Shame on me

I know. I haven't been around all week, but there's a very good reason for that. The pace at school is starting to pick up (I have a quiz Monday in physio) and my son is chatting up a storm, so I've been occupied with my school books and his board books to make sure he's developing language and vocabulary and a general love for learning. I have not, however, forsaken my hair journey. Hahaha.


I haven't really talked much about my goals for growth or length retention because I'm still transitioning. I don't know that I'm really keeping track of my growth yet, but with my one month-no relaxer date coming up I figured I should visit the subject somehow.

This photo was taken August 8, 2010. I clearly still have conditioner in my hair, but the most important part to me was the thick, wavy, kinky, curly, coily stuff at my roots in comparison with my very limp, straight ends (which you can see a bit in this picture). You can also see the thinning at my hairline, which I'm hoping better care will fix during this process.

When I took this picture I was more interested in the texture springing out of my scalp than I was in the length of my hair. This is not to say that I do not want to grow my natural hair long, because I do, but I was so enchanted with the glorious feel of my roots that I got out of the shower before the conditioner was fully rinsed out to snap a pic of the beginning of, well, everything. I love this, and this is why I'm going to keep going.

This photo was taken about a week later on August 15, 2010. Even though there is no conditioner in my hair, I guarantee I jumped out of the shower and snapped this picture because again I was in love with what my roots felt like.

This picture may not be a great representation of growth, but it does show more curl definition. Also, with just a week of TLC (and pretty much leaving it alone and letting it live), my hairline is making a comeback. I know you see it.

Now that I've dug these photos up, I'm going to start doing something in the way of keeping track of any growth.

I'll snap some pics Sunday night after I deep condition then I'll put them up along with my style I hope to hold until Tuesday. I'm just going to do flat twists in the front and do a twist-and-curl out in the back. That should hold for a few days.

I plan to put in some cornrows with extensions Tuesday to brave my upcoming mini-vacation. Part of me wants to leave those in for two weeks, but I know I get to missing my hair when it's braided. When I return I'll probably co-wash and do a length check somehow to celebrate surviving one month of transitioning.

Really quick

So, I've become slightly obsessed with YouTube, and I've subscribed to a couple channels that have become a wealth of information. Needless to say I'm dying to try a bunch of stuff.

I've been thinking about my regimen, and I've decided I need to add more water to it. Tonight is deep condition night, so by default it is also "hook up a cute little style for school tomorrow" night. I'm thinking I should start easing myself into the protective style game by doing a semi-protective style on deep condition night to last Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday just became co-wash night. We'll see how this goes.

I'm also thinking about mix-mastering a leave-in, because I still haven't really found one I like a whole lot. I picked up the Aussie Hair Insurance leave-in, and it smells and feels nice, but it's not holding the moisture all day like I want it to. I think that might be because it has cones and not a whole lot of castor oil. Also, after watching this and this, I've decided I might want to try something new.

Anyhow, that's my tidbit of an update for today. We'll see what shakes up tonight.

More about my journey, and "the male response"

First and foremost I must sing the praises of unrefined shea butter. My hair officially loves it and it leaves my curls luciously moisturized and touchably soft. I had a hard time keeping my hands out of my hair the other day just because my roots felt oh so good! Now, the photo below probably doesn't look much different than my previous photo because the style is exactly the same. Believe me when I tell you, though, that my hair was much much happier in today's photo (which was actually taken yesterday).

Most of my friends really, really liked this photo. Granted this was the first photo most of my friends got to see of my "new look," but their delight is the perfect segway into the meat and potatoes of this post.

I have gotten a lot of compliments since I started transitioning. I have a friend who did not support my decision to perm after the first time I went natural, so she has been my personal "keep the curls going" cheerleader in this thing. I didn't expect a huge response at all, though. I did expect a few questions.

The more steps I take along my journey -- and believe me ordering unrefined shea butter and applying it to my hair instead of the grease and hair lotion we've all grown up knowing/loving/fearing was quite a huge step -- I become more aware of why I'm doing this and what I hope to accomplish. Thus far, the change has been a big boost to my confidence. I feel a certain level of contentment with the fact that I've managed to care for and style my hair. I looked in the mirror after taking out the rollers and twists and thought "Go on 'head, girl!" I plan to keep the momentum going.

Yesterday a male friend asked me if I would get rid of my curls if he asked me to. It was hard not to laugh. This particular friend has a photo album chock full of pictures of pretty much every girlfriend he's ever had in his adult life. They all look the same. Permed/pressed straight hair worn down with a part in the middle. *yawn*

Part of the reason I'm embarking upon this journey is to break out of that cookie-cutter, "this is pretty" model. This is about looking society square in the eye and informing them how I define beautiful for me. That requires that along the way I examine who I am and what is beautiful about me. I've got a great mind. My hair is just a small part of me, but I'm at a place where I absolutely believe it is a beautiful part of me. I wouldn't get rid of my curls for anybody, and anybody who knows me well would know not to even request such a thing. See how militant I am 20 days into this thing? Don't get me started.

