wash day | straight comb chaser

well, friends...

... my 2-month stint with the water only method came to an end with my last wash day.
the humidity absolutely demolished my product-free hair. not only did it get super frizzy, but it felt horrendous, and i looked a HAM. my hair looked like a lunch lady's net. no, not the hair UNDER the net. like the actual net.

so, i decided to go in the total opposite direction for some straight sleekness. contrary to the beginning of my journey, my hair has done exceptionally well being straight in warmer temperatures and humidity for the past 2-3 years -- maybe texas trained it? otherwise, i have no idea why that is.
it was in the mid-70s and i thought to myself: "my product-free regimen is not working in this heat and humidity. let's go for straight and smooth!"
and literally the next morning, the temperature was well below freezing.

le sigh.
only in southwest virginia.
#global
warming















i will keep this hair straight for as long as humanly possible because it has gotten longer (the tip of my V is nearly waist-length) and straightening took much longer. i still can't believe i committed to keep growing for the next 2.5 years. i'm going to look like cousin it's black baby.

i will absolutely be going back to the method when it gets colder, so i will be a 6-month product user (march - august) and 6-month water only child (september - february). i am thinking of trying out a modified version of sistawithrealhair's regimen during my product phase but i haven't yet decided.

the deets:
washed with tresemme nourishing moisture shampoo (um... no one told me this stuff was amazing!)
conditioned with tresemme 7-day smooth conditioner (also amazing!)
blow dried and flat ironed using the comb chase method with tresemme 7-day smooth treatment (again, amazing!)
*** no, i am not a spokesperson for/affiliated with tresemme, but i'm used to spending nothing on hair products, so i went the cheap route. i have to say that i forgot how effective tresemme products are! i'm very pleased.
i smoothed in a little argan oil and set my hair on 8 teal perm rods overnight

i would be perfectly happy with using only these 3 products during my 6-month phase. my hair feels absolutely fantastic -- this cheapo stuff is LEGIT. i may or may not try to find a deep conditioner. my hair doesn't seem to behave much differently with a DC versus a regular con since 'the change.'

how was your wash day?

in pursuit of:

treating my hair as my crown and glory

linking up with klp, nicole, and amanda

wash day | rhassoul clay aka “When the BB Brush Just Ain’t Cuttin’ It Anymore”

y’all… i have some really interesting hair updates since China (by the way, i will be sharing lots as promised soon. i will pretty much be writing about China until this blog self-destructs or until i adopt my first child and transition into the incredibly scary world of organic butt wipes and paleo baby foodisms of mommy blogging).

back to the point: my sebum production has been straight up disrespectful lately.

pros of sebum-covered hair: my hair is incredibly easy to detangle, it has some weight so shrinkage is a bit less (except for WNGs… shrinkage is worse for mine now!), and it feels really protected.

cons of OVERproduction of sebum: my hair literally looks like a gray piece of broccoli.

i had a couple of broccoli-esque moments while in China, when my waxy sebum consumed my entire being. i took my hair out of a bun and it literally stood straight up with my coils (aka florets) at the very top. my hair had an immovable gray coating that made it stiff, sticky, and impossible.

so, i picked up a nice jar of rhassoul clay for “washing” when i need deeper clarifying. i read that i  would probably need some herbs or clays for clarifying every now and then, but i really didn't think it would apply to me so quickly. i was definitely wrong, and the boar bristle brush wasn't cutting it.

for my last wash day, i made a mask using clay, about a teaspoon of acv, and lots of water. i applied it on dry hair, let it marinate for about 30 minutes, and then i rinsed. hair felt amazingly clean and soft, scalp stopped itching, and no more excess sebum! 
i then stretched with a banded ponytail overnight, trimmed my ends according to the lunar chart, and set on caruso rollers for about 30 minutes.

another set done last week:

success!

