November 2012 Update: Twistouts

I'm starting to really enjoy my hair.  Keeping it moist (finally!) has made a big difference.  I've been washing (mostly with shampoo) every Sunday, twisting, letting the twists out Monday morning, and rocking a twistout for the week.  I'm going to do it again this weekend, but I'm going to try to keep the twistout for over a week.  I actually think the older my twistout gets, the better I like it.  Every day, I separate the twists a little more, so by day 6, I really like how my hair looks.  Here's what I've been doing on non-henna/non-egg protein treatment weeks:

* Saturday night, I apply oil or conditioner and keep it in over night.  I realized that I don't like deep conditioning- I don't have the time or the patience for it, so doing it on dry hair over night before I wash makes me feel like I'm doing something just as good!

*In the morning, I shampoo or co-wash my hair (Creme of Nature Argan Oil Shampoo, black soap, or Tresemme Naturals Conditioner). While in the shower, I de-tangle with a lot of conditioner and a shower comb.

*I apply leave-in conditioner while my hair is damp (I've been switching between Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 and Cantu Shea Butter).

*I add castor or grapessed oil, then moisturizer (ORS), then a little gel (Ecostyler).  Then I twist it.  I pin the roots of the twists down with bobby pins.

*For the rest of the day, I wear a scarf under a hat and go about my business. The next day, when I take out the twists, my hair looks like this:

I'm still shocked about how moist my hair has been!  The gel has really helped to define my twists, but still keeps my hair soft.  This photo is from separating each twist once. I usually separate one more time for the first day, but this week, I wanted a tighter curl for the first couple of days.  I start twisting in the front, so I'm usually tired by the time I reach the back.  This last week, I did individual twists in the front and flat twists in the back.  Because I did this, and because my hair is longer in the back, my hair looked much longer in the back than in the front.  It evened out by the second day or so, but I'm going to try to do the individual twists all over.

At night, I put my hair into about 8 ponytail puffs to keep it from getting flat.  In the morning I add a little oil, fluff and go. Each day, I separate some of the twists more. By Thursday or Friday, my hair looks like this:

I've been using mostly castor oil.  It's been great now that the weather is so cold and dry.  I apply the oil with a color applicator bottle, and when I massage it and untwist more, the oil reaches the length of my hair strands.  I could still separate the twists more, which I'll probably do over the next day or two.  I want to experiment with all of the curling creams I've bought over the past 5 months, but what I'm doing now has been working so well that I'm afraid to try!  I also want to try bigger twists, but it's been hard to keep them twisted when I use larger chunks of hair.  Maybe in a couple of months....

Black Tips

Last week was a good hair week.  I wore a twistout for 4 days.  I was able to keep it moisturized, so I really got to see my true texture in a healthy state.  I noticed that from the roots to about 3 inches is wavy and smooth, while my ends are wiry, course and straw-like.  Also, my tips are black...the semi-permanent color I had in May ended up being permanent! I've said it before, but I really mean it this time: I WILL NEVER GET A BLACK COLOR AGAIN.  It causes too much damage and now I know for sure it changes the texture of my hair.  I really want to just cut the black out so I can experience my true hair texture, but I want to wait another month or two to get a little more length.

To think that since I big chopped almost 5 months ago, I thought my hair was course with no real curl pattern, when it was really the color that made it this way!

I'm really excited to work with a full head of healthy color-free hair.  I think my ends will behave so much better.  If I get impatient over the next couple of months, I may do small dustings every couple of weeks until the black is gone.

Progress...

My hair's moisture level is getting so much better.  I've been using Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion as my moisturizer for the past week or so, and it's doing a pretty good job keeping my hair moist and shiny. I have had a love/hate relationship with this product for a while. I bought it years ago when I was relaxed. Initially, I didn't like how it felt on my hair- heavy, oily and sticky. However, it seems to work on my son's curls.  I'm not sure what made me pick it up and try it last week, but I thought, 'why not?' As soon as I put some on my dry hair, I immediately saw and felt a difference. My hair looked shiny. It felt moist and silky. The hair "clumped" like I hadn't seen my natural hair do. So I decided to use it on a dry twist out. The next day my twists were moist, but not too greasy. When I pulled the twists apart, my hair stayed clumped for the most part, and did not separate and frizz like they usually do.

I tried again on wet hair and had pretty good results. I'm also getting better at second day hair.  Last night I put my hair in about 10 very loose ponytails. This morning, I just had to moisturize, fluff and go!

I also gave myself a trim.  My ends really needed it.  I don't know if it's scab hair, or just old damaged ends, but it's definitely not helping my curls.  I just dusted my ends to get rid of the wiry hairs.  I probably could have trimmed more, but I barely trust myself with scissors!  I did it on dry hair, so hopefully I'll see a difference after my next wash.