So it all started with me wanting to surprise my husband when he came home from his trip.  I tried to make my long near-black hair platinum blonde.  I hear the chorus of “uh ohs” in the distance, and they’re right.  Not understanding the science of hair color, I thought that simply grabbing the lightest blonde shade available (for AA hair) would give me the same flaxen hair as Miss Mary J. Blige (love her!).  Of course Iwas WRONG.  I was welcomed by an orange mess that I couldn’t get rid of no matter how many times I bleached–like four times in two weeks. 

My husband saw what I had done when he came home.  He felt so sorry for me, he gave me money to get color correction done by a professional.   After carefully researching my options, I found a wonderful stylist who specialized in high-lift hair tones.  After some strand tests to find out what would work, she found a viable solution.  My hair came out a nice golden blonde on the first three inches.  The rest would refuse to give up the orange.  After unsuccessfully trying to tone the orange, it was clear what needed to be done:  chop, chop!

I hadn’t planned on going natural until my grays started coming in.  Getting that big haircut ahead of scheduled convinced me to decide to go on the natural journey early.  Since I get my hair bleached, I am not going to go back to relaxers–I think relaxing was the reason so much of my hair fell out after my last touch up (gee, ya think?).  Anyway, since my hair was extremely vulnerable at that point, my stylist (hi, Ms. B.J.!) recommended a BKT.  She gave me a brochure, showed my her certification with some info and let me think about it.  My wonderful husband shelled out the $300 for me to get it done.

I cannot express enough how much my hair turned around with just that one treatment.  It went from weak, fragile, breaking and dull to shiny, strong and healthy feeling.  I got the treatment that requires at least 72 hours before wetting the hair; hard to do when I’m tempted by our pool and going to gym classes at college.  Somehow I managed to get through it.  Let me tell you, when I say that my hair after cleansing was much more managable, I mean it.  My natural curl was looser, but still there.  The comb went through from root to tip like a hot knife through butter.  Within a week, my husband noted that my hair not only looked thicker, but felt thicker, too.  Lo and behold, he was right!  I can easily see that I will be making BKT a part of my hair care routine. 

Without further ado, here are some pics =)

Before the blonde fiasco:

After blonding and BKT:

Hair fall after last relaxer:

Hairline now:

I can’t wait to see where this natural journey takes me!

First off, I want to apologize for the long hiatus I have taken from updating this blog.  I have addressed comments, but have not updated posts in a while.  I took some time off after my Mother-in-Law passed away last year.  In response to the grief, I have been putting a great deal of concentration on education, counseling and personal reflection.   For a while I was not sure if my marital situation was going to change. 

At any rate, I’m back.  I have done some things to my hair and my body that have been major changes (at least to me).   I have bleached and cut my hair, had a BKT (Brazilian Keratin Treatment) done, and got rid of my spare tire.  In the coming weeks, I will do my best to consistently update this blog.  Upcoming topics:

BKT

Using Herbs for Your State of Mind

Keeping Bleached Hair As Healthy As Possible

A big THANK YOU to those of you who have been following me even in spite of the lack of updates.  If there are topics you would like me to address, or if you have questions, feel free to drop me a line.   See you soon ^-^

L.

For some reason all the comments and videos got erased, so I’m gonna try again. My apologies to those who have commented on the original posting.

This video by Trenelim on Youtube demonstrates how to use herbal powders for haircare. Very informative and entertaining =)

A few days later than promised, I have another update on the growth I got from using Megatek and Ovation Cell Therapy (OCT).  I just bought and added the OCT about a month ago.  I have been combing it with the MT and applying it every night.  I also added oiling my scalp with coconut oil before I go to bed to protect my ends.    So without further ado, here are the latest growth pics from August to November.  I’m almost APL now =)

August/September

November

I’ve heard a lot about this product from the forum I belong to.  Since I have a great deal of new growth, I’ve been looking for a deep conditioner that will soften all of my hair right down to the curly roots.

I searched high and low for this deep conditioner in my city, but had a hard time pinning it down.  I finally found it at my local Walgreens for $6.  It is also available on the Walgreens website.

