Update in Hair Regimen

Hello people!

I know I haven't blogged about anything in months and that's because I don't feel I have much to blog about because, as you know, I'm still dealing with damaged hair. Also, I don't have that much time to blog, as you must have noticed, with the months-long delay with blog posts on all my blogs.

However, I thought that I should put up something new for the lot of you who still check out my blog. Also, I will try to upload a few things within the next month.

Okay! So here's an update on my hair regimen. Lately, I have been cowashing biweekly instead of weekly and I've been tucking all my hair away. This is not just to make life a bit easier for me, but also because I feel like I should go a bit longer with combing and washing (if my hair/scalp's not dirty). I haven't used heat on my hair in about a month or so too and I took a break from heat because I have been working from home more often, which means I don't need to worry about stepping out with wet hair and I also thought that my hair would thrive well/better taking a bit of a break from heat drying if it wasn't needed.

I have been moisturising more using my Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Conditioner, water-only washing if my hair is not dirty, but needs refreshing, mud washing more (with a mixture of Amla, Terressentials Citrus Mud Wash, an oil mixture, Midas Naturals Conditioner, Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner, rose water and Shea Moisture's Coconut & Hibiscus Conditioner), shampoo washing with my hair in twists to ensure I clean my scalp well and sealing in the moisture using a homemade oil mixture of pure castor oil, extra virgin olive oil, almond oil and Jamaican Black Castor Oil with Ylang Ylang.

My hair L.O.V.E.S the mud wash. However, I get a bit annoyed if I get out of the shower and start getting dressed just to find a bit of mud left in my hair (some times when my hair's almost dry) although I spent like 10mins rinsing out my hair. I must say that the look and feel of my hair after a mud wash is amazing, though.

Lastly, I have been going longer with my use of the comb. I chose to use a comb to detangle my hair just once a week, but now, I've been pushing it further and going weeks  (and maybe a whole month) between using a comb.

I still choose not to wear my hair out in a big afro because it's pretty humid here in England so my hair will shrink and tangle up a lot, I don't want to have to comb my hair to maintain and afro, I might get annoyed about having hair everywhere, and, let's face it, people's hands will be in my hair and I'm not a huge fan of that as I don't like feeling like a dog (due to the stroking way some people touch my hair).

I'm growing out the length that I cut off. However, I doubt I'll be cutting my hair again in April.

I am considering getting extension before the summer, but because I'm home (Southampton) less often, I think I'll stick with my plan of going one year extension-free and then get extension in during the summer or just after the summer as I feel like extensions are beneficial to growing out the hair as long as they're maintained well and installed properly.

I may or may not get crochet braids again (I feel like I might get a wig instead), but what I've had in mind lately are large box braids or Marley twists (I'll probably go with the twists).

So, yeah, that's an update on my hair, hair regimen and plans for the future!

My Current Hair Routine and My Plans for my Regimen this Summer

Hello there,

So here's a quick overview of my current hair routine:

• I protective style (crochet braids) for about 4 months
• I wash my hair once a week or every other week depending on how much I workout and I workout 7 times a week nowadays so washing depends on how much work I have to do and not just how often I workout so, I wash my hair when I have little to no work to do at night.
• I detangle my crochet braids before washing and put them in twists or cocoon curls.
• On days that my hair looks messy and I can't wash it, but I need it to be presentable,  I run my fingers through it, get sections a bit wet and put it in cocoon curls then hold it up get a sating scarf round it.
• In the morning, if I had cocoon curls in, I take them down, separate and fluff out my hair. If I didn't have cocoon curls in, I would've had my hair in a pineapple so I just take down what's holding it up, if I have time, refresh my hair with damp hand, fluff out and walk out the door.
• Every now and then, when I have a few minutes to myself, I moisturise with water, coconut oil, my shea butter product and Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner.

*The above routine is not a routine I'll recommend for anyone. I'm just getting by with it.

• Between protective styles (when I take down my crochet braids), I deep condition with something that has protein and gives moisture, wash with my Terressentials mud wash, condition with Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner and seal with coconut oil.
• I style my hair in either a bantu knot out, a fake blow-out/afro, or I wear it in its shrunken state.
• Sometimes, I have to wash or co-wash twice during the week.

