@BGLHOnline PYE Challenge - Week Six Recap

I’m just about half way through this challenge, and I’m feeling the creative strain of it.  I’m running out of protective styles!!!  I really don’t know what to do next.  I’ve pretty much bunned my butt off.  For the most part, when I put my hair in a bun, it’s either a high bun or a low bun with flat twists in the front; but this week I tried a slick back bun.  I don’t own a bristle brush, so I bunned my hair wet and applied a ton of product at the top to achieve the smooth look without damaging my hair.  I used an ouchless headband wrapped twice to keep the hair back as I tucked and pinned the ends into a big, poofy bun.  I tried to remove the headband once I was done, but apparently I stuck a whole lot of pins in it — doh!

What do you think?  Is this a style to go back to?

@BGLHOnline PYE Challenge - Week Five Recap

After wearing a whopping TWO flat twists in my hair last week, I decided to up my game a bit and do a whole bunch all over my head.  I had a vision of 10 or so flat twists converging at the crown of my head with a bun, so that’s what I did!  I had six in the back and eight in the front, therefore I ended up with 14 total.  I rocked the look all week!

I still suck at flat twisting, but I’m getting better slowly.

I took the twists down today, and I have to say, no matter what I do, twist-outs just don’t work for my hair.  The twists look okay, but once I take them out, there’s no keeping my hair that way.  It just looks ratty, which is unfortunate, because I love the way so many women look with their twist-outs.  Anyhow, I don’t think it works with the texture of my hair, but I’ll keep twists in for sure until it’s wash day.

I’m pre-pooing with coconut oil today, so my hair is in four sections, twisted, oiled up, and under my satin bonnet.  I’ll be using my first pass for the Super Bowl, and will have my hair out tomorrow.  My fro wants to root for the Giants!!!

@BGLHOnline PYE Challenge - Week Four Recap

Has it been a month already?  Dang, where does the time go?!  This week was a learning week for me.  I decided that I was going to stretch my hair and do something different with it towards the end of the week.  What that “something” was I hadn’t quite figured out, but I figured I’d just roll with whatever inspired me at the moment.

So, wash day came and I did my usual shampoo, condition, deep condition routine, but using different products than the week before.  Freshly washed and detangled, I put my hair into medium twists, like I did a few weeks ago.  This week, I used Kinky Curly products.

I was in this style for a few days until I got bored.  I get bored with my twists much faster these days.  Thursday morning I decided to take them out and do something.  Now, I can’t flat twist worth a fug, but I figured I had to learn sometime.  So, I decided to do two flat twists along my hairline.  They were kind of horrendous the first day, but I improved quite a bit on Friday.  Here’s the look.

I’m going to venture into flat twisting more and try to become an expert.  I’ve got another two months to go for this challenge — I’ve got plenty of time.  :-)

@BGLHOnline PYE Challenge - Week Three Recap

I learned quite the lesson this week — don’t do buns every day!  My hair was so incredibly tangled by midweek, I didn’t know what to do.

I had washed my hair with Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa shampoo and conditioned with Naturalle Aura’s Rosemary Mint conditioner.  I then DCed with Motions’ CPR conditioner under the dryer for about 20 minutes.  After rinsing, I then styled my hair with Shea Moisture’s Curl and Style Milk from their Organic Coconut and Hibiscus line (sidebar: I’m never using this again. It made my hair feel so dry. Yuck!), aloe vera juice, and sweet almond oil.  I piled my hair on my head using an ouchless headband wrapped three times around my hair (it’s mad stretched out) and pinned rolled sections of my hair to form a bun.  This is the look I wore all week:

Bunning my hair over and over all week, I found, runs completely contrary to the goals of this challenge.  I was over-manipulating my hair and subjecting my ends to too many pins and clips.  While I might be able to do this as a 4th or 5th-day of a WnG, I shouldn’t do it every day for a week.  I think I’ll be going back to my twists for week four!

