Music Monday: I Am Not My Hair

I recently "big chopped" last week! It was supposed to be after celebrating my two year transition, but that got cut short to 21 months. After taking out my twists I attempted to do a braid out which turned out to be really greasy ( seriously I had to keep going to the bathroom during church to dab away the oil). The style also didn't last too long as it became increasingly  apparent of the two different textures. So, I grabbed my scissors and clipped away. Now I am so happy with my hair do, and it's so much easier to maintain. I will post up a video of my "big chop" soon, but in the meanwhile listen to some India Arie (I know,I know)!

Transitioning: Wash day!!

Source: blackgirllonghair.com

     So I have been transitioning my hair from relaxed to natural for  thirteen months! Yeah! Whoo hoo!  It hasn't been easy at all. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more, but here I am now! What has changed the most (besides my hair texture) is my hair routine. For the past year I have been changing up my hair routine, to see what works best , and the routine I currently have makes my hair so soft!!

    So this is my hair before I wash it. It was an old braid out that's dirty and dry.

I decided to deep condition my hair before I wash it, which is something i have never really done before. I lightly damped my hair and detangled it thoroughly, then I put my hair into four braids while I condition them. 

Putting my dry hair into four parts.

 

Here's my hair wet, you can see the stringy ends attached. And my hair is like a reddish brown due to the henna.

      

                                                 
                                                                           

              I used the Shea Moisture' s Deep Treatment Mask and I added some Jamaican castor oil I got from a Caribbean market to it.  I think I got ripped off, because the bottle is the size of my palm and it costs $ 3.99!  Anyway, since it was late at night and I was tired, I decided to deep condition over night. However, I wouldn't do nightly deep conditions in the future because it can weaken the hair and cause it to break easily. 

    Next, I woke up the next morning, and I washed out my hair still in the four braids (but made it looser) with Kera Pro Restorative shampoo. It has sulfates, so choose another Shampoo that is sulfate free like Tresemee! 

 

       I then dry my hair with an old t-shirt and let it air dry. Usually I plan my wash days on days I have nowhere to  go, therefore I can just read and wait until my hair is  dry and ready to style. To stretch it I will moisturise with a leave-in conditioner and then braid my hair.  

   The number of braids depends on what I feel like, whether it's four braids, sixteen braids, cornrows, whatever! Then I will put some rollers at the end of my hair because I am transitioning, and keep it in for six hours or until the next morning to reveal the pleasant surprise my hair has undertaken.

So here are the (usual) results. And I love it, because it's fun, flirty, and soft to the touch.