I tried it as soon as I got home.  I applied it to my dry hair, and applied a steamed towel to my hair.  The directions say it works within 3-5 minutes, but I kept it on for about 2 hours, re-steaming the towel along the way.  I must say I didn’t have high hopes for this product, so this was a litmus test to see if it would do anything.  It better do something for $6 (yes, I’m cheap).  The jar is rather small, and the directions claim that it only takes a little to get the job done.  So, I used a little in an effort to not use it up too fast.  It melted right into my hair.

Results

Turns out a little was all I needed.  With our hard water, I expected the same thing I got from other conditioners: moist for about a day, then dry.  With this conditioner, though, not only was my hair velvety smooth after rinsing, but the soft feeling lasted for several days afterward.  I must say it’s quite addictive the way it made my hair feel!  As I type this post I am deep conditioning with it right now.   Is it worth the money I paid?  In a word, I’ll have to say yes.  I will be making this a regular part of my conditioning regime.

This is a shampoo I use to cleanse my hair naturally, because I am trying to avoid putting too many harsh chemicals in my hair.  It has Dr. Bronner’s lavender castile soap as a base, some regular oils my hair likes, and some essential oils.  It has to be shaken up before I use it, and it only takes a little bit to get the job done.  I find that it works even better when I prepoo my hair with vatika oil the night before.   I apply this shampoo to the scalp only.  This shampoo does not suds up too much, but it still gets my scalp clean.

Lijit Search

Thanks to this post from another site, I found an ideal way to achieve nice and moist hair that is resistant to humidity and daily dryness.  I use these items:

Conditioner

Microfiber towel

Conditioner cap

Microwave

Bonnet Dryer

Rubber Gloves

After I cowash, I apply conditioner from root to tip, making sure all the hair is covered.  Then I get a microfiber towel (the one that has a button to hold the towel on the hair) and run hot water over it.  I take the wet towel and put it into a plastic bag.  I put the bag with the towel in it into the microwave for about 60 seconds, making sure I watch it closely.  After the towel has been heated up, I put on my rubber gloves, open the bag, them put the towel around my hair.  I close up the towel and then put a conditoner cap on top of it.  When that’s done, I put on my bonnet dryer and sit under it on med-high heat for 30-60 minutes.  If I want faster results I simply apply another moist hot towel and conditioner cap on top of the original towel and cap.  This makes a kind of a double steaming treatment, and lessens the time I have under the dryer.

After the steaming treat is done, I take of the towels and caps then rinse in lukewarm to cool water.  It is absolutely amazing how soft and moist my hair feels.  I find that if I just put it in a ponytail, my edges stay smooth.  Even in humidity they don’t puff up as much.  When I used to straighten my hair, I noticed that it didn’t puff up.  I have definitely made this a part of my regular regime.

I’m a member of longhaircareforum, which is a great forum for helping black women to achieve healthy hair.  One of the things I like about this site, besides all the good info, is all the challenges that are available to join.  Thanks to the wonderful women there, I’ve joined the “Put Down the Ruler” challenge, “Get Your Hands Out of Your Hair” challenge and the “MT/OCT” (stands for MegaTek/Ovation Cell Therapy) challenge.

I joined the ruler challenge because I was/am so obsessed with finding out how much my hair grew everyday.  I joined the hands out of hair challenge because I’m always playing with my hair–feeling new growth, wetting my hair to see how long I can get it to look, and that damned flat iron (don’t even get me started about that: see my post snip).  I joined the MT/OCT challenge just to see if I can increase my hair growth more than it usually grows.  Between the three of these challenges that I’ve joined (so far), by my birthday–or by early next year–I’m hoping my hair will be the healthiest it’s been in a while.  And if length comes with it all the better =)

When I first heard of using henna on hair, I immediately though of Lucille Ball’s red hair.  Thanks to the sites longhaircareforum and healthtextures, I decide to give it a try.  The first time I used it, I made the mistake of putting too much in my mixture.  Result: nice shiny hair, but a little dry.  I find the best way to use henna, especially for first-time users, is to make it as simple as possible.  The second time I did my henna treatment, it was much better than the first time.

