kinky, kinky, straight (duck, duck, goose)

I live in Denver, Colorado. Geographically (for a black woman) this is the equivalent of hair-Siberia "especially" when you are a natural head like me. The climate here is very dry because most of our precipitation is received from snow-fall as opposed to rain. The challenge of retaining moisture in the hair and skin is further confounded by the high-altitude and the relative thin atmosphere which causes a faster rate of evaporation etc, etc. I've heard we have more sunshiny days than California, but my hair has the blues 200 days out of the year. I see-saw between wearing a mini-fro and pressed styles. On really bad days I give-up and wear hats. While my hair is technically "healthy" it rarely looks the part. Even though, I only straighten my hair about once a month and I carefully limit the amount of heat I use, there are always a few willful strands that remain straight even after I've washed-out my press. I trim my hair regularly to mitigate split-ends and the evil straight ends that tend to stick out irregularly because they refuse to revert back to their original curly state. I'm trying to grow my hair-out and achieve the much coveted BAF, only, I can't seem to get-off the merry go round of the free radical ends. I just want to look pretty more days than not. Any advice would be appreciated?

Hey Mllebutterfly! Since you live in a very dry climate make sure you moisturize you hair alot. I would do deep conditioning treatments once a week or every time you wash. Also moisturize and seal your ends each night. I would also suggest wearing more protective style [like braid, twists, updos], wet sets [like braidouts and twistouts] and avoiding heat. The protective style will help you retain length and you can gradually clip off the straight piece. The wet sets make all you hair a uniform curl pattern, so no-one can tell that you have straight piece. The heat will just further damage your hair [i use to straighten my hair every two weeks, no i rarely do it because im trying to grow my hair out]

I hope this help [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

@ Mllebutterfly

Hello again,

I'm feeling you on the dryness out here. On top of that, the recent drop in temperature has had me wondering what to do with my hair. I admit, I did wear it straight for about a week so I wouldn't have to go out with wet hair in the mornings.

For moisture, I love using shea-aloe that I mix myself and alternate that with coconut oil. I apply the oil right after using the Giovanni direct leave-in. The shea-aloe is better on my hair when it's dry. I use it when I moisturize before going to bed. I've noticed that sealing my ends with olive or coconut oil has also helped a great deal. ALSO, I can tell my hair feels more moisturized when I do the twists&braids as opposed to a wash-n-go (I do two puffs at night with a scarf). I thought it was because of the hair gel but I think it might be because the ends aren't left out.

Even though, I only straighten my hair about once a month and I carefully limit the amount of heat I use, there are always a few willful strands that remain straight even after I've washed-out my press. I trim my hair regularly to mitigate split-ends and the evil straight ends that tend to stick out irregularly because they refuse to revert back to their original curly state.

I was flat ironing about 1x a month until I noticed Heat Damage in the very front. It was straight like relaxed hair after washing. I also noticed a few straight ends here and there. I started researching and found out that moisturized hair will fair better against heat. I started deep conditioning 2x per week and layed off the flat iron for awhile. Now, I might straighten every other month or just do a blowout on a cool setting after air drying (using the scarf method).
As for trims...my ends are in good shape but I'm tired of the front laying flat while the rest is curly. I just recently trimmed about 1/2 or more and will do so over the next few months until it's gone. Maybe try rollersetting...gives a silky feel to the hair and lasts me up to 5 days. Good luck!

Do any of your products contain humectants? I've read that it's not good to use those type of products because an humectant attracts moisture and if your enviroment is fairly dry, imagine how your hair is trying to compensate for the lack of moisture. It's a good thing to read about especially when your climate affects the condition of your hair.

@Mitchellzee

totally off subject...i love your hair! looks fabulous!