Regimen 2014

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Behold my extension-free glory!

I have further simplified my already pretty basic hair routine.

The Tools:

(Left to Right, Top to Bottom) Microfiber Towels, TRESemme Naturals Conditioner , Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque ,Curlformers

The Process:

Step 1: I divide my (dry) hair in eight sections, four on each side.

Section by Section

Step 2: Cleanse each section with apple cider vinegar and water.

I no longer use shampoo.  I mix equal parts Apple Cider Vinegar and water together in a spray bottle and use that on my scalp and roots instead.  My scalp has been much less itchy and dry since I switched to this combo.  This both cleanses and dampens my hair for the next step.

Step 3: Slather on conditioner, detangle, and twist.

I still use TRESemme Naturals Conditioner and I have it in a handy pump bottle for this step.  I finger detangle the follow up with a wide tooth comb.  If I had a lot of knots or afro seeds, I might follow up the comb with the Denman.  More often than not, I don't.  Once I have the section detangled, I put it in a big twist and move on to the next one.

Once all the sections are done

Step 4: Rinse in the shower. 

Most of the time I just give the twists a squeeze.  If my hair was really dirty or otherwise funky, I might undo each one and do a second conditioner rinse.  I usually don't though.

Step 5: Wrap my head in Microfiber Towels.

I use two towels like these designed for drying cars.  (Not the actual ones linked but these are a similar size, texture, and price.)

They soak up a lot of water.  I wrap my twists in the first towel and leave it for five minutes or so.  Once that towel is soaked, I go in with the second towel to blot my roots and squeeze more water out of my twists.  When I do this, my hair is mostly dry.

Section by Section

Step 6: Apply Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque as a leave in and apply seven or eight Curlformers to each section.

I got these Curlformers years ago and ignored them for a long time.  I use them now because I have discovered that with these, I can have dry hair in about three hours-which is a little like performing miracles.  They are also a really versatile styling tool for natural hair.  Naptural85 has a lot of really great videos on the subject.

I also like them because they stretch my hair without heat and pre-section it for twisting. 

Curlformers aren't cheap (in a less mature age this statement would have called for at least one f-word.) If you are interest in them, invest in the longest ones available.  I bought the long and wide and now my hair is so long that it is sticks out of the ends-you can see the fuzzy evidence below.  If I had bought the extra-long to begin with, I wouldn't have this problem.

Step 7: Release Curlformers and twist.

Generally I put each curl in one twist.  If it's a big curl or if it's feeling a little scalpy, I might split it into two twists.

I leave these twists in for a couple of weeks usually before untwisting.  (The twists themselves I usually wear in buns or ponytails.)  The resulting twist out usually looks pretty good for another week.  Hence, three weeks of stretched-out, styleable hair per wash.  

The Verdict:

I cut out quite a few steps to expedite the process.  I don't do a separate deep condition.  I don't henna or color as often.  I don't do a thorough detangling every wash.  I don't dry in twists.  I don't sleep on them and style in the morning.  

These changes have resulted in a process that allows me to finish my hair in one day instead of two (or more).  I have not noticed any ill effects from cutting out deep conditioning and extra-tender handling.  If anything, my hair seems to be thriving on lack of attention and constantly being fucked with.

Alright With Me: Tresseme Naturals Conditioner

If I had a list titled Things I Am Bad At By Arbitrary Internet Standards, having natural hair would be an item on that list.  It would probably be right underneath blogging.

I don't really obsess that much about my hair.  I mean sure, when it's been so long between detanglings that I have to cut chunks out I get a little anxious and berate myself.  Sure I watch youtube videos and check CurlyNikki religiously.  Sure I browse natural hair products at Target.  All of those things are passive though, and they very rarely translate into action.  I should have known this kind of laziness would happen as soon as my hair was long enough to snatch into a respectable ponytail.  Although to be all the way real, I had already downgraded my styling standards to intentionality.  (Basically I ask myself "Does my hair look like I meant it to look this way?"  If the answer is "Good enough" I consider myself good to go)

Despite my general lassitude in regard to my hair, I have made some recent intriguing discoveries.

