Newbie Needs MULTIPLE Big Sistas :-)

Hey Beautiful Women!!

I recently (11/11/09) did the BC. My hair length is 2-3 inches in some areas (the middle seems to be the shortest area so I've been massaging that area when I apply my products; the back is extremely soft & more loosely curled; the front and everywhere else is tightly curled). After stalking several natural hair care websites and poring over a ton of info, I have sadly concluded that I STILL need help. :\

So far this is my regimen:
Shampoo with Giovanni 50/50 once a month
Co-wash using Aubrey Organics 2x a week
Deep Condition with Jessicurl Weeky Tx
Right after co-washing, I apply:
Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave-in
Karen's Beautiful Hair Milk
Unrefined shea butter

I don't know what else I'm missing from this... so please help! I end up going to work with a weird looking fro that I usually pick out with my fingers, and when it gets dry, I go to the restroom and apply some more water to it and do the weird finger-picking thing with my hair again. Lol it's a hot mess but I keep it pushin with some eye-shadow & long earrings! (i've found that this keeps most folks distracted from the mess up top

Being that it's now winter, I'll start twisting my hair tonight, but I'm not really sure what product(s) to use for this either, so I'll be starting with some raw shea butter (should I be adding an oil to my hair as I twist or is the shea butter enough?) I'm waiting on QB's website to be up and running again so I can order some Amla & Olive Heavy Cream to try.

These (I think) are some of my main issues:
1) I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing at night with my hair. (I usually spritz in some more h20 in it before tying a satin scarf, propping up the satin pillow and calling it a night)
2) I don't know how to make my curl fro look cute! I notice many women talk about using gels/pomades but I don't know if those are necessary, and if so how to apply them to my hair.
3) I don't know much about oils... when and how often I should do hot oil treatments or what oils to use
4) how to moisturize my hair while @ work or during the day so restroom folks stop looking at me sideways while I douse my hair in the sink.
5) I've noticed some women use heat in their hair while deep conditioning... how is that possible without damaging your hair?
6) Are the products I'm using ok? Should I be adding a step somewhere or doing something different?

Any other info anyone can add will be GREATLY APPRECIATED b/c clearly I'm nappily confused!
Btw, I'll be posting a pic soon... which should help a bit.

Signing Out,
Naijabelle (Inky)

Hey Inky, can you post some pictures or do you have a website where we can find you? It sounds like your hair is just a tab bit shorter than mine (I did a second chop recently)which left me with about 4 1/2 inches of growth.

Hey Sunshine curls, I posted a pic, but I'm new to the site. How do you post multiple pics?

@ naijabelle
here is the link to post pics

http://www.curlynikki.forumotion.com/general-f3/how-to-post-a-picture-t310.htm

Good luck!

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these pics are from 11/11/09 (apprx 1 month ago). i'm not sure how the stylist got it not to look so frizzy and get my curls to come out so much! DOES ANYONE HAVE AN IDEA?

thanks NylaCoils!! :-)

Hi Naijabelle! Congrats on your BC!!! I did the BC two months ago after transitioning for 10 months.

I think your routine looks good. The only thing I see missing is an oil to seal in the moisture. That may be why you're not retaining moisture throughout the day. If you have any EVOO at home, try putting a little of that on your hair after you apply the leave-in and hair milk (is there a reason you're using both?). Also, how does your hair feel when you touch it? Does it feel dry, but it's greasy or is it completely dry to the touch? I'm asking that to see if the shea butter is actually absorbing into your hair or just sitting there (which may mean your hair doesn't like it; that's what happens when I use shea butter).

At night, instead of wetting your hair, try applying a little shea butter, assuming it's absorbing into your hair. Also, get a satin bonnet and sleep in that. Some can get away with just the pillowcase, some can't.

Maybe you can take a little spray bottle w/ water and oil in it to work. That way, when your hair looks dry, you can spray it instead of dousing it under the bathroom sink.

Getting your curly fro to look cute (although I think it looks cute based on the pics you posted) will take practice. Dealing with the dryness first will help considerably.

