Natural Hair

Natural Hair (n) - Hair that is absent of texture changing chemicals.  i.e: Relaxers, Perms and Texturizers.

Since I blog about natural hair from time to time, I decided to dedicate a page towards it.  I don't intend  for Botanical Reflections to be a hair blog, but I do want to write about my journey.  Since the Marley Twists post is highly searched, I don't want to confuse anyone on where they can look for natural hair information on this blog.

My Natural Journey:
I was tired of my hair breaking off and spending extra money on a Relaxer that burned my hair. Every time I went to the salon, it seemed like my hair was getting shorter and shorter. In 5 years, I went from shoulder length hair to ear length hair. Not many people in my area were natural and I had no information on how to start. I had one friend who was 1 year natural at the time.That was the only push I had for my hair troubles. When I moved from Virginia to Georgia, I worked in an area where I was surrounded by natural salons plus one of my co-workers was natural. That’s when I went natural in December 2008 and transitioned and did the big chop in January 2010. I wouldn't say dealing with kinky-curly hair is easy, but I made sure throughout my journey that I stayed informed. Below shows my progress and tips for going natural.
Enjoy!

My Natural Journey - Guest Blog
Chela's Tips for Going Natural 
Hair Posts
Marley Twists Posts
Length Check Posts

My Regimen: (July 2013)
Hair Type -

• 3c
• 4a
• 4b

Washing -

• Once a week: co-wash, leave in conditioner
• Bi-weekly: co-wash, deep conditioner, leave in conditioner
• End of the month: sulfate-free shampoo, conditioner, leave in conditioner

Styling -

• Wash night: water + leave in conditioner + oil/butter, Put my hair in 4-6 twist till my hair is 80% dry (I do this to stretch my hair because I have bad shrinkage), Create 6-9 flat twists, unravel in the morning with oil + style
• Every night or when my hair feels dry: spritz with water + oil/butter, create 6-9 twists or bantu knots, unravel in the morning with oil + style
• Every 3 months: Straighten and trim.

My products -

• Co-wash Conditioner: V05 Tea Therapy
• Shampoo + Conditioner: Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus
• Deep Conditioner: Organics Hair Mayonnaise
• Leave In: Shea Moisture Hair Milk Coconut and Hibiscus
• Oil/Butter: Shea Moisture Curling Enhancing Smoothie Coconut and Hibiscus, Pure Shea Butter or Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier