My Hair Today

Just wanted to post random hair pics because I kinda liked it today

Stepping Out with My New Look

So yesterday was my first OFFICIAL day rocking my fro.  My town's yearly festival at the Nautical Mile was Saturday and I had to have my funnel cake.  I sported a twist out using Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Curl and Hold Smoothie (more on that in a product review) and sealing the ends with coconut oil.  Before I walked out the house my hair was great. Felt great, Looked defined but as soon as that humidity hit me... Oh boy!!  These pictures are the end results of the weather vs. my hair.  Don't get me wrong, I still loved it but I need to work on hold, definition, and shine.

Currently my hair is retwisted with pure Aloe Vera Gel and JBCO (Jamaican Black Castor Oil) to seal the ends.  I'll probably rub a little of Shea Moisture Curl & Shine Milk sometime today and tomorrow then untwist on Monday with coconut oil or maybe olive oil.  Then post pictures so I can keep track of what works and what doesn't.

I know that this is all new to me so it's a lot of trial and error but I can't wait to find what works.

So I BC'd but...

Sunday, May 9, 2010 was the big day. I am now 100% natural.  Didn’t cry, didn’t have a major freak out (maybe because I mini-chopped every time I removed my kinky twists.) I mean I even kinda loved it.  Honestly I was shocked that I even went through with it because I’m the type of person that gets comfortable and isn’t a big fan of change.  Oh boy was that ever a change.  I went from shoulder length straight hair to tightly coiled kinks that shrink to an inch unless they’re manipulated.  My boyfriend and I decided to cut it ourselves but I had one request: Cut but leave a little bit of the relaxed hair.  I didn’t want to sacrifice length.  From this I learned one thing: SCAB HAIR.  I’m convinced it really does exist.

In the natural hair world there’s a debate as to whether or not scab hair exists.  The best way for me to define it is a rough patch of hair that exists while transitioning. While growing my hair out I realized that the hair around the line of demarcation was unusually rough but I just figured it was because I was so used to the relaxed hair and it would change when I cut it. To me, it’s like the relaxer affects the hair below the scalp so the hair get a little tougher as a barrier.  My assumption is probably wrong and that’s fine.  I haven’t studied hair to know why it happens.  All I know is it doesn’t necessarily represent your natural texture.  I noticed that when I did a twist out on my hair the first couple of days, the ends were super dry and frizzy but the rest of my hair held the style real well.  Frustrating! Well I attribute that to scab hair.  How do I fix that you ask? Well I’ll tell you, lol.  Cut it. Simple as that… Or so you would think.  I can’t cut it.  For some reason that’s too short for me so I’ve decided to throw my kinky twists back in until my birthday possibly (end of July.) I know, I know.  The plan is to take them out in July and head to a natural hairdresser to cut the ends.  The next two months are devoted to finding a great hairdresser.  Not too many of my friends are natural and the ones that are do it themselves so I have some work to do. 

While BC-ing I decided to kill two birds with one stone: BC and try the baking soda and conditioner treatment.  More on that in another post.  I’m also trying to edit all 22 minutes of video we recorded so hopefully that will make it to MeEntirely in the near future.  But here are a couple of pics of the cut.

Obviously I'm not looking as glam as I would like but I'm okay with it for the sake of documenting my life.

Pleasant Peasant

Ok so this top screams "Mom" to me (well mine at least, she loves a flowy tunic) but when I saw it way back in February, I had to have it. And it was on sale? Umm yes please. I finally pulled it out and decided to give it a go today.  All I was missing was a giant peace sign necklace and tinted sunglasses.  Too bad I was too lazy to put contacts on.

 

LoveMeLoveYou

It's been a little while but that's because my laptop was sick.  Now she's all better but I haven't had too much time to update MeEntirely.  Just thought I'd share an outfit I wore the other day.  Nothing special.  Just a little something simple.

 

Sidenote: while I was uploading these pics I had to laugh because it looks like I gotta pee in a few of them.  I need to figure out how to get my self-timer on my camera just right because these angles are a little crazy. Oh well, all for the sake of my blog :)

Coming Attractions

I was planning on putting a couple posts up but my laptop has a virus so there goes that plan.  However Sunday's a big day for me involving Hopefully my girl is all better by then so I can upload the pictures and video that I take of the BC for Monday.  Yes, I consider my laptop a girl, don't judge me lol.  I was out the other day for my friend's birthday bar tour and saw these gorgeous naturals with kinks like me & I couldn't stop staring... I LOVED IT!  Something about seeing girls with my hair type made me feel a little more comfortable with my decision.

