One Year Hairversary

It is so hard to believe it has been exactly one year since I got my last relaxer. Never knew how much that day would change my life. I went in for my regular appointment and about 2 weeks later my hair just started to fall out at an excessive rate, the shedding was so bad and my hair thinned dramatically.
Call me being vain, but you only have to mess with my hair once for me to know I needed to make a change. I did not want to take that chance of getting another relaxer and then ALL of my hair fall out. So I struggled with myself and came to the conclusion that I was ......GOING NATURAL.

Last time getting a successful relaxer, my hair was beautiful long and "healthy"

It has truly been an emotional process for me, which is funny since I was natural the first 18 years of my life. I can only imagine what my hair would be like now if I had remained natural.
I went through many phases, I found that one style that worked for me bantu knot out and pulled it into a big curly ponytail. I rocked that style from November 2012 until July 2013.

Month after getting my last "bad" relaxer my poor hair broke off and was so thin Nov 2012

Bantu-knot out in ponytail....my only transitioning style (May 2013)

 Then I got a protective style for the summer and got my hair twisted, kept that in for about a month and then it happened. I took out the twists and went in to my new natural stylist for her to do the "big chop", well in my case the "mini chop" since I grew most of my relaxer out. I am not going to lie, I CRIED like a baby....after I got home of course. I looked in the mirror and kept saying "what did you do, what did you do?" You never realize how much you rely on your hair until it is "gone". I did not feel cute, I felt so ugly and limited my outings for a while, I didn't want anyone to see me. So with that mindset I quickly called my friend and had her throw some braids in my hair for the rest of the summer!

After cutting all of my relaxed hair off.

As it came time for me to go back to work, in my opinion I felt that braids would not be appropriate, so I went ahead and went to my dear friend Youtube to find some how to videos for short natural hairstyles. So I lucked up on one video that showed a style that also improved hair elongation something I truly needed, even though my hair grew some while in braids. I did a two-strand twist out on my head and I was so happy that I had found my style that truly fit my personality.

This is after the humidity hit my hair, but it was short curly and fun. I went online and came across a list of what all natural girls must keep handy after making the chop......
1. Standing eyebrow waxing appointment (more attention is drawn to the face so keep it cute)
2. a nice universal headband that can go with most of your wardrobe
3. big/funky earrings ( this is so true because they help you feel girly and confident.
4. Your fav wash and go products








Believe it or not the two-strand twist out can be a versatile style as well, you can pin some hair up have the rest curly, you can pick it out to have a curly fro, slap on a head band etc. So right now I am happy with my new go to style. Now being curious about how long my hair was I only straightened it once and believe it or not my hair was past my ears and THICK! I only did it once because the horror stories I heard about messing up your curl pattern if you put too much heat in your hair especially if your hair hasn't been trained yet scared me.
I got the itch to get a relaxer at the end of last month, I was just so frustrated, let me tell you it is hard living in a house with a sister who still gets relaxers. I miss the days of slapping my hair into a ponytail, wearing a cute bun, having that fresh and fierce flowing wrap after a relaxer and being able to just do a quick blow dry and flat iron after washing.

Well, I stand before you today fully natural, embracing and rocking my curls. One concern I had was how men I meet would react to my hair but so far my black brothers are loving it. The pic below was taken today so what do you all think? Am I rocking the natural look or not? Either way I am happy with the health of my hair!

One yr natural October 5, 2013

Growing Weak

I am itching to get some creamy crack. I am really struggling trying to find a way to get through this until I can truly do what I want with my hair. I have been on YouTube religiously trying to find a way to be cute with this process. Unfortunately, the only videos that I have been able to find are those of people who are completely natural or who have been transitioning longer than I have been.

My sister sent me a text the other day saying that she couldn't take it anymore and that she would be getting a relaxer this week. There goes my in house support. I am not going to lie the thought of going to the store and getting a relaxer has been on my mind constantly. The only thing that has really been stopping me from doing so, is that I am afraid that if I put a relaxer in my hair it will start to shed and break again. I am so not ready to go through that and I would truly blame myself.

I AM NOT willing to do the big chop, it is just not in me, but I need help ASAP! With me running and exercising on a regular basis it is really hard to tame the mane. So if anyone has any suggestions, minus getting braids or twists, please share.

Just an Illusion

As you all know, because the damage my last relaxer caused, I am stuck with very thin hair. Luckily it has been growing back and the length is longer but the thickness is still lacking. I went to YouTube last night to see if anyone else was feeling my pain and was transitioning with thin hair. I found a video on how to create a "full bun/ponytail" on thin hair. I am a big fan of bantu knots so when I saw that it involved them I was all in.  For anyone wanting to achieve the look I am sporting today you will need the following:

• black elastic headband
• small hair ties (without the metal)- for holding bantu knots in place
• hair moisturizer of your choice
• spray water bottle ( I put very hot water in my bottle and squeeze in some KeraCare leave in conditioner and shake it up)

I did this on dry hair, that's why I needed a spray water bottle. I do recommend doing it on dry hair since your hair is more fragile when wet. I sectioned my hair into four sections and placed about 3 bantu knots in each section, the size of your knots determines how big, small, tight, or loose your curls will be when you take them out.  I sprayed each section and then knotted it up and then covered my hair with a silk bonnet. I let the knots stay in over night and took them out in the morning. Once the knots were out my hair is curly all over, and since my hair is thin the look isn't as cute as it once was :-(. But thanks to this next step things get better. Take the elastic head band preferably black and double it so it fits on the head tight. Leave it around your neck and using a moisturizing lotion, alcohol free gel, or organic root stimulator edge control to smooth over your edges brush your edges back as if you are preparing to put it in a ponytail. Then pull the headband over your head and push it back until you get the ponytail to the size you want. Now when I put mine on it slipped right off  because it was too far up, so to hold it in place I placed bobby pins on the headband.

