let them detour you from taking the plunge.

1. Looks are deceiving.

If you're like I was, you probably have a habit of peeking at your new growth.  Depending on how far you are in your transition, you can most likely see a good amount of your newly natural hair and you can sort of gauge how long it is.  Maybe you've made a plan to BC once your new growth gets a certain length.  That is perfectly fine, but I can almost guarantee you that once you cut those relaxed ends off, your hair won't be as long as you thought.  This happens for 2 reasons.  First, unlike your relaxed hair, your natural hair has the ability to shrink.  So even though your hair might be the length you thought it was, it will appear to be much shorter.  Secondly, you will have to cut a little lower than expected in order to completely rid your hair of  all the relaxer.

2. Perm, Perm go away!

Speaking of relaxers...after the BC, you may have what seems to be billions of relaxed ends left on your head.  They may be hard to see, but they'll usually show themselves while your hair is wet.  It's pretty easy to get rid of them, simply cut them off, but like I said, it seems like they're never ending.  I was cutting relaxed ends off for weeks until they were all gone.
 

3. Texture, Smexture

Before you BC, you probably worry yourself with hair typing.  You look at your new growth and compare it to the charts and so now you think you know what your hair type is.  Guess again! First and foremost, I'm pretty sure that everyone goes through what I call the "fuzz ball" stage.  It's that time right after you big chop and your hair has absolutely no pattern.  It's just a fuzzy mess.  After a few months though, your hair will begin to take form.  It may be the hair type you guessed it was while transitioning but keep in mind that it might also be something totally different.  At any rate, don't focus on what your curl pattern is.  Every pattern is unique and beautiful.

4. The Thirst is real.

This one might not come as a surprise, but you can expect your hair to transform into the Sahara Desert after you BC.  Natural hair has more moisture needs than relaxed hair, so you will have to work over time to make sure your new natural hair isn't dry all the time.

5.  Hello, Scalp

Lastly, for me, it was pretty easy to tell my relaxed hair from my natural hair because my natural hair was much thicker.  But once I BC'd, my thick natural hair wasn't so thick anymore.  My scalp was very visible and my hair appeared to be thinning.  You may not experience this if you transition long term, but for us short term transitioners, be prepared for bald spots.  Of course your hair will thicken up and become more dense after some months, but in the meantime, I suggest running your fingers or a comb through your hair to cover some of the spots. 

So there you go, my list of some maybe unexpected things you don't normally hear about hair after the Big Chop.  Those things might make you a little weary, but you are not alone.  Nearly everyone that has gone natural has experienced this.  Its all apart of the journey.  One thing I'll leave you to look forward to is the fact that after you BC, detangling will become much easier!  I don't know what it is about the mixture of the relaxed texture and the natural texture that makes detangling such a chore.  Once you BC you don't have to worry about that silly line of demarcation, but still be gentle of course.  That's all it takes.  A little TLC and patience goes a long way on your natural journey.

YouTube Special: Avocado Hair Smoothie

I posted the recipe a couple posts ago, but we all love visuals and good music so here's the video of how I made the deep treatment and also the results.  Enjoy!

Castor Oil Challenge Update: Month 2 Day 18

At this point in the challenge, I've finally figured out a good routine.  I used to detangle my hair, part it, and then apply the castor oil, but that was too time consuming.  Now I just follow the steps above before going to sleep every night.  So I guess that would also mean that I figured out a night routine (hmm I feel a video coming on).  The applicator bottle reaches my scalp just fine without me having to part my hair and what not so I just put the oil on and then massage it in.  I also take a little bit of my Whipped Shea Butter and put it all over my hair.  This is quick and easy and it works well for me.  In the morning, my hair is soft and moisturized.  Success!

Hair Tip: Avocado Deep Treatment Smoothie Recipe

I made this avocado deep treatment that was A-plus-mazing (as Mariah Carey would say).  I won't go into too much detail about it because there's a video coming soon, but here are the ingredients in case you want to go ahead and do it:

1 Avocado

1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (contains protein so it's optional)

2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp. Honey

1 tsp. Coconut Oil

*you can add your favorite essential oil to give it a fragrance.
*you can substitute the yogurt with an egg, but be mindful that the egg also contains protein.

