braids and natural hair

C

coilygirl

New Member
Hi:

Are there any members with natural hair who wear braids..no extensions... on a regular basis.

I wear my very nappy hair..about 2 inches past my shoulders..in lots of small braids. (when braided and dry, my hair shrinks to shoulder level and above)

I rinse daily with Suave Humectress.
When my hair is still wet, I use an assortment of essential oils (rosemary chamomile lavendar) mixed with either jojoba, almond or olive oil)

Sometimes at night I apply melted shea butter to my ends.

for deep condition, I use ORS mayo, with a saran wrap covering.

I'm interested in other daily/weekly/monthly routines.

/images/graemlins/smile.gifThanks in advance and shalom.
coilygirl
 
u have a really good regiment goin there coilygirl but i have a couple of questions for u

what wud u say helped u the most to archieve shoulder length natural hair?


what wud u say hindered you from accumulatin growth?

r u takin any vitamins??

lastly what is a saran wrap?? is it like a silk/satin wrap or different?

ngaa /images/graemlins/drunk.gif
 
Love the pic under your name.
The past 2 weeks I've been doing a conditioner rinse every other night, a conditioner/shampoo/ACV rinse on the opposite nights. I use a leave in of my shea/oil pomade(about 1/4 teaspoon)melted down then mixed with a leave in of choice. Then I do one fat cornrow(newly acquired skill) ponytail from my crown down the back... secured with a silk black scrunchie.
 
@sweetcoca: thanks for liking my doll. I found her on a website for black doll collectors. I like your routine and may consider alternating my daily condition/rinses with ACV on a more regular basis.

Sometimes, I get a little product buildup from my daily condition rinses.
Thanks for the tip!

@ngga:

Thanks for your response
here are some answers:

Q.what wud u say helped u the most to archieve shoulder length natural hair?

A.No heat, the braids and the daily rinses were a major factor in the growthm I think.
Reading lots of information (books, nappturality and this site) also helped a lot.

And not handling my hair also helps sooo much. When I play with the ends a lot, I get tangles and knots which I have to clip.


2)what wud u say hindered you from accumulatin growth?

Playing with my hair is a hindrance. And I did some damage before I learned to gently comb by hair, which I now only do when its wet.

Q.r u takin any vitamins??
A. 1000-2000 mgs of c
800 IUs of E
multiple with iron

Q.lastly what is a saran wrap?? is it like a silk/satin wrap or different?

A.Saran wrap is just a brand of plastic wrap for food. I wrap my scalp like a mummy....I should just break down and buy a plastic cap.

HTH
Thanks
What is your routine or direct me to a thread that describes your routine?
with appreciation,
cg
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
coilygirl said:
Hi:

Are there any members with natural hair who wear braids..no extensions... on a regular basis.

I wear my very nappy hair..about 2 inches past my shoulders..in lots of small braids. (when braided and dry, my hair shrinks to shoulder level and above)

I rinse daily with Suave Humectress.
When my hair is still wet, I use an assortment of essential oils (rosemary chamomile lavendar) mixed with either jojoba, almond or olive oil)

Sometimes at night I apply melted shea butter to my ends.

for deep condition, I use ORS mayo, with a saran wrap covering.

I'm interested in other daily/weekly/monthly routines.

/images/graemlins/smile.gifThanks in advance and shalom.
coilygirl

[/ QUOTE ]


Hey Coily,

I love your doll too. So cute!

Do twists count? I wear mine in curly twists a lot to keep my hands out of my hair. I find that my hair really retains a lot of it's length when I wear twists (which are really braids with 2 strands and not 3).

I do everything "as needed", meaning I wash and deep condition based on my hair and how it feels. I use Vatika oil on my hair the night before, and then wash it with shikakai powder in the morning. For protien I use Nexxus, but I'm going to switch to GBP by Aubrey Organics when this bottle runs out. I try to put jojoba oil on my ends at night. I often use Olive Oil Creme or my hair too.

My scalp oil has many essential oils as well. I use that as need too.
 
Hi Bright Eyes...

Thanks for liking my doll. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

and yes, twists count.

I wore twists from May through Dec. My hair grew a lot while during that period.

I just wish I had a way to make them a little more long-lasting. I like to rinse daily or at least a couple of times a week and my twists can't take that much rinsing. They have to be redone, or get tangled or undone.
but I love twists...

Thanks for responding.
 
You know, I can't rinse my twists at all. I try and keep them away from anything heavier than a sprinkle. My roots are very soft and tend to get matted and frizzy after about a week of being left alone. Water aggravates that even more. It's irritating because my twist will look great, but the roots will be a hot mess. Even when I get my hair professionally twisted this is an issue for me. /images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
I hear you. That's why after six months in twists, I went back to the braids in late Dec.

The twists are so cute, but it takes hours and hours to twist my hair and then it falls apart or unravels and tangles after rinsing.

So for the sake of time, I went back to the braids, which will stay neat, untangled for days and weeks--even with daily rinses.
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
coilygirl said:
Hi:

Are there any members with natural hair who wear braids..no extensions... on a regular basis.

I wear my very nappy hair..about 2 inches past my shoulders..in lots of small braids. (when braided and dry, my hair shrinks to shoulder level and above)

I rinse daily with Suave Humectress.
When my hair is still wet, I use an assortment of essential oils (rosemary chamomile lavendar) mixed with either jojoba, almond or olive oil)

Sometimes at night I apply melted shea butter to my ends.

for deep condition, I use ORS mayo, with a saran wrap covering.

I'm interested in other daily/weekly/monthly routines.

/images/graemlins/smile.gifThanks in advance and shalom.
coilygirl

[/ QUOTE ]

I like your routine also! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Currently I keep my natural hair cornrowed and have been doing so for.....ever (I'm about to get braid extensions though it's been about 3 years since I've had them)

So for me cornrows seem to work the best, I still rinse daily, and wash with conditioner. I get them redone every two weeks. I moisturize daily with Worlds of Curls spray or Tub Gel (depending on if I want to drip dry or not, LOL!).

I deep condition by doing a hot oil treatment first then use a protein condioner after washing my hair about once per week. (so one week the rows are still in, the next my hair is unbraided) I haven't had any left over conditioner or anything in my hair but I'm crazy about making sure to rinse, rinse, rinse.

Then I use Infusium23 + curl activator. I have recently *re-discovered that my hair REALLY loves protein. My hair is pretty pourous so protein really helps my hair a great deal.

HTH
 
Tara:

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply.

I like your routine and I want to learn more about protein conditioners and treatments.

Please tell me what products you use and how they work /images/graemlins/smile.gif

And I so wish I knew how to cornrow.

I can do individual box brades fairly well, but my fingers are not so nimble with cornrows. Maybe I can watch a video or get a braider to show me how. /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Hi BrightEyes...

When I was natural, I used to do the twists, which do give some lenghth. It was an all day routine in which I'd plait the wet hair in big plaits then wait for it to air dry. At night I'd comb it out then in sections, grease the scalp, then I'd do the small.. and I mean small .. twists. I did it that way because I found twisting it to style while wet would defintely leave me w/ shrinkage. Plus, my twists were long enough to do French-roll style pinups w/ bobby pins, which really were cute! I wish I had pics for you to see what I mean. But as I'm transitioning anyway, I'll have them taken for sure.

The only thing I'd do different this time around is use oils sted of grease. Back then, I thought just grease would do!
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
coilygirl said:
Tara:

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply.

I like your routine and I want to learn more about protein conditioners and treatments.

Please tell me what products you use and how they work /images/graemlins/smile.gif

And I so wish I knew how to cornrow.

I can do individual box brades fairly well, but my fingers are not so nimble with cornrows. Maybe I can watch a video or get a braider to show me how. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Coilygirl!!

I know you heard this before but I LOVE your avatar, that is SO cute!! Do you collect? I took a porcelin doll making class which was fun. When I have time (and funds) I want to get back into it again.

