Protective Style Box Braids

I decided to get my hair braided on a protective style mainly because I was traveling to London to attend my cousins wedding in addition to vacationing. I did not want to have my hair out for fear that I would not have been able to style my natural hair for the wedding.

I plan on keeping my braids in for two months- so by the end of May I will be taking them down.

Check out my video below of the braids.

Afro- 5 Months Post

In preparation of my box braids, I washed, conditioned, deep conditioned, and blow dried my hair. I used Grapeseed oil as my heat protectant and my blow dryer on the low setting. I parted my hair into four sections and made those sections even smaller while drying. I used a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair followed by my denman brush and then the wide tooth comb again used by drying my hair.

After my hair was all dried if formed an Afro. Check out the video below to see my Afro at 5 months post big chop (BC).

TWA Puff Attempt

After having my hair in two strand twists for a week, it was time to take them out. I wanted to try, or at least see what a twist out would look like. It came out fine, but not as I expected. I picked out my hair to stretch it and thought to my self: "I wonder if I can get my hair into a puff". And so went my journey....check out my video below:

My Two Strand Twist Out

I recently took out my protective style of cornrows and kinky twists and I wanted my scalp to breathe.

After taking down my style, I did a hot oil treatment with JBCO, washed my hair with Shea Moisture's Coconut and Hibiscus Shampoo and Tresemme Naturals Conditioner. I deep conditioned my hair with As I Am Hydration Elation and then proceeded to twist my hair while wet using As I Am Twist Defining Cream and As I Am Dougble Butter Cream.

My hair was kept in that style for a week and then I took my twists out because it was time for me to wash my hair and prepare for my next protective style.

The video below shows my hair as a two strand twist out. Enjoy

~Danie~

My hair journey since going natural and my thoughts

On October 7, 2012, to my surprise, I let my boyfriend big chop my hair. I wanted to know what my natural hair looked and felt like. My hair had been chemically processed since I was 5 years old so I was excited to see my hair.

After the Big Chop (BC), my hair did not curl- it did not look like other ladies who had their BC videos up on Youtube. My boyfriend told me this would happen; That my hair would not look like the other ladies because I have thick hair, bla bla bla. But once I seen my natural hair, I knew I had to embrace what I had.

I do not want to get caught up in curl typing- my hair is very tightly coiled in some places, my hair does not clump together and curl, and it shrinks A LOT when wet. I thought it would take forever for my hair to grow and I was growing impatient with my afro from October to December.

I measured my hair length every month from October to present, and my hair has been growing at a steady rate of 1/2 an inch a month. From December to March, I joined the Winter Castor Oil Challenged started by blogger and Youtuber Blakizbeautyful at Kinky Coily Curly Me and I continued with the Spring Castor Oil Challenge which ends in June where I have been applying Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) to my hair three times a week and most recently started using JBCO as my hot oil treatment.

In January, I found my hair to be long enough for me to braid so I did box braids for a month or so, followed by cornrows and kinky twists, and now I am in box braids again until about May.

In March- I was able to two strand twist my hair and I wore it that way for a week. After taking the twists outs, I was able to put my hair in a puff! My first short term goal for my natural hair. I was so excited. Then I blew out my hair and seen how big my afro was. By keeping my hair in protective styles, I was not focused on its growth- A watched pot doesn't boil right! My length checks were just to figure out my growth rate.

Since going natural, I have realized that since my hair is no longer straight/relaxed, I am more willing to try out different styles with my curl texture. I would never have wanted my hair to be so short and I would never have considered leaving my house with it that short either. But now, I live freely and am eager to try new styles!!

I still have not found the hair products that make my hair stand out- I do not even have a stand out hairstyle yet- so my journey continues.

~Danie~

Cornrows and Kinky Twists Style

It was time for me to take down my braids and I wanted to do another protective style, so I chose to do cornrows and Kinky Twists. Check out the video below:

Box Braids Update