I finally did it!!

I was finally able to do some flattwists all the way back on my head. At first glance, it looks like I have cornrowns, but they are flattwists and they look nice. I'll have to figure out how to get some pics up on here. I lost a fair amount of hair in the process because I had to comb through it. I really didn't know any other way to do my hair. I braided it to stretch it out , but because I used Cantu Shea butter leave-in, which made my hair feel somewhat coated, my hair was harder to get through than normal. At any rate, it was worth it to actually have a style. I was getting SO tired of my fro. I mean, I DO love it, but a fro EVERY day is NOT the move for me. Plus, as my hair gets longer, it ties itself in knots and becomes VERY difficult to manage. I personally feel like my hair is difficult to manage as it is, so I need to try to find products that will soften it and help me to stretch it out. It's very difficult to get through the kinks if I do not stretch it out. Also, the only comb that works well on my hair is the Ace wide-toothes comb which is very difficult to get out in town so I have to order it from Amazon.com. I have held TIGHTLY to my comb for years after giving away the others. The last time that I bought them I bought FIVE of them but THIS time I bought THREE of them. To me, this comb is essential for detangling and managing my hair.

AN UPDATE!!

Hey y'all!
I haven't been here in a while, so I wanted to let you guys know what was going on with my hair. I have been wearing it stretched and it tends to want to knot up when I try to section it off. I still love my hair, though. I bought some Carol's Daughter Smoothie, shampoo and hair balm. I choose the Black Vanilla line and it seems to be good for my hair but I'm not gonna lie and act like my hair has been transformed by this stuff. I DO love the balm, my hair feels so soft with the shampoo, conditioner, and balm. Really, my hair is naturally soft unless I use something TERRIBLE in it. It's still fragile, but I am dealing with that. I thought that I ordered some kind of protein thingy from Sizta to Sizta, but maybe my order didn't go through because I didn't get the stuff and she's really good about getting the stuff to me. Nothing much is going on with my hair other than that.

Not necessary? No, NOT necessary!!!!

Conditioner, that is. I have a sack full of Aubrey's that I need to take back to the store. I'm not using it any more. My hair seems to get MORE knots when I use conditioner than when I don't. So, needless to say, I have STOPPED using it. My hair is doing a lot better now. I've tried to figure out over the years what the benefit of using conditioner is AFTER the hair dries. I'm only talking about MY hair here. Some people SWEAR by conditioner and it obviously does SOMETHING for them, so THEY should use it. However, I DON'T need it, so I'm not going to spend any more money on the stuff. My hair feels and looks great!

Fragile Hair Update!

Hello all!! I have a few updates since my last post. I STILL wear my hair shrunken and I really don't see that changing. However, one thing I DO know is that it must be handled wet. for now, my routine has been daily spritzing with water after which I apply Oyin whipped pudding. Now, however, I think that I need to saturate my hair and then apply the whipped pudding because I have fewer knots that way. I am STILL working on the whole "stretching" thing. I used to constantly "stretch" my hair out by pulling it, mostly for the benefit of onlookers. It was as if I was saying to the world "Look, I have hair, TOO!" It was as if my self-worth was directly tied up in the length of my hair! I find that a little bit sad! Now, I am working to reverse YEARS of having that programmed into me by my stepmommy. I know she meant well, but the years of her trying to figure out how to get both mine and my daughter's hair "to grow" have taken their toll on me both emotionally and physically over the years. The family would get together, oohing and ahhing over the long hair of the women in her family. Mine was always pitiful, broken off, and thin. Years of chemical treatments didn't help. Fast forward to NOW, when I'm 35 years of age and my hair is thick and full, yet SHORT and I am happy! Yes, I still long for a bigger fo at times, but back when I used to try to twist/braid my hair to make it bigger, I used to FIGHT knots! I did this mostly because I felt validated by having "bigger" hair. I certainly got a LOT more compliments that way. I even got a compliment from my stepmommy, which was something that I felt was lacking over the years. So, needless to say, a little self-examination has definitely been in order. It is just not HEALTHY to be validated by others. One HAS to have SELF-LOVE. NOT the arrogant, conceited kind of love that makes you feel that no one else HAS TO like what YOU like about YOU.

