It's Just Hair

I'm sitting here wondering why people are so hung upon hair. I mean at one point I used to dream of having long thick healthy hair and thought the only way to achieve it was to relax my hair to make it more manageable. Well I was wrong because I had way more thick healthy longer hair Pre relaxer. Anyway this is not the point of this blog. Anyway I have been transitioning from relaxed to natural since September 2009 and I'm loving it. I really want to cut off all these straight ends because dealing with these 2 different textures is more of a hindrance than helpful. Whenever I mention cutting my hair people ask why and what are you going to do once its gone. I just look at them dumbfounded because what am I going to do with it? Hell wash and go and let it grow. It's just hair and it is not going to break me or make me. I can wear a wig get braids etc if I am just horrified but my TWA. The plan is to transition until March 2010 giving me about 6 months of new growth. I just wish people weren't so hung up on hair and figure out that there a re more important things in life to stress over.

My hair feels so much better

I followed my plan from earlier almost to a tee. Instead of keeping the hot oil treatment on my hair for only 20 minutes I left it in my hair for almost 45 minutes. I warmed a towel in the microwave for 45 seconds and placed it on top of my shower cap.

I washed out the Hot oil treatment with warm water and then applied my Baking soda Conditioner mix, I changed this also instead of 1TBSP I used 2 and in stead of 3TBSP I used 6TBSP.I then detangled while in the shower and applied the ACV rinse. Instead of using Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Conditioner I used the Motions Triple action Leave in conditioner then I used my Shea Butter mix.

I actually think I used to much product because my hair started to feel mushy and was getting tangled. But this could also be due to the cold weather here. I decided to leave my hair alone for an hour before attempting to style it any way.

The eventual style I decided on was some Bantu knots. This is the first time I attempted to do my whole head. I actually kind of like it and plan to do this style again someday but next time I am going to do better parts. I started parting diagonally but I got tired of trying to figure out where the next part should go so I just started parting wherever and formy first attempt I think it came out well.

Dry Brittle Hair

So I'm going to try something new for the next couple of weeks and see how my hair improves. I know I have been slacking on moisturizing my hair and I can feel it all in my hair. My hair is dry, brittle and hard. For the last week I have has a straw set and I really liked the look and feel of my hair but the last few days its just been getting more crunchy, dry and tangled. Like the last blog stated I am going to try to stick to a hair regimen and since tomorrow is Saturday my normal wash day I am going to start tomorrow.

Step 1:
Prepoo- Hot oil treatment with EVOO and EVCO 3 drops of Peppermint oil
I'm going to mix all of these ingredients in a bowl apply from root to tip gently combing through to detangle and coat all strands of my hair, put a shower cap on my head wrap my head with a warm towel and leave in for 20 minutes

Step 2:
No-Poo-wash  1TBSP Baking soda with 3TBSP conditioner
After rinsing out Hot oil with warm water I apply the Baking soda and conditioner mix to my hair and massage in my scalp making sure to clean from root to tip.

Step 3:
ACV Rinse 1TBSP ACV with 1 cup of warm water
After washing the Baking soda conditioner mix out with warm water apply the well mixed ACV water mix to hair

Step 4:
Cantu Shea Butter LIC
Apply to one section at a time from root to tip and gently detangle moving on to the next section

Step 5:
Shea Butter Mix
Apply to each section from root to tip

Step 6:
EVOO sealer
Apply from root to tip and put hair in two strand twists

Step 7:
Put on Satin Bonnet

Hair Care Regimen # 1

So I have been transitioning or a couple of months and I have been just randomly doing different things to my hair. This way of going about caring for my hair is kind of hit or miss so I am going to try to become more structured with my hair.

