Natural Hair Tip

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!