One Month Post Big Chop

Well I've been 100% natural since January 23 and it will be one month February 23. So far I like the short do cause it's easy to maintain and it doesn't take long in the morning. At the same time I am unaccustomed to having short hair so I'm like I wish it would get long already. I am comfortable with my short hair, my Afro, my natural hair. I don't feel weird when I go out in public. I've been in headband and accessory city (jewelry, bangles, etc.). I've also been wearing more skirts and dresses to be sure that everyone knows that I am a girl. I'm still not into makeup. I want healthy skin, that's my goal.

I won't do another twist-out until my hair is longer. I didn't like the way this turned out.

Twist out

My hair is about shoulder length in the back, maybe 3 inches long.

 

 

This is my fro, see the pretty beaded headband?

Fro Day

 

I've found that headbands can be rather expensive so I have begun raiding the ribbon section in Wal-Mart. It's really cheap and pretty and you can make lots of decorative bands.

Coils post big chop

My Natural Hair

I am  a bit disappointed in my hair. It is not as curly as I would have liked. There are a few patches that are curly all by themselves and the rest is just a poofy afro. My hair is too short to do much with besides maybe coils (which I don't like because it greatly diminishes the length and fullness of my hair) and an afro which I'm not too fond of because it's just frizzy looking. What to do, what to do...

Bye, Bye Relaxed Ends: The Final Big Chop

Well I finally did it. 22 days after my initial kind of a big chop I have now freed myself from the remaining relaxed ends. It just looked funny to me to have the short natural coils in the back and then to have those relaxed ends half curled sitting on top of the poofy natural hair. I've been rolling it around in my head for awhile now and tonight I finally did it. I started with the edges and then just cut the rest. I wet the hair first so that I could differentiate between the natural hair and the straight hair since natural hair curls when it is wet. I have been transitioning since June of 2011. About five months shy of a year.

I'm glad I transitioned slowly to get my mind ready for cutting my hair the drastic length change. I am glad that I cut my own hair, I didn't feel violated, I felt liberated. Dealing with two textures was not horrible, however as my relaxed ends thinned in the back the more I felt a need to cut them, so I did. This made it a little weird when I stopped rolling the back and opted for twisting instead. So then I had this natural style in the back and these curls in the top. I'll wear it in coil outs and an Afro until it grows out. 

Snip Snip

It was probably about three inches of relaxed ends per section.

I used the Curling Custard to make my coils.

Bye, bye relaxed ends

100% all natural.

Hair growth

My last relaxer was June 2011. That's about six months ago. The back of my hair is totally natural and my husband just measured a pulled curl at 2 1/2 inches. That's just the back. The top is a little longer although there are still some relaxed ends up there. At this rate my hair should be 5 inches long in the back once I reach a year (June 2012) and perhaps 10 inches long after two years. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Kinky Curly Curling Custard and Coils

 Just a reminder the back of my hair is 100% natural now! Yay no relaxed ends in the back. I recently tried the Kinky Curly Curling custard to create some coils. I still rod set the front because I still have relaxed ends in the front. If I cut it then it'd be way too short for me.

 

Wal-mart now has organic coconut oil for $10 in the pharmacy

Kind of a big chop

I cut the back of my hair today after I washed it and did my natural laxer. So the back of my hair is officially all natural. Yay. I am glad that I didn't cut all of my hair though cause its awfully short and I was only able to get it around a little roller once.

Getting Nervous

More and more of my relaxed ends are disappearing. I am not nervous because of the loss of permed hair. I am nervous about having really short hair, because my natural hair hasn't grown out as much as I would have liked before I lose all of my relaxed ends. Up until now I have worn twist outs and roller sets, however recently I have begun to lean more towards roller sets rather than the twist outs because my hair looks really thin and scraggly in comparison to the natural hair. I've found at this point that roller sets work best because the curled relaxed ends kind of mask the natural hair and the natural hair underneath kind of hides the thinning of the relaxed ends. My plan was to transition a year or at least until my natural hair was about shoulder length....