Once a Week
Co-Wash with VO5 Moisture Milks Passion Fruit Smoothie or Mane and Tail Deep Moisturizing Conditioner
Deep Condition with Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner
Hot Oil Treatment (EVOO, EVCO, Peppermint Oil)


Daily
Option 1: Moisturize with water then seal in moisture with EVOO or EVCO
Option 2: Moisture Mix then seal in moisture with EVOO or EVCO
Option 3: Cantu Shea Butter Leave in conditioner then seal in moisture with EVOO or EVCO
Option 4: Shea Butter Mix then seal in moisture with EVOO or EVCO

Nightly
Silk Bonnet

Once a month
Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo or Mane and Tail Moisturizing Shampoo
1TBSP Baking Soda + 3TBSP conditioner/ Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse  (last step)
Avocado, Baking Soda, EVOO, EVCO, Peppermint Oil, Mayo (Deep conditioner)
1 cup conditioner, 1/2 cup Baking Soda (Deep Conditioner)

Sample Hair Regimen Starting December 26, 2009

Hair Regimen(s)

Week 1:

Saturday: Hot Oil Treatment, Baking Soda & Conditioner, ACV Rinse, LIC, Shea Butter Mix, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Sunday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Monday: Moisturize, Baggy Treatment

Tuesday: Co-Wash, Deep Condition*, LIC, Shea Butter Mixture, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Wednesday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Thursday: Moisturize, Baggy treatment

Friday: Maintain protective style or put hair into puff

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Week 2:

Saturday: Hot Oil Treatment, Co-wash, LIC, Shea Butter Mix, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Sunday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Monday: Moisturize, Baggy Treatment

Tuesday: Co-Wash, Deep Condition**,  Shea Butter Mixture, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Wednesday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Thursday: Moisturize, Baggy treatment

Friday: Maintain protective style or put hair into puff

---

Week 3:

Saturday: Hot Oil Treatment, Co-wash,  LIC, Shea Butter Mix, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Sunday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Monday: Moisturize, Baggy Treatment

Tuesday: Co-Wash, Deep Condition***, LIC, Shea Butter Mixture, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Wednesday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Thursday: Moisturize, Baggy treatment

Friday: Maintain protective style or put hair into puff

---

 Week 4:

Saturday: Hot Oil Treatment, Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo, Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner, LIC, Shea Butter Mix, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Sunday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Monday: Moisturize, Baggy Treatment

Tuesday: Co-Wash, Deep Condition****, LIC, Shea Butter Mixture, Oil Sealant, Protective Style

Wednesday: Moisturize, redo protective style

Thursday: Moisturize, Baggy treatment

Friday: Maintain protective style or put hair into puff

---

*Week 1:  Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner

**Week 2:  Avocado, Baking Soda, EVOO, EVCO, Peppermint Oil, Mayo

*** Week 3: 1 cup conditioner, 1/2 cup Baking Soda

****Week 4: LeKair Cholesterol Conditioner

This is all I have right now things most likely will change but at least I will be able to tell what is working and what is not working.

On another note I just joined Black Hair Planet and joined two challenges so far
2010 Co-wash Challenge
2010 Transition Challenge

I'm loving it

So if you are following my hair blog you know that I straw set my hair last night. I had plans on taking out the straws later tonight but because I had to go out to the store and didn't want to walk around with a million straws in my hair I took them out this afternoon. Here is the end result. I m really feeling this hairstyle and will definitely redo it again. I am going to attempt a mohawk for New Year's Eve but we shall see. I am still undecided about doing the big chop and I might just wait a couple more months before I chop off the rest of these permed ends. So far I just snip the ends off every once in a while and try to keep the ends moisturized and make sure not to add any undo stress on the point at which my new growth meets up with my permed ends. Here are some more pictures of my completed straw set. I'm liking the highlights on my ends and I am going to look into a natural means of coloring/highlighting my hair when I am completely natural.

