Stylereine: hair

How I Grew My Natural Hair

A lot of people have been asking me how I grew my natural hair, hence I decided to share it right here on the blog. I always encourage every lady that asks for my opinion to go natural. A lot of people are really scared about the stress, the money, the time, and the effort that is required to maintain natural hair. If you are scared, it is perfectly normal. I had very stubborn hair that no relaxer could tame, so the idea of going natural was very scary to me. When I started transitioning, the pain was unbearable and many times, I just wanted to relax and forget it, but my mama didn't raise a quitter so somehow I just continued.

After my big chop, the first hair products I used were Shea butter, Argan oil and Dark and Lovely hair moisturizer. I must say all these where good and to a large extent made my hair bearable. The products notwithstanding, I had to grow my hair myself. To do this, I started learning the styles that worked best for me. You know how it is when you are natural and still crave all the other hairstyles you could do with relaxed hair? I wanted to fix weavons and to a large extent they almost always required bonding. Let me sound it, bonding is not good for natural hair. All that glue on your scalp does a lot of damage to it. One beautiful weave I fixed sometime last year, left my front hair and edges barren, I almost wept when I saw it. So, I try to avoid bonding as much as possible.

I got to learn that braids were good too. I love braids, and I was happy I could wear them with my natural hair. Unfortunately, they didn't always last as much as I wanted. Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do Ghana weaving with your natural hair, yes you can! See pictures below.

Of all the hairstyles, faux locs are my go to. Every single time I make faux locs my hair stretches, and it always helps my hair grow too. Protective styles like crotchet works well for me too.

The thing about natural hair is that everybody is prescribing, everybody is giving tips and women are just rushing blindly. You need to know that what works for A might not work for B and vice versa. I have been telling people that I am not using any special product on my hair and they don't believe. I became a naturalista to escape all the harsh chemicals that comes with relaxed hair, as a naturalista I don't intend to resort to chemicals.

I use black soap to wash my hair, I don't have any special shampoo. I try as mush as possible to condition my hair however. Coconut oil and Shea butter are my favorite natural ingredients for my hair. I'm not into all that concoction for conditioning my hair, it works for many people. Honestly, I don't like stress and I don't usually have time to mix all the ingredients. When I start, I'll definitely share with you.

My secret ingredient is WATER! Water is the greatest mosturizer you can ever have. Nothing makes my hair soft like water, I have a spray bottle for my water and I take it along with me whenever I go to the salon. When the hair becomes tough and hard to comb, I simply spray my water. Every naturalista should have a spray bottle for water. Recently, I discovered Hair Wonder, the product is really good to my hair. I've tried out the cream only, I heard the shampoo and oil are equally good too, you should look into it.

Another thing that has helped my hair is my regular twists and braids. You know that period when you have just loosened you hair and you just want to flex your natural hair or you're just waiting for your next salon appointment? Don't just go to bed like that without either braiding your hair or twisting it. It makes it easier to comb out in the morning, and it gives you rich curls like mine in the picture below. Just partition your hair into segments and either braid it or twist it. It helps the hair retain moisture, thereby making it softer. Watch my social media accounts, I'll share a video on how to make the twists and braids.

Finally, you need to know your hair. Like I said earlier what works for A might not work for B. Whilst faux locs makes my hair longer, I know someone with weaker hair texture that faux locs cuts her hair. It's all about being observant and finding out for yourself what works for you. Don't get discouraged dear, not everyone has fast growing hair. I have fast growing hair, my hair is barely over a year and it's longer than some people that have gone natural for 3 years, and I'm not bombarding products. Don't compare your hair with someone's own, stay in your lane, eat healthy, befriend coconut oil and water, take care of your hair and shine.