Flat twist out

Last wash day (Friday the 23rd), after my wash n fro, I set my hair in flat twist. Four days later, no retwisting, here's what it looks like.

Another day later, no retwisting, after showering with no shower cap and applying some coconut oil:

I'm getting more into the non-defined look. I still prefer definition from some sort of set but when my hair clouds up a bit and looks more indistinct I still think it looks cool versus thinking it looks a mess and I need to reset it. I believe spending more time looking at pictures of people with undefined styled hair has helped broaden my outlook.

When I wear my wash n fro, I'm more self conscious of how short it shrinks versus the actual texture. Next summer, I'll definitely rock that style a lot as my hair should be longer and I like how quick and carefree it is.

I Chopped......

a while ago.

Towards the end of my transition I found that I spent less and less time thinking about my hair. The patience that I so desperately needed finally showed up. To the point that when I finally chopped off my remaining relaxed ends on November 27, 2010. I felt little more that straight exhaustion. It took a lot longer than I expected.

It was a sunday. I started at 4pm...and with a few breaks for dinner and to watch an hour long show, I finished up a little after 11pm. I was so very tired. I didn't care enough to try to document the process.

But I do have pictures. So without further ado.....

When I took the twist down, it was not hot. With some manipulation, I came up with this:

A few days later here are shots of my hair during my bday weekend:

I was very proud of my little puff. That wasn't the intended style but the ouchless band I'd use krept up into a puff configuration throughtout the day.

Big Chop Preview........

Below shows my hair about a week and a half after my BC.

Shrunken, no product. And with a few straggly relaxed ends here and there apparently.

All twisted back up:

And the resulting style from this set:

I've been keeping flat twist on the sides to disguise my scab hair.

long overdue.......

man...i just haven't had any drive to update this blog. There's been a lot going on but even before that I just couldnt find the care to update this little blog about my hair.

i'm still quite excited about it...in fact, seeing that the little ticker over on the right is at 16 days to countdown my final chop (as of 11/15/11) I'm excited and almost surprised its just a touch over 2 weeks away.

What I should have done and what is sorely overdue is recording that I did a medium chop back on 10/14/11. I cut off about 3 inches. it was a lot and quite shocking at the time. Only leaving 1-3 inches of relaxed hair thruout my head. the biggest shock came from the lost of length. i immediately disliked it and for a moment or two considered extendining my transition til I got more hair. At the time I had about 5-6 inches of hair. Accounting for shrinkage....I didnt have much hair at all.

My facial expression above, pretty much sums out up how I was feeling. I was disturbed at how short my hair was and I still had relaxed ends which meant my hair would have to be cut even shorter!

but having a month to grow accustomed to it was exactly what i needed to do and I'm sooo very glad that I did it. I feel comfortable with it now. I have a better handle on styling it and better idea of what to expect when I chop off the very last bit.

The most exciting development of having less relaxed hair is not having to twist/set my hair nightly. I can put my bonnet on and go to sleep. Get up, fluff, and my hair looks reasonably good for a solid 3-4 days in a row. At least with the bantu knot out set. i tried a twist out which was a dismal failure. the last bit of relaxed hair will not allow me to experiment with that style yet. I tried one braid out and that looked ok after I styled it a bit. It was very different pattern than a Bantu Knot out but I liked the fact that it allowed me to show more length.

I am sooo ready to be done with transitioning. I haven't been updating bc...well, I dont have anything new. My hair is no longer something that occupies most of my thoughts. Yes, I think about it every once in a while but I've rediscovered the other things I liked to obsess over.

One other thing that I've come to accept. My growth rate. It's just going to take patience. That's it. It will probably be 2 more years before I'm hyped about the length of my hair. In the meantime I'm gonna try my best to make the little bit of hair that I have look great. By being creative with styling and not getting stuck in too much of a rut, I'm sure I can accomplish that.

Three Hours.....

Three hours...

Three hours of my life wasted.

Wasted on a henna gloss. A henna gloss that I'm doubtful did anything aside from drip down my neck.

I had what I'm guesstimating about 50 grams of mixed henna frozen from my 1st henna application. I defrosted it in the fridge for slightly over a day. I took it out around 8 or 9pm Saturday. Mixed and applied it about 11am Monday morning.

I didn't measure anything so the measurements below are eyeballed

-Abt 50 or so grams of leftover henna mix
-Abt 1 cup of Proclaim Argan Oil Hydrating Mask (Conditioner)
-1.5 Tbsp Raw Honey
-3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil

I first clarified my hair with Tea Tree Tringle Shampoo mixed with about 1 tsp baking soda. (first time doing this too....yeah, my eyes are rolling at my own self) I then applied the Henna Gloss and covered it with 2 plastic caps. I left it on for exactly 3 hours. I then rinsed with tepid water. Squirted my hair with some Apple Cider Vinegar (to close my cuticles) then another another splash of tepid water.

