EXHALE1913

by exhale1913 3rd May 2010, 3:15 pm

Hi Everyone!! I’ve decided to give this a shot. I hemmed and hawed about the BNB challenge, but didn’t really like the idea of starting in the middle of it; now I have no excuse!

Some background about my hair journey…

I didn’t get a relaxer until I was 17, because I was going away for college. Up until then, my mom pressed my hair. Ironically though, I NEVER touched my hair unless it was pressed. Even when I was old enough to start doing my own hair, my mom took care of everything from washing to pressing, and I took over after that. I remember her saying that you have to be very careful with it, when it wasn’t straight, so I never did. Because of that, I really have no memories of my natural hair texture as a child.

I don’t have very many bad relaxer experiences. I’ve always been VERY particular about who I let do my hair. After graduating from college, I moved from South Carolina to upstate NY for a job, and it probably took me two years to find a stylist that I really liked. Even after I found a decent stylist, I started getting tired of being a slave to my hair. I mean, I planned everything around that dang touchup!!

By the time I was REALLY ready to go natural, I was in a pretty serious relationship, and made an agreement with myself that I would do it AFTER I got married, and I kept to my word. Problem is, I did NO research in the mean time to prepare for transitioning. I got married in May of 2005, and immediately relocated to a new city in June. I didn’t even look for a stylist, because I was married, and ready to take the plunge. I continued to maintain my hair just as I had when I was relaxed – BIG MISTAKE!!

That December, we went back to NY for the holidays, and I made a much needed visit to my old stylist. To make a long story short, she told me that I had two options – either cut off all of the relaxed ends, and actually go natural, or relax again and go short because of all of the damage. At the time, I was wearing a bob, which was the shortest my hair had ever been. It was too drastic for me to go short AND natural, so I decided to relax again. UGH!!!

Fast forward to May 2006 when I got a positive pregnancy test. That was just the kick –in-the-butt that I needed. With all of the mixed reviews that I read regarding pregnancy and relaxers, I decided that I just couldn’t continue doing it in good conscious. That April relaxer was my last one. I decided to get braids, and wore them my entire pregnancy. My daughter was born in January 2007, and in February, I cut off all of my relaxed ends, and never looked back.

However, by the time I got the swing of being a new mother, 8 months later, I was pregnant for the 2^nd time!! With all of my pregnancies, I have had TERRIBLE morning sickness. That, coupled with a 9 month old to take care of, I braided my own hair this time and donned a wig my entire pregnancy. My mom would come up once a month and wash, condition, and rebraid my hair. The times in between, I would just shampoo, run diluted conditioner over my braids, moisturize as best I could, put on the wig and go.

After my 2^nd daughter was born in June of 2008, I stumbled upon a YouTube video – Rustic Beauty’s to be exact. That was truly a GODSEND because not only did I have my hair to deal with, but I had two daughters!!

Needless to say, another 9 months after that, I was pregnant, yet again (I know, that’s a whole other post all in itself), this time with my 3^rd daughter, so back into protective styles I went!! With an infant and a toddler, along with a side of morning sickness, I really didn’t have much of a choice! My last daughter was born this past December.

So there you have it. As you can imagine, life with my THREE little ladies, is a hectic one to say the least! I am going to try and update as often as possible about their hair along with mine, so we’ll see how it goes.

My days are pretty unpredictable, but I’m going to put forth an honest effort, and I’m looking forward to it!! I am due for a wash over the next couple of days, so sometime soon, I’ll post a picture of my hair. My avatar is actually a few months old.

by mrsmackey 3rd May 2010, 3:26 pm

WELCOME TO CURL STREET!!!! three girls....wow...ironically, I want another baby and I just FEEL in my spirit that I'll probably have another girl...<> lol

by exhale1913 3rd May 2010, 3:37 pm

mrsmackey wrote:WELCOME TO CURL STREET!!!! three girls....wow...ironically, I want another baby and I just FEEL in my spirit that I'll probably have another girl...<> lol

Thanks for the welcome!! It's funny, because I have two sisters as well!! I just knew that my first two were girls. With the last one, I was convinced it was a boy, NOT!!

