March 2013 Update

I really feel like I'm turning the corner with my hair and things are getting much better!  The past 6 months have been challenging, mostly due to a lack of moisture.  I now know how to keep my hair moist, and I'm starting to enjoy the styles too.

A couple of weeks ago I was so frustrated with my hair.  I tried to get it braided, but the braiding shop was booked. I then tried to make an appointment at the salon to get it flat ironed, but I got nervous because I don't trust anyone in my hair at this point.  So I decided to straighten it myself. I hadn't straightened my hair once since my big chop in June.  I knew it could mess up my curl pattern, but I felt so bad about my hair that I had to try something.  My hair is kinky, but I have no definite curl pattern.  If anything, it would loosen my curls/kinks, which isn't a bad thing.  Even though my hair is pretty soft, it shrinks up about 95%.

Here are the results of my flat iron:

I didn't blow dry it, I just air dried in twists and then flat ironed.  I HATED the heat protectant I used (Tresemme).  It made my hair feel hard and dry and tangled.  I was shocked how easy it was to flat iron my hair.  I set my flat iron to 265 degrees and only had to go over my hair once in most areas.  However, ,my ends were so bad that they wouldn't even get straight and curl. So I trimmed about 1/4 of an inch. The next day I bought some Jane Carter Nourish and Shine and that really moisturized and softened my hair. I can't believe I'm just trying this. It's really good, even at the high price.

I didn't love it, but I liked it, and I got a boost of confidence seeing my growth.  I wore it straight for about a week, and either used satin rollers or tied the sides down at night. For my next wash, I was excited to see if the trim I gave myself would make my twistouts look better, and it did!

After washing and conditioning, I used the tension method to stretch my hair out a little. This made it sooo much easier to apply and distribute product.  When I took my twists out the next day, my curls weren't that defined, but I didn't use any gel or holding product, so I expected that.  I was just happy my hair was moist and looked cute.  I decided (out of boredom) to put 4 cornrows on one side.  A couple of days later, I re-twisted with a little gel on the ends, and my hair looked so much better.  

I don't want to flat iron my hair too much if I can help it, but it's a nice change every month or two.

Moist!

My hair has stayed moisturized for 3 weeks straight. It's like a miracle!  I've been doing a few things to keep my hair moist:

1. I colored my hair with semi-permanent color
I've always thought that my naked hair was a dull brown and prone to dryness.  I thought henna would help, but it really hasn't helped with sheen or moisture retention.  Since my allergic reaction to the black color I had put in last year, I've been very wary of color.  However, I remembered how a semi-permanent color always gave life, shine and moisture to my hair. A few weeks ago, I applied Adore semi-permanent color in Dark Red Brown.  I noticed a difference in moisture and shine as soon as I applied it!  My hair looks thicker, and seems to absorb products better.

2. I've been deep conditioning with heat
I mentioned this in a post last month.  Consistently sitting under the dryer for at least 30 minutes with my deep conditioner has worked wonders.  

3. I've been doing a final conditioner rinse with Trader Joe's Nourish and Spa Conditioner, and leave a little of it in my hair
I bought this product a couple of months ago. It gives moisture and slip and makes my hair so easy to de-tangle.  I don't even use a comb these days.  Leave-in conditioners don't seem to have any effect, so I decided to leave some regular conditioner in after I rinse.  This has really increased my moisture level.  Usually, my hair dries up and dries out within 10 minutes after adding a leave-in.  I feel the effect of leaving some conditioner in even after my twists dry.

4. I sit under the dryer with my twists

I decided to do this just to open up my cuticles more to let the products absorb more.  Even if I only sit under the dryer for 10-20 minutes, my hair retains so much moisture and is much shinier when I take the twists out.  Lately I've been flat twisting since it takes less time, and this has really been working for me.

5. I moisturize and seal at least once a day  

Thick moisturizers haven't done much for my hair, so now I'm using a more watery moisturizer.  Africa's Best Kids Organics Shea Butter Detangling Moisturizing Hair Lotion has been my moisturizer of choice. I then seal with castor oil.  I had been doing all of this research on low porosity hair, but every rule does not apply to every head.  My hair doesn't like heavy moisturizers, but it does like castor oil, which is heavier than most oils. 

I have been washing my hair once a week, but I may need to go to twice a week.  By the 5th or 6th day, my hair is still moist, but doesn't behave the way I want it to.

Other than the semi-permanent color, I haven't bought any hair products for almost a month and a half.  Go me! 

Semi-Permanent

Since my allergic reaction to the black color I had put in last year, I've been very wary of color.  Henna hasn't helped me in terms of moisture.  I remembered how a semi-permanent color always gave life, shine and moisture to my hair. I am in desperate need of all three, so I decided to go with an Adore Plus Extra Conditioning color in Dark Red Brown.  (I'm on my own no-buy challenge, but I thought I could make an exception!)  I noticed a difference in moisture and shine as soon as I applied it! Even though the directs say you don't need to use heat, I sat under the dryer for about 25 minutes, just to make sure my hair absorbed it and it would cover my grays. I reviewed the Adore in black almost 5 years ago here.  I really like how this gave my hair some weight and seems to allow other products to work better.

