Analyzing new growth after 4 months

Enjoying my hair texture thoroughly. It's so different than relaxed ends. And I have  had a decent time embracing my new growth. It's thicker and sticks out more so my transitioning hairstyles are actually fuller looking than when my hair was fully relaxed. Because i texlaxed for the past 2 or so years, I am not seeing a drastic difference in the hair. However, natural hair is less uniformed. Less about how perfectly everything falls. It's more about the beautiful texture and the thickness. 

At my crown I find a mix of kinky a curls and little coils. It is very 'spongy' at the crown. That is where I have the most shrinkage too. 

At the nape of my head is where I find a more relaxed curl pattern with a silkier texture. 

As I progress, I may draw out a map of my head so Ican fully analyze. As I believe I may naturally be dealing with 3-4 different textures. 

The front is more 's' curl. It is similar to my crown, but it is less spongy. It kind of lays down flat. 

I imagine most curly hair girls experience a range of uniformed curls to various textures and this is due to the mix in genetics. So just like a fingerprint, no curly hair head is equally the same. This is why there are products that work for others and not. This is why there are some styles that compliment some, while others rely on a different style. 

Embracing my curly hair is like the epitome of embracing my uniqueness. 

What I'm doing that Most Transitioners Wouldn't DARE

WORKOUT HAIR & Regimen 

And What I'm Doing that Most Ladies who Transition Wouldn't DARE! 

Let me first and foremost say that this is not a challenge, competition or a threat. I am choosing to do this because of the goals that I have in my life and hair journey. 

What I am doing that most Transitioning Ladies wouldn't dare, is co-wash my hair 3x a week. 

That's Right, i've got a gadzillion different textures in my hair, and where most ladies would keep hair manipulation to a minimum, I am choosing to co-wash and restyle - into braids or twist outs 3x a week. 

The reason is because I love to workout. My goal is to work out 3-4x a week. I am also working towards getting a fitness instructor certification, so I am committed to maintaining my workouts until further notice. 

What seems to be a constant struggle for women on their hair care journey is the avoidance of sweat and water. And by all means, I do not avoid these things because sweating is so healthy and good for my body and my skin. Working out is therapeutic. And taking long awesome showers as a reward is everything I look forward to. 

But with this practice of co-washing 3x a week, I face a lot of manipulation in my 'transitioning' hair. My hair is already pretty strong from years of dedicated maintenance while relaxed. However, the line of demarcation, where my natural hair meets my relaxed hair, is prominent now. It is also what makes my hair weak and I have been working on a routine that will work for my desires and lifestyle. 

My HAIR/WORKOUT ROUTINE / REGIMEN (8/24/15) 

To increase my strength and endurance, my goals are to workout 3-4x a week. 

I put my hair in 4-9 braids or twists and keep my hair in this style until after the workout. 

Then I shower and wash the conditioner through the strands. 

I spray my Jane Carter Leave-in Solution onto the freshly co-washed strands. 

And then run a dopple of oil down the strands too. 

I do not add any gel or cream to hold the style right now, but its something i'm willing to try in the future. 

SUNDAYS - rest day 

Monday -  

Cardio or Yoga workout - shampoo wash hair and condition / and put into braids/twists

Tuesday - 

Strength training / keep hair in braids and twists / Take out for work in afternoon 

Wednesday - 

Cardio or Yoga workout - co wash hair / and put into braids/twists 

Thursday - 

Strength training / keep hair in braids / twists or take out and fluff

Friday - 

Rest / Cardio day - pin hair up or keep in bun

Saturday - 

Cardio day - co wash / put into a 'fancy' style -- flexis / roller sets / 

3 Ideals that help Transitioning Easier

My Last relaxer was April of this year. So I am currently 4 months post relaxer. This would certainly be the time to retouch my roots if I wanted to relax again. But I'm trekking forward.

Here are some simple adjustments and new habits I'm learning on this transition.

1. Double the sections -

On my transitionig hair, especially for detangling, I've been learning to create more sections. 6-10 sections allows me to cover more surface area and make sure every strand gets product. 

I can still attempt braidouts with 2-4 sections but It is more of a challenge now with so many textures in my hair. 

2. Finger Detangling - 

I'd recommend for transitioners to cut their nails and keep them short during this time because finger detangling is the most gentle way to do it. I still use a comb, but not as much. My fingers are a lot more gentler to pull away tangles and knots. 

4. Patience and Planning -

Where once I would 'wing' it for my hairstyles. Transitioning takes a lot more time to wash, detangled and style the hair. When time is running, I have to constantly remind myself to slow down or  it's going to be a massacre. 