@BGLHOnline PYA Challenge - Week Two Recap

The second week of the Black Girl with Long Hair blog’s “Protect Ya Ends” challenge, and here’s a recap of what I did to retain length and hide my ends.

Day 1 - Wash day!  I started with an apple cider vinegar rinse and then shampooed with Aubrey Organics’GPB Glycogen Protein Balancing Shampoo, conditioned with their Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Conditioner, and then deep conditioned under the dryer for 20 minutes with Jane Carter Solutions’ Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner.  The Giants were about to play, so that sucker stayed in my hair for the next 3 hours after I got out from under the dryer!  Once I finally rinsed my deep conditioner out, I started my styling.  First, I applied Giovanni’s Leave-In Conditioner (sidebar:  this was the first time I used this leave-in and I could tell it was going to be amazeballs from the second it hit the palm of my hand.  It feels like Vaseline mixed with Vicks, which sounds crazy, but trust, it’s fantabulous.), sprayed in some aloe vera juice, and sealed with my sweet almond oil, which was the only product I also used last week (see “Breaking the Hair Plateau”).  I liked my twists from last week, so I decided to do them again, but narrower, so I’ve got like 30-40 in my head.  I threw on my super-sized satin bonnet and let those twists air dry before tying them down for the night.

Days 2, 3, and 4 - I rocked this updo to work before untwisting them to produce a different look.

Day 5 - Worst twist-out updo EVER!  I’ll spare you the horror and not post a photo.

Days 6 & 7 - Flat twists in the front, bun in the back.  It was all I could do to salvage the wreck that was the day before.  I finally learned that I could flat twist as long as my hair was pretty stretched out.  It’s practically impossible wet or dried in its natural state.

And that was my week!  I think I’ll do a bun version of my usual puff for week three.

my natural hair journey thus far: 6 months post BC

In December of 2009, I decided I had had my LAST relaxer.  I took a photo to commemorate “the old me.”

I had always been known for my long hair, even in elementary school.  I had an old school West Indian father, so major haircuts were always forbidden.  Even trims would be an argument at home.  So, when two months had passed and it was time for my regularly scheduled relaxer, I went to my stylist (a natural hair girl herself) to begin my transition.  Step one:  CUT! 

So that might not seem like a major cut, but it was for me!  Every two months I would come in for a cut and blow dry.  My transition was all about retaining length, so I would blow dry and flat iron my hair to maintain a singular texture, which meant less breakage.  What I didn’t know at the time was that I was damaging my hair.

The day of my big chop came the day before my 31st birthday on April 27, 2011.  I had transitioned for 16 months (two light relaxers - the creamy crack was on my head for just a few minutes - over four months, followed by a year of no chemicals).  I was so shocked by my curls and waves that I didn’t notice the heat damage.  As you can see above, my left side was so much longer than my right and the ends are dead straight.  After a little over two months of trying to style my new hair, including the heat damaged section, I couldn’t deal with it anymore.  The asymmetry was killing me.  It was time for another haircut.

On July 6th, six months ago today, I had my second and final BIG CHOP.  I could finally say I had a head of 100% natural and healthy hair.  I was saddened to have to lose months of growth, but the limp “dead hair,” as I called my damaged section, just could not look cute no matter what remedies I tried. 

Six months later I’ve learned SO MUCH, thanks to the natural hair community on Tumblr and YouTube.  I wish I knew there was so much online BEFORE I started this process.  I could have avoided all those months of heat damage and wasted transition time.  I’m happy to serve as a cautionary tale though! 

Transitioners, whatever you do, keep away from the blow dryers and flat irons!  If you must use heat, sit under a bonnet.  Your hair is just like food — it’s healthier to bake rather than fry!

I can’t wait to see what the next six months have in store for my hair!  Lots of products to try, styles to master, and accessories to buy or create.  Let the second half of this first year begin!