It's a hair thing

I truly do love my hair. On November 1, 2011 I officially celebrated being fully natural for one whole year. That was a clinical day, so I couldn't show out too much, but once Thursday rolled around I whipped my hair back and forth and 'round and 'round.

Couldn't tell me I wasn't cute!!! That there is a flat twist-out, which I have become quite fond of. It is safe to say that on non-clinical days, and days when laziness does not take over me, the flat twist-out and various styles achieved on top of said twist-out is easily a staple for me. A "go-to" if you will. I'd be lying if I said I don't abuse the wash-and-go puff something serious though. Don't let me get to lyin'.

I am quite proud of how far my hair and my spirit have come in this journey so far. I remember starting this simply because my son's curls were so full of life. I also remember reaching inside and finding so many things to value in myself through this process. It's been a beautiful ride and I look forward to continuing along the road. I looked back at some length-check photos, and I am pretty impressed with what a little TLC can do. Lets take a look.

This is about a week after my big chop, which was November 1, 2010 and about a week after my nappiversary. Not bad as far as I'm concerned. Not bad at all.

So, clearly my hair grows much faster in the back. That is also where the curl pattern is drastically looser and  the hair is a little finer. I've learned so much about my curls in the last year I feel like a brand new person almost!

My regimen has become considerably simpler, thanks to nursing school monopolizing most of my time. I still deep condition once a week, but I've recently switched up the products a little bit. I still use my beloved Suave Professionals Almond and Shea Butter conditioner, but I've taken to mixing this stuff in for my weekly treatment:

That combo leaves my hair soft and shiny, smelling and feeling good. I've also stumbled upon a couple "new" products to use for my staple style, which we discussed up top. I am a FAN of the twist-out, and when I say it like that I am putting it rather lightly. Anyhow, I tested out what has been called Soft Sheen Carson's answer for Miss Jessie's products. Since I've never used Miss Jessie's products, I can't offer anything in the way of a comparison. I can say, however, that these products worked well for me...somewhat. Let me explain.

This stuff is wonderful. I raked it through each section of damp hair before I twisted it. Actually, I probably raked it through, concentrated a bit on my ends (which need desperately to be clipped, but we will get to that in a bit) then ran my Denman brush through the section for good measure before twisting the section up. The resulting twist-out was luscious and all kinds of yummy. My hair smelled absolutely divine, and I fought myself to keep my hands out of it.
My test for how good my hair smells actually has to do with my boyfriend. On one of our first dates, he spent a great deal of the night with his face in my hair, just smelling it and "breathing in the natural thing" as he put it. He kept commenting on how wonderful it smelled. Months later, he still keeps his face all in my hair like that, so when I used this stuff I paid particular attention to how he received the scent. I was already in love with it, of course, so him loving it the way he did was a bonus. And boy did he love it. Ha! Ok. Back to hair.

This spray is unproductive on its own. It dries my hair out. It makes it somewhat crunchy, and it makes it feel a little stripped. Weird, since it claims to revive my curls. It provides a nice 1-2 punch effect when I use it as a detangler before I apply the partner product and put in my twists though. Not exactly perfect, but close for $7.
I'd planned to keep using these two in this fashion before I ventured over to Target and bought more castor oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil and glycerin. Now, what Target is doing with these supplies, I do not know. What I do know is I was looking for some castor oil to start my "protect and repair my edges" project and got a whole lot more than I set out for! Once I picked those up I went home and mixed up a quick spritz. I plan to use that as my leave in and now I'm not sure how I'll use this revival spray. I'll figure something out. Hate for it to go to waste, but it might have to.

On to my upcoming challenges!!! So, I have been doing quite a few wash-and-go puffs lately, because the need to get out of the house (with the kiddo) and into the hospital for clinical by dark thirty is real these days. All that washing, going and pulling that hair back is beginning to make my hairline sad...at least that is what my mind thinks. As such, I will be starting up a castor oil on the edges challenge with myself. Castor oil on the edges every day, whether I am wearing a wash-and-go puff or not. I started 11/20 and I plan to go through this way until spring, so maybe until April!

In addition to my castor oil challenge, I am also embarking upon a protective styling challenge! It's a chilly fall season here in SoCal, and after I rock today's twist-out, I'm planning to put in protective styles all through winter, which means this will go on (hopefully) until April as well. I plan to braid my hair up once winter break starts, so that will be part of the challenge as well. We'll see how it goes!!!!