~*~*The Newly Natural Thread*~*~

[Grand Prix]

I'm loving all the pics! It's so nice to see all of our progress. Remember when we used to get all excited in the transitioners thread about making 4 months post relaxer?

I've been trying to take better care of my hair again, but somehow bunning was giving me even more ssk's. Tomorrow I'm going to try to make a bantu knot out work. Whether it's a bun or ponytail or just out, I realise I really need to keep my hair stretched and also take the time to moisturise and detangle my hair in sections and do so more often.

 

[Zaz]

Hey ladies
I had a wedding to go to recently so I came back on the boards looking for style ideas, which of course led to me buying a tangle teezer and about three different new conditioners/moisturisers

Anyhow, I liked how my dry twist n curl came out so I thought I'd share, I used GVP Matrix sleek look extreme styling creme on blowdried hair. If you want a tutorial I used this video and did her double decker thing because I'm pretty bad at flat twisting and when I try to go all the way down in the back of my head it didn't look too cute but instead of a bantu knot I put a tiny roller at the bottom.

 

[Zaz]

Since I have so many photos, I might as well share all my practice styles I tried before settling on this one. The week before the wedding I was testing out the flat twist&curl and ran out of my GVP so I did one side with just shea butter and the other with the GVP, when I took it down the next day it looked like this

and by the end of the day looked like this

So this definitely doesn't work for me without some type of holding creme. I haven't tried it with a gel yet, I might do that sometime soon but I tend to think gel goes with wet hair and creamy with dry.

 

[Zaz]

And here's a tiwstout I had tried on wet hair, I like it but it doesn't have quite as much volume as the dry twistout.

I used Miss Jessie's curly meringue on the left, curly pudding on the right and IC fantasia in the back (I hate twisting my hair so I need to make the most of my tryout days ). In the end it all looked pretty much the same but I think the curly pudding gave just a tad bit more definition but for that price point I'll probably never purchase the full size jar.

 

[Zaz]

And now a 'naked hair' fresh out of the shower pic and how I wear my hair on a daily basis since I BCed because I was too lazy to try different styles I usually use a leave in, then a gel or mousse. I think this photo was with HH tousle me softly mousse.
But now that it's a bit longer and I seem to have mastered twistouts, I'm having fun experimenting with different products and techniques, I think I'll try a bantu knot out next

Hope you enjoy the photos

 

[andromeda]

^^^Very pretty! Your hair has such a nice shape to it!

 

[LoveCraze]

Since I have so many photos, I might as well share all my practice styles I tried before settling on this one. The week before the wedding I was testing out the flat twist&curl and ran out of my GVP so I did one side with just shea butter and the other with the GVP, when I took it down the next day it looked like this



and by the end of the day looked like this

So this definitely doesn't work for me without some type of holding creme. I haven't tried it with a gel yet, I might do that sometime soon but I tend to think gel goes with wet hair and creamy with dry.

WOW look at the difference. That GVP must be some good stuff. You get it from Sally's right? Thanks for updating with pics. It does indeed look as though you have your twistouts mastered and your hair looks great!

 

[pookaloo83]

Since everyone's sharing, I guess I'll share too!

I've been wearing braidouts lately, but the weather is in the 70's here and it gets poofy by noon. Here's how I wore it yesterday.

And the day before that I wore a braidout puff. It's kind of shrunken here.

Here is how my hair looks when it's been in a braid out pulled apart.

3 more months and it will be 1 yr I've been natural!

 

[Zaz]

WOW look at the difference. That GVP must be some good stuff. You get it from Sally's right? Thanks for updating with pics. It does indeed look as though you have your twistouts mastered and your hair looks great!

Thanks, and yes I do get it from Sally's it's the generic version of Matrix Sleek look. Another thing I found helped a lot is to use a bit more product than I'm used to, when i was relaxed, or even for my wash & gos I use very little product because I don't like to have sticky hair. But if I want some definition and hold I need to use a bit more than I'm used to, and my hair still comes out soft and touchable, I love it

 

[Zaz]

And another word of advice to anyone who's thinking of using henna, it really does permanently coat your hair and won't allow a new colour to penetrate even months after you stop using it. So if you think you might ever want to dye your hair at some point, you might wanna reconsider using henna.