*note: since writing this post, i have begun using a little coconut oil on my ends as suggested by many other water-only ladies so that my roller sets are sleeker and to extend the time between rinses. i think the semi-hard water here has started to take a toll (none of the filters i've tried have fit on my shower head), as my hair isn't retaining moisture as much as it used to. i also prefer the reduced manipulation of rolling once or twice per week as opposed to daily rinsing.

how was your wash day?

in pursuit of:

treating my hair as my crown and glory

drastically reducing my carbon footprint

linking up with klp, nicole, and amanda

wash day | the water-only twist-n-curl

i dusted off my old perm rods for the first time in a long time to do this super easy style.

i started by finger detangling my dry hair followed by twisting it into 12 sections.
i did everything else while in the shower, which took about 20 minutes.
i took down each twist to saturate in water, scritch my scalp, preen my sebum down the length of my hair, and brush detangle.
i then re-twisted, leaving about 1.5"-2"of the ends free to secure on orange perm rods.
once out of the shower, i pinned my twists down with large bobby pins and let my hair dry overnight.

i TRIED to unravel pretty gently, though i am used to using some sort of oil to do so. i initially produced some frizz (mostly at the front, of course) until i remembered that i could collect sebum on my finger pads to make them a lot smoother. once i massaged my scalp to cover them, fluffing and pulling apart produced much less frizz.

this was a really simple way to stretch my hair, so i will continue to do it on rinse days, which i am now planning to reduce to saturday and wednesday nights.
on non-rinse days (as needed), i will continue to use my fingers or brushes to distribute the sebum. i have also enjoyed baggying on these days, and will continue to do that often.

i am still experimenting with quick and easy ways to set my hair post-brushing, like this style below that i'm just going to call the "thread-n-curl"...

...but i have a lot of other ideas pinned that i also want to try!

i love the water only method! what are your thoughts?

in pursuit of:

treating my hair as my crown and glory

drastically reducing my carbon footprint

linking up with klp, nicole, and amanda

wash day | the water only method explained

i've been considering the water only method for a really long time - when i first went natural in 2010, again a couple of years ago, and most recently a couple of months ago.
when i found myself placing my 10th order of new products to try to "fix" this new hair i have, i decided that enough was enough. i was tired of trying any and everything to make my hair act "normally." what is normal?

i did a bit more research into the method (helpful links here, here, here, and here), gave away all of my products, and took the plunge on january 28.

so far, i am really surprised by how much i like it!
i knew i had soft hair before this, but i am truly amazed by the softness even without products. i absolutely love my natural texture that's been hiding under gels, oils, and other products. i also discovered some golden hairs that i guess had been darkened by whatever i was using in my hair, which is pretty cool.
and a little scary.

my sebum is finally coming in and the first inch or so of my hair is shiny and feels incredibly soft and smooth! i can't wait until it covers all of my hair (it seems like 3-6 months is the reported transition period).
in the interim, i have begun using some tea rinses/spritzes on my uncovered length and ends. i use fenugreek tea for moisture and black tea for strength.

my method:
i water rinse, which includes scalp massaging and scritching, every 2-3 nights. i detangle with a modified denman brush during rinsing as needed (usually twice/week). i then finish with a tea rinse on the length and ends of my hair. i don't rinse out the tea.

on my off nights, i brush my scalp and hair with a baby denman brush to distribute the sebum. i do this on hair that has been lightly spritzed and finger detangled with water or fenugreek tea.
     note: if my scalp feels really oily or my hair has buildup, i use the morocco method boar bristle brush to remove excess sebum.

after rinsing or brushing, i style (mostly wild child style - aka no style - and sometimes chunky twists or twist-outs, buns, rods, etc).
     bonus: this method = dry hair in 3-4 hours even in chunky sections! pre-WOM, my hair took well over 24 hours to dry in large sections.

i love how i can use this method to condition my hair naturally and reduce my carbon footprint. i am all about treating the earth and my hair well!

would you ever try this method?

in pursuit of:

treating my hair as my crown and glory

drastically reducing my carbon footprint

linking up with klp, nicole, and amanda

wash day | wild child aka the water only method

three weeks ago, i reclaimed my true natural beauty for the first time.

i wiped the slate clean of 27 years of wanting to be perfect, to be polished, to be good enough.
i let the water wash it all away, and i was left naked without this cloak of manufactured acceptance.

i dropped using my hair as the bandage for my poor self-esteem, and i dropped what was left of my subconscious desires to fit into a mold and into a mindset to which i can no longer ascribe.

i decided that i was enough. every part of my body is fearfully and wonderfully and brilliantly made, and everything within the universe is within its confines.

leaving it all behind - the years of shame, of seeking perfection, of wanting to be who i am not - i looked in the mirror and i smiled knowing that no mistakes were made in my creation.

i let the water cleanse and renew me everyday and it reminds me.
i am full. wild. free.

linking up with klp and amanda