My [Staple] Products.

Everyone has their favorite hair products, and this blog post is about mine! The worst part of transitioning from relaxed to natural hair, or starting a hair journey is finding the right products. Before transitioning, I recommend that you consider that you may have to spend money on trial and error of different products. Also, remember that what works for someone else may not work for you. Especially, if there is more than a slight difference between your hair texture and theirs. In this post I am going to include my favorite product in each category and a brief description of why I like the product.

Shampoo: Organix Anti-Breakage Keratin Oil Shampoo
I originally tried this shampoo, because I was reverting back to my curly tresses from straightened hair. The front label read that the elasticity of the hair would be reinforced to resist breakage. Straight, wet hair is fragile and needs to products to reinforce the strength of the hair. I absolutely love this shampoo! In the past I have avoided shampooing my hair, because shampoo would leave my hair feeling stripped of the natural oils. This shampoo leaves my hair feeling moisturized and stronger than any other shampoo I have ever used. Also, my curls are very defined after one wash with this shampoo. I almost do not feel the need to condition afterwards. Since I know better than to not condition, I always follow shampoo with a great conditioner.

Cleansing Conditioner: Organix Anti-Breakage Keratin Oil Conditioner
As you may have guessed, I love the Keratin Oil Conditioner as well. For a long time, I was only conditioning with the beloved Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner. I tried Organix once and I have not been back! One thing I look for in a good cleansing conditioner is great slip and moisturizing. By slip, I mean I am able to detangle easily with the product in my hair. My fingers or a wide tooth comb literally "slip" through the hair. The thing most people love about Tresemme Naturals is that it provides a lot of slip for an affordable price. Although Organix is slightly more costly (and it comes in a smaller bottle), it is well worth every penny. Also, Organix is extremely rich in consistency so you won't need to use as much of the product at once. One thing to remember is that Organix products are all-natural and sulfate free (hence the name). Their products do not remove the natural oils your scalp produces for your hair.

Deep Conditioner: Silk Elements Mega Silk Intense Conditioning Mayonnaise

I have always deep conditioned with this conditioning mayonnaise. Unless, I am doing a homemade treatment (such as my favorite avocado & oil blend) I have always used the Mega Silk conditioner. The best way to use this product is immediately after washing your hair and rinsing out the conditioner. I typically divide my hair into 6 sections and apply the conditioner along with extra virgin olive oil. Once each section is coated with product, I cover my hair with a plastic shower cap and sit under the dryer for about 30 minutes. After rinsing the product out with cold water, I style my hair. I do this deep conditioning treatment on every other wash day (Sunday), because it contains a lot of proteins that my hair does not need on a weekly basis.

Leave-In Conditioner: Shea Moisture Curl and Style Milk
Although this product is called a style milk, I use it as a leave-in conditioner. Essentially, the most important part of any hair care regimen is a leave-in conditioner. Of course, this product could be used on its own (and I do on the days when I am in a hurry) it works best with my styler. The curl and style milk is a creamy consistency and smells like coconut. If your hair likes thick butters you may want to try the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

Styler: Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curling Gel Souffle
This product is the perfect example of trying a product, not liking it the first time, but trying it again and loving it! Typically, I choose hair products of a creamy consistency but I wanted to try something different. The Gel Souffle is not as thick as most gels; it has a runny consistency (see photo to the right). The key to the success of this product is that you only use a small amount of product. If you use too much, your hair will get hard from the gel--no one likes "crunchy curls".

Once you have learned which types of products work best for your hair, you will find searching for your staple products is easier than before. Do not get caught up on having staple products. There are so many different products out there just waiting for you to try. Take advantage of the growing variety of natural hair products!

[Protective] Styling.

Let's be honest, who doesn't want long, healthy hair? The key to reaching any desired hair growth goal is length retention. What most people do not realize is that your hair grows daily. However, we aren't able to see the results of hair growth, because the hair is breaking at the ends. Also, manipulating your hair too often can cause unnecessary breakage.

A great way to solve this problem is a protective style! Protective styling is known among the natural hair community as a benefit to protect your hair from too much manipulation. A change in the seasons, dry winter or hot summers, can also damage the hair so it would be a great benefit to give your hair a break with protective styling.

Protective styles can range from a simply bun or wig, to braids or an up-do. If you're bored with your regular style, protective styling is a great way to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. This post will offer three simple suggestions for protective styles.

The Halo Crown Braid/Twist:
The first protective style I am going to highlight is an up-do often refereed to as a "goddess braid". The style typically lasts one week and I would recommend doing it on Sunday night and wearing it until your next wash day (if you wash your hair weekly). Essentially, the purpose of this protective style is to pull all of the hair together to prevent manipulation throughout the week. An easy tutorial can be found here. Seek Youtube and other natural hair forums for tutorials on this style.

High Bun/Top Knot:
My favorite protective style is a bun. Due to the simplicity of the style, and its low maintenance I choose this style most frequently. A bun may consist only of your natural hair, or you can add extra hair to thicken the bun. I recommend you seek tutorials and reviews on which hair is the best for bunning before you add hair to your bun. I would not recommend using an added styler (also known as doughnut) to get a perfect "ballerina bun". These additives can cause damage to your hair by adding friction between your hair and the bun. An important thing to remember when bunning is how tight you make your bun. If your bun is too tight you can do more damage than good to your hair. Tension on your hair from tight ponytails can cause your hair to break off in the space where your hair is pulled together. A tutorial for doing a bun as a protective style can be found here.

