New Style

I've been sporting a few headbands. I like them; I think it creates a more feminine look. When I looked at my pictures, my edges looked pretty thin and that bothers me a little. Maybe that hair is just thinner anyway? I don't comb or brush it. I brushed it the first time I did the puff thing, but it didn't seem like a good idea to stress my edges to make them lie down. I don't mind the waves and curls that escape the band. Hopefully in a year they will thicken. I am really looking forward to gaining a few more inches so that I can venture into scarves. I just think that they will look better with taller hair :)

I Trimmed it Myself

I had really been going back and forth about making an appointment for a trim. I didn't want to sit in a salon and I was afraid of the heat. I didn't think a barber would be better, because he's not used to working with longer natural hair. When I went the first time, he encouraged me to keep it short. So anyway, a lot of people on NP had been trimming their hair themselves and I decided to give it a go. I figured, I couldn't make too much of a mess and I don't wear it blown out anyway. So, if I didn't get it perfect no one would know.

I went to Sally's and bought a cheap pair of shears...$10. They can get pretty expensive, but I'm not a pro, I don't intend to do this often and I'm not rich. I contemplated trying to cut it wet, but I knew I wouldn't be able to see clearly, so I blew it out. Of course after reading all of the horror stories, I was nervous, but I blew my hair dry for 15 years before I permed it so I decided not to freak. I even increased the heat so that all sections would be equally stretched. I could definitely tell that the ends needed to go. I sectioned it off and began snipping away. I probably cut 1/4 of an inch and I think I did a pretty good job. I like the blow out with the headband better than the straight fro.

It's Definitely Growing

I need to remember to take pictures from the same angles so that the growth is evident. My napps on the sides and in the front are tighter than those in the top and the back of my head...fascinating, I tell ya. I think both of these pictures were taken after I washed it.

I checked out my fro in a 3-way mirror in a dressing room today. It definitely looks chunky. I get so inspired when I see other people's hair albums. I'm thinking about getting a trim some time this month. I'm not sure if I want to go to the barber or the salon. If I decide to go to the barber, the following conditions apply: 1) No edging up, 2) Keep it as close to even all over as possible. I'll keep thinking about it. I'd love to get it trimmed without heat, but I don't trust myself to do it. The barber may be the best bet, because he used low-medium heat.

Asian Suggests Hairstyle

I went to pick up my dry cleaning today. The owner, I presume, says he likes my hair and proceeds to describe it as a NY style. Then he goes further and draws me a picture of this style he thinks I should try with curls coming down in the front and something else that I couldn't quite understand. Interesting. I just smiled and nodded. Wow.

I bought the famous Denman Brush - the D3 model. I'm trying an experiment tonight. I read it on NP - blowout without heat. Although, I'm not sure what I hope to achieve, I figured I'd try it and see what it looks like. I wet the front and top a little, brushed it with the Denman and tied a scarf around it. Okay...I just took a peak and the first inch or so of my edges is straight. What in the world? I don't know what I have on my head. I mean, I know it's hair, but it never ceases to amaze me. I'll have to check it out in the morning. I can't wait until it's longer and I can wear a ribbon as a headband and it will be long enough to stick up high and have true dimension.

Pressing

Found this on NP. It's taken from another source. The author is responding to a question about damage:

However, as you witnessed, this process is not without risks, especially on fine, fragile hair like yours. Pressing combs typically have a temperature range of 350F to 500F, which is intense heat when you consider that water boils at 212F! The more resistant your hair is to being straightened (as is true for most African-American hair), the more heat (and tension) is needed to achieve results. What can happen when the pressing comb comes in contact with the hair, especially if you leave it in one place for too long, is that the water inside the hair shaft literally boils, which causes the hair to break or rupture in that area, resulting in patches of frayed, broken strands. It also burns away the hair shaft's protective cuticle layer, exposing the fragile cortex (the inner portion of the hair strand) and making it more vulnerable to damage. And this type of repeated damage to hair adds up quickly.

Oyin Update

I really wasn't impressed with the products, but I luuuuvved their smell. Mmmmm!!! The mango butter has been most moisturizing. I've recently been adding olive oil and aloe vera gel (the same one I use on my face) to the mango butter.

Random Thoughts

I went to the library today and the librarian, a really nice white lady, said, "I like your hair. I wish I could wear that style." I said, "Thank you," and proceeded to my car thinking...If you hair was tightly curled/coiled, I could bet you lots of money that you would not like it. Interesting, I thought, quite interesting.

I went to a Christmas party last night and saw some people who I haven't seen since by BC. They were surprised and I received the same positive feedback that I've continued to receive...thank goodness. I'm so afraid that the moment someone says something ignorant about my hair, I will show my black azz. At any rate, I am still quite curious about people's reactions to my hair in a year.

It's actually growing quite nicely. I have 3 inches in some spots. I think my fro has a chunky look. I think I'll just have to accept the level of chunkiness I get from a wash and go. I love Bai's chunky fro the best, but texture plays a role and the diversity of the texture from head to head and even on one head is so amazing. It's all beautiful, versitile and eye-catching.

A girlfriend of mine remarked that she didn't want to sweat out her press and curl. I declare I cannot adequately express the joy that I feel because I have freed myself from that existence. Whoo!

I just read a really good thread on NP about heat. It discussed it from a scientific point of view and was really informative.

I had someone say that they couldn't even remember what I look like with long, straight hair...Good, cause you'll never see that again :) I'm still really excited about my growth. I need to do a deep conditioning treatment tomorrow. I'm going to visit my daddy later this week for about 1 week. I'm going to start packing tomorrow, so I don't forget anything. I must have all of my hair products - shampoo, conditioner (regular and deep), mango butter. I can't forget my olive oil and aloe vera gel for my skin either.

Another Experiment

I ended up using all of the Oyin products by 3:00 p.m. today. Not the plan. They all smell wonderful. I don't think the Shine and Define or Greg's Juice provided enough moisture for me. I added the Whipped Pudding after the fact, then spritzed my hair with water...then I got this idea to twist it. So, I flat twisted the front and did individual twists in the back. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if the twist-out looks like anything. It was pretty easy to twist it wet, which is what I thought. I think it will look pretty good when it's longer. I hope to have plump twists.

My Oyin Arrived!

Woo hoo!!! I'm deep conditioning this morning with the Honey Hemp Conditioner with Aloe and Silk. It smells sooooo good. Everything smells really good. I want to try one product at a time so I can get a good idea about how my hair likes them. The Whipped Pudding is first. I'll be back to report my findings.

A Cautionary Tale (not mine)

In the 'heat' (pun intended) of all these burning the hair straight/blow-drying threads popping up, thought I'd add my own cautionary tale.

I am pretty new to this site and before I found Nappturality, I had this mindset that my natural coarse hair had to be tamed into submission with blow-drying, but not burning the hair straight, oh no, because that would damage my hair and I didn't want that...

So every week, or every time I took down my extensions, I'd heat up that blow-dryer to the *hell* setting, saturate my hair with moisturiser and fry my hair, of course, it would be just a teeny-tiny bit brittle but that didn't matter because I was going to protect it under those extensions. HELLO - THE DAMAGE HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE!

So, if you want to blow-dry your hair regularly, remember what will happen:

1. You will LOSE YOUR NAPS

Yes you read that correctly, you will L O S E them! Now, I used to think I didn't have naps, that I just had course afro hair that was a bit wiry on a bad day. Then I found NP and decided to give up the heat and learn to be kind to my hair result, softer, coilier hair. Granted, I'm a 4-a but there is a bit of a kink in there. But I digress.

About a week ago, I was looking in the mirror with my hair all combed out and I notices that while the roots were nice and healthy, the ends were limp and wiry. Then it dawned on me: it was heat damage. This made even more sense because I had a couple of patches in the middle with short stubby hair and some limp bits hanging out - and I know I hadn't taken scissors to any patches in my hair. Now I realised the truth, I'd been too blow-dryer-happy on my hair.

2. Your hair will break and split

In addition to the limp ends, I had the most a atrocious breaking, with split ends going all the way up the shaft. Some split ends had splits; some splits even began right in the middle of the hair shaft! So when I pulled out a clump of hair to gauge the length of the healthy hair, I had nearly two inches of breaking splitting ends!

So much for protecting the hair while blow-drying! I thought if I put enough moisture on my hair it would protect it. Think about it: when you put oil on food and apply heat to that food, does the oil protect the food? No, the oil helps it to fry!