MY REGIMEN FOR THIS SUMMER!

• Detangle with tools (max.) once a week
• Deep condition for at least an hour with a deep conditioner that contains protein.
• Wash/Cleanse hair and scalp (with hair in medium sized twists) using Terressentials Mud Wash or BeeMine Botanicals Shampoo (sulfate-free) once a week.
• Co-wash at least twice a week with Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner (washing in sections of twists).
• Let the water soak in for a few minutes after washing then seal with coconut oil and a bit of Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner (used as a leave-in this time)
• Section hair and work homemade shea butter product into each section (in a downwards motion) to hold hair and encourage clumping spritzing the hair with water prior to applying the product if needed.
• Finger coil to further encourage clumping and let the coils air dry
• Separate coils after they've dried and fluff out with fingers or lift and shake roots with an afro pick.
• If finger coils don't stretch the hair out enough, twist and bantu knot (or simply just bantu know) the hair whilst damp and take down when dry.
• For a super-stetched/almost straight look, bantu knot, take down, separate and bantu knot again then take down and pick from ends to roots with an afro pick or wide toothed comb.
• Protective style = updos, havanna/marley twists (if possible), twists or african threading.

Growing Out Your Edges

Hola, chicas!!

So, some of you know that during these sat few months, I have been able to grow my edges out to lengths that many don't think the edges can grow up to. I just thought I should share with you tips on growing out your edges because I'm sure many of you want to grow yours out.

D'accord! On y va!

• Keep your edges detangled at all times, but don't necessarily comb through them or brush them daily because that'll cause breakage
• When protective styling (and you know how I love my protective styles), never put your edges in them. If you braid your hair, twist it or whatever, do not put your hair in the braid, twist or whatever because our edges are more prone to breakage (especially when they're still short) so tugging them back with a braid or up with a lot of hair in a twist or box braid can lead to them being pulled out or breaking
• Keep your edges moisturised at all times. Moisture! Moisture! Moisture! oh! did I forget to say, MOISTURE! Your hair needs moisture in general and let's just say that your edges need paying attention to. Remember to use some water and then seal it in with a light butter.
• It is best to keep the pH value of the hair on your edges balanced. My shea butter mix has some apple cider vinegar in it to balance it out. If the pH is balanced, your hair cuticles will lie flat and therefore, retain more moisture and appear healthier.
• Keep your edges clean. Zero buildup, tu capisci? Sulfate free shampoo, mud wash or natural/organic hair and scalp cleanser.
• When you deep condition, try your best to make sure the plastic cap or bag covers your edges.
• Drink a lot of water too.

Do this and you will notice a your edges growing out!

~SammyWithTheBigHair (and growing edges!)

My (sorta) New Routine + Update

Hey everyone,

So, I know it's been almost a month since my last post on here. I have an excuse. Yes! And it's a good one. I've been laptop deprived. Yup! And my iPhone, for some reason, won't let me post anything on here. *sad face* :(

Anyways, so I'm here now and yes, I have graduated. :) Oh! yeah! so, I said I was going to tell you guys what I'll do with my hair for my graduation and prom. So, I had my hair up in a cinnabun for graduation and then for prom, I picked my hair out into an afro and pinned off part of the front-left-side. The prom do shrunk so bad at my prom, but it shrunk beautifully, people were still going, "I love your hair!" even after it had shrunk till it could shrink no more.

