Riah's Yearly/Holiday Hair Straightening!

Heya, guys! Happy Holidays! I wanted to briefly show my attempt at straightening my four year old's hair. It came out very well! Her hair is already so silky, so it's easy to get straight. Her hair is 3A-3B, sometimes seems more like a type two instead. But either way, it was easy. It only took a full hour to get her fine strands straightened.
Before I did anything, her hair was freshly washed two days prior, oiled up, and put into four braids. When I wanted to straighten it, I cranked up my regular cheap flat iron (400 degrees), put some grapeseed oil on her sections, and then applied my Tresemme heat protectant on the sections as well. Then I combed through with my wide toothed comb. I started with smaller sections. Syriah did so well with being still... she always does.

To avoid more damage, I only did one pass. A few ends had an extra run through them, but then I realized how badly she needed a trim. Her last trim was in July... about a half an inch. I measured her hair after I was done to get a more accurate length check than the one above, and her hair was actually about 22.5 inches (damn!) instead of 21. But she needed a trim, so I took off about an inch. Her hair was also a little uneven from the last trim as well, so I evened it out. And she looks gorgeous! Her hair is soft and silky, flows well like 'white people hair' LOL!

This is how her hair looked when she went outside the same day (above). Below is the trim.

            Here is how she wore her hair when we went to a woman's breakfast at my mom's church.

 

My little fashionista LOL! I love the waves in her hair due to braids.

Nightly Care:

Every other day, I put a light oil (grapeseed oil or coconut oil) all over her hair, especially the ends. Then I thoroughly comb it after parting it into two sections. Lastly, I braid each section into the same 'Pocahontas' braids showed above, except without the hair band at the top. She wears stocking caps to bed and her hair always looks fresh and un-bothered in the morning.

So, that's my straightening update for Syriah. I wish that my hair was as easy to get just about bone straight like hers sometimes. But I love my curls and my own hair, anyway. ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed. Peace out till later and happy holidays! <3 

 ~Epic Realist~

Hair and... Politics!?

I do not view going natural as a political statement, because frankly, I do not care about politics. I believe that politics are fake, and that they only portray into the media what they want the masses to believe.

I went natural for two reasons. For one, I was sick and tired of society's view on bashing black women who did not keep their hair straight and 'manageable', and secondly, I already had a passion for 'naturalness' my whole life but I didn't really know it yet.

I got tired of buying lotions and hair creams that 'didn't work' for my hair and skin because they were full of chemicals. I would complain to my sister about commercial lotions that we'd buy and use, and the next day, we were so ashy, it was as if we put nothing on at all. 

I would get utterly frustrated when I got a cream for my hair, lather my hair in it, twist or braid it up, and the next day, it would be as dry as the Sahara Desert. When I did get perms, I only got them every 4-6 months, so I was pretty much wearing my hair natural and curly, anyway. I went to college with my hair still wet a lot, and people called me 'white girl' because my hair was long and wet, and still looking good, even though it was damaged. So 'big chopping' after transitioning for two years wasn't hard for me and it wasn't a hassle. 

I did, however, have to learn how to really take care of it, and that's what I continuously do today.

The rise of natural hair products has definitely made me feel better as a black woman, knowing that we no longer have to succumb to buying crap in the stores because that's all there is. We can wear our natural hair as we have been so afraid to do for years and not have it break off due to overuse of parabens, sulfates, and petroleum.

Going natural is like going on a choosing a healthier diet; you cut out a lot of the bad things, but you have to learn what healthy things you should substitute for and put into your body as well as how to care for your body. You can't just say, I want to eat healthier but I'm not going to research how to do it, so you continue to eat the same way and not exercise. Sorry, not going to work. You won't get anywhere anytime soon with that kind of mentality. 

It may seem that going natural is harder than being relaxed, because in a way, it is. Everything that we are supposed to be doing right is automatically going to be harder. That's just life. We were born natural, so taking care of our curls is what we were born to do. Growing your own food will automatically be harder than just going to the supermarket and picking up any type of food you want with no hassle, because that's the way the world was originally supposed to work. We've just gotten lazy over the centuries, and we don't want to do any more work then what we are allotted to do. Constantly spritzing, detangling, moisturizing, twisting, parting, and styling seems to be harder than just going to the salon for a relaxer every six weeks or so, but that route has it's share of hard work as well. 

