**Psuedo-Newbie Alert** 6 Year Lurker Sees the Light!

[Queen V]

Great post! I wish you the best of luck on your hair journey!

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

Welcome!!!!

 

[discobiscuits]

awesome post! you write really well. you really had me with you right there in front of your monitor scared of mom. LOL

welcome to the forum and i can't wait to see your pics & updates.

i love your blog VERY nice!

 

[happylife]

Thanks for sharing your story!!! I enjoyed it!
Welcome!

 

[vkb247]

Welcome! Loved the story

 

[onelove08]

Hello and welcome to the forum!!!

 

[Miamori]

Welcome.

 

[sunnieb]

Welcome! Great story!

 

[blksndrlla]

that was one of the greatest intros i have ever read!

Welcome!

 

[Fine 4s]

Love reading this!
Them WnGs are evil! Well...for me at least

 

[WAVES4DAYS]

WELCOME! Fascinating post!

 

[thenimblelife22]

Thank you so much everyone for the kind words! I am so excited to be back in action. Nothing feels better than being deliberate with the things you want to accomplish. (Re) Joining this forum is definitely a deliberate action for me...

1) ALWAYS sleeping with a satin scarf

2) Washing and Deep Conditioning in 8-10 Braids - Keeps the hair detangled, makes washing much easier, and prevents breakage.

3) Handling my hair gently

4) Sulfate Free Shampoo's

5) Mastering my hair and leaving the Salons for good

Good luck on your HHJ!!

These are really great tips, BlackMasterPiece, thank you! I especially am going to try the washing in 8-10 braids suggestion—I used to do this but I fell off

Welcome:

You have an interesting story, and a creative way to share it. I very much appreciate that u shared. Also, Your blog is well put, and kept me glued for a min! So I'm curious, what are u studying? Anyhoo, I lurked for 4 years & became officially active April of this year, so you even got me beat!

Hair tips:

Leobody appears to have a very loose curl texture (type 2 or 3a), so if you have a similar hair type then a low (or "no") maintenance technique may work! However, if you have a tighter curl, thick/coarse texture, and overall kinky hair, you will probably need to rethink the Leobody technique. That is what my hair adventures have taught me.

From your blog, you seem to be quite rebellious when it comes to "standard" natural hair practices. I tend to do my own thing as well. I found that I cannot follow the strict regimens that many naturals seem to stand by. However, I'm a bit on the other extreme from you. For instance, I'm not afraid of heat, and I like to use it often. The fact that people are anti-heat makes me want to use it more (I know that sounds wild, but it's the rebel in me).

The only thing is, heat has not hindered my hair growth; in fact, I think it has helped. I have avoided the single strand knot battles; and tangle wars. So if you can find a way to "rebel" and still maintain healthy growing, then you should be fine. That seems to be your ultimate question-- how to be low maintenance and still actually grow (is over washing and under moisturizing possible-- sounds like u wash very often??)

Further, I believe combs are useless in thick, kinky hair-- and tool invented by straight hair people to "fool" black people into shredding their hair out!

On product use, Lots of product is a must. Many people stress that less is more....Well, I stress that "more is more". When you have strong, thick hair, you need a hefty helping of hair product to keep moisturized on a daily. This will help you to battle the dry, snaggly hair you spoke of. Hair butters and essential oils work best (shea butter/coconut oil, e.g.).

I deal with the dry phase of hair (so I'm not speaking of wash/cond phase, but the dry-daily hair phase). Since you strike me as a person who may be curious about "why" these products work, I have done my research and came across an interesting website that explains the science behind it. Turns out it's the FATTY ACIDS that are responsible for these moisturizers being able to penetrate the hair cuticle. The molecular value and moisture/ph balance stand out as further explanations. Read here: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/author/tonyamckay

the overall article is good; but be sure to scroll down to the hair butter section. I will probably do a separate post on this.

Thank you VirtueNow! GREAT suggestions. I definitely have a tighter curl than Leobody, so I am trying to figure out what will work for me as I'm building my regimen. I love my hair, but sometimes I can get so dedicated to it that I can barely get anything else done (I was like this when I first went natural), which is why I'm really trying to find the path of least resistance with my routine, as Leobody has done.

You've also got me down pat on the blog, lol. I was particularly "rebellious" when I wrote that post because I was looking at one of my favorite hair websites, and she had so many product recommendations, so many things to do and not do, so many tools to use, and overnight treatments to use that I was just like, oh uh-uh! I can barely get anything done as it is! While I agree that "forgetting" your hair is not the path to long, lovely locks, I still have hope that a simpler way exist. From what I've gathered from many of these threads, many ladies are successful with simple routines. I keep seeing K.I.S.S...I'ma definitely have to check that out, because that seems right up my alley!

Also, thanks so much for putting together the naturallycurly research for me! I'm a former chemical engineering student, so I have to know the "ins and outs" and the "whys" to everything. This should do it!

Great story. Great writer. Are you an English major?

Thank you, Meecee. Writing is a secret talent of mine. I am not an English major though...I'm actually a Marketing student.

Haha! I'm in the EXACT same situation you were at 15 & a half. Because, I'm that age & transitioning. Coool. Congrats on coming back to the forum! I know all too well about trying to read threads on my blackberry at night & having my mother tell me to turn that light off (we share a room lol).

Lol, I'm glad you can relate, Smartblackchic.

What a wonderful first post. Welcome out of lurkdom (lol). Oh yeah,

I know, I know. Here's some recent pictures that shows my natural texture. I just got my hair blown out by the dominican's today, so as soon as I can find my camera, I will put up photos.

(My hair was very dry that day)

(I am a reformed coloraholic. I've been clean about 6 months, not including my last tryst with henna)

So that's it! Thanks everyone for the encouraging words and wisdom! I really look forward to becoming a fixture on LHCF

 

[thenimblelife22]

Alright. Here are some pictures from the Dominican blowout I got a few days ago.

The blow out was just okay—nothing spectacular. It wasn't humid outside, but my hair started to poof a few hours after leaving the salon. My ends were also EXTREMELY raggedy, so I got a trim, but the stylist didn't do a very thorough job. She just cut around the perimeter which still leaves me with a ton of fly-aways throughout my hair, especially in the back. Never the less, I'm very pleasantly surprised to see that my hair was as long as it was. I have tortured my hair over the last few years with excessive coloring, rough handling and cotton pillowcases. Thank God I still have something to work with...