I tried dying my hair red out of boredom and only the first couple of inches of new growth changed

 

[Fab_Nikki]

Oyin Hair Dew.

And another word of advice to anyone who's thinking of using henna, it really does permanently coat your hair and won't allow a new colour to penetrate even months after you stop using it. So if you think you might ever want to dye your hair at some point, you might wanna reconsider using henna.

I tried dying my hair red out of boredom and only the first couple of inches of new growth changed

Thanks for the henna tip. I've been holding on to some henna for a few months now and this is the EXACT reason I didn't use it. I heard that once you henna you can't go back to regular color. Plus I don't want red hair Your hair looks beautiful!

 

[Skiggle]

And another word of advice to anyone who's thinking of using henna, it really does permanently coat your hair and won't allow a new colour to penetrate even months after you stop using it. So if you think you might ever want to dye your hair at some point, you might wanna reconsider using henna.

I tried dying my hair red out of boredom and only the first couple of inches of new growth changed

Try using Indigo to darken your hair.

 

[Platinum]

Congratulations to the recent BC'ers!

I'm thinking about removing my braids this weekend. I usually try to wear braids 8-12 weeks at a time but I don't like the hair that my friend. She used "Yaki Pony" hair (Toyokalon). I like the length (hip-length with a few tailbone braids) but the ends tangle like mad. She only braided it down to the ends of my natural hair. I don't like my braids like "jacked-up" or ratty so I'll take them down, detangle, and DC. I'll probably do a protein treatment then have a new set installed next weekend.

Here's a pic that I took after I got my hair braided last month. It's not a clear picture but I hope you can get the idea of the length of the braids. I can't to see my 4b hair at this length in a few years.

 

[Zaz]

Try using Indigo to darken your hair.

Thanks, when I used to henna I used a henna/indigo mix but then I stopped because it takes so much time. I just wanted to try something different, and I know that urge'll come again so I'm laying off the henna/indigo.

For now it looks a little weird but I didn't wanna do back to back dye jobs so I'm waiting a week or two before using a commercial dye to go dark brown again.

 

[NaturalLibra]

Hey ladies, Just wanted to say this weekend makes me 1 year post relaxer! I'm in a weave right now so I have no current pics but maybe I can post some from december when I get home. I'm more of a lurker still but I hope to start posting more, hopefully in the summer I'll feel comfortable to wear my hair out more.

anyways thanks for all the great hair and tips in this thread sofar!

opps, kinda forgot about this post but I did end up posting some pics and kinda my natural hair story sofar. From Before to 4B: My Natural Hair Journey

anyways I took out my weave and I felt like I had alot more hair lost than I expected even when I wear my crochet braids for 3-4 weeks I don' have alot of shedding as compared to 5 weeks in the weave. I dunno if it was more breakage but I'm feeling kinda down about it. I kinda just leave my hair alone for a while and hopefully I'll see more progress soon. I probably will stick to crochet and wigs from now on

 

[Trini_Chutney]

All the pics and styles are gorgeous! I haven't been doing too much of anything new lately. I did do a semi blow out ( how do you ladies get it so straight?). Maybe I need a comb attachment because all this hair made me tired and I couldn't get it straight like I wanted.

 

[Alta Angel]

^^Trini your hair is so massive! I have no tips for heat straightening...I know I don't have the endurance or the strength to do it myself, so I go to the salon!

 

[Trini_Chutney]

^^Trini your hair is so massive! I have no tips for heat straightening...I know I don't have the endurance or the strength to do it myself, so I go to the salon!

Thanks! I think I'll just get the comb attachment, or maybe try a roller set. I want to flat iron in Feb. but I was struggling with the brush.

 

[Anew]

I had to make this post, happy to report that I solved my dry ends problems. After taking advice from you ladies and BHM I've been moisturizing my hair and sealing the ends, I also baggied the ends for a month straight. I had my hair in about 10 cornrows and I've been wearing my Tammy half wig with my head band every week day since December 18th I believe.