Mix all these things together until it's creamy with no chunks (use a blender/food processor if available).  Generously distribute it through your hair and cover your head with a plastic cap.  Add moderate heat for a deeper treatment.  Leave on for 30mins.-1hr. then rinse out.

YouTube Special: Straw Set

Check out how I achieved this style below!

Straw Set Day 2

 This straw set is holding up nicely!

Straw Set Day One!

 I took the straws out on Saturday to attend a church banquet.  I was running late and wasn't able to undo every curl but it didn't make a difference.  Let's just say this straw set was everything I could have hoped for! My favorite style yet! Video Tutorial on the way.

My First Straw Set!

I'll be playing catch up on these next few posts.  This one was supposed to go up on Friday but here it is.  I was inspired by backsyncfan and WomanInTheJungle on YouTube to do a straw set on my hair.  I practiced it several months ago but my hair was too short then.  I figured now was a good time to do it.  I was hoping for an outcome similar to an outcome of a finger coil out.  I used regular sized bendy drinking straws.  I cut them up and ended up doing about 80-90 curls with the straw pieces.  I used Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie on each curl. 

It seemed like it took an eternity.  I started at about 3:45pm on Friday, and didn't finish until about 1:30am on Saturday! Of course I took many breaks in between, one of which included twisting my mother's hair, so I'm just going to guess that it took about 4hrs or so altogether.  I had my sister do the back of my head because it gets pretty easy to miss hair if you can't see what you're doing.  After all that, this hairstyle had better be worth it!

The Search is Over!

I made a post several days ago explaining my search to find a new deep conditioner since I'm almost out of mine and it cost way too much to buy again.  So I narrowed it down to 4.  I sampled the Argan Oil and wasn't crazy about it.  I was very put off by the last Beautiful Textures product I used so that took their Rapid Repair off my list.  So it got down to the Eden Bodyworks deep conditioner and the Nothing But Intense Healing Mask.  

I was at Walmart and I knew they carried the Eden BodyWorks, so I decided to get that one. I literally had the product in my hand ready to buy, then I looked down and saw the Nothing But product and began to rethink it.  I had never seen it in Walmart before so I was surprised. I picked it up and smelled it and the citrus/lemon smell wasn't as bad as I imagined.  Then I called my sister over to help me compare ingredients.  In the end, Nothing But won.  Mainly because I thought it was cheaper (I was wrong) and the list of ingredients and what they do to your hair are all listed on the website (very informational).  Anyway, I can't wait to use it, and I hope it works well.

Song of the Day: Fine China

http://www.last.fm/music/Chris+Brown

For the record, I used to be a huge Chris Brown fan.  I'm talking posters all over the wall, buy every magazine with his face in it type of fan.  For a while there, I was afraid to even claim him in that way because I think we can all agree that he lost all of his mind at one point.  He's so talented but all the negativity he brought on his self made his talent worthless.  Not only did I get over him and his outrageous behavior, but I was over all his techno poppy fist pump songs.  He seemed to have fallen into the trap of the crappy music being put out.  I'm not sure if he's in his right mind yet, but his new single Fine China gives me hope that he's on the right track.  The song and video are very Michael Jackson-esque so that's already a plus.  I don't care what he does from now on, but he definitely needs to keep songs like this coming.  Check it out below.

YouTube Special: Chocolate Hair Fail

 Watch the video below to see how I attempted to color my sister's hair chocolate brown...

Twisted Fro/Night Hair

Last Thursday I twisted my hair using a mixture of water and TRESemme Naturals conditioner.  I had my hair twisted from Thursday until Sunday and during that time it got pretty frizzy.  So instead of trying to preserve the definition of the twists, I just picked it out...

My previous night routine involved too much handling with a comb, so I decided my next go at a night routine would be done while my hair was stretched.  So Sunday night (last night) I did some sloppy two strand flat twists after applying castor oil and my homemade shea butter.  No comb involved.  This morning my hair was a little wild so I just threw it in a puff.