Ask CurlyNikki

Hi, I have a question...

what type of clips do you buy to secure your roots?

Hi! So I have been natural for four months now and my fro has always felt mosturized, but this past week I decided to do some dry twist. I usually cowash about three times a week, but with the twist I put olive oil in my hair then went. I took out my twist and they looked great, but felt dry. I'm on the third day and my scalp has gone back to how it was when I had a relaxer! It's dry and anywhere that I part my hair I see just white close to the scalp and on it. I oil conditioned all last night, but my hair still feel itchy and my hair is still dry. Any suggestions?

syd, I buy duckbill clips, but every now and then, I'll use click-clacks (the kind that snap in the middle).

deeplyrooted, everything isn't for everyone. Maybe your hair likes to be styled wet... and often. Go back to your old co-washing routine for a while and see if the issue fixes itself.

Mrs. Hudson, thanks for the congrats!!! The decision to do a BC is all yours. I personally wouldn't do one... my head is huge and forehead massive, lol. If I had ever permed, I'd do a long term transition and slowly cut out the straight hair. However, many women BC... and I have nothing but respect and adoration for them... plus it looks chic as hell! If you can confidently rock a short style, by all means do it! If you think it will only make you turn back to the relaxer (from frustration and low self-esteem), take it slow

marbar, your avatar is hilarious and super cute!

Jade, I'm sure it's possible to do anything too often. Listen to your hair... if it's getting dry, crackily and crunchy, lay off. If it's flourishing, keep doing what you're doing! Too much of a good thing can be bad, so just always be aware of what your hair is asking for.

MNHair, thanks chica! I need to re-up

Hi. The issue has sort of fixed itself. My hair looks better. I do have heat damage because I was a straightener for years. So I am trying to fix that because I'm not fully a curly girl as of yet. Thank you!

Thanks Nikki and Your welcome! My hair seems to be doing fine so I guess their is no need for the BC. My curls are nice and have taken well to rocking the natural no heat do. I am loving my hair, I just wish I could try some more styles...I'll wait till it gets longer. So far I've tried twists & twist outs and they look ridiculous on me...lol

Hey Nik, I really want to tell my transitioning story on your blog but I can't figure out how. Can you help me out?

Hi, Nikki

My name is Felisha (fefe) and i have a question to ask you

-so i've been transitioning for about a year and it hasnt been a bad process , this spring its beenor a year since i been transitioning but now i have no clue what to do . for the last year i have been doing my hair regularly ( going to the salon or flat ironing it ) and for the last few month i havent been to the salon . Since i didnt do a BC i have relaxed end on my hair and its breaking a lot EVEN tho i deep treat my hair.usally i just wash and condition my hair my self but i dont want to apply any heat to it because i HEARD. that i ruins your curl pattern (ture or false) but i need tips on how to maintain my hair. its really dry and it get super tangled and i dont know what to do with it besides wash it every day to detangle .....
* PLEASE HELPPPPPPPPPPP ME NIKKI


thanks fefe_love.

Hi Nikki,

LOVE your blog..you have encouraged me to try some styles and I HATE doin my own hair, but Im starting to get the hang of it [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]). I haven't had a perm since April 2005, I didn't want to do the BC so I transitioned using braids and weaves and gradually trimmed. Once I stop transitioning I wore my hair straight. I go to the hairdresser every 2wks to get a wash and curl. My hair is the healthiest and longiest its ever been. (Its about to the end of my neck/collarbone area..VERY exciting since I was ALWAYS the girl with no hair lol) But sometimes im the like the joke of my other natural friends who wear their hair curly. My friends act as if I'm not really a natural girl because I don't wear my hair curly. Sometimes in between appts I'll do a twist and curl, but my curls aren't as defined. Is that because I straighten my hair? Am I still considered natural and would my hair be longer and healthier if I stop wearing it straight? Also is a blowdry and curl twice a month too much heat?...Thanks Nikki any advice you give will be apprecaited [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hey CurlyNikki, First and foremost, I would like to thank you for this site. Thank you. It is wonderful to have a place to seek advice, stalk, ask questions. I have learned so much.

My question: how did you wear your hair when you first started going natural were you CG, Braids,or Weaves. I don't recall seeing pictures of you with short hair. What was you favorite style when it was 3-6 inches long

Hi, curlynikki! I don't know what my hair type is. How do I determine that?

keysh, everyone defines natural differently. You remind me of my sister... she has a head full of natural hair that she keeps in a blown and pressed out state. It's healthy, long, and relatively split free. Like you, she wears curly styles in between appointments. I consider the both of you natural. If your curls are loosened, that could be due to heat damage. Do some moisturizing DTs and see what happens. If they don't return to their original state, you will have to grow the damage out like a relaxer (if you want to wear it curly).

hth!


