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BuenaventuraAvenue ~updates! 11/14~

BuenaventuraAvenue ~updates! 11/14~
Hair type: I don't think that the typing system (2's, 3's, 4's) is adequate, so I'll describe my natural texture like this-- my coils are the size of the spring in an ink pen and it's very kinky. It shrinks to 50% of its length and more.

Current status of hair: 8 inches long, natural

Regimen: I wash my once a week. I think the key to detangling is to not allow tangles in the first place--never allow your hair to be wet and completely loose at the same time. I put my hair into 5 to 8 puffs with little terry cloth scrunchies and shampoo. If my hair feels extra dirty then I'll take down a puff [only one at a time] to really scrub my scalp. Deep condtion and rinse while hair is still separated. I let my hair dry somewhat while still in puffs because I don't like putting product in wet hair. When it's about 50% dry, I put in moisture, seal with an oil, brush/detangle with the Denman, and prepare hair for whatever style I'm going to have--lately its been twist-outs. I retwist each night (except for the night before wash day) with whatever product I might need: sometimes just a spritz of water, sometimes water and oil, sometimes the whole moisture, oil, Denman shebang and cover with my scarf and bonnet. If I want my hair to shrink up some, I'll go without my shower cap in the shower but if not I'll keep my hair covered. I take down the twists, pick it out some with my fingers, and go.

Products
Shampoo: Dr. Bronner's soap in peppermint (rarely)
Deep Conditioner: Aussie Moist
Daily Moisture: Nexxus Humectress.
Oil: Coconut Oil




A not-so-brief hair history
I was natural the first twelve years of my life. At age five, I had waist length hair. I remember it taking several hours to wash, detangle, blow dry, and style my hair. When I was seven my sister and I started losing our hair and had sores on our scalps because of a strain of mold in our home. I ended up losing a lot more because I couldn’t take the penicillin necessary to stop the process. We moved, of course, and by the time I was nine, my hair was back to normal thickness. At ten my mom started making me do my own hair. I began to appreciate the simplicity of a ponytail, which remains my signature style today lol. My sister and I got our hair pressed from time to time. When I was eleven, we moved to where my grandmother (a hair stylist) lives.

Then in the seventh grade, Gramma relaxed my hair. I really didn’t understand the repercussions of relaxing-- I didn’t even know what a relaxer was! I just agreed to it because it was supposed to make washing and styling easier. In an effort to be invisible, I returned to my staple ponytail and severely neglected my hair. By the end of the school year my ends were a crunchy mess.

That summer (2002) both my sister and I got microbraids. What a disaster they turned out to be. Long story short, I won’t be doing micros again.

In the years following, I started to care what I looked like and put forth more effort. But I picked up most of the common bad habits: wrapping every night, direct heat with every wash, sporadic washing, oil/grease instead of moisture/protein, combing too much and too hard, relaxing too often, etc. My hair remained a few inches past shoulder length throughout high school.

My freshman year of college, I wanted healthier hair so I looked to the internet for answers. I found the hair boards and then Fotki in November 2007. My last relaxer was February 2008, I actively began transitioning to natural July 2008, and did the big chop November 2008.
General Information
Profile:
Personal
Since:
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Gender:
Female gender
I'm here for:
Photo sharing
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My Cities
Hometown:
Background & Lifestyle
Marital status:
Single
Sexual orientation:
Straight
Smoking:
Non-smoker
Drinking:
I never drink
Education:
In college
Ethnicity:
Black/African descent
Body type:
More to love!
Height:
Taller than average
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