So....back when I was still in high school (which was like 12 days ago, I know, it's been so long since i graduated), I was so busy with exams and stuff (exams started in February and ended on the 12th of June - an almost daily thing) so I started to deep condition less and take care of my hair less. Fortunately, due to my previous regimen, my hair still remained moisturised and soft even without being deep conditioned weekly, it did need a protein treatment real-bad, though, my ends, those babies suffered :( Another thing is that I started to wash my hair less. Like I normally would wash my hair once a week and during really dry weeks, a sulfate-free shampoo wash during the weekend and a co-wash mid-week. Well, the shampoo and co-wash, both were out of my equation. Don't get me wrong, I didn't become a smelly-haired, dirty girl, my hair looked and smelt fine. I just didn't have the time to wash it and like I was always so tired so even at night, I wasn't really up for washing my hair and I didn't have enough time to do it in the morning. And please don't being up the weekend 'cause I was at school on Saturdays AND SUNDAYS too doing exams. During that period of washing less, I noticed something, umm.... dirt is good. Okay! let's just put that as "washing less is good" 'cause the whole dirt is good thing gives me the image of a dustbin, trash can, rubbish bin, dumpster, whatever you want to call it. My hair actually felt better without being washed as often and it stayed stretched longer. I guess it's because it's retaining nutrients longer and losing its oil less. I'm getting this vibe that some of you might be thinking up something rather nasty right now, so I'll just set things straight with y'all, I didn't go without washing my hair from February till June! Okay! so it's out there! I washed my hair a couple of times, just not as often as I usually did. Like I could go 3 weeks without a wash. But hey! I only washed my hair with a shampoo once every 4 weeks while I was transitioning (but I believe I co-washed between that, so it's still different, hmm..... but anyways!)

Right now, I'm out of high school (yup! :) ) and well....I've been sleeping so much. I'm still not washing my hair as often as I used to, but it's not as bad as while I had exams. Right now, I'm just letting my hair be unless I need to step out of my house. Like I had messy bantu-knots in for almost a week and even stepped out with them (under a satin scarf with a cotton scarf over the satin scarf).

It's been raining practically every day and when I'm rocking a short style (rocking some shrunken hair), that's a bit of a rinse for me. I would wash my hair this week, but I've got rehearsals for a fundraiser (concert I'm performing at on Sunday) and I'm heading out to the beach with a bunch of friends (something I haven't done in quite a long time) on Saturday I guess I can try squeezing in a wash after the beach 'cause of the salty water and stuff, but it takes a day for my hair to dry nowadays so, I'm not guaranteed it'll be dry by the time I'm heading out to church and I need it to be sorta stretched out so I can easily style it for the fundraiser.

Okay! So, I'm going to force myself to wrap up this post now. I'll just put up my sorta new routine:

• Wash whenever time is found, but don't go longer than two and a half weeks before a wash.
• Alternate between amla and BeeMine Botanical Shampoo (sulfate-free) or make an alma-shampoo mixture to wash with (weird....this just came to mind....."alma-poo")
• Co-wash more often and with a conditioner and oil mixture.
• Condition after every alma or shampoo wash with a conditioner and coconut oil mixture.
• Twirl hair in random, but medium-small sections with fingers or twirl/roll and bantu knot (to secure) hair immediately after washing till it dries to aid the clumping (my hair doesn't clump everywhere and it usually loses it clumps especially when manipulated or it gets frizzy)
• Finger detangle and style rather than comb-detangle and style,
• Spray hair with a mixture of water, apple cider vinegar and coconut oil every morning and every night (ensure every night before bed incase the one in the morning doesn't work out) and seal it in with a 1p coin (never more than a 50p coin) amount of coconut oil (I'm sorry, but I don't know what size the different cent coins come in). This helps to keep the hair moisturised and soft. Oh! yeah and I have to caps of a bottle of Heinz ACV (poured the ACV in the bottle top/cap twice and poured it into a very large spray bottle that's half full with water).
• Deep condition before every wash, with a moisturiser, with coconut oil, with damp hair, with a mixture of honey, mayo and an egg (preferably egg yolks) and deep condition with coconut milk (mixed with coconut oil, honey and cornstarch (cornstarch for thickness)) only when I don't mind getting myself and my bathroom messy.
• Don't manipulate hair unless leaving the house and going for something quite important (that is not the grocery store/supermarket).
• Rock twist-outs (flat and two-strand), bantu-knot-outs or a flat twist going through the ends of my hair whenever leaving the house. Avoid rocking puffs often (even though it's your signature style). Rock puff only when you have concert. Save 'em edges! (and ends)
• Shower without hair covered (I usually left my hair with a satin-scarf on when showering to prevent frizz due to the humidity 'caused by the hot water, but right now, the steam gives my curls a wake-up call and helps keep it moisturised).

That's basically it!

Toodles!

(can't believe I just said that!)