CNR20, it's not super important, but if you want to pick a category, go to naturallycurly.com and look at their descriptions on the home page. I consider myself lost in between 3c and 4a... most black women are somewhere between 3c and 4b and most of us have all three in our heads! I like to describe my hair as wavy, s curls, fine, and thin.

hth!

Thanks Nikki!!!!

I've decided to to stop presing my hair for a while and see what happens..The real challenge will be if I can really be patient and do my own hair..which to me is the real reason i get it pressed..not to sure on the products i should use but i found many suggestions on the site..i guess with the process of elimination I'll find the right stuff..I'll keep you posted

please do! My sis hates doing her hair too, and loves flexi rod sets because they last her for a week. Maybe you could try those or a similar wet set?

Hi Nikki,

First i want to say THANK YOU. Thank you for creating an outlet for natural sistas..

My question for today is..i would like to henna, but i have no clue what to buy. Because my hair is no thick, im not sure if an entire box is too much or not enough. I just want to color my roots. My hair is natural brown but my roots are white. I really dont want my hair to turn black. My hair has been every color in the rainbow, i just want something healthy to cover the gray.

I am so confused when it comes to which henna to use, can you suggest a brand for a newbie??

Many blessings to you and yours.

Ty

http://public.fotki.com/micaiahty/

Help! Is it normal to have shedding. I feel that my hair is shedding way too much. Every time I cowash, I have globs of hair coming out. I detangle gently with herbal essence hello hydration, starting from the ends working my way up.

@cnr20: Check out this article

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/286359/hair_care_shedding_or_breakage_understanding.html?cat=69

I will check it out, thanks!

Hi Nikki,

I have a Henna question. I real like my dark hair and red just doesn't seem to suit me. Is there a way to henna without the red affect/effect ? LOL

Thanks

MTY, I'd try Jamila, Punjabi Prime, or Yemen from www.mehandi.com.

As far as amounts, I can't say. Every head is different and you may need just as much as me (due to thicker hair) even with less length. I'd recommend buying more than you think you need. it's better to have left over mix, than to run out halfway through the application process. check out the henna tab on the blog for more info!

Hurricane, unfortunately not really. henna is VERY strong and even when trying to do a quick treatment without dye release, you still stand the risk of red highlights. Look into Cassia treatments, or henna/indigo mixes (to shift the henna brown or even black).

hth!

Hey Nikki!

I love your site & I have 2 quick questions:

1) Are there any products or conditioners that you would suggest for transitioners? I'm about 7 mo post with what appears to be a very loose curl, but with dry ends.

2) Do you have any suggestions for someone whose self trimming their hair?

Hi Nikki! I'm new to this site, but I mainly joined because I have a question for you. I'm really not sure about my hair at the
moment. Let's start from the beginning. Last April I decided to take the
leap of faith and go natural. I was tired of hairdressers breaking my
hair off and then telling me that I was the one that was doing the
damage (even though I was only going to them for my hair needs.)
Anyways, my hair, straight, was only about neck length so of course when
I saw it curly for the first time, it was a bit of a shock for me. I'd
never really seen my hair curly before. It didn't look too good when I
first wore it curly because of the heat damage (I was flat ironing my
hair with a ceramic flat iron my mom
bought and before that I was flat ironing every two weeks since I was
about 9. I'm 16 now.) So for the
first few months of being natural, my hair was pretty nice. But then
school started in August and I decided to flatiron it for picture day. And then a
month later I flat ironed it AGAIN for my friend's Quincenera. That was
the biggest mistake I'd ever made. My hair went from looking nice and
bouncy curly, to having a mess a split ends, dry, and just not
attractive at all.

It's been a good 8 months since my last
flat ironing, but my hair still doesn't look good curly. I have tons of
split ends, fried ends, straight parts in my hair mixed with curly
parts; it's just a disaster. My hair looks like a before picture. A
really bad before picture. I will admit that the hair closest to my
roots looks like it may be new growth, but the only way I know that is
because it's a lot softer and it's not a frizzy ugly mess like the rest
of my hair. The curls in the back of my head are a lot tighter then the
ones on the sides of my head. Right
now, I wear my hair in a bun secured with a decorative clip most of the
time as a protective style. I have also switched to a mostly herbal
wash routine, I oil my hair with Amla and coconut oil, I take a multivitamin
and Amla vitamins, I try to drink at least 6 cups of water a day, and I
try to exercise every day. But still, I feel like my efforts to grow my
hair out and finally have my curls back is in vain. Am I doing something
wrong with my hair? Is this just pure impatience? I've wanted long hair since I was 10
years old. My mom's side has long haired people and most of my dad's
side does too. I'd just really like some help in dealing with this.

Thanks
in advance.

Curly Nikki,

I love your hair. Please tell me exactly what you use to curl your hair to get the "ringlets" on your twist-outs. I like my twist outs, but I would love the added affect. I think you may be my hair twin. I am in my sixth month of transitioning. Thank you.

Curly Nikki,

No need to answer my question. I found your tutorial on twist-outs. Thank you.