Update: 3 Months of Natural Hair

Warning:  This post is loaded with pictures.




I have to be honest these three little months of natural hair has been almost a breeze.  I know it's because my hair is so short and I probably better enjoy it while it lasts.  There are days when I feel like I don't know what to do with it just because I think I should be doing more to it.  I pretty much just get up and go which shouldn't give me any reason at all to be late for anything.  Wrong.  I just spend more time complaining about not having anything to wear.

My hair does have some sort of curl pattern.  I've heard some natural hair folks say that your actual pattern doesn't come in until about two or three months after chopping.  I think at this point, it is what it is.  I don't know my hair type.  The hair charts are confusing to me.  One texture looks very similar to the next texture and then people say they have more than one texture of hair in their head

 

The above pictures are accidental close ups of my hair as I was trying to take a picture of the spot that is different. 

I have this one patch in my head that feels different from the rest.  I don't know if it's a different texture, dry hair, scab hair or whatever.  I'm notorious for picking at it and isolating it because it just feels different and I can't stop bothering it. 

I tried to put a rubber band on it to see it better.  It doesn't look much different in this picture but it feels different.

These are most of the products I use on my hair.  I don't buy a whole lot of stuff especially at the price of some of it.  I'm like who can afford that.  I usually have just one conditioner at a time but I ended up having to buy one at my mom's once.  So we alternate between the conditioners. 

I was using castor oil but ran out and never bought anymore.

The spray bottle is filled with water and hair conditioner.  I use the same spray bottle to mix vinegar and water in.

I wash my hair mostly around once a week now and I even went two weeks once out of laziness.  I do a vinegar rinse about once a month but I am going to start adding baking soda to it.  I co-wash, finger detangle, and comb in the shower.  

These pictures are right after washing.  Except for that glob of conditioner in the front that I missed, nothing is on my hair.  This is one time I leaned over and washed my hair in the sink simply because I didn't want to clean the hair out of shower.

It reminds me of a jheri curl.  I hear several people say that the s curl spray works very well for moisture retention.  We haven't tried it, though. 

Then I apply the As I am leave in.  I'm currently out of coconut oil so I've just been using the olive oil and then the shea moisture.  (LOC method- liquid, oil, cream)  I really don't do anything else to it after that.  Sometimes I may spritz it with a water and conditioner mix during the day but I've really been taking advantage of it being short. 

Detangling hair is a pain.  I don't have that many tangles as I will try to detangle it before I wash it

I'm not sure if this is a good or bad amount of hair from a detangling section.

But there are times when it seems like I have one/some and NOTHING will get that thing out.  I'm trying to do like they say and apply a lot of water and a lot of conditioner for slip and oil to help ease it out.  However, after about 5 minutes and that knot is still in there, I'll snatch that thing right out of my hair.  ( no sense in lying )  I have to work on my patience with that.  I'll take my time and try to get the kids' hair untangled without damaging it ( most of the time ) but by the time I get to my hair...well...

Setting Hair for bed

That twisting hair every night for bed is for the birds.  That is so not for me.  I knew from the start that I would not be doing that and I have not proven myself wrong.  Maybe if it was longer and didn't take as long, I would.  I might spritz my hair and put some oil or cream on it and put a cap on.  I usually look like this.



 

Length check

The first time I twisted my hair, it took me 1 1/2 hours.  I was tired, aggravated, thinking about taking it down, and I was usually twisted in some weird yoga type arm stretch position trying to reach around to the back of my head.  So I've twisted my hair about 5 times total.  My twist out looks different each time. 


 

  In the second picture here, my hair wasn't dry all the way.  I pulled it back with the panty hose band.

Sometimes we get bored.  Imagine that. lol

I am still loving my hair though.  I haven't really done any styles other than the twist out.  I did attempt the curly girl method on the 13th.  Now, I won't say I followed it in it's entirety because it looked like way too much to read and too many people had slightly different versions.  So what I got from it ( correct me if I'm wrong ) was that you basically wash your hair and leave a load of conditioner in your hair, scrunch it with a tshirt to avoid frizz, and shake to separate curls.  I actually think it's two methods that sound kind of similar but I can't think of the other one right now.  I really liked the result of it although it took like all day to dry.  I washed my hair at 6 in the morning.


 

  This is 6 in the evening and my roots are still kind of wet.  I have a few "fly-aways."  I'm not sure if I did that or not. (hands)  I haven't gotten a trim or anything yet.  At first, I said I would get one every month but I thought that seemed excessive.  So now I'm thinking maybe every 6 months.  With everyone "into" natural hair, I think I'm afraid I'll go to the wrong person and they'll butcher me.  It's not like I would really know if it was necessary.  I'm "playing this thing by ear."

These pictures are about 6 days after the curly girl method.

 

This is what my hair looks like right now, tonight.

It hasn't been washed since the 13th.  I thought it was a week and a half.  It's close.  I have pulled, picked, twirled, curled, scratched, tugged and played in my hair all day and all week. I just fussed at Cate about this. ( I need to practice what I preach. )  She came home looking like "The Color Purple."  She's been wearing her hair out for these past two days.  I was going to wash it tonight but of course, I'm not.  Maybe I'll wash it in the morning.