3/10/2010

Going Natural Ain't No Joke!

Posted by CURLYNIKKI |


LaTanya writes:

Being natural these days seems to be a growing trend..everywhere I go I see people that are either natural, transitioning, or thinking about transitioning. Many times these are women that were die hard "permies." When asked for advice, I tell them as much as I can, but they often become bored with what I am saying, and remark, "Oh wow, I thought having natural hair would be easier."

I am often quoted as telling friends, "Going natural is not for the faint at heart..." What do the rest of you ladies think? I have been natural for almost three years now and there are days that I long for "Becky" hair but I remember that when I was relaxed, I didn't have the thick and healthy hair I do now.

Weigh in!

Meet Luka Lomi... a natural diva that knows how to roll with the punches!


CN: How long have you been natural?
I have been natural for two years and two months. It was very scary at first and I really didn’t know what I was doing. I honestly spent the first few months winging it hoping I would figure out what I was doing. I have done ridiculous amounts of research trying to find the right products for me. Each month has brought its own challenges, but I have managed to stay positive and focused. I stopped relaxing officially in May 2007. I never looked back.


CN: What is your current routine?
I’m pretty lazy about washing my hair so I wash anywhere from once a week to once every two and a half weeks depending on the weather and my schedule. I style my hair with leave-in, gel, and natural oils whether it’s two-strand twists or a twist out. I try to trim knots as I find them but if my hair starts to become unmanageable due to being tangled, then it’s time for a trim. I dust the ends while my hair is still in two-strand twists. I deep condition once a month when I’m busy and twice a month when I have a lot of free time. Right before I deep condition I always clarify with either baking soda or apple cider vinegar and water if it is extremely dirty otherwise I just shampoo. I sleep on a satin pillow case and I do not re-twist my hair nightly when wearing twist outs. I began using henna in November of 2009, it has helped very much with my curl definition. Henna gives my hair weight so it hangs better and I’m able to use less hair products.

CN: What are your go to styles?

My staple styles are twists and twist outs. I love to change my hairstyle constantly. Each state it’s in changes my mood inversely, I change my hair to suit my moods. I love how my hair changes every day. Every night I sleep on it, it gets better and more unique. Curly hair has a mind of its own. I’ve learned to just roll with the punches when it comes to dealing with my mane. If my hair is super frizzy, dirty, or tangled then I put it in a high pony.


CN: How do you maintain length?
I maintain length by leaving my hair alone. I think those times that I am really busy and too tired to do my hair, are the best. As bad as this may sound I will leave my hair in two strand twists for up to three weeks. My hair loves low/no-manipulation. That’s when I notice the most growth. As far as moisture goes, I just play it by ear. Shea butter on my ends is very helpful as well as a good deep conditioning treatment.

CN: What's the best thing about being naturally glamorous?!

I have come so far. I feel good knowing when I go out into the world what I’m presenting is a true representation of who I am and what I really look like. I’m not sure about other naturals but initially it was hard for me to be comfortable in my own skin wearing my hair just the way it is. It felt weird. I can definitely say that I have found myself through this hair journey. I love my hair, it is an extension of me. We grow together.




Journey to Natural


Bambiiix2 shares about how to solve that pesky hay stack feeling:

3/09/2010

On the Couch With Jamaicanmecurly

Posted by CURLYNIKKI |

Flat Twist-Out

It was November 11, 2009 and I was once again torturing myself with a touch-up relaxer. Eight times out of 10, a touch up relaxer meant pain for me but I did it—because “a woman’s hair is her beauty.” That’s what I was taught to believe by the adult women in my life.

I have been putting chemicals in my hair since I was 8 years old and although it was clearly not MY choice to relax my hair initially, I was brought up to believe that nappy hair meant ugly and unkempt hair, so the thought of not chemically processing my hair was never an option for me.

My work life in 2009 was VERY stressful (ie 12 hour days, working weekends, etc) and the stress was taking a toll on my body (and my psyche!). But when my hairdresser told me in November that my hair was falling out, I panicked. For the last few months during every visit, stylists in my particular salon tried to convince me to stop getting relaxers… but until this moment in November with the fear of hair loss looming, I wasn’t listening. To me (back then), the only thing worse than nappy hair would be no hair at all.

One would think that would be all I needed to hear. But nope, I still fought it. I decided to schedule an appointment with a dermatologist to get a “medical opinion” on whether I was really balding. Now mind you, I myself could see the bald spots and could tell that my hair was thinning… but I wanted to hear from an expert before I gave up the creamy crack. I mean, couldn’t my hair loss be connected to the stress in my work life and have nothing to do with the relaxers?

As much as I fought the idea of no more relaxers, I was TERRIFIED of my hair loss. So in preparation for the dermatologist agreeing with my hairdresser (no more relaxers), I began to do on-line research on what it would mean to stop relaxing my hair.

I first discovered the myriad of you tube videos that piqued my interest. Then I began to find blogs that were helpful until I discovered my personal “holy grail” of knowledge—curlynikki.com! This journey of discovery took about 3 weeks. I had not yet had my appointment with the dermatologist and I promptly called and canceled. Why? Because it no longer matter what she said, I was going to go natural!

Even once I made this decision, I had mixed feelings of freedom, excitement, anticipation, and still some fear. I look back at one of my first blog posts on the topic of my hair from mid-January and I can’t believe how much my mind set has changed since then. In that post, I have an example of natural hair that “scared” me at the time… and now, I look at that same picture and am envious of her 100% natural curly hair.

