My natural hair journey

Hello All!!

This blog isn't about relationships, so to speak.  I've been on a natural hair journey for 2 years now.  I must admit that the journey has been a very pleasant one.  

My natural hair journey began in a somewhat nontraditional way. I never did the "big chop", which probably made my journey easy to begin with.  My hair was cut short and i had that haircut for about 2 years.  Then I had micro braids in my hair for a few months during the summer of 2012.  Once i took the braids out, I really couldn't figure out what to do with my hair.  I had a couple of wigs and some ponytails that I'd worn for a minute during that summer as well.  In August of 2012, I just washed my hair and twisted it up and let it air dry.  This picture is what it originally looked like.  

I got A LOT of compliments on my new hair style, so I kept it.  I never thought once that this was the beginning of a hair journey for me.  I even liked it myself, which is hardly unheard of lol.  I'm usually not a person who is a-ok with my hair styles. I change my hair very often.  This is what my hair looked like in April 2014..

It doesn't look like much growth, but I can assure you all that shrinkage is real! It seems like the longer i went without a relaxer and the more I washed my hair, the more shrinkage i got! I had my hair blown out and pressed June 2014 and it's well past my shoulders.  

A lot of people have asked me what products  I use.  For my shampoo and conditioner I use Tresemme products.  I've been using Tresemme since I was in college.  A friend of mine introduced me to it and it worked well on my hair.  Back then i was the relaxer queen so i was surprised to find a shampoo and conditioner that i liked for my hair.

Now it took me a minute to find a product that worked well on my natural hair texture.  I've probably tried and thrown out about 5 different brands of natural hair products.  I'm mentioning this because when you're on a natural hair journey, it will take you a minute to find the right products for your hair.  Not all natural hair has the same texture or ability to hold moisture.  My hair holds moisture for a day or two, but after that, it's a rough dried up mess lol.  I started off using Curl Control by Beautiful Textures.  This is when i was twisting my hair weekly and letting it air dry. 

A friend of mine, Jennika had a lot of BT products that she didn't want anymore and gave me the moisture butter (seen below).  One day i had washed my hair with the full intent of twisting it and letting it dry.  Well an emergency came up after i had washed my hair and put the hair butter in it.  I just let it air dry and that's how I found my "latest" style.  No more twisting!! Yes!  Just wash and go!

I haven't really given much thought to how long I was going to stay natural.  At this point, I haven't had a relaxer in my hair in nearly 2 1/2 years.  My hair has regained it's natural texture from before i got my first relaxer when I was 10 years.  I've given myself 5 years to see how much growth I'll have with out the relaxer, or creamy crack as the natural hair bloggers call it lol!  

I just wanted to share with you all the products that I use because I get asked a lot what I put in my hair.  I hope your natural hair journey is as fun and enjoyable as mine!