The freedom to BE!!

If you've been following this blog for a while, you've probably read my comprehensive essay on the care of fragile hair. I've decided that I'd like to repost this with updates once per month if I get a chance to. So, here goes!

As of 26 August, 2009, I decided to make the essay into a small booklet vice posting it here. I am learning a lot. My research is based off of what has worked on my hair and what I am trying to accomplish with it along with what has worked for my daughter. We both have extremely fragile hair and I just want to help as many as possible. Thanks!

LIFE AND MAINTENANCE OF A TWA

My routine is so simple it should be against the law!! All I do is shampoo, rinse, pat dry with a towel, apply moisturizer, finger shape and go! My hair doesn't really equire much else. After sleeping, my hair is flat down to my head. When I wake up, I spray water on it, rub it in, finger shape, and go. This routine requires minimal manipulation and I've noticed less hair coming out these days. If I feel the need, I will add conditioner to the regimen to help remove shed hairs. My hair is very fine and fragile, so I simply let it be. Granted, the final look isn't what most people would think of as beautiful, but I love it!!

My moisturizer of choice is Amla and Olive Heavy cream. It can be found at http://www.qhemetbiologics.com/. The owner of this business is very down to earth and really cares about her customers. Hop on over and take a look!!

BACK TO THE OLD!!

Okay, so I've tried braiding, twisting, etc in order to stretch out my hair and make it fuller. One thing that I have noticed is that my hair responds to the LEAST amount of moisture in the air, so stretching it out not only takes time (I have to put it is SEVERAL sections due to it being so short) but it is a waste of that time as well. My hair grows out (as does a LOT of afro hair, yet SHRINKS in. It takes FOREVER for me to show any amount of length due to the shrinkage rate of my hair. I love my hair, so I am going to just have to work with it in the best way for the strands

A new way of styling....

I got some Olive and Honey hydrating balm from Qhemet Biologics in the mail today. I think that I will be able to use this as a dry styler. Basically, I will just lift and pull my hair out with my fingers after rubbing on some of this balm. I wish that it was in a squeeze bottle rather than a jar. It is not quite a solid and not quite a liquid. Though this product contains honey, it is not sticky. I have decided to refrain from poting my review of the product to the website until I have used it ALL ALONE. Right now, I have heavy cream in my hair and I rubbed the hydrating balm in on top of it. My hair is mega soft, but would it be that way without the heavy cream? I'll keep ya'll posted.

SHRINKAGE

For the most part, for the last six months I have worn my hair in all of its shrunken glory. I personally prefer the look of my hair in a puff, but it's SO MUCH WORK AND my hair doesn't like being stretched out. It shrinks up TIGHT at the first HINT of any moisture. So, I'm back to shrunken fros for probably like, EVER!! I think that IF I get the 6-8 inches of hair that is my goal then I MIGHT stretch my hair again. I've never had hair that long, so we'll see. I am doing everything that I can to be gentle so that my fro will gain some more fullness. Due to the amount of shrinkage I have, I think the best goals are measure in terms of shrinkage. I would LOVE to have 2 inches of srhinkage, since I am not allowed more bulk than 2 inches in uniform. Right now, I have about 1/2 an inch of hair when shrunken and I have 4 inches of length. So my hair is 1/8 of it's natural length when shrunken. I would have to have 16 inches of length to get the fullness that I desire. For some, this is an easy feat, but for me, not really. So, I wonder if a more realistic goal is a 1 inch fron, which would require 8 inches of hair. Sigh....I think it IS better to focus on healthy hair. I have that, though, so what else? I guess I could just be content with that. I know I'm never going to be one of those people who has a big mega puff. I have put down the comb and stopped fighting with my hair. It does not want to be stretched. Sigh....

TRIMMING!! ALL I CAN SAY IS WHEW!

Today I trimmed my hair and I was VERY tired afterwards. I have to REALLY section off my hair in order to get through it. It doesn't help that I only have 3 1/2 inches of hair and don't want to lose ANY length. I joined a TWA challenge on Nappturality and the goal was to have 5 inches of growth by the end of the year. I don't remember if it was December of last year or WHEN, but I know that I am STRUGGLING to get length and I'm not even harsh with my hair at all. I guess I should just sit back and relax. The length will come in time. I used some Amla and Olive Heavy cream by Qhemet and my hair feels WONDERFUL!!

GUESS WHAT I FOUND???!!!

I found a really nice CHEAP cone-free, propylene glycol AND paraben free conditioner for les than $3. It is called Africa's Best Instant Detangling conditioner. I posted about this on a hair board that I frequent. I like this MUCH better than Suave Tropical coconut! The tropical coconut is thin and runny and does a decent job of moisturizing, but the Africa's Best is REALL good at moisturizing. It DOES have protein-like ingredients at the end of the list, so I used it as a deep conditioner. Light protein treatments work BEST for me, so I got that to use as a regular and deep conditioner. I am okay with the Suave, but I'll porbably use it on my DD's hair until I run out because she has softer hair than mine and her hair responds better to the Tropical coconut. One thing that I know is that I am back to using conditioner. The Africa's best does a much better job at detangling than the Suave does. It's time for me to trim my ragged ends. I don't want to lose the little bit of length that I have retained, but no since in holding on to raggedy ends. I think I'll section my hair off and go through it with the scissors tomorrow.

COMBS?

I must say that combs are simply the most evil inventions when it comes to both mine and my daughter's hair. My hair will break off whether I dampen it or not. The same goes with my daughter's hair. Is it possible for us to have full, healthy hair. Even if our hair is short, I will be happy if I can get it to be full and not have places of breakage. The spots are more of an issue for my daughter than for me. I try really hard to mamage her hair and keep it from looking frizzy and dry. I think I need to go back to Blue Magic for her. It worked!

I haven't been styling my hair, but I miss my semi-stretched fro.