As for hair. Well, I like Bone Marrow deep conditioner, and Lange. Actually I'd have to say Lange is my FIRST favorite because it's great and if you have any breakage it stops it. It's a creamy conditioner so it doesn't leave your hair feeling dry or hard.

If you can't find it, I'll get my bottle and post the contact information for you and maybe you can see which stores in your areas have it. I found mine at a Beauty Supply Chain called Pure Beauty in California.

As for wishing you could cornrow....that makes TWO of us!! LOL! I have to go to my hairdresser because I am all thumbs when it comes to cornrowing. I feel so irritated by this because I'm sure it's easy enough to learn and to pay someone for something I should do myself seems...... Ionknow!! LOL!

For Moisturizing conditioners, I like Biolage and KeraKare Humecto.

When I do my hot oil treatments, I LOVE Castor oil warmed and left on overnight (in a plastic cap of course). Sometimes for a treat I'll add a little bit of peppermint oil for a nice tingle.

Hope that helped, I'll add more to this later when I can get to my products /images/graemlins/laugh.gif but those are my staples as far as hot oil treatments and conditioners go.

Also, I use curl activator. I used to use Sta-Sof-Fro but my skin would react badly to it. So I switched to Worlds of Curls and so far so great! I've been using Worlds of Curls now since August of '02. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
coilygirl said:
@ngga:

What is your routine or direct me to a thread that describes your routine?
with appreciation,
cg


[/ QUOTE ]

mmm, i dont really have a routin now coz i have micros now and all i'm doin is rinsin every 2 weeks and applyin my braid spray alternating that wit the 1/3 activator, 1/3 infusium 23 and 1/3 water everyday. for the first time ever i do not apply anything to my scalp and to my amazement wen i have to redo a braid there is absolutly no build up coz i've cut down on the scalp grease. my vitamin regiment is posted in my signature hth
 
Coilygirl:

My routine and yours are very similar. I'm glad to hear results are around the corner! /images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Hi Tara:

Thanks for liking my doll avatar. And no, I do not collect, but I think I will have to buy that doll.


Thanks for your product suggestions and I will check out the items you mentioned.

Take care.
 
Hi Coilygirl,

Did you say that you can keep your braids looking good for a few weeks? I'm gonna try your regim and see how that works for me. Usually after I wash my braids (no extensions)they are so hard to take down because they are all tangled. But I'm gonna try again. Too bad that there aren't many people on the board that wear braids without extensions.
 
Hi Solange:

Thanks for your reply. My braids stay the neatest when I make them small (about the size of a #2 pencil..the standard yellow pencil)... Braids of that size stay the neatest for me.

Let me know how your braids last /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Best wishes,
coilygirl
 
How long does it take for you to do your braids? Do you do them when your hair is damp? I find it takes me approx 4 hours to do twists on damp hair. With twists daily rinsing is impossible, too much shrinkage and hair unraveling.
 
@sbg4evr:

Hi!

Once a month, I have a very long braiding process. It takes time, but then for the rest of the month, my hair care routine is very low-maintenance. (I wet/wash my hair daily)

Before braiding, I partially air dry my hair in about 8 ponytails. Each pony tail has 4 to 5 stocking scrunchies (from Walgreens or CVS.) Spaced out like this, only vertically:
() () () ()

This ponytail process, stretches out my hair and makes the braiding process go much faster.

I turn each ponytail into two to three fat braids (total of about 20) This fat braiding process takes about an hour, maybe longer.

Then as I have time, I convert each fat braid into three smallers ones. I do this slowly over the course of the week. Altogether, this conversion takes two to three hours, but I just do snippets at a time and my hair looks presentable as I convert the large braids into smaller braids.

I would love to wear twists 24/7, but that style does not hold up to my daily condition rinses and hectic lifestyle.

Thanks for asking.
 
Wow, thanks for the info. I am contemplated doing braids instead of twists. I would prefer cornrows in a hair pony tail but I can not part straight less alone cornrow my hair in thin rows. I am going to tried your method and let you know how it goes.
 
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