Natural Hair Update

Hey yall!!

I even rocked natural hair on
Easter :)

Okay so please forgive because it's been a good three months since I've last blogged. I got really carried away with classes & studying but I'm hoping that it will all pay off in two weeks (after finals), so my non-blogging won't be in vain. Anywho, here's the blog that I promised yall way back when!I have some amazing news about my natural hair journey. I went the entire month of March without flat ironing my hair!! I can't believe it. Now I'm in my second phase of complete naturalness and I'm going to try to last throughout the entire summer. Here goes nothing!! Haha. The last time I straightened my hair was the week before Easter. I washed out my heated hair that Monday & I've been natural ever since. I even rocked the natural look for Easter ;) Before you read this post, you should probably check out my original natural hair post for some beginner tips.So I've learned a lot along the way (but I've still got lots to learn) and here are some updated tips on how to care for your natural hair:

A Wash-n-Go Hairstyle (:

Dang Detangling: I still don't feel like I've mastered this. Ugh. However, here is my current cycle. i wash my hair once a week, usually every Friday morning (because it's the summer ;) )When I wet my hair for the first time after having straight hair, I wash my hair with a sulfate free shampoo. Then I condition it & rinse it out. Next I condition again,but this time I leave the conditioner in and add detangler. While I'm still in the shower, I put my hair under the stream of water and comb through my hair. This makes it a lot easier to comb through my hair. However, remember that although it is a lot easier to detangle wet hair, your natural curls are still fragile & can easily become damaged under water. After my hair has been natural for a while, I only use conditioner to wash my hair. Shampoo has some of the same ingredients as dish washing detergent (shocking right?), so there is no need to use it on fragile, naturally curly (and dryer, less greasy) hair. I would only advise using shampoo when you have used a lot of greasier products. However, if you insist on using shampoo in your hair, try to find a sulfate free shampoo. Finally, I detangle my hair using suave detangler for kids (yeah I know...immature right?) and motions leave in conditioner. The leave in conditioner makes it soft and manageable while the detangler makes it easier to comb through.

Products!?!
When it comes to finding the right products for your hair, the most that I can say is "to each her own." However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind before you begin your quest for the right products. There are five good products that you are going to want:
1. A detangler (pretty self explanatory)
2. A good conditioner (to properly clean your hair with)
3. A good leave in conditioner (for added moisture. I use motions cpr triple action leave in conditioner)
4. Something that you want to seal your hair with (to protect your ends from splitting up to the roots. I use unrefined shea butter)
5. A good gel (for when you wanna throw your hair up into a bun. I use eco-styler gel.
There are plenty of natural hair care websites which lists a great deal of information on finding products. I would suggest using curlmart.com (part of the naturallycurly.com website). They have a ton of AMAZING natural hair products and great reviews. This will help you to find the best products. In addition, target.com has a wonderful selection of what they call "multicultural hair products" with great reviews. Once you have read a couple of reviews on a product which you are interested in buying, I would suggest getting onto youtube and typing in "product name review on type __ hair". Ex: "Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding review on type 3c/4a hair". This way you can actually watch someone use it on their hair & have an idea of how the product may turn out on your hair.

What to do with dry hair?

As a natural, you're probably going to find that your hair dries out quickly. What you need to do is first apply a product with water as its first ingredient while your hair is still damp. I use motions triple action leave in conditioner. A lot of people also use Africa's Best Olive Oil Leave in Conditioner. After I apply my leave in, I top my hair with shea butter. This seals in moisture. At night I also like to seal my ends with shea butter. I'm still having a problem finding the right products to make my hair soft. I was looking into some products and i really like the kinky-curly hair care line method. I think I'm am going to try it. You might be interested in reading about it too. Click here!

I had an amazing twist out!  haha

Braid out/Twist outs are the bomb: I've found that when I wear my hair loose, it tends to get really knotty really quickly. However, no fear, twists outs are here.
Here's a quick how to.
But in my own words:
1. Do whatever you do to detangle your hair.
2. Plat it out into four to six sections.
3. Braid or twist each section.
4. Wrap hair and sleep overnight & BAM! Sexy, stress free hair.
Sometimes I braid my curly hair into sections for a big-curly-hair look (like in the picture above with the purple shirt). However in <--- this picture, I combed out my curls first and then braided them. Experiment and see what works best for you.

What to do with your hair overnight:


At night: There are several things that I tend to do to my hair overnight. If I want to preserve my curls I pull my hair into a loose ponytail directly on the top of my hair. This hairstyle, called the pineapple, preserves your curls while you roll around in your sleep.
Here's a great how to.

In the Morning:
Take your hair out the ponytail & shake shake shake your hair out. If the shaking method doesn't work, some girls like to add water to their hair (via spraying). However, this causes your hair to shrink up and often knot up. Instead hop into the shower, wash your body, but don't "wet" your hair by putting your head under the stream. Instead the steam from the warm water will loosen up your curls perfectly.

Miscellaneous stuff:
There are sooo many amazing natural hair blogs/videos out there. What I would suggest is to type in your hair type into the search bar (ex: 3c/4a natural hair care) and go from there. If you don't know what I mean by "your hair type" please refer to my beginner's post. However, here is a list of some of my natural hair faves:

1. The best natural hair playlist ever. This natural hair list has a whole bunch of natural hair tip videos. But remember, this is for my hair texture (3c/4a). Refer to my previous hair care blog for a link to a site that has a curly hair type information page. Find out what the name is for your hair type & try to find similar videos! But this is a good place to start.
2. How to elongate your curls: Use the blow dryer to "stretch out your roots."
Here's another great how to.
3. These are some great/informative hair styling videos:
Twist Rod Set (Part Three)
Defining Your Curls
How to pull your hair up into a puff
Q & A about Moisture
Bantu Knots!!

Welp that's all that I can think of today! I really hope you enjoy this post and that these tips are helpful to you!

xoxo,

Jackie ;)