Hair Damage, Breakage, Etc.

I hate that I even have to write this post.....

It's happened, I got a weave that took my hair out :''''(. Okay, so I'm not bald or anything but my edges definitely took a hit as a result of my most recent Senegalese twists. In the past when I've had them, I put them in myself but this time I wanted to go to a professional. My regular hair stylist told me she couldn't do the twist but another girl working at the shop suggested a place because that's where she went. I had seen her Senegalese twists so I already knew they did good work so I wasn't worried. I should have been.

I had SO many issues with this "shop" I don't know where to begin. First, they didn't wash my hair before twisting. I came in, chose what color hair I wanted and they just started twisting. Huh?! This was my first time ever going to an African hair braiding shop so maybe this is a normal occurrence. Someone please enlighten me. The other HUGE issue I had is that I felt like they had no consideration for my personal comfort at all. I felt like I was just a wig head to them. Now I knew getting these twists would be painful, especially because I got them so small but this was on another level. I got to a point where my neck was so tense and tight and literally shaking. I was grabbing on to the salon chair for dear life. Then whenever I would try to adjust myself for some kind of relief they would just pull/push my head right back to where they wanted it (their were two women working on my hair).

I was seriously ready to cry by the end. Then when they got to my edges around the front of my head I could feel how hard and tight they were pulling and it didn't feel right but it was done so I didn't feel like I could do anything.

Cut to now after having the twists in for 5 weeks I take them out and my edges came right out with them. We're not talking Naomi Campbell filter but three little spots in particular. If my hair is pulled straight back it's really noticeable so I'll be wearing side parts for quite a while it seems. I've heard that Jamaican black castor oil can help with growing back edges when applied daily and I really hope it's true. I'll be applying that stuff religiously. I'll give an update when there's something to update.

Later....

Hairstyles: Curlformers.....again

I decided to try Curlformers once again now that I'm fully natural. The last time I tried them was pretty early on during my transition so I thought it was time to explore again. To be honest I wasn't happy with the results. Once I separated the curls I just didn't like how my hair looked so it felt like I totally wasted the day before doing my hair.

I applied the Curlformers to wet/damp, freshly washed and conditioned hair. The only products I used were Kinky Curly's Knot Today leave in detangler and Curling Custard. Also I kept a spray bottle of water to use when my hair got dry. Based on these results I probably won't use Culformers again which is unfortunate because I really liked the outcome the last time. I'll probably just end up pulling my hair back into a curly poof/ponytail for the time being.

Here are a few pictures (some of them are out of order but you get the idea):

After removing the curlers.

After separating the curls. It looks okay but I didn't really like it.

I was really hoping for a silkier look to my curls but that didn't really happen.

Hairstyles: Flat Twists with a Poof

I recently tried to do a flat twist updo into a high bun but it didn't turn out the way I pictured it in my mind. It looked OK and I left in it for about a week but that's all I could stand. I didn't feel like washing my hair again so I decided to try to save the style with flat twists and a poof in the back.

This style was really quick and easy to do and I really like my results. The style was done on dry hair and the only products used were small amounts of Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding and Eco Styler Gel. On random impulse I started on my hair around midnight and was done by around 1:30 am. All this time included taking out the flat twists from the previous style.

Here are some pictures:

A Few Weeks of Mini-Twists

Somewhere around week 2 I decided it might be a good idea to take pictures of my mini-twists to document how they're holding up. Around week 3 there was a bit of new growth so they started looking kind of fuzzy but not terrible. I thought about retwisting a few rows just in the front of my hair so they look fresh again but I haven't decided yet. I did not wash them because I was a little scared they would unravel or there would be a lot of shrinkage which I didn't want. I moisturize my hair nightly with water and shea butter before tying it up in a silk scarf and bonnet for bed. I didn't actually make it to 4 full weeks because they were starting to look a little raggedy and I just needed a change.


Week 2:

Week 3:

 

PS: I decided not to retwist the front of my hair. I just kept it pinned back most of the time to hide the new growth.

Au Naturale

Did I spell that right?

Anyway, it's been almost two years since I decided to go natural (June 2010) and at this point I'm almost fully natural. In fact, why not just go ahead and say I am fully natural. Okay, so technically I still have some relaxed ends here and there that will probably get cut the next time I decide to trim my ends or whenever the mood strikes which could be anytime. Either way it's safe to say that my hair is about 99% natural at this point.