Anyway, this first pic is from July 2010

This pic is from today. I straightened this little piece of hair to see what my ends would look like and they felt great. I thought I'd have to cut my hair, this was the test.

My ends a month ago

 

[Evallusion]

^^awesome!

 

[MA2010]

Alta Angel your siggy hair style is so beautiful. How did you do it?

 

[Anew]

One more set of progress pics

This pic is from July 2010

and this one from today

this is how i usually wear my hair under wigs.

Before, I had to make more plaits b/c my hair was shorter. Since its grown some, I can make bigger, fewer braids. Still a lot, but less than before. I'm too lazy lol

ETA that white stuff is coconut oil. Just got done washing, moisturizing and sealing with oil

 

[Anew]

you can't see the bigger plaits from that pic, once I got to the right side and the back I said forget it and made those things big lol

 

[Alta Angel]

Alta Angel your siggy hair style is so beautiful. How did you do it?

Thank you so much!

This bun is a super simple protective style that lasts forever. Here are the items you will need to get started:

1. Goodly ouchless headband or nylon stocking
2. Two "closed" bobby pins
3. Several "open" hair pins
4. Aloe vera gel or ecostyler gel

After moisturizing my hair with Kimmaytube Leave in, I apply aloe vera gel to my front and back hairline. I then take a nylon stocking or Goody ouchless headband, double it around my neck, and smooth my hair back into a puff. (I never smooth it back tightly, because I use a scarf nightly which helps it lay flat.) I use the two "closed" bobby pins to anchor the elastic band to my head. I put them on both sides of the puff, (near each ear if you need a visual).

Next, I go to the center of the puff and finger part off about a 1-1.5 square inch section of hair and I braid it up (you will work with that part last). Then I just take med-large sections of hair and roll with my fingers and secure with an "open" hair pin. I go all around the puff and usually have about 7-9 pin curls around the circumference of the puff. Also, I roll forward in the front and downward in the back so that the elastic band is covered.

Lastly, I unbraid the section in the middle and roll that into the final pincurl. This style is essentially a bootleg Cinnabun. You can get the basic gist of rolling the hair if you look at Motorcitymoxie(?) Cinnabun video on Youtube.

At night, I wrap a satin scarf around the front and back (leaving the bun exposed). Then I put a satin bonnet over the bun.

 

[DrC]

I tried the baggy method thing for the first time last week and it works pretty good.


ETA: Is vaseline supposed to be used for the baggy method?? I used something els.

 

[Anew]

DrC I love the fro comparison pics

Most creative yet

 

[DrC]

DrC I love the fro comparison pics

Most creative yet

Well thank you

 

[Anew]

I have used vaseline, EVOO and coconut oil

Currently I'm using coconut oil, all have worked fine for me

 

[Platinum]

I tried the baggy method thing for the first time last week and it works pretty good.


ETA: Is vaseline supposed to be used for the baggy method?? I used something els.

I've never used Vaseline for baggying. I may try this instead of JBCO.

 

[nestlequik]

Just need to vent so please bear with me...but I imagine I'll find someone who knows my pain.

So I tried out my new hair steamer today, HOORAY! So I decided to make it a hair spa day so I made ayurvedic tea of of some leftover powders from my ayurvedic days and pulled out my DC and started the process. I shampooed, used the tea, detangled with a cheapie conditioner, then DC under the steamer. After I was done, I sat down to moisturize and seal.

Well, while I was sectioning and adding my moisturizer I notice a few SSKs. No biggie, I've had these for a while and I know it comes with the territory of a lot of 4a's. But when I get to the middle of my head it was like all my strands had knots at the ends. I grabbed a pair of shears and go to work cutting them but of course a few normal strands get in the way. No big deal, I cut like a centimeter or less off but goodness, the amount of SSKs was ridiculous! I was sooooo frustrated. Actually, I still am.

I bought the steamer b/c I knew I had dry hair issues and hopefully as I continue with steamer I'll have less issues but it's frustrating especially when I would rather not use a blow dryer to stretch it out in order to avoid the knots. Even though i fee like blow drying it would invite new problems, I know stretching it would reduce the SSKs. But then I may lose my texture.

Anyway, thank you for letting me vent.