BIG SIS AT YOUR SERVICE

last relaxer was late 2008, half chopped in April 2010...LOL

Lol so have you decided on a full chop date?

Nope, think I'm just gonna keep it healthy, and trim until its gone...LOL

but that could change.....LOL

Hi Ladies,

I wanted to check in with you all, how's it going, any hair-story to share?

My latest is that I buckled down yesterday and mixed a butter moisturizer for winter. I mixed organic raw shea and mango butters with EVCO, jojoba oil, tea tree (natuaral preserve), EO: lemon, rosemary, cedarwood, and lavender for hair growth (my hair in the front has been thinning out from chemical damage and i'm working on regrowing it) and lastly this wonderful lavender vanilla botanical aromatic I found that smells divine!!!

I washed yesterday and after putting my leave-in, I sealed with my new butter and my hair is still dancing it's so happy at being so moisturized. (Maintaining well moisturized hair is a challenge for me bc I have really fine and overly porous hair)...BUT I think I may have finally found my staple moisturizer.
I will report back on the progress in a few day.

That is awesome @Belleaenca! I am looking forward to your progress! Thanks ladies, I feel like I have some "Sisters" to help me on my journey.

@bella that is awesome.....let us know how it goes

@twinkie I feel the same way!

Belle loving the recipe!

and I feel ya Twinkie

Hi Ladies,

I just wanted to report back on my butter recipe results. Like I said, I washed and sealed with my new whipped butter mixture last Saturday and the results were amazing. I didn't have to re-apply until yesterday, Monday and only because I didn't want my hair to experience total dryness before applying moisturizer again; but I'm pretty sure I could have gone another day...

I've read that well-moisturized natural hair is supposed to feel cottony, but I had not yet experience that. No matter the oils, leave-in conditioners, oil pre-poo I tried, my hair would not stay moisturized longer than a day. By second day my hair would feel wirey with an ashy hue to it... that has FINALLY changed!! With my mix, my natural hair feels cottony soft (the relax part feels like silk, amazingly soft but not greasy), it looks moistiruzed and it doesn't feel wirey at all...I am very pleased

That is awesome @Belleaenca!! Keep sharing, I am learning. LOL!!

I know shea does that to you belle. Raw if you haven't already tried it you should.

@belle AWESOME news....where can I find this Shea????

@ NC- it was raw shea, I used raw organic shea butter and raw organic mango butter as my base for my butter mix - i'm so loving it and I use it on my skin as well and my skin too feel really soft

@Kiana (luv the name btw) - I got them from butters-n-bars.com. The butters are extremely fresh, I'd never smelled it so fresh before from any other store. I'm defininitely giving this a 12 out of 10. LOL

Is it just me or is anyone else here having probs with the forum? Just need to know if its only me.

NC- I think Nikki posted something about it...they've been having some issues bit they are working it...

Hello, ladies!

What advice would you have for someone transitioning for a second time? I do not have any chemicals in my hair, but I have never worn my hair naturally. (It's usual pressed and curled). Recently I've had the desire to experiment with natural styles; however, after 4 years of training my hair it doesn't want to work with me. I do not want to BC, so I'm going to transition. . again.

I'm nervous about the transition. I've never been without heat. Do you have any tips, dos/dont's, or any words of wisdom?

TIA.

Hola Curlies,

Just checking in...

@Naturally.yours - I've read that when you've been using a lot of heat, the best way to get your curls to pop-back is by DC...It doesn't sound like you really need to "transition" because you have not been chemically treating your hair. I'd suggest deep conditioning away, perhaps a few times a week until you start seeing your curl patter come back...you'll also get the added benefit of the DC to fight against the winter dryness...

As for my part, my latest adventure is a cassia henna DC. Currently I have cassia in my hair and I'm going to keep it on for 2hrs. I've been reading great things about the many benefits of henna and I decided to give it a try before I BC. I bought Cassia instead of regular henna because cassia will not change the color of dark-color hair, and I don't like color in my hair so there you have it... I'll report back on the results soon.

Hey Tia!!
Well first of all back away from the heat gurlfriend.

