My 3 month length check! **Pics**

Diva_Esq

New Member
ETA: my regimen (which is lengthy...I apologize). I got PMs asking for it, so I thought it may help.

Basically, I do a lot of protective styling (buns) right now. I am transitioning to natural. I haven't had a texlaxer/ relaxer since May 2, 2009. I am almost 7 months post. I would say my natural hair type is 3 something...hard to tell a, b or c just yet since i have a lot of relaxed ends still.

Regimen: I wet bun after daily co-washes for 2-3 weeks or until I can't take bunning anymore. I always leave conditioner in my hair when it is wet. Then I wear my hair out and flat ironed for 4-5 days, then back to bunning for 2-3 weeks. When my hair is out and flat ironed, I only put heat on it (with heat protectant) after blow drying it on the initial styling. I wrap with a silk scarf nightly and sleep on a satin pillowcase. When wet bunning, at night, I take my bun down, part my hair in 2 and sleep in 2 Pokahontas looking braids that I pin curl up and wrap with a silk scarf. Occasionally, I do a braidout or twistout but that's only every few months.

Ok, so typical routine:

Pre-poo on wet but unwashed hair once weekly: Slightly heat coconut oil & some EVOO and apply generously to my hair from scalp to ends. Then saturate my hair with Yes Carrots Deep Conditioning Mud Mask on top of the oil. Pin on top of my head and wrap my hair completely with saran wrap. Tie down with a scarf and sleep overnight. In the morning, shampoo with Yes to Carrots Shampoo & Con with Yes to Cucumbers/ Yes to Carrots/ KeraCare Humecto/ Garnier Fructis Length and Strength/ Herbal Essence Hello Hydration (these are my staple conditioners that I rotate. I don't use all of them at once. I usually use 2 at a time. I put the conditioner on and go about my shower routine while the conditioner sits and my hair is up in a clip. I have a lot of hair, and my hair loves conditioner). Then I rinse with cool water, get out of the shower. I use a Twistie Turbie thing to dry my hair while I lotion up. Once I'm ready to bun, I apply some conditioner to my hair and a little coconut oil and detangle with a very wide tooth comb. Then I apply Garnier Fructis Brilliantine Wax to my edges and brush through for extra sleek detangling with a Denman brush. then I bun my hair and wrap it with a scarf to smooth it down. Then every morning for 2-3 weeks, I just do a co-wash only (no poo...only poo once weekly w/ pre-poo) with the above-mentioned conditioners and re-bun.


When I wear it flat ironed, I pre-poo, poo & apply a protein treatment (Affirm 5-in-1, Motions CPR or Giovanni) while in the shower, then I apply conditioner & saran wrap. I sit under my hair dryer for 20 mins on high. Once that deep condition is done, I rinse my hair with cool water and apply a leave-in, a dime size of Lacio Lacio, and a quarter size of Yes to Carrots full strength con. I detangle just like with the bun routine. Then I apply a VERY LIGHT coating of coconut oil or a light KeraCare gloss to my scalp VERY sparingly while my hair is still damp before I blowdry so the dryer doesn't dry out my scalp. I then apply a heat protectant (Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum or Redken Heat Glide) & hand blowdry my hair. Hand blowing gets it sleeker than sitting under the dryer. Once blown dry, I part and apply a little more heat protectant (not too much b/c I don't like greasy, weighed down flatties). I take EXTREMELY small sections and flat iron at about 400 degrees with my flat iron. Small sections insure a very smooth, sleek and straight finish without having to pass over each section more than once. Once done, I use a small bit of GF Wax for my edges and wrap with a silk scarf. My hair is only straightened/ down/ out 5-10 days per month. In 2010, I am trying to just have it out once a month for 4-5 days. Wish me luck!


Any other questions? I think keeping my hair up is retaining my length plus I use a lot of moisture! Hope that helps!
 

Diva_Esq

New Member
Nice progress! Your hair looks thick and healthy, and your regimen is well-detailed.

Thanks! I just wanted to be as detailed as possible b/c I know I'm a visual person and I need to be able to see the steps in my head. Others have shared their info for me, which is very helpful!
 

Diva_Esq

New Member
Looking good! I didn't read everything but just wondering how long you plan to transition?

I am hoping to just do trims every 3-4 months and transition over 2-3 years. Once I am at APL fully natural, I'll cut whatever's left and then try to proceed toward MBL & WL.

You did a long transition, right?
 
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