NATURAL HAIR UPDATE | #TEAMHEALTHYHAIR

 Necklace: Lovisa | Lip color : Mac Ruby Woo

It's been 8 months since I did the big chop and said goodbye to relaxers on a quest to grow my hair in it's natural state (ie. Afro aka 4C aka Kinky Coils), in a healthy way  and I am still going strong.

Sept 2016

The reason I made this decisions was because I had gotten tired of  always cutting my hair every year due to damage from too many relaxers, excessive heat and so forth. I was also so sick of the relaxer burning my scalp and leaving me with scabs which seemed to be getting worse as time went on.

I had been following natural hair blogs and youtube gurus for years so I felt I had enough information to make this well informed decision and had read a lot about hair care in general to maintain health and length.

I have not done a length check as yet but I can confirm that I have about 100% shrinkage lol.

Although it was a struggle I have managed to  fight off  the temptation to relax so far  but I did succumb to colouring / dyeing which I see as a minor set back since It's less damaging in comparison to the frequent heat and relaxers...plus the colouring I was exposing my self to.

April 2016

My main issue at the moment is dryness which I had anticipated because I have already coloured my hair about 4 times and I even bleached the hair before dying it red.

May / June 2016

I have not really been to a hair salon since my hair cut because I am avoiding the use of heat all together until I reach a point where by I feel my hair is too long to be managed at home.

Currently I wash my hair twice a week and deep condition three times a month with no heat. I am always switching up the products though lol.  only because I am still in search for a product that will completely satisfy all my hair needs. 

I am also busy trying to develop a regimen I can stick to for at least up to  a year.

When I heard that Dark and Lovely SA was launching their Au Naturale hair range in the country which is  formulated for natural (unrelaxed) hair I believe, I was so exited and I can't wait to try out these products.

Image from : http://www.zkhiphani.co.za

I have also discovered that I have what is known as "low porosity" hair which means I need to use heat when deep conditioning in order to help open up the tightly bound cuticle so if I cant find a hooded dryer i will def head to the nearest hair salon & cross my fingers for a wonderful hairstylist. lol

My staple product so far which I use on a daily basis is pure virgin coconut oil which I apply daily and I believe this has helped minimise breakage.

I also avoid combing the hair on a daily basis through protective styling ie. by keeping it in cornrows and wearing lace wigs/ head wraps/ hats most of the time

Let me top  right here, I will write more on this my next update :-)

Have a great day lovelies.

P.S to see how I achieved the make up look featured on these pictures watch the video below or click here

 

Take care..

Nan xx