Other guys have told me the curls are beautiful, and for some reason they always want to touch. Yes, this is my hair. No, there are no tracks. Most importantly, I don't want your hands in it because I don't necessarily know where you've been.

Another part of my journey does have to do with being healthy. I've been a Trader Joe's junkie for quite some time now. I prefer fruits and vegetables to fries and shakes (most of the time). It occurred to me, though, that while I was putting great things into my body, I was slapping only God knows what on top of my head. The irony in that is that even with a perm and a press, I was most likely not going to do anything spectacular with my hair other than throw it into a ponytail or a bun and go on about my day. Not for nothin', because I can cornrow, braid, twist, bump, curl and style like nobody's business-- straight hair just didn't inspire me quite like my own texture has lately. I've been thinking up new creations on the daily, and I'm dying to try them. I'm trying to save my good stuff for winter when I'll have to rely heavily upon protective styles though.

Wow, that was a tangent.

And we're back. I'm digging the whole "good stuff in, good stuff out" vibe that flows right along with this natural hair journey. I'm rolling with it and letting it wash over me. I'm looking forward to natural ingredients in my hair and skin care routines in the future.

I have a confession to make

So, the other day I waxed poetic about my mix masterpiece of Nourish Spa conditioner, honey and olive oil. What I didn't tell you was about my mix master fail that ruined my attempts at a cute little style two days in a row. No, there is no photo evidence of said fail. You'll just have to trust me.

I mixed Suave Tropical Coconut conditioner with some coconut oil and used that as my "moisutrizer" then put in flat twists and rolled the ends with wave rods. The next day I was supposed to have soft, feminine, flirty curls. In actuality, I had extremely happy roots and totally saturated permed ends...not a good look. Needless to say I tossed that tragedy into a bun...AND THAT WAS MY LOOK FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Cue my tears.

Tuesday night (because yes, I made the same mistake and had the same disaster the next day) I used that conditioner/coconut oil mix to detangle my hair in the shower then used my Elasta QP Mango Butter as a moisturizer while I did the flat twists/rolled ends and this is what I got for my efforts:

This may very well have just secured a spot as one of my go-to styles while I am transitioning. I couldn't be happier with my results.

Now I see the error in my ways and yadda yadda yadda. Conditioner is a great leave-in, but not a moisturizer/style product. Got it.

I can't wait to set my hair for this style again tonight. Here's the kicker: my unrefined shea butter arrived today. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

OMG

I know I've been MIA these past few days. What a bad transitioning-to-natural hair blogger I am. Tsk tsk. I'm still on the wagon--not to worry. As a matter of fact, I have a little story to tell today. You see, today is the first day of classes, so last night I kinda took it back to the old school and got myself ready for the big day like everybody's momma used to do when we were in elementary school. Don't act like you don't remember getting your hair done Sunday night and having a stocking cap (or a clean pair of underwear in a pinch) slapped on your head to maintain that 'do for as much of the week as possible. Oh, I'm the only one? No, I am not. My momma did the same thing to my kid sister. Hahaha.

Last night was deep condition night, so I co-washed with the Tea Tree Tingle conditioner then I did something a little different. I never intended on becoming a mix master, but I decided to add a spoonful of olive oil and honey to my Nourish Spa conditioner to up the moisturizing ante. Wow.

That mixture sat on my hair for about 45 minutes and proceeded to make sweet, tender love to my curls. So much so that I was tempted to go crazy, grab a pair of scissors and set my kinky coils FREE!!! That mixture will be my weekly deep condition treatment from now on. One last shot of the back (which is not very clear). I look at these two photos and am convinced I have at least two textures on my head. Great!

This does not in any way quell my desire to cut it all off and keep my fingertips gently atop every kink, coil and curl I find in there. Sheesh! Pray for my strength.

Progress

I watched what felt like a million YouTube videos and finally learned how to do two-strand twists. My cornrow game has been on point for a while (I used to hook friends up in undergrad for the low low price of $10 a head), but I was totally new to the two-strand twists. When I rocked my cute little style the other day, proud of it as I was, my two-strand twists were...fuzzy at best and indistinguishable if I want to be really real with myself. Ha ha ha. But, as I stated before, I was quite proud of my experimental style (which I got from a tutorial on YouTube), and I rocked it without a second thought. Can't tell me nothin'. The people that told me it was so cute have no idea what kind of monster they were dealing with. I was feeling myself all day with that hairstyle, and now that I can actually do the twists so that they look good?! Watch out now!

I'm still learning and growing (and hopefully my hair is too) and I am currently excited to be experimenting again. I used the Tea Tree Tingling Conditioner from Trader Joe's night before last, and it worked wonderfully on my hair. My scalp was still tingling long after my shower was over, and it provided enough slip for me to detangle without snagging or hurting my hair at all. I'm still learning to be much more gentle with my curls. Raking away at them is so wrong when they haven't even done any harm to me! Anyhow, that conditioner kept my hair soft the whole time I was twisting and rolling (see above photo for results), and it made my hair smell like peppermint! Two thumbs up.

I got lazy last night and just rinsed my hair a bit and sprayed my leave-in on (my leave-in for now is diluted Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner--I love the smell) then I moisturized with Elasta QP Mango Butter and sealed with my jojoba oil. I was delighted to find jojoba oil at Trader Joe's, by the way. Back on topic, I put my hair in two plaits, because my roots are thick and my permed ends are super stringy and thin. I wrapped that up in my satin scarf and read a couple chapters before heading to bed. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, that pic on the right is what that hard work got me this morning. I love it!

I'm working on doing a better job of protecting my edges since I am the queen of ponytails and buns, and I know that's a lot of stress on my hairline. I spritzed leave-in conditioner, added more mango butter and sealed up with jojoba oil before finger-combing it up into that braid out ponytail. The result made me smile.

That regimen has been keeping my egdes touchably soft so far, but I'm still having some difficulty quenching the thirst of the curls at my crown and in my middle. I went to GNC today and got some organic coconut oil. I've been daydreaming about using it the entire time I've been at work. We'll see what kind of magic it works when I get off. I've got an idea for a protective style I want to try tonight.

True Inspiration

Before I was ever anybody's mother I was a nerdy tomboy. I read books for fun. I wrote books for even more fun. I'm a Lakers fan, and a Cowboys fan, and yes, I know those are two different sports. I am as comfortable watching General Hospital as I am watching the playoffs. That's just how I roll. I was not always comfortable, however, playing in Barbie's hair. Hahaha.



When I was pregnant with my son, one of my sorors told me "I can see you having a son first. No muss. No fuss. Just brush the hair a little bit, and ya'll can just go!" This, of course, from someone who sees me regularly and knows I've always got "all this hair" up in a trusty ponytail or bun--which is why transitioning with protective styles isn't going to be all that drastic for me. But I digress.



For the longest time I didn't really do much with my baby's curly head. I kept it clean, of course (I am a bit of a germaphobe, by the way), but there was no real "styling" going on. I love his little fro, it's about as wild and full of personality as he is. Also, he's not the kind of kid who's willing to sit still long enough to get "that braids and beads thing" done. One day I looked at his thirsty little curls and decided I was going to take better care of his hair, because it wasn't like I didn't know how to deal with curly hair. I'd worn my own natural before. I have the patience, I'll find the time, and he's just so cute when his hair is happy!



Taking on this new interest in my son's hair kinda brought me back to my own. I missed my curls, and wouldn't it be semi-cute (albeit semi-lame) for us to rock matching fros? I can dig it! That was the last little nudge I needed. Now I'm all in!

A New Journey

So, I've had an awakening of sorts and it's feeling really good. I don't remember the last time I relaxed my hair, but I've got about an inch or so of new growth, so we'll estimate it was about two months ago. That's neither here nor there, because I'm adopting August 1st as my official "I'm going back to my natural hair texture" date.

I've certainly gone natural before, and it was a very freeing experience. This time around I plan to transition a little longer, and I hope to learn a very valuable lesson along the way: I want to force myself to take the time and care to treat myself better. These nights spent twisting, rolling and braiding in my hair (not to mention deep conditioning, oiling my scalp and moisturizing my ends) will also serve as time spent just being good to myself.

I am extra excited to get going on this journey, because I expect a lot to change as I take these steps. This fall I'll be taking my last prerequisite class before I start the nail-biting experience of applying to nursing schools. Yikes!!! That's a journey in and of itself. Next week I start volunteering at a local hospital to get my feet wet and make sure the sight of blood doesn't make me want to pass out. I'm growing into a completely different person, and what I'm about to go through with my hair is going to be an interesting part of that.

That pic up there is my first serious attempt at a style while I'm transitioning. That's my first time ever doing flat twists, and let's just say I'm glad ya'll can't see how fuzzy they turned out, lol. I'm proud of them because they were definitely a labor of love though. I plan to transition for a year (the idea is to do my big chop right before I start nursing school -- see how I need to be accepted in order for this whole thing to even work out? yea), and I want to get to know my texture and the products that work best for me while I'm doing that (I've already accepted my status as a product junkie -- and acceptance is always the first step). I've been so in love with this style today that I'm liable to attempt a thousand variations of the same thing. Don't knock it. I'm having fun even though I'm struggling to keep my hands OUT of my hair while it's looking all fun and flirty like that.

Here goes nothin'. I'll probably post more pics tomorrow, because I'm thinking of doing something else to my hair tonight since I'll be taking a picture for my hospital security badge tomorrow. Can't wait!

Sidenote: I'm going to need to get myself some coconut oil and a conditioner without any alcohol in it.