6Months: Delicate Disguises

The month of July was very low key, me and my hair went on a delicate disguise affair. As much as I love wearing my natural hair out, I have learned that low manipulation is the key to length retention.

There are a couple reasons why I love wearing my hair protective style :

#1-- Low Manipulation- I recently discovered that my hair is very prone to breakage, especially when it's dry and lacking moisture. So to combat this madness, low manipulation is definitely key.

#2- Hand in Hair Syndrome-- Yup, I have what other natural hair lovers call hands in hair syndrome. Whenever i wear my hair out, I CANNOT STOP TOUCHING IT! Sometimes I do it without even noticing, the hair on my back can attest to this because recently i just discovered that the hair in the back is a bit shorter, and the skin very tender. Wearing a protective style prevents me from constantly touching my hair, which helps me retain length by preventing breakage.

#3--Laziness--Ok, sometimes after coming back from work, the last thing I want to do is spend four hours detangling, deep conditioning, washing and twisting. Sometime I just want to come home and have a Hair off day! But this doesn't mean I don't moisturize my hair, moisturizing has become more like second nature to me. I spritz my hair in the morning, and at night before I go to sleep. In fact, I have learned my hair so well that when I don't put enough moisture on it, she pays me back very dearly in knots and dryness. I HATE DRY HAIR!

#4--Growth-- So like I mentioned before, protective style is very important because it also helps the hair to grow. I usually leave my kinky twist in for 4 weeks and every time I take them out I can always see a the new growth. Braiding my hair really helps my hair to grow.

#5--I can't think of another reason why I love protective style but when I do, I'll add it!

Here are my signature look kinky braids protective style..

5Months: Comforting Reassurance

Hello Beautiful.

June marked my 5th month since my BC. I have to say, June was my comforting reassurance month, going natural is the best decision I ever made. I realized that since my BC, i hadn't trimmed my hair and i had some seriously damaging split ends. I haven't gotten into the habit of doing length checks every month, but I can tell that my hair has definitely gotten thicker and healthier. So this month I trimmed my hair and perfected my bantu knots style.

Check out the hairvidence below...


Split ends, dead ends, whatever you wanna call them.  Yup, I cut a lot off.

Bantu Knots, my second favorite style!

As you can see, my edges are still recovering from abuse during my parallel universe of wigs and weaves. 

4Months: Admissible Evidence

Hello Beautiful[S].

The month of May definitely revealed some admissible evidence!

During this month I experienced growth that made me dispel some natural hair myths that I had in my parallel universe of wigs and weaves. I realized the importance of co-washing, and how much my hair loves moisture and craves it. I did my first bantu knots in this month! Turned out great! I also did my first 'banding'.


The Myths:                                                

#1. Black hair doesn't grow--NONSENSE,  IT DOES!

#2. Only Mixed people can have beautiful natural hair---Well in my parallel universe, my lack of knowledge and ignorance about natural hair brought about this myth, which is simply not true. Everybody can have beautiful natural hair, it doesn't matter if you're white, black, mixed, green, purple, blue or yellow. The key to having beautiful healthy hair is CARE!

#3. Black hair is tough, rough, can't be tamed---From a personal experience, the hair gets dry, tough and rough only when it is not cared for. When I don't put enough moisture on my hair due to laziness, of course it's going to be thirsty, and by thirsty I mean dry. When black hair gets dry, it breaks and BREAKS. When hair breaks, you don't get length, and when you don't get length, you wonder why your hair isn't growing. It's like a domino effect, A leads to B which leads to C. You can't get to C without A or B. I have learned that the best way to keep hair soft and manageable is to give it what it deserves, and this brings me to myth # 4.

#4. Black hair hates water-- In my parallel universe of wigs and weaves, my relaxed hair hated water. I washed it twice a month, which is every two weeks. Natural hair thrives on WATER! WATER! I can't stress enough the importance of water. For a newly natural like me, I can't go two days without washing my hair. And by washing I simply mean co-wash. Conditioner +Water.  Even with my protective style, I moisturize my hair every morning when I wake up and every night before I sleep. There are many products out there that you can buy for moisturizing, but all I use is water. I add some coconut oil in the water, mix it, and spritz away.

#5. Guys don't like girls with natural hair---This is Absurd. Again, in my parallel universe of...(ok you should know it by now WIGS AND WEAVES), i used to think that guys only liked women with straight wavy hair, and that only weirdos/lazy people wore their hair natural. It's quite ironic really, but I have to say that since going natural, I have received more compliments from men than before. Not that it matters really, since I'm already spoken for, but I'm simply mentioning it to convey a point. Some men love natural hair, some hate it, some just don't care about hair because it's simply not that important to them. So my advice, do you beautiful. Wear you hair the way it makes you feel fierce!


Hairvidence Month 4:

My first time wearing my hair out, I stretched it out using the 'banding' method. 

My first bantu Knots, I was so super excited to try this one out! It took me a while to master the technique, but finally got how to do it. 