I squeezed my hair with a towel and checked it out in the mirror. I couldn't detect any visible difference in my hair. My hair didn't necessarily 'feel' any stronger like the first time I did the straight henna application. Actually, my hair felt a tad oily.....and almost as if there was a bit of residue in my hair. It also seemed frizzy. My coils weren't springing like they normally do when I've deep conditioned. I have no idea how my hair is supposed to feel after a gloss so I let it air dry and I decided to plait it up for a braid out with rollers on the ends. I'll see how it looks and feels tomorrow. I probably will end up washing my hair on Thursday bc I think my hair has some kind of residue in it. I've read other people's account of feeling like their hair was 'coated' with something. I think that's a good way to describe the way my hair felt when I rinsed it earlier today. It just felt coated.

I guess my henna had already demised the day it spent in the fridge or perhaps all the olive oil prohibited dye uptake (which is how you get the conditioning benefits) AND/OR the dimethicone in the conditioner I used contributed to blocking dye uptake. I've got another 16 oz container of the Proclaim Argan Oil Hydrating Masque. I'll use it up but won't be repurchasing this product. On top of the dimethicone it has Isopropyl Alcohol. In the middle of the ingredient list. Unfortunately I didn't read the label thoroughly before I purchased it.

I'll be trying the Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose as a deep conditioner after I run out of what I'm currently using.

Anyway, that waste of time.

Daddy Dearest.....

During the visit with my MomMom, I saw my dad.

I wore a Bantu Knot out during my visit and when my father arrived the Knot Out was certainly on its last legs. It was droopy and frizzy and NOT CUTE. He initially asked me if I had a 'piece' in my hair bc he noted the different textures of my roots and the curly part. I told him that I was transitioning to Natural Hair.

Oh! Like your mom?

Yup

Did you guys plan to do this together?

No. We started at our own times and then find out later that we were transitoning together.

Later at the table, he is looking at my hair and comments that he thinks I should be 'Okay'. now he never expounded on what 'Okay' was but he said the word a few times and he went on to speak on his sisters, my aunts, and stated that they all had 'Nice' hair, so I should be 'Okay'.

I've seen pictures of my aunts from back in the day when their hair was natural....I guess in a way he was telling me not to worry...that my texture should be 'manageable'. Which of course I know it will be bc I'm managing it. But it was curious to hear his word choice. I know that I do not have what is traditonally known as 'good hair'. I am far from glossy curls and waves. My hair is not thick and shiny. What seems to grow from my scalp is dull and only after I add oil can I claim any 'sheen' at all. I do not know for sure if he was insinuating anything at all but it did bring that mind that.

But aside from all that. It's nice to have my parents 'on board' for this. Clearly my dad has come to a level of acceptance since my mom is going thru the process herself. My husband and I plan to go home for the holidays and by then I will have Big Chopped. It's nice to not be nervous as what their reactions will be. I have 3 little brothers. 2 rock dreads. and one has a fade (he's experiencing premature pattern baldness. He's 19. I'm sure he's got heavy feelings on hair right about now). So now the only 'worries' about family reactions will be with my husband's family.....

but that is surely a whole 'nother post bc I have many many concerns regarding their reactions.

Hair characterized......

I'd like to thank God for the So Fine Series posted on CurlyNikki by Cassidy of Natural Selection

Finally, I have a condensed set of articles that point me in the direction of best characterizing my hair so that I can figure out how I should be treating it for maximum health.

What have I determined for sure?

Fine. Definitely Fine.
Normal to high porosity.
Thin to Medium density.

Current issue: Occassional frizz. Possibly due to using a Glycerine mix as my moisturizing spritz. If I'm indeed highly porous this is a major no-no. But I'm not sure if I'm genuinely highly porous or if just my relaxed hair may be. I need to do the test on naked hair. When I wash my hair again I'll redo the water test.

I haven't bought any new products but I'm switching around a bit with the products I DO have. I've read that consistency is key when it comes to your hair regimen. But I'm also looking for great results so I can stick with what combo of products give that to me. So far, my hair loves that argon oil hair masque I did. I'll definitely be getting more of that. It seems to like deep conditioning, so I've kept that up. I deep condition 2x a week now. My hair really likes to be sealed with castor oil. That really locks the moisture in my strands but it seems so heavy, so I went back to try the MegaGrowth Oil I have from Protectiv. I'm still not impressed with it so last night I pulled out some olive oil, which I'd been ignoring bc I used it years ago on my relaxed hair but was also never impressed. Perhaps it would be different on my transitioning hair. (are my standards too high? Am I difficult to impress? lol....)I've also been experimenting with how I moisturize my hair bc that clearly needs addressing and no point in waiting until my hair dries out completely and catches fire in the sun.