How old is your little lady?

by sweetdrk1 3rd May 2010, 3:40 pm

Yeahhhhhhhhhh!! I am happy you joined! I enjoyed your story and I look forward to whatever time you have to offer.

by mrsmackey 3rd May 2010, 4:20 pm

I have two girls...ages 7 and 9...my husband and I really want a boy...like we're praying and fasting for this child...but for some reason, I just can SEE me with 3 girls...running..my...pressure...UPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!! Exhale1913: Hair Update - My Hair and My Girls :-) pics incl. Kopfschuettel

Exhale1913: Hair Update - My Hair and My Girls :-) pics incl. Kopfschuettel

...not good!!!! LOL

by CocaColaCutie 3rd May 2010, 4:28 pm

welcome to the CSJ hood!

by **Lynnieluve** 3rd May 2010, 8:30 pm

Yay!!! I'm glad you joined us!! I cant wait to see all that hair you have to take care of!!!

by CurlsGalore 3rd May 2010, 8:36 pm

Welcome and we're glad to have you on Curl Street!!!

by Juices-n-Berries 3rd May 2010, 10:09 pm

Welcome to Curl Street! Three daughters! That's truly a blessing.

by exhale1913 4th May 2010, 9:58 am

Hello! The girls are sleeping in this morning, so I thought I would take this opportunity to post. I didn't get to do anything to my hair yesterday, and I my first mini photo session in the bathroom was a FLOP! You ladies are going to have to give me some starter tips on taking self photos!

BUT After I finished cleaning up the kitchen last night, and everybody else was asleep, I started messing around with the camera on my laptop and snapped a few pictures. Definitely nothing glamorous!!

What REALLY stands out in these is the extent of my post partum shedding!! I mean, I've always had thinner hair around my temples, aka, cowlicks, but the shedding has made that more pronounced, and along with my ENTIRE hairline!!

I experienced this with all of my pregnancies, right around 3mos post, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating!!!

Exhale1913: Hair Update - My Hair and My Girls :-) pics incl. Hair_p10

So, what am I doing about it? Because I am breastfeeding - which I'm theorizing is the culprit - I'm still taking my prenatals and iron. I am also taking a spoonful of fish oil, because I just can't stomach the prenatals with the DHA component. I am also taking the fenugreek to ensure that I keep up an adequate milk supply. Oh yeah, and I'm massaging JBCO around my edges a few times a week. Like my previous pregnancies, I know that with time and patience, things should bounce back. Previously around the 6 month mark. So hopefully in a month I'll see some progress!!

Oh yeah, and those are gray hairs that you're seeing - I guess 3 babies in 4 years will do that to you!! I plan to take care of those once I get my hairline whipped back into shape. I'm thinking either henna/indigo, or straight indigo...

by exhale1913 4th May 2010, 10:04 am

sweetdrk1 wrote:Yeahhhhhhhhhh!! I am happy you joined! I enjoyed your story and I look forward to whatever time you have to offer.

Thank you, Sweet!

CocaColaCutie wrote:welcome to the CSJ hood!

Thank You!

Lynnieluve wrote:Yay!!! I'm glad you joined us!! I cant wait to see all that hair you have to take care of!!!

Thank you!

CurlsGalore wrote:Welcome and we're glad to have you on Curl Street!!!

Thank you!

Juices-n-Berries wrote:Welcome to Curl Street! Three daughters! That's truly a blessing.

Thank you! You are right! I thank God for them everyday!!

Your messages really make me feel welcomed. I'm still struggling with feeling like I don't have anything to offer!! Exhale1913: Hair Update - My Hair and My Girls :-) pics incl. Icon_redface

by CurlsGalore 4th May 2010, 12:14 pm

@ Exhale: Oh no! I thought the same way! Clearly, you have something to offer, because we all may have experienced it or will experience it someday! We're just a big circle of support and I'm glad I joined the thread! These ladies are so sweet!

by AfrikanLatina 4th May 2010, 6:44 pm

Welcome sis!! Wow...3 little empress's. I love it. Daddy is going to have some trouble on his hands with all those women around. lol I COMPLETELY feel you on the PPS. My edges have made a drastic turn for the better over these past few months and I'm so excited. Do you know if its the same for everyone? By that I mean if you have it with one child will you have it with all of your children? Do you know any other moms who have experienced it with one child but not another? I'll definitely be following your journal sis. Smile

by exhale1913 4th May 2010, 7:26 pm

AfrikanLatina wrote:Welcome sis!! Wow...3 little empress's. I love it. Daddy is going to have some trouble on his hands with all those women around. lol I COMPLETELY feel you on the PPS. My edges have made a drastic turn for the better over these past few months and I'm so excited. Do you know if its the same for everyone? By that I mean if you have it with one child will you have it with all of your children? Do you know any other moms who have experienced it with one child but not another? I'll definitely be following your journal sis.

