Last week I took my Marley Braids out. Not the ones from my last post but the super long ones I did afterwards and never got round to posting here. Now it might not seem too strange that I should take out all my braids in between hairstyles but this was actually the first time I've taken them all out since my hair has been long enough to braid!! I've literally been washing it in sections and just re-doing it braid by braid because i've been so reluctant too see all my hair out at once and be crushed by disappointment in the length. Last week that is exactly what happened. After months and months of neglect my hair really hasn't grown very much at all. 10 months of growing it and nothing to show for it. My hair regime has been virtually non-existent and I haven't been moisturising it very often, my diet has been appalling and i've been scraping my braids into tight, high ponytails almost every day. Combine these factors with shrinkage and my painfully unrealistic expectations and there really was only one way this was going to end... In bitter, bitter tears. I really did give up and had resolved to forget the whole frustrating ordeal, nip to the barbers and shave my kinky lil problem off and live my life (at least for the foreseeable future) as a content #NoHairDontCare kinda girl... That was until a few very wise yet very simple points from my mate Cedric changed my mind... He basically made the point that this is where the real growing starts- this is where I begin to work on length.
The reason why this is so important is because I think when your 'big chop' is a real big chop... As in a hardcore 0.5 down to the scalp big chop, it's easy to forget that you are literally starting again. From scratch. It's not like cutting away relaxed ends and growing your hair out from a few inches. This for some reason just jolted me into seeing sense- If I can't get over my impatience I will never have decent length hair. This really is where the true grow out begins and if I look after myself and my hair properly then this time next year I should start to see some real progress. After prescribing myself: Biotin, MSM, lots of water, an improved diet and some serious TLC for my hair- starting with the purchase of a bottle of coconut oil and a tub of raw shea butter, I decided Havana Twists were the next protective destination for my hair...
I'm definitely a fan of this style. I've admired twists for years but always thought they'd be really hard to do (don't ask).... Turns out they're pretty easy. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of room for my technique to improve but I was happy with my first attempt results.
Maintenance wise though I think they will be a bit of a pain and they definitely wont last as long as braids but i'm glad to have a style change... Even if it's only a small one.
What do you guys think of twists??...
Yay or nay?? xx
(P.S. Title = lyrics to 'Cavalier' by James Vincent McMorrow)
Went to see Solange last week when she performed at XOYO in London. Even though i'm already a huge admirer I wasn't expecting her singing to be that good. She sounded perfect from beginning to end and is even more stunning in person than in pictures!!!!
We spent more time dancing than taking pictures but below are a few shots Arsema managed to snap, apart from the first one which i'm pretty sure was taken by Nami...
Great outfit as usual and her natural hair was looking lovely...
Me and Nami cheesin' away...
Yes, Nami is very rich...
All jewellery i'm wearing- Forever 21
Jumper- borrowed from a friend
Nami's shirt- Forever 21... I have one too so you'll be seeing more of it
Has anyone else had the pleasure of seeing Solange perform live??
Toodles to you bitches xx
(P.S. Title = lyrics to 'Look Good With Trouble' by Solange)
I love this floral top! It's a button up one so I suspect i'll be wearing it a lot.
Hope everyone spent NYE how they wanted to... It's really irritating when your plans don't come together at the beginning of the year. Mine was pretty good!
Toodles to you bitches xx
(P.S. Title = lyrics to 'Young Again' by Paul Banks)
**Oops, wrote this a few weeks ago but forgot to publish it so my blog is out of chronological order, don't be confused**
First off my apologies for the pictures- most of them were taken on my webcam (which is possibly the worst webcam in the world) straight after I took my braids out and the exposure on the others is crazy, buuuuuuut I didn't plan this post in advance and it's pretty text heavy so I thought I should throw some pictures in...
Well i've never really joined in on blogging about natural haircare, transitioning etc, mainly because it's not really my area of expertise so I didn't really feel I had anything to say that hasn't already been said 100 times already. However I do get a lot of e-mails about my natural hair in terms of growth etc so i've decided to address some of the most commonly asked questions here...
