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

Crochet Kinky Twists

I did it again! My mother's crochet kinky twists!

Wash Day: Kinky Curly Products

In this video, I experimented with the Kinky Curly Products- I used the Come Clean Shampoo, the Knot Today Detangler, followed by the Curling Custard- EPIC FAIL- my hair hated the curling custard to the point where I had to wash it out....here is the video anyway

Box Braids- Self Installed

I wanted to box braid my hair to give my afro a break from daily styling. I decided that I would try to braid my own hair with extensions. I braid my mother and sister's hair all of the time and I have even braided my cousins hair, but never my own.

I was off from work for two weeks, so I decided this would be the best time for me to try my hand at braiding my hair. I started my hair on Sunday, December 30th and finished Sunday, January 6th- no lie! It took me a whole week to braid my hair- SMH.... But I love the outcome. Could it have been better, of course. Will I continue to practice to braid my own hair- no doubt!!!

Challenges: Parting the back of my hair- I needed to standing mirrors as opposed to hand held ones. I had to use my family members to hold the hand mirror while I stood in front of the bathroom mirror parting my hair.

Although it took me a week to braid my hair, I was involved in other things and even did Crochet Kinky Twists on my mother's hair (check separate post for video).

These braids are staying in forever!!!

Huetiful Hair Steamer

As an early Christmas present, I received the Huetiful Hair Steamer from my boyfriend!!! YAY!!!!.
I recorded two videos, one of the installation and one of me actually using the steamer.

I have used it a total of three or four times (my sister used it once) and I love it.

Pro: After using the steamer, my hair felt so soft to the touch, I was amazed. I have used the steamer before washing my hair and as a deep conditioning treatment and my hair felt amazing after both uses. The product actually had my hair moisturized-well certain parts.

Cons: I used the steamer on the counter in the my bathroom. Because the steamer is not adjustable, when I sit under it, the nape and sides of my head do not benefit from the steam as much as the top of my head does. I have to find another place to steam my hair so that my whole head fits under the hood of the steamer.