The Wisdom of My Son

So yesterday I was having a conversation with my 19 year old son about what kind of woman he would marry one day and whether or not he would date/marry a woman that wears her hair natural.

His first comment was that HE HATES WEAVE! Yes he hates it. He doesn't really care whether a woman relaxes her hair or wears it natural just as long as she is confident and keeps it looking nice. He says that to him its important for a woman to just be comfortable with who she is. He hates to see women use makeup, hair, clothes to validate who they are. Even though they try to pretend that they are not doing that it is very obvious.

He then looked at me and said Mom I liked your hair when it was relaxed, but I like it even more now that you are natural. I said why? He said because you are not allowing your hair to dictate your life. Before you wouldn't do things or go places because you were so afraid of messing up your hair or "sweating out your perm".  He said now you seem more free and you are more fun.

I was like wow. I didn't realize that my son was so observant when it came to my hair. But it shows me that men are very observant. My husband even loves my natural hair, why? Because now we go to the gym together, we play racquetball (in that hot box), we get in the whirlpool (another hot box), and the sauna (a even hotter hot box) and I even get in the swimming pool (i can't swim). I do feel more free and more fun. Don't get me wrong some days I have bad hair days and good ones, but now I take my bad hair days and turn them into fun days.

So to all my sisters out there whatever decision you make about being natural, just remember that it will be a decision that you will have to live with for the rest of your life and it wont just affect you but it will impact everyone and everything around you. So in the words of my son JUST DO YOU BOO!

Hair Update

Yeah I know its been a long time since my last post. Well Thanksgiving is over and man was it GREAT! Not only was all of the food great, but being with my family - Priceless.  I love my family and it is not until you spend a day with them that I realize just how blessed I am.

So now for my hair.

Well I have officially been natural for 1 month coming up on 2. Its been a journey, but its been fun. I have learned so much about the texture of my hair, what my hair likes and doesn't. Lets not talk about Products! Lord have I been through some stuff. It seems the things my "transitioning" hair liked, my all natural hair just doesn't.

Currently I'm using the following:

Carol Daughters Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner (Holy Grail)
Carol Daughters Black Vanilla Smoothie Deep Conditioner (Holy Grail)
Carol Daughters Black Vanilla Shampoo (Holy Grail)
Paul Mitchell Tresseme Naturals Conditioner
Trader Joes Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner

Shea Moisture Restoritive Leave In Conditioner (Holy Grail - Leaves my hair so moisturized)
Curls Unleashed Curling Jelly (Holy Grail - This stuff is amazing)
Quidad Mongongo Oil (Awesome)
Castor Oil
Olive Oil
Jojoba Oil

My wash routine is pretty much the same and happens every Saturday. I love my Saturdays, my hair loves it too.

Not sure yet what "special" all natural feeling I should be feeling but for now I feel so free. People love even envy my hair, and as each day passes I fall more and more in love with my hair. Its growing pretty good and its very healthy.

This is an awesome journey, and can say I will NEVER EVER go back to the Creamy Crack - For Me Crack is WHACK!!

Happy Holidays All.

Winter Hair Regimen

So this weekend I'm going to switch up my wash day regimen for the Winter to try and combat dryness and retain some moisture. Here is what I plan on doing:

1. Wash hair with Carol Daughters Black Vanilla Shampoo (this is sulfate free, although it does sud like crazy)..I love it. While shampoo is in my hair I start my "finger" detangling.
2. Rinse out Shampoo, Apply Tresseme Naturals Moisturizing Conditioner - leave in for about 10 minutes while I continue to detangle using fingers and wide tooth comb. Wash out
3. Deep Condition - So I'm going to amp up my deep conditioner. I use the Carol Daughters Black Vanilla Smoothie, and now I'm going to add to it some castor oil and coconut oil before applying to my slightly damp hair, making sure I get it good into the roots and ends of my hair. After working it in thoroughly I will apply my Hair Therapy Heat Wrap (love this thing!) for about 45 min. I will leave the DC in my hair overnight (bag it and put on bonnet). I like leaving in my DC overnight, my hair responds better to this. I did this even when I was transitioning.