Also, when I plan my hairstyles, I'm more capable of having peace of mind. Because the prep for the style (braids, twist outs and flexi rods) takes a long time to dry and shape. So I plan my workouts, my hair prep for styling more often to avoid moments of not having enough time to style or dry the hair for styling. 

Twist-Out in Transitioning Hair

I had my cute twist style in for about 2 days. And I took It out today for work. 

I am really happy with the results. And I'm so excited to find a new style with the twists. This works because the twists are a protective style, so they help to keep my hair from being manipulated. And because the hair is in twists for 2 days instead of more than a few hours ( how I normally do it) It has time to dry and to take shape for the style. 

Yesterday, I put moisturizer and oil down the strands. Then, this morning I put my curls refresher on the strands before taking the twists out. 

Twist-outs have always been a hit and miss for me. This is why I'm ecstatic about the twists and twist out results. It is difficult to get the definition. I've had about 3 successful twist-outs in my hair journey; including this one. However, this time around my hair is transitioning so I have about 4 months of new growth to help hold the twists in place. And the fact that my hair was in twists for 2 days. With new growth and 2 days of hold, I think I've found a formula that will work during this transition and beyond. 

After work today, I will attempt to re-twist my hair back into the twists. This is a prep my hair for a cardio workout. This will be a test to see if my new twisted formula can mix with my workout routine.  

Twists Great for Protective Transitioning Hair

This Twisted Hairstyle is really cute to me. I think the twists are an elegant look. It's fun because you can manipulate the hair and create looks just with that. This twist isn't with any hair but my own. I like the sweet organic look of it. I think it's feminine and chic. You can dress up or down and still make it look beautiful. 

This is also a great protective style. I often manipulate my hair 2-3x a week. Even now as I'm testing to transition. But styles like this can allow me to not manipulate as much. Roping the hair like this allows it to grow and get stronger. Especially the top of my head which is tight coils from my observation. This hair is stronger when you pack more of it into a section. 

Twisted Sista

I am embracing my Twists hairstyle. Quite often, twists are the interim of a hairstyle. The style isn't complete until you take the twists out. But I've been loving how the twists are when I leave them as is. It has a unique quality to it and is very ethnic. The twists can be done in many ways. What I did today was a side twists with several in the back falling down. 

I love how elegant twists look. Compared to braids hairstyle, unless it is micro or additional hair, braids aren't as appealing. Or atleast I have not been able to make mine look appealing enough to wear as a style. But the look of twists is very beautiful. And I think very chic and elegant. 

Embracing this style will be more from my own willpower. People react interesting with twists or braids in. Compared to all my hair out and wavy. They give strange looks as if they are trying to understand it. I'm not quite sure what they are thinking but I feel that I get a weird response as if my hair is unkept. But look at this hair! It's absolutely beautiful. How can people see it as unkept? 

I think people are programmed to undermine twists and braids as a beauty style due to the way that we have embraced them in our culture. Many People associate these looks as poor or homely. Especially braids or "Dookey braids" as I've heard before are portrayed in Slavery movies and therefore many Black people seem to be ashamed of rocking this style unless they play sports. But to me, it is absolutely beautiful. Especially the twists. There are so many ways I can style it. 

I started on freshly cowashed hair. I parted my hair into sections and sprayed my Jane Carter Leave-In and then my Herbal Essence detangler to each section. I combed and detangled. Then i twisted each little section. When i had completely sprayed and detangled my hair. I used the sectioned off parts to map out how I would like the style to lay. Using butterfly clips to hold the hair in place, I retwisted sections to my desired look. 

I would like to perfect this look and find ways to make it stand out and just be so Bomb. The back, I got tired and didn't re twist some sections. I will need to get better at the back.  I will probably have to do a video to show everything step by step. 

As I said before this is a style I don't see used too often but it is truly a cute style that is often only used for pre-styling. It's my goal to play with the parts and how to twist to see what I can come up with. 

This style is really great for transitioning hair because it protects it for the most part. Also, there are certain sections of my hair that are stronger and grow better when held together. This is the double benefit of this style because I am not taking the twists out, the hair becomes stronger the longer it is bonded to a section. 

I plan to keep this style in over night. I will pin the ends to each side tomorrow and workout. Id like to see if the twists hold after sweating. If they do, I plan to take rollers and put it on the ends. And shower and rinse my hair with conditioner with twists still in. Let it dry and then take it out. I will follow up in another post to see if this plan of action works. I know it works with braids. But twists are typically harder to hold together especially once wet. We will see! Feeling like a hair scientist.