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TeeKay21

Atlanta , Georgia

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TeeKay21

NOTE* For regimine scroll all the way down to abt the middle of the page. (It's there I just wanted this to be a place of general info as well as the actual products and practices).

First of all I'd like to say I began this hair journey armed with a wealth of knowledge that I got from the ladies on these websites:

http://p069.ezboard.com/bblackbeautyblackhair86911
http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/default.asp
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/forums/index.php
http://members.fotki.com/jamaicanmystic1/about/

And these books (there are a couple more but they said some stuff I thought was "suspect"):
"Ultra Hair Growth II" by Cathy Howse - She has been growing out her (relaxed) hair since 1986 and done alot of research on it. Her hair is about mid-back. Her website: http://www.ultrablackhair.com/HairGrowth.html

"Don't Go Shopping for Hair Care Products Without Me" by Paula Begoun - This book has reviews on almost every hair product out there as well as sections on how to take care of your hair. Her website: http://www.cosmeticscop.com/

Now, this hair journey officially began April 8, 2006. Many events led up to it. I am in the military and it is hard to keep up with your hair when you have to get up at the crack of dawn to go running. We all know that (especially in the south) there is a lot of humdity and dew in the early morning. Coupled with the perspiration from your scalp that is a recipe for a bad hair day. My hair would get extremely frizzy and we're only given an hour or so after PT (physical training) to take a shower, get in uniform, have breakfast and get into the place you work. At that time I had hair to "mid-neck". It wasn't really enough to put up so I'd have to try and flat-iron it straight and slap some oil sheen on it and get back to work. I had no clue (now that I look back) how much damage I was doing to my hair. I just didn't know how to take care of it.

After about 2 months of that routine I found out I was getting sent to Florida so I decided to get braids because I knew the humidity and the ocean air was gonna be a bad combination. That is also when I decided to wear braids and weaves to let my hair grow out. I just wanted length. I didn't think of how broken off it already was. I also was getting a relaxer every time I got the sew-ins put in (AHH!). I finally realized that was not a good idea in about October 2004. That was the last time I got a relaxer.

After that I just went from braids to braids to weaves to weaves to braids until march 2006 when one day I took my braids out and realized that my "natural" hair was was pretty long. I liked it. I had a GREAT fro. I decided I'd look into how to take care of Natural hair and found this site: http://motowngirl.com/index.php
It really inspired me to find out more about my hair. I wanted to go natural and cut off the relaxed ends. I played with my hair for a couple of days (I was off work for a while so I had time to experiment with things). I liked what I saw but then I decided to reenlist and in my branch of the military females cannot have ANY hair accesories or bobbi pins showing, and your hair can't look eccentric or unkempt. The length that my hair was at was nice for a fro and while fros are not banned, you have to think about taking a cover (hat) on and off of it all day. That would make you unkempt because you can't fix your hair every time you go inside a buliding (if you want to get any work done). I also had enough hair for a nice puff but the top was short and I couldn't get it low enough on my head for my cover to fit properly. So I decided I would see about getting a texturizer. I went to see my stylist to cut off the relaxed ends and to consult her about the texturizer.

I have very "kinky" 4b hair. It doesn't really curl at all, just kind of does this vvvvvvv. Not waves, not curls....it's weird :-) My stylist said a texturizer would not work so well. She did a strand test and it just straightened out with a few swervs that might have been waves. So... because of the J-O-B, I went back to relaxing but I had learned so much about hair care I was ready for the challenge.

I read books, I perused websites and this is what I found out about "OUR" hair.

1. WASH IT at leastonce a week at the LEAST. Products marketed to "US" are usually full of heavy oils and those oils coat the hair and prevent MOITURE from getting through.

2. MOISTURIZE IT. African hair is tightly coiled so the natural oil your scalp produces does not get distributed evenly throughout. That makes it VERY dry to begin with. Relaxing further dries it out. So....MOISTURE is your friend. Use shampoos and conditioners that are geared towards Dry, color-treated, permed, etc. You also should be moisturizing your hair 1-2 times a day (preferably 2). Most moisturizers marketed to Black people are full of mineral oil and petroleum. Moisture comes from water. Any daily moisturizer you choose should have water as the first ingredient and preferably no mineral oil or petroleum (too heavy and don't actually moisturize, they coat the hair shaft preventing moisture from penetrating it. Those ingredients can be used to SEAL moisture in, but they build-up quickly and may clog the pores on you scalp. I just avoid them altogether). Use the moisturizer first and then a light oil such as jojoba oil or an oil product with very light oils in it to SEAL in the moisture. The first product will penetrate and moisturize, the second will keep the moisture in.