Hey there!! You are going to have to give me the 411 on anything that you've found that worked for your edges!!!

I'm trying NOT to stress about it, but I have to admit, it's on my mind most of the time...

For me, I had shedding EVERY time that I had a baby. Only one friend didn't experience it at all, and she didn't breastfeed any of her children. Most of my friends have experienced the same thing too, with all of their pregnancies. That's why I was trying soooo hard to find preventive measures this last time. I started using the JBCO very early, but it didn't make a bit of a difference.

I'm really starting to think that bf is the culprit. I had a conversation with a guy at the vitamin shoppe, and he actuallly brought it up. He said that he's seen alot of women come in asking about something to use for it, and that most of us are breastfeeding. The theory is that your hair and nails are the last part of the body to receive nutrients anyway, and with the extra demands placed on your body, hair and nails are even further down the list. I'm really starting to believe that he is right.

It's definitely NOT enough of a reason to make me stop bf, and now I'm really conscious about trying to eat very well now, to make the bounce back that much quicker...I mean I always was, but now I'm even more...Really trying to cut out anything bad, sugar, etc and replace it with healthier choices like fruit to make sure I'm getting as much natural nutrients as possible...

I'll definitely be calling on you for moral support! :-)

by **Lynnieluve** 5th May 2010, 12:18 am

I'm am so sorry about your post partum shedding. That was one of the reason I went natural.....now I see (after hearing Alatina story) that relaxers didnt play as much a part in the post partum shedding as I thought.

by exhale1913 5th May 2010, 12:26 am

Lynnieluve wrote:I'm am so sorry about your post partum shedding. That was one of the reason I went natural.....now I see (after hearing Alatina story) that relaxers didnt play as much a part in the post partum shedding as I thought.

Yeah, I don't think that it really matters whether your relaxed or not. I have relaxed friends that experienced the same thing!

I think with a natural, I'm better able to camouflage. The past two times I wore satin headbands that I found at family dollar of all places. only when I was out though. when i came home I would take them off...

by exhale1913 13th May 2010, 5:24 pm

Finally got a few minutes to update! Last week, I ended up just cowashing my hair and pulling it back. No pics of that, but on Tuesday I was able to steal some time to myself to do something with my head! Right now, I'm trying to stick to a consistent regimen, but not necessarily consisten products, because I have WAYYY too many to use up. I'm challenging myself to ONLY purchase what I am using, and completely out of.

Here's a run down of what I did:

Pre-poo - on dry hair EVCO and EVOO
Buffering Shampoo (Kimmay method) - an Alba sulfate free coconut shampoo and Suave Shea Butter and Almond Conditioner
Deep Conditioner - Creme of Nature Professional Nourishing and Strengthening Treatment with EVOO and honey
Liquid Leave in - homemade concoction of distilled water, vegetable glycerine, and a splash of Rose Water
Creamy Leave in - Tresemme Naturals Nourishing and Moisturizing Conditioner mixed with EVOO and Aloe Vera Gel
Sealer/Styler - EVCO and Shea Butter Mix - shea butter/EVOO/EVCO

I deep conditioned overnight, and detangled and styled in two-strand twists, then pulled my hair back in a bun using the top of an old trouser sock as an elastic. I used the front twists on each side to camouflage my shedding by pinning them back with hair pins

Exhale1913: Hair Update - My Hair and My Girls :-) pics incl. Slide112

by CocoEuro 13th May 2010, 6:04 pm

Exhale welcome to the neighborhood...you look real familiar!!!

by exhale1913 13th May 2010, 6:48 pm

@CocoEuro - you think? i see you are in germany - where are you from orginally? I'm from SC...

by KnottyKinkyMommy 14th May 2010, 1:21 pm

Three words: Awesome thick hair!! I have a little girl who is about 14 months old. She was going through the baby baldness thing too but it is slowly growing back in.

by CurlsGalore 14th May 2010, 2:26 pm

Your babies are beautiful!!! Are they as sweet as they look? I love what you did to their hair. Super cute!

by CocoEuro 14th May 2010, 2:49 pm

I'm from NY, I also lived in Atlanta and Texas. I've visited Columbia, SC a few times back in the 90's.

by **Lynnieluve** 14th May 2010, 3:16 pm

You have a beautiful family!!!

by Nikcoils 14th May 2010, 3:46 pm

Beautiful family! I am also trying to use up my product before purchasing anything new.

by sweetdrk1 14th May 2010, 3:49 pm

Beautiful family! I love it!

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