Box Braids:

Although box braids (or any braids for that matter) are not the easiest protective style to do, they will last the longest. 100% Kanekalon Jumbo Braid hair is suggested as it is kinkier in texture and will hold the braid better. It is imperative that your natural hair is healthy and can withstand braids before you select this style. I would recommend deep conditioning every week at least two months prior to getting the braids. Also, the key to ensuring that the braids are effective in protecting your hair is to take them down at the right time. You do not want to leave the braids in too long, or take them down too soon! It is suggested to leave box braids in no longer than 2 months. To maintain your natural hair for these 2 months, I recommend that you oil your scalp daily and wrap your hair every night. I suggest olive oil, castor oil, or even canola oil. As your edges and new growth start to grow, brush them up each morning to maintain a neat look. Use a silk scarf/head wrap when you wrap your hair at night. Cotton bandannas will absorb the moisture and dry out your hair. Remember to wear a shower cap in the shower, because you do not want the braids to absorb any water. There are great professionals who are skilled with box braids. However, you can easily learn to do your own. Seek YouTube for many tutorials; one great tutorial can be seen here. 

My [HEALTHY] Hair Journey.

This post is intended to share my experience as a natural hair girl! The dates are as specific as possible and the pictures are my property. Also, be mindful that what was successful for me may not be successful for you. In the same note, what did not work for my hair, may work perfectly for your tresses.

I have always had thick, curly hair. I am about six years old in the pictures to the right, and I would describe my curl pattern as a 3C based on the hair-types. My curls were very defined, and healthy. As a child, I always wanted to wear my hair in the styles of the other girls my age i.e. flat twists, braids, or curl sets. However, I did not understand that their hair was chemically treated (often referred to as "relaxed") and would behave differently than my curly tresses.


Each time I would go to a salon and request a style that I saw other girls my age wearing I was told that my hair would not hold the style, because "it was too thick" or "too curly." As a result, I despised having curly hair! Yes, I hated having such beautiful curls! One reason was that I felt like people only saw the beauty in my hair, and not me as a person.





Finally, around age 12 I got my first relaxer. For those who do not know, a relaxer is a chemical (in the form of cream) that straightens your hair. In most cases, people with coarse hair use relaxers to make their hair more manageable. Although I do not have coarse hair, getting my hair chemically treated would make the styles I desired last longer, as well as look better. This was a major set back for my hair. It took my hair no longer being curly to appreciate the fact that it was curly in the first place. To the left are two pictures of my hair straightened while chemically treated with a relaxer.

Although my hair may seem long, it is very unhealthy. The ends are thin and stringy (you can see through them). This is from a lack of trimming and moisture in my hair; the chemicals in relaxers remove the natural oils and nutrients already in your hair. Since my hair lacked moisture and nutrients on the ends, I was not retaining the length of my hair. Not to mention, my natural curl pattern was being destroyed. I departed ways from the damaged the relaxer caused after washing my hair one day and realizing that I could not have my cake and eat it, too. I could either have my natural, curly hair or chemically treated, relaxed hair. I opted for the healthier, natural route and have yet to regret it.

My natural, healthy hair journey began in December 2010, as evident in the first two pictures. (Disregard the image quality). After researching new hair styles for my curly hair, I ran across a website that saved my life: NaturallyCurly.Com In addition to this online forum dedicated to curly tresses, I discovered the Greenhouse Effect. In essence, the Greenhouse Effect is a technique used to seal in moisture, which is the key to healthy hair and retaining length. I did this method 4 or 5 nights each week and shampooed my hair weekly. Also, I did not apply ANY heat to my hair for 8 months. The results are evident in the following pictures.

Although I did not continue the Greenhouse Effect as I should have after January 2012, I have maintained a healthy hair care regimen. My hair is currently APL (armpit length) when curly and stretched, and BSL (bra strap length) when straightened. I hope to achieve BSL when curly and stretched by the end of 2014.
 

5 Common Natural Hair [Myths] Revealed

Learning the Ins & Outs of Your Natural Hair

1. "Natural Hair Can't Grow" 

It is commonly believed that natural hair does not grow in the same way as relaxed hair. Well, remember when you were relaxed? It was essential to get a "touch up" (reapplication of the chemical relaxer) every 6-8 weeks, because of the new growth that did not match the already relaxed hair. Simply, put this new hair was your hair in its natural state; evidence that natural hair grows. Also, healthy hair begins from the inside out. The healthy your body is, the healthier your hair will be. 

2. "Trimming Makes Hair Grow"

We've all heard the saying, "I need to trim my ends so my hair will grow." What we really mean is that we need our ends trimmed to see the length that our hair has grown. Trimming dead ends has no direct effect on growing your hair. However, length retention is a result of healthy ends because there is no breaking or splitting of the hair shaft.

3. "Cleansing/Wetting Hair Too Often Dries Out the Hair"

Perhaps, this myth is the most damaging to the natural hair. If your hair gets nothing else, PLEASE do not deprive your hair of water. Your hair-care regimen should be focused on moisturizing the hair. Avoid using harsh, sulfate shampoo that strips the hair of its natural moisturizers. The elasticity of the hair is strengthened the more it is moisturized with water, which reduces breakage and results in length retention.

4. "Natural Hair is Unprofessional"

This is simply a rumor that could not be further from the truth. The only hair that is unprofessional is dirty, unruly hair that distracts or prevents accurate performance of the job. As long as your hair is neat, go ahead and rock your natural tresses in the workplace. Sincere, serious employers will care about what's in your head, not what's on it. 

5. "My Hair Can Only Have One Curl Pattern"

We have all seen those charts about which curls are defined as a certain curl pattern. These curl patterns are typically named with a number and letter. The higher the number/letter, typically the kinkier the curl pattern. The truth of the matter is that no one has the exact same curl pattern as another person. For me, my hair varies to about three different curl patterns. Once you are able to identify which parts of your hair are a certain curl pattern it can be easier to learn what may or may not work for your hair. The key is to remember that all curls are different; that is the beauty of natural hair. Love your curls and kinks all the same♥