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In my last post, I gave you a modified version of my natural hair journey. In this post, I’ll go into greater detail of how I discovered what works for me, which products I use, and my stunt hair…aka wigs.
The first step in deciding to go natural is mentally preparing for the change. It’s a major transition to go from one hair regimen, to uncharted waters. I’ve never had a negative opinion of women who care about our physical appearance. I guess I have to care more since technically, my job is to look like me, but even before it was, I was always into hair, beauty, and fashion. As long as you are kind and respectful towards others, your effort into your appearance shouldn’t be criticized. We all want to look in the mirror, love what we see, and shouldn’t feel guilty about it.
The second step in going natural is deciding your next hairstyle goal. I think locs look fabulous, but they are not something I chose for my hair, because they are permanent. There is no turning back, and I need the option to have some variety depending on the occasion, and my mood. I loved the defined fros, and was determined to have mine. One of the roadblocks to natural hair is the incredible amount of shrinkage. So although my hair was a certain length, it took some time before I was able to have volume.
The post-wash application of products has remained the same in terms of the type of products I use, however, I’ve been trying new products pretty consistently for the past 4 years. Yes, I am an admitted product junky. I was a product junky before going natural, and I am a still a product junky, although, not nearly as bad. The first product post-wash is a leave-in spray. My current go-to is Creme Of Nature Strength And Shine leave-in conditioner. Then, I apply a cream. I have tried around 10 different creams, but my current favorite is Kinky Curly Knot Today Then comes the gel. I did finger coils for a few months, until I ventured into my next regimen. My path to a nice full defined fro was the wash and “go”. I put “go” in quotations, because there is absolutely NOTHING go about a wash and “go”. After using a wide toothed comb, applying the leave-in, and the cream, I brush using a Denman brush, before applying my gel.
Without further ado, here are my gel findings. The wrong gel will result in flaking. I remember my finger coil days, and spending around 40 minutes coiling my entire head, wrapping up my hair with a satin scarf, and waking up the next day expecting to break apart my coils, and reveal greatness. To my shock and dismay, my coils were full of flakes, and looked absolutely ridiculous! All that work, and my hair looked dirty, and terrible. I then learned that all gels are not created equal, and you may have to play around with different gel and cream combos to see which products work well together. So far, the two gels winning the Tiffany V Bobb gel Hunger Games are Kinky Curly Curling Custard, and Eco Styler Argan Oil Gel, aka…the yellow one. I have to shingle my hair to get the nicely formed curls, and when I’m finished shingling, I’ll do my makeup. It’s best to air dry for the most part, but I don’t always have time for that. After doing my makeup, I’ll blow dry my hair with a diffuser, then pick out the roots with a comb to create that good volume. I learned the hard way that touching the curls before they are completely dry causes frizz. I sleep with my hair pulled up, and under a satin scarf. It morphs to a sculpture overnight, and I can pull it out to shape it in the morning. However, that fresh defined look does not work for more than one day. I usually brush the edges up and do a high poof for the next 3 days until I wash again. If I’m doing a high poof, I’ll spray the roots with a water bottle, brush them, and use the Eco Styler Krystal Gel, aka…the clear one, to slick the roots. I have bleached the ends of my hair, and it’s the first time I’ve been able to have my real hair colored, because I was always cautious of breakage from bleached hair on top of chemically straightened hair. My roots, are colored with Wella Color Charm Demi-Permanent Dark Brown, because these little things called “grey hair” sneak in from time to time. It’s quite the process to keep the color just on the roots, so it doesn’t run down and darken my ends.
Stunt hair…aka wigs are a convenient way to change my look, or be lazy when it comes to hair. I was opposed to fake hair growing up, and didn’t even use clip-ins until my late 20s. However, they have become a regular part of my hair routine. In fact, I’ve been wearing my stunt hair for a full month an a half since it turned cold. My new favorite wig is the Original Queen Kinky Curly human hair lacefront. I’ve ordered two, one in 16 inches, and one in 18 inches. They look fabulous, and I have no problem telling people it’s fake. I’ve gotten many compliments, and they are easy to take care of. I cut the lace close to the hairline, however, I do NOT glue my wigs down. I am terrified of ruining my edges, and refuse to be edgeless, so I pull my real hair up in the front to cover the front of the wig, and it blends well. I spray them with a water bottle, brush with my Denman, and apply Creme Of Nature Twist And Curl Pudding. They get fuller as they dry, and of course, the dryer curly hair gets, the bigger it gets.