3. You will lose length

It's no biggie if you're not going for length but I was. The hair on my longest side was reaching then end of my neck, now with all the trimming and levelling a rocking and almost gown-out TWA. So much for getting a BAA by the end of the year! Still you live and learn, and I'm glad I learnt my lesson sooner rather than later. So please remember, blow-drying can be just as damaging as burning the hair straight and the damage can be irreparable, so look after your God-given naps.

My Oyin Products Have Been Shipped!

I'm very excited. My sample pack was shipped on Tuesday, so I hope to receive it by Friday.

Failed Experiment

It wasn't a total failure. I just think it needs to be longer to pull this off. My wash and go is best for now. I did stop using the aloe vera gel. I wasn't too fond of the hardness after a while. I'm not dying for curl definition or anything, so it's whatever. I like the soft, fuzzy feeling better.

Twist Experiment

I was talking to a fellow napptural about her chunky fro and she explained that she twists it in large twists at night to achieve the look. I honestly didn't think my hair was long enough to twist, but low and behold--despite their appearance--I twisted my hair last night while I talked on the phone (had it on speaker). They look like crap, as you can see, but I reallllly want to avoid no-pooing every day as it gets cooler. I don't know if I should untwist it before or after my shower.

As an alternative, I also made a watered down conditioner spritz...another suggestion from the board. Worst cast scenario, I'll have to no-poo this morning and keep experimenting.

Are They Really Concerned with Hair Health?

I used to think my stylist was concerned with the health of my hair more than styling and the profit she made from applying caustic chemicals to my hair and scalp. However, that is clearly a contradiction. We recently had a discussion on NP about Beauticians Not Knowing How to Do Natural Hair. The OP witnessed a young girl getting her hair blowdryed in a salon as "big clusters of hair was FLYING all over the floor. "

A few poignant notes:

• Think about it. Why aren't there any nappy-headed mannequins? (AuNappturale)
• When I went to Cosmetology school, natural hair wasn't something that was taught. There was a section in our book called Thermal Styling which showed how to press natural hair, but nowhere in the textbook did it have a section on natural hair care. It was a shame cause we had 4 black instructors and none of them could tell you about natural hair. When I told one of them I wanted to go into natural styling, she looked at me like and told me more money was in relaxers and weaves. Its a shame we have had to use relaxers so long we have lost touch with who we are. (Trickie Tam)
• Stylists TODAY don't know about hair health or how to do natural hair. I don't ever remember this type of hair drama when I was little. My mother (who is 69 and a beautician) knew how to do natural hair. She is the one who told me how to grow my hair out and what products to use when I experienced breakage, etc. Old school stuff that she used back in the day to get hair to grow and be healthy...not motions or affirm or any of that. (WildlyBeautiful)
  
  

Oyin Handmade

I just ordered a sample pack from Oyin. I hope I like the Whipped Pudding. I would like to be able to use just one product. I like the Mango Butter, but I go through it so quickly.

I'm still suffering from impatience with my hair growth. Tryce has had wonderful growth in a year. It's so inspiring, but it just adds to my impatience problem.

2 Things

1 - I want a new digital camera...which may be what I request for Christmas. 2 - I REALLY want my hair to grow. I'm so bored with it. I love playing in it, but I'm ready for some options. I'm sure I'm looking at May/June before I can really do anything fun with it. The only protective style that's available are coils and I'm really hesitant to pay what he's going to charge. I'd be willing to spend $40...maybe. I'm still not positive that I'd like them. I like them on other people, but I'm just not sure about me. I feel the need to do more protectives styles, but I'd like to be able to do it myself. I know I'll be able to handle twists, but my hair seemed like it wanted to do its own thing when I attempted the coils. I'll have to practice on a weekend.

Everyone Has Their Issues

I was at a restaurant with some friends and later that evening, my friend said to me, "I was the biggest person at the table." Mind you she is not obese or anything, just concerned about weight as may women are. I later thought to myself, "I was the only person at the table with acne."

I spend many days looking at people's skin in envy. My mother had BEAUTIFUL skin...just like a baby's bottom. On many days, I truly believe that I got slightly jipped in the creation process. So while other people worry about their weight, I worry about my skin and work diligently to heal it. I think I'm making progress, but it's just sad that this is something I have to deal with at age 30. I'm really hopeful that in 3 months, I will see a tremendous improvement. Other than the Glycare Cleansing Gel, I'm working with all natural products that have centuries of victories behind them. I'm remaining faithful and as consistent as I can. After all, I am only human...

Homecoming Update

Homecoming went well. My new do was well received. My skin was another issue. Earlier that week, I was in a killer 3 hour meeting. Sitting in one spot for that long makes me a little antsy if I'm not fully engaged. At any rate, I recall leaning my face onto my shirt or something. I know it wasn't my hand, because I truly no better than to touch my extremely acne prone face. I don't know why I thought the shirt might have less dirt on it than my hands...so I ended up with about 3-4 pimples on the right side of my jaw. But...I was determined not to let it get me down even though I was really conscious of it. So homecoming came and went. My face wasn't as clear as I wanted it to be but at least my cheeks were pimple-free.

These products are my staple at the moment. I know I keep hopping around, but I think I've settled on these. I'm going to stick with the Glycare Cleansing Gel because it was my saving grace years ago. It cleared my skin without any other products. So, I doubt it's harming me now. I know it does a good job of exfoliating and dead skin cells are famous for clogging pores that result in acne. The aloe vera gel has worked a miracle. If I wasn't so self conscious, I'd post a before and after of my left cheek. I'm sticking with it. I'm using the Vitamin E oil as a moisturizer in the AM and the shea butter in the PM. I'm still looking for a daytime moisturizer that doesn't look so greasy and that is natural. I think it does an okay job of absorbing into my skin, but I don't like that greasy feeling.

What a Pleasure

It was such a pleasure to dine with my nappy sisters. There were 15 of us and it was really nice. The food was pretty good, too. My pictures didn't come out that well. I'm convinced that I don't know how to work my camera and it's kind of old. I'm looking forward to the next one. A year from now would be great; we'll be able to see everyone's hair growth.

My First Napptural Gathering

I am soooo excited. I haven't been in the presence of more than 3 nappies since my journey began...that I can recall anyway. I hope to get some helpful information. I'm taking my Suave 2-minute conditioner to give away or swap. I should take this Suave Coconut too, but I like using it in my spritz, so I'll just keep it. At this moment, I'm deep conditioning. The jar said no heat required, but they say that heat helps the conditioner to penetrate the cuticle or something like that. Hopefully, the heat from my body will do something.

I really enjoy nurturing my hair. I was taking a look at the different textures and it's just amazing what God can create. I really wish my mommie was here to see this. I have no idea what she'd think. We were both natural for quite a while; she probably wouldn't really care as long as it looked neat. I remember her hair being a lot straighter than mine in its natural state. Maybe her hair was more the texture of the back of my hair. We could be taking this journey together; that would be so cool.

Anyway, keeping with the positive spirit of this post...I always feel regret or something like that when I respond to people's question, "Why?" I don't feel like I'm telling them the whole truth, but I also don't feel the need to get into it. I remember reading an article where someone asked Erykah Badu why she cut her locs and I think her response was, "It's personal." It really is. I totally feel her. The response is personal and because it's so personal, I don't think many people could relate anyway, so I just give a vague response about a lot of self reflection and realizing that relaxers are damaging. Sometimes, I don't even say that. Part of me doesn't want to step on anyone's toes, because my answer could imply that the choice that they've made is not a good one.

So...some reasons...

• Relaxers are caustic chemicals that alter your hair and can cause great damage. There are countless women walking around with limp hair that breaks off every second because of the chemicals and their reckless use of heat.
• I decided to stop believing the lye that the slave masters instilled in us that our hair is not beautiful in its natural state. This lie has been perpetuated through the generations. Talk of good hair makes my skin boil. All hair is good hair if it's healthy. So what, if it doesn't curl...it's not supposed to. It's supposed to do what it does.
• I decided to stop fighting with my hair to make it something it isn't and was never meant to be.
• I have decided to embrace what God gave me. It's about self-acceptance and self love.
• It's political. I reject the European standard of beauty that African-American women have adopted.
• Once I asked myself the question, "Why am I putting these dangerous chemicals on my hair and scalp?" "Why do I want my hair to be straight?" I realized that could no longer be my truth. It didn't take long for me to see the light. It was a paradigm shift.
• After spending time on NP and hearing others declare their love for their hair, the path to self-acceptance and self-love seemed easy. In every day life, there aren't a lot of people you can talk to about these issues. Oftentimes, other people who are natural aren't also napptural. It's encouraging and empowering to spend time with likeminded people, even if it's in a virtual world. It's a state of mind that is often uncommon.