Growing Mane

Hello Loves!

Thank you for reading my blog! I have been missing in action for quite some time due to different changes that have been happening in my life. I graduated university and started working at an accounting firm and I have to say that my free time has been very limited. However, I think that I am over due for a blog post because there have been so many changes!

My biggest hair change is that I decided to go natural! At the time I started this blog, I knew I wanted to stretch my relaxers and use less heat, but I did not know that I actually wanted to go natural. At that time, going natural seemed very scary. I had my first relaxer when I was 11 years old and my last relaxer at 21 years old. So going natural was very new and I had a lot to learn. I will get into the details in another post but I'll just show you some updates to my hair below.

Let me know what you think!

Bun

Tried Henna

Hi Ladies!

So as I stated in my last post, I am 9 months post relaxer and I have bad split ends. I decided that I wanted to go back to reduced heat but still be able to have my hair look presentable. I decided to rod my hair and see how it would turn out.

At first I was not pleased with the results because the rods I used were really small so my curls turned out really tight. Not the look I was going for. I decided to stretch m hair in a head band and that really helped to make my hair look more like how I wanted it to. Then, I decided to separate the curls a lot and I was able to achieve this look. That I call my faux puff.

The puff is very cute and can be worn for many occasions. It's also very low maintenance. I simply tie my hair at night and then my hair is ready to go the next day.

Here are some pictures of the finished results

Hey Ladies!


I know it has been a very long time since I have made a post. Things have been really busy this summer but now that I have a little free time I decided to make this post!

I am currently 9 months post relaxer and I am considering going natural. My graduation was last month and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my hair. I wasn't sure if I wanted to braid my hair, wear my wig or just do something with my own hair. I decided that I wanted to try flat ironing my natural roots since it had been 9 months since I last flat ironed my hair. This was a very risky decision because I had no idea how it would turn out. Sometimes when flat ironed, natural hair looks a bit poofy if the right tools or products are not used.

I decided that I would try to make the best of what I had so I flat ironed my hair and pinned it up.

The Good:

My hair got straight and I was able to pin it up and my hair became more manageable.

The Bad (perhaps even terrible):

I noticed I have a lot of split ends all the way up my hair shaft. Im not sure if they were there before I flat ironed my hair. But I definitely noticed them after I flat ironed my hair. So I'm basically back to square one of my healthy hair journey. Seeing all the split ends was definitely heartbreaking.

Final Thoughts

Here are some pictures:

Thank you for reading my post!

Do you have any suggestions for flat ironing natural hair?

- Sarah

Hi Ladies!

I realized that I have not made a post in a very long time so this post is long over due. I have been wearing braids for the past few months and sometimes I don't have the time to rebraid my hair when it starts looking really bad. That's when I start to get creative! I have really only used 3 methods to conceal my new growth.

1. The use of gel or some form of edge control

As a demonstrated in this post I tend to put some gel on my edges to make the front of my hair look like it was freshly done. Here are the results.

2. The scarf

3. The "swoop"

Hello Ladies!

So a few weeks ago I did kinky twists for the first time. I really like them and I'm gonna compare kinky twists to box braids in this post. Keep in mind that I braid my hair myself so some of my pros and cons are more beneficial for someone who braids their own hair.

Kinky Twists

Pros
Cons

Box Braids

Overall

Do you prefer box braids or kinky twists?

Hello Everyone!

Hello Everyone!

This will be a short post on a protective style that I did last week. I decided that I didn't want to use any heat and I didn't want to do a twist out. I experimented with my hair for a bit and finally decided on a style that can be a protective style. A protective style basically hides the ends of your hair or "protects" them from drying out or breaking. Protective styles are perfect for the winter since the temperatures make our hair dry very easily. I did a cane row (braid) down the middle of my head and used a hair tie at the end to keep it from unraveling. To make this a true protective style, you can fold the ends of your hair into the hair tie. I found that this style was very easy to do and lasts effortlessly throughout the day. To add a little something to the look, I decided to wear a head band. Give it a try!

Relaxer Update Pictures

Nature's Bounty Biotin 2500 mcg 

Do you have any vitamins or oils that you incorporate in your hair journey that you find helps your hair to grow quickly? 

visit page

Hi Everyone!

After washing my hair, I sometimes like it to be straight. When I go to the hair dresser she would usually flat iron it or put some setters (rollers) in my hair and then stick me under the dryer.

Last year, I went on a no heat challenge but at that time I was wearing my hair curly so I didn't really need the heat. Now that I'm wearing my hair straight, I have been exploring different options to straightening my hair with no heat or with minimal heat.

I decided to simply wash my hair put some rollers in and air dry it. I'll show you what I did through pictures. If you have any questions please leave a comment!

Step 1:

Wash and condition my hair with the Cantu Shea Butter Shampoo and Cantu Shea Butter Rinse Out Conditioner. When I'm done washing my hair, I add the following things to it:

• Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Repair Cream
• ORS Incredibly Rich Olive Moisturizing Hair Lotion
• Coconut Oil 

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Do you have any special techniques for getting your hair straight without heat?

Thanks for reading!

- Sarah

Hello Everyone!

Here are 10 things that I found have helped me a lot on my hair journey so far (most recent picture below).

1. Vitamins

I usually take 1000 mcg of Biotin, as well as, One a Day Multivitamins for women. I found that these have helped my hair to grow stronger and healthier. They also help with overall wellness! Biotin is said to have lots of benefits, with one being promoting faster hair growth. These can be found in your local drugstore.

2. Fruits and Vegetables

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables have made a great impact on my hair journey. For the past two months, I have noticed that my hair has been growing faster than normal and the only thing that has changed is incorporating lots of fruits and veggies in my diet. Try it, it really works!

3. Going heatless

Going heatless has changed how my hair feels. My hair no longer feels dry and brittle. I used to be very bad and would flat iron my hair every morning before leaving for class ( DO NOT do this!). My hair would just feel very stiff and lifeless, plus it took a lot of time out of my mornings.

4. Moisture, Moisture, Moisture!

I know many people moisturize and seal every night before bed, but I find this is too much for my hair. It would simply weigh it down and make it very oily. Instead, I would moisturize and seal directly after washing my hair, and then again during the week whenever my hair started to feel dry.

Deep conditioning is also something I incorporate in my regime in order to put added moisture in my hair. This makes my hair feel very soft and makes it a lot easier to comb through.

5. Detangle

I have a love-hate relationship with detangling. It takes a ridiculously long time to do buuut it is so amazing in getting rid of knots before washing my hair. It is definitely worth the time but I usually have to mentally prepare myself before doing it. I usually finger detangle and that is probably why it takes so long for me.

6. The Inversion Method

7. Twist Outs

8. Patience

Last but not least, patience! Taking care of your hair takes time. Sometimes I feel tempted to just flat iron it, skip deep conditioning it or stop stretching my relaxers, but I have to just take a step back and keep my eyes on the healthy hair prize! If you are ever feeling discouraged you should do that too! Just take a deep breath and continue taking great care of your hair, because it is worth it!


Thank you for reading!
- Sarah

Do you have any tips to share that help your hair to flourish? I would love to hear them!