My Healthy Hair Journey

Flat twist, Chunky twist, Rod twist Oh My!

4/26/2016

At the beginning of my transition journey I have quickly learned twist outs and flexi rods was the "go to" style for me, with of course some trials and errors along the way. It took some getting use to at first simple fact because I've never rocked my hair in this manner before. I literally felt like Jimi Hendrix and Little orphan Annie's love child, but I got over it after time and a few compliments. During my experimental phase I can honestly say I took a few "L's" I had no clue as to how to preserve these curls at night, therefore I unfortunately had to get up 5am before work only to take my bonnet off and find out my hair was a hot mess! I had no choice but to try to do the best I could at fixing the problem(which didn't happen) and clock in with my head held high(with a silent tear in my heart)...Hey its ok, I feel like all of us transitioners and naturalistas has taken an L at least once in our lives when it comes to these kinks and curls. I've also had to learn how to properly part my hair during the flat twisting process so my curls would fall in the right place, and why was I the last to know a pic was required in order to remove those harsh parted lines?!

Once I began to indulge myself into the YouTube natural hair community, styling has been easier and inspiring....unfortunately I've found myself into another pickle lately when it comes to styling my transitioning hair. See what happened was......I was once scissor happy. I started off in this journey just snipping away damaged ends then a bit of the relaxed ends at a time then....a lot of my coils wanted to be set free. All of the nape is completely natural along with a huge patch in front of my head! Which of course makes twist outs a bit difficult when it comes to blending the natural and transitioning ends but somehow I'm able to make it work in between my signature box braids(gotta let your natural hair breath from time to time). I of course wasn't planning to become 30% natural but in between frustrating detangling sessions and pure curiosity the scissors got the best of me. I'm taking my braids down right now at the moment in order to give Sashay some breathing room and attempt my second twist out since I've cut my hair so you know I'm going to be having my fingers crossed, wish me luck.

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Growing Up Relaxed

4/19/2016

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Ladies and gentlemen what your about to witness is a live glow up through my childhood pics so bare with me and try not to laugh....I am my mothers first born, not only that we have two totally different hair textures. Her hair was what we use to call "good hair" back in the day in our own community while my hair was "coarse". I can't blame my mom for putting a relaxer in my head simple fact because she had no idea on how to care for my hair texture, not only that I had three little sisters soon after that, which is a lot of hair to do. My mother did what she thought was best and put a texturizer in my hair at five then graduated me up to the relaxer at seven. And I've been getting a relaxer all the way up until I was twenty-five. I remember as a child begging my mom not to stretch my relaxers out so far apart; I felt my hair was unmanageable without it. Luckily for me, my mom never listened which helped me in the long run. I remember sitting in the chair BURNING every single process simple fact cause I had a bad habit of scratching my scalp. I would take that pain too; I felt the more it burned the more my hair would lay flat. The scabs it left behind was horrendous.

This was when I was two years old, before the relaxer of course.

In between my relaxers my mom would put my hair into protective styles which were braids. I remember whenever my mom would go to do my hair she would tell me "You better tell her to work with me today"; Yes even then Sashay had a mind of her own. My grandmother was once a beautician so my mom learned a lot when it came to caring for healthy hair. She would always give us protein treatments along with deep conditionings, and GOD FORBID we went to sleep without at least a scarf on our head. I can honestly say I'm blessed to at least have the basic knowledge of hair care installed within me at an early age. My mom used to trim our hair on a regular basis but that had to stop; my dad didn't want ANYONE in the house to cut their hair no matter if it was an inch or a centimeter, we respected that rule...for the most part. With that I became paranoid of the scissors, I didn't want a trim or nothing. My mom would take me to the beautician whenever my ends would become HORRIBLE, then I would be forced into a "deep trim" in order to get rid of the damage.

As I grew older(still scared of the scissors) I started experimenting with hair color, I never bleached my hair but I have managed to get a honey brown color into my hair(due to high porosity). The first time I colored my hair it was semi-permanent burgundy color that was safe to use after a relaxer and fell in love with the color(no pic=/). Then I wanted to try a light honey brown, the only way my mom would let me dye my hair was if I only dyed the bottom half. She was more so worried about me damaging my hair, she told me I would have to stay on top of moisturizing my hair since it was dyed but did I listen.....nope. Which of course my ends broke off badly, I haven't dyed my hair since. Back in the year 2009 I had a tragic relaxer incident=( my mom decided to buy a "new" relaxer which ended up being a bad batch . Most of my hair FELL out, I was so heart broken I've never seen my hair so short or thin! Which led me to trying something new with sew ins in order to cover up the tragedy. I remember having one track sewn in around the crown of my head which helped add volume, length, and a pop of color. That one track ended up giving me two bald spots along my edges=/; I finally found a solution after several years!(another story for another day) but better late than never I guess.

