One Year Natural...Lessons learned (very long thread)

[Smiley79]

Woohoo, October 17th was my one year anniversary ya’ll. This is my second time going natural. But this time, when I felt like throwing in the towel again, I opted for box braids instead to give me some time to simmer down and not make any rash decisions. So here’s the run down of my journey:

I did the Big Chop (again) on 10/17/12. Prior to that, I had been natural for a year and a half, then I got very frustrated and relaxed my hair in June 2012. I only lasted 4 months before going back to natural. During those few months of being relaxed again, my scalp went back to being sore and dry and there were patches on my scalp. Me and relaxers just aren’t seeing eye to eye now. So that’s when I decided to BC October 2012 and give this natural thing ONE more shot, lol.

During the beginning phase, to have fun with my short hair this time, I opted for a color. I loved it!!!

After a few months and having grown enough hair to use as a leave out…I started doing some protective styling. Yes, I was bored already so I ventured into weaves. SMH. (looking back now, I regret that decision, or atleast doing it so much) I was doing good okay with them but then I had a major setback. A friend of mine did a cap weave for me that I needed done real quick for a special occasion, and she put the glue on my edges! We were so busy chatting and laughing that I never paid attention to where she applies the glue. Plus she has a great head of hair so I never doubted that she would apply the glue wrong. Low and behold, when I took the cap off, I practically looked like I had a Mohawk. Although I have no pics, you can see that month or so later when I did a weave at a salon, you can see how scarce my edges are. That gives you an idea of how it was a month prior.

After that final weave, I let my hair rest and breath for a good while and then I opted for box braids and this time I told my braid girl to be extra careful with the edges! I baby sat my edges with JBCO and Peppermint Oil and gave them lots of TLC.

The Finale-One Year Natural
So fast forward to the present. I just took the braids out about a week and a half ago and this is where I am now. Although I do see growth, I am not pleased with the overall feel and look of my hair. It’s just a bush of lifeless hair. It has little shine, it’s dry, frizzy and has no definition. I was in for a rude awakening. I need to take better care of my hair and take it more seriously.

Overall my lessons learned and my hair goals are as follows:

*Less weave protective styling- Bottom line, I need to get more hands on with my hair. I can’t keep hiding it under protective styles and think its gonna flourish this healthy head of hair. Looking at and feeling my hair, it really needs TLC that only a daily hand- on routine can provide. Also, the worst part is that my small leave out section has some strands that are pin straight. It looks like I relaxed some of my leave out. Not cute! So instead of weaves, I will opt for box braids and occasional half wigs but only AFTER I give my hair some much needed attention and see it gain some strength. For now, I would really like to learn how to do twists but when I try them, I feel like I still need a wig to cover them up because it doesn’t look appropriate for anywhere but home. That’s one area that really bothers me.

* More researching and more trial and error:I am determined to find a regimen that works for me. Sad to say I still have not found a tried and true method of how to retain moisture. And then my head spins when I read so many different suggestions. Use a comb, don’t use a comb. Shampoo for a clean scalp, don’t use shampoo at all. Do protective styles to retain growth, don’t do too many protective styles.And so on and so forth, lol.

*Take a break from following natural hair You Tube channels and natural hair blogs: Other than to learn styling techniques or to get info on a hair issue that I need help with…I am gonna lay off of looking at so many beautiful naturals EVERYDAY, LOL. As juvenile as it sounds, it does get me discouraged sometimes, because I turn and look at my hair think WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT, rather than embrace the phase that I’m in and just deal with it. Lol.

*I want to learn and give Henna a try (I’m most excited about this; I found a simple Coconut milk and Henna recipe)

*I want to give ACV rinses a try

*I want to cowash more often and see if this helps with giving my thirsty hair more moisture.

Well that's my year in review and what I have learned. Happy healthy hair journey. On to Year 2!

 

[niknakmac]

Your hair looks great!

 

[Smiley79]

Awww, thank you!

 

[DarkJoy]

Your hair looks nice and fluffy and soft!! It HAS made quite a growth leap from your 2nd bc. Be pleased with that.

As for simple henna recipes, here's mine:

1. Henna
2. Distilled Water
3. Mix

 

[Smiley79]

Thanks, yea, I admit, I am very happy with the growth. But its useless when you cant do anything with the hair. lol. I really hope the henna can provide my hair with some much needed strength. As for moisture, I dunno. I just switched to a silicone free regimen, but i just read yesterday that I was supposed to have done a final wash with a silicone shampoo first instead of just jumping into the cone-free regimen. After getting rid of all my cone products, I now need a cone shampoo, lol. I really hope something works. I love the way hair had pretty little curls in the pic above with the pink blazer. I thought it would just stay that way and grow that way.

 

[Sholapie]

I loved all the styles on you, your hair looks nice and thick I loved henna as a natural, maybe try a butter on damp-nearly dry hair. My hair retains the most moisture when I don't let it air dry completely loose

 

[Funmiloves]

Great growth!

 

[HoneyBadger]

Ahh the first year blues. You will figure it out. Don't braid or weave for a while until you get the hang of caring for your hair.

 

[Blessed&higlyflavoured]

your hair is lovely and thick.
and your fade was just \(^o^)/

with regards to twists
the first time i did them they were piecey and scalpy. so i did them looser for volume, the second time round. they looked great. but i couldn't wash them once without them tangling or unravelling at the roots. so i eventually evolved to doing plaits for a half inch then loose twists on the ends. volume and lasting power

Hope that's of some use. but from the looks of your retention and thickness your doing all the right stuff. got me lusting

 

[Smiley79]

You all are great. Thank you for the encouragement and the tips.
I forgot to mention thatI have lots of shrinkage so banding has been my bff. That last photo was taken after stretching the hair over night. Do any of you naturals do that on a regular? And my other area of concern are my ends. They are brittle and bushy.

 

[Stormy]

Love those box braids! And you look totally different (younger) with the weave and the box braids. Your hair now looks nice and soft. I can see where your edges grew back too. So, you're definitely gaining some progress. Don't worry, once you find a consistent regimen that works for you, it will thrive even more. You'll be doing all kinds of styles.

 

[Stormy]

And yes, I used to band on the regular until my hair grew out. I mostly do roller sets now for stretching. They work for short hair too.

 

[DarkJoy]

Thanks, yea, I admit, I am very happy with the growth. But its useless when you cant do anything with the hair. lol. I really hope the henna can provide my hair with some much needed strength. As for moisture, I dunno. I just switched to a silicone free regimen, but i just read yesterday that I was supposed to have done a final wash with a silicone shampoo first instead of just jumping into the cone-free regimen. After getting rid of all my cone products, I now need a cone shampoo, lol. I really hope something works. I love the way hair had pretty little curls in the pic above with the pink blazer. I thought it would just stay that way and grow that way.

You hair is similar to mine, but generally, mine is nappier I know folks hate that word here. Please forgive

Sure you need to clarify out your cone products. Dont forget to chelate too! You may have hard water. Once I figured out how hard the water is here, it's made my HHJ a lot easier. Lots of breakage and crazy shed has stopped. I use Aubrey Organics Swimmers Shampoo to chelate and clarify in one step. And it's (mostly) natural. ALso got a simple filter for my shower and ONLY wash my hair there ($20 at home depot).

My shrinkage is mad too and I band like you or do flat twist outs. It looks like a 2" afro fully shrunk. The nape, however is pretty much CBL when stretched

You will get there, where haircare is comfortable and no big whoop. Took me well over a year... you're doing great! Be strong! Good luck

 

[Smiley79]

Love those box braids! And you look totally different (younger) with the weave and the box braids. Your hair now looks nice and soft. I can see where your edges grew back too. So, you're definitely gaining some progress. Don't worry, once you find a consistent regimen that works for you, it will thrive even more. You'll be doing all kinds of styles.

Lol, I get that a lot. Friends and fam told me that natural hair makes me look older...whereas weaves or relaxed hair makes me look younger and in their opinion better.

 

[Smiley79]

You hair is similar to mine, but generally, mine is nappier I know folks hate that word here. Please forgive

Sure you need to clarify out your cone products. Dont forget to chelate too! You may have hard water. Once I figured out how hard the water is here, it's made my HHJ a lot easier. Lots of breakage and crazy shed has stopped. I use Aubrey Organics Swimmers Shampoo to chelate and clarify in one step. And it's (mostly) natural. ALso got a simple filter for my shower and ONLY wash my hair there ($20 at home depot).

My shrinkage is mad too and I band like you or do flat twist outs. It looks like a 2" afro fully shrunk. The nape, however is pretty much CBL when stretched

You will get there, where haircare is comfortable and no big whoop. Took me well over a year... you're doing great! Be strong! Good luck

Great tips! Thx. Are there any inexpensive but good clarifying poos....since I will only use it Ithis once?

update: sorry, I thought the poo wa $20, nevermind. Lol. I'll chk out whole foods for that because I need some white chamelia anyways.

 

[chrisanddonniesmommy]

Looks good! Congrats. I'll be there with you in two months.

Henna mix (Henna, 2 green tea bags, water, and mix)

 

[Smiley79]

Thank you. I will post updates of my Henna experience to see if it gives my hair some good results! Can't wait!!! Maybe I will rotate the Coconut and the tea mix to see which one I like better.

 

[virtuenow]

Very good report Smiley, more people should do an assessment like this periodically. You sound well versed on the steps you need to take to get your hair completely on track. I, likewise, had to step away from extensions long enough to learn my hair-- and it was the best decision . I burned my leave out straight and had to chop it all, that ws the remedy. The blessing (in disguise) is I always wanted layers & now I have them . Also, trial and error is very important. Once I began to explore, I developed a routine that is not a like anyone elses that I tried to mimic; my hair loves it!

