In this style, I combed out my hair in sections with 'Black Vanilla Combing Creme'. Then I made jumbo size two strand twists as seen in the pictures on the left of the photo above. I wore that style for about a week then I unravelled the twists which created crinkles in my hair from the twists. I gathered my hair into a high side pony tail and held it with a banana clip as can be seen above. I loved the style and it was a beautiful day to wear my hair that way. Someone asked "is that your real hair?" The person was surprised when I confirmed as true.
Once in a while someone will inquire of whether my hair is my real hair. I ask myself why is that? Perhaps it's because women of my skin tone have been living under the lie that having long natural beautiful hair is impossible for them. Women of African descent have been known for wearing artificial hair for many decades that whenever one of us reveals our real hair that is long, it is unheard of, never been seen, a phenomena!
By the grace of God, I am a testimony of the ability and reality of long hair attainment as an African woman. My hair is past my waist in length, and it is completely natural. I have never applied relaxers to my hair nor have I used any artificial hair extensions. I prioritize my hair by including it in my schedule - I have a routine for my hair. I keep a consistent wash and style routine. I nurture it by using coconut oil and creams to keep it hydrated. Lastly, I am patient when I comb it - I am not aggressive when combing. I take my time because I know that if my hair will produce good results for me, I must be gentle with it because it is delicate.
Naturally curly hair requires commitment, nurture, priority and patience. Many of us do not prioritize nor nurture our hair. We relegate it to the background and somehow expect to have beautiful hair - it doesn't work that way! There is no magic! You have to put in the work to reap the benefits. God created us equally to be able to attain long beautiful natural hair. However, it demands 'work' on your part. I would encourage you to start by removing those long standing extensions and begin to get to know your own hair - it's texture, color, behaviors, and needs! Let us quit hiding our hair under long weaves and extensions, and embrace our natural hair as God intended it, for it is good! Exposure of our hair will hopefully challenge us to prioritize it, and nurture it as needed.
I want to address our mothers because so often our hair relaxers and extensions start with them. They bring us up relaxing and applying artificial hairs to our hair because they don't know how to 'deal' with our natural hair. Mothers, I want to encourage you that you don't have to go the artificial route. Relaxers and hair extensions damage our natural hair. It causes breakage which affects your daughter/s hair in the long run. Relaxers and hair extensions also causes young girls to have a false image and view of beauty - for some young girls if they don't relax or use artificial hair they don't feel beautiful.
That is disturbing, and should not be the case. As a mother you have a huge impact on your daughter/s and their view of beauty stems from the way you nurture them from childhood especially as it pertains to hair. If you are a mother out there and are struggling with how to care for your daughter's hair please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I will by the grace of God assist you with the little that I know.
I pray you are encouraged!
-Charity
wow, this is fabulous. I am kind of astunded that your hair is past waist length. I was thinking it would be about waiste length. Is it not kinda heavy for you.
ReplyDeleteI will like to know your hiar routines. I have mine but I would like to know if there is any other thing that I can do.Like you I am grooming my natural hair and I have never used relaxers. Thumbs up to you
Hi sis Ruth,
DeleteThanks for the compliment. The hair naturally shrinks more than 50% of it's length. I usually style my hair in either a thread style or twists and occasionally I wear it like you see in the post above. I don't wear it in such a way that it is too heavy. The only time I feel it's 'heavy' is during the wash process.
I'm glad to hear that you've never used relaxers. Honestly, my routine has not changed much. Lately I wash my hair once every two weeks or so. After I wash and condition, I will either twist or plait it with thread. And repeat the process.
I think that by the grace of God, I laid a good foundation when I started doing my hair on my own. Deep conditioning was routine for me then - I don't deep condition my hair now. I simply kept my conditioner in my hair for about 30mins to an hour - sometimes I added coconut oil or olive oil to my hair in addition to the conditioner.
I definitely recommend deep conditioning if you have not been doing that. It strengthens the hair, and aids in the elasticity of the hair. Then I began to avoid combing my hair dry - I only comb it when has conditioner in it. I also took pleasure in protecting the ends of my hair by doing 'protective styles.'
The ends of the hair are the oldest part of the hair and hair retention depends on how 'strong' the ends of your hair are - if you have brittle and dry ends, the hair will not be able to get long, it will always break because of weak ends - weak ends are not able to sustain new growth to produce longer hair.
So every time you do your hair make sure that you put extra cream or oil at the ends of your hair and don't always expose the ends of your hair.
I hope this helps.
Have a blessed week.
-Charity
Woow, you hair is soo nice. Am in love with it. I thank God soo much for your hair. In fact it has encouraged me to continue keeping my hair.
ReplyDeletePlease I wanna ask if it's advisable using a normal thread in plaiting your hair.
I actually have a very soft and light hair. It breaks soo much especially when I braid it and comb it after loosing and washing. And whn I don't braid it, it doesn't seem to grow fast.
As my sister said. We will love to know your hair routine.. The kind of hair styles you make, how long you keep, the creams you use, how often you wash your beautiful hair and probably What you use in washing it.maybe a normal soap or shampoo etc.
I will be Soooooo glad to hear from you.
+233577372115- please dats my number. In case maybe you will like to call.
Thank you soo much for your time.. God richly bless and enlarge your cost. Amen
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHello 'Kezy kabs',
DeleteThanks for visiting the blog. Thank you for the nice compliments. I'm glad my hair has encouraged you to continue keeping your hair! Praise God! Yes, I use 'normal' thread to plait my hair. But I don't plait my hair with thread too often. It is advisable to use thread for your hair but please keep it at a minimum - threaded hair that is too tight can as well cause breakage especially at the hairline of the hair. You can also do cornrows in your hair or twists as an alternative.
It sounds like you have been combing hair dry. Please try and avoid combing your hair dry if that has been the case. Our hair is very delicate and very susceptible to breakage essentially while combing.
Before you comb, be sure that you add a little water and some cream to soften it - sometime you may even apply conditioner. Also, if you keep hairstyles in for a very long time like a month or so, you are likely to experience a lot of breakage after you loosen the hair.
The hair should not be kept under long standing hairstyles - it needs to be cared for and nourished on a regular basis. In regards to my routine, you may read my comment above. But I also have a few posts on this site where I explain methods and techniques that have helped and continue to help me in my hair journey.
Please visit these links:
http://modestic-elegance.blogspot.com/2014/01/curly-hair-care-routine.html
http://modestic-elegance.blogspot.com/2015/02/curly-hair-testimony.html
http://modestic-elegance.blogspot.com/2015/11/curly-hair-when-it-seems-my-hair-isnt.html
http://modestic-elegance.blogspot.com/2015/06/curly-hair-products-and-tools-for-care.html
I pray it helps!
Have a blessed week.
-Charity