Curlformers Results

Here are the results from my use of Curlformers brand curlers.

I pinched the opening of the curlformer closest to my scalp and stretched out the curler. I slowly pulled the curlformer from the formed curl.

This is with all of the curlformers removed.

I pulled the curls apart.

I think next time I should use more of the rollers. The curls came out really pretty and I still have a few today after sleeping on my hair with only a silky head covering for the past two nights. This lasting curl may be do to the baking soda/apple cider vinegar OR the curlformers OR both. I give curlformers a thumbs up. I want to try them as like a touch up during the week with maybe a little gel and a natural oil.

Baking Soda Wash, Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse and Curlformers

While doing some online research about transitioning and hair care I came across lots and lots of information about the pH of hair and how this will help your hair to be healthy and strong and shiny, so I decided to try it. Here are some links which have in depth information about pH and the role that baking soda and apple cider vinegar play. I learned that the hair takes on the pH of the product that you are using. That the healthy pH range for hair is 4.5-5.5 and that you must take the total of the pH for each product that you are using and divide it by the total products used. Example My baking soda mix was 8, the apple cider vinegar rinse was 2, the shampoo was 5, and the conditioner was 5. So 5 + 5 + 2 + 8 = 20 Twenty divided by 4 is 5. So at the end of my hair regimen my hair had a pH of 5 which is healthy hair. :-D

No Poo
No Poo Method
pH levels of hair and skin
pH of your hair
shampoo free


Well, I tried lots of new things tonight. I tried the baking soda wash, apple cider vinegar rinse, alkazone pH test strips and curlformers.

Alkazone Test Strips

These pH test strips are really great because the range is from 2 to 10 and the package that I purchased contained 50 strips. I purchased them from evitaminstore.com.
Cost: $6.81 + shipping and handling $4.99 = $11.80.

My Containers

 I purchased two bottles of shampoo from the Dollar Tree where everything is a dollar, literally. My husband emptied them, soaked them in water and I rinsed them well until the water rinsed clear and bubble free. Voila empty, clean containers one dollar each. :-D


 Mixing the Baking Soda Solution and Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

My husband helped me with this entire process. We filled each bottle with filtered water from our refrigerator. you don't necessarily have to use filtered water that's just what we did.

We began mixing the baking soda solution. We added 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to 18oz of water. The bottle was shaken vigorously. After wards we measured the pH of the mixture which came out to a pH of 8.

Which is what we were aiming for.

Next we attacked the apple cider vinegar mix. We added 1/4 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, after which the mixture was shaken vigorously and tested at a pH of 4. We added 1/4 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the 18oz of water three more times and each time tested at a pH of 3. We graduated to 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar which we added 6 times until we reached a pH of 2. For a total of 4 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to 18oz of water.

Hair Regimen

First I washed my hair with NuGro Shampoo which tested at a pH of 5.

I rinsed and applied the baking soda solution to my hair and scalp. If you remember baking soda is an alkaline which opens the hair shaft. Next I applied NuGro Conditioner to my hair and scalp. The NuGro Conditioner tested at a pH of 5.

Then I rinsed and applied my apple cider vinegar rinse. Once my hair was dry I did notice that the vinegar smell had dissipated and my hair was easier to comb through. My hair was really clean.

Curlformers

I purchased three packages of Curlformers locally from Sally's. Two short and wide and one long and wide. I have a Sally's card so each package of rollers was like $11.89. Each package comes with 10 rollers. So I had 30 and I purchased the crochet hook as well which was about $3.89 with the card. My total was about $43.00.

The ends are rubbery and firm, the overall roller is a mesh build and the roller is a preformed tube curl. Each color turns a different way which is helpful in creating a spiral look and especially if you want your hair to come towards or away form your face.

I used Lottabody setting lotion.

I sectioned my hair and used hair clips to keep the portions that I was not working on out of my way.

I began with the short and wide curlformers in the back of my head at the base of my neck per the directions. Here is my first "curl". 

 The hook was fairly easy to use. You place a curlformer on the hook, section a piece of hair, give it a twist, place the hair on the hook and open the curlformer by pinching with your fingers to form an "O", then gently pull in a downwards motion the hair down and through the curl former.

In no time I was finished. I used 24 of the 30 rollers that I purchased. Mostly the short and wide. My hair is shoulder length and I now wished that I had purchased the curlformers labeled long and wide because I had quite a few curls that I had to pull more towards the end and away from my scalp because their were ends sticking out. There were a few times that my hair got caught up in the hook and tube and I had to start over. I saw a few hairs in the sink which indicated breakage I believe. I sat under the dryer on high for 30 minutes. I will sleep in them overnight and remove them in the morning. I will take pics to show the final result. I will use these again and be more gentle next time.

 

I am transitioning from relaxed to natural hair. ;-D My last relaxer was June 17, 2011.

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.

Getting Started 2

1. There were 3 or 4 associates at work that have been talking to me about going natural for the past two years.

2. When they first started talking to me I thought it was nonsense. My thoughts were: My hair is long, thick and pretty why should I go natural and have a "nappy" head?

3. Earlier this year I experienced some pretty bad breakage in the bottom left side of my hair, my hair was thinning horribly and I couldn't really wear it down cause it was so thin and it looked bad. I wore my length one last time on Mother's Day and decided to cut it because after all it was scraggly and I was only wearing it pinned up everyday. So I got it cut and I cried because it was so very horribly short, at least a whole lot shorter than I was used to.