 

[Smiley79]

virtuenow, wow, you me and DarkJoy seem like triplets with our experiences, lol. Believe me, I love me some weaves, but I gotta step away from them for a few. Ordinarily, I'm not one to keep track of my hair progress, but I now see that it was a good idea to do so. By monitoring my progress, I was able to see what worked, what didn't and what areas need tweaking. I too will need to snip away at the heat damaged leave out because there's really nothing worth salvaging there.

 

[DarkJoy]

Great tips! Thx. Are there any inexpensive but good clarifying poos....since I will only use it Ithis once?

update: sorry, I thought the poo wa $20, nevermind. Lol. I'll chk out whole foods for that because I need some white chamelia anyways.

Ohhhh no prolly not just once. Lol butters, oils, condish either rinse out or leave ins, plus tap water chlorine and minerals from your pipes always leave a buildup on hair eventually even cone free products.

I got shampoo use down to approx 1 -2x a month using the diluted swimmers shampoo. Makes a big diff on manageability.

____________
*.~.*Sent from a distant Galaxy in the Unicorn-verse*.~.*

 

[Smiley79]

Ooookay, I understand now. And I do use a lot of oils and stuff on my hair.

 

[virtuenow]

@virtuenow, wow, you me and @DarkJoy seem like triplets with our experiences, lol. Believe me, I love me some weaves, but I gotta step away from them for a few. Ordinarily, I'm not one to keep track of my hair progress, but I now see that it was a good idea to do so. By monitoring my progress, I was able to see what worked, what didn't and what areas need tweaking. I too will need to snip away at the heat damaged leave out because there's really nothing worth salvaging there.

Yeah, only I cannot use chelating/clarifying shampoos. They strip my hair beyond repair. I shampoo (lo-poo) my scalp weekly with applicator bottle but never directly shampoo my hair. I learned that shampoo was drying my hair out and contributing to leaving it hard and broken. I don't do weaves at all anymore; I think so many women are hiding ("protective styling") under weaves and have no idea how to do their own hair!

 

[geejay]

Great progress! Your hair is stunning!

I'm glad you are planning to take some time to work with your natural hair. Definitely track your progress. It's the biggest help, because it's so easy to get discouraged and convince yourself your hair is not growing and thriving.

 

[Smiley79]

Yeah, only I cannot use chelating/clarifying shampoos. They strip my hair beyond repair. I shampoo (lo-poo) my scalp weekly with applicator bottle but never directly shampoo my hair. I learned that shampoo was drying my hair out and contributing to leaving it hard and broken. I don't do weaves at all anymore; I think so many women are hiding ("protective styling") under weaves and have no idea how to do their own hair!

Yup, that is me indeed. I took out the weaves and braids and then realized I didn't know the first think of how to manage or style my hair. It really caught up with me.

 

[cocomama]

NIce growth! One year down and many more to come...

 

[Smiley79]

I forgot to add to my goal list above that I really want a steamer!!!

 

[Inspiired]

Well done gurrrl!


I really wanna try a steamer too

[P]http://www.youtube.com/bootyfurl

 

[Smiley79]

Wow Inspiired your siggy is amazing. What a hair journey!
I will probably do a back flip when I get a steamer one day! I think it. will really help with my moisture issues.

 

[NaturallyATLPCH]

You all are great. Thank you for the encouragement and the tips.
I forgot to mention thatI have lots of shrinkage so banding has been my bff. That last photo was taken after stretching the hair over night. Do any of you naturals do that on a regular? And my other area of concern are my ends. They are brittle and bushy.

Smiley79, your hair looks great! Especially those box braids!

I am going on 3 years natural. My first year I wore braids most of the time. It wasn't until after my one year and during year two that I really started to experiment with my hair. Twist outs, flat twists, flat twist outs, etc.

Since I have major shrinkage (like most naturals lol), I had started banded my hair with Goody's Ouchless barettes. I would take sections and secure a barette on the beginning and towards the end of each section. This method helped me alot! And sleeping in them was comfortable and there was no breakage. I will continue to utilize that method to keep my hair stretched. I saw Naturally 4c Me on Youtube do it and I love it.

Yes...those ends. I learned the hard way about neglecting them. I had to get about one and half inches cut off because of dry brittle ends. Henna was part of the culprit. It just dried my hair out too bad, even though I moisturized, moisturized, moisturized, followed up with a DC, etc.

Now that I do not henna, my ends are a lot better, but I make sure I seal them with HEAVY BUTTERS AND CREAMS. Even if I don't apply them to the entire hair shaft. In doing this, I have noticed less single strand knots and tangles.

Hope this helps!

 

[Smiley79]

Thanks, I have a small tub of shea butter. I will try that on my ends to see if it makes a difference.