The Curl Is Back!

Washing My Natural Hair After it's Been Straightened

Between the October Length Check and Straightening My Own Hair posts I've had so much going on with my hair! I've gone from not knowing what to do to my hair without my cosmetologist, to deciding on wanting to wear it straight throughout the winter, all the while dealing with a very itchy scalp and a whole lot of shedding!

I wore my straightened hair for about three weeks before I decided to bring the curl back! After looking at all the hair that was shedding, I noticed I had a lot of split ends. I've never had issues with split ends, but after my little debacle with trying to blow dry, stretch, and straighten my hair, I'm not surprised.

I was past due for a wash, so I decided to take the time to super deep condition and moisturize my hair. Here are the steps and products I used:

PRODUCTS

Aquage Strengthening Shampoo

Beautiful Textures Rapid Repair Deep Conditioner

It's A 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner Plus Keratin

Influance Natural Oil

Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Design Essentials Natural Defining Crème Gel

Washed & Conditioned

STEPS

1. Normally wash the hair with shampoo.
2. Distribute the deep conditioner throughout the hair and detangle.

3. Allow the deep conditioner to sit for about 30-40 minutes, covered. (I used a plastic shower cap covered by a larger silk lined shower cap. Normally I would've used only a conditioning cap, but I couldn't find mine!)
4. Rinse the deep conditioner out then spray leave-in conditioner all over the hair before massaging and distributing the oil throughout the hair.
5. Divide the hair into small sections to be twisted.

Unpinned & Untwisted

6. Spray a small amount of leave-in conditioner on each section before distributing the moisturizer throughout that section.
7. Apply the gel and twist the section tightly. (I flat twisted the front sections of my hair and two-strand twisted the back sections.)
8. I used a combo of these two methods (How To Get Your Best Twist Out Ever & How To Stretch Twists Frizz-Free) to stretch my twists.
9. The next morning I unpinned and untwisted my twists and got these results --->

Second Day Look

Normally, when I untwist my hair I fluff out the twist. What I mean is, when I untwist a twist I'll separate pieces of hair from each strand of the twist to get a fuller look. When I untwisted this twist out, I thought it looked pretty good and it was well defined, so I left it as is. I used the scrunchie method at night to keep my twists from frizzing out too much. The picture to the left shows second day hair. For the most part it held up pretty well.

Usually once the twist out starts frizzing out, I 'fro it up. I do that by combining hair into larger sections and making larger twists at night, which results in a frizzier, larger, afro looking twist out. But I'm trying to become more versatile with this hair thing, so I decided to retwist my hair thinking it would only take a few minutes. It didn't. It took an hour!!

The Retwist

My main goal with the retwist was to make sure not to create straight parts in the back section of my hair. I ended up creating major frizz the first time by trying to make the big part in the middle of the back section of hair disappear. I felt like the retwist wasn't as defined. My hair held the style better when it was completely wet as opposed to it only being a little damp. It had the twist out look to it, it was just a little lazy looking...lol!

After a few days, I feel like my hair is more moisturized than it was when it was straight. I did a little research on how to "fix" split ends, but I think my method will be sufficient until I can get to my cosmetologist. I'm still shedding a lot, which I'm hoping is seasonal shedding. Last but not least, I haven't been scratching as much. I guess you have to give some to get some.

As far as inspiration, I like Naptural85's YouTube channel. Her channel shows her journey from beginning (TWA) to now and the transformation is amazing. Her channel was one of the reasons I wanted to keep a log of my journey with my hair. I want to be blown away by the progress I've made! You can tell she's learned many things over time, so the recent videos are more helpful for me. However, I can't use a lot of the styles she does now because her hair is so long.

This is step one! I'm hoping to get more wonderful ideas from all sources of social media outlets because the styles are out there; the YouTube channels, IG, and FB accounts are all out there...showcasing styles that are easy to do at home. With time, effort, and an honest, earnest try...I'll be a versatile, do-it-yourself hair-stylist!!

P.S. - I wanted to take the time out to say a few words about Nelson Mandela. I don't usually address world issues here, because of feelings I have about these issues. However, there are some things that cannot be ignored. It's so easy to think this world is hopeless and there is nothing I can do as one person. If we examine what Mandela accomplished throughout his lifetime, it's impossible for us to continue to believe that. There was so much education about the his work everywhere yesterday (TV, radio, internet, etc.) and even still today. We could all learn a thing or two about time management, one person making a change for the world, love, and peace from this one man's lifetime (to say the least). There are children who will never understand the struggle and progress of their history...of the world's history...without the continued education the part of those of us who know. There are some things that need to be taught at home and this mans work is one lesson I hope to teach my future children.

 

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