3. Little to NO HEAT. Heat FRY'S your hair. I know it is a hard habit to break, especially if you have short hair but putting heat on hair that is already TWICE as dry (naturally, plus the relaxer), you are making it TRIPLE dry by putting heat on it. Wrapping it at night instead of using the flat iron is an option. Putting a anti-frizz serum on it then wrapping and air drying is also an option instead of blow drying or sitting under the hooded dryer. (When my hair was longer I did this because I HATE heat by my face). Everyone's hair is different so some people might be able to get away with heat once a week. Others may need to only do it once a month. To each his own, but be warned HEAT CAUSES BREAKAGE in most hair.

*Update-for short haired chicas that find it easier to manage with heat, I have learned the SAFE way to use heat. I love the CHI Silk Infusion heat protectant. After air drying, I will use my SEDU flat iron, placing an even coating of the serum on each section of hair. I only do this every other week, starting after the sixth or seventh week post relaxer. (No heat for the first six weeks). After that I start using the SEDU weekly or bi-weekly with either Mizani curling and silkening wax or Keracare creme press. Those products serve as heat protectants as well, but they are thicker than the Silk Infusion allowing the flat iron to really press the new growth down and keep it from frizzing back up so fast. This method helps me strech my relaxers for at least twelve weeks. No heat is still the best though. I just can't see doing it now that I'm back active duty with this whole running every other morning before work thing! The new growth will not stay flat with scarves alone like before!

3. NO BRUSHING.(Unless bunning or putting in a ponytai to make smooth. As few stokes as possible). Brushing tears the hairs from your head. It used to be said that you should brush every day to stimulate your scalp and produce sebum (natural hair oil). That is true that it stimulates your scalp, but the trade off is that you are losing more hair than neccessary. Hair should shed about 25-100 strands a day. Brushing pulls healthy strands that are not at the end of their growth cycle out. Also use a comb with WIDE TEETH. The closer the teeth are the more of your hair it will pull out, especially if your hair is natural or you have a lot of new growth.

4.DEEP CONDITION AND PROTIEN. Both are needed to help keep hair in balance. Learn more about balancing hair out here: http://members.fotki.com/jamaicanmystic1/about/ or here
http://p069.ezboard.com/fblackbeautyblackhair86911frm13.showMessage?topicID=652.topic That topic explains hair breakage and shedding and what moisturizing and protien can do to help stop it.

5. PROTECT IT. Sleep on a satin pillow case or in a satin scarf at night to prevent snagging. (I do both because I sleep wild!) Protect the ends of your hair. Your hair may be growing but if you are constantly cutting split ends, it will seen as if it's not. If your hair touches your clothing, wearing buns and other styles that keep it from snagging on the material or your shirt may help you keep your ends healthy and let you retain some growth.

I learned much more but those are the basics. From that and endless hours of searching I have come up with a hair care regimine that works for me.

Wash once a week with these steps-
Wash:
Kenra Chelating Clarifying shampoo -- I live in a hard water area (the tap water is not suitable for drinking because it's so full of calcium and other minerals and chemicals) and regular clarifying poos only remove chlorine. The chelating poo removes calcium build-up so it's a must for me. NOTE* You only need to put shampoo on your head once time. The first wash doesn't create a lot of lather because the dirt and buildup prevent the bubbles from forming and that's good becasue it all gets washed away at this point. Doing a second lather give you more bubbles but is only going to strip you hair because the dirt is gone now and it's working on the natural oils and stuff (especially if it's a clarifying poo). Bubbles don't mean it's working, people just expect bubbles so companies add harsh chemicals that will lather well so people will think it's working. That's why natural shampoos (like JASON products) don't lather well: no harsh chemicals.

Humectress moisturizing conditioner-- Does a good job replacing the moisture I lose from the poo.