Sometimes I DC with heat and sometimes I don't. When I don't, I put on a showercap, then one of those aluminum foil looking heat caps, and a towel on top of that. That tends to generate a lot of heat. I leave it in for 45min to an hour and rinse. If I use heat, I only do it for 15-30 minutes.

I think that answers all of your questions, but let me know if you have more or want to discuss something in further detail. The Qhemet will probably help too. I just started using it late last month, and it leaves my hair super soft.

One thing that helped me tremendously when using multiple products at once was learning to mix them together. I just don't see the point in applying a leave in conditioner, and then going back to add oil. For me, manipulating my hair too much once I'm out of the shower= a hot mess.

Right now I co-wash and rinse completely, then mix Cantu Shea leave-in with EVOO...and apply that directly to my hair as I twist/fingerstyle/shingle with amazing results.

Sleep with a satin bonnet and use a spray bottle to mist in the mornings and fluff the roots *only* with fingers. Picking at the ends will cause frizz.

Hope this helps!

LOL! I'm sure you look nothing like Robert Downey Jr.

I would either use the Knot Today OR the Hair Milk. They are both leave-ins (really good leave-ins, actually). You'll save product and therefore money by not using both. You'll also be able to tell if one works better than the other so you can re-purchase the one that works the best.

It's okay to wear your hair out in the winter when you're not a home. Just try to moisturize, re-twist and put on your bonnet as soon as you get home. Why don't you want to use the shea butter at night? Is it because you don't think it's working?

If you find that twisting routine working for you, stick with it! You may want to experiment with the order of applying the shea butter and EVOO to see if it yields different results. Definitely spray it with your water/oil mix if it starts to look and feel dry, and see if that helps.

You're still in the experimental stage, so there's going to be lots of trial and error to figure out what's going to work best for your hair. One of the things I found helpful is keeping track of what I used, how I used it and how my hair felt as a result. That way I know what to build upon and what to disregard all together. Once you get the basics down, you can do things like introduce a gel to see if that improves your routine or not.

We need to find you a moisturizer that works though. You're using all natural products it looks like. Is that the route you want to continue? Any budget concerns?

One more thing, make sure whenever you are touching your hair, you have something on your hands. I usually rub a little oil on hands before touching my hair. Also, don't pat. Try to lift your hair at the roots and pick a little bit. The more you pick, the more frizz you'll get.

Can't wait to see the pic!

Queenofthe4s wrote:One thing that helped me tremendously when using multiple products at once was learning to mix them together. I just don't see the point in applying a leave in conditioner, and then going back to add oil. For me, manipulating my hair too much once I'm out of the shower= a hot mess.

Right now I co-wash and rinse completely, then mix Cantu Shea leave-in with EVOO...and apply that directly to my hair as I twist/fingerstyle/shingle with amazing results.

Thanks Queen! I never thought of it that way. I'll try this mix and see if it works. What's shingle??

traveljunkie08 wrote:LOL! I'm sure you look nothing like Robert Downey Jr.

Lol it sure does feel like it! I saw that pic and thought, 'now hold up why does my hair look like his!?'

traveljunkie08 wrote:

Why don't you want to use the shea butter at night? Is it because you don't think it's working?
We need to find you a moisturizer that works though. You're using all natural products it looks like. Is that the route you want to continue? Any budget concerns?

Hmm, I really don't know about the shea butter. I suppose I'll try it again just in case. Do you know of any other moisturizers besides this that I can use?
I've been using all natural products b/c that's what I thought I was supposed to be doing LOL! Is there a loophole? Budget wise, the cheaper the better but I'll sacrifice some extra change for quality, u feel me?

traveljunkie08 wrote:

One more thing, make sure whenever you are touching your hair, you have something on your hands. I usually rub a little oil on hands before touching my hair. Also, don't pat. Try to lift your hair at the roots and pick a little bit. The more you pick, the more frizz you'll get.

Wow! I never knew! Thanks for the useful tip!! :-)

Shingling is a method of defining your curls by combing extremely small sections of soaking wet hair coated with product. Try going to this link on You Tube. It's a great video on how to shingle your own hair by the makers of Miss Jessies hair products. I wouldn't try shingling until your hair is a little longer, though...you will see why after watching the video..you need some length for it to make a difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g02R7n77kHQ

@Queen- thanks! good to know!

