One Month Post BC

I have been natural for one whole month and I am so excited to watch my hair grow. So far, I have ran into a few minor challenges regarding my TWA...

1. Dryness- After my BC, I noticed that my natural hair was pretty dry. After researching and watching youtube videos, I learned that my hair may be dry as it is still in shock of the loss of the relaxed ends. I also learned that my hair is in the healing process from all of the chemical processing my hair has gone through over the years.

2. Styles- Due to me only transitioning for four months, I only had about two inches of new growth. My hair is very tightly coiled and the shrinkage is no joke. The way the barber cut my hair, I have more hair at the front top part of my hair then in the back or the sides. While I am able to brush back the front for a tiny puff, the sides, which are so short, do not compliment this look. As a result, I have just been wearing my hair in a TWA or teenie weenie afro, without the use of any accessories.

3. Growth- Believe it or not my 1/4 of an inch of growth is a challenge. This is because all of my hair is not growing at the same rate. When I pick out my hair in the morning, my TWA likes to lean to the right. I do not pay too much attention to it as I want my hair to continue to grow out. As long as I don't start looking like Gumby, then I'm fine (LOL).

4. Products- This has been a challenge for me only because I am a product junkie and feel that I have to use every natural product in my house on my hair for every wash day. I wash my hair three times a week which has meant three different shampoos/conditioners/leave ins/gels, and whatever else I decide to put into my hair. Because my hair is still short, I have not founds the right product that has made me say "WOW, I DEFINITELY HAVE TO USE THIS AGAIN", nor have I found something to make my curls "pop" as I hear other youtuber's say. I know that this is terrible, my PJism that is, and must be corrected!

Since I gave four challenges, let me talk about the good things I like with my hair:
1. Low Maintenance- I love the fact that some water, a little oil, maybe a leave in, and my pick is all I have to do to style my hair in the morning. It takes me about 5 minutes to do my hair, which means more time to sleep!!!

2. Shower/Wash Day- I love not having to  run away from the water while I am in the shower. I have temporarily retired my shower cap and have no problem letting the water run over my hair. It is a great feeling. Washing my hair is a breeze as well!

3. My Coils/Naps- I no longer feel that the term "nappy" is negative. My hair has curl definition in some places and not others but I cannot seems to get my hands out of my hair. This gives me an opportunity to feel my texture, do scalp massages, and practice two strand twists!!!( As I am doing this blog, I just rubbed the tips of my fingers (not my nails) on my scalp and it felt so good!!!- now my hands are greasy).

4. Simplicity- My nighttime routine is just as smooth as my morning routine. At night, I'll either apply some JBCO and a shower cap for a GHE overnight, or I'll apply some leave in conditioner and don my bonet for bed.

5. Growth- Its a good feeling to see that my hair is growing. This gives me hope that I will not be in the TWA stage forever!

All in all, I am happy that I made the decision to go natural and cannot wait to see what is in stall for my hair over the next few months!!! My goal is to be able to do an afro puff by the time I am six months post BC!

Micro Braids and Sew In- 6 wk update

So it has been 6 weeks since my micro braids and sew in was installed with the Janet Indi Remy wet and wavy hair and it is about that time to take down the style. The box braids in the front of my head held up well, however, my hair has grown about an inch so my hair looks old when I pull it back to style it. The box braids at the back of my head are a different story. They do not look well at all and I think it is because of all the rubbing on my shirt it has done. The braids look old and fuzzy.

The Sew In: It is clear to me that my hair has grown as I can lift my braids from my scalp. I would love to keep this hair in for another two weeks, but it will interfere with my up coming busy weekend schedules for the month of June. The weave however is a tangled mess and I have to blame myself. Initially that hair was so soft and silky that it would not stay in a ponytail. I continued to roll my hair nightly with flexi rods and one night I wrapped my hair. At night, I would use my tangle teezer or denman brush to detangle my hair before using the flexi rods.

My scalp continued to irritate me as it does when I wear a weave so I used an applicator bottle with Sweet Almond Oil and Peppermint Oil to get in between my tracks. I was careful not to have the oil land on the weave, but I noticed a few days later that the weave was oily as if the oils from my scalp were running down the length of the weave which caused the hair to tangle and knot- in my opinion.

I used Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner about a week ago to wash out the oil. I let the hair air dry about 90% and then I blow dried the hair on a low setting. It did not help the situation. My hair would look nice when I left the house for work, but my the end of the day I had a birds nest. I even tried to use steam rollers which came out nice but once again, the end of the night was a nightmare.

The hair shed so much that there was always clumps of hair in the bathroom after detangling. I would love to try this style again, but I will use a more reliable brand of hair.

So for my last week with this style, I will be bunning it up!

My next style may be a 3/4th wig until I relax on or around June 2nd.

Stop Touching My Hair

OKAY. So I know this blog is about my hair journey, but I really needed to vent and express my thoughts on something hair related: PEOPLE TOUCHING MY HAIR. I know a person who always feels entitled to run her fingers through my hair and every time she does it I tell her that I do not like it and she continues on doing it. If you want to know how long my hair is, ask me; if you want to know if this is a weave, ask me; and if you want to touch my hair, ASK ME! That is all I ask. Maybe I'll just ask her why she likes touching my hair- is it the texture? the length? what?

I just feel that my  hair is going to begin falling out if I just allow any and everyone to touch my hair.

How do you all feel about someone touching your hair?