Random Thought

So I went to the beauty shop couple weeks ago to get a much needed trim and every since then my hair has been breaking off like crazy. I have had to redouble my moisturizing efforts in order to get it under control. So it is doing much better now but I am perplexed as to why this happened. She used Design Essentials products on my hair and I hear it is a good product line so I wasn't concerned when she put it on my hair. Now I am concerned about going back for follow up trims that I know I will need. I don't have the right hand to cut my own hair but I have a few weeks to think about it so I guess I will come up with something.

Small Growth Check

11 December and I cut the perm out of a small section of hair in the front. I will track the progress of this one section and determine when I will cut the rest of the perm out of my hair. I don’t think I would be comfortable with this short of hair so I will continue to wait. I will check this small patch once a month to track my growth progress.

17 Feb 2012 and I just did a second check on my small patch of hair that I cut. It has grown out some which I am judging by where my finger is located at the end of the hair. I did not do any measurements so I am not sure how much growth I have but it is enough to let me know I am making progress.

I am still experimenting with all different types of products and I think it is more difficult to pin point it down because I am dealing with two different hair types. It has been about 7 months since my last relaxer and I am really committed to sticking with the transition. :)

Last photo taken 15 May 2012 and my bang is about 4" long. Making some progress.

Took Braids Out

18 Nov 2011...So it took me about 4 hours to take out my braids so I don’t think I will ever get them that small again. That was a pain!!! So now I am about to put on some rhasoul clay as a deep conditioner, I will leave it on over night and wash it out in the morning. I will use 1 c. clay, 1 c water, and a 50/50 mix of almond and jojoba oil on my hair. I also put some coconut oil on my hair as I was taking out my braids and combing it through. I am hoping this will make my hair more manageable and soft as I am washing it out. I washed the clay out with Suave shampoo and conditioner. My hair was very soft and I did not have too bad of a time trying to detangle it. I did lose a lot of hair from shedding but I don’t worry about that so much. As long as my hair is not breaking and thinning I’m good with it. I figure I have not combed my hair in about 3 weeks so shedding was inevitable. Besides I’ve been shedding hair since I was little so it is normal for me. Today,19th, I just put my hair in 6 twists to let it dry. So far I am enjoying my transition to natural so I will definitely be keeping it up.

Tangle Teezer

So I watch a lot of youtube videos looking for tips and I have noticed a lot of people using the Tangle Teezer. So I decided to try it out for myself. I decided to get the original Tangle Teezer and not some knock off brand that way if the results were good or bad I would know it was as a result of the actual product. I've noticed some people use different brand names and call it by the same name but if you get bad results but  you can't blame Tangle Teezer if you did not use the actual product. Anyway...today I co-washed my hair. I have started separating my hair in three sections and wash each individual section. My hair is very thick and I find it easier to wash this way. So I co-washed with Nexxus and rinsed it all out of my hair. Afterward I sprayed a watered down conditioner on my hair and used the Tangle Teezer to comb through it. I must say it passed through my thick hair with no problems and no snagging. The bristles on this brush are a soft plastic so I did not think it would penetrate to my scalp but it did. I was pleasantly surprised and I would definitely recommend the Tangle Teezer to anyone. If anyone else has used the Tangle Teezer please let me know what you think of it. I purchased mine from Amazon because Sally's ran out. So I hope this was somewhat helpful and I look forward to your comments.

Braids 1st Week

So....I washed my braids (5 Nov 11) with Suave mango mandarin shampoo and conditioner. I wouldn’t normally use Suave but a lot of youtube videos I’ve been watching show many young ladies using this product. I have been using Nexxus, Pantene, Miss Jessies’s, and other higher priced products and I have not really been too impressed with them so I decided to try something new.At $1.99 for a 22.5 fl oz bottle it is by far the best priced product. This is what it looked liked washed and dried. I put some coconut oil on the hair and scalp and African Shea Butter on the braids to try and reduce the fuzziness. I will add some more tonight and put my scarf on. I don’t think I will curl the ends this week. I’ll just let them hang. Since I am in the military, I just put my hair into a small bun in the back so it won't hang below my collar and it is working for me. Some of the braids did come loose, in the back so I just twisted them back up because I couldn't re braid them. So this style is a great option especially if need a protective style. However, it is kind of cold here in VA and I did not appreciate the cold air blowing across my scalp so I may leave the braids to the summer months. 

Well I decided to give these braids a try and so far I must say that I like them. These were done on 29 October 2011 and I think they make me look different but that’s probably because I’ve never really wore braids before. The plan is to keep them in until Christmas which is about 2 months from now but that all depends on how well I can keep them up. As long as they still look good I will ride them out. Sure will be nice to wake up in the morning without having to brush and comb my hair. Talk about a time saver. I got these done at Naturally Yours Barber and Beauty Shop in Petersburg, VA. Lovely girl named Ashley braided me up in about 3 hrs and this is my hair, I did not add any hair in it. She roller set them to give me that curly look. They are a little smaller than I wanted and I’m not looking forward to taking them out when the time comes but for now they are great. Forgive my pictures, I know they don't look the best but it's the best I can do for now. Just a reminder for some, it is important to wash your braids and keep your scalp clean just like you do for unbraided hair. 

Products

So...a friend wanted to know what brand of oil I was using on my hair and right now I rotate between Nature's Way Coconut Oil, and Now Solutions almond oil, jojoba oil, and grape seed oil. I have mixed the jojoba and almond oil into a 50/50 mix, for no particular reason. So I use that mixture and the grape seed oil when I want to make my hair extra glossy. The coconut oil I use on my hair when I need a extra conditioning boost especially on my ends. The coconut oil actually absorbs into the hair shaft and the other ones kind of sit on top of the hair making it shine. I have posted pics of the products that I use and I bought them from Amazon but you can find them almost any health food store, grocery store, or even beauty supply warehouses... as long as the oil is the only ingredient listed on the packaging. I really like the oils that I use and I have no complaints about them. So if you decide to give them a try let me know how they worked for you.