It's been a while...but I'm still natural and lovin' it.

I love natural hair...it is so versatile as evidenced below.

 Twist Out

Shingled

Roller Set (my very first one!)

I washed my hair and detangled my hair in the shower. I used As I Am Cleansing Pudding (cleansed my scalp well and pulled the cleanser through my hair pulling my hair in a downward motion), rinsed well with water, spritzed generously with Aloe vera juice (squeezed out excess), then added As I Am leave in conditioner then Cantu leave-in conditioner, then my oil mixture and combed through with a wide-toothed shower comb, then I braided that section up in a three strand braid/twist. I had four sections on my head in all. Most of the day I went about with a section of T-shirt wrapped around my head. When I began to roller set the back was mostly dry and the front was a bit damp. Roller set with regular magnetic rollers. I used As I Am Twisting Cream first then Beautiful Textures Curling Jelly and I combed it through. As I rolled each section I held the hair tautly to achieve a smooth set. I mostly air dried my hair with about 15 minutes under a hooded dryer at the end and I slept in my rollers. 

 Below are some products that I generally use:

Usually I put this on my hair after my leave-in. I leave this on for a few minutes then I rinse it out, add aloe vera juice, more conditioner and then my oil mixture. My hair feels really smooth when I use this.

Most of the time I cowash. I like this because the price is right (about $7 at Sally's), it's a large container, it smells wonderful and gets my hair clean.

Every now and then I use this clarifying shampoo, if I feel as though my hair may be getting cruddy, or if my curl isn't as defined as I would like or just maintenance.

This stuff is great. I like to use this when I shingle my hair. I put the Cantu leave-in conditioning repair cream (it moisturizes and aids in drying time), then the coconut curling cream (to assist with making the hair curl) then the cantu custard (below) and just a tad bit of the beautiful textures curling jelly (for hold).

Great slick and good for definition helps to stretch out hair and add definition, bounce and shine

Love this stuff, definitely a staple, great price and good sized container.

I use this but not a whole lot...still on my first container. I use it mostly for my edges. Guess its cause I'm natural, fluffy edges just kind of come with the territory.

I used the last of this a while ago and have not bought any since. I like the cantu better for my hair.

Sorry the pic is sideways. Love the cleansing pudding. It works really well, it lathers and you don't have to use a lot.

I love their color. It really does a great job in terms of a true semi-permanent. This is as close to permanent as I'll get. If you look at my pictures you can tell how my hair has grown since the last time I used this. The color is really lasting.

This stuff smells good, has good slick, but it does nothing for my hair in terms of hold/definition. It's not heavy/strong enough.

This stuff smells good, has good slick, but it does nothing for my hair in terms of hold/definition. It's not heavy/strong enough.

I love this foam. It does a great job adding slick and allows me to comb through my hair..I can't use it alone though because it isn't strong enough to hold my hair. Ok for beginning definition, but again I wouldn't/can't use it alone.

Smells great, does a great job. I use it every time I clean my hair.

My oil mixture: aloe vera juice, olive oil, safflower oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, sunflower oil, castor oil, cod liver oil, and grape seed oil. (added in order or cost) I use this everyday and especially in the shower after I condition my hair to seal it. I rinse the excess oil from my hair.

Two Strand Flat Twist Out on Natural Hair

This past week I wore my wig. So the weekend before I flat twisted my hair to my scalp in rows from front to back. So my hair was done up in flat two strand twists in rows for a full week. My hair had just been washed so it was wet, I parted it in sections using a rat-tailed comb and then I added a bit of Ms. Jessies Curly Meringue (as a moisturizer) and some Eco Styler Gel (for hold). My hair was twisted beneath my wig for a full week. When I came home from work I would pull off my wig and wig cap so that my scalp and hair could breathe.Here are pictures of the products I used and the results.

 

 

I am going to try a flat twist out again this week. There will be some changes: I will use a different moisturizer and of course it will only be twisted down overnight rather than a whole week. I want to be sure that it is the styling method and not so much the product that helped me to achieve this style. This style gets two thumbs up for me! 

Roller Set with Kinky Curly Spiral Spritz on Transitioning Hair

I rolled my hair with regular magnetic rollers, the first time since I started my transition, and it came out really nice.This in conjunction with Shea Moisturize conditioner produced a firm, soft set. I had to sit under the dryer for a few more minutes after I took the rollers out. The curls looked really good for two or three days and then I had to do a twist out. It was a little difficult to stretch that hair around the roller and pin it in place with the cap/top. The rollers were able to stretch the hair out pretty good. The curls were fluffy and firm and by the end of the day they were still as fluffy and firm as they were at the beginning of the day so the Kinky Curly Spiral Spritz did it's job and my curls were soft and fluffy so the Shea Moisture Conditioner did its job.

7 Braid Three Strand Twist Out Results

OK so I did another three strand twist out on my transitioning hair. Once again I am only about a month into it. My last relaxer was June 17, 2011. This time I only did 7 large braids on my head with the rollers and this time I used my Nu-Gro Hair-Gro Spray with Moisturizer in conjunction with the satin rollers and All Ways moisturizer listed in the previous posts.

The Nu-Gro Hair-Gro Spray with Moisturizer is said to be for thinning and balding heads and is made with 100% natural herbs and vitamins. It is said to promote fast hair growth for longer thicker hair and is said to heal damaged hair. My bottle is a 16oz. bottle and I purchased it from my local beauty supply store for under $5. It smells really good and it has essential oils like jojoba oil, olive oil, castor oil, coconut oil, shea butter, nettle, parsley and more. Again these are all natural ingredients with no weird chemicals or words you can't pronounce.

I really like the way this three strand twist turned out. The wave pattern was larger and my hair was fuller. I think this must be attributed to the fact that I only twisted my hair into seven twists rather than twenty.

Results: 3 Strand Twist Out on Transitioning Hair

This is what it looked like unrolled.

What I noticed was that many of the curls dropped from the twists shortly after I unrolled them. Some areas were more wavy or crinkly than others and some pieces ended up straight. Overall I think I like the results of the three strand twist better because it is more wavy/crinkly. However I must admit that the two strand twist picture was taken at the end of the day. Perhaps I should two strand twist once more and take a picture immediately after I take the rollers out.

This is the top view once I separated the twists with a little olive oil.

This is the back view.