 NEXT DAY

1. Wash Out DC - soak out excess water with my cotton t-shirt
2. Spray hair with my Aloe Vera Juice/Rosewater-Glycerine/Bottle Water Mix, massage into hair
3. Apply my Paul Mitchell "The Conditioner" leave-in
4. Apply one of my oil concoctions (not sure which one) to seal in all that good moisture
5. Finger Coil my hair using my Eco Styler Gel (Clear) and let my hair air dry

I will leave the coils in for a few days and then unravel them probably on day 3. Each morning and night spritz hair with Aloe Vera Juice mix for moisture.

Week #2 as a New Natural

Happy Friday, My Natural Sistah's. Well I just finished week 2 of being 100% Natural, and I must say it was sweet. I guess each day I'm waiting to feel something different, hate my hair, or burst out in tears because I know longer have my Creamy Crack. But surprisingly, this week I fell deeper in love with my locks. I woke each morning loving my hair and ready to "conquer" the world and whoever else had something to say.

It was interesting that my "white" co-workers are LOVING and even Envious of my hair. They all keep saying "I wish my hair did that"....at first I was like do what? Then I realized they wish their hair could LOOK BEAUTIFUL, THICK, HEALTHY, KINKY and CURLY!! Yes I'm doing beautiful!

I even started this week experimenting with some natural oils and made up a few concoctions that I plan on testing out on my hair to see what happens. I am noticing that my hair is sucking up moisture like crazy, by the end of the day it is dry. So I gotta be more proactive about locking in that hair moisture. This weekend I plan on washing, and doing a deep conditioner and trying to get some moisture locked in.

So I'm trying a new spritz that consists of: Bottled Water, Rose Water/Glycerin Mix and Aloe Vera Juice (equal amounts of each in a spray bottle). I put some on my hair last night before I went to bed, and then bagged it (slept in a plastic cap, covered by my hair bonnet). Woke up this morning and can you say WOW! my hair looked sparkly (is that a word..umm) and moist. Oh yeah, I also applied one of my oil concoctions after I spritzed my hair.

So what are the concoctions I made, here they are (now I did not measure these out, I just eye balled it, but I did not use a lot of Castor Oil because its very thick):

Mix #1 - Castor Oil, Olive Oil, Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil
Mix #2 - Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Almond Oil, Olive Oil
Mix #3 - Coconut Oil, Jojoba Oil, Peppermint Oil
Mix #4 - Olive Oil, Almond Oil, Coconut Oil
Mix #5 - Castor Oil, Rosemary Oil, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil

I did some reading on the different carrier oils and essential oils and plan on experimenting with these to see if I have growth, moisture, or whatever else they may bring...

As far as styling my hair, it seems like right now I'm just rocking a wash n go, or I finger coil it and then unravel it. Until I get more length I'll hold off on trying to two strand twist it.  Here are some pictures of my hair this week. Enjoy! Have a Super Natural Woman Weekend!

Today! Rocking a Mo/Fro (my version)

Bought  I Flower Pin from CVS - Rocking that!

Rocking a Feather HeadBand

Had played in my hair all day finger coiling it! My Currly BeeBees

THE BOMB.COM

Well here is my report back on the following products I tried this weekend:

• Paul Mitchell's THE CONDITIONER - this is a leave-in conditioner - Can I say this stuff is the BOMB...No it's not an all natural product, and its commonly used in our Caucasian sisters salons, but this stuff made my hair incredibly soft and shiny. The moment it touched my hair, it felt like silk, I was able to detangle my hair without using any combs or brushes, just my fingers. It is blue in color and has a creamy consistency. So for now I love it, and my hair loves it..and it will be on my list of KEEPERS. 
• Paul Mitchell's Foaming Pomade - this is a foamy pomade, that you can use for a wash-n-go. So after washing my hair with my Tresseme Naturals Conditioner, and applying THE CONDITIONER (Paul Mitchell), I applied the foaming pomade. Applying it seemed really weird because it foams and turns white so you think that you are putting too much, but that's what its supposed to do. After applying it in sections, I let my hair air dry and WOW! You talking about curls poppin. They were so tight, so coily, pretty, shiny, and super uber defined! But, the next day my hair looked, dry and brittle. Now I'm not saying this isn't good, but I think it is only one day good, unless your hair is short enough to apply it everyday. So its a keeper, and I will use it maybe when I want to have a curly fro for a day. Not sure what it will do on longer length hair so when my hair grows out to maybe pass my ear I will give it a try. So this will be on my list of KEEPERS.

