Nightly Routine..Morning Routine.

When I first did the "Big Chop" I did not really do anything with my hair at night, I just went to sleep because it was so short there was really nothing to do. Once the months started to fly by and my hair began to really grow I had to do some research on what to do at night with my hair. The routines that I began doing were very useful, protective, and made my mornings much easier. I've introduced the Bantu knots in a post, I did not actually do those but something similar. Every night I was comb out my hair, put my choice of natural hair products in my hair and either big or small two strand twist. Usually the bigger one were done because I had gotten to lazy to keep doing the small one. These twist are very time consuming but overtime you get used to them and they do not even bother. Other nightly hairstyles that can be done are flat twist, braids that are in sections, or cornrows. Each of these are taken out in the morning. After doing one of these I would apply just a little more oil on it. Your hair can be moistened also the curls from it look so pretty like that. Then, using a hair scarf or a satin cap I would just cover my head to protect and support my twist. To keep moisture in you can wear a plastic cap under the scarf or the cap. Sometimes I prefer the satin cap because the scarf can come off over night, or be tied way to tightly. But regardless of what you use, you just go to sleep.. and pray that whatever you used to cover your head stays on.

Once I wake up..
1. Take the satin cap of
2.Begin taking out the twist
3.Once all of the twist are yet again add some oil, or some type of hair lotion that you may use daily.
4. If the twist are clumped together or too big for your liken begin by separating the twists.

•      By separating the twist you curls look way more defined just look better in my opinion

5. Once you have added you choice of hair product and separated the curls style your hair as desired.

Bringing your curls back to life ..

My last post was about getting your beautiful straight hair, now this post is just about bringing the curls back. Usually with my having natural hair any little thing can trigger my curls to just bounce right back; but when I actually take the time to do a blow out and straighten, my hair last a lot longer and better. While my hair is straight I try to avoid water, and steam and any water based product that will revert my hair right back to the curls so when I want to intentionally bring them back, I can use a water based product, this is before the whole shampooing process.This just adds moisture back into my hair, which is always a plus. After that shampoo your hair with a product of your choice. Be sure that you wash your hair squeaky clean with cool to warm water nothing too hot that can damage your hair or scalp. 2-3 times of lathering up your hair with shampoo and washing it out is pretty good. Then DEEP CONDITIONER. I cannot stress it enough how important the deep conditioner is, I won't go into detail because I have done it so much in previous post. Just remember always put a plastic cap on your head and keep the conditioner on for at least 10-15 minutes. Honestly, I get carried away and will keep mine on for hours while handling other things around my house. If you want you can apply heat so that the conditioner penetrates into your scalp. Once you are done with all of that just let your hair rest, your curls will bounce back and you should be able to style your hair like you want to.

Applying Heat to Natural Hair.

A big concern for women who are transitioning to natural hair is can they straighten their hair without damaging it. Applying heat to your hair in general too often is not the best idea, and it can definitely damage your hair; but just because you have natural hair that does not mean you should not be able to wear your hair straight either. As of right now I do have my hair straight, I got my ends cut, got a blow out and straightened my hair. I do not have pictures right now sorry..but anyways I do not do it often but sometimes its good to do it. Before applying all this heat I thoroughly washed and conditioned my hair and put some nice oils to protect my hair for the what was coming. I'm going to tell you a few ways to reduce the amount of heat that you use on your hair, or damage.

1.  Wash and condition your hair, but do a deep conditioner on your hair. Deep conditioners have proteins in it that strengthen and protect your hair.
2. With a deep conditioner you have use heat, such as sitting under a hair dryer, this will make the conditioner penetrate into your scalp.
3. If you do not want to blow dry your hair before straightening you can air dry your hair, but comb your hair out and put them into sections so the process of straightening will be easier.
4. Before applying any heat whether is be the blow dryer or the flat iron apply a heat protector hair product on your hair to reduce and damage that can be done to the hair.
5. When using the flat iron try to stick too 350 degrees so the heat is not too much on your hair, sometimes you have to go above that because some hair maybe a little harder to work with that is fine.
6. Personally so I do not have to continuously straighten my hair every day I wrap it every night, when I wake up I comb the wrap out and my hair falls right into place; daily oils are put in my hair and I keep it moving. Sometimes I have to apply a little bit of heat to certain areas just to fix it up but other than that I do not.
7. Every 2-3 weeks is acceptable to go from your curly hair styles, to twists, buns, and then to straight hair. Alternating between these hair styles is just better for your hair.

