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Beehmyn

Des Moines , Iowa

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Beehmyn

My natural hair journey officially began on January 3, 2006. There was a huuuuge learning curve, although I did transition for seven months before my big chop. I lost a lot of hair, had a lot of disappointments, and generally felt a little insecure for the first year.

I've made a mental note of all my mistakes, corrected them, and stripped my hair care "routine" down to bare basics. As of this writing I use three things on my hair: water, conditioner, and oil, in that order.

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[ Routine Updated September 1, 2009 ]
-I co-wash at least three times a week with a Suave conditioner **Update: I only co-wash whenever I remember, then baggy.**

-Keep my hair in 12 - 16 twists 99.99% of the time because it likes to be left alone. **Update: As of spring 2009, I have kept my hair in four buns. I haven't decided it they are easier to keep up compared to twists.**

-I apply oil to the ends of my hair (I use Africa's Best oil or olive oil). **Update: I have been rotating between vatika oil, SAO, and castor oil. I initially fell in love with the castor oil, but SAO is increasingly becoming my oil of choice.**

-I baggie the ends during the day, and wear a shower cap over damp hair at night **Update: As of September 1, 2009, I continue to baggy my hair. I apply SAO to damp hair, then baggy for up to 23 hours per day. This makes my hair silky soft.**

-Detangle whenever I remember, which is usually once a month *NOT RECOMMENDED* (I'm working on detangling once a week, then retwisting) **Update: I have yet to learn the importance of regular detangling apparently! I literally detangle my hair only when I remember. Castor and SAO has helped with the horrendous tangles, making my infrequent detangling sessions bearable/possible.**

-I trim, at the absolute most, half an inch once a year and clip off split ends whenever I remember **Update: I only S/D now. If you choose to only S/D, be aware that it may give you fairytale ends after a while. This probably is not the route to go if you prefer blunt ends. Since I rarely wear my hair straight, I've found it is the best option for me at this point.**

-One 15oz bottle of shampoo lasts me for a year. I pour half of the shampoo in an old bottle, then fill both bottles to the top with water. Voila! Two bottles of shampoo for the price of one. I shampoo about six times a year, if I'm not using 'cones. **Update: I think I've shampooed three times this year. Other times I only use conditioner or a conditioner/baking soda concoction. It works perfectly**

-Henna is something I add to the mix if I need some extra strengthening outside of silk proteins. Henna gives me a vibrant shade of earthy red/brown, but I have not completely decided how I feel about it.

That's it. Fairly simple and affordable. On average, I spend no more than $20 ($30 if I'm feeling divalicious) a year on my hair care products; and an hour and forty-five minutes on hair care per week. Almost all of that time is spent detangling and retwisting.

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Some things about my personal natural hair care that I've had to learn the hard way:

-Hair gels equal brillo pad hair **Update: Applying castor oil to gel can help, so I've heard**

-Protein is fine, but no more than four times a year

-Brushing isn't in my hair's best interest

-With combing, slow and steady (plus globs of conditioner) wins the race **Update: I stopped using combs on a regular basis earlier this year. I lose much less hair and my little curlies are turning out almost picture perfect due to the finger combing.**

-Weekly heavy oil treatments are a blessing **Update: My hair pretty much rejects oil these days. My curls suffer and twists get super frizzy and dry looking. I can only use a light oil on the ends now.**

-Daily light oil treatments make my hair a little less wiry **See above**

-Daily conditioner washing can be a good thing if the right conditioner is used

-True deep conditioners are hard to find (I use my regular cheapie conditioners with a shower cap for this purpose. This becomes an overnight treatment)

-Shampooing in sections is key because it reduces tangles and unnecessary hair loss **Please see above. Sectioning is still vital, but I don't use much shampoo these days. It's either Suave Vo5 or a conditioner/baking soda mix.**

-My hair loves to be divided into sections. At the very least, my hair is always in two sections, such as a half-up/half-down style **Update: This still applies for the most part. As my hair gets longer, it will be even more important to divide it into sections. No more wash-n-go styles, I suppose. I can wear it down, I'm just a little prone to tangles.**

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Short term hair goal: Waist length in '08 (achieved!)
Next short term goal: Hip Length in '09 (achieved!)
Next short term goal: Tail bone length by April, 2010 (3 inches to go)
Long term hair goal: Terminal length, however long that may be

I recently discovered that my cousin had TBL hair, but trimmed back to SL. Perhaps I can achieve the same length.

What is long hair to me? At one time, it was solid shoulder length hair. At this season in my life, long hair, to me, is defined as anything longer than waist length. That may have something to do with my near 6' frame. I'm not sure. I do know that I would never have thought it was possible for me to have longish hair if I'd not found LHCF.

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To newly naturals and those transitioning: Things do get better! It all starts with mentality. We've been conditioned to dye and hide, fight and fry our hair. Accepting and embracing the imperfections that ultimately make our hair beautiful is key. If you're around people who don't support your decision to wear your hair in its natural state, find people who WILL support you. You may be surprised to find acceptance and support in the most unlikely of people (for example, I've received the most love and outreach from people outside of my race).

I'm putting together a short tutorial for nappturals on how to get picture perfect curls (almost) every time. Keep an eye out for it in my journal section.

If you have any questions or just need someone to talk to, leave a note in my albums or send it to: Gwatsonllc@gmail.com

General Information

Profile:: Personal
Since:: Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Gender:: Female
Age:: 22
Languages:: English, some Spanish
Tags:: curly hair, natural hair, hair care, natural hair care
I'm here for:: Photo sharing, Friends, Networking

Contact Information

Email:: gwatsonllc@gmail.com
Personal website:: nomorecollegedebt.blogspot.com

My Cities

Hometown:

Background & Lifestyle

Marital status:: Single
Sexual orientation:: Straight
Smoking:: Non-smoker
Drinking:: I never drink
Children:: I don't want kids ever
Education:: College graduate
Ethnicity:: Black/African descent
Body type:: Some extra baggage
Height:: Tall
Religion:: Spiritualist

Interests & Personality

Interests:: Reading, Writing, Acoustic Guitar, activism
Sports:: Basketball
Music:: Adult alternative, Soft rock, Contemporary, Classical, Lite sounds
Movies:: There's Something About Mary, Forrest Gump, The Wedding Singer, Scary Movie 1, Harry Potter Series, The Lord of The Rings trilogy
Television:: Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, Stargate Atlantis (Jason Momoa, yummy!!!)
Heroes:: My mom and brother
Books:: The Bluest Eye, Jane Eyre, The Mists of Avalon

Friends: