Well....as some of you may or may not know...I made the decision to go natural. But ever since I decided to transition, I've experienced some serious breakage. So I went back to the drawing board, to figure out what I could do to better the health and improve the length of my hair.
1. Cut down my use of heat I know this probably the main cause of my hair breakage. I flat ironed my hair even more since I've been transitioning (and yes, I used a heat protector). I know, i know,....a big NO NO. So from now on I will only use direct heat once a month.
2. Before I use any direct heat, I will do a protein treatment.
3. Anytime I flat iron my hair, I will wear it straight for two weeks. During these two weeks I will continue to moisturize and seal as usual. In addition, I will use leave in conditioners as needed. After the two weeks, I will shampoo (this will be the only time I shampoo) and follow up with a deep conditioner.
4. I will co-wash and deep condition every week unless I flat iron (as stated above). Air dry only (this will be tough for me).
5. Protective Styling : Buns, braid outs, braids, twist/twist outs, roller sets etc.
6. Moisturize and seal every night. And cover with satin or silk scarf.
7. Biotin or MSM Supplement for growth??? I don't know if I will do this or not....if I do I will take a very low dosage. I'll keep you updated on this.
Congrats on your journey to go natural!!! Girl since I was 11 I've gone natural 3 TIMES!! crazy I know LOL long stories, but my mom and I kept trying to find a product to work with my curly hair without losing my curl and making it break off...needless to say I am NATURAL now and LOVING IT! You can do it! Not that I'm a pro lol, but some tips I would give any transitioning friends are:
ReplyDelete1. CONDITION your ends throughout the week (even when flat ironed) maybe 2 times or so...with a LITTLE of the conditioner they say to wash out; it really works! My friend tried it and her hair all of a sudden started growing! And of course keep it well conditioned period lol
2. Twist outs and braid outs are AWESOME for transitioning because you wont be able to see the different hair patterns b/t your new growth and permed ends! (and buns and the other styles you mentioned are great too!)
3. Gel will be your best friend! lol BUT I use a good oil or grease like Indian Hemp to coat my hair before putting gel over it and after too, in order to protect my hair from damage from directly putting gel on it :)
4. Find a friend going natural to keep you strong because you will find people who wanna convince you to go back to the creamy crack LOL ( boy this is getting long, I think I should put this as a blog post on my page LOL). I have a friend in another state, and something told me to just text her and say hey -- girrrrl, she was at the hair salon about to get a perm!! And I reminded her why she went natural and how she can get her hair just as straight without a perm, and she is STILL natural! Hooray for friends!
5. And Last since im trying not to ramble to much, lol, is YOUTUBE!! You can get much better tips then mine! lol and find people with the same hair type as you and see what styles and products work for them too. :-)
God bless ♥.