Folake, My Grease Pusher! (and a Giveaway!)

Hola Chicas,

In yesterday’s post, ‘I Greased My Hair and I Liked It!’ (a la Katy Perry… damn song’s been stuck in my head ever since, thanks a lot Taneica!), I shared the story of how I came to try and *love* Dax Green Pomade. It’s my new boo.

My foray into hair grease, despite earlier curiosities thanks to Chicoro and my interview with Corinne Bailey Rae, was all Folake’s fault. The creator of popular fashion blog StylePantry, and I had an ongoing conversation about my fashions which quickly (and obviously, right?) turned to her fierce curls.

Let me just say that for Folake, hair is an afterthought. She’s one of those girls that we love to hate… beautiful hair, no muss no fuss. She’s been natural for 15 years and maintains her tresses with Dax, Johnson Baby products, gel, and oil sheen spray. No apologies… no explanations… she was like, “it is what it is!” She told me, “I’m not in the ‘natural hair club’. I don’t have a strict regimen – I just do what has been done since I was a kid. This is not a trendy look for me, I have always worn my hair like this. I’m not a natural hair expert. I’m just doing me and what works for me!”

Can we take a second to look at this diva’s hair–

light blow out

straightening comb

Folake told me–

“I spray the Sta-Sof Fro Hair and Scalp Spray while it’s wet (on dry hair too), and apply Dax on my scalp and hair right after and braid in as many sections as possible.

When I straighten just for the heck of it (I never wear my hair straight – unless I’m just showing hubby my progress, as he too, prefers my hair in a fro or I’m doing a roller set), I apply only Dax before straightening and it makes it really rich, dark and healthy.”

And as promised, here are a few more details of how I’ve been using it–

to get this look

I re-twisted freshly washed, barely damp, moisturized hair (Lacio Lacio) with Dax. Seven twists total (middle part, 1 above each ear, 1 on each side to frame face, 1 on each side in the back and one at the crown). I allowed it to set over night and took it down prior to hitting the pumpkin patch. I didn’t curl the ends.

to get this look

This was a day or two later. I simply re-twisted with Dax (hair was still moisturized!), created the same 7 twists, but this time, pin curled the ends. The ends eventually went flat because I didn’t re-wet them to help with setting.

to get this look

I henna’ed, rinsed with cheapie conditioner, deep conditioned with Curl Junkie, rinsed thoroughly and applied Treasured Locks Argan Oil + Lacio Lacio to my damp hair. I allowed it to dry to 90%, then applied Dax in sections, tension blow dried and made 7 twists using Dax. The night before the event (3 days later), I wet the ends of the twists, applied Curl Junkie Moisture Rehab Deep Conditioner, re-applied the Dax to the length and ends and set the ends on skinny flexis. The next morning I released and went about my business!

In the comments section yesterday, I read concerns about grease becoming the next bandwagon.
While I get it, know that this is not my intention. I do, however, hope that my experiments and subsequent articles (there will be more!) will help others feel comfortable disclosing their closeted grease usage… or scalp greasing habit, or their undying love for silicones, sulfates, the pressing comb and wigs and weaves and the flat iron and the blow dryer, etc. I think it would do us all some good to reach a point where the tone really is ‘do you’. No judgement. No explanations. No guilt trippin’. It took 2 hours to compose that article yesterday because I honestly felt like I needed to explain myself (to keep from being stoned) and that sucks. #justsaying

Later Gators,
Nik

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Let’s a have a giveaway while we’re at it…

What no-no product/method do you use despite its stigma in the natural hair community?

at 5pm EST today, the contest will close and 3 curlies will receive a jar of my fave, Qhemet Biologics Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee!

Good luck!