Protien Treatments: On the sixth or seventh week after my relaxer, I do an Aphogee Treatment for Damaged Hair Protien treatment to strengthen my hair because by then I start to notice the line of demarcation between my relaxed hair and new growth is weak. Then, every week other week after that I may use the more mild Nexxus Emergencee for one or two minutes between the shampoo and conditioner while I'm in the shower. I know that sounds like a lot of protien, but I have found my hair thrives on healthy doses of protein weekly.

Deep Condition EVERY WEEK mixing all these together or using just the ORS:
Organic Root Stimulator (ORS) Olive Oil replenishing pack (feels great! Light protein, mostly moisturising.)
or Carol's Daughter - Tui hair smoothie (I like how it smells! All moisture.)
Vegetable Glycerin - Pulls moisture INTO the hair and helps conditioners penetrate better. Tried on dry hair, never again!! The humidity in GA is too high and it sucked all the water out of the air into my hair and made it frizzy. Works better during the deep conditioner stage, mixed w/ the conditioner.
*I deep condition just about every time I wash because I excersise a LOT and I need to put that lost moisture back.

Leave-In:
My hair craves protien so i will use either the Aphogee tea-tree leave-in or the profective protein leave in in a purple bottle. Can't think of the name right now.

Air-Drying with Frizz Control (I no longer do the first step mentioned but it does work well if ya wanna try it!):
John Frieda - Frizz Ease Extra Strength (Not any more. It was soaking up the moisture).
I used to put this on last. While hair is soaking wet I use a LOT to cover every piece of hair on my HEAD! Then I pat off any excees and wrap it. I let it air dry in the wrap over night with my doo-rag or a scarf secured snugly to make sure it stays straight. I make sure I wash early enough in the evening so it get at least 8-10 hours to dry. In the morning it may be a little limp, but since my hair is so short I can wear it without any curl at all and not look like a drowned rat!
UPDATE**Now, instead of Frizz Ease I use Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and follow the same steps as above except I apply the Hair Butter LIGHTLY (but still making sure to work it through ALL the hair) because it is very thick and can weigh the hair down.

Flat iron: See above in the Tips section just after "NO HEAT" (heehee!)for safe heat usage tips and the products and appliances I use.

Daily Moisture:
If I need heavy duty moisture I use Carol's Daughter - Hair Butter
If I need a more light-weight moisturizer I use Carol's Daughter - Hair Milk (Carol's Daughter products can be found at SEPHORA!) I roll my hair nightly with magnetic rollers or flexi rods, using a TINY drop of Hair Milk on each section to moisturize and make the curls nice and smooth.

Sealing in Moisture:
Carol's Daughter - Tui Hair Oil (Smells GREAT)
Carol's Daughter - Lisa's Elixer ( :-( smells like ointment) Once I take the rollers out in the morning I use a quarter-sized amount in the palm of my hand, rub palms together and run my fingers through my hair to seal in the moisture.

I used to use a lot of "Natural" products. They are great for your hair but I can't get them as readily since I moved. However, don't be fooled, MOST natural products DO have chemicals in them. They have to to keep them safe from bacteria and to give them a shelf life. You just have to be aware of what you are putting on your hair. Especially things you use often. I have nothing against chemicals but most things with chemicals have alcohol (which is drying) as the first 1-4 ingredients.

NEW ADDITION (March 07) I started doing Aphogee treatments. I did it after I got my hair relaxed and another time at about six weeks post. It is GREAT for my hair. I have stronger strands that absorb moisture well and my hair was thick and full after my relaxer (It usually is anyway b/c I use Phyto Index II, but it's even better with the Aphogee right after!)

That's about it!!!!! I hope I have helped. If any info is wrong please feel free to let me know. Like I said this is all stuff I've learned. I may have misunderstood and I have no problem being corrected!

Hair Growth and Breakage
http://p069.ezboard.com/fblackbeautyblackhair86911frm13
http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/forum_topics.asp?FID=4
http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/forum_topics.asp?FID=4

Ingredients to watch out for (scroll down a little to see them)
http://p069.ezboard.com/fblackbeautyblackhair86911frm21.showMessage?topicID=311.topic

Products to use
http://p069.ezboard.com/fblackbeautyblackhair86911frm21
http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/forum_topics.asp?FID=29

Just peruse those forums and you will find out as much as I did. make sure you look things up for yourself as well.

General Information