My favorite product line to use as a young relaxed adult was ORS, my hair loves olive oil. I would recommend this product line to anyone who is relaxed. I remember I use to be the wrap queen! lol That was my primary go to style when whenever I had a fresh relaxer. Now whenever I look back on these pictures I don't feel the same as I used to about my hair; it just looks lifeless to me.....don't get me started on my ends(will show at a later time). The health of my hair became fairly poor once I started taking care of it in middle school. I wasn't eating right nor was I properly moisturizing my hair. I'm pretty sure my relaxed hair would look 10x better if I would have known then what I know. So if your reading this thinking about going natural or transitioning just know you have to take SPECIAL care of your relaxed hair, those poor babies need extra TLC. I will have to say my journey with the "creamy crack" throughout my life was interesting; a lot of ups, downs, set backs, fun, variety, ease ups, and pain...nor do I regret it.

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My Staple Shampoo and Conditioner

4/16/2016

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Renpure: Argan Oil

One thing I can say is, when I find a product that works I stick with it! The only reason I would switch up one of my staples is if I start making my own product that's even better for my hair. Renpure has been a staple of mine going on for three years now; the conditioner is ALWAYS the base for my D.I.Y deep conditioners which I always try to get in every week whenever I'm wearing my transitioning hair out. And the shampoo leaves my hair feeling super clean without stripping my hair, I'm also in the process of perfecting my own D.I.Y beneficial shampoo which of course Renpure will be my base.

The argan oil line will keep your hair healthier for longer. Their formula uses the shielding properties of argan oil to protect hair from styling heat, UV rays, and also maintains and enhance hair’s natural health & beauty. The unique blend of argan oil has micro-properties that will absorb instantly into the hair shaft for deeper penetration, while repairing the deepest damage. This shampoo and conditioner contains NO sodium chloride, sulfates, dyes, harsh salts, parabens, or gluten. This line is also safe for color treated hair, I started using this at the beginning of my transition journey and my relaxed hair loved it also. I find the 32 oz. bottles the most cost sufficient for me I usually get them from Walgreens whenever there's a sale going on, other than that the original price is around $8 per bottle which is a STEAL for me. These bottles will usually last me easily three to four weeks. The first several ingredients in these bottles are Purified water, Palm oil, Rapeseed oil, Argan oil, Red Seaweed, Red Alga, and Brown Seaweed. In case your wondering seaweed is very beneficial for your hair, it promotes growth and scalp hydration. I remember reading the ingredient list feeling apprehensive at first simple fact because I had no clue seaweed had useful benefits for my hair.

I truly love this shampoo and conditioner, you get a large quantity at a fair price right along with great quality. My hair is always left feeling soft, hydrated, and most importantly clean. The soap suds up wonderfully without irritating the shaft and the conditioner is very moisturizing. I always make my very own D.I.Y conditioner which helps boost the Renpure in performance. Now that I have my deep conditioner recipe perfected it is time for me to begin working on my own D.I.Y shampoo thats going to boost the Renpure in performance also. I will of course share my recipe whenever wash day comes around and I have no choice but to whip up a batch. Coconut oil is definitely next in line with my D.I.Y deep conditioner, this oil pairs very well with this Renpure along with many other natural ingredients. Which makes my love for this line even deeper. I recommend that you try out the travel sized bottle online at renpure.com if you've never tried this product before. If it doesn't work out for you try adding in a "booster" or a go to natural ingredient that you know will always work for your hair. And if that still doesn't give you the results your looking for well...at least you've only wasted a 2.8 oz bottle.

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Beginning My Healthy Natural Hair Journey

4/11/2016

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I originally decided to begin transitioning after I decided to cut out as many chemicals as I could out of my life. When I started this journey my hair wasn't in good shape at all. She was dry and brittle due to me not properly moisturizing, I would never use a heat protectant whenever I would go use the flat iron or the blowdryer which left my hair SUPER high in porosity, and to top it all off I was using harsh shampoos and products. My ends would break off horribly it almost seemed like I would be force routinely to get a "deep trim". My hair would always grow back fast but, do to me not properly taking care of my hair it would just break off, I could never get my hair past a certain length at the time.