If you go to this site about henna, you will find that there are many people who have recipes for different hair colors using henna.  The colors range from strawberry blonde to blue-black.  Depending on your current hair color, you could achieve either a reddish tint, or another color altogether.  Before you do that, though, it is best to start with the basic recipe.  It’s really very simple.

Henna, warm water, container, cover for container and time is all you need.

Depending on the length and thickness of your hair, put at least 100g of henna in a container (I use the plastic storage containers from the store).  Add warm water a little at a time until the henna powder becomes a thick mud-like consistency.  When you have mixed the henna and water well, cover the container for at least 8 hours to allow color to release.  Depending on the brand of henna you have, when you first mix the henna it may be a different color than when the color releases.  The brand of henna I use, Nupur, is a green powder but when the color releases it is a deep red-brown color.  How do you know when the color has released?  A piece of advice I got was to put the corner of a paper towel into the mix before you cover it.  The reason for this is to see the red color that indicates that the henna color has released.  I usually let my mix sit overnight to make sure.

Now that you have your mix and the color has released, it’s time to apply your henna.  Put on some old clothes, or cover yourself with towels or a cape.  Also, it might be a good idea to lay down some newspaper or something in the immediate area where you’re working, because applying the henna mix can be a messy job.  Either on dry hair, or freshly shampooed (or co-washed) hair, apply the mix thickly to your entire hair–don’t be afraid to really put in on.  You want to cover your hair well, kind of like making a mud pie on your hair.  Apply from root to tip.  When your entire hair is covered, put a conditioner cap or plastic bag over your hair, clean up your area, and let the henna sit in your hair for at least 30 minutes.  I leave it on for about 4 hours.

If you have any leftover henna mix in your container, it is perfectly fine to cover the container tightly and put it in the freezer for future use.

After the henna has sit for the appropriate amount of time, it’s time to rinse it out.  Make sure not to manipulate your hair too much as you rinse out the henna, as this could cause unnecessary breakage of the hair.  Allow the water to do the job of rinsing the henna out for at least 10 minutes.  After most of the henna is rinsed from the hair, you can help the rest of the henna come out by using conditioner.  The conditioner acts like a lubricant that assists in getting the rest of the henna from the hair.  Make sure you pay attention to the back of your hair, as well as your hairline.

After the henna is rinsed out, you can do a deep conditioner, or your regular conditioner.  You may notice that your hair is instantly softer and feels stronger.  If you have curly hair, you might even notice that your curls have loosened a bit.  As your hair dries, your hair feels better, and you won’t believe the shine!

Hair after henna treatment

It’s back to basics for me.  If you read my other post “Snip!”, you already know that I had to cut off a bit of my hair due to damage.  I should have known better.  Now I’m going back to basics to regain the length that I was gaining before I let damage set in.  These are what I’ve found to be the basics of caring for naturally curly hair.  The main key is moisture.

My Keys to Keeping Curly Hair Moist

Curly hair has a tendency to feel really dry. Because of the curves and corners of our individual hairs, the natural oils have to work much harder to flow down the hair shaft. This may be the reason many women decide to straighten their hair–trying to capture the shine and sleekness that comes with straighter hair.

Those of us who have made the choice to embrace our curls also know what it is to make sure there is a balance to having curls: full of bounce and body, yet moist and manageable. I have learned some tips from fellow curly-haired divas.

• Baggy with Moisture
• Use conditioner during wash days (Co-washing)
• Moisturize hair daily
• Seal moisturized hair with oil
• Steaming
• Regular deep conditioning

Baggy with Moisture

What does it mean to baggy with moisture? To put it simply it is applying moisture to the hair (either with water, conditioner, leave-in or any combination of these) then using a conditioning cap to cover the moisturized hair. I usually do this at night before I go to bed. Be careful not to put too much moisture on the hair before baggying or else you will have a wet neck, wet pillow…you get the idea. It’s also possible to pass the limit of moisture intake for your hair, so be sure to monitor your hair’s condition when first starting out.