So last night, I mixed about equal parts aloe vera gel and Kinky Kurly Knot Today. Applied that to sections and sealed with olive oil before twisting and re-setting into my bantu knots. This morning my hair is indeed soft. It has sheen which makes me very happy bc I've been bummed at how dull my hair has been looking. I'm still adjusting to the constantly poofy edges so for them to be dull too has been disheartening. If olive oil will help me avoid this I will happily stick with it! At least for the next wash or two....lol.

What else have I been sticking with?

I do wash my hair about 2x a week. Sometimes the stretch between washes is kinda long (6 days one time) but I'm getting it done. I do not plan to make it a habit of long stretches. My schedule is a bit hectic right now so I'm getting it in when I can.

I'm only detangling in the shower while I have conditioner in my hair.

I'm only combing my hair when it's wet. Which is only on wash days so the amount of combing has significantly decreased. I finger style my hair daily and if I run across a tangle that's effecting the way I want to style my hair I'll pull it apart gently.

I've always been faithful to wearing a scarf or satin bonnet but I will list that here as well so i can feel accomplished.

I've been doing great with taking my vitamins nightly. I've been taking a Prenatal vitamin since March. At some point I started to regularly take my Fish Oil capsules-end of March maybe.... Then on June 7th or was that May 31st? Either way it was a Tuesday, I began to take Biotin supplements. 1000 mcg. I'm trying to be more conscientous about getting more water in my body for several reasons. So the fact that it will help my hair is a bonus!

I'm not using grease on my scalp and my scalp is doing great! I mist it every other day with my spritzer. This past week I've been slack with applying my Scalp Healer oil. In fact, I haven't at all. I usually cowash on Wednesdays but due to travel this weekend, I'll stretch it til Thursday and apply my Scalp Healer then.

I'm all over the place today but I wanted to post. since i haven't shared this blog with anyone yet, it'll be ok, lol...I got some of those old drafts out and they posted in the order in which they were written...just need to go back and upload a few missing pics.

I still haven't made a choice as to whether I want to go public with my blog or not. I'd like to find a transition partner but haven't put in the time to scour the boards looking for one. I get so overwhelmed on fokti. I haven't figured out how to filter thru tags well enough to not have 500 results....then with the move coming up there is just sooo much going on.

Oh well...the important thing for now is for me to have patience. Document my process and progress and keep pushing forward.

Coils Maybe?

This is another musing on my natural texture.....

I have spent most of the day with my left hand playing in my hair....my roots. The thickness of it. I can feel coils all throughout. Every since I stopped using the heat, it seems that my roots are reverting more and more. When I wash my hair, the back and middle of my head especially seems to erupt in super defined coils. I can feel them under my finger under the water. But I can't SEE them. I'm limited to what I can inspect after my shower in the front and sides of my head. I'm not certain but it seems that some definition is lost as my hair dries....

I'm hoping what I'm feeling is giving me some inclination toward what my hair is like. Though I have read in multiple places that your hair changes so much within the first month, 6 months, and year of being 100% natural.

There is the 'shock' that your natural hair experiences after the Big Chop. Many report very very dry hair afterwards. There is mention of 'crispy ends'. I'm sooo glad to know this. Knowing that this is a common experience will keep me from panicking after I chop. I feel confident that I'm in this for the long haul. I do not think uncoopertaive hair will drive me to the crack within the first 30 days. If I can't figure it out and I'm too baffled, I'll just get some kinky twists put in and deal with my hair later.

Whatever is going on up there, I want to embrace it. Truly. I want to learn to love it...work with it. Accept it.

A bit Rusty.......

man.....it's been....how long?

yeah, gonna start up the old blog routine again. in the past i've blogged about weightloss (40lbs that i somehow gained back last year. what!?!?) and about being broke and getting married. i've locked those up a while ago. the lady blogging then...she's a different lady now. perhaps i'll unlock them in the future...perhaps not. i haven't deleted those other 2 blogs...so there is hope, lol. its been a few years but i've got some stuff to say...and the blogging, it helps get it out of me.

primarily what's on my mind right now is natural hair. in particular my transition. i've been relaxer free since Dec 3, 2010. i'm rolling up on 6 months.

originally i was certain i would be transitioning for a solid year. do the big chop in December 2011 more or less around my birthday.....but since going 'heat free' just this past weekend (May 21-22, 2011) I don't know.....things are poofy. soft and poofy. i've been rocking a bantu knot out for the last 4 days and i'm wondering about my committment to the year transition. frankly, i'm thinking it would be easier to get rid of these straight ends sooner rather than later.

gah....'they' were right. 'they' all say 'just cut it off' and i'm a little irritated to find that....'they' just might be right, lol. 'they' being the general consensus when you ask Google how to manage during your transition. 'They' start with a couple tips about wearing your hair in various sets then eventually end with or cut it all off, lol.

I'll be back in another post (probably later today) about my hair and other stuff. But yeah, i'm back....i'm blogging....i've missed it.