So now begins my countdown: 6 days...

Perfect Timing... Kinda

While on a search for something to wear for my good friend's birthday bar tour, I found this at TJ Maxx.

As the label says it's a spray bottle of EVOO.  My scalp is really dry and does really well when I use olive oil on it.  The problem is when I poured it on my hands, it had to go through so much hair that it never really made it to my scalp.  Now I can part my hair and spray directly onto my scalp.  I could've gone the "applicator bottle" route but I found this first.  Plus it's was only $3 so I have no complaints.  No actually I have one complaint.  Why couldn't I have found this in the beginning of my transition when I first started twisting my hair? Oh well, better late than never. So may not have found anything to wear but my PJ is satisfied & I'm fine with that.

Oh, if anyone has any suggestions as to what to wear for a bar tour in NYC, that's fashionable and comfortable, I'm open to options.  It's was so much easier when I was at State.  You threw on a t-shirt with the name of the tour with jeans and that's all.  I love New York but sometimes it's just so complicated

This Time I’m Sure

So I keep setting a date for my BC and changing it but it’s official (again)… SUNDAY, MAY 9^th 2010!!! My bf is gonna be in town and we decided when I first started this process, that we would cut my hair off together.  I’m really nervous but it is definitely time.  I’m curious to see what it looks like.  There’s a good chance I might cry or I might totally surprise myself and love it immediately.  The plan is to record it and take tons of pictures so I’ll share it here.  If I’m not crazy about it, the twists will go back until it hits a length I’m cool with.  In the meantime, I’m about to stock up on accessories galore; earrings and hair pieces just so I can be ready.  Shopping time-out is officially over on Saturday! Finally!!

We’ll see how it goes. Cross your fingers.

Pretty in Pink

I was in such a good mood yesterday thanks to the amazing weather we had, so I headed outside and took a few pics of myself.  Plus I really liked what I had on.

6-0 days and counting!

I can officially start counting down… May 28^th is the big day!!!

2 more months til I say farewell, adieu, deuces to my relaxed ends.

60 days!!!!!

I’m happy, I’m scared, I was starting to think I wasn’t gonna make it.

Longest 12 months ever!

Natural/Homemade Hair Treatments

On my quest to becoming a natural hair beauty I’ve realized one thing: Becoming natural is not less time consuming. I have some thick, kinky, coily dry hair and that’s just the way it is. It’s not unmanageable but doing my hair will be a process. Since the BC is coming up soon (approx 2 more months!!) I’ve been researching different treatments to “soften” my hair, make it more manageable.

These are the ones I hear the most about:

1. Baking Soda & Conditioner: These 2 ingredients, ½ cup of baking soda and 1 cup of your conditioner, are supposed to eliminate frizz, elongate your curl pattern (a.k.a. reduce dreaded shrinkage) reduces some of the hair’s bulkiness and leave hair soft/manageable. You can add a tablespoon of oil (coconut, olive, jojoba, castor, etc) if you would like. Apply like you would a relaxer (in sections) to damp, detangled and washed hair. When applied, cover with a plastic cap for 15 mins to 3 hours. Some people leave it on overnight but I don’t encourage it. Too much moisture results in mushy hair. Rinse and style.

2. Coconut & Lime: Now I’ve seen a lot of different variations for this one but most common is coconut milk and the juice of a lime. Basically it is applied all over the hair after washing hair and covered with a cap for 15 mins to an hour. Some have used coconut cream because the milk was too messy and they wanted something thicker.

3. Cherry Lola: Developed by Cherry Lola, it’s a combination of Braggs' liquid aminos, yogurt, and baking soda applied to dry hair. From what I’ve read on her site, it is supposed to start working pretty quickly so it can be rinsed out after only a few mins. The only thing that concerns me is the smell but that can be fixed with a co-wash afterwards.

4. Caramel (Carmel): Now this treatment can be bought online or made at home. If you opt for the homemade version, you need a combination of bananas, honey, molasses, olive oil, water, ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar), cornstarch and coconut oil (these last two ingredients are optional) Leave it on as long as you desire. Click here for the exact measurements.

My plan is to try all of these and come back with a review and a more in depth explanation of each. The baking soda & conditioner is first on my list because it’s the easiest to do. Afterwards I’ll probably give the Caramel treatment a try because one of my fellow naturals tried it after I had inquired and she said it worked pretty well.