My Protective Styling Challenge - Week 2

Hey everyone,

So, I guess this just lasted for 2 weeks for me. I'm going to try keeping my braids in that long from now on (or longer if possible). Truth is, midweek of my second week, I just didn't really care anymore so I let my hair frizz and do whatever it wanted to. Anyways, here's my week:

• I co-washed on Wednesday and Friday using the BeeMine BeeLovely Conditioner and Tresemme Naturals (silicone-free) Conditoner.
• After co-washing, I tied a scarf down on my hair till I need to head out for school.
• On Friday, I took down the braids and twists (entirely) and deep conditioned with Tresemme Naturals conditioner, BeeMine conditioner and Moisturiser. I kinda wish I had DCed with palm oil instead, but this was a last minute thing and I was tired so I just grabbed a handful of the Tresemme, worked it into my hair, donned on a shower cap (because I couldn't be bothered to tie a plastic bag on). Tied a couple of scarves of that to secure it in place and lock in heat and I slept.
• On Saturday, I washed out my hair with the Tresemme Naturals Silicone-Free Conditioner then some BeeMine Botanicals Shampoo (sulfate free) then condition with the BeeMine BeeLovely Conditioner.
• After washing, I got a tiny but of WonderCurl 'Butter than love pudding' onto my hair. Mum was calling me. I totally forgot to moisturise and do all the other stuff I do after a wash and my hair was mad at me for that.
• I braided my hair in two to stretch it.
• Unfortunately, I had to head out of the house before my hair was dry and OH. MY. DAYS. THE. SHRINKAGE. AND. TANGLES! My hair did look good, though. :) And I think I've figured out a wash and go hairstyle.
• Sunday night, I braided my hair in 8 cornrows and I'm keeping them in till Thursday 'cause I have to take my hair down for some event.

Next week, Sunday, I'll make more braids, smaller ones and try keeping them in for 2 weeks or more.
I believe this will help me retain more length and grow my hair out.

~Sam

p.s I'm considering doing crotchet braids sometime later this year. Maybe during the winter or fall (most probably winter). I'll just get my aunt to flat braid my hair for me then I'll try to do the rest or I'll get some friends together and we'll do it together. I just need to get crotchet needles (for the braids) for them.

My Protective Styling Challenge - Week 1

Hey,

So, I've decided that I'm going on a protective styling challenge to grow and retain as much hair as possible till the end of June.

I normally keep my hair in flat braids for 5 days a week, deep condition every Friday night till Saturday morning, wash on Saturday, rock a beautiful puff on Sunday and head back to flat braids by Sunday night. With this challenge, I am still deep conditioning on Fridays and washing on Saturdays however, my hair's staying in the flat braids (with the hair twisted from the point at which it lifts off my scalp. I haven't kept braids in my hair since my first few months going natural (transitioning) so this is new for me. However, I guess I'm doing a pretty good job with it. Here are some of the things I've done so far that are working pretty well (by the way, I started this challenge last Sunday):

• When the flyaways get a little too much, I get some BeeMine curly butter onto my hair and tie a scarf down onto it. That does the trick and lays all the flyaways down making my hair look as good as new. (This is what I do on week days).
• I co-wash between the week using the BeeMine BeeLovely Conditioner. (This means that I wash twice a week now, but the second wash is strictly a co-wash while the Saturday wash alternates between a sulfate-free shampoo wash and a co-wash).
• After co-washing, I tie a scarf over my hair till I need to leave the house (school).
• On Friday, I take down only the twisted bits of my hair then I deep condition with coconut oil, olive oil and honey. This is because they're easier to wash out that things like avocado (plus, I did an avocado deep conditioning treatment last weekend).
• On Saturday, I wash out my hair with the Tresemme Naturals Silicone-Free Conditioner then I search for build up. If I find any, I wash with my BeeMine Botanicals Shampoo (sulfate free) then condition with the BeeMine BeeLovely Conditioner.
• After washing, I get some WonderCurl 'Butter than love pudding' onto my hair (good stuff!) then a tad (teeny-weeny) bit of shea butter onto my hair especially the ends.
• I hold up the ends with an ouchless band then I tie a scarf bun-style on my hair and leave it on till my hair is fully dry.
• When my hair is fully dry (and I'm ready to take down the scarf), I redo the twists, but instead of each braid being twisted at the ends, I twist the ends of two braids together then hold them together and hide my ends using an ouchless band. 

