Sunday, January 6, 2013

Length check...

I got bored the other day and decided that I would straighten my natural hair just to see how much it has grown since I big chopped in 2009. Here's the result:



It's amazing to think that just 3 years ago I started out like this:




Monday, December 31, 2012

Year Three B.C.



I'm still curly! For the majority of my three years I have been using the Tightly Curly Method exclusively. But recently I started watching a lot of videos by Mahogany Curls. I love how her hair looks! So these days I'm doing a blend TC and MC. Jess uses Paul Mitchell "The Conditioner" as her leave in and then tops that with Eco Styler Gel. While I love the Paul Mitchell, I have yet to get the hang of how to get the gel to work with my hair. So I have been using Aussie Moist on top of the PM. So far so good.

During the winter months because it's not as humid I can straighten my hair and wear it that way for a couple weeks at a time.

To this day I have not regretted the day I decided to quit the chemicals. I simply love the versatility and the uniqueness of my hair!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Two Years B.C.



It's been two years since I chopped off all of the relaxer. Because my hair is super tightly curly the pics don't really show how much length I've gained over the past year. But trust me there was a lot!

Although I still wear my hair curly most of the times there are days when I want a change.


Today was one of those days:



I washed, deep conditioned, moisturized, and detangled my hair. Then instead of doing my usual TightlyCurly Method I decided to blow dry and flat iron my hair. After which I put in 12 two strand twists and rodded the ends. The next day (today) I took it down and this is what I got. I am really pleased with the results!


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Ouidad Double Detangler



I got home from work and there was a package waiting for me and inside I discovered… 


The Ouidad Double Detangler!

Some time ago I entered a giveaway sponsored by Ouidad on CurlyNikki’s website (shout out to Nik). Twenty winners would receive the Ouidad Double Detangler comb.

Months ago I had read about this new tool that was supposed to take the tangles out of detangling. I had read this on their website:
The most challenging aspect of curly hair is detangling it. This next generation tool is designed by Ouidad to slide through your curls without the ripping or tugging.
·  Double Rows of teeth eliminate difficult knots and prevent curls from springing back and re-tangling
·  Longer Teeth reach through the most dense curly hair
·  Fewer Combing Strokes help curls remain defined and frizz-free
·  Spaced teeth are just the right width for detangling knots
·  Rounded Tips on teeth are soft on the scalp
·  Time Savings since curls are prepped to be styled or washed in half the time

It all sounded really good to me but would it really work that way? There have been so many times that I have bought a product or utensil just because the company selling it made it sound wonderful. Only to get it in my hands and it not live up to the hype. So I was skeptical about spending so much for a comb.

Then came the Curly Nikki giveaway. I had no idea that I would actually win a comb, but I did! And this past weekend I tried it out.

Let me go on record in saying that I have never detangled my hair so fast and so effortlessly. This comb delivers everything that it says! So I will be using this comb from now on.

Yay Me! 

(This is my own uncompensated opinion. Ouidad is NOT paying me to promote their comb.)

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Saturday, October 3, 2009

I AM FREE!

Free of the Creamy Crack! Ok, I've been off the crack for a while now, but the effects of it's use are finally gone. I did the BC (Big Chop) last Friday. At first I was a little scared, not knowing for sure how my hair would react to the change from half natural/half relaxed to all natural. And for the first few days I don't know if it was in my mind or not, but it seemed my hair was a little confused too. But it has seemed to settle in nicely. It's really curly right now. Here's hoping I'll still be this confident as it starts to grow out and lengthen due to the weight of the hair. I'll keep you posted!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

It's Been Awhile, I Know...



Ok, it's been a long while since the last time I posted. I've been busy and experimenting with what works and what doesn't and different techniques to use. What I didn't expect is how much fun this would be, figuring out what works for my hair and what doesn't. I'm pretty pleased with my decision to go natural.

I'm washing my hair twice a week or about every 4 days. One big reason being it's not long enough in the back to pony-tail or bun it. So when it starts to get fuzzy the only real choice I have is to re-twist. And since I would rather re-twist with fresh hair I have to wash it.

On the weekends I wash with shampoo, then apply a reconstructor, cover with a plastic cap and sit under a hooded dryer set on low heat for 30 minutes. After that I rinse out the reconstructor, apply my leave-in and follow my usual twist and curl routine. During the week I wash with a rinse out conditioner, apply my leave-in conditioner, and twist and curl. I usually air-dry overnight but depending on what leave-in I use I may have to sit under a dryer for a little bit to make sure my hair is dry through and through before I take down my twists.



Products I am currently using:
Shampoo - Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk
Rinse out Conditioner - Suave Naturals (right now I'm liking the Fresh Mountain Strawberry)
Leave-in Conditioner - Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Fortifying Conditioner
Alternate Leave-In Conditioner - Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Conditioner



I can live with this routine for a little bit longer as I wait for my BC. Oh yeah, don't forget to check out CurlyNikki.com and TightlyCurly.com, a couple of my favorite natural hair sites.
And I'll keep you posted...