I've always had a head full of THICK hair all of my life; I use to expect for a new beautician doing my hair to make a remark about it at some point or another. It would always take longer than usual to braid, style, or dry my hair simple fact because there was so much of it and when you throw dry and damaged into the mix well....it's just an ugly situation. As you can see I've always loved big hair, I took this pic on the right back in 2011 in my relaxed days. You could only imagine just how much I cringed when I found out that there would be a pretty good chance your hair would get thicker once you go natural. And it has indeed! I told Sashay she could get as big and as long as she wants just as long as she works with me lol.

Because of my hair being so thick, once I began my natural journey wearing pony tails became the thing of the past. I could never find a scrunchy or rubber band (wasn't hip to the stockings yet) big enough to fit all of this hair! ugh to be honest I still have yet to try try to put my hair into a pony tail just the thought scares me, I remember my poor sore and tired arms after achieving a pony tail back when I was on the "creamy crack". I'll just wait till I'm natural to try the puff *sigh*. My three top go to styles besides braids are faux mohawks, flexi rods, and flat twist these hairstyles has been saving my butt throughout this journey.

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My Protective Styles

4/6/2016

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One thing I can say is, Sashay THRIVES in protective braids. I have thick coarse hair therefore my hair is strong enough to withstand the braids. I remember growing up with protective braids, I'm pretty sure my mom installed them in order to give herself a break, I can say now that I'm older that's exactly what I do; whenever I need a break or Sashay needs some time to herself I go ahead and braid her right on up. Throughout the years I have experimented with just about EVERY braiding style which was a lot of fun.

I can admit I just recently taught myself how to braid my own hair, it was becoming a bit too expensive and I would notice my beauticians frustration with my newly transitioning hair. One tip I can give for all beginners is ORGANIZATION IS EVERYTHING! These parts in my hair as you can see to the left is what changed the game for me it really helps me braid faster and keeps my parts neat. The L.O.C method during the installation really helps my hair retain the extra moisture in the braids. I usually wash my braids every three or four weeks while moisturizing with my D.I.Y leave in and butter in between the time. Trust me when you take your hair down it will still feel moisturized even after eight weeks!!!!!

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Getting To Know My Texture

4/4/2016

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I will be the first to admit....I knew NOTHING about obtaining healthy hair when I started this natural hair journey. Back in my relaxer days my hair was ALWAYS damaged in some sort of way, "she" was either broken off or severely dry, don't worry I will go into detail in the near future. You could only imagine how nervous I was about going natural I would think to myself and say "If I don't know how to take care of my relaxed hair I know for damn sure I wouldn't know how to take care of it in its natural state." I was really dependent on that chemical at that time, I truly felt as if my hair was unmanageable with out that "creamy crack". I've been getting texturizers since I was five and relaxers since I was seven; therefore I have never seen nor dealt with my natural hair all of my life. In the first picture I was about six months into my transition journey all the way up until about my nine month mark. I'm not a hair type specialist nor do I get into all of the hype but I think I'm in the 4a-c range. I'm honestly shocked at these coils...I was ready to rock my sexy Pam Grier fro but never the less I absolutely love my hair no matter the type cause I have none! I ended up cutting patches of my natural in order to get a feel of my true texture, I have thick coarse strands and also low density hair. I will tell you how I take these for an advantage at a later time;).

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Length Checks and Shrinkage

4/4/2016

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One thing I can say is, Sashay has always grown at a healthy rate. My only problem in the past was retaining my length. I remember back in my relaxer days I could never keep my hair past my shoulders; as soon as I would get my hair to touch my shoulders my ends would be so damaged that I would have to get a "mini big chop" and cut off at least two inches. I use to get so frustrated...but now I know better and finally realized that it was my own fault. I wasn't properly moisturizing my hair and not only that I was applying too much heat to my hair. Now that I have ditched the blowdryer and flatirons while keeping my hair hydrated I have seen some AMAZING results.

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Forward>>

Meet Sashay

Flat twist, Chunky twist, Rod twist Oh My!

Growing Up Relaxed

My Staple Shampoo and Conditioner

Renpure: Argan Oil

Beginning My Healthy Natural Hair Journey

My Protective Styles

Getting To Know My Texture

Length Checks and Shrinkage

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