My hair has definitely grown, which definitely nulls myth # 1 above, black hair DOES GROW!







                        

Numbed Stillness.

This entry is dedicated to someone very dear to me.

To my Dani:

I flew seven thousand miles to come see you
All I wanted, needed, was to see your face again
To sit with you, to laugh with you, to be with you
To tell you how much I have loved you in all my years
But fate stole this chance away from me,
And in my heart, I scream, I cry, I beg, I call your name
But all I hear are the echoes of my own agonizing bleeding heart
The impalpable abyss of this mortal coil
Lonely, sad and enslaved by excruciating grief
I yearn for your voice, the familiar sweet voice of impenetrable love
Just one more chance, one more day, one more hour with you

If I could avenge fate, I would
I would fight for you,
Feel the pain for you,
Hold your hands,
Carry you through it all
But I know you're in a better place
A safer place, a quiet place
A place where all the angels welcome you with celestial joy.

I flew seven thousand miles to come say goodbye
Because even in death, I still loved you, will always Love you, Forever.


R. I. P GrandMa. I Will Always Love You. 4.2.2012.

A song Dedication to my Dani:

 Be Still--The Fray.

Month THREE: Astute Observer

The month of April turned me into an Astute Observer.

HENNA! My love for henna dates way back, before my quest for knowledge of everything natural hair began. When I was young I remember  me and my friends my friends and I used to henna our hands and oh!, how we cared and dared to love our childish ways. In fact, as a tribute to missing my younger days, I treated myself to some authentic henna from a henna salon. Take a look...

          It lasted for 3 weeks, and I loved every lasting moment.


Hair + Henna:

The benefit of Henna on hair is many of which I cannot begin to summarize because I'm feeling a little lazy, you'll have to forgive me. It's 3 am in the morning and I'm still up updating my hair journey, I'm bound to leave some details out as my mind cannot cooperate to recall accurate details. But, lucky for you, I have a link! www.mehandi.com. This website has extensive information about the benefits of henna on hair, the types of henna and best henna for hair. It is very VERY important to familiarize yourself with types of henna before using it on your hair, or skin for that matter. Not all hennas are created equal, some henna have harmful dye that can be cause adverse consequences to health. However, when choosing henna for your hair, the best thumb of rules is to look for Body Art Quality Henna. BAQ. This type of henna is 100% pure, with no harmful dyes added. If you can use it on your body, you can sure use it on your hair...again, don't quote me on this, do your own research and draw your own conclusions...Happy Henna!

Mixing Henna: There are many ways to do this I guess, but I decided to use the instructions I got from the Mehandi. com website. I simply just use Lemon Juice, and i can't remember whether I added honey or not, probably not. Anyways, i mixed the henna with lemon juice and let it sit over night in the oven, (the oven should be OFF). Why oven, because it's warm and because well, I just like it in the oven. The dye should release within a couple of hours, I always like to take that extra mile and let mine sit for 8 hours. This is not necessary.  I apply the henna before going to bed and wrap my henna head in a plastic cap. If you check out youtube, there are  many natural beautis who can show you very well how this done. So if you prefer visual directions, check out youtube.

Henna head:

                              It looks like I have cow dung on my head...

After- Henna.

 Henna turns the hair red, i don't know if you can see the red very well but out in the sun, the red shines  brightly like a candle. well, maybe not that bright but you get the point.... :) And, I should also mention that Henna is very good for hair, because if it was bad for my hair I wouldn't use it.  It left my hair feeling soft and shiny! 

Month TWO: Actualized Ideals.

Hello Beautiful

The month of March was a month of actualized ideals. I could not wait to take out my Kinky extensions, and after 4 weeks of having them in, I took them out. I starting embracing my short twa more, and everyday I would try doing a twist out, even though it was too short to hold. I told myself that my hair was actually growing, and it was! This is the month I deeply convinced myself that I can do this, that my hair WILL grow. I learned about pH balance and the use of apple cider vinegar, I learned that tis better to wash hair with cold water than hot water. Why? because cold water closes the cuticle layer and this in turn prevents breakage. However, do not quote me on this, do your own research and when you come to the same conclusion, then sure, quote me on it!

Month Two Pics:

    I should not fail to mention that doing this took me 4 hours! Only to take it out two days later to try a style I saw on youtube, EPIC FAIL...but I keep learning.

Month ONE: Antagonistic Views.

