Saturday, October 2, 2010

What Is The Natural Girls Hotline??


First, I rocked my curly ponytail today with my really cool hair tie from the Antic, but forgot to take a pic of it from behind so you all could see the cowrie shell design. Ah well.

Today's frustration comes from realizing that next week marks the "no turning back point" - 12 weeks since last perm. That's 3 months! The longest I ever let my hair go before a touch up (minus baby having, of course). I have this anxiety from the ever growing list of questions I have. I'm hoping some sistuh in bloggerland will have pity on me and help me out. Ready, here we go:
  1. Do you remember when you used to have a perm and right before you were about to get a touch-up your scalp itched like crazy? You could always tell cuz you'd be patting your head until your appointment. As you began your quest and reached your own point of no return, did your scalp itch insanely? What did you do to remedy it?
  2. In the research that I've been doing I've seen that most naturalistas tell you to avoid petroleum based products for your hair. Prior to stopping the chemical madness, I used Triple Gro Anti-Breakage Cream Gro on my scalp and hair. It did wonders (or maybe I'm imagining things?) for my scalp and hair. But now on my quest I see that one of the first ingredients is petroleum. When we were little our mothers slathered our hair with grease and our hair was thick and luxurious, where we all misguided then too?
  3. I've keep reading so many regimens of shampooing hair in the shower. Why is that? I hardly ever see regimens that include washing hair in the sink - the old fashioned way. Is there a reason for this?
  4. How do you combat, hm, not sure what word to use here, um, how do you handle family that is not receptive to your natural decision? You all saw Maddy's cute knot out, right? Well, whenever my mother got a moment alone with her all this week, she threatened to "take a brush to it", "blowdry it out", "comb the knots out", and basically made it clear that she didn't like it. Maddy stood up to the barrage, "But I like it this way, you haven't said anything about Mom going natural, I'm going natural too, why do you keep trying to change mine?" Sigh. Moms. I know.
  5. Bantu knot outs - I loved the knots, and I loved the initial knot outs, but after the third day they became flat and stringy. Does anyone know of a way to maintain that look without having to knot back up or is that the only way?
I think that's enough for now...

...HELP!

3 comments:

Dani @ OKDani.com said...

Hi!

when my hair would itch I would wash it and then put off perming for a week. So I'd suggest washing and moisturizing your hair and fighting the urge to itch.

i avoid petroleum based products because they sit on top of my hair and then in a couple days my hair is dry like straw. it just doesnt work for me. some people successfully use petroleum, by first moisturizing their hair with an actual moisturizing product (which petroleum is not) and then sealing with a petroleum based product. Maybe that'll work for you...or maybe you can try products with different ingredients and see what works for you. As you go natural you're going to have to do it anyway so you might as well start now!

I dont wash my hair in the sink and never have even as a child. but the shampooing I do in the shower can easily be transferred to a sink. just separate your hair, shampoo, rinse, apply conditioner, detangle and voila!

I ignorned anyone who had negative things to say about my decision.

For knotouts, well everyone's hair is different, I'd suggest moisturizing the ends and reknotting loosely each night if you're knots are not standing up to the test of time.

hope this helped. my blog may have some good info for you. www.longnaturalhair.info

xo,
Dani
www.okdani.com

angelarose said...

Hi, I saw your comment on CN.

1. Too frequent washing using a harsh shampoo will strip your scalp of its natural oils, disrupting the scalps pH balance making it a savory environment for itch causing organisms.

Infrequent washing, especially when using petroleum based hair grease, can make the scalp a savory environment for itch causing organisms.

The best thing to relieve an itchy scalp is to gently cleanse the scalp with a mild watered down shampoo and perhaps apply a light oil like rice bran or jojoba. You want your scalp to assume its natural acid mantle, thats what keeps it healthy and feeling good. Which leads to the next issue...

2. petroleum based products can work well for some people but they can lead to scalp irritation over time because, like many petroleum based emollients, they aren't very "breathable" and act very differently than the skin/scalps natural "emollient", sebum. On the actual shaft of the hair, petroleum can seal moisture in but also lock moisture out and provide a tacky residue that dust and debris will stick to, effictively making your hair get dirty easier and have less sheen/shine.

3. I personally don't wash my hair in the sink or gather my hair in a pile on top of my head to wash it. My aim is to prevent tangles at every step of the way, flipping my head over a sink makes my hair flow in the direction opposite to the way I would later syle it. Dealing with a head full of kinks and curls requires a little more care in avoiding tangles than relaxed hair, so bending over a sink right now may not be a problem. I actually wash in the shower with the flow of water to assist in removing tangles. When I step out of the shower to twist my hair in sections it is already falling toward my shoulders and mostly detangled, whereas if I bent over a sink to detangle, I would have to coax my hair into the downward direction when I stood up and inevitably some tangling would happen in the process.

4. Negative comments are going to happen. I keep an inspiration folder where I keep photos of beautiful heads of natural hair on beautiful women. It keeps me focused and appreciative of my unique beauty. I BC'ed once before and lasted only a year before I succumbed to outside pressures to go straight. This time, constantly exposing myself to beautiful heads of curls and kinks is what has allowed me to truly embrace and LOVE my own unique and beautiful hair.

5. I found bantu knots to be hard to sleep on, so I can see why you may not want to put them back in every night. I would suggest trying using strips of satin or silk fabric and wrapping the hair around the fabric like a roller and then tie the ends around the hair. It gives similar results to a knot out but you don't have to sleep on hard balls of hair or rollers:)

I hope that helped some and I look forward to reading more of your blog!

Chocolate Mom aka Blupoetres said...

Wow! Thank you ladies so much for really taking the time to give me some in depth answers. Truly appreciate it!!