To echo belle you might want to try some protein deep treatments first to reconstruct the strands of hair first before you go chopping it off. Besides now that it is winter and we have to protective style anyway try going all out like:
~moisturizing pre poos
~deep conditioners
~hennah (mixed with amla to prevent further curl loosening) or cassia
and some sort of protective style in the hope that by summer your hair will have recuperated.

Also many of the styles feautured on CN can be done no matter your curl type:
~bantu knot outs
~twist n curls
~twist outs
~braid outs
so try doing some of these styles to nurture your hair back to health

Lastly, it's perfectly healthy to be nervous but trust me this is something worth sticking to. And you may not like it at the beginning but fake it till you make it girl.

HTH

btw naturally yours great to know you had such great success with styling and comments during turkey day (saw it on another post)

Anybody else rocked their Diva on turkey day?

@belleaenca: Thanks you! Do you think the conditioners matter or is a deep condition a deep condition?

@naturallychelsea: Aphogee would be a great protein treatment? I ask because I purchased it but never used it. I've been itching to try henna, but I'm hesitating because while I want to loosen my curl pattern a bit, I only want to do it on one side. What are twist n curls?

Why, thank you! I was surprised by the comments I received.

@Tia - hmm, since you'll be doing a lot of DT, I'd say don't splurge on a DT right now. If you can, try the Aubrey Organics Honeydew (@$10 or so), and Herbal Essence Hello Hydration (@$4ish or less depending where you live). The reason I suggest both is because you can mix them, thereby stretching your buck. To the mix you could add about a teaspoon of extra virgin coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil or jojoba oil for additional moisture and slip (you can also add to the mix a couple of drops of tea tree which is a natural anti-fungal (sp?) and anti-bacterial). I've been able to stretch my DC for about 3 months at a time that way...HTH good luck and keep us updated

Remember yesterday I said I was trying a cassia treatment? I'm not sure if I did it right but I loved what it did to my hair. Immediately after rinsing it out, sans product, my curl pattern was more define than ever and very thick. I haven't seen my hair this thick since its virgin natural state when I was younger. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Where I went wrong is that I don't think I rinsed it all out like I thought I did. I noticed little grain from the powder when I was rod-setting my hair and as a result, it is not as shiny and smooth as I've read it should be...but I loved what it did to my curls so much that I cannot wait to try it again!!

naturally yours I've heard good and bad things about aphogee. For those curlies who need the protein it works wonders and for others it makes the hair dry so I would suggest using a moisturising DC after.

Also in regards to the henna if you don't want it to loosen your curl pattern try mixing it with amla to counteract the loosening effect.

T-n-Cs is a method of styling the hair whereby you two strand twist the hair and put rollers or rods on the ends to curl them. It's the style CurlyNikki wears.

Hello, ladies!

You know I was wondering who Tia was? I missed the "TIA" at the end of my initial post. It's an acronym for "Thanks In Advance." Sorry for the confusion. I'm Aja, by the way.

@belle: I wanted to make sure that I was effectively DCing and not just wasting time or product. My mother had some Neutrogena Deep Conditioning Mask and that's what I used for my DC. I loved the way it made my hair feel and smell, but I have a bunch of cheap conditioners that I need to use up before I go buying anything else. It's funny that you mention Coconut Oil; I hate to waste anything and I have a jar just sitting in my room. I really don't like the taste and I didn't know how I was going to use it.

I'm torn between trying the Henna or the Cassia. From what I've read, most people try Henna and love it, but I'm not really worried about the color in comparison to the benefits.

@NC: The first time I had my hair twisted, I guess I tried a T-n-C, but the difference in curl patterns (plus my hair is a bit on the thin side) it didn't quite turn out how I liked it. But you know, I love CN's hair! So I may try that.

I'm actually afraid to try the Aphogee because of the mixed reviews I've read about it. I do hear it's very drying and in the process of trying to fix my hair, I didn't want to do more harm than good.

I do want to loosen my curl pattern. So I think after I do further research, on mixtures and such, I'll try it.

lol naturally yours with the TIA business