Roller Set 11-20-11

This roller set was created using magnetic rollers and the kinky curly setting lotion/gel.

I love these riotous curls.

Really fluffy.

Henna'd My Hair

On 11-26-11 I henna'd my hair and used my natural laxer by Baka. The henna really could have been broken up into to two or more applications. There was so much that I couldn't use it all. It looks like poo and smells like spinach. It was really runny and my hair didn't feel particularly moisturized when I finished. The henna was messy and runny. It may have been because I used so much. If I henna'd my hair again I would only use about a third of the jar rather than the whole jar. I also had to add ever so much more water than the jar recommended to get it smooth and creamy because it was really thick.

Rainbow brand henna purchased from my local health food store. About $7

Mixing it up with boiling water and spatula. Kind of lumpy at first.

Added plain full fat yogurt for extra moisture and ease of application.

Applied to my hair, really thick. (This stuff was kind of runny)

See my wavy natural hair coming in?

I used most of it.

I did a twist out with the Kinky Curly setting lotion and rod rollers and sat under the dryer.

I pulled the curls apart.

As you can see henna acts kind of like a rinse. It sits on top of the hair.
The henna was supposed to be red.

My hair gained a red sheen that shows up really well in the light.

Changes

Updates
I no longer do the whole pH apple cider vinegar and baking soda thing. I have long since stopped that. No negative side effects mind you its just too time consuming all the measuring and pH testing. I did try the Shea Moisture Hair Mask. I don't like it. It smells nice, but it is thick and my hair does not feel moisturized or soft after sitting with it on my hair for thirty minutes under a hot dryer with a plastic cap. I henna'd my hair this weekend and used the Baka Natural Laxer once more. I'll post pictures and details soon about my henna experience. I no longer use Lotta Body (I discovered that it contains carcinogenic agents and chemicals typically used to embalm people. I now use the Kinky Curly Styling Spritz that I mentioned in an earlier post. I got it from Target for $11.99. I used up all of the African Pride moisturizer and I'm almost done with the African Pride Olive Miracle leave-in conditioner will not be purchasing anymore because it contains some of the "bad stuff" (-ates, parabens and more). I haven't had to use the Blue Magic Organics hair oil (mentioned in a previous post) because my scalp hasn't been itchy. However I will say that the last time I used it a day or so later my scalp was really itchy.

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.

New Product-Kinky Curly Knot Today

Well Sunday, November 6, 2011 I purchased a new product. Originally it was for my baby's hair. He has really coily hair and it is difficult to comb through. I had heard of "Kinky Curly Knot Today" however I had not tried it yet because I still have some relaxed ends. 

Well this week I tried it on my hair when I was about to do a twist out on rod rollers. I usually like to try and comb through my hair at this time. I know that a comb can rip out hair so I usually only comb my hair with a comb about three times a week and the other days I finger fluff and comb. 

Twist outs last me about two days as well as roller sets. Anyway this stuff is heaven! I was able to comb through my hair with a fine toothed comb! No pop, pop, no crack, crack... it just glides through. So I would recommend this product to anyone who's having a hard time getting a comb through their hair (regardless of whether you are natural or transitioning or relaxed). 

This product is all natural and can be purchased at Target (which is where I got mine) for about $12.00 a bottle. I'm thinking it'll last me about a month and a half and then I'll have to get some more. It works, it smells nice, and it really softens the hair. This one's a keeper!

It is...

for all hair types

great for detangling and conditioning

contains no alcohol, parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate, acrylics, plastics, wax, mineral oil, petroleum, silicone, carbomer

in an 8 oz bottle a cream

I've been reading and it says that it can be used as a conditioner after you wash your hair (rinse out or leave in). I've found that it is great for styling the hair as well.

Ingredients: Mango fuit extract, slipper elm, marshmallow root, lemongrass, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, citric acid, phenoxyethanol and natural fragrance