Category: curly hair

Indian Store Haul…Henna and Amla

Posted on by Michelle

I started using Henna at the beginning of the year and immediately noticed its’ benefits. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too sure about the brand I used so I later found out that it possibly had sand in it as a filler. This is sometimes the case when buying from a local store because manufacturers have been known to add things to packaged Henna.





Henna, Amla Powder and Amla Oil
from Ananda Bazaar in South Aurora
Since then I’ve been ordering all of my Henna online to make sure I’m getting quality, 100% pure henna to dye my hair. This can be costly though so, I have been

 determined to find it locally to save on shipping. I kept checking out different stores and finding mostly groceries and dvd’s.

Today I decided to head back to the Ananda Bazaar in Aurora where I found the Henna I used on my first application. I was amazed to find that the shopkeeper is now selling the Henna brands I have been hearing everyone rave about. We’re talkin’ Reshma, Jamila and Hesh varieties. He also now carries Neem oil, Shikaki, Amla powder and Dabur’s Amla oil. For about $16, I left out of there with 5 boxes of product (less than half of what I would pay online). I wanted to by more but at least now I know where to go when I need my Henna fix..lol.

After opening the henna boxes I was happy to see henna of a fine, powdery consistency without all of the additives I found in that first package. The Amla is to help darken the color so that the henna won’t be so red. I’ve also heard that it will keep the henna from loosening my curl pattern. It is already looser than before so I don’t want to lose my curls completely. Now I can’t wait to do my next application so I can cover up these stubborn grey hairs!

My Favorite Transitioning Style

Posted on by Michelle

Once I decided to go Natural, I considered how long I should go before doing the Big Chop.  At only 3 months post relaxer, I was certain that I wanted to grow my natural texture out a lot more before this step.  Normally I wore my hair straight but I was beginning to see how damaging all of the heat was.  The next best thing was Rollersetting. 

My Hood Dryer
I personally had never Rollerset my hair before.  I had seen it done in the salon but that was about it.  From what I could see on YouTube, there were a lot of ladies who did it each week instead of using flatirons and blowdryers.  I also kept hearing about how handy it was to have a hooded dryer at home for this style and to do deep treatments.  I figured I would give it a go.
I went to my local Sally’s beauty supply and purchased the Ion hooded dryer with multiple heat settings for about $40.  When I got home, my husband thought I had gone mad.  I explained that it was an investment and that I would get a lot of use out of it. 

My Curly Fro
As for the rollersetting, I really didn’t know how it would turn out but it was worth a try.  I watched plenty of videos before going for it.  I used the small grey perm rods so that the two textures of my hair would blend together better.  The end result was a cute and curly little afro.  The style often lasted  a whole week which meant less stress on my hair.

It’s almost 2 years later and I still rollerset my hair.  I didn’t realize it then but it’s a technique that can also be used on Natural hair.  I’m glad that I learned how to do it during my transitioning phase because now it’s one of my staple styles.

Transitioning into Natural Hair

Posted on by Michelle

Once I finally decided that I was “going natural” and needed to grow out my relaxer, I looked for information on styles that would help with my transition.  The last time I applied relaxer to my hair was in July 2008.  It was now October and my new growth was coming in thick and wavy.  At the time, all I did was wear my hair straight.  This was harder and harder to accomplish the more my natural hair grew.  I looked to the internet and found tons of videos on how to do different styles while transitioning.  I figured why not just start doing my hair as if I were already natural.  That way, I would have some idea of what to do when I cut off the relaxed ends.

Braids with Perm Rods on the ends
Previously, in August ’08, I went back to a darker hair color.  With that out of the way, I began focusing on teaching myself how to style my hair without using any heat.  This was all very new for me.  Some styles turned out great and others were complete disasters.  In the months before my “Big Chop“, I taught myself how to Flat Twist, Roller set with perm rods and even do my own braid extensions.  Some days I just wore it up in a bun to give my hair a break.  
Now when I look back on my transition, which ended up being for 9 months, I realize that my plan worked.  I use these styles all of the time.  I don’t do extenstions anymore, but I enjoy wearing my hair in small individual braids from time to time.  
The “Braid-out” with Satin Scarf Headband
My advice to Transitioners; “Do your hair as if you are already natural,”.  Once you decide to go natural, you might as well start your journey and begin using products and techniques that will help you later on.  Not only will you know what to do once you do the Big Chop, but you’ll have some idea of how you’ll look wearing your
natural hair.

Stay Relaxed or Go Natural?

Posted on by Michelle

So there I was without a flat iron and wondering how on earth I was going to start growing my damaged hair longer.  I was already certain that my hair was suffering because of the lighter hair color I decided to use for two years.  What else was I doing wrong?

I jumped on Google and did a search on growing african american hair longer.  I found a site called “growafrohairlong.com”.  I read about how the site’s founder, Robin Woods, grew her hair to about waist length by using the “Crown & Glory” method.  She talked about using braids as a protective style to help retain hair growth. She also gave suggestions on how to care for the hair like, how to comb it and deep conditioning.  The thing I remember most was how she explained that she only did a relaxer 2 times per year.  Say what!  She would go 6 whole months without a relaxer!  That seemed like an extremely long time to me considering the longest I went between relaxers was 8-10 weeks.                  
My hair after my 1st pregnancy
I found out that this method was called “relaxer stretching”. Basically you use a relaxer less frequently to give you hair a chance to grow.  To me that really made sense because I remembered how long my hair was after my first pregnancy.  I stopped doing any haircolor or relaxers during that time because I didn’t want it to effect my baby and my hair flourished as a result.
While I researched it more I kept seeing all of this information about, “going natural”.  I had no idea what that meant at the time so I was fascinated.  It seemed like there were so many women out there who just decided to let go of the relaxer altogether.  Then I started to see all of the cool hair styles that you could do if your hair was in its’ natural state.  I really wanted to go natural and grow my hair long but I wasn’t sure how I would look.  And then there was my hubby…what was he going to think.  So, I was at a crossroads.  Would I go natural or keep it straight?
Next time, “What finally made me decide to go Natural”