Source

Tresseme Naturals is a pretty popular conditioner and with good reason.  I bought some as a splurge when I ran out of the even cheaper V05 stuff I have been using to detangle.  (I used to prefer Kinky Curly Knot Today but it's $11.00 and I use a lot to detangle-even diluting it with water in a spray bottle doesn't make it stretch sufficiently.  I could get a bottle of Blackberry Tea V05 conditioner for like .67 cents.  Of course, I used half a bottle at a time to detangle so volume wise, it wasn't that great either.)

I can work with this conditoner though.  It comes in a bigger bottle and it only took maybe 1/6 of it to do the job for my whole head.  I was actually able to wash and detangle my hair in the shower in about 45 minutes.  That's unheard of.  The point that sold me though is that I left some of this conditioner in and it actually had enough hold and weight for three decent hair days in a row.  Color me impressed.

I tried it as a leave in again with a little EcoStyler Gel on top and had an absolutely banging twist out -or about twenty minutes because it was raining cats and dogs.  Another list titled Things I No Longer Care About Now That My Hair is Natural would have rain and umbrellas on it.

Douglass is No More

Can I rejoice a little bit.

I don't know what it says about me but I have not been able to give up on my beloved side part and swoop bang throughout my natural hair journey.  This stubborn refusal to budge has led to some truly unfortunate hair moments.

Image is my own

However, I am pleased to announce that the Frederick Douglass is no more.  My hair on top is finally long enough to not stick straight up-even when un-stretched.

This is a chunky, for me, twist out.  The fewest amount of twists I can get away with on my head is sixteen.  That's my magic number.

Big Ass Top Knot Bun

That's all me baby-just my hair, a headband I used as a hair tie and the three bobby pins I managed to stick in my pocket this morning.

I finally took out the flat twists I put in almost two weeks ago.  Unfortunately, I was a little overzealous with the moisturizing last night so it was still too wet to leave down.  I did this bun in a moving car!  I am extra-proud of myself.

Good Advice That I Just Don't Take

Isn't it ironic?  Oh Alanis. . .

Anyway, I feel like it's been awhile since I blathered about my hair.  That's because I have been trying really hard to just completely ignore it.  I put in some kinky twists and did that for a month or so, then, I took them out and did my first set of somewhat mini-twists.  These were more like medium ones because I got micro braids ONE time and I swore, with God as my witness, that I would never do anything like that again.

I let that marinate for over four weeks.  (Don't do this)  I washed them with regular shampoo because I was jumping in and out of the pool.  I also, mostly, forgot to condition and moisturize regularly which is a big no no.

My recommendations if you are considering mini-twists:

• If you take excellent care of your hair-go for it.
• If you sometimes forget you have hair AND that hair has a tendency to loc and you don't actually want it to loc--don't.  Just don't.

If you want to go for it, do it this way. . .

I love Naptural85.  She has great hair, she makes great videos, and she gives instructions that even I can follow.  I know I can find advice or tutorials for pretty much anything I want to do on her YouTube Channel.   I just don't follow her advice until it's too late.  Maybe this is like my cookbook thing?

It's weird because I obsessively research everything, and I do mean everything, else I do in life.  I guess I'm just content to wing it when it comes to my hair.  As a consequence, I just spent most of yesterday combing, and cutting, a ton of my damn hair out of my head.

This takedown got real ugly, real fast.  Let me be a lesson to you-do the right thing.

If you put them in right, you can take them down easy. . .

Or if you want to wing it like I did . . . be prepared to harvest a tumbleweed's worth of hair.

Spring Hair Routine

The last time I talked about my hair was September of last year.  I promise that stuff has happened to me and to it since then.  The truth is that I went through a little period where I was bored with/tired of/ashamed of/conflicted about my hair.