I think it's great that you use natural products. I'd suggest continuing down that path.

As far as good moisturizers, again it's going to be trial and error. I'd recommend one of the mixtress lines (Afroveda, KBB, Qhemet, etc.), as I personally don't know of a high-quality, natural moisturizer that's widely available locally. But, before you buy anything else, let's exhaust all of your options with the shea butter.

When you put the shea butter on your hair, is your hair wet, damp or dry? Are you applying it to the length of your hair or the ends only? I found that I can only use butter-based moisturizers of any kind on damp or dry hair. If I use them on damp hair, I only apply it to the ends. If I use them on dry hair, I use a little on the length of my hair.

I also found that I cannot use straight shea butter. If it's mixed with something else, it works fine. But if used solo, it leaves my hair waxy, dry and greasy (who knew that hair could be dry AND greasy). So, in case that's true for your hair, take a little bit of the shea butter and mix it with a little olive oil. If you want to get fancy, you can whip it and add essential oils. I can't remember who it is, but there's a whipped shea butter recipe on the forum.

Here's what I'd suggest you do the next time you wash and record your results:
1) Give yourself a hot oil treatment with the EVOO. Massage it on your scalp and smooth it through the length of your hair. Cover your hair with a shower cap and towel, and leave it in for at least an hour.
2) Co-wash.
3) Apply the KBB hair milk OR KCKT.
4) Apply EVOO to your hair. A nickle to quarter sized amount should be okay based on your hair length.
5) Apply shea butter/shea butter mix only to your ends as you re-twist the next day on dry hair.

So, try that and let me know what happens. I hate to sound like a broken record but trial and error, and patience are key right now. It's been three months for me, and I'm just now settling into a routine. My hair was so dry, which led to frustration and me not liking my hair. But once I got the moisture back into my hair, the styles started looking better, my confidence improved and the frustration subsided.

Naijabelle...I think I am STILL in need of a Big Sister, but you and I seem to have the same hair type. My hair is looser at the back and the shortest parts seem to be the top and the sides and the curl is much tighter.

I've been twisting my hair at night after I get out of the shower. Its damp and I detangle using Giovanni conditioner and then while my hair is full of the conditioner, I use my hands to part it and use a dab of Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and I just do these big two-strand twists on my head.

I cover with a satin bonnet and when I wake up in the morning, I untwist my hair, find one of my trusty headbands and go! The Giovanni keeps my hair moisturized and the CD gives it a little hold and is a little heavy, which my hair likes.

I am planning on buying some shea butter this weekend to see how my hair adapts to it. I hope this helped you some!

Just an FYI, I've been au naturale since October of 2007. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

@traveljunkie- when I put shea butter on my hair, my hair is damp. I also usually apply it to both the length of my hair and the ends (but mostly the ends).
I seem to be having the same issue (in terms of my hair looking feeling dry & greasy after using it by itself). Do you know where I can find the whipped shea butter recipe?

Thanks for the step by step run through. I’ll record my results & let u know what happens. How often should I be doing the hot oil treatment?

Oh another question! Last night, I co-washed, then applied KBB hair milk to my whole head, then applied EVOO to my hair, but mostly my ends as I twisted each strand (Is this process ok?) I wore a satin scarf to work this morning (the twists look atrocious lol) but I’m feeling on the twists & I don’t know if they are dry or not or if I need to apply my h20/evoo mix to it. How often should I be spritzing in general?

LOL all these questions! You're just so full of wisdom I can't help it! :-) lol one more though: what hair type are you-ish?

@BlakButterfli, nice to meet you! :-) you seem to have an interesting routine but im a bit lost. So you don’t rinse out the Giovanni conditioner? Is this a leave-in or regular condish? Do you just add the hair butter to it and call it a night and then in the morning, go out as is? Do you ever rinse it out before starting again? lol sry for all the questions

@traveljunkie- this was my first twistout with my new cut but for some reason my hair looks white in a lot of the pics i took... may have something to do with the shea butter or just bad lighting...
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I went through soooo much when I first BCd, so I've learned a lot in a very short period of time. Don't worry about asking questions, that's what I'm here for.