My results: My hair looking as good as new with zero flyaways.


I just might be able to keep these braids in for 3 weeks :)

~Samantha :)
(haha! I used my full name for the first time on here)

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Do any of you want to join me in this challenge?

It like a growth challenge.

So, if you're interested, comment below and say something like, "I'm in" :)

My New and Improved Regimen

Hi,

I know I haven't written in a while. I'm actually at school, at the moment, and I've got a couple of things to post, but I'll do those when I get home. I've actually been kinda busy, exams at school, exams and interviews at other schools in different parts of England (and just so you're sure, yes, I wore my natural hair proudly to all of those).

Anyways, here's my new regimen.

1. I take down my hair on Friday.
2. I deep condition every Friday night (overnight) with either coconut oil or a mixture of the BeeMine BeeLovely Daily Conditioner and the BeeMine BeeLoved Hair & Scalp Moisturiser. *Sometimes, I detangle before doing so, other times, I detangle in the shower or just before I hop in.
3. At around noon on Saturday, I wash with the BeeMine Botanical Shampoo (sulfate-free, ofcourse), then I condition with the BeeMine BeeLovely Daily Conditioner. Braid or twist my hair with the conditioner in and shower then rinse it out. *My new trick that minimises shrinkage while washing is to flat braid your hair in two and work  on a section at a time, rebraiding when done with each section.
4. I scrunch my hair up with an old t-shirt
5. I work some BeeMine BeeLoved Hair&Scalp Moisturiser
6. I  rake the BeeMine BeeHold Curly Butter through my hair and flat braid in two or twist or bantu knot, but I prefer to flat braid first then when my hair's about 80-90% dry, I twist or bantu knot till whenever.*Sometimes, I used the WonderCurl Butter than love pudding. I use it how I use the BeeHold Curly Butter. The WonderCurl actually defines curls and styles a bit better, in my opinion, but the BeeHold Curly Butter leaves my hair so soft!
7. I leave my hair in the flat braid, bantu knots, or twists practically all day (sometimes, I do leave them in all day, if I don't have to go out to somewhere important or that I have to dress a certain way to. Please not that I don't bantu knot or twist in an orderly or neat way. I pick whatever section my hand touches and that's it).
8. I slip on a satin casing
9. In the morning, on Sunday, I shower, dress up, pass a stretched out elastic head band over my head down to my neck, then comb my hair out into an afro with a Boots Afro Pick then I pull the head band up to achieve the perfect puff (sometimes, I braid out a section in front as bangs, pull up then undo the braid, comb out and hold off to the side).
10. In the evening, still on Sunday, my mum braids my hair (flat braids) in about 12 or so braids.

 
Detangling Tools

• Boots Shower Comb
• Tangle Teezer
• (Sometimes, I use an afro pick, but usually after the shower comb)
• A paddle brush (always after the tangle teezer or shower comb. I usually use this after the whole washing routine is over)

Hope this was a good post.
I'll talk to you when I get home
~Sammy

p.s Sending interview questions to a curly mum at my school this evening! Her hair's like so GORGEOUS! Interview would be up either tomorrow, on Sunday or next week.

New Hair Regimen

New Hair Regimen (16/02/12)

·         Take down hairstyle on Fridays (or band it)

·         Deep condition on Friday Nights (with avocados as often as possible – avoid dry hair)

·         Co-wash or cleanse with homemade no-poo cleanser on Saturday (when showering)

·         Detangle thoroughly during wash

o   Get some olive oil or shea butter into the hair if the next step isn’t possible to do on that day (for some reason) or

o   Mix up some bottled water with olive oil, homemade rosemary oil and possibly canola oil. Pour into a spray bottle and spritz/spray onto hair.

·         Baggy with olive oil after washing till about to get out of the house + air dry (or go to to the salon):

o   If just heading to the grocery store, tie a scarf or two (or a put a bonnet on and tie a scarf) over the plastic bag.

o   If going to a close friend’s house, do the same as for just going to the grocery store.

o   If going to the salon, do the same or if you’re not sure the person that normally works on your hair is around, take off the plastic bag in the car near the salon.

o   And so on…

·         Mini twist hair (avoiding braiding my hair for about a month or two)

·         Get some Organics Lock&Twist Gel onto mini twists once at home and air dry.

