Combating Dryness

Recently, I've experienced some dryness.  My texture has changed from moisturized to a frizzie dry mess.  I wondered what I had done differently and what new products or new mixtures I was using on my hair for it to react this way.  The first thing I thought it was my products that had glycerin as an ingredient.  I immediately rushed home and put all my homemade products that I add glycerin to in the freezer.  Then I mixed a bottle of aloe vera juice and castor oil to see if that would add the needed moisture along with a cream I made weeks ago for the LOC method.  I tried my mixture for two days to no avail. My hair still felt and looked dry and crunchy.  WHAT COULD IT BE? Then I realized it must be this cream I made out of a hair milk and an Aloe Vera Jelly.  That had to be it.  That is the only thing I did differently this month.

The Aloe Vera Jelly had the following Ingredients: Organic Aloe Vera Juice, Vegetable Glycerin, Witch Hazel, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid

Witch Hazel is a natural astringent known to remove excess oil, Phenenoxyethanol is a preservative, Carbomer  is a thickening agent and emulsion stabilizer, Triethanolamine is an emulsifier and surfactant, Tetrasodium makes hard water become soft and Citric Acid is a common ingredient used as a preservative.  

Most of the ingredients listed in this jelly are preservatives, emulsifiers and thickeners. Witch hazel is known to remove excess oil.  Although research indicates witch hazel is not damaging to the hair, it can remove the natural oils and added oils needed to keep my hair moisturized.  

Another ingredient that may cause a problem is Vegetable Glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant and draws moisture from the air.  Supposedly, if there is no moisture in the air, it draws moisture from your hair leaving it dry.  I've used glycerin since I became natural and have never noticed dryness.  This maybe due to the fact that I live in the state of Florida which is known for it's humidity.  Since the weather is cooler in Florida in November, i've limited my use of glycerin simply because the humidity is significally less now due to the cooler weather. 

I learned a valuable lesson.  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".  What I was doing with my hair was working perfectly fine.  I just wanting to mix a cremey "leave in" that I didn't have to refrigerate.  In reality, I should have just stuck to what was already working for my hair.  Not everything will work for your hair. At the first sign of dryness, figure what you have done differently that could be causing the dryness.  Not all homemade or semi homemade products will work on your hair.  I had no problem throwing my mixture away because its absolutely did not work on my hair. 

How I maintain my twists & prevent breakage

Since deciding to become natural, I've had my hair in braids or twists which is considered in the natural community as a "protective style".  I starting wearing twists because I think they're much easier to do and I experience less breakage around my edges.  I braid and twist my own hair and that allows me to save a considerable amount of money.   

The way I maintain my twists is to co-wash every week and moisturize daily.  To co-wash, I use a spray bottle filled with a conditioner + aloe vera juice.  I use a spray bottle because it allows me to distribute the conditioner easier.  To moisturizer, I use a spray bottle filled with either a leave in conditioner with aloe vera juice or simply aloe vera juice with castor oil.  Most times I do the LOC method which is Liquid Oil Creme.  I make a creme out of a creamy leave in or styler such as "Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie" or "Eden's Body Works Peppermint Tea Tree Natural Hair Milk" some Aloe Vera Gel and a little bit of my Shea Butter Mix.  I apply it maybe 2 to 3 times a week to prevent product build up.  The days in between the LOC Method, I just spray my aloe vera juice and castor oil mix into my hair and seal with my Shea Butter mix.  

To prevent breakage, I remove my twists by 4 weeks.  My hair matts together pretty easily, so I try to take it out after the 4th week.  To remove my twists, I now use a homemade detangler which works great and save a considerable amount of time.  

In conclusion, I love twists and think they are easy to maintain. My experience with them however has lead me to believe that leaving them in for more than 4 or 5 weeks promotes breakage.  If you read this and you experience breakage with braids or twists, try taking them out at the 4 week mark.    

Intro to my beautiful natural hair journey

My natural hair journey began without me even knowing it at first.  I decided to stop perming my hair when I realized my hair was severely damaged.  After taking my weave out in September 2011, I discovered my hair was falling out.  I had no idea what to do, but one thing was clear "I couldn't perm my hair ever again".  I started braiding my hair with extensions since it was the only thing I could do to mask the damage and give my hair a break.  I barely had enough hair to put in braids, but I was successful. I continued braiding my hair and eventually cut the damaged hair off slowly.  By February 2012 I began watching youtube videos and just put in the search engine "natural hair".  I wasn't prepared for what I found.  A wealth of information on how to grow your hair naturally and make it look fabulous.  It was an epiphany for me.  At that point, it was clear I was transitioning into natural.  It wasn't until 5/03/2012 that I finally decided to BC.  I've haven't looked back since.