Rainy Day Hair

My 2nd day Braidout didn't last past the morning after a workout and a rainy day. So I did two twists and bun. 

Take down from Yesterday's Braid-out

Light and fluffy curls. Loved the smell! 

Product recap 

ORS replenishing conditioner 

Kinky Curly Knot Today detangler

Coconut oil 

Deva Curl Super Cream 

Two Step Stretch on 6 months Transitioning hair

I love me a braid out. Twist outs have been the go to during my transition. My braidouts are pretty but not my fav with all the textures. So I came up with this two step stretch for Transitioning Hair, to achieve a better Braidout. No heat involved.

Conditioned Washed my Hair 

Thoroughly detangled under the water in sections. 

Added Kinky Curly Detangler to wet hair 

Keeping my sections, I flexi rod each piece. Carefully starting at the root and spiraling the hair around. I used rollers in the back for bigger sections. 

After about 3 hours my hair is still very damp. I take out sections and put some together to create a medium sized braid. Ending up with 8 braid plaits in my hair and roller the ends! 

That's it! Air dry and takedown 

The trick to dealing with Knots and Matting

On this journey as I go deeper into the months of no perm, I see now how knotting and matting can occur more often. 

Transitioning hair has matting and knots that hold on strong. The matting is due to simple things like not detangling all the time. But also to night time damage. If the hair is not in twists or braids at night, or sectioned off to preserve detangling, then more than likely the hair will get knotted or matted. Maintaining a detangle is the best and only way to ensure less matting and knotting 

But the truth is that I am not going to detangle my hair everyday. Some days I will be able to maintain the detangle by retwisted or rebraiding. So far, I do not retwisted or rebraid very often. Going to bed with a pineapple pony tail or my hair in a low bun or pony tail is what I will typically do and thus my hair will Matt and knot after 2-3 nights. 

The trick to dealing with matts and knots is to either prevent them or deal with them. Basically? There is no trick. If you or I want to see less matting and knots in our transitioning hair; we will have to learn how to maintain the detangle. By retwisting the hair or braiding it at night. This ensures the hair stays in sections and is held taught to prevent slipping or rubbing which creates unwanted matts. 

The other "trick" is to accept those knots.  Yes! Accept them that they will come. Because if you are protective styling even, you will have shredded hair trapped in your style that needs to get out. Therefore the hair will get tangled if not taken care d daily. So tending to the hair after a few days, just prepare to be ready to deal with the matts and knots. 

I have accepted during the detangling process that some hair is gonna come out especially if I have not done anything to my hair regarding sectioning or finger detangling in days. I don't even bother trying to section my hair without going under a shower and getting my hair sopping wet. The water is the number #1 detangler and healer of knots. Using my fingers I section my hair under the water. Then I add conditioner to my hair and finger detangle under the running water. If I feel my hair can handle it, I will then take the comb and carefully run it through my hair under the running water. 

People are afraid of detangling hair when sopping wet or under water. That is because the hair is weaker when fully wet. But detangling on damp hair is not a walk in the park if you know you are going to have knots. The best bet is to do it under running water gently. Detangling from the Ends and working your way up. 

When you come across a knot, you want to try to spread the hair and separate it. Pulling it wide and down to detangle from the knot. Eventually picking out each strand carefully until you are left with a knot and dead end strands. 

The biggest mental setbacks with detangling is feeling like you have to rush and that you are going to lose hair. So 

1. Be patient. Take a deep breath if you are getting frustrated because you don't want to take your frustration out on your hair. 

2. Be around running water. If you don't want to detangle under the shower or faucet, then at least be nearby one so that if your hair starts to dry up, you can make it sopping wet again. 

3. Get used to saying goodbye to hair. Hair sheds! So don't be overly anxious about seeing hair fall out. It is supposed to, it is natural. If you haven't combed in days, you will have more hair to fall out. When you see that ball of fallen hair... Just look at your head and see how much freaking hair is still on that head! 

4. Be wary of detangling products. Because nothing detangles your hair better than water. Most of these products even the ones named "detangling" are actually prepping the hair to dry and style. The product sometimes can get in your way and prohibit the detangling by "styling" the knot. The matts and knots can get even more hold because the product is made to hold your style. 

That's the best of what I got so far on this journey. <3 

Cornrows & takedown

When I use my cornrows I keep them in for a few days. I do them all going back because when it's time to unravel, there are more versatile styles I can make. This style I kept in for 3 days and worked out twice on it. My hair was matted in the middle and I know that I didn't braid that section properly and that's why. The cornrows were frizzy and messy by the 3/4th day. Though the unraveling still provided a nice small wave pattern. I'm working on using this style more for heavy workout weeks and looking to perfect it to my liking as well! 

Frizzy cornrows --- decent protective style. My scalp was a little irritated after working out and showering. Next time I will try not to wash hair after workout and see if my scalp responds better. The sweat from workout opens up pores as the heat from the shower water only seems to irritate my scalp more. 

The take down. Was difficult because I didn't properly braid the back. There was a lot of matting, but after patience and moisture I did have something to work with.... 

Last Week's Hair Regimen Review 10/18

I had intentions about having ONE way of doing my hair and abiding by that structure. But the truth is:

1. It's not that much fun to do the same thing week after week.
2. My lifestyle is not predictable enough to do the same thing
3. Work- out hair is still a work in progress...

So, from now on, i'm working to build that structure. But first will just do my best, live in the moment and see what methods work and what doesn't. For me the key to a structured Hair regimen will be about

1. Applying it to my unpredictable lifestyle
2. Making it fun, inspiring and something to look forward to.
3. Injecting commitment and consistency to see growth and health results.

Which brings me to last week's regimen which was completely different than the one before.

Monday - Washed my hair and DC'd. I loved the results after two DC's with the shea moisture. My hair felt different than before like it was heavier and i think its the moisture retention that has gotten better just from two DCs.

Tuesday - Had my hair in twists and kept it in for a day and a half and then unraveled for work that evening.

Wednesday - worked out in the AM and co-washed my hair. i pulled it up in a half up and half down for it to air dry and it air-dried pretty straight in which it was left in a low-bun for the rest of the week.

Thursday - Friday :  kept it in bun and on Friday did a video recording in which it almost looked straight completely! So air-drying without twist or braid - it is a 'thing'that I might want to try and see what else I can do.

Softest hair in a long time

It's been a long time since I felt my hair feel this soft. This Shea moisture DC are working. Putting that castor oil in bumped it up a notch too. Why bother change what is already working? I will be repurchasing that Shea moisture DC. 

Kept my hair in twists for 24 hours. Took it down and trimmed the ends. CertAinly not a uniformed look with my straggly ends but I kinda love it anyway.