·         Hold up end of hair (esp. at the back) with a ponytail holder or elastic band to prevent brushing on shirts.

·         Sleep on a satin pillowcase, with a sating bonnet on, (or for now, in my case, with a pillow and pillow case wrapped with old satin PJs or tie on a pair of old satin PJs on my hair)

·         Get some olive oil or shea butter onto hair every evening with twists in.

·         Use the twist&lock gel when needed (but if not needed more than once a week, don’t use more than once a week)

·         Check for possible buildup (though not expected) every weekend.

o   If there is buildup or scalp is dirty, clean with homemade no-poo cleanser, then condition and so on (but don’t baggy or don’t baggy for more than 30 minutes if twists are still in to avoid them coming out). Get some Lock&Twist Gel on hair after either conditioning or baggying.

·         If there’s no buildup, band hair securely and deep condition then co-wash if the DC needs washing out (baggy if possible).

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Products: Avoiding commercial products as much as possible

ü Cleanser: homemade

ü Conditioner: homemade

ü Deep Conditioner: varies, but homemade too

ü Leave-in conditioner: homemade

ü Oils: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, homemade rosemary oil, canola oil

ü Butters: 100% natural, unrefined Shea Butter (gotten straight from local sellers in Africa, by my grandmother)

ü Gel: Organics Lock&Twist Gel

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Go to styles

ü Mini Twists (two strand)

ü African Threading

(No more braiding (flat braiding, box braiding and so on…) for me)

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Things to avoid

ü For now, protein (esp. eggs).

ü The usual-s, silicones, sulphates, parabens (looking for a better gel, by the way. The gel I currently use has Methylparaben in it – not thrilled about that), petrolatum, petroleum, mineral oil, sodium chloride, alcohol (maybe apart from Cetyl Alcohol), heat and the others already known (but I’m basically making my own products, so I don’t need to worry about these because they’re not going in my homemade things).

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Toddler Troubles

I hope putting this up here would help someone. Okay! so I'm going to call the other person here, 'dragongirl' instead of her real name, okay? Here we go:




DragonGirl: 