For 20 years, I believed my natural hair was ugly and unmanageable. And in the matter of 4 short months, I love all my natural new growth, I love learning how to keep my hair healthy and moisturized, I love the way my new growth feels and looks. I love my natural new growth so much; I hate my relaxed straight ends. I always believed my new growth would be the thorn in my side during my transition, turns out it’s those stringy straight relaxed ends. Funny what a little time and a lot of research will do.

My transition will be long (or so I keep telling myself!) but my transformation has been quick and dramatic.

You can check out my natural hair journey through photo updates at my blog.

Twist n Curl

3/08/2010

Natural Hair Tip

Posted by CURLYNIKKI |


Hola Chicas,

For the first time in what felt like months I had an excellent hair day! First, let me premise this by explaining what I've been doing:

  • I wash once a week with whatever is in the shower
  • Condition, detangle with fingers or brush, and rinse
  • Apply lots of SheaMoisture Leave-in or DevaCurl One (out of the DevaCare)
  • Braid the hair into 7-8 braids
  • Dry overnight and take down in the A.M., usually to reveal a flaky, somewhat dry mess.
  • I'd then pull it up into a bun and go about my business
  • Maybe 2 days later, I'd finger detangle, and make 7-8 braids (on dry hair) applying shea or castor oil as I go.
  • Spritz completed braids with water/conditioner mix (lightly damp, not wet)
  • Air dry overnight
  • Take down in the A.M., to reveal a non-uniform, dull, frizzy braid-out that I'd wear up in a fuzzy bun.
It's gone like this since the end of December! Very frustrating... very, very, very frustrating.
So, I changed it up a little. I remembered that my hair likes a little product (not loads), so when applying the DevaCurl, I only used about a dime size amount for each section (4 sections, split down the middle), as opposed to gooping it on and coating each strand. I then braided as usual with shea, air dried overnight, and the next morning, my hair was shiny, defined, and moisturized with zero flakes! I wore it out for 2 days, and then re-braided using my Whipped Shea from Oyin Handmade. Instead of spritizing it with water/conditioner, I spritzed with filtered water, and then sprayed some DevaCurl Set it Free into my hands and applied to each braid. My hair the next day was so fierce! It was huge, fluffy yet defined, moisturized, and soft.
Best of all it was SHINY... not dull... I hate that :(

The moral of the story:

  • Use less product-- I always think that more product equals more shine/moisture, etc. This is why I get so heavy handed. Unfortunately, this method leaves me with build-up, and my hair looks dull, dry, and sometimes even flakes. Less is more!
  • Switch it up from time to time-- leaving behind my water/conditioner mix was a tough decision, but the best! You never know what will work until you give it a fair chance.
  • Don't abandon tried and true products-- I hadn't used DevaCurl Set it Free in forever. I'm happy I've rediscovered it. It is most certainly packed for the islands!

Later Gators,
Nik

p.s. Thanks for all the well wishes and support! I thought slipping in the 'preggo' announcement would mean more than giving it it's own thread :) We're truly blessed and happy, and I'm overjoyed that I finally get to share it with all of you!

I'll be back soon with the view from Saint Thomas, pics of my hair... maybe even my growing belly :)

p.p.s. Why didn't y'all tell me I'd be this dang HUNGRY! I'm like a one woman demolition derby at the buffet. Not sexy, lol!

CurlyKye writes:

Does my husband really like my newly natural hair and hair experiments because he loves me (and doesn't want to hurt my feelings) or does he like it because he really thinks it's cute on me?

Could I deal with it if my husband decided that he wanted to change something about him or on his body that has been the same since we met?

How do you feel... what do you think your partner REALLY thinks about your? How do you cope with it?

3/08/2010

Help Out a Fellow Natural!

Posted by CURLYNIKKI |

Shannon writes:


CurlyNikki Community,

Hi!!! Okay, my name is Shannon and this is my second time going on the natural hair journey. I was natural for two years in 2005 and I slipped up and got a relaxer (the worst mistake ever). Well not only was my hair relaxed but it was also colored which caused my hair to BREAK tremendously!!!! It was like my hair went into shock and the only way I knew how to recover it was going back to the source that made my hair beautiful….. being NATURAL.

So currently I am in my 10th month of transition and it’s been a stress free transition so far. I’ve been wearing quick weaves and sew ins and my hair is growing so fast. My issue is once you decided to do your big chop, where do you go from there? Before, when I was natural, I wasn’t aware of all the different resources that were available to me. So I was looking at my hair and thinking ok where do I go from here. I don’t have the hair where if you put water on it the curls just pop. I have 4b and the alphabet after that LOL! I can see my curl pattern if I pull a strand out but how can I define my 4b hair without using gel??? I washed and conditioned my hair this weekend and it came out really soft and if I get up really close to the mirror and I can see my tightly coiled kinky hair but no definition. Please Help…..THANKS!!!

3/08/2010

Calling All Natural Divas

Posted by CURLYNIKKI |

Essence.com wants you!




Calling all natural hair divas! Send ESSENCE a picture of your hair style and tell us what you love about your natural 'do. We're looking for real women rocking their hair natural: Ceasars, fades, twists, curls, locks, long or short--we want to see it! Please send three pictures and your contact info to streetstyle@essence.com today!

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