Looking sex-ay on wash day with my towel and busted tank top

I was doing observations and tutoring in schools for the education program I am in and it became a little bit of a struggle between feeling a need to tame the beast to look professional and presentable and being all honey badger about it (as in . . . ).  Within the peculiar institution of The School, the Frederick Douglass (my hair's go-to look) has indeed become associated with Dangerous Negro-ness.  I felt real conflict about how my decisions potentially affected how I was perceived by teachers and administrators.  (Students were all "right on!," lovers of the 'fro but who cares about what they think right?)

I tried the organized somewhat legitimately curly look . . .

Flat twisted roots twisted bantu knot out

. . . and that was fine.  Ultimately, it proved to be a little too fuss and bother.  I was getting up at five am for my student teaching assignment and when it looked less than perfect, I felt some kind of way about it.  Thankfully, my hair is now long enough for a decent back of the head bun--and i don't even need a sock to fill that sucker out thankyouverymuch.  I did that for a while and was lazy enough to put it in a bun on a Sunday and leave it that way until a couple of Sundays later.  Yes, a couple.  

Ultimately, that was not really working for me since letting bobby pins slowly rust in your hair is probably not a good look.  And oh yeah, I started working out which meant I was sweating a lot more and my hair was uh, less than fresh.  No one ever noticed but me, not even Wes, but still.  It was gross and I couldn't deal.  

So finally I said fuck it.  I downgraded my standards to "intentional".  (That means that whatever happened, I wanted my hair to look like I meant it to look that way)  I went back to washing my damn hair regularly with damn shampoo and using whatever tools and tricks I could learn from YouTube and the internet to meet my particular needs.

1. I want it dry.

2. I want it stretched. 

3. I want it to stay moisturized for at least a week.

I'm whatever as far as styling goes.  If I have the time and want to play, numbers 1-3 will have me ready to go.

Right now, I accomplish 1 and 2 by washing my hair in 12-14 big twists and squeezing as much water as possible out with a towel.  Then I let it air dry for a bit before adding any leave in conditioner.  I  basically let it get to a point where water droplets stop forming.  Then I separate my big twists, apply conditioner and styler and re-twist into two smaller twists.  I generally end up with 24-28 twists.  

1. SheaMoisture Curl and Shine Conditioning Milk; 2. Curls Coconut Curlada Conditioner; 3. SheaMoisture African Black Soap Deep Cleaning Shampoo; 4. SheaMoisture Curl and Shine Curl Enhancing Smoothie

I let that marinate.  Depending on where I'm going and whether or not a hat or scarf is appropriate, I leave my hair twisted for as long as possible.  Eventually I take them down and shake out my hair.  I might stick a bobby pin on the part that likes to stick straight up.  I wear it out for a few days, keeping it stretched by spritzing at night with a little water and putting it in two high ponies.

Hot right.

Anyway, I can ride this out for a week to a couple of weeks.  More often a couple of weeks with the occasional night time re-twist.

Twists removed and fluffed-I needed a few more bobby pins to shape but you get the idea.  Also-I need a trim.

My Hair is Not a Political Statement-But I Wish It Was

I didn't decide to stop chemically straightening my hair because I wanted to physically represent my politics.

I mean, I loved this look--the smoothness, the shine. . . .

Image is my own

This look was not one I could maintain though.  The relaxing process made my hair so weak that it constantly broke off.  That picture is the longest my hair had ever grown with a relaxer.  It looks pretty good, but what you can't see is the carpet of tiny broken hairs on the bathroom floor, or all the broken hair that would be on my shoulders at the end of the day.

I decided to stop chemically straightening my hair because my hair was being destroyed.  I couldn't comb it, couldn't brush it, the wind couldn't ripple through my silky locks without taking my freaking hair with it!

Total vanity decision.  I didn't want to be a bald old lady in a crooked wig.*  Wes and I didn't have any extra money anyway and doing relaxers myself would probably only make things worse.

So I decided to go natural.  My hair now is about the same length that it was in the picture above although probably a little longer in the back and on the sides--not that you could tell.

Photography by Love Joleen Photography

Yeah-this was my wedding hair by the end of the morning.  Why, yes.  I rocked a Frederick Douglass at my wedding.  About an hour and a half before that it looked more like this.