I really don't know what my hair type is. I don't find those charts very helpful, so I've given up on trying to figure out what it is. If I had to guess, I'd say 4a. My hair is very tightly coiled. In some places the curl pattern is a little looser than others. Here's a close up of my wet hair.

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I do know that my hair is fine and porous, I believe, which means it doesn't retain moisture very well.

I'll look for the whipped shea butter recipe for you and post it.

The process you went through last night was fine. Start off doing the hot oil treatment once a week, and see how your hair responds to it. I alternate between putting oil or deep conditioning on dry hair with Aubrey Organics before I co-wash. I co-wash at least 2x a week. My hair likes oils, and I think that moisture boost before I co-wash works well for me. I DC on dry hair because I'm lazy.

I'd only spritz when your hair feels dry. If you think your twists are dry now, it won't hurt to lightly spritz them. You just don't want to over do it.

Here's the routine I'm settling into, in case it sparks any ideas for you:
1) Pre-poo w/ oil overnight OR DC w/ Aubrey Organics GPB or White Camellia
2) Co-wash and detangle with Giovanni Smooth as Silk
3) Apply leave-in conditioner (the one I use depends on my mood, but my favorite is KBB hair milk)
4) Wrap hair in microfiber towel for 15-30 minutes
5) Apply Qhemet Biologics Amla and Olive Heavy Cream to damp hair
6) Smooth hair w/ Denman brush, twist hair and add a little bit more AOHC to ends as I twirl them around my finger
7) Apply a small amount of KBB hair butter after hair is completely dry

When I take down the twists, I rub a little oil in my hands, smooth the oil on my hair and unravel each twist, adding a little more oil if necessary.

At night, I add a little more KBB hair butter, re-twist my hair and put on my satin bonnet.

Now that my hair is well hydrated, it looks totally different to me than when I first did the BC...

It looks cute!!!! We can be our own worst critics sometimes.

As you get your routine down and find the right products, it'll only look better! You're off to a good start though.

Here's the whipped shea butter recipe. Scroll down to find AfrikanLatina. Contact her if you have any questions. She has a thread up in the butters n bars challenge forum.

http://www.curlynikki.forumotion.com/products-f4/shea-butter-t106-25.htm?highlight=whipped+shea+butter

naijabelle wrote:@BlakButterfli, nice to meet you! :-) you seem to have an interesting routine but im a bit lost. So you don’t rinse out the Giovanni conditioner? Is this a leave-in or regular condish? Do you just add the hair butter to it and call it a night and then in the morning, go out as is? Do you ever rinse it out before starting again? lol sry for all the questions

Sorry, Naijabelle!

Yes, the Giovanni I have is a leave-in. When I first got it, I co-washed my hair and then just applied it to see what it would do. My hair shrank a lot, but it was moisturized and my twa was compact and neat. lol

At night, yes, I put the Gio in to detangle my hair. Once I've gotten it detangled, I grab a section of hair and put a little of the hair butter on it. I put it on kinda thick actually - so much so, that each curl gets defined as a smooth the butter from root to tip. Then, I twist my hair all over, repeating the process - I have these huge (not uniform at all) two-strand twist things on my head. I put the bonnet on and sleep!

When I get up, I simply undo the twists and stretch my hair a little and put on my headband. I usually don't rinse out before I start again, as I wet my hair in the shower each night before I do this process. But, if my scalp starts itching or if detangling is not as easy, I may co-wash again in the middle of the week, but I try not to.

On Sundays, I co-wash and then do an ACV and start the process then.

I hope this helps, but ask away if not! I don't mind AT ALL! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

lol @ naijabelle - Honey, patience is NOT a virtue I am in possession of. I feel you - I hate having to figure out what works all the time. Then, I finally get a "routine" and someone puts something new out that I MUST try. lol

I think it's good you are asking questions though. I still have plenty and am constantly in search of the guru or product that will get my nappy girl curls going. I still haven't tried Karen's Body Beautiful - how are you liking it?