My hair is very healthy and I am approaching my goal of a 2 inch shrunken fro. After that, I'm not sure I want to grow it out any longer unless I can compact it in some way to fit under my uniform cover. We shall see!

Nappy lessons....

I did my hair in a a very cute style today. I flat twisted it in the front and left the back in a shrunken fro. I used water the whole times as opposed to trying to do it while dry. It looks fab. It was SO MUCH EASIER to manage. So...grab your water bottles and get to work. Water is a fragile haired girls BEST FRIEND! I keep a bottle handy so that I can manage both mine AND my daughter's hair.

BAD HABIT!!

I LOVE the feel of my hair and sometimes I just pull on it to stretch it out, which results in lots of knots and tangles that I have to cut off. Therefore, I am going to stop doing that and only handle my hair when it is damp. I have been using Oyin whipped pudding as my daily moisturizer and it is fabulous! Right now I'm sitting here with my hair mushed down from sleeping and
I realy need to get up and DO something with my hair, LOL! My "doing something" is simply spraying water on my hair and finger styling. I will add some hair bands. Hopefully, I can a get a few pics up this time!

LOVING MY HAIR...One day at a time!

Okay, so I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my goals was total hair acceptance. I have spent MANY hours poring over the fotkis of people who have long hair, whether fine , thick, or otherwise. I have ALWAYS wanted LONG hair. I am 35 years old and I've NEVER had it. It's quite possible that I never will. However, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I CAN have healthy, filled-in hair. THAT will be my goal. I want the top layers to fill in and meet the bottom layers so that I don't have as many gaps. I'll keep y'all posted!

PRODUCT REVIEW-Aubrey Organics Rosa Mosqueta

Well, I've said it before, but the Rosa Mosqueta conditioner by Aubrey Organics is AMAZING! I am not in love with the smell, but this product instantly detangles my hair AND leaves it very soft. I also used the companion shampoo. Now, Aubrey shampoos seem a little stripping to me, but the conditioner counteracts that. I try not to manipulate my hair much during the shampooing process and once I add the conditioner, VOILA!!! I used the shampoo on my daughter's hair as well. Now, mind you, her scalp NEVER responds well to all-natural shampoos, but this one worked. I had to lather several times (which is normal) but it didn't strip her hair the way that Suave Daily Clarifying does. PLUS I felt good knowing that I was using a non-SLS shampoo in her hair. I figured that I would LOVE to take the same great care of her hair and scalp as I do mine. Until Aubrey's I was unable to successfully use natural shampoos on her hair. Great stuff!

Ok, so no more GEL!!

I DO plan to get some Oyin Shine and Define for more hold on the ends, though. I'm also going to get some brown sugar hair pomade for hair and scalp. I'm tempted o try her after bath blended oil as well if it comes in a yummy fragrance. I got the honey wash and it smells SCRUMPTIOUS. I haven't tried it on my hair yet, but I probably will before the week is out.

The REASON that I say not to gel is that when I was taking down my braids, my hair was catching an knotting because of the residue and stickiness of the gel. For FRAGILE hair, that can be a disaster!

My journey from here on out will be MUCH more peaceful. I RESOLVE to love my hair, NOT to complain about it, to be GENTLE and to WORK WITH my hair.

My new adventure!

Hey ya'll! I am on a new adventure! I recently placed my hair in box braids. I lubricate my hair with carrot oil. It helps me to keep down knots. So far, so good. I am in the process of redoing the back, then I'll get to the right side, because I need to make my parts a little smaller. When I first braided my hair, I didn't like it. Now, I LOVE it!! I'm going to take my time and retighten it and eventually I will have it exactly the way that I want it to be. It looks so cute when I pixie the ends with some gel. I use Tresemme maximum hold. It smells and holds well. My shampoo and conditioner of choice is Aubrey Organics Rosa Mosqueta. Their conditioner is the absolute BEST that I have ever used. The runner up is the ORS replenishing. Of course, the ORS has a LOT of sythetic ingredients AND it has orange oil in it, which tends to act as an irritant for me.

I think I've figured out a way to manage my FRAGILE hair and cut down on breakage! YAY!!!