I'm not sure why this works for me, since there are some ingredients like silicone and aloe vera juice that usually don't agree with my low porosity hair, but it does work.  It didn't completely cover my grays- they're still a little orange from the henna, but my hair is much improved.  Also, it probably won't last more than 2-3 washes, but I'm okay with that.  It's very affordable, and since it feels like a conditioner, I don't mind applying it often.

One Year Since Last Relaxer

My last relaxer was on 2/4/12.  I totally forgot yesterday that it was the anniversary of my last relaxer!  The time went by a lot faster than I thought it would.

My natural journey has been really interesting.  I've been frustrated, surprised, proud, and a lot of other emotions over the past year.  I do not regret going natural at all.  I feel like I'm just now realizing what my hair likes and doesn't like.  This truly has been a journey, and I'm looking forward to the next year!

Again, thank you to everyone for the tips and encouragement.

The Baggy Method

The baggy method is when you add moisturizer or oil and wear a plastic cap or bag for a period of time to keep moisture in your hair.  Some baggy overnight while sleeping, others baggy for a few hours at a time.  Some baggy just the ends of their hair, while others baggy the whole head.  I mentioned baggying in my low porosity post, but I really haven't done it much.  Baggying overnight doesn't work for me, because I usually wake up with wet, mushy hair.  However, doing it for a few hours at a time makes my hair moist and soft.

Still on my continuous quest for hair moisture, I've started to incorporate baggying into my regimen.  My hair is naturally dry anyway, but the monthly henna and the cold, dry winter doesn't help.  The other day, I applied some Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner to my hair, and twisted it.  I put on a plastic cap for a couple of hours, and when I took it off, my hair was moisturized from root to tip.  Yesterday, I worked from home, so I wore a cap for the majority of the day.  I didn't worry about my hair getting wet since I wasn't going anywhere, and I knew being in the house with the dry heat would really make my hair dry. After about 4 hours, my hair wasn't even wet!

It was 3 degrees this morning.  Yes, I wrote 3 degrees!  I usually put a satin scarf on under my wool hat, but for today's commute, I wore a plastic bag under my hat.  The only product I applied was a little shea butter to take my twists out.  When I got to work and took my hat and plastic hat off, my hair was so moist and soft.  I did have a little shrinkage, but I'd much rather moist shrunken hair than dry stretched hair.

I've decided to baggy daily, if even just for my commute to work, or for a few hours before I go to bed.  I'm hoping this give me moisture, shine and length retention and less shedding and breakage.

Again, be careful of over moisturized, mushy hair.  It could lead to breakage.  I've read that some women also get an itchy scalp from baggying.

What has been your experience with baggying?  What is your method and how long do you baggy?

"No Buy" Hair Product Challenge

Inspired by naturallycurly.com's New Year Hair Challenges, I am creating a No Buy/Stick to It challenge for myself.

I so do not need any new hair products. I need to use up my many, many products.  It's frustrating and overwhelming to have so much, and using different products every week or two is not helping my hair.  Other than gel, I can't remember the last time I finished a product!  I don't think my problem is that I haven't found the right products, but rather that I haven't found the right way to use the products.  

For my challenge, I will: 

1. Create a list of holy grail (HG) products to use for (at least) two months
2. Choose 1-2 HG products per category
3. Repurchase only my HG products as needed.  I will not purchase any other products that are not on my HG list

This way, I will use up product AND have a consistent hair regimen...and save some money!

I'd love to hear from anyone who has had success with sticking with the same products.

Bantu Knot on Two Strand Twist

For the past couple of weeks, I've been twisting my hair and then creating bantu knots with them.  I wanted to tuck my damaged ends away, and thought this was a good way to keep them curled and tucked under.  I was inspired by Yolanda Renee's youtube video.

I first did this on a 2 day old twistout.  I added some moisturizer, and a little gel on my ends.  I didn't like it the first time I did it.  My ends seemed too frizzy and dry!

The next time I did it after I gave myself a little trim and deep conditioned with heat.  Right after I deep conditioned, I just did twists.  The next day, I twisted only a few sections of my hair and put them into bantu knots. I loved how those areas came out, so I tried with my whole head.  I did about 12 twists/knots using Cantu Shea Butter Curling Cream and gel on my ends.  I really liked it!  My hair was moist, curly and full:

I like that it just looks like a head full of curls.  When I do a simple twistout, I feel like some my ends are straight and my hair doesn't have much shape.  I try to make the sides a little smaller and tighter so that the top and front look longer than they are.  This style also keeps the frizz away!  I re-twist/knot ever night and I feel like it gets better every day.  I definitely like it better on dry hair.  I'm still not sure how to do it right after I wash- maybe let it airdry first? Or stretch it a little with a blow dryer?