Bantu Knots

Bantu Knots are not only a style that you can wear out and about, but can worn overnight just to take out in morning for beautiful curls. Personally I haven't done Bantu Knots as much as I've done braid/twist out but that have the same effects. I'm going to post a video on how to actually do the Bantu Knots from youtube. When doing the knots make sure you have either a lot of bobby pins or rubber bands, your hair can freshly wash and dried or slightly moist. Your hair is parted in to little sections and you pretty much twist them into a knot not too tight because your hair can be strained a little too much and you end up looking like the pictures from my last post. Here's a link to video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2vC9MSPfPE Part One .. Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srNsY_aKzRg&feature=youtu.be&src_vid=U2vC9MSPfPE&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_211480639 Part Two ... The Results and Styling

Natural Hair and Thinning Edges .

Having natural hair has its pros and cons. Actually having hair in general does, some people were blessed with having thick, strong hair whether it be long or short. Others may have thinner hair, which can be a problem because thinner hair is more prone to experience breakage. Thinning edges has to be one of the worst things to deal with. There are so many times that I see women walk around with beautiful hairstyles but I look and realize that they have little to no edges which is a problem. It does not look good, and it can make a person have confidence issues. Losing your hair can make anyone feel bad. Thinning edges can be due to wearing your hair too tight, too much gel and hard brushing, styling your hair too much, wearing braids all the time never letting your hair breathe. That's just a few reason. Although, losing your hair sucks you can definitely grow them back over time with different oils and hair products.

• Promote hair growth..
• Eat healthy food, Vitamin C rich foods
• Try to eliminate most of the stressors in your life, stress is big reason why many people begin to lose their hair
• Watch what products you use in your hair
• Do not apply too much heat to your hair 
• Drink a lot of water
• Vitamins with Iron and Zinc are very helpful (Biotin is great product for hair, and nail growth)
• Use natural oil, castor oil, tea tree oil, coconut oil..

After the twist ..2 months..

Like I said in my last post, I did the twist by myself. When it was time to take them out I was a little apprehensive only because I did them lol, so I did not want to take out all those hours of work but eventually they have to go. After taking out your hair ladies (and men), whether it be braids, twist, or a full head weave you need to take time out to treat your hair. First comb or brush out any residue that could have built up from your hair being "restricted" under a weave or in twist this can make the washing process easier. After wash your hair thoroughly with your choice of shampoo; be sure to wash everything out, squeaky clean. One of the best things to do is to condition your hair but a nice deep conditioner of your choice. These conditioners are very good getting into your scalp and helping your hair. A deep conditioner works best when keep on for 15-30 minutes under plastic caps and heat. Once that is done rinse with cool or warm water, and let your hair air dry or blow dry it. The best deep conditioners have argan oil, coconut oil, tea tree oil, and natural castor oils, even just buying these oils are very good. 

These are how my curls look (sometimes) after a good wash and conditioner. 

I tried this new tea tree shampoo and conditioner that was great. I felt the chemicals tingling in my scalp if that makes sense. My hair came out great, and I would definitely recommend this to others. 

"Bob Marley Twist"

Although I love my natural curls and wearing an afro sometimes you have to try something different. You can be a woman who loves their natural hair and still love getting extensions just as much just to be versatile. I did not get a full head, straight or curly weave, instead I decided to do twist on myself. The twist resemble dreads very much and people around campus sometimes mistook the twist for locs. It was a long process to do on my self, it took about 6-7 hours with one long break. I kept them in for about 2 months, they could have stayed a little bit longer depending on how well I kept up with them. I love these twist for the simple fact that I could wear them curly, by braiding them and putting them into steaming hot water, or wear them straight, in a bun, or just a regular ponytail. They are also very convenient, I can just wake up sometimes put gel on my edges, and just keep it moving. Here are some photos.

 Simple wavy and down.

 Bun

Half to the Side