Hello World

Hey,

My name is Sylvia and I’m 22 years old, I started this blog to discuss natural hair and my trials and tribulations with my journey. I began my journey in the Summer of 2006 and did the big chop after a month and a half of transitioning, I did it myself at home but the next day my mom’s friend shaped it up so I don’t look like who shot John,lol. My hair was a about a half of an inch long, but I loved it! I was self conscious about it, I loved wearing it out…at home. It seemed like every time that I would go out people were staring at me, so I would sometimes cover it up with a head scarf, hat, or a wig. In the Spring of 2007 I had a major setback and relaxed my hair :-(, I hated it and the only reason I did was because my ex-boyfriend hated my natural hair and I was trying to make him happy. At first I tried to relax my hair at home by myself, but I had to go to the salon and get a corrective relaxer, it was ok at first but it just wasn’t me anymore. After breaking things off with him, I started a new relationship and kept thinking about how much I missed my natural hair, so I told my current boyfriend I was going to go natural again, he supported the idea of natural but didn’t really want me to cut my hair. By this point I had a relaxer for about 13 months and I went to the salon for maintenance (relaxers and roller wraps). I began my second journey for about month to two months using a half wig and a wet and wavy ponytail. Then in Spring 2008 I did the big chop, I had my boyfriend’s barber do it, and I loved it. My TWA was about a good inch all around, my co-workers gave me a second glance when I started my shift (I was one of the few Blacks that worked there), but they all seemed to like it. This time around though it seemed like my hair different from my first journey, at first I thought it was scab hair because it didn’t react to the products that I used on my hair the first time I went natural. So I started to researching natural hair care and stalking Natural hair groups for any information that could give me an explanation. From all of the research I learned I have 4a/b hair, which means I need tons and tons of moisture, and that a lot of the products I was using at the time had ingredients that was drying out my hair or stripping it of my natural oils. Many message boards suggested that I co-wash, and find a good moisturizer such as Shea butter or water/glycerin mix. So I began reading every label of every product, it seemed like time would fly by when trying to find a good shampoo or conditioner. After of few days of reading labels for hours at a time, I went to YouTube and watched other naturals give product reviews and give their advice on what to use and how to use it. My top five favorites are BlackOnyxx77, Misskrisnew, Prettydimples01, Familygoingnatural, and Jerseystylezz. I learned a lot from them and others. The products that I use now are Nubian Heritage Shea Butter Lavender and Wildflowers, Suave Conditioner Pomegranate for my co-wash, Head and Shoulders for my shampoo (once a month ), Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing Pak for my deep conditioning, and pure water for a refresher. My styling tools would be Goody’s Ouchless headbands and ponytail holders, my paddle brush, a rat tail comb for parting, and sometimes bobby pins. I try to co-wash weekly and I either two strand my twist for a protective style that will last for about two weeks or I will wear it in a puff. When I co-wash my hair I detangle in the shower with a paddle brush, I find that this works better then a wide tooth comb and I don’t have a much hair loss this way. I only shampoo and detangle once a month. I don’t use dyes in my hair currently, I have in the past and had to cut my hair, and I don’t use heat. Well that’s all for now… Thanks for reading my blog…Much love and God Bless.