I waited my whole life to have a daughter and in 2008 my prayers were answered with the birth of our daughter Aaliyah Rose. She is one of the most beautiful, little girls I've ever seen and has the diva attitude to boot! The only problem we have is that her hair didn't come with an instruction manual. Her hair is extremely kinky and dry. We've spent tons of money on all kinds of products to tame her mane with little success. I've spent hours on the internet trying to find advice on how to deal with mixed race hair. Of course, everyone has their own advice and preferred products. Most of them that we've tried have ended up in the trash. I prefer to keep her hair as natural as possible and avoid harsh chemicals . I've even taken her to a professional salon and was dissapointed with the results. We are a military family and live in Oahu, Hawaii. The weather is very wet and humid, which adds to the problem. I would love to have some serious expert advice on how to handle my princess' hair. I'm so tired of the tears everytime we have to wash and brush it out. Thanks..... Samantha:  This is what my parents went through with me. Working on my hair was always a lot of work then when the day was humid (which was quite often), gosh! my hair was.... you can guess. I'm 14 now, I've taken over the job of working on my hair, and so far, everyone's telling me I'm doing an amazing job. Even at a salon, people asked for my secret. Anyways, I want my hair to be as natural as possible so I cut down on the products I use. I did actually change my hair products. Right now, the main bought products I use are shampoo and conditioner. I get some oil and moisture into my hair using natural oils like olive oil and rosemary oil. I've had great results with this. Deep conditioning seems to make my hair look a bit tamer nowadays. Maybe it's because I deep condition over night (sleep with it on) and I deep condition with food (mayonnaise, eggs, shea butter, EVOO, Rosemary oil, bananas (hard to wash out)...) not DC products. As a kid, I had really full, thick and totally unmanageable hair. Here are mistakes my parents made with my hair (so you don't make those mistakes with your daughter's), they pulled at my hair to detangle and comb it, they used blow dryers in my hair, they bought hair products that weren't for my hair type, oh! they relaxed my hair (I disliked that, I do have mainly natural hair now, transitioning. I have a bit of processed hair at the tips which I'll snip of in bout a month or two), they also washed my hair every week with shampoo and held it tight with things. Also, they cut my hair at some point. Since I've taken over managing my hair, I have stopped washing my hair with shampoo every week. I wash with conditioner only every week or once every 2 weeks, I wash with shampoo once a month. I oil my hair daily with EV olive oil and if my scalp feels itchy for some reason, I get some homemade rosemary oil into my hair. Rosemary oil seems to stop the itching in a couple of hours for me and it did help someone with dandruff. It also helps make the hair not so dry and it helps with growing out hair quickly. I use John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Around Style-Activating conditioner in my hair. I don't use it daily. I use it as a washing conditioner and also, nowadays, I use it to weigh down my hair and also to keep it styled. I never comb my hair dry. I believe that the more my hair is combed dry, the more my hair gets frizzy when it's humid and also, I believe it damages the hair cuticles and elasticity. Another thing is, I don't use heat on my hair. No blow driers, no diffusers, not curling irons or straighteners. This has helped my hair A LOT too. Now that I'm growing out my hair naturally, the hair type that seems to be growing out looks 3c/4a (/4b/4c) (http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTn2lzMU0aOweL0w4PHxJI4CWaITW_evAOTg7sdcv3y8dHrBRRd&t=1). It is really dry normally and it takes over an hour to detangle. One thing for sure that I do with my hair the most is to keep it braided or in twists or bantu knots. I braid my hair with extensions and leave it in for 2 weeks (without the extensions, I'll have to redo the braiding within a week). With braiding, my hair does get a bit tamer and also, I don't need to fuss over it often. Hope I could help. Oh! and good luck working on your daughters hair. Mixed race hair is hard to manage, I can say that from personal experience. Keep on trying and look up some things on naturallycurly.com and soon, you'll be working on your daughters hair like a pro (everything'll be done with ease!) :) (*Gosh! I type a lot lol) DragonGirl: Thank You so much for your input! So far everything that you've advised seems logical and I'll look forward to trying it! I've never used any kind of heat or straightener on my little one's hair. Not sure that I ever will. She's so beautiful with her curls! She's still too young to sleep overnight with any conditioning treatment on her hair, but I will attempt to try it while she's awake! Thanks so much for the hope and I'll definitively try to EVOO to help keep her hair extra moisturized!  Samantha: Glad I could help :) ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> Okay! So, I hope this helps someone. Oh! and yes, I'm the 'Samantha' mentioned there. You can tell because I type a lot. I don't know how I do it, I just can't stop (here I go again! lol :) ) ~Sam ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

My Hair Regimen thingy

Okay! so, I’ve never called this a hair regimen/routine or whatever, but here it goes:

Friday night till Saturday morning/afternoon:

1. Done on Friday: Deep condition (with my homemade all natural deep conditioner. DC made has to do with how my hair feels. If really dry, an avocado (and other things) DC, a 100% natural palm oil DC (gosh! that stuff works wonders and leaves my hair feeling so soft, but it’s hard to wash out) or a shea butter based DC. I have protein DCs and other stuff, but it all depends on how my hair feels). Sleep with deep conditioner in my hair and a plastic cap and scarf over it.
2. Wash hair with shampoo, focus on just the scalp (once a month or two if it’s not been up to a month yet, shampoo’s not touching my hair).
3. Co-wash thoroughly
4. Detangle while conditioner’s in hair/during co-wash
5. Get natural oils (like my homemade rosemary oil, canola oil, olive oil etc) into hair
6. Air dry (I never use a blow drier/hood or anything heat related)

Weekly protective style:

1. On either a Saturday or Sunday, I usually get my hair braided (both flat braids and well, box-braid kinda braids) or two-strand twisted. My hair is braided or twisted wet (and as it dries, it’s re-wetted, if my hair’s not been fully braided). I usually keep this in for about a week or two. I used to do it with hair extensions, but nowadays, just my hair. (Optional: get natural aloe vera gel and shea butter onto hair)
2. Get all the ends of my braided or twisted hair together using a pony tail holder or something like that, fold the ends and hold them in a way that they can stay under my hair and not brush on my shirt or neck.
3.  Get natural oils into my hair (I love using rosemary oil because my hair loves that and it also prevents dryness, dandruff and itchy scalp). *I only get oils on my hair at night because I believe they can attract dust or lint at day (when I’m out and about).
4. Sleep with a scarf on every night.

