Earlier this year I wrote a post about how scalp psoriasis led to a major hair setback last fall. I ended up losing a lot of hair due to all of the daily shampooing and detangling it took to keep my scalp under control. After a few months I was left with see through ends and breakage. It was disheartening because my hair was actually in really good shape before my scalp went out of control. As a result, I decided to give myself a trim and move forward with an updated healthy hair routine.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how I want to wear my natural hair this summer. It’s fun to visualize myself with a cute protective style even though the warm weather is dragging it’s feet here in Colorado. We’ve gotten hail storm warnings nearly everyday but it looks as though the sunshine is finally on it’s way.
journey. I even speak a little bit about what I’m doing with my hair now for moisture during the colder weather.
This weekend I posted a video to help keep all of my viewers up to date on my protective style challenge. I started wearing my natural hair in protective hair styles in hopes to retain more length this year. I would like to see my hair at least a few inches longer so I thought putting it away would help speed things up.
Last month I took the plunge and renamed my Youtube Channel. It was something that I was contemplating for some time now. It feels good to have one name across all of my social media platforms as well. Just makes things so much easier for me.
Lately I have been playing around with a couple of moisturizers to help boost my curly styles. I’m having great success and mention both in my new video.
Be sure to stop by my Youtube Channel for more hair tutorials and curly hair updates!
In January I started my own protective style challenge to see if it would help me with length retention. Normally I enjoy wearing my hair out because I love how versatile natural hair is. This made it a little bit harder for me to decide on a style for the challenge. To keep it interesting, I decided to change up my protective style each week. Here’s a rundown of each style I wore for the first four weeks of the challenge.
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| Verona Girl by Freetress Synthetic Wig |
I’ve been experimenting with wigs off and on. I thought that the challenge would be the perfect time to practice my wig skills. I braided my real hair into two dutch braids underneath my synthetic wig. I found that this was one of the easier styles.
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| Easy Low Bun |
Now that my hair is getting longer, I can actually work it into a pretty decent bun. For me this style works best on stretched hair. I usually put my hair into a ponytail and split the ends into two sections. I twist each of them then wrap the twists around the base of the ponytail. Then I use bobby pins to secure the ends. I really like how this look can be worn for an everyday, casual look or dressed up.
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| Low Puff; Low Manipulation |
Technically this isn’t a protective style. However, it is low maintenance and keeps my hair off of my shoulders. After cleansing and conditioning my hair, I detangle my hair and slick it back or up high using hair gel. I use a ponytail holder or banana clip placed sideways to secure it into place.
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| Dutch Braids on Straight Hair |
This has been a go-to style for me for ages. I just part my hair down the middle and do a braid on each side. In the picture my hair was straightened but this look also works on wet, damp or stretched hair.
With each protective style I like to smooth my edges with Eco Styler gel which is a staple for me. I also found that my hair needed heavier moisture for styles that are meant to last a whole week. I think my favorite was actually the puff style. My ends were out but it took the least amount of effort. Overall, my first four weeks went well. I’m planning on going for another four weeks wearing some of the same styles. What are some of your favorite protective hair styles?
| Keeping my hair up in a puff for this week’s “protective” style |
I have decided that in order to keep myself motivated to wear protective hair styles, I’ll be wearing one
style per week. That way I can try different styles while keeping up with my weekly wash routine. This is my third week on the protective style challenge and I’ve decided to wear my hair in a puff. Now, I know what you’re thinking, a puff is not technically a protective style. This is because the ends of my hair are not tucked away or, “protected”. Still, I figure this style will work for me because it will keep me from combing and manipulating my hair.
To style my hair this way I like to use a banana clip placed sideways. This gives me a much fuller effect than your usual ponytail holder. I used to cut apart hosiery and use one of the legs for a long wrap around hair tie which also works. You can watch how I use the banana clip on stretched hair in my Youtube Video.
As far as the products I used, I pretty much followed my usual wash n’ go routine. After cleansing and conditioning my hair, I applied a leave-in conditioner and then grapeseed oil. Then I added a thick creamy moisturizer to each section of my hair before applying hair gel. My favorite gel at the moment is Eco Styler gel with Argan Oil. I realized the order I used to apply my products basically meant I was using the L.O.C. method to moisturize my hair. That means leave-in, oil and cream; in that order. I’m curious to see if that will make a difference in how my hair feels
this week.
Next week I may end up doing a ponytail roller set on my hair so that I can experiment with an up-do. Until then, I’ll be wearing the puff with a mid week co-wash to cleanse my scalp and add moisture. Then back to the puff to ride out the rest of the week.