Finally a Hair Update!!!!

medium sized loose hair twists

3 years since I cut my locks off what?!?! The hair as you can see has been growing, I don't have a hair length goal and I haven't measured the length of my hair, I'm kind of just letting it do it's thing as long as it's healthy and I'm not bored with it. I am curious to see how long it'll grow just because that would be something new and different for me to try, since I usually don't have the patience to grow my hair out. My main focus has been to maintain healthy hair and learning how to take care of my loose hair. I still haven't quite gotten my full list of staple products  but I'm close. So here's what have I learned so far about this cottony loveliness that sits atop my head:

 1. I've fully surrendered to the fact that the only way I can detangle my hair is by finger detangling. Wish as I might that I could just brush or comb away my knots, my kinks have firmly told me No!

 2. coconut oil is the best detangler ever!!!!! I don't think you heard me!!!! COCONUT OIL IS THE BEST DETANGLER EVER, my hair loves the stuff and it makes detangling a breeze.

3. I am a henna head, tedious as it may be, but totally worth it. Henna strengthens my hair, gives it added thickness, I love that oh so slight burgundy hue and lucky for me it hasn't changed the texture of my hair, these naps ain't loosening up for nobody.

4. Semi protective and protective styles are my friends and that is just fine by me. While I love a good twist out or braid out, the reality of my life is I can't be bothered to style my hair every day and wearing my hair loose all the time is just a bit too high maintenance. Some loose twists, flat twists and the occasional braids with extensions allow me to still have fun with my hair, maintain an active lifestyle and less tangles.

5. My hair has to be stretched out, the lovely kinks and naps once they started to get longer my wash and go days were over, unless I feel the need to deal with a tangled mess.

6. I now need to wash my hair in twists or loose plaits, not up for debate or discussion, the kinks have spoken.

7. My hair hates mineral oil and silicone. The silicones I could introduce but that would also mean introducing sulfate shampoos and that's just too harsh for my hair. Mineral oil, petrolatum just... just no girl, I tried but she (my hair) ain't having it.

Jan. 2012, loved that cut!

There's still a bit I'm figuring out, I'm still on the hunt for a deep conditioner that I like and I'm facing a new challenge here in Toronto, they call it winter. I'm still exploring more aryuvedic herbs because my hair loves the ones I've been using so far (henna, shikaki, orange peel powder, amla). During the winter I'd like to try some crochet braids and dabble with wigs. I've switched up my routine a bit as the weather has gotten colder (that's for another post) the biggest being castor oil, which used to be too heavy for my hair in Los Angeles but is a godsend in sealing in moisture here.  So more to come but for now yeah to 3 years!

Able to bun my hair!

10 Month Hair Update

A Twist Out that I'm proud of:)

I hope all my US readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving and didn't go too crazy with shopping on Black Friday. So it has been 10 months since my BC when I said good bye to my locs. I find that I am still learning how to manipulate my loose hair but I am definitely enjoying this journey a lot. I'm also pleased with the healthy growth and having fun with styling my hair! The convenience of twists are awesome, when I go to the gym, just relaxing at home, or even going out I keep my hair in the twists and then for a textured 'fro simply unravel!!  I had a bit of a learning curve figuring out how to diminish the frizziness of my twists and what products to use. I was also apprehensive that as my hair grew longer I would find it to be more high maintenance, but I couldn't have been more wrong ( for now at least). I stick to the Curly Girl (CG) method. My hair really responds well to co washing and avoiding silicons. Using conditioner as my leave in (currently Tresemme Naturals) works just fine and is budget friendly. I have joined the countless leagues of naturals who swear by and love Ecostyler olive oil gel, how pomades are a must for me now and the success I've been having with my own homemade concoctions. So lovelies don't get too crazy on cyber Monday and have a wonderful day:)

Ciao!   

first braid out, not much definition, but I hadn't discovered the power of gel yet.

Aaah Shrinkage....

Ahhh shrinkage, the bane of the kinky, coily haired gal….or is it? I’ve been a bit of a YouTube zombie of late, perusing natural hair videos and time and time again the issue of shrinkage, the battle to stretch out our hair in order to showcase its maximum length keeps coming up. I can definitely sympathize with this issue, I remember before locing my hair the slight frustration I would feel seeing how much my hair shrunk after washing it, all signs of the tremendous hair growth I had achieved gone! So now here I am, eight months since I cut off my locs and my hair has had some significant growth. I’m able to do twist outs and even cornrow my hair and that’s awesome, but the truth of the matter is I’m  more of a wash and go kinda gal. So despite the significant amount of growth my hair has done, I’ve gone from TTTTWA status (yes that’s three extra teenies thank you very much!) to TWA, I prefer my hair in its shrunken state. I know my twist outs look great, but I’m just digging the tight coiles my hair becomes when water hits it and I’m thinking we should start embracing our shrinkage. Ladies (and the few fellas out there) shrinkage is awesome!!! It’s another wonderful, EASY way to wear our hair. So what if it doesn’t showcase the true length of our hair, it still showcases the beauty and amazingness of our hair. So I urge you, challenge you next time you feel frustration at how much your hair shrinks; smile, slap some leave in, moisturizer or whatever it is you do and call it a day. Embrace the shrinkage and give your hair a break. I promise you, you’ll still be your cute selfJ

Ciao Bellas!