Hello Beautiful

You know what, I was going to start this post by SO...but I have decided to get into the habit of writing good grammar because there is nothing that irks me like the misuse of coordinating conjunctions. However, the word so is such a tricky little b.x.t.c.h!! It can be used in so many different ways. Anyways, I digress. I have decided to post my hair journey month by month, this way it doesn't get so overwhelming and I'll admit it, I'm not the best at updating my journal everyday, every month sounds like a decent bargain. To begin with, February was my big chop month, hence I'm going to count it as month one. This month was bitter sweet, it was hard adjusting to my TWA: tiny weeny afro. And my little brother did not miss the opportunity to tell me I looked like a boy every chance he got. What made this month sweet was the support I received from my family, both my mom and aunt loved my short SHORT hair, and this really replaced my bitter sentiments. I had to learn all the basics of natural hair care in this month, I felt like a child who had gone back to nursery school to learn her ABC's. I can really compare the feeling of this month with nursery school, because the more I looked at natural hair blogs, the more I felt so left out. All these women with natural black hair, where in the world had I been? Why had I not discovered this beauty before? I too, wanted to graduate to grade 1. To me, graduating to grade 1 equalled wearing my natural hair in a twist out. But I knew that I was going to work hard for this, that it was going to take time and patience, because in veracity,  the best things in life comes to those who wait. Patience, became my number one object to cultivate. If I was going to go through this journey, I needed to have patient above all things.


Month ONE Pics...After BC- Big Chop.

  (Note: I have no hair on my edges, thanks to years of weaving and wig-ing, but I'm on a mission to grow em back.).

Ok, because I was too uncomfortable with my hair this short, I decided to braid it with Kinky twist, these have become my most favorite protective style, they have the natural hair look and most importantly, I can still Co-wash my hair everyday or three days a week. I also deep condition my hair once a week, the kinky twist makes my hair journey so much easier. Love em'!

I use the Janet collection and they come in different colors! Love it? give it a try! Hate it? Don't bother.

Reflection- Affirmative Attitude.

Hello Beautiful. 

So in ALL honesty, it's been over SIX months since my last post. I know, I know, what a slacker I am, but never without good reason. I did my last post in May and now its October and as usual me and my hair have gone through changes, we've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. To begin with, let me talk about my Journey a little bit. On February 4th 2012, I decided that enough was enough with my relaxed hair, the thinning, the split ends, the breakage, the dryness, I couldn't handle it anymore. And so without a second thought, I grabbed the scissors and chopped it all off. Now, prior to my big chop, I didn't know anything about natural hair. In fact, I didn't know I could wear my hair natural, it was like I was living in a parallel universe of wigs and weaves, a universe where natural hair is unheard of and unacceptable.  I never thought that I could wear my hair the way God intended for it to be, natural hair was something I never contemplated until my hair reached a breaking point. There is this saying that says "Love, like a river, will cut a new path whenever it meets an obstacle." I'm the type of a person that hates defeat and will always looks for an alternative. At this point, I felt like my hair had completed and utterly defeated me, I din't know what else to do with it. I had no love for it, hated it, despised it, believe it or not, my self esteem was at its lowest point. I didn't want anymore weaves, and I could not, would not go back to the creamy crack. So like a river, I decided to cut a new path, to look for another way out of my wigs and weaves parallel universe. I took to google, and not knowing what I was looking for, stumbled across Curlynikki.com website. At first glance, I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing and reading. CurlyNikki had beautiful hair, I clicked through her autobiography and my mind failed to accept what my eyes were seeing. You can have beautiful natural hair without a relaxer. All natural. I remember that day I called my mom and my aunt to come and see the gem I had discovered, and we were all in denial! There is no way a black girl can have beautiful curly hair, it just doesn't add up, how? eh? HOW?!! I once took a math class in college that involves deductive reasoning to solve a problem. Geometric proofs. If you've taken proofs, then you probably know that a proof must demonstrate that a statement is always true, it requires logic, not unproven theories. If black women can have naturally beautiful curly hair like Curly Nikki, I was determined to experiment with my own hair and prove that it can be true indeed. My quest for knowledge on natural hair led to me to many hours of researching and youtube-ing. I spent many sleepless nights reading about the "science of black hair". I spent hours in front of the mirror trying out different styles. I learned about co-washing, sealing, moisturizing, protective styling, sulfate free products, porosity, deep treatment, protein treatment. It was like a whole new universe of natural hair knowledge had opened up and swallowed me up whole. My quest for knowledge soon turned into an obsession, and I found myself buying different products, testing each and every one. Of course by this time I had to hide my product junkiesm fixation under the bathroom sink, because I had no way of explaining to my mom why i had three different types of unopened coconut oil bottles, five different types conditioners, three types of deep conditioners, two huge bottles of castor oil, avocado oil, mustard oil, vatikia oil, three bottles of hair gels, two bottles of leave in conditioner, Six packets of Henna, and two jars of mayonese. I became the true definition of a product Junkie, and the more I read about natural hair the more I wanted to go out and buy more products. Well, it's been 8 months now since I went natural, and although I must say that I have cut down on my product consumption, I find myself spending hours reading products labels at the beauty saloon. I tend to buy products based on reviews, but this doesn't always pan out well because what works well for some people doesn't necessarily work well on my hair. It has taken me 8 good months to learn my own hair, and although am still learning, I can most definitely say that the Proof, does indeed exist. Black girls can have naturaly beautiful curly hair, it's not a theory or a fad, it is an authentic validity of which I'm a living proof! 

Later,

Roots4LiA.