So why do we buy so many products? Because we are always looking for something better. I've been trying out different hair products for the last couple of weeks now. It's not the most fun thing to do, but I bet all of these stores are loving me right now. There is a product that I'm going to try today called, "It's a 10". I've heard good things about it. The problem is that it has parabens in it. If you haven't heard about parabens, they have been linked to cancer, and are in a lot of the products we use. We don't read the ingredients label the way we should. We should all start doing that more and looking up all of these crazy words we can't pronounce. I'm trying out products that have bad ingredients too because sometimes you can find the perfect results from a bad product. It's sad but true. I'm creating my own hair care line so I have to know what's out there that works, then I can tweak it with better ingredients. One thing that naturals need to understand is that just because something says it's natural or oganic doesn't mean it will work better on your hair than something that isn't. What it does mean, is that you are being responsible for what you are putting in you hair. But we should be able to find a "natural" product that works wonders on our hair. That is my goal. I know a lot of people with beautiful, long, heathy, hair that have never touched a natural product in their life. But if you want to make sure you avoid the long term effects of some of those chemicals (like parabens) then it's a good thing to go for the natural product. I'll let you know how "it's a 10" works out, and if it's worth replacing a few ingredients. Wish me luck!
So, I've almost reached my 3 month mark. I'm still playing around with different products. Since I haven't found that perfect thing to make my hair happy, I've decided to create my own. I'm starting my own haircare line! I don't care how long it takes, I want it to be perfect. I've done all of the background work and now I'm working with a chemist to develop the perfect formula. The products I've been using either make my curls look great, but too hard, or too soft. I want nice curls with moisture and a medium hold. I also want my products to contain all natural ingredients. So, that's what I'm working on. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress. This is so exciting!
I didn’t know what my “real” hair felt like until 2004.
For as long as I can remember I have been tender headed and hated for anyone to comb my hair. That mixed with a heavy-handed mother slapping grease, water and a brush in my hair, it was not a good mix. My mom would tell me to go get the brush and I would start crying at the thought of her touching my head. My mom got frustrated and started letting my aunt do my hair. She gave me my first perm. One thing I noticed is that my hair never grew as long as it was pre-perm.
I always thought that my hair was super nappy and that was why I had a perm at the age of six. My mother and my sister had slick, silky, curly, easy to manage hair that I envied. I thought if my hair was like theirs I wouldn’t need a perm. Well, what did I know since I didn’t even remember what my real hair even looked like? I just accepted my “flaw” and moved on.
I finally got bored with the traditional flat iron wrap look and decided to do something drastic, against my mother’s wishes. I was going to go for the short haircut. You know, the Halle Berry, Nia long look. My family does not believe in cutting your hair so this was a big deal. I found a beautician that did really cute short haircuts. I walked into the salon with a ponytail and left out with a shaved nape. It was gorgeous! I wore it that way for 5 years.
Now we get to 2004. I decided that I was going to grow my hair long again. My plan was to keep getting braids for a full year until it grew out long enough to flat iron. When I went to get my braids put in I couldn’t get the back braided because it was shaved in the back, so she braided only as far as she could go. As my hair started growing I would feel the back of my hair and I was amazed at what I felt. My hair was soft and curly. As it grew more I just couldn’t believe it. I had to call my mother and ask her why she permed my hair when it was such a nice texture. She said that she knows I have nice hair, but I was so tender headed that she didn’t want to hurt me.
I then decided that I would let it grow out natural and not put another perm in it. I did this until November 2008. I would wet it, and wear it in a ponytail everyday. I knew nothing about how to take care of my natural hair and it became a burden instead of blessing. In November 2008 I put a perm in my hair!!! What was I thinking??? Well, the first couple of times it was just fine. It wasn’t a strong perm so I still had my curls. But I wasn’t taking good care of it. I would put some “Let’s Jam”, or “Pro-Style gel” in it with some water and put my daily ponytail in. I had a baby in July of 2009, which was also the last time I put a perm in my hair. After the baby my hair went nuts!! It was falling out left and right. Every time I washed my hair I had a handful of hair in my hands. I even had whole sections coming out, it was horrible. This led to my BIG CHOP, January 31, 2010.
My best friend did the big chop and was so excited she told me to check out the natural hair journeys on YouTube. I had no plans to do the big chop. I was just going to let it grow out and trim my ends. After looking at some YouTube videos about natural hair and seeing Mahogonycurls journey I was pumped and ready to go. My sister-in-law helped me cut the perm off. I had about 4 inches of hair. I decided after further research on the “curly girl ‘method that I wanted to start fresh, so I went to a beautician and had her shape my hair and cut it shorter. I was down to about an inch of hair.
Now it’s been about a little under a month doing the CG method and I have already grown an inch of hair. I’m so excited and absolutely love my TWA. Thanks to many on YouTube, naturallycurly.com, tightlycurly.com, and many other sites, I feel so empowered to take care of my natural hair this time around.
