Those are all issues I have been posed with since I big chopped 7 months ago (Yes 7!! Can't believe it!!), below are 10 ways I have been surviving with my TWA!!
1. GET INTO MOTION- What do I mean? The good 'ol way of having a Hair Regimen that you keep on repeating time after time after time! It's the first thing that needs your attention...tweak it to suit your new hair's needs, add products, subtract others and REPEAT.
Here's my current motion (hair regimen)-
Weekends I deep condition, moisturize and seal (intensely- use thick moistrizers/ leave in's, oils and shea butter) style and leave my hair alone.
Mon- Tuesday- I use a hair spritz for hydration until Wednesday.
Wednesday comes and I co-wash with a conditioner either in the morning or at night into Tursday Morning, then I Moisturize/ seal then style.
Thursday- Friday- I use a hair spritz for hydration until Saturday
AND REPEAT!
This regimen is tweaked from what I used to do with my relaxed/texlaxed hair where I used to moisturize and seal everyday and I was much light handed to avoid build up, with my natural hair, it takes much more of an effort to simply part the hair and effectively moisturize and seal.
2. THE STRETCH IS ESSENTIAL- Fully shrunken hair will get tangled and knot and break off. I observed that when I just left my hair after a wash dry up and shrink fully, it was very hard to style, even combing was painful. It was until I started stretching my hair either in twists or using the 'tension' method of blow drying (More on this technique soon) that I started to enjoy styling my hair. So don't be like me...after you have applied your products and your hair is damp, stretch it for better manageability.
3. DAMP MEANS DAMP- Not wet and dripping (hair is too fragile at this stage), damp in some areas, dry in others, only the tips are damp/moist. So when you are applying your products make sure every strand is coated. I was talking about moisturizing on Instagram the other day and a lady left a comment on my page about using the 'Praying Method' to coat her hair with products.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS- Basically you rub the product with your palms and then take a section of hair, use your both hands to clasp the hair and run up and down from roots to tips. Since afro hair grows upwards, this method really has ensured that the products applied fully coat every strand.
4. WORK IN SECTIONS- No matter how short your hair is. I have worked in sections since I big chopped , this helps me give specific attention to each section I choose to work on rather than dealing with the strands getting in the way. All you need are good control clips like this;
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6. HAVE A POTENT SCALP OIL MIX- On the topic of oiling the scalp, it's so essential to have an oil blend/mix that will leave your scalp feeling well attended to, soothe and refreshed and not just coated. For me that blend is a few drops of the Wuras Naturals CADDOMINT oil I blogged about HERE, A nice cap full of SWEET ALMOND oil and the Vanity Oils TEA TREE oil . This scalp oil blend is strictly for my scalp as I don't use it to seal in moisture in my hair for that I just use good old coconut or olive oil.
7. SEAL LIKE YOUR TIPS DEPEND ON THEM- As they do! LOL! Kai nobody prepared me enough for these single strand knots oh!! They tend to be rampant when my hair feels dry and shrunken- back to point no. 2. To counter the knots I pay special attention to the very last bits of the tips of my hair. This is what I do- I pour some oil in the palms of my hands and dip the tips of my hair in it till the strands soak them all in and I have found that too be a very good way of lubricating my ends and avoiding the knots.
8. TRIM THOSE ENDS- Since my big chop, I think I have trimmed my ends another three times. When I do, I take very little off to get rid of the single strand knots instead of snagging them off. Then there's also the need to keep gradually removing the straight ends that missed the scissors on big chop day. So don't be afraid to use scissors, just make sure you know what you are doing and you are using proper hair shears. Moving forward I will be scheduling such trims every 3- 4 months so thrice a year.
9. CHOOSE STYLES WISELY- On of my major fears of going natural was styling! How was I going to rock this short hair? I had to do a lot of styling research and got so encouraged when I saw that the internet has sooo many styles to offer besides two strand twists!! I have been quite experimental, some styles are a yes, others a flop but most styles I have on will be the following;
* Low manipulation (so no tiny braids for me),
*Quick and easy to install and take out
*Easy on my edges
* Last at most 2 weeks
*Made in only big sections.
The goal is to have the hair looking good and styled for a short period of time till the wash day.
10. DEEP CONDITION, DEEP CONDITION- That is the way forward. Intense treatments will make it easier for your hair to respond to hair moisturizers and leave in conditioners. It's like the foundation for healthy hair. The 5 minute only conditioners don't do enough to help strengthen, hydrate or rejuvenate the hair from within, only conditioners with deep conditioning agents or ingredients from nature will as the name implies, deeply penetrate your hair strands and heal and restore them. Some of my fave DIY DC's include;
* Honey, conditioner + oils mask
*Mayo + banana + oils mask
*Avocado, Conditioner + oils mask
*Henna. coconut milk + oils mask
So my sisters, that's how I have been surviving with my TWA and I must say, my hair is not just surviving, it's thriving.
Feel free to try my tips out and keep me posted.
Thanks for Stopping by,
Xxx
Dabs