Answering Questions About My Natural Transitioning Hair

So I get these questions a lot from family, friends and colleagues, since I started transitioning to natural hair.

1. How do you handle the two textures?
2. Will all your hair not break off?
3. Why don't you just cut of your relaxed ends?
4. How do you comb your hair?
5. Is it not painful to comb?
6. How do you get it so neat and smooth?
7. Ah there some curls in there, how do you get it to curl?
8. Does it not smell?

Today I am going to answer all these questions.


Ques:How do you handle the two textures?
Ans: With TLC(Tender Loving Care).

I wash, deep condition and moisturise my hair my self, so no stylist yanking my hair. This also helps soften my natural hair making it easier to comb

I also comb my hair from the ends to the roots and not the other way round and so far, it has been beneficial to retaining my hair length.

I trim my ends every three months myself to get rid of split ends and gradually cut the relaxer off. I took the scissors in my BF's clipper set for this purpose :).

Ques:Will all your hair not break off?

Ans: The truth here is some of it will break off.  But with the tips from above, as well as incorporating some protein in your regimen,  you can drastically reduce the amount of breakage.

Ques: Why don't you just cut off your relaxed ends?

Ans: I am not ready to cut it. I am used to having hair touch my back but once my new grow gets to below my armpit, I will consider cutting my relaxed ends off.

Ques: How do you comb your hair?

Ans: Going up, from ends to root and when it is damp or soaked with conditioner. I do not comb my hair when it is dry. The result of that will be breakage, headache and a sore scalp.

Ques: Is it not painful to comb?

Ans: Yes if you comb it when dry, and if you comb from root to ends instead of the other way round. This is why I comb it when it is wet or saturated with conditioner as this gives slip making it easier for the comb to glide through. I do not comb my hair every day of the week.

Ques: How do you get it so neat and smooth?

Ans: My whipped Shea butter, Alovera Gel and Satinor Silk scarf is my friend. I never do without them.

Henna(Lali) also smoothens my hair. See my  DIY LALI TREATMENT for more details on this.

Ques: Ah there some curls in there, how do you get it to curl?

Ans: This question always makes me smile. Our African Naija Hair is naturally curly, coily and kinky See my post on Knowing your Hair Type for more details. The curls show up when we keep our hair moisturised and healthy, it is when we do not do this that our hair looks like brillo pad. LOL!!

Ques: Does it not smell?

Ans: This question got me very worried about our perception of natural hair. I have to make it clear. 

Hair will only smell when it is not cleansed regularly, be it relaxed, texlaxed, texturised or natural.

This is why I advise cleansing and moisturising your hair whether you have braids or weave on. 

For Tips on how to cleanse and moisturise  your hair with braids or weave check these previous posts CLEANSING AND MOISTURISING WEAVE and CLEANSING AND MOISTURIZING BRAIDS

Have any questions about transitioning to natural hair? Hit me in the comment section

HOWTO: Cleanse, Moisturize and Seal when wearing weave

I took out Peruvian Hair last weekend and I thought to myself, that I cleaned, moisturised and sealed during the time i had it in,so why not share it with my weave wearing sisters so they won't have to scratch or hit their head anymore. 

The dirt from sweat causes itching and and can also cause breakage, so its beat to remove it.

What i do is basically similar to what i do when i have braids in. See this post cleansing with braids to know what I do when i Have braids in 

CLEANSING

Every two weeks I cleanse my scalp

As you all know, I absolutely LOVE LOVE this product: Elentee Soy Organics Waterless Shampoo.

Elentee Soy Organics Waterless Shampoo

I separate the weave wefts, apply to my scalp and massage to remove any dirt.
It is so Tingly and I wipe off any excess with with my towel.



MOISTURIZING

After this I  have a spray bottle in which I mix 3 parts water, 1 part leave in conditioner
I spray this on my scalp every week.



SEALING 

I use  a mix of oils(Palm kernel or coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, lavendar and tea tree oil.

I use an applicator bottle to spread the mix on my scalp in the moisture from the moisturizing treatment 
Note that Lavendar and Teatree oil have antibacterial and deodoririzing effects and will eliminate odor and itching.

Ladies try this and let me know what you think.

Hope it helps someone.

Hair Length Retention: MOISTURISING AND SEALING THE ENDS OF YOUR HAIR

There is a myth that is going around that says black hair does not grow and only a few people are blessed with long hair.

I strongly disagree with this statement and believe that our hair grows, if not we would not need to "retouch" every few weeks.

I just think the hair is breaking as fast as it is growing due to bad hair maintenance practices.

Because of this I am running a series on Hair length retention so people know how to keep the hair that grows on their head right there with minimal breakage.

Last Time I spoke about Low manipulation and protective styles see post here: LOW MANIPULATION STYLES

Today I will be talking about moisturising and sealing the ends of your hair.

The ends of your hair are the oldest past of your hair, they show the health of your hair as well as the length of your hair.
If they are not healthy, they will break and this means no long hair.  This is why you should give them the most TLC.


FIRST OFF YOU NEED SOME TOOLS
1) Water based Moisturiser or a spray bottle with 3 parts leave in conditioner and 1 part water
2) Cream based moisturizer or pomade or whipped shea butter
3) A natural oil of choice or an oil mix

Now there are two ways to do this

Moisturise and Seal Method(LCO METHOD)
This method must be done every few days to ensure optimal health of the ends of your hair.

L-Liquid:  Lightly spray the last 2 inches of the length of your hair with your chosen liquid moisturizer spreading any excess on the remaining part of your hair.

C-Cream: Apply the Cream based moisturiser the same way as the liquid.

O-Oil: Apply the oil  same way as the cream to seal in all the goodness from the two previous steps above.

Leave to airdry.

This should give you moisturised ends and hair for a few days before you repeat.
The Baggy Method
This method is basic the first method with an extra step.

After you have done the LCO, put your hair in a ponytail and where a shower cap over the ends of your hair and cover with a hat for 4 -8 hrs.

This enables the oils and moisturiser to sink into your strands.

When you remove the shower cap and hat do not rinse your ends, leave to airdry.

This will give you moisturised ends for upto 7 days or more.

Ladies try this out and let me know what you think

SO I DECIDED TO STOP RELAXING MY HAIR AND STAY AWAY FROM THE CREAMY CRACK

I decided to transition from relaxed to natural hair.

You know I was on a epic relaxer stretch for 8 months and then i made the loc extensions.

Well I still have not put a relaxer on my head and this is 1 year 5 months since my last relaxer.:)

I never thought I could do without relaxers until I started watching videos on youtube and started to understand that I did not really need a relaxer on my hair.

I had always hated relaxers cos I have a very sensitive scalp and it feels good to be free.

I have learnt how to do flat twists, braid outs, twist outs, straw sets, bantu knots, updos to protect and blend my two textures.

So going forward I will be documenting my transition from relaxed hair to natural hair.

I plan to cut the relaxed ends by end of february 2014 or when my natural growth is BSL(Bra Strap Length).