Why baggy with moisture? To give your curls a chance to hydrate.

When to baggy with moisture? You can do this after your shower/hair cleansing, before or anytime you feel your hair needs the extra moisture.

Since I work at home (lucky me, right?), I like to baggy after I cleanse my hair, just so that I can keep as much moisture in my curls as I possibly can. I usually leave the cap on my hair for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. Start with about 15 minutes at first, and then if your hair seems to respond well to it, you can increase time until you find the limit. The limit is when your hair absorbs so much moisture that it becomes mushy and lifeless–you don’t want that–so, as I stated before, try it in small increments first.

Side note: If you have good moisture levels, but your ends are looking worse for wear, then you can make a ponytail, apply moisture to your ponytail (just the ends or the whole pony), then put a small plastic bag around your ponytail to give a concentrated infusion of moisture to your hair ends.

Co-Washing

Since curly hair is more prone to being dry, it is important to keep as much moisture as possible in the hair, while keeping the scalp clean. How to do all this? Conditioner to the rescue! Yes, you read right–conditioner.

I was not sure when I first found out about using conditioner as a way to cleanse my hair while keeping moisture levels high in my hair. As my Grandma says, I’ve gotta see this for myself. So I got into the shower and wet my hair. I almost reached for shampoo out of habit, but passed it over for conditioner instead. I poured a small amount into my palm and concentrated the conditioner on my scalp, working it in like shampoo. After messaging it in, I rinsed it out and finished my shower. It still felt weird not to use anything with suds in it, but I forged on. After letting my hair dry, I gave co-washing the litmus test: scratched my scalp.

I was almost scared to look under my nails. When I did I saw…nothing! My scalp was as clean as if I used my suds–couldn’t believe it so I tried it again on another part of my scalp. Same thing; nothing. On top of it, my hair was feeling quite good, not as stripped as it usually did.

I was told the reason for this. Little known to me many conditioners contain a bit of the same ingredients that shampoo has. The action of scrubbing the scalp is actually the legit reason the scalp gets cleaned, not just the fact that there are suds on top of my head. This actually made sense to me. Now I use co-washing as a regular part of my hair cleansing regime. My curls behave much better, and the growth I’ve been getting is starting to show in my length because I get to keep moisture in my hair, which keeps my hair from breaking as much as it used to.

Moisturize Daily

Depending on many factors, some of us curly haired divas need to make sure we keep on top the moisture levels in our hair. Using a tiny bit of conditioner, leave-in or other moisturizer give curls relief from the thirst that it suffers on a constant basis. Make sure that you are using the correct weight of moisturizer for your hair. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to know what will work right from the start. What works for one head of hair will not necessarily work for another. Unless you are one of the lucky ones to get it right from the get-go, it is a game of trial and error. At least it was for me =)

Seal with Moisture

When you mention putting oil on the hair, many people will run and hide. Oil conjures images of flat, limp, lifeless hair. This is true depending on the oil. As a matter of fact, there are cultures where applying particular oils to the hair results in luster, body and health of the hair. Yes, heavy oils will weight hair down, and may be more suitable for a hot oil treatment before cleansing.

Steaming in Moisture

Steaming is simply applying conditioner, then using steam to open up the cuticle of the hair. This allows more to get into the hair shaft. The result is much less frizz in humid temperatures. Less frizz means better maintained curls!

Regular Deep Conditioning

Deep conditioning is a valuable part of your haircare regime. The key word throughout this post has been keeping curly hair moist. If you’ve read about the steaming, then deep conditioning is simply the same thing without the steam. If your hair is coarse (like mine) deep conditioning may benefit you if you do it about 2-3 times a week. If your hair is not as coarse, about 1-2 times a month. If you’re one of the lucky ones who rarely has a problem with your hair, deep conditioning might still benefit you–you just won’t have to do it so often. Think of it as a treat you can give yourself every now and then.

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