I was very pleased with the results, especially since this was my first time giving it a try. I will definitely make this one of my hairstyles as I transition. I will THINK about doing a video the next time I do this to my hair. I hope this gave some of you another style if you haven't done this one already, remember I'm a newbie..... Until next time I will continue to give the illusion that I have beautiful thick hair!!!


Some products used:

Emergencee Hair Fix- Product Review

Today I fell in love with a new hair product, Nexxus Emergencee! As I stated in my first post on here, I have suffered some severe hair damage because of a bad relaxer I received in early October 2012. My sister decided to consider the natural route with me and went in for a consultation. When she came home she had one product in mind and it was NExxus Emergencee, she was told to use it to help control the shedding during transitioning. As soon as I heard "stops shedding" I was anxious to try it. Once again I headed over to the various hair care forums that I follow to see what the word on the street was about the product, nothing but rave reviews. A bit pricey, but hey I was willing to give it a try because I need my hair healthy again. I found this product at Walgreens for 16.99 yes, for that small bottle you see in the picture. Soon as I got home I jumped in the shower to start the process. I shampooed with my regular Kera Care Shampoo and then placed a generous amount of Emergencee on my hair once I got out. The bottle states that you should leave it on for 1-2 minutes, but it truly depends on how much damage you have. Once again after referring to the forums I learned that many saw great results by applying the product and sitting under the dryer ( NO PLASTIC CAP) and letting the product dry and harden on the hair, so I did the same.
While washing it out of my hair I could immediately feel a difference in my hair, it felt stronger and I didn't shed nearly as much as I use to when washing. I followed it up with the Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisturizing Conditioner, I let that sit on my hair with a plastic cap for about 15-20 minutes then washed it out. My hair felt even better!!!
I followed up with Kera Care Leave-in conditioner and Kera Care Strengthening Thermal Protector Cream, I also applied a small amount of Organic Root Stimulator Heat Protective Serum. After applying these products I did what I haven't done in a long time and blew dried my hair, and not a single strand came out. After drying my hair I applied about a dime size amount of the Kera Care Essential Oil. Yes, I am a big fan of Kera Care it has been my main shampoo since I got my first relaxer in college. (2000). Then, I took another step and actually flat ironed my hair, on the lowest setting and without straightening the roots. In the end my hair looks like it's old self again, my confidence rose immediately.

I am very pleased with this product and will be using it every 2 weeks as recommended. If you try it out let me know what you think!

The finished product from tonight's wash...

Feeling like the old me again, thank you God!

Trying to Find My Way Back.....

For the longest I was anti-natural, I would watch everyone as they post about transitioning etc, and be like I'm straight, ya'll can have it." Well, today I am eating my words and I am here to say " I am going natural". Now the funny thing about it is I was natural for the first 18 years of my life. My mother has never had a relaxer so my sister and I never got a relaxer, of course when I went off to college all of that changed. I honestly cannot remember the true texture of my natural hair or it's curl pattern, if any because I always got my hair hot combed after washing it. Things were much easier for me when I got my first relaxer, and I honestly felt better about myself. Unfortunately, it took a bad experience for me to see the natural light and start to walk over to the "other side". At the beginning of October I got a bad relaxer, something that I thought would never happen because I have been going to the same hairdresser since I graduated from college, so that's about 9 years. Well, things started off fine and then after the second wash after the relaxer I noticed excessive shedding, to the point my hair had become drastically thin. Now, I can admit that I can be quite vain and my hair is a big part of my sorry India Arie " I am my hair", so I went into a mini state of depression worrying that all of my hair was going to fall out. So I do what most of us do and immediately went to the internet and did a search about what to do to stop the shedding. I didn't go back to my hairdresser which I should have because I was so upset I didn't know how to handle talking to her. After a few home remedies I saw on the internet and YouTube I decided to be proactive and contact a professional. I was able to get an appointment the next day after talking to Saasha, and she gave me a reconstructor for my hair to help slow the shedding and gave me a protective hairstyle that required little manipulation. Yes, the shedding is still occurring not as bad, but still noticeable. I really had to give myself a reality check and tell myself "it is just hair, and that stressing about it is only going to make things worse."

So here I am 7 weeks post relaxer and ready for my journey. My hair is still very thin but it's is growing which is a plus, because many people have had real horror stories about hair never growing back. I can say my miracle product at the moment is castor oil, the left side of my hair has always been rather weak so with this bad relaxer it really did damage, and my edges started to thin. I started applying castor oil to my scalp on the weakest areas, and I have already seen hair growth after 2 weeks of use. I have also stopped using heat on my hair, I air dry my hair now and the most heat I use to to touch the top layer of my hair with the flat iron quickly right after washing and no more until the next wash. I am keeping the heat way from my roots as well so my natural hair can start to take it's true form and not straighten it out with heat.

I am very anxious to see my curl pattern, yet I know this will be a long journey I can't do the big chop my head is truly too big for that lol. However, I am in for the ride, this blog will take you along with me as I transition. I am truly open to all comments and suggestions as I make this change.