I still wear my hair straight pretty much ALL the time because whenever I try a natural style I hate the way it looks on me. For some reason the styles I try never look how I picture them looking in my head. Maybe it's because I do everything myself. I don't know. I want to start going to a salon but I haven't found one so for now I'll just do what I've been doing. I really want to try doing more natural styles I just need to find ones that suit me but I'm working on it.

That's pretty much all for now, just a little update. Here's a few pictures of the fro just after washing and adding some highlights. Peace out!

Freshly washed hair. I'm not sure if this was before or after adding my leave-in.

See, you barely notice that I still have some relaxed ends in there.

It doesn't seem like it but you can see the highlights better with the hair straight.

Hair Diary: One Year and Counting

This past June 4th was one year since my last relaxer. I don't have any pictures to post because I really haven't done anything with my hair lately. I went on a little mini vacation but I just kept my hair in a bun or ponytail the whole time. I'm still nowhere near cutting off my relaxed ends but I definitely have a lot of new growth.

Nothing major just a little mini post to acknowledge this milestone. I'm gonna wash my hair in a day or two so hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures to post to show my growth.

That's all for now.

Hair Diary: 6 Months and Counting

It's been exactly 6 months since I had my last relaxer (I would post pictures but my camera sucks at texture shots so it would be pointless). So far it hasn't been as difficult as I expected but going out has presented somewhat of a problem. Usually when I go out to a party/club/etc I wear my hair down but for some reason it's just not as easy to style it hanging down while transitioning. It's especially hard for me because I'm a person who likes to wear her hair straight and hanging down but I know that's not the best thing to do when trying to transition. It's just hard to break old habits.


On the plus side, I usually keep my hair in a ponytail or bun during the week so I guess that's something. I still haven't eliminated heat (and to be honest I'm not sure I ever will), but I've SERIOUSLY cut back on it. There was a time when I was flat ironing my hair pretty much every day but now I only do it after I wash my hair if I'm not doing a transitioning style. I really haven't done any transitioning styles for a while because the last few times I tried something new and it came out looking crazy so I just got frustrated and straightened it. Maybe on the next wash day I'll go back to a twist out or bantu knot out because I know those styles actually work for me.


Anyway, that's all for now. Nothing special just a little hair update.

Hair Diary: Awkward/Uneven Length

I'm kind of annoyed that my hair is in an awkward phase in parts of my head. The problem is that I got my bangs cut again when I got my last relaxer in June after months of letting them grow out. So now it seems like it's gonna take forever for that part of my hair to grow out and it always looks weird when I try to do transitioning styles because of the short length in the front.

Then on top of that it looks like I have a decent amount of breakage around the front and sides of my head also which is really annoying. I'm not really sure what to do about it so I'll have to do some research to figure out what the best thing would be for me. The good news is that I'm pretty much over that phase I went through of feeling like my hair wasn't growing fast enough or something. I know that's it's gonna grow and I just need to be patient. It's just weird because before now I really didn't think much about hair growth at all except when I was growing out bangs.

I guess it's kind of like that old saying, "a watched pot never boils." I'm focusing less on the growth and more on trying to have healthy hair.

Hair Diary: Hair Growth? Or Lack of It.

Maybe I'm just being impatient but I really don't feel like my hair is growing very much. I know hair only grows about 1/2 inch per month but I feel like I should have more new growth than I have right now. My last relaxer was in the beginning of June so by now I should have about an inch and a half of new growth but I don't really see it. Maybe it's just me. I guess I'm just frustrated right now with the entire process. Then I suppose I also have to figure in shrinkage too.

I guess I just need to give it more time and be patient. The failed hair experiment I had the other day didn't help the situation. I tried to do a braid out with French braids in the front but during the process I realized that I don't know how to French braid. After spending literally HOURS trying to do one braid I just got frustrated, let my hair air dry, and flat ironed it. And I know when you're transitioning you're supposed to make the relaxed hair match the natural hair, not the other way around but I just didn't care at that point. I've been practicing and I almost have the French braid thing down so maybe I'll try it again.

That's it for now. Still a little frustrated but whatever. I'm not ready to reach for the creamy crack just yet.