So after washing out my hair on Monday night I used the BOMB.COM mix. I co-washed, and then applied  Paul Mitchell THE CONDITIONER, along with the clear ECO STYLER GEL. I finger coiled my hair and then let it  dry over night. The next morning (yesterday) I separated the coils only once and can you say HOT DOG, my hair looked amazing. Not only did it have shine, but the curl definition was off the chain. The gel did not flake, and did not leave  my hair hard it was very soft and fluffy. I am on day two of this mix and it is still looking Good. Last night I put some jojoba oil on my hair and scalp and slept in my silk bonnet. I woke up this morning and misted my hair lightly with Rosewater/Glycerin and fluffed - BAM!! This mix is definitely a KEEPER. This will probably be my go to style until my hair starts to grow out some, cause the two strand twist are cute, but on my short hair take a long time. It took me only 30 min to finger coil my hair.

That's my update for now...

My First Week All Naturaal!

Wow, what a week. I spent my first week as  a fully new natural, and can I say it was SUPER AMAZING!! I rocked a twist out all week, and it was "fierce". What really made it amazing, was the fact that EVERYONE I came in contact with this week actually LOVED (some even envied) my hair. I two strand twisted it, and then took out the twists.

Here are my looks for this week:

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

There was not ONE negative comment, not that I would care anyway. But the big kicker was how much I fell in love with my new natural tresses. I found myself every morning as I was oiling my hair (with my homemade concoction), telling myself "I Love You Hair".  I really do love my hair, she is so beautiful and she looks so very happy. So, what can I say.....I feel awesome, I feel amazing, I feel sexy, I feel beautiful and I feel so FREE.

Yeah my relaxed hair, overall was pretty healthy and pretty happy...she served me well. But I would have to say that SHE is history. I am relaxer free and I'm embracing my God Given tresses. I won't go back, I can't go back - to the way it used to be. We are moving forward and I'm looking forward to the journey ahead.

So now about that concoction I made. Oh yeah, I started using Rose Water/Glycerine on my hair and my hair LOVES LOVES THIS STUFF. I got it at my local Whole Foods. The smell is divine, the smell of sweet roses. Every night before bed I spritz my hair with it. AWESOME!

Ok so here is what I used to make my own oil mix:

• Castor Oil (not a lot it is super thick)
• Almond Oil
• Jojoba Oil
• Olive Oil (not a lot, a bit greasy for me)
• Coconut Oil (not a lot, a bit greasy for me)
• Peppermint (just a few drops)

This weekend I am going to try a wash n go using: Paul Mitchell "The Conditioner", and Paul Mitchell "Foaming Pomade".  So I will keep you posted on how it works (fingers crossed).

Then I plan on trying this mix also at some point: Paul Mitchell "The Conditioner" and Eco Styler Gel (clear, that's all I have right now).

MY BIG CHOP!

MY HAIR

AFTER MY BIG CHOP

So this morning started like any other Saturday morning. Today is my wash day. So my husband and I headed out to the gym for our Saturday Raquetball, Whirlpool, and Swimmimg Pool workout. It was great! I got back home and started washing my hair, all is going well. Then it was Tim to condition and detangle and that's when all hell broke loose.

My hair was talking smack to me and was not cooperating AT ALL. It was saying you know what I'm sick of you and this natural hair journey, we want our creamy crack, we want to be smooth and silky, we want to go to the hair salon and sit in there for 5 hours! And as a black momma who can't stand when a child talks back, I pulled out my scissors and I shut her mouth!

That's right I just finished my very own Big Chop! As you can see from the pictures below, I cut about 5 inches of the relaxer off and now I'm officially on day one of my 100% Natural Hair journey

I told y'all I was getting impatient with the two textures and was over it already so I took the plunge after 6 months of transitioning. Now how do I feel? I don't know yet. I thought I would be scared and I wasn't, I thought I would be nervous and I wasn't. I feel somewhat free as if the relaxer was keeping me in bondage. Now what will I feel like after my husband finally sees it? That is the big question. He has never seen me with short hair in the 6 years we have been together.

So right now I'm deep conditioning it and I have no clue what I'm going to do to it in terms of styling it cause it so short, but I guess I'll figure that out like I did everything else during my transition.

So here I go part two of y journey. .... To be continued.

1st Day at Work with My BIG CHOP