Natural Hair Update!

natural hair today

For the last couple of months I've been wearing a 22inch Brazilian weave, which you can see in my blog avi to the right and in a previous post or on my instagram page in the sidebar. 

I decided to have this style as I had my natural hair without protective styling for the whole summer and was scared to see some effects of heat damage! Also moving back to uni I knew I would find it easier styling on an everyday basis. The image above was taken this weekend as I have taken the weave out and rocking it natural, a bit of bad timing since it is freezing now.  I'm happy to say It has grown a couple of inches, but the growth isn't what I have been trying to improve to much and instead I have been focusing on keeping it thick and healthy! 

It's a shame that when I first started transitioning I didn't really plan it, so I have estimated and it has been at LEAST 18 months since I last relaxed it. 

This (awful) picture is when I cut my hair quite a bit as it was thin and lack-lustre from straightening and relaxing, and this was September 2011. At this time in my life I only cared about what looked good at the time and not the long term effects or the potential that black hair really had. 

This image is just to show that I haven't relaxed it since then and a picture I'm going to use as a reminder of where my journey began! 

Whilst being on my natural journey I've found it difficult to find hair advice for myself as I haven't done a big chop or cut off my relaxed ends (yet, i'm working on it!) So here's a little bit of what I've learnt whilst transitioning WITHOUT removing the relaxed bits! This may not apply to everyone but you might see something you can relate too. 

Water based products are a no go. 

It seems to me that people tend to think that just because you are natural that anything water based will make your hair full and curly. NO. especially with relaxed ends it just highlights the damage on the ends and also this can damage your hair as it makes the divide between the thick hair and the thin hair weaker. And personally I hate this look.

Argon Oil is a must have

Argon oil is great to add shine and make your hair feel stronger, unlike most hair oils argon oil doesn't really make your hair feel like it needs another wash if you put it in whilst damp.

Coconut Oil is a go to product 

Raw Coconut Oil can be used for anything head to toe, however it works as an amazing leave in conditioner and to generally improve a dry hair or scalp. The one I use looks like the image to the left, make sure it does say ' raw' or 'pure' on it! 

My favourite product is Shea Butter!

At home we use this pure shea butter which is the best thing I've ever laid my hands on! It is quite hard and you only need the tiniest bit for a very oily result. A trick my mum does is to mix a tiny bit with olive oil to soften it and it does come out VERY oily, but with a tiny amount it really does add life and bounce to ya bonnet. 

Do you have any tips? Let me know below or tweet me @mayamariebeauty !