P.S. we’re going to have to tackle the topic of curl definition, I think we’re starting to get a wee bit obsessive about it hmmmm….

3 Month Hair Update

Helloooo!!!!

It has been a 3 whole months since I cut off my locs! I am still loving my really teeny twa. Since my BC in January I haven't cut my hair and I mostly just wash and go. On the days when I've gone to dance, yoga or both I do a cowash because I get really sweaty. On average I'm cowashing my hair about 4 times a week and my hair seems to be happy with that. My routine is cowash, leave-in conditioner and seal with an oil (currently my homemade coconut & shea butter mixture). Before I go to bed, I'll spritz my hair and then seal the moisture in with an oil.  I shampoo about every two weeks and use a deep conditioner on shampoo days. All in all very simple, just the way I like it. I am still taking my MSM and biotin which I think are awesome and I'm crediting these supplements with the thickness and strength of my hair.  I've also started ingesting a tablespoon of hemp seed oil, but more on that in another post. I listen to my hair and give it what it needs, which most of the time is moisture. Nice, simple and easy. When I feel like doing something different or defining my curls I'll use good 'ole Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel to  define my curls. I'm enjoying this stage of my hair it's simple and easy, what more could a girl ask for:)

Yup, I did it!

So yes! I caved and gave in to the urge and I'm glad I did, granted this is only day two so maybe regret might set in later. Why did I do it?!? Because the thoughts of cutting off my locs wouldn't go away and the more I investigated within myself, the more I realized I needed an emotional release. I had another dream Monday night and I woke up Tuesday morning going OK, it's time. I don't know how to explain it any better than it felt like my spirit was moving me to do this and that I needed an energetic cleanse. I went to Sandra (the same stylist who cut my locs into a style) and she did a wonderful job. Once she started cutting I didn't have an Holy Sh#@t!!! what have I done moment, it felt right. I felt lighter, free and that I was letting go, shedding a lot of emotional baggage.  I loved my locs, they gave me so much. They gave me strength, patience and faith to trust and believe in myself and a thoughtful fearlessness. They were a witness to me facing a lot of my issues and ridding myself of a lot of toxic people and situations. For some I know it may just be hair but for me my locs were spiritual and a great guideline for me, they were wonderful and I thank them for all the lessons learned.  So where do we go from here? I don't know. I'm not focused on length or styling, I'm just enjoying what I have right now hmmmm and that right there might be the lesson. I hope you continue to join me.

Cheers!

I trimmed my locs & A Color Announcement!

Hello,hello,hello Lovelies! Thought I would give a quick update on the locs. I recently trimmed my locs and I am so happy that I did! I had a few uneven locs that were really bothering me and also some locs just looking scraggly at the ends, so I thought time for a trim. The result is that my locs feel bouncier, look healthier to me and I am pleased with the results.  As you can see from the photo, I still have a few that are uneven but I'm going to get a friend to help me rectify that issue. I'm sure you can also tell from the photo that my hair is no longer red. I didn't dye it again but I simply let the color fade out. I'm giving my hair a break from color for about 3 months because in December I will dye it again (don't think for a second the addiction has stopped). I'm going to still stick with red but this time instead of using just one color, I'm going to up my game and go for a multi-dimensional look using varying shades of reds. So these next few months I will focus on making sure my hair is conditioned, keep taking my vitamins (I've added MSM to the mix) and research professional color brands. At the moment the two brands I'm eyeing are Satin and Wella. My professional colorist friend is visiting LA at the end of this month and I will bombard him with questions. Why don't I just let him color my hair well....he's AMAZING at what he does and his prices reflect his knowledge of that. He is kind enough to always answer all my questions and give me step by step instructions as far as placement, mixing and product recommendations. I also recently gave myself an intense protein treatment using the Aphogee 2 step protein treatment (more on that next post).  So that's the news on the locs.  My focus on growing healthy, long locs continues. Until next time!
Ciao:)
P.S. Excuse the hole in my shirt!