Wanted: Highly Textured Natural Big sister :)

I'm looking for a big sister to get me through my TWA phase! I just chopped about 2 months ago, and I'd love some support. Planning on ditching my micros for the New Year, and would love styling/care tips for my super coily hair (I'm talking coffee stirrer size).

Currently using:

Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze to Co-Wash
Lustrasilk Olive Oil Cholesteral to DT
Jojoba Oil for my scalp (adding castor oil to the mix once it arrives in the mail)

And I have high hopes for shea butter for moisture and henna 1x/month, again, once they arrive in the mail.

Also taking 5000mcg of Biotin everyday.

My hair has a tendency to get really dry, and with the wealth of info on here, parsing through what has worked for a similar curly would be awesome, as well as seeing inspiration.

Thanks in advance, can't wait to meet you!

--asanterochelle

Hey sis. I'm past my TWA stage but vividly remember what it was like. I have a variety of textures on my head some of which are like yours(on the side near my ears). If your up for it...I'd be your big. Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns Im going to be an ATL resident next year by the way. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I would love that!!! I've decided I'm taking my braids out this friday night, and giving my first henna treatment a try (*gulp* lol). I have 100g of Mehandi Henna for African Hair.... I know i need some type of acidic liquid to add to it, but i'm stuck after that lol. What do you add to yours?

And I do remember you said you were moving to ATL! Let me know when you get here, we can definitely meet up

--asanterochelle

I hope you love henna as much as I do. It can take some trial and error to get the right mix for what works for different hair textures. Some people say that the more acidic the liquid(lemon juice, acv,etc.) the drier your hair will be. I've only added about a teaspoon of lime juice to one of my henna treatments once and I didn't notice a drying effect. My go to mix as of now is green tea steeped in bottled water, 1 tbsp of honey, and 1 tbsp of coconut oil. I get great results with that combination. The last time I also took a tip from Courtie and added conditioner(Aussie Moist) to the henna. My hair came out soooooo soft! Do let me know how it goes for you!

Iiiinteresting.... Right now I think I'm going to use Green Tea and Castor Oil/Jojoba oil in my mix... My hair loves Jojoba, and my castor oil came in the mail the other day, and it made my roots really soft. I'm mixing it up tonight, and using it Saturday. *excitement* lol. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Have you noticed any loosening of your curl texture? I've seen a lot of people mentioning it (although I wouldn't be entirely against it... lol), though I'm not sure if it's myth or truth. I'll definitely be posting pics and a new avatar once I'm through!

@afrikanlatina: I did it! LOVED the way my hair felt after the henna, and even ventured a twist out. (the avatar is my messy first attempt lol, pics of the re-twist coming soon :O)

I think the castor oil really helped, I didn't notice much dryness afterwards.

Sorry it took me this long to respond. I didn't see the thread highlighted so I didn't think you had responded. I'll just look for it anyway from now on.

BUT YAY for the successful henna treatment!! My hair loves castor oil as well and yet I've never put it in my henna. That's on my to do list now. I actually have experienced the loosening of my curl pattern. The crown of my head has hair that is virtually straight. UGGGGGGGGH! So now when I henna I either do that part last or don't do it at all to avoid any further straightening.

Did you notice any dryness? Can you tell if the color attached to your hair? Your avatar is looking good chick. What didn't you like about the way it turned out 'cause from here it looks good! Is that a scarf or scarves that you're wearing?

I see that you're ordering your shea butter and castor oil. Are they not readily available to you in Atlanta? I'm one that likes instant gratification in regard to my hair supplies so if I don't have to order I won't. A sista needs to know these things before I make the move but I would imagine in a city as big as Atlanta you could find shea butter and castor oil. Are you using Jamaican castor oil?

I didn't see much color change. I love my hair color the way it is anyways, so though the red tint would have been interesting, I'm not super worried about that.

I think it went well though! It felt really soft, and I didn't notice much dryness at all. This new avatar is my second twist out attempt lol, it turned out MUUUUCH better (I made the twists too big the first time, and had a lot of scalp showing.)

Anyways, today on the hair front, I'm doing a hot castor oil treatment before I co wash (i would have waited until tomorrow, but with my Xmas travel I won't have any time to twist tomorrow night.) I'm sorry about your curl loosening!!

And yea, there are definitely plenty of places around here where castor oil and shea would be available, but the prices online were better (plus I haven't had time lately to go BSS hunting, I live in a bougie part of town farrrrrrrrrr away from all the hair salons and supply stores lol).

how'd the hot castor oil treatment go? whats your mix? is it jutst plain castor oil? I think we'll both end up learning new things from each other with this big/little relationship lol.

My mix is about half castor oil, 1/4 jojoba oil, and 1/4 Taaliah Wajid African Oyl. I liked the results, but the Taaliah Wajid smells too sweet, so I think I'll leave it out next time. Maybe switch in olive oil instead? I'm trying to find something that will keep my hair moisturized and not too dull (shea was a little heavy... though I may have used a little bit too much lol.) What do you normally use?

I still haven't tried the Taaliah Wajid products but I'm adding that to my to do list as well. I've found her products out here at a local BSS. Can you tolerate the smell of coconut oil. For me its one of the better moisturizing oils to use. Its said to be an oil that penetrates the hair shaft rather well. I found that using shea straight up is too heavy for my hair as well so I decided to whip it with coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, and tea tree oil. That made it 100 times easier to use for me.

Do you have any experience with any other butters other than shea?