Photography by Love Joleen Photography

Way more stretched out.  Gotta love that humidity.  Why did I even attempt a side part?

So I didn't decide to rock a natural because I am a radical black activist.

I didn't even have any illusions about rocking a natural.  I still feel awkward with my hair.  We are still learning how to peacefully coexist.

I wish sometimes, especially now, that I had other motivations.  If you have been reading my blog, you probably know that I am one of those people who was really blindsided by Troy Davis' execution.  I was pretty explicit in connecting it to racism and I won't apologize for that.

I believe that.

It made me think about a lot of things, my status as a citizen of the United States, how I feel about Democracy, what my priorities should be as a teacher, what I choose to read about, and what I choose to write about.

I feel like I have been sleepwalking and that I have just been slapped back to reality.

My hair is not a political statement, but I wish that it was.  My hair is not a political statement but it should be.

I am not someone who can say with confidence that straight hair was just a style choice.  I never considered any other option.  I had no idea what my unprocessed hair even looked like until I decided to stop relaxing it.

For my mother, who had a pretty badass afro in the seventies, straightened hair was a style choice, but also a political and economic one.  After she gave birth to my brother it was almost like, "okay-time to be an adult-I have to straighten my hair and get a good job."

Her unprocessed hair, all afro'd out, suggested things like Black Power, Black panthers, and Black liberation.  How was she supposed to find a job in square-ass Arkansas with hair like that?  How could she slip into the role of easygoing, sassy black sidekick with hair like that?

The choices might not be as dire for me, but I think the situation is the same.

Choosing to have different hair, even though it is the hair I was born to have, feels like it should mean more.  It should be a rejection of beauty standards that I have been trying to apply to myself that never should have been applied to me to begin with.  It should mean a rejection of self-inflicted pain and fear.  It should be a visible symbol of resistance to the constant negativity associated with blackness that I have internalized.

It should mean fighting back.

*The crookedness of the wig in question might be inevitable.  I have yet to see an old lady wearing one straight.

From Bantu Knots . . . to Awesome Fro

Check out what a little brushing can do . . .

It had tremendous body too, lol. 

Dry Hair Styling

I've been experimenting with dry hair styling.  You would think I would have figured this out in the winter . . . but I'm kind of slow.

I finally got around to washing and de-tangling over the weekend.  After a few weeks of finger de-tangling and slicking a little conditioner through . . . it was a beast.  Instead of twisting I decided to dry my hair by banding.  I threw a *GASP* cotton bandana on over that monstrosity and went on about my business for the rest of the weekend.  Last night I had the brilliant idea to give bantu knots a try.

I just twisted these up with a little SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and slept on it for a night.  These are by far the best looking Bantu knots I've ever managed.

All of these stunning images are my creation

 A little goofy action shot of the takedown . . .

Et voila . . . .

We might have a contender for a wedding day hairstyle.  If I had used a styler with a little more holding power and a little more shine . . . we might seriously be talking.  We might even be making out.

My attempt at styling.  And yes-that is the same busted paper flower I made in my first attempt at a paper flower bouquet.

Sidebar . . .  I was still in my pajamas when these photos were taken.  Some folks get rid of stained tank tops and t-shirts.  Around here we just retire them to night time wear.  Check out Kiki in the background in that same busted-ass dress.  More on that later.

Anyway.  I tried the double band look and I think it could definitely be adapted to the festivities.  Imagine some pretty ribbon instead of a Goody band . . . you get the idea.

As a whole I kind of love this look.  My hair has serious body and hang time in the back.  Considering how it usually looks back there I'm considering this a win.

 

 

 

What do you think?  It the Bantu knot out a do or a don't?

P.S. Headed out to class . . . tremendous fro after the first hour.  I smoothed that back into a banging afro puff though so I'm still loving it.

Hair Trials and Tribulations

I have no idea if it is too early to be talking about this.  I have no idea where in the wedding planning time line hair trials and all that jazz falls.  I can't handle time line pressure-which is why I religiously avoid the knot.