Technically, your hair may require more care with a relaxer than our natural curls, only because the chemicals wear our hair down, but hey. Either way you rock your hair is still work to look nice and be as healthy as we can.

Natural hair maintenance can be super hard work, but it's worth it, ladies! Peace out till later, curly mamas! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918

~Epic Realist~

Tips for Reducing Tangles and Knots

Morning, curly mamas! I'm going to share some tips on reducing knots and tangles in our hair. One of the biggest problems is hair breakage due to misuse or overuse of certain tools or products. This mostly happens when it's time to wash the hair, and a lot of hair is shed and broken off. Something we've probably heard growing up is to never comb your hair when it's wet, never ever ever! Well, that doesn't exactly have to be the case. We CAN comb our hair even while it's in the most vulnerable state... IF you follow these directions.
1. ALWAYS use a wide tooth comb, aka 'shower comb'. All of those other tiny combs you have stashed in your bathroom are not for use on wet hair. Your hair will fall out with those. Use something with wide teeth. It is best to only comb after shampooing and you're in the conditioning part of your regimen.
2. It is best to prepare your hair for washing, as in use some type of oil to 'soak' your hair in. It can be olive oil, some type of conditioning oil, whatever you like to use. I usually use extra virgin olive oil in mine and my daughter's hair the day before I wash it so it soaks in overnight. The extra moisture really helps. I don't even need to use a conditioner!
3. Wash your hair in sections. This greatly helps. I  have tried it my hair and my hair didn't get as nappy afterward. Part your hair with your fingers in two or four sections, whichever you feel like comfortable with, and shampoo it that way while parted. This greatly reduces unnecessary knots.
4. Use a detangling shampoo. Even if you do not have a sulfate free shampoo yet, use one that detangles, or at least claims to. Much easier to manage your hair.
5. DO NOT be afraid of water! After shampooing, it's okay to re-wet your hair if you're applying a product that works best on wet hair. Another thing we've grown up on is to keep our hair away from water, that water is the enemy. Water is NOT the enemy! Water is good for our hair, contrary to popular belief.
6. Style your hair in sections. If you're already on the natural journey, then more than likely you'll want your curls to show as much as possible. After shampooing and conditioning, use a thick moisturizer on your wet hair, especially if your hair craves moisture. Do not use any brushes. Braid or twist into several sections and let it air dry. I say air dry because it is the healthiest way to dry hair. Heat isn't always needed here, unless you're going for a certain special style. Even then, I would still recommend using a hair steamer such as this one on this website.
http://www.behuetiful.com/store/steamer/cat_5.html?gclid=CKO5rZuX7q4CFY1R7Aod_3WeKA

I currently do not own a hair steamer yet, but one day I will. I am not an advocate of heat on hair. I barely straighten my hair at all, and I don't blow dry or sit under a dryer like we've all probably grown up doing.
7. DO NOT 'overwash' your hair! I know some African-American women who are constantly washing their hair, like three times a week. That is not necessary at all. Unless you're sweating profusely every day or in a swimming class where your head is always laced with chlorine, there's no reason to wash your hair more than once a week. Our hair requires as much moisture as possible, but sometimes, too much water can dry it out and create more tangles than necessary. Thus, the excessive dandruff and itchiness. Water is not the enemy, but it can be if you overuse it. If you absolutely have to wash your hair more than once a week, then you should not use a drying shampoo. You should consider getting a good co-wash formula or just simply condition it while wet, which I will talk more about at a later date.
These are all the tips that I can think of at the moment. I will add more if I remember any more. Hopefully, I've helped you guys. These tips are awesome on little girl's hair, because even though they may have 'baby hair', their hair is more prone to tangling up because of them being active little girls, running around, possibly having their little heads all over the floor, all that. These tips work on my girl's hair, and her hair is NEVER tangled after washing and she hasn't had any breakage in months. This is due to me constantly studying her hair and studying what works with it and what doesn't.
So, I hope you enjoy my tips and try them out. Let me know what happens! Comment here or on the Facebook page. Happy curling! =)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918