(my hair fresh out of braids, 10 full months unrelaxed)
So as old readers will know, i've spent most of the last 18 months or so with my hair in various box braids styles about 90% of the time. I started mainly because I love the look of braids, even though they're not my own hair I think they have a certain cultural swag about them which suggests pride, they're pretty low maintenance and easy to style. Also, when I first started, my hair had just grown long enough to be able to hold braids (I'd big chopped and was waiting for my hair to be long enough for braids for a few months) so it seemed like a good protective style as an alternative to weaves, which i've never really been a fan of. So over the last couple of years with a lot of trial and error these are the points I find most important about caring for your natural hair whilst it's in braids. A lot of this is really common sense so I hope no one feels i'm being patronising, but it's often the most obvious things we're not doing enough which make all the difference...
Moisture is your best friend- when your hair is in braids, it's still out!! It's not like a full head weave where your hair is completely tucked away. It's out, battling the weather, rubbing on pillows and the backs of chairs, being exposed to water in the shower. OK so it might not be as exposed as simply having your own hair out loose, but you see my point. If you want your hair to stay in good condition whilst it's in braids you need to moisturise. I use olive oil on my scalp which is prone to dryness- even more so with the added weight of braids. It's not a good idea to use too much product as you'll end up with build up but I also rub a small amount of carrot oil and shea butter over my braids up until the point where my natural hair ends once or twice a week.
WRAP. YOUR. HAIR.- As much as your friends, family, boyfriend whatever might tease you about it, a head wrap is essential at night and you should aim for every night without exception. People always ask me how I wrap my braids cos they're so long. Well I don't wrap the entire length of the braid, my only concern is the top part where my natural hair is so I just use an ordinary fitted satin cap. You need to make sure it's something that's not going to slide of your head in the middle of the night. Satin or silk scarves or doo rags do the trick. Also satin pillowcases for even less abrasion.
If your head feels swollen, your braids are too tight!!- Sometimes I feel like black women are just far too used to having sore heads: When you're growing up you have the heck yanked out of you every time your mother, aunty, grandma combs your hair, when you get a relaxer you feel like your brain is sizzling and weaves tug you in all the wrong places for a good 24 hours. Well not that any of these are right, but with braids the old tender head is most certainly wrong... If you allow your braids to be done too tight you will cause breakage from the root and if you continually do it it can even cause tension alopecia. So if you're having your hair braided ask the stylist not to plait them tightly which is what they tend to do. I always try to make sure my braids aren't pulling on my scalp at all when I plait them. I've had tight braids before and they've pulled quite a few hairs out from the root, not pleasant and not worth it.
Wear a shower cap when bathing or showering- steam is not your friend when your hair is in braids- for one thing if your hair is in the 4 category like mine (kinky, coily) the overall appearance of your hair is gonna frizz up faster because it will absorb evaporation from the hot water. Also if you allow moisture into your hair like this and then don't seal it in your hair will get super dry-as you wont be slathering lots of leave in conditioner or anything through your braids afterwards the moisture wont be sealed and your hair will be vulnerable and therefore easier for you to get split ends. When I shower I wrap my hair in a big, high cone/bun thing, secure it with a scarf and pull a shower cap over it. It looks insane but it's easy and it works.
Keep hair washing to a minimal- whether in or out of braids I don't wash my hair that often anyway but even though braids are washable it's not something i'd recommend doing too often because it leads to a faster deterioration of the appearance of your braids and can cause build up around the attachments of your braids. If you do wash it focus your attention on your scalp. If you use shampoo use it sparingly, do not work it through your braids and make sure you rinse it out thoroughly I'm personally looking to completely remove shampoo from my haircare regime but i've not yet found a replacement i'm fully satisfied with. (Recommendations for good natural alternatives would be appreciated).
Dry shampoo- every couple of days i'll spritz my hair with a little dry shampoo around the mid section of where my natural hair is and a little around the roots too. Just seems to keep things cleaner.
(A day later- oiled, conditioned and combed out with fingers)
(After washing, deep conditioning, combing with a wide tooth comb whilst hair still wet, gently pat dried and dry finger combed out and oiled)
(If anyone reposts this picture on tumblr, or anywhere for that matter, imma be pissed!! Ha)
When you take your hair out of braids:
Resist the urge to comb it!!!!- Even though your hair will be stretched because of the braids I don't recommend combing it straight away... Around your roots there will probably be some build up, a few tangles and it'll probably be a little tight and fragile, combing it at this point will not only be quite sore but it will also likely break some of your hair very unnecessarily. Instead-
Wash your hair- you can gently remove tangles when your hair is wet with your fingers. When washing my hair for the first time without my braids in I take a lot of time gently going through removing tangles and loosening up my hair without my roots.