Anyway, I have been concerned about my hair and what to do with it pretty much from the proposal.  I'm still learning the basics of caring for my natural hair and as you an see, it's preferred shape is rather Russian hat-like . . . . as you might have noticed in my last post.

Observe . . .  Me. . .

 . . .  and lady in a Russian hat.

Source

 Okay, so I might have some hair issues.

I wrote about my "natural hair journey" here but I find that I'm struggling with my hair more as I try to decide what to do for our wedding day.  In the past, when my hair was straight, I would curl it for special occasions.  Now that my hair is kinky-curly . . . I just don't know.

Should I straighten it?  Flat ironed it would look a little something like this-

I have a lot of hair but I don't really want to straighten it for the wedding just to put it back up in a bun or whatever.  I can't leave it loose-because it grooooows.  I wore this hairstyle to work and by the time my shift was over it was pretty much standing straight up in the back.  Plus it's going to be hot and hair on my neck was so sweaty and annoying.

This is how it usually looks-my go to day to day style is a twist out set.

It lasts about a week and it works pretty well.  I do, however, have to beware the Frederick Douglass.

"What's that?" you ask.

FD in full effect

 This.  I'm not kidding when I say my hair grooooows, lol.  Strategic bobby pin placement will save the world one day y'all.  I'm sure it already has on some episode of McGyver.

Anyway-this is basically the style Wes and I are leaning towards.  We like it-it suits my face and it's good for my hair.  It's reliable and easy to do myself.  How to make it wedding-y though?

I could add some narrow ribbon and a flower.  This could be really cute with the added benefit of keeping my hair off of my neck and off of my face.

Source

 I really like the structure of this one and I wonder how it would look on me.  Since I will be doing my hair myself* I will get started attempting different styling techniques every week until I come up with something I like.



Our mission-cute wedding hair style.  Our obstacles: the Russian fur and the Frederick Douglass.  Can we do it?  I think we can.

Join me!

*I could go to a salon but since cutting off my relaxed ends I have really been focusing on maintaining and caring for my hair myself.  Also, the salons I can afford don't have a lot of experience with natural hair and I'd rather not take the chance of permanent damage for a one day look.

Cherry Lola Revisited

Remember Lola?

Yeah, I have better pictures this time.

To refresh . . . the Cherry Lola treatment is supposed to reduce frizz and help define curls.  It's also a nice protein treatment.  I've done it before and gotten pretty decent results.

Check the before . . . poor little worn out afro puff.

All photos by me

Now the Cherry Lola mix.  Yogurt, a little baking soda and a little liquid amino acids.  Mix that up and let it sit for a minute.  It will get nice and foamy.

 

You should also gather the rest of your supplies.  For me that includes a Kroger bag because . . . well, why buy plastic processing caps when our Kroger bag collection is driving me fricking insane?

Slather it on.  You can already see my hair trying to curl up.

Wrap it up and let it sit.  I added the towel because I like to have the blinds open and well, I can't be sitting here with a Kroger bag on my head.  Anyway, let it marinate for like twenty minutes.

The result pre-conditioner wash.

Post conditioner wash

And with a little Kinky Curly action.  Leave In and Curling Custard.

Voila!

The Cherry Lola

I discovered this protein treatment on Quest for the Perfect Curl.  It is supposed to define curls and cut down on frizz and I have to say, it definitely does that.

Ready for a little experimentation?  Here's the mix.

16 oz of plain, full fat yogurt.  (Sidebar, if you want full fat yogurt from Kroger, your best bet might be the natural foods section)
2 tbsp of Bragg's Amino Acids  (This is in the natural foods section as well)
2 tbsp of baking soda

Mix that all up and let it marinate for a minute.  That means let it sit for you less country people.

Then, slap it on your hair and let it marinate for twenty-five minutes or so.

I used this treatment to help my hair rebound after I straightned it last month.  In addition to the frizz reducing benefits, it also acts as a nice protein treatment.  I'll be doing another one pretty soon since I just took down some twists and I'll post pictures of the results then.