One Year (and some) of Happy Nappiness!

Hey Lovelies!

I've been trying to do a better job of document my hair growth and styles, and I just wanted to share some pictures from late 2011 with you.... By the way Happy New Year!!! My goal for this year is to really get some good blogs done (in a timely manner). I'm really hoping to have a HUGE Afro by December 10 2012 (My Natural Anniversary) so part of my good hair care regimen will be documenting what I'm doing. Ok so here are my pics!

So at the moment I consider myself to be a 4A- after washing and conditioning, my curls are very spirally, and are a little smaller than the width of a pencil

OCTOBER

Don't mind the ridic face I was making.. I was being a fool lol... no particular style here 

I loooved how these curls came out so I had to take a pic. This was a Wash-and-Go

NOVEMBER

Big Twist - Twist Out (I'll explain at some point)

Twist-out part 2

My Twisties! I kept these in for like a week and a half.

I tried kinky twists for about 2 weeks. They came out nicely!

After I took out my kinky twists I had a pretty decent  fro.
I'm lookin kinda rough tho... I think I was tired

JANUARY

I did some more twists for the beginning of the year.
They came out pretty wild but I don't really care lol.

Yep! So thats about how my hair has been lookin' for the past couple months. I've been having some protective styling issues, and I'll share them in another post.

TTYL!

Be Big & Beautiful :)

S/O to My Relaxer/Permanent Straightener Users!

hello lovelies!

I just wanted to make a post for all of you ladies who use relaxers and other permanent straightening (or curling) products - this blog is for you too! I've been relaxed more of my life than I've been natural so I will definitely adding hair care tidbits for you too! I just want to make sure all of the females (and males!) reading will be encouraged and trust that anyone of African descent can have Big & Beautiful Hair! Don't believe the hype. Black people don't have "bad hair" and  black people aren't just "nappy headed." Its just a matter of misinformation. If we are properly informed, then we will have better results. All of this to say, please, everyone, no matter what hair type you have, feel welcome to read and comment! 

Be Big & Beautiful!

xoxo

Corinne Bailey Rae - Singer

My BC and Hair Growth Through August 2011

hello wonderful people!

I'd like to share my big chop experience with you. I cut off all of my relaxed ends on December 10, 2010.  I must say, I didn't choose the safest and most professional way to cut off 6+ inches of hair. I was tired of dealing with my relaxed ends - so I just took a scissors out of my drawer and chopped it all off. Prior to my BC, I had thought about cutting my hair a couple times, but I never planned a BC day; it was an impromptu decision. Luckily, it turned out ok! It wasn't too lopsided or anything like that lol.

I started snipping away from the back
because it was easiest to sense the texture difference

Halfway done! There was no going back!

Here's a little side angle. I think I had like 1.5 inches of hair

Top of my head. My TWA!

Side profile. I eventually clipped away any leftover relaxed hair

The final product!!!! Nappy & Happy haha

And there you have it!!! As a college student I didn't have the time to really invest in my hair like I have over the past summer, so wash and go* styles where my staple. I LOVED (and still love) bobby pins and head bands. When I had a bit more growth, I began to rely heavily on twists and twist outs. I was struggling with developing a hair regimen that fit my schedule, so I'm not sure I achieved my full growth potential over the past two semesters. In the summer however, when I had the time to really take care of myself, I did see a difference in length. Take a look:

December 11 - first full day natural! My hair after a perm rod set

Side view! My first Frohawk* :)

December 21, 2010 Two-Strand Twist Set 

January 7, 2011. My curly q's a month after BC

January 7,  Side Profile

Top of my head on February 18, 2011. Two Months Natural!
By this point I had no relaxed ends

February 21st: Hair length check!

June 9. Six months natural! In the summer, I began
 nurturing my hair so it could grow

July, 4 (that's a headband if you can't tell)

August 25th. Twist Out!

August 26th. Same twist out from the 25th lol

I've gone from 1.5 inches to 5.5 inches and its been great. I feel like right now my hair is at its healthiest since my BC because I've been taking care of myself - my body and my mind. I hope to see even more progress by my end of my 1st year of being natural.