4. Then I got my perm June 17, 2011 and my hair stylist flat-ironed my hair. It was horribly flat and did not have a single curl. I hated it.

5. By this time I had been bouncing the idea of going natural around in my head for about four months or longer. I had rejected the idea initially because everything I researched online showed everybody with natural hair with weave and braids or Afros, none of which was for me.


6. As time went on I picked up the idea once more and researched more. I found out that relaxers had really bad stuff in it that was carcinogenic. (cancer causing) like "ates", parabans and cones"So I decided to stop relaxing my hair. I even watched Chris Rock's Good Hair Movie.

7.I did more research and I found black women with beautiful natural hair that was long, thick and pretty and they were doing more than just weave, braids or Afros (which is OK if you like that sort of thing).

8. I researched the "big chop" repeatedly and again decided that was not for me. I was devastated when my hair was cut back in April.

9. I've found even more information about pH levels and how that can be used to keep your hair at the perfect healthy pH level and promote hair growth.

I'm steady in my decision to "go natural" as they say. It's not a fad for me, I'm doing this cause I want healthy, strong, long, hair. :-D

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.

Three Strand Twist Out on Transitioning Hair

This time I plaited/braided/twisted my hair using three strands of hair per plait. I used the same products, however as you can see this time I used a comb to make my parts. I will take another picture tomorrow once I sleep in the rollers overnight.

First Twist Out on Transitioning Hair

Hi guys, well its Sunday, July 24, 2011 and we just got back from church. I tried a twist out last night on my transitioning hair. As I said before my last perm was only last month June 18, 2011 so I'm only a month into my transition. I used the following materials:

These are the rollers that I used.

I added a dime sized amount to each section of hair.

The rollers were about $2-$3 a pack and I got those from Wal-Mart. The conditioner was under $5 and I purchased it from my local beauty supply store.


I used my fingers to part and pull out a section of hair. I applied some of the All Ways oil moisturizer and then I twisted the section of hair. After the section of hair was twisted I rolled it on a satin roller. Once all of my hair was moisturized, twisted, and rolled I applied a little olive oil to my scalp with my fingers. Before going to bed I covered my head/rollers with a satin scarf. I slept in the rollers and the next morning I took out the rollers. Once all of the rollers were out I applied more olive oil to my hands and gently pulled the twists apart and put on a head band. The end result was a wavy style. I believe that once I am all natural that I will get more curl. Overall I was pleased with my end result. I did not like sleeping in the rollers. Surely this is stress on my hair. The All Ways hair product is decent enough, but once it is gone I will most likely not buy anymore because of the ingredients:

Ingredients

Herbal Extract (Indian Hemp, Rosemary, Nettle, Sage, Birch, Burdock, Hops, Chaparral, Sunflower Petal), Isopropyl Myristrate, Glycerine, Stearyl Alcohol and Ceteareth 20, Polysorbate 20, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Monostearate SE, Glycol Stearate, Acetamide MEA, Cocoa Butter, Myristyl Myristrate, Aloe Vera, Oil Blend (Jojoba Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Avocado Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, Sesame Oil, Olive Oil), Disodium Edetate, propylene Glycol, Lecithin, DMDM Hydantoin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Diazolidinyl Urea.

This is how my hair looked at the end of the day.

I will do this style once more and take a picture of the finished styled immediately after.

Natural Hair for Dolls

You guys have to check this out. Too cute. I was looking at natural hair stuff online (products, styles, videos) and I came across a new blog post on http://www.curlynikki.com about styling your child's dolls' hair in natural styles and I just had to share. :-D Here's the link for natural hair for dolls.

Good Hair

You guys I found this set of videos on Youtube. It was an airing of the Tyra Show about "good hair". What it means to young children (especially girls) growing up in the black community. I found this series of five videos very intriguing. I do not claim ownership or rights to these videos, I just merely wanted to share them. They were originally uploaded to Youtube by Megami284. Happy watching!

 

  

  

Getting Started

About my hair:
As I looked back at pictures of myself down through the years I have found that after I married my hair was sometimes long and sometimes short and I had been experiencing some hair damage. About three years ago (2008) I made a choice for healthy hair. I got rid of all my curling irons and flat irons and I began doing hot oil treatments and deep conditioning my hair. This helped greatly and I saw wonderful results. My hair was way past my shoulders.


After I had my baby and finished nursing a year later (2011) I had some trouble with my hair. I experienced lots of breakage that seemed to happen all of a sudden on the back, bottom, left side of my hair. I did not notice any gradual hair loss, it just seemed to be gone on that side all of a sudden. i could do nothing with my hair. It was so uneven and thin that I was embarrassed to wear it down so for the longest time (about 2-3 months) I simply pinned it up.

So shortly after Mother's Day 2011 (April or May of 2011) I went to a hair stylist and she cut my hair. Oh it was so very short, right under my ears. I cried and it took some getting used to. Well of course with me being used to having long hair it was hard for me to all of a sudden have short hair. On June 18, 2011 I got a perm for the very last time. My hair stylist blow dried my hair after which she flat ironed it. It was horrible. My hair was bone straight with not one curl and I couldn't do anything with it for about two weeks. It was shortly after this incident that I decided that I wanted my hair back. I was tired of the thinning and being a slave to the perm (relaxer).

I want my hair to be healthy, long, strong, and full.

I have done so much research and learned so much about the danger of relaxers and caring for our hair in general. I will post some pictures of the current state of my hair soon. I have been transitioning for about a month now. (since June 18). It's funny I don't measure my hair in terms of the length of the relaxed ends now. It's all about the new growth.