Recent Bc'er trying to find a Big Sister

Hey Big Sisters,

I bc'd on February 5th 2010 and had my last relaxer in November 2009. After my relaxer, i noticed my hair was very very weak and I got scared and "silly me" put it in kinky twists. In January the twists in the middle left side of my head started falling out. All my relaxed hair fell out and all that was left was the barely two month old new growth. Knowing I couldn't salvage anything I BC'd. I was natural from 2006 until 2008 and then got fed up with not knowing how to care for my hair. This time I am completely dedicated to gaining healthy hair. I am not extremely concerned with length right now but I do want to lay down a healthy, productive hair regimen.

My current routine is:

• Cowash 3-5x a week with Suave Naturals Coconut
  
• Spritz
  
• Shampoo once a week with either ORS Uplifting Shampoo (my hair loves)/ HE HH (strips my hair) or ORS Creamy Aloe (just trying to use up) and condition with Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Threat (hair loves) or SNC
  
• Moisturize with Elasta QP Mango Butter or SheaMoisture Shea Butter Leave In or Organic Root Stimulator Carrot Oil
  
• I created a shea butter mix with shea, evco, evoo and tea tree oil (but I am not sure how to really use that....so I seal with it at night. Is that right?)
  

I haven't dc'd yet because I truthfully don't know what to use and I am curious what other leave in i can try out. I love the SheaMoisture but my hair feels dry after a few hours. I have very itchy scalp that comes and goes and sometimes it evens stings a little....any ideas as to why that is? I am currently dealing with dry crunchy hair and I don't even use gels. I am also curious as how to style my hair when its soooo short....u know femme it up a little.

Thanks for ur help in advance ladies. I would love to have a Big Sister and even some fellow newbies as sisters too.

BC 2/5/2010
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My avatar is from the end of February.


I will post pics of this month

Im 7 months natural but I would love to be your big sis if youd like

YEAAAAAAA! I have so many questions! Thanks Big Sis!

no prob...im on fb, twitter, and i have several instant messengers

im here for you

Great. my instant messanger elasstikwaistlyne@yahoo.com. And I'm on fb too...I don't even know where to start asking questions. Did you bc or were you a long-term transitioner?

I transitioned for about a year...

Did you ever have an issues with crunchy hair? Like literally you run you hand through your hair and u hear CRUNCH.

Yes I did...mainly because I didnt know what products to use, and my hair doesnt like too much shampoo, so I started cowashing and using shampoo maybe once a month and I use shea butter alot more...

and i have a few concerns about your hair care regimen...what kind of spritz do you use and what do you use it for?

I think its important that you look at the ingredients that each product u use has in it...sometimes those products dont work well with other products so that can also cause dryness or build up..I discovered that when i started using cantu shea butter leave in, at first i loved it but then i used to use ic fantasia with it and got the worst build up and my hair was hard and sticky...so i just stopped using the cantu...

Hey Cruzan Gurl, I just sent you a message on FB to let you know i just saw this post,lol

Make sure your spritz doesn't have alcohol in it, i actually use carol's daughters leave in conditioner, as spritz. you can also make your own using conditioner, water, veggie glycerin and oil or what ever you want. you for deep conditioners you can try the Aubrey organic honeysuckle rose. i've been using it for a month now i kinda like it. i also have the carol's daughter hair smoothie i use a a deep conditioner sometimes. i'm still trying different DC's but those are the two i use the most. use can also try the conditioners you use now and add honey and/or eggs. or you can do the mayo and eggs combo. really simple but here's a link i just saw today that has a bunch of different recipes for conditioners. some of them are know already. it also gives a little spin to others.

http://hmbeautyrecipes.homestead.com/HAIRconditioner.html

LOL! Thank ya kindly my fellow cruzan curly! I am actually DC'ing right now with Suave, EVOO, EVCO...I wanted to try dcing with the Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Threat Conditioner but don't know if my head will like the tingle for that long....for 5 minutes or so its great but I have never left it in for longer than that. I also wanted to try it as a leave in....what do you think? As far as the egg...i have a weird allergy to egg so i don't think my hair will thank me at all....and i know my stomach can't stand it.

In my spritz all I have is Suave Naturals Coconut Conditioner, EVOO and water. I will be adding castor oil, grapeseed and some joboba the next mix....quick question how long do i keep a mix...i mean how many days before i trash what i havent used and re-mix?

I will definitely check out the site....Thanks again!

BTW you are NOT helping my pjism with these new products (LOL)....and you know how shipping is out here! Order it today get it in two - three months...LOL I just got my oils that i ordered in february...SMH! But a fellow curly did say they have Carol's daughter on base and I have been DYING to try the Aubrey HSR.

Hey big sis, BSD! NO more crunch, no more crunch, no more crunch! LOL....Doing my lil two step dance.... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Thanks for the advice about checking to make sure my prodcuts were friendly!

aww no prob honey bun Im here anytime you need me~~!!

Wow, that is some slow delivery! yeah i don't know about leaving tea tree on the hair long either, however i use pure tea tree oil on my face sometimes if i have a bump or something. so you might me ok, but the scalp is a different animal,lol Yeah try it as a leave in and see if it bothers you :-)

your spritz sounds good, i'm glad you found the scrunch culprit,lol

The spritz will not go bad quickly since its something you have opened i would say about 18-20 months if it were something new and unopened about 3 years. things that come in spray bottles, last about 3 years because your not constantly on in it and adding bacteria or water. i don't always follow those rules though,because the few i usually keep that long end up doing what they suppose to. my favorite thing however won't make it past a couple of months.lol but if the products not doing what it use to after a year and a half it's time to go.

don't worry about the eggs there are other things out there, i don't see me using mayo, my mom put that on my hair one time when i was a kid....all i thought was Yuck!lol

LOL....I can only imagine....I've used the ORS Hair Mayo before and I was kinda grossed out by it....I was reading about yogurt and that sounds like something I can get in to.

But on a completely different note....I LOVE SheaMoisture Shea Butter Leave In Conditioner and so does my lil man! And my scalp has stopped hurting. I dunno if it was because of hair growth or because I was combing it too much....but it has stopped yelling at me! I'm trying to figure out how often I should be combing through it since its so short....but the little bit I do have now gets tangled up.

OH OH OH....GURL!!!! I can do finger coils now! YIPEEEEEE [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I tried some yesterday since I was just idle and they turned out pretty darn cute....I washed them out today but I took a couple pics....I should have taken the pics yesterday after I did them but I fell asleep...so this is what they look like after I squashed them in my sleep...LOL

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Awwww the twist were cute!!, yeah i love almost anything with shea butter in it,lol. i mostly comb my hair when i cowash, i try not to comb it when its dry if i'm feeling extra lazy then i will put conditioner in it before i comb it, but i mostly use my fingers for the tangles. i started out with twist last week it became and twist out and then i kept co washing it for the other days.i was suppose to wash my hair today but i was feeling lazy, so i guess i'll do it tomorrow. i haven't comb my hair since last weeks wash, extra lazy week for me,lol

Gotta LOVE those lazy days! I can't wait until I have enough hair for it to matter! LOL....I love your avatar pic! Is that a headband or scarf?

Thanks :-D it's one of those headbands that goes all the way around the head

Very cute! BWC!

Big Sis BSD....I've got news! Today marks my 2 month anniversary...very small but every day counts! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] So just wanted to share what happened this weekend....try not to laugh too hard. On my wash day, after I had DC'd and was passing the comb through my still wet hair I say this really cute shed curl on my shoulder so I stretched it out and I had to run get the ruler...and pluck one of my son's hairs...LOL....just to make sure it was mine and not his. I know I had told you before that I got my 2 5/8in but I don't know what part of my head this one came from but I got my 3 inches! YIPEEEEEEE!!!!! I made my hubby take me to the BX and I went hair clip shopping....hahahaha....I'm sure he was probably watching me thinking...."you know we have a little boy right?"...but he was supportive about it. Just thought I would share! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Now to my question of the day....I wanted to do my finger coils again today for the "hair-versary" and I wanted to try doing them with gel. I couldn't find any EcoStyler or aloe gel so I got some Ampro Pro Styl Clear Ice Protein styling gel....I don't think I am protein sensitive so I should be ok...but was wondering how I should go about applying the gel. Do I apply my shea butter mix and then the gel, or mix them together? I'm confused. Thanks for the help! Oh and hope you had a wonderful Easter Weekend.

AWW yay 2 MONTHS girl celebrate EVERY month!!! Thats super awesome I know you were excited girl, thats something to be proud of....and your hair is growing REMARKABLY!!!

For your question of the day, it REALLY depends on how well that particular gel works with other products....Ive never tried that one, but I know my Softee gel is cool when being put on top of my shea butter mix, but because that one has protein be a little careful about that cuz you may get some build up....lemme know how it turns out!! post some more cute pics missy!!!

Love ya!!

Yay for the 3inches!!

Ummm Ms you forget i use to do natural hair professionally,lol

you can mix them together or apply the shea butter first, because it has protein just make sure you wash it with shampoo or baking soda to get the protein out. actually for any gel you may want to do that. You can also check to see if the BX has the herbal essence gel, that usually holds ok too. i've used that gel a few times before and it can get a little flaky on you so be prepared :-D

I saw you Fotki pics Brownskindiva your hair looks lovely!

thanks beautywithcurls appreciate it

LOL....BWC I sure did! I should have sent you a ticket to come do it for me! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I didn't know HE had a gel....good looking out! I'll check and see if they have any. I was going to do my "style" today but its already 6pm....and I haven't done anything but cowashed and moisturized....lol.....maybe I'll make it my 2mth one day hair style...LOL

I can deal with Germany in April,I'll wait for my ticket Lol The twist can usually last a week if you wrap it every night.

Fabulous! LOL...a week? The ones I did didn't even last the night and I tied it down.....maybe I tied it too tight! But I finally got a bonnet so I shouldn't have to worry about that anymore. I am going to do the coils with gel today.....wish me luck. I'll post pics if they turn out decent... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]