Right now, I am in the process of developing a routine that will fit into my schedule. I want to maximize both time and results. You're probably as busy as I am, so I know saving time is important to you too. Another one of my major concerns is money. If I can find I way to save money, I'll do it. Hair care does NOT have to be expensive. its just a matter of making smart purchases. Now that you have a general idea of what my hair journey has been, we can dive into the details of Black Hair Care - So much more to come!

Be Big & Beautiful

xoxo

Jill Scott! My favorite song by her: "Golden"

HAIRvolution: My Transition Period

Hello lovelies!


This has been one of my favorite blog posts to make so far. I really hadn't realized how much my hair had changed until I collected all the pictures I had taken of myself!

Changes in my hair: October 2009 - November 2010

October 22, 2009. Relaxed Hair - Chin Length

So, like I mentioned in a previous post, my hair had been chin length for a couple years and I really wanted some growth. 

November 13, 2009. Updo - New Growth!

To retain growth, I stretched my hair, which means I waited longer than 8 weeks to relax my hair. I prevented the breakage that comes with waiting too long for another relaxer by deep conditioning

July 17, 2010. This was my third and successful transition.
I was a hot mess lol

So, until June '10 I had been relaxing, here you can't see much hair growth because I had just started my 3rd transition attempt

October 8, 2010. New Growth!!! I was so excited

Close up on my new growth a couple months later. I believe I was still flat ironing to blend the two textures together, but that was making my hair dry, as you can see in this close up

October 11, 2010. Another Updo!
They really helped during my transition

One of the good things I did during my transition was up-dos. My hair was kept in one place, so I touched it less and the cold, dry, air didn't affect it as much

October 31, 2010. I was so proud of the new growth!

By October 2010, I had gotten the hang of taking hair of my roots - check out those waves haha!

October 31. It was really dry here

The center/back of my head was so much more course than the rest of my head, I loved combing my hair (not good), so I had some breakage in the back.

November 1, 2010. Twist Out on Transitioning hair

My first recorded shea butter twist out!!! look how shiny it is! (we'll talk about the power of shea butter at a later)

November 2, 2010. Flat Twists on Transitioning Hair.
They weren't fresh (at all) but they got the job done!

And this is my flat twist set. Trust me, I've gotten better at flat twisting since then!

Back view of my flat twists

November 6, 2010. Another New Growth Check.
I was getting impatient and wanted it to grow

November 6, 2010. Perm Rod Set!
One of my Favorite Protective Styles

I must say that Perm Rods were the best for me during my transition. I loved it. It held curls for my relaxed ends while protecting my natural roots

November 20, 2010. Flat Ironed Hair (I shouldn't have
used heat). Last pic I took before my Big Chop!!!

Last recorded flat iron! And look - my hair finally grew past chin length :)

All in all my transitioning phase was long and took A LOT of patience. I had to learn to be gentle with my hair instead of treating it like my old Barbie dolls' hair. You know, all that vigorous combing and brushing those of you who had Barbies used to enjoy doing. Nuh-Uh! Any of you in transition must treat your hair like its silk or cashmere, be DELICATE. Your roots will love you for it, and you'll have the cutest fro when you do your Big Chop. My next post will have pics of my Big Chop and a little reflection on the day I went natural.

Be Blessed, Big & Beautiful!

xoxo 

My Natural Hair/Transition Story

Hello Lovelies!

Sooo, I thought it would be important to share my Pre-Journey story. 

Phase 1: The PUFF Era

Back in the day Hair Bobbles where the best!

I was like most little girls with my hair type, HUGE puffs, fun clips, hair bubbles, bows, scrunchies - I had a BOX dedicated to hair accessories. Of course, I experienced mommy and aunty pulling my kinky hair with the fine toothed comb; I experienced the grease, the flat iron, the hot comb, just everything lol. Sometimes my older sister would cornrow my hair too. 

Phase 2: Home Grown Hair

Remember this anyone? Used to come with a free glow-in-the dark comb too!

When I was 10, my mom decided I was growing up, and that I'd look cute and mature with relaxed hair. So, in fifth grade, I got my first relaxer. And many of you know how the story goes as a child with boxed relaxers every two months. Mom would apply the relaxer, it would burn, she'd wash it out, then would come the over head dryer, blow dryer and flat iron. (we'll talk about the dangers of direct heat on hair later).  I have to say, mom did a good job - my hair was a little longer than shoulder length by the time I was 13 years old. 

Phase 3: The Hair Salon Era/Transition Attempt 1

The dreaded hours under the overhead dryers on Saturday mornings!

This is when I began to become displeased with my hair. I started to go to the hair salon when I was a sophomore (around that time) in high school, because I thought that it would be "healthier" than when I did it at home. Looking back, that wasn't the case. My hair was over-processed as a result of relaxers, was damaged as a  result of too much direct heat, and that led to a stagnation in growth. By the time I was a senior, I got really frustrated and started to experiment. I started researching natural hair. I had always thought my new growth felt nice so I started to let it grow. I even started using flexirods. However I couldn't let go of my relaxer, so instead of transitioning I stretched* my hair. 

Phase 4: College!!! And Transition Attempt 2

My Hair on November 6, 2010 - Transition life was REAL lol

Okay, College really tripped up my hair care routine. My college campus is about 7 hours (driving) away from home. So I didn't have my hair stylist anymore, which for me, was a problem. The area where I go to school is very suburban, so a hair/beauty store was not near by. Also, the hair salons near by are EXPENSIVE. I would only pay those prices one time lol. Where I live I only pay $55 for a relaxer, and so paying 3x that amount sounded ridiculous to me. Freshman year was transition attempt two. I would wait 10 or more weeks to relax my hair, then I would relax my hair myself. If not, I would let my mom do it like when I was little. Transition attempt two came to an end because my mom and I had numerous debates about whether or not I should relax my hair. All the commentary about "naps," "good hair," "looking professional," or looking "nappy," or "unkept" came up. So again, I gave in to the relaxer.

Phase 5: Successful Transition and the Hair Journey

A woman of strength and personal empowerment is who I strive to be!

Summer after Freshman year I had enough of the back and forth. I wanted my natural curls and that was it. Summer was the best time to transition because I was able to take the time to care for my hair: doing protective styles (we'll discuss later) adding moisture and NOT using heat. I started Sophomore year and I was well on my way. By December I was sick of dealing with the two hair textures (relaxed and 4b/c) so, I went to my dorm room and did the BIG CHOP! It was December 10th 2010 to be exact. I was SOOO scared, I wore a hat out my room! I had a TWA (teeny weeny afro) and I didn't know if my friends would think it was ugly. To my relief - it was well received! Since then, I haven't looked back. It's been a great 9 1/2 months of being natural! :)

Solange Knowles & her son :)

Be Big & Beautiful!
xoxo

My Stats/Hair Personality

Hey Wonderfuls!

What I commonly notice in a lot of hair care forums, YouTube channels related to natural hair, and hair blogs is that people are always curious about hair type*. So, since I am in the early stages of chronicling my hair journey, I thought I'd just put my hair stats out there for any of you who are interested

HAIR TYPE: basically, the texture of one's hair. Can vary from bone straight to kinky-coily. The best explanation for hair type/texture/classification can be found here: http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types

MY HAIR PERSONALITY:

I have multi-textured hair. For the most part, I am 4b, with a bit of 4c hair on my left and right temples. This means I have some very small "S" curls and a lot of kinks.  The nape of my head has 4a hair, which means pencil width "S" curls. As of now, my longest hairs are 5 1/2 inches, and my shortest hairs are 2 inches.

My hair shrinks to about half its length when air-dried, and dries very easily, which means it can break easily. (Combine that with HMHS, "Hands in My Hair Syndrome" lol - and hair just snaps off!)

Further Info: For any of you who would find this relevant, my hair is brown and black, but mostly brown haha. (I always get asked if I dye my hair - and I don't). Also, I am 3/4 black and 1/4 white.

So, here it is. Now that you've gotten to know my hair we can really dive into the "Hair Journey" together - it should be fun!

More To Come!

xoxo