Other hair products I used to achieve this hairstyle:

Ecco Styler Olive oil gel
Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Moisturizing mix: Water, Honey, EVOO, Peppermint Oil
My Shea Butter Mixture

Trying something new

Okay so I decided to try something new today since I had a couple of avocados lying around I decided to make my own avocado conditioner. I researched various recipes and decided to combine a few and make it my own.
Ingredient List:

1 avocado
Honey
EVOO
EVCO
Peppermint Oil
Moisture Milk- Passion Fruit Smoothie

I pretty much eyeballed the ingredients which is why I don't have a set measurements for anything.

Here is the end product of my Avocado Conditioner Mix: ========>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I divided my hair into four sections and applied the mixture from root to tip making sure every strand of hair was completely saturated. I placed a shower cap on my hair and let it sit on my hair for 45 minutes then rinsed all of the mixture out of my hair. I then applied Cantu Shea Butter LIC and my Shea butter mix to my hair and proceeded to style my hair.

I need to stay out of my hair, but I love it

So this morning I took down my Bantu Knots out and did a Bantu Knot out puff, if was cute and was looking nice for a couple of hours then I got bored with the simplicity of the style and decided to put my hair in the first hairstyle I planned to do in the first place. I spritzed my hair with my conditioning mix that I made.

Conditioning Mix Ingredients:

VO5 Moisture Milks- Passion Fruit Smoothie

Honey

Peppermint Oil

Water

I spritzed all of my hair with my conditioning mix then divided my hair into two sections. The front half and the back half. I used duckbill clips to hold the back half in place while I worked on the top half. I divided the top half in to three sections then began flat twisting my hair. When I got to the end I put small Batu knots on the end of the twists and then began working on the back of my hair. The original plan was to two strand twist the back of my hair but since I still have a lot of permed ends and didn't want to sleep on perms rods I changed my mind. Instead I put in six french braids and put three perm rods on the ends. I also used IC Fantasia gel on my edges to keep them in the twists. This style should last me until Sunday when I will co-wash my hair and deep condition my hair. I'm going to wear my hair in a braid out for my trip home to Chicago.

My first puff

So after washing, conditioning and moisturizing my hair I put it into some some bantu knots threw on my satin bonnet and went to sleep. This morning I had plan of throwing my hair in some flat twist and two strand twists in the back but I decided to give my hair a rest so I just gelled the front and back of my hair with IC fantasia gel and used my stocking to create a puff. I took out the bantu knots and that made my ends kind of curly so technically I have a bantu knot out puff. I also spritzed my hair with my water, honey, peppermint and VO5 mix.

I couldn't take it anymore

So after 2 weeks of having my hair in yarn twists I finally could't take it anymore I missed my hair and I needed a deep conditioner like no bodies business. So I started at 5:30pm and finished around 8pm could have been finished much earlier but I had to stop and eat. Anyway after I finished removing my yarn twists I did a pre-poo application.


These are the products I used: VO5 Moisture Milks Passion Friut Smoothie, Pompeian Imported Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Pure Bee Kist Honey.

I mixed all of these ingrediets in a bowl divided my hair into four sections applied from root to tip then applied a shower cap and let the pre-poo sit on my hair for 45 minutes. Then I jumped in the shower and began to rinse out the pre-poo mix. I decided to try a new shampoo and conditioner, one that I have heard many things about.

So far I am loving the way this shampoo and condition makes my hair feel. I had plans on deep conditioning my hair but since I did an extensive pre-poo I changed my mind. I think I am going to give my hair a couple more weeks and then I am going to do a big chop. Didn't feel like styling my hair so I moisturized my hair with some Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Conditioner and my shea butter mix and threw in some Bantu knots. I'm really not expecting much curl because it was a rush job.

