Kyonzilla

Well I had been wearing a sew in during the New Year, and I just took it out last night, woke up this morning and decided to reintroduce my hair to a little H2O...


my hair dries kind of crazy (are any other 3C's like this??) So
I simply tied a big bow with a scarf on my hair, and wah-la! lol


I never know how to style my hair because I haven't been
"as daring" with products...I don't use leave ins or gels for that matter,
so the above pictures are just my hair with water and nothing else...anyone
have similar hair?...Any suggestions??...


My hair is very soft when it is wet and when it is straightened (I wear it either straightened or in a sew in more so than in it's natural state, which I'd LOVE to do if I knew how to manage it better )
Here are a few more pictures, so you guys can get an idea of my hair::

DISCLAIMER: I swear I don't walk around looking like this!! LOL and I am comfortable enough to post this picture here--I trust you ladies...lol

My hair, dry /-: ...no products


And my hair straightened with no products


Again, my question (since I've RAMBLED so much lol) was if anyone had
any suggestions for my type of hair product wise. I'd LOVE to start wearing my hair more in it's natural state if it behaved...

BekkaPoo

I don't know the properties of your hair, but I've been doing what's now called the Tightly Curly Method since the 90s. I co-wash, rinse out, then wring out excess water from my hair, add in some conditioner back in, comb through and air dry.

That may or may not work for you.. the only way you'll get to know your natural hair is to work with it, and see what it likes.

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Kyonzilla

Thanks! And yeah I realize that the only way I will 'know my hair' is by actually dealing with it on my own...I was just looking for a few possible suggestions on what others may do with hair similar to mine....I really just started embracing my natural hair Summer 2011...and I just found out I am 3C (I'm sure with other types...maybe a 4a)...once I found THAT out I discovered there were other elements I'd need to figure out...lol sigh

From the outside looking in, having natural hair is EASY...no comb, no brush, no heat...it's a lot more technical than that...but I love the learning experience! <3

I'll be trying what you suggested though. Right now is my trial and error period.

Layali

Your curls are so pretty!! Are you completely natural or do you still have relaxed ends you're waiting to chop off?

Getting rid of the relaxed/heat damaged ends and getting a good haircut made a world of difference for me. Dealing with my hair was SO much easier afterwards. You end up wasting so much effort and product on damaged hair. Just better to get rid of it.

For me essential products are conditioner (herbal essences hello hydration), leave-in (kinky-curly knot today, sealant (coconut oil), and hold (kinky curly curling custard used sparingly). It took a while to find the proper balance of moisture and hold for me, but I haven't changed my routine for five years. Keep working at it! Lots of great info here.

Love the bow style, btw. You are totally rocking it!

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naturally 3b/3c

Explanation by the tongue makes most things clear, but love unexplained is clearer. ~ Rumi

TriMixDiva

I think you have a bit of heat damage on your ends like me. I also think a braid out or twist out would look hot on you. As far as products go you want to make sure to get something that moisturizes and that your hair likes. I am using Curl enhancing smoothie right now which is good for moisture and is all natural. I use curl keeper on top of it for frizz reduction. I'm still experimenting with products too but these are doing me right for now

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TYPE: 3C
Current State: Growing out keratin treatment.
High Density, Medium Porosity
Length: MBL stretched
Doing what I want when I want! Getting tempted to bkt the nape save me lol

BekkaPoo

Well being natural is as complicated or simple as you want it to be. I don't try every style, or every product that comes on the market. For me, I am in the KISS school.. just co-wash, rinse, add some conditioner to leave in, and air dry. To me that's about as simple as it gets. My go to styles are buns or wngs. I trim my own ends every so often as needed. I do my deep treatments as needed. I don't want a complicated hair routine, but that's just me..

Enjoy the learning period.

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Kyonzilla

No those are just heat damaged ends I believe, and some are just pieces of hair that I pulled out and stretched lol....I live in the middle of NO WHERE so finding a professional natural hair stylist in my area is out of the question really, and i want someone that I know will do my natural hair a little justice... (:

The last time I got my ends clipped was May 2011 and I had them clipped shoulder length and now my hair has grown close to Bra strap length...I'm anxious to get my ends clipped again because of the amount of growth I got last year!

And thanks! I'll take a look at the products you've had some success with and see if they work out any for me...I've never been a product user...even in my relaxing days...I'd relax my hair and straighten it using no products, and in between relaxers I actually used coconut oil on my hair.
Thank you SO much for your response!

Kyonzilla

Thanks for your response!
Yeah I've tried to lay back on the flat iron for a while! Whenever I feel the urge to flat iron my hair I opt for a sew in...lol So I'm trying my BEST to avoid my flat iron (I actually gave it to my mother and asked her to hide it for me...lol). But thanks, I've really been wanting to try a braid out or twist out...I've done bantu knots once last year and LOVED them...(I actually don't know why I haven't done them again).

And yeah I think that's the issue (finding things my hair likes)...my hair seems to get dry easily at the roots, but not so much at the ends...and it's still soft while dry (but doesn't really look it sigh)....

Kyonzilla

Touche, I believe it becomes simple once you find your routine and what works for you-but a lot of women just think it's no work put into our hair AT ALL (which is what I was really trying to say)...because when I used relaxers, honestly I just flat ironed my hair and wrapped it and I was good for a week...a lot less 'hands on' work with my hair. lol

And I am enjoying it! I've been natural for nearly 3 years and I'm just now getting into the swing of things...very exciting/interesting!

Ronnieaj

Do you know what your hair does and doesn't like? For instance, does it like or hate shea butter, coconut oil, etc.? If you know what your hair likes, it becomes easier to find products that work well for you.

My hair is anything but simple. Not combing doesn't work for me (and I go down to a fine-toothed comb), cowashing is the debil, my hair WISHES it could go more than a week without DCing. It's not more work than being relaxed, it's just different work. My hair routine is very simple (to me) but it is time-consuming, and that's just the nature of the beast for me.

Kyonzilla

Yeah that's what I mean, it's time consuming. When my hair was relaxed I wrapped it and combed it down...less than 10 minutes...I guess what I was trying to say is that theres more work into it then what people believe although it becomes easier in time, a lot of people automatically think because you are natural you do nothing to your hair, when actually it takes longer (for some if not most) to find out what works for their hair etc etc.

But I guess that's what stage I'm really in now...trying to find out what my hair really likes...I've always used coconut oil on my hair, even while relaxed...it was the only product I'd use on my hair at one point-then I stopped using anything on my hair right before going natural. I know my hair loves olive oil based products. I'm really looking for something to keep the moisture in my hair...

Kyonzilla

I have a HUGE jar of eco styler gel that I only really use on my edges

and today I purchased:

TRESemme Curl Definition Jelly
TRESemme Bouncy Curls Defining Gel
and
TRESemme Curl Reactivation (reminds me of like a spritz)
Starting my trial and errors tomorrow!