Avoid using heat- I used to blow my hair quite regularly- because it was just a comb and dryer I didn't really think about it as doing damage to my hair but at the end of the day, heat damages hair. All hair. So if the use of heat is ill advised even for European hair types our hair stands no chance at all. As much as I understand that heat can create certain styles, if retention of length is a big priority to you it's best to cut down on heat as much as you can. I'm planning to stop using it all together.
Braid your hair- I was shocked to find out that some people sleep with their hair out. Growing up I rarely wore my hair out on a day to day basis. My mum always put it into some sorta braided style- usually with those colourful bobbles and clips we coo over so much in the black community. Having my hair out was something that was saved for special occasions like birthday parties, where all the parents would ooh and aah over my hair like it was from another planet (most of our friendship group were white) and all my friends would try and touch it and tell me it felt like a pillow. Anyway, my original point was that you must braid your hair at night or use some other form of protective styling (like twists) for sleep. I usually just spray my hair with p.m. nightime oil, put in like 6 dumpy braids and stick my satin cap over it. Make sure the ends of your braids stay in your cap. If your hair is too short to braid still condition it and cover it with a cap.
And now, general points that we tell ourselves but are more comforting when someone else says them-
Following on from this, don't become obsessed with hair types- hair typing is useful in so much as that knowing what kind of hair you have makes it easier to tailor a regime around your hair and get advice and learn from people with similar hair but that is where it's importance ends as far as i'm concerned. People get far too concerned with trying to define their hair as certain things and it all seems to have gotten a bit out of hand. Your hair is unique at the end of the day whether it is 3B or 4C really shouldn't matter, if your hair is healthy and loved it will look good regardless.
BE PATIENT- I'm sure a lot of you have seen the video below. It's true, patience is the key. Sometimes when you see someone with long hair you don't really think how many years it will have taken them to get it to that length. I'm extremely impatient, which is another reason I like having my hair in braids- only seeing the length of my hair during braids intervals gives me a better grasp on the fact that it actually is growing. However the main thing is to focus on maintaining the condition of your hair and not getting completely obsessed with length goals etc. You really have to put the care in to see results and if you're determined to set goals make them realistic and set them in years and not months.
Don't be a natural hair nazi- Expressing your views is fine and it's your right but that doesn't mean you have the right to talk down to people. Some people like their hair natural, some people perm their hair, some people keep it in weaves all the time etc etc. Whatever the reasons behind why we wear the hair the way we wear it in terms of history, slavery, Westernisation, fashion and everything else, no one likes a natural hair nazi. Whilst you might be embracing going natural or maybe have been natural your whole life, not everyone cares. So express yourself, be kinky/curly/wavy/coily whatever but respect that not everyone is in the same place as you and not everyone gives a shit. Sorry but it's true.
(More fresh out of braids pics... Because I ran out of pics :p)
There are so many things I want to improve on when it comes to my hair regime in the coming year and I think the most important thing is to be more realistic as I touched on before. I wasn't gutsy enough to chop it all off in one go but now that i've gotten rid of about 80% of my permed hair (through gradual grow out and trimming) i'm going to have to pay a lot closer attention to my ends so that i'll be able to retain length. I think sometimes I take how resilient my hair is for granted and it probably lacks a few inches because of it. I've already come up with quite a good moisture sealing routine thanks to a little research and a few creative ideas of my own. Cipriana from the fantastic UrbanBushBabes is definitely going to be my hairspiration, she has such a good regimen and of course her hair is absolutely stunning!
Also i'm considering whether or not to transition out of this hairstyle as far as the shaved sides go... What do you think??... Should I continue to grow the top and keep the sides shaved or do you think I should start to grow my sides out so that I have a fully covered head of hair this time next year??... I keep changing my mind, there are pros and cons for both lol.
Does anyone else have big plans for their hair in 2013 or New Year's Hair Resolutions????
Toodles to you bitches xx
(P.S. Title = Lyrics to 'Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe' by Kendrick Lamar)
What is frustrating me most with this whole camera transition is that some days I get it, everything is nicely focussed etc and then some days, like today, I don't...
I'm not giving up though, with the edits these came out quite decent anyway...
Dungarees- Brick Lane
Lace top- H&M
All necklaces- Forever 21
Lipstick- Illamasque
Toodles to you bitches xx
(P.S. Title = Lyrics to 'I'm Not Done' by Fever Ray)