I dunno what’s wrong with me. I haven’t even cut my hair yet and I’m already plotting on all the things I’m gonna do it.

 

What’s to come

There are a whole lot of things I want to do with this blog and I need to start building and expanding so that it truly shows the different sides of me. Hopefully over the next month I can start adding fashions posts: what I’m wearing and what I wanna be wearing. Definitely more music, and my thoughts on the latest gossip. Of course, I’ll keep up with my hair journey and start featuring some of the women I’ve met from the natural forums and groups I’ve joined. I’m starting to get a little more comfortable having my writing out there for people to critique and in a strange way it’s helping me be comfortable with myself overall. Cheers to that! And cheers to the future of MeEntirely!

Natural Lengths

Natural Lengths

While taking this journey to natural, I've joined a few forums and groups to learn about the good and the bad about natural hair.  Along the way, I've met some really nice, wonderful women.  They're all so inviting.  It's refreshing because some of the people I run into on a daily basis are rude and seem like they have the biggest chip on their shoulder.  I haven't been able to go to any meet-ups with them but that is DEFINITELY in the plans.  Anyway, while on Natural Sunshine, one of the social networks I had joined, I came across Miss Angie Isaacs who asked if she could feature me on her site.  Umm... of course!! I checked the site out today and it's up!!! I have my first feature.  Hopefully as I branch out in the natural hair community, I'll be asked to do a few more and get some of these lovely ladies on MeEntirely.  Just wanted to share the good news.  I needed some positivity & I'm crossing my fingers that some more gets sent my way.

Here's my story

I think I’ve finally set a date for my BC, or big chop (for those not familiar with hair lingo)

Drumroll please: MAY!!!! Not too sure when in May but May is set in stone (kinda)

I’m sick of dealing with two textures of hair although I guess I’m not really dealing with them since my hair is currently in kinky twists. I wanna know what I would like with my nappy hair. There’s this fear I have of looking like a boy but I’ve gotten to a point where ehhh I just don’t care anymore.

Maybe I should back track for those that don’t know. I am currently transitioning from relaxed to natural hair. I don’t quite remember when I started toying with the idea but I started getting more serious about it in March/April/May 2009. My web surfing (do people say surfing anymore, wow I just sounded real ancient) consisted of blogs and YouTube videos that focused on natural hair. I spent hours reading about the transitioning frustration, the HG (Holy Grail) products, and the different styles/textures. I loved seeing all these beautiful women with these curls and kinks and I WANTED THEM! Obviously I wouldn’t just wake up the next morning and have a head full of them so I decided to begin my journey and stop getting relaxers. No more chemicals, no more burns, no more patting my head because I wanted to scratch but couldn’t.

The first 3-4 months weren’t too bad. I kept going to my Dominican hairdresser faithfully but ignored her every time she told me it was time for a touch-up. I did make sure that she blew my roots out REAL well because I wanted the roots to blend in. That is, until I read about how heat can damage a curl pattern. UGH!! So I needed another alternative and quick. Back in college, I had braids and kinky twists because out in State College, PA there was no one to really do my hair and I wanted to avoid damage. I figured why not do the kinky twists again. But instead of spending $120 to get them done, I was gonna learn how to do it myself. Here’s where YouTube came in handy (you can learn anything there) So in late August I gave it a try. Now they weren’t perfect but not too shabby if I do say so myself. From August to December, I rocked the twists. I did leave my hair out every so often to wash my hair well and install another set. Around the Christmas2009/New Years2010 holiday I decided to try something else and got a weave cap. I did love it but the only problem is that it itched like hell and cut off my circulation for a little (definitely made me dizzy and nauseous til I found a way to fix it) As soon as I took it out, I went back to my tried and true twists. This brings us to now. I’m gonna keep the twists until May and work with what I have then. There have been days where I just wanna give up but there’s some bit of determination inside me that’s not letting me give in. I know I’m not gonna have flowing cascading curls but I have seen some amazing 4a/b naturals that I can’t wait to emulate.

I’m so excited!!! (Sorry I had a moment lol)

Well, that’s my story… and I’m sticking to it.

(Me relaxed, Summer09)

 

 

 

 

(Kinky twists, October 2009)

 

(Twist out before I install another set of kinky twists, Dec 2009)

(After the BC, May 2010)