My very first shea butter concoction

So once again I have to thank the lovely ladies of Youtube, because without them I would be utterly lost without them on this road to becoming natural.I didn't measure out my ingredients this time because I was just experimenting. Anyway I used 100% Natural Shea Butter, EVCO (Extra Virgin Coconut Oil), EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and some peppermint oil some honey. Most of the mixture is the Shea butter with a small ratio of EVCO and EVOO because after watching some YouTube videos I learned too much oil makes the mixture come out to runny/oily. I only used the peppermint oil to add a little fragrance and as a preservative, the honey I used because it helps fight off microbes, once again I only used about 1 tsp. I melted the Shea butter and the coconut oil to get a liquid consistency then I added the EVOO, honey and peppermint oil. After I successfully mixed everything to the desired consistency I placed my container in the fridge for three hours until it solidified. This is the final product

I'll have to do another blog about how it works on my hair after I take out these yarn twists. Yep I'm still hanging on to them. But they are not going to last much longer I really do miss my hair.

I miss my hair

I have had my yarn twists in since November 29, 2009 and while I love them I am dying to take them out so I can have my own own hair back.I am going to do my darndest to keep them in until December 20 but at this moment another week and a few days is not looking to good.
Last night to combat some of the itchiness and to moisturize & condition my hair I came up with my own mix. I took my spray bottle that I bought at walmart for 97cents filled it a quarter of the way with water, 2TBSP of coconut oil, 1 tsp of honey, 2TBSP of Hair Mayonaise and 2TBSP of Cantu Shea Butter Leave in conditioner. I then added some more water replaced the cap and shook the spray bottle to mix the contents. I did this for about 2 minutes then I placed the spray bottle sans the top into the microwave for 45seconds just to warm the oil and melt some of the products so they would mix better. I divided my hair into several small sections ans saturated my roots the yarn twists, I then massaged the warm oil into my scalp, twisted the individual sections and donned a shower cap. I wrapped my hair up and called it a night. In the morning my hair felt moisturized was less itchy and because I twisted the twists they came out all crinkly.
This crinkly look was cute but I didn't want to wear my hair down so I came up with an alternate style. I french braided the twists across the front to the left then all around the back to form a mock crown. Most likely this is going to be the style I wear when I go home to visit for Christmas wednesday.
My next hair adventure is going to be another Baking Soda/ Apple cider vinegar scalp scrub. Normally I would just wash my hair but seeing that winter is in full effect and I am not trying to go out in the cold weather with a wet head. But I know when I do finally take my hair down i am going to pre-poo, shampoo and deep condition my hair. Still undecided about doing the big chop yet for the New Year but we shall see.

To transition or Big Chop....

.....that is the question

So I have been sitting here again thinking about just ending it all. Not in the sense of some people mean I mean just cutting off all my relaxed ends and finally having only one hair texture. But then I know I will miss me hair no matter how damaged it is it is still my hair. It's the 9th of December now and I know I'm going to keep these yarn twists in at least until the end of the month I might just say to hell with it and lop it all off for the new year. Since I plan on starting my new life anyway I might as well have new hair to go with my new attitude. I guess I'm just scared of how it will look not that I care what other people say or think. Because after all it is only only and it will grow back. Let's see since I'm going to say I have been transitioning since September that means I have about 3 months of new growth who know how much it has grown, I really haven't looked to gauge the natural length but next time I wash my hair (after I remove the twists) I am going to definitely take a long hard look. In the mean time I just going to sit here contemplating my next hair move.

I am not my hair volume 1

Follow me on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Peachez8208

I decided to start this blog so I could have a record of transitioning from relaxed to natural hair, and to chronicle how I'm feeling at the moment about. I have been transitioning since September 2009 it actually may have been in July but since I can't remember and I know for a fact I did not get a relaxer in September I am going to go from there. Anyway after watching countless hours of videos on youtube about natural hair care and different protective styles I decided to put my hair in yarn twists.



I'm kinda feeling this style and going to at least keep it in for a month. These are so versatile and I can do almost any hairstyle with them. Here are a few I have tried out so far. Ofcourse I rocked the basic ponytail but quickly got bored with this style so I twisted my hair in the front and twisted the hair up in the back. After this I kept the twists in the front but french braided the back. I don't know what style I am gonna do tomorrow but I know I got to keep it interesting or I will get bored and want to take my hair down and we can't havethat.