My 2012 Hair Care Method!

After much seeking and practice of many methods, routines and products in caring for my natural hair I have reached a conclusion. There is one tried and true method that works really well for maintain and retaining hair length and that is low-manipulation protective styles. I have found a way to maximize this technique.

First let me talk about some examples of natural hair that I have witnessed bloom from this technique.

1. I have personally grown my hair out several times using braided extensions. I would wear sets of braids back to back for two years and my hair would grow and retain length, even when I was shampoo it with regular cheap sodium Laural sulfate shampoo with no conditioner and I was using hair grease on it. Some times I would not wash my hair for months. I also use to detangle with a goody comb, but I did not do it often, maybe every two to six months! I think the reduced manipulation of my loose hair caused me to retain length even though I had no idea what moisture was.

2. I witnessed a girl who wore corn rows once a month retain length after a year of back to back braided.

3. The ultimate example is that I have witnessed tons of women with locked hair retain tones of length and they never manipulate their hair with combs or brushes!

4. I have witnessed other natural women who have worn two strand twist or box-braids for long periods of time retain length, but I was never able to copy them properly, because I was too busy looking at their products to notice the fact that they detangled their hair very infrequently. At first I thought the secret was just that they detangled their hair with wider tooth combs or special brushes or had a special technique such as detangling wet hair, hair with conditioner or moisturizer in it or even some oils.

I now know that they key was in the low manipulation! Even the worse detangling method is used sparingly did not manage to totally destroy the length retained. So here are my tips that I have gathered to care for the hair.

1. The best way to care for natural hair is to maintain the hair in a braided or twisted style at all times.

2. Wash your hair in braids or twist

3. Condition your hair in braids or twist

4. Detangle your hair in braids or twist

No matter what products you are using you are sure to have more hair by doing this.

To maximize results I recommend using medium braids like the crown and glory technique. Medium braids are take less time to put in and take down, they are easier to remove, they can be easily washed and styled, and they last for weeks at a time. You can decide for yourself how often you wish to re-braid and remove shed hair, whether it is once a week or once every few weeks. Also it is not necessary to take all the braids down and have the hair loose in order to wash, re braid or detangle the hair. You can simply UN-braid one braid a time and re braid it immediately after detangling. I recommend simply separating the hair with your fingers and removing the shed hair instead of using a comb or brush.

If you choose to maintain the same exact grid and you feel no desire to alter the style you can simply braid and re-braid the same set of braids over and over again and never have to tackle your loose hair again! You will always have the options to have your hair out loose when you need it,but while you are seeking to maintain length you can maximize your efforts by styling your braids aka pseudo-locks!

CLM

Twist Experiment

I am conducting a hair experiment to test the following.

1. What product for twist will provide the most mosture
2. What product will give the best hold for a twist-out
3. What product will allow me to retain the most length of my twist

I will chart my data and come back with some conclusions.

The products I will be testing are

water
cantu leave in
olive oil miracle leave in
coconut blue magic
knot today
eco styler
curly butter cream
shea butter

CLM

Box-Braid Grow It Challenge & Moisture Exp!

It is time to really see maximum length. Starting now until the end of 2012 I will be keeping my hair exclusively in small box-braids. I will do the braids small enough to be cute, but big enough to remove easily. I will primarily be wet setting my hair daily while it is in the braids. I will conduct monthly moisture experiments while I am wearing the braids.

My up keep routine:

I will set my hair in the braids within the next few days.

Every fourth week I wash my hair and then the next day I will divide my hair into 6 sections. Each day I will undo the braids in one section, detangle and rebraid the hair in that section. I will repeat the process touching up one section per day until my whole head is complete and then I will wash my fresh braids.

The Experiments:
1. Water Wash Method (Rinse hair with water daily no products added)
2. Water and Oil Method (Rinse hair with water and apply oil of choice)
3.Water and Aloe Method (Rinse hair with water and spray with aloe)
4. Water+Aloe+Oil Method (Rinse hair with water, spray with aloe and apply oil)
5. Water+ Braid spray Method (Rinse hair with water, spray with braid spray)
6. Water+Aloe+Braid spray Method(Rinse hair with water, spray with aloe and braid spray)
7. Water+ Braid spray+oil (Rinse hair with water,spray with braid spray and apply oil)
8. Water+Aloe+Braid spray+Oil
9. Water + Conditioner (Rinse hair with water then apply conditioner)
10. Water+Cond+Oil
11. Water+aloe+Cond
12. Water+aloe+COnd+Oil
13.Water+Leave in lotion
14. Water+ leave in lotion+oil
15. Water+ gel and oil
16. Water +cond+gel and oil
17. Water+leave in+gel and oil

Each experiment will last one month with an exception of the gel experiment which will last one week at a time.

CLM

CLM

Prevent Shrinkage Daily with Banding!

One thing I have noticed with my hair is that I can almost never see it's true length. My hair shrinks almost up to 80% in it's afro state and even when it is braided or twisted it still shrinks to about 50-75%! This really holds me back when I am trying to rock my twisted or braided hair in styles, like up dos or pony tails. I have already discovered that my loose banded hair can be stretched in to a high pony-tail and almost into a low pony-tail. The thing is I never where my hair loose, because that requires too much maintenance. I recently decided to try an experiment where I banded my twist in about six large sections. The results were incredible! I could fit my twist easily into a half-up, half-down style. By November 2012f, I should be able to fit my stretched twist into a comfortable pony-tail if not a low pony-tail.

I have always known about stretching my loose hair, but now I know the key is to stretch my twisted and braided hair! The easiest way to stretch my braided or twisted hair is by banding. Sign me up for stock in soft fiber bands!

CLM

Up coming hair exp!

The lock treatment

Twist hair in medium sized twist, wear for one month. Wash once a month with low sulfate shampoo such as Carol's daughter and then spray as needed with leave in spray. Detangle once a month.

Easy style:
1. Wear your hair down
2. Do the freddy to protect your hair, two pony-tails in front
3. Optional faux braid in front
4. Two flat-twist down the front

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Current Routine!

Currently I am rocking some small box braids. I did them early this month and an in effort to keep my hands out of my hair I will keep these in until September 1st at all cost. I am not washing these braids, or applying any products except maybe a little leave in spray if needed. This will be my last time braiding this small!!!!!!!!!!

If I do a low manipulation style such as twist or braids they will be medium sized no matter how long I leave them in.

Routine:

Wash hair once a month with conditioner and then apply a little leave in conditioner and detangle, then style.

Products:
1. I want to get some Carol's daughter and some Patene Relaxed and Natural, but until I can I will use whatever is available.

CLM

How many ways can you use conditioner?

Conditioner can be used for many things. Here is a list.

1. You can use it as a shampoo it called a co-wash
2. You can use it as a normal rinse conditioner
3. You can use it as a deep conditioner just add a little olive oil
4. You can use it as a leave in cream
5. You can use it as a leave in spray just dilute with water
6. You can use it as shaving lotion.

CLM