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 

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.

Last weeks Hair Regimen 10/11

Last Monday I put my hair in a mask Deep conditioner. Detangled. And then braided my hair into cornrows.

Not bad for the first try but ill get better as I go along. 

Tuesday - kept my hair in the cornrows. I took an early morning spin class. Showered but didn't wash my hair. I let some water go down my scalp and ends but not drenched. Put my leave-in in. 

Wednesday - I took the braids out around 3pm. Loved having my hair in this style. It was in cornrows for 2 days and the curl pattern was defined. 

From Wed-Saturday - I put the kinky curly knot leave in on the ends and pineappled my hair at night. I wore my hair out and did some half down / half in a bun. 

Today, I did a mask again. With castor oil mixed in. I did it on dry hair this time and found my hair responded really differently than last week on damp hair.

5 Hour Air Dried Twist-out

I figure. It's best to record all - possibilities with my hair so I become familiar with all outcomes. 

I haven't done a short-term air dried style since my hair was permed. I'd always do it with permed ends, but with two textures of transitioning hair, I've chosen to allow the hair to dry completely; taking 12-24 hours to dry. 

But I didn't plan out my hair well today and had to wash and finger detangled this morning. I put my hair into individual twists and allowed the Natural Sun to help me air dry after 5 hours or so. 

When I took the hair out, there was actually some definition. I put my hair in a half-up/half-down style that has been a go to style when I have texture but no shape. 

I used my newly purchased, Kinky Curly leave-in, coconut oil and then mango butter. I'd love to try this again and see how my hair turns out on completely 100% air dried hair. 

Hair in twists--- looking mmmaaaad tired

Took hair out after 5-hour air dry and had some curl pattern. 

Pinned hair up. Half up / Half down --- go to staple style so far for transitioning hair. 

Casual Braid out On TRANSITIONING Hair

Yeah so I'm getting the hang of this transitioning journey. A lot of it consists of just sticking to the basics of what works and improving from there. 

Even with basic tools, co-conditioner, wide tooth comb, spray leave in and some oil, I can pull off a work-with-able look. A lot of women have demonstrated how difficult it is to transition by growing your hair out. But I'm loving the results. I love the fact that my relaxed hair had its own look, and so does my transition hair. I find it's best to enjoy and embrace the whole journey! 

Everytime I ace a hair look I'm itching to do videos. But, I'll wait and organize. As well as buy some new makeup! Yay 

Rollerset on Transitioning hair.

I will forever love roller sets. <3 

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. 

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. 

HAIR SUPPLIES LIST & YOUTUBE Channel Brainstorm

Okay,

I'm back for real. I've journeyed through my hair since 2009. But now its time to test the limits of my stretch/possible transition to natural. During this period I'm stocking back up on old staples; shampoo, conditioners, leave - ins and oils.

PRODUCTS:

1. EVOO - Remember back on the hair boards? EVOO was the name of the game. Is it still? a New jar of Extra Virgin Olive oil for deep conditioners, pre-poo and seal.

2. AVOCADO OIL - Traycee from 'Keep it Simple Sista' put me onto this. It gives a great slip. A little goes along way. Great for deep conditioners too!

3. Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship - I can't find it anywhere! So i'm on the search for a new staple moisturizer leave-in.

4. Deep Conditioners - Queen Helene (protein), ORS MAYO (protein),

5. Bee Mine products - Always wanted to try from this line.

6. I still got that Huetiful Hair steamer on my wishlist.


REGIMEN:

• Cleansing conditioner bi weekly
• Clarify every 4-6 weeks - pre-poo before
• Deep Condition on dry Hair 1x week <--- protein bi weekly
• Moisturize & Seal nightly 
• Sleep on satin pillow or with scarf or both

YOUTUBE: Brainstorm ideas.

1. Creating a VENUS RX Youtube Channel. In fact, I might call it Venus Retrograde.

• reviewing hairstyles from top you tubers Titles like : "Nina Pruitt' inspired w 3 strand twistout"
• product reviews
• hair transition to natural diary

New year! New HAIR GOALS!

 I just did a stretch for 16 weeks and will be relaxing/texlaxing this weekend. What I learned about my hair during this long stretch is essential and i feel that I am ready to transition to natural. however, I am going to take the whole year to prep for transitioning. I want to take my time and  revamp my whole routine so that my knowledge about my hair expands and I am prepped with the right products, hairstyles and routines. 

I found some serious problems during this last stretch. Problems that if I don't solve, my hair will lose the health that I've worked so hard for. Honestly, some days turned into weeks of me not even touching my hair because I was overwhelmed by the two different textures. I love my relaxed hair, and I am falling in love with my natural hair! So I want to use 2015 to merge myself into my natural hair, while paying homage to my relaxed strands. Also, it will be easier to learn in sections. This is what i learned about my hair during this last stretch and some areas that I will need to revisit in order to have an even better experience with my stretch in the summer. 

What I learned about my natural hair this stretch: 

1. The hair by the crown of my head grows faster than any other part of my head. 

2. I need to revamp my leave-in, something more watery, and moisturizing. Maybe i'll make it at home

3. My hair does not take any of my favorite styles after 13 weeks  (braidouts and twists are dull looking)

4.  My ends are the hardest to gain curl during transitioning, they stick straight out even with curly styles

5. Flexirods was my most successful hairstyle! maybe because of the stretching that they do at the root.

6. I need to re-learn moisture and protein balance for my kinky curlier hair.

7. I love the curls growing out of my head! They are bouncy and cute. Can't wait to see my whole head natural in one year!

8. Coconut oil is fantastic on my relaxed strands, but doesn't seem to be as effective when transiting..?

9. Plagued by the fear that I can't wear my hair straight as much as i'd like when natural, i'm on a mission to find a straight hair routine that is not damaging so I can enjoy straight hair too when natural. 

10. Ends ends ends! my ends are too straight and fine and i don't know how to treat them during transitioning, they are extremely different than the rest of the strand. How do I make my hairstyles look banging during the transition? 

If you have any product, or routine suggestions, i'd gladly take them as I experiment and find the right methods. I might even consider creating some videos with your suggestions. i'm really happy that I always have this platform to share my hair concerns, fears, and challenges. blessings.