Weekly routine (when I don’t braid/twist my hair):

*The no hair touching method:

1. Fully detangle and get oils into hair when wet
2. Braid end of hair together round the whole head ending at the back.
3. Tie a clean head scarf or wrap over it neatly.
4. Keep the scarf on and change scarves every night (I have a scarf I use at night and one I use at day).
5. Try not to take off the scarf and when I do take it off to change scarves, I don’t touch my hair or at least, I lightly get something like canola oil onto it and then my hair’s in a scarf again.

*don’t do this for more than a week in a row.

*The hidden ends method:

1. Make a mix of organic leave-in hair conditioners, water and oils. Shake it up.
2. Get mix into bits of your hair just before you detangle.
3. Section hair with a bit from the middle to whichever chosen side of my hair as a fringe (kinda thing) and clip it away, braid it away or something.
4. Get a head band on, but keep it round my neck while I comb out the other part of my hair upwards (starting from ends to roots).
5. Get the headband up in a way that it holds down my edges and it’s right above the fringe section (it usually slants).
6. Take hair back, or most of it, braid the ends together and tuck the braid under the hair band.
7. Take hair from the sides or hair that didn’t stay with the braid and tuck them under the hair band to cover up the hair band (only the bit of the hair band above the fringe is left to show).
8. Unravel the fringe, get some of the mix on it, finger comb (or comb with a wide tooth comb) and braid/twist the ends of the hair together, like a flat braid/twist only that you’re joining the ends of the hair together and then braiding/twisting away from the scalp area (wish I had explanatory pics). Braid/twist till no more hair is left to add to it and then just braid it down to the end.
9. Get some shea butter mix (mine has shea butter (duuh) and rosemary oil in it), rub it between palms and smooth over hair to keep it in place and help it set like that well so there are no flyaways or anything like that.

* Flat twist outs:

1. Fully detangle hair when wet
2. Get random sections or section out hair neatly and flat twist (make as many as you want, but the final product will according to how big/small your flat twist sections were).
3. Get a bit of shea butter onto hair (because of no. 4)
4. Get 100% natural aloe vera gel (straight from the plant) and smooth over hair for definition and light gel hold.
5. Best to do the above (and tie a scarf over) the night before you want the "out." You can repeat the aloe the next morning then undo the twists carefully and style however you want.

*There are other styles I can do (way better than these, plus this is being worked on a little bellow collar bone length hair (when stretched)), but I can’t type ‘em all now. *sigh* But, one thing is, it’s better to get your hair braided or twisted that these ones. I believe it’s healthier.

Stretching:

Options:
1. Bantu knots
2. Twists
3. Twists that are turned into bantu knots
4. African threading/Ghana plaits (real easy to do)
5. Flat twists

After swimming (in a chlorinated pool esp. without a swim cap):

1. Rinse out hair thoroughly (if you have shampoo or conditioner on you, wash/co-wash your hair well)
2. Get some oils or butters into your hair (making sure your hair’s not so greasy or oily it can’t be touched.

Moisture (sorta tightlycurly way):

1. In a bowl, mix up a combing conditioner (you should be able to find some good combing conditioners on tightlycurly.com), a bit of water, organic leave-in conditioners and oils (rosemary preferably, but I usually have canola in too).
2. Apply to hair and detangle or just comb out. *do not use a lot!

*OR! Most of the time, I just use plain water only!

Products used:

DC: All homemade
Shampoo: John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Around Style Activating… (I’m planning on changing this)
Conditioner: John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Around Style Activating (not sure if I’ll change this)
Oils: Extra Virgin Olive oil, Canola oil, Homemade Rosemary Oil (hoping to add jojoba, coconut and castor oils to the list soon)

Can’t remember what else to say…*sigh* First time I typing these.
Hope this helps somebody