Why stay natural ?I went natural by accident. I started clipping the ends of my relaxed hair, and before I knew it, it turned into a BC.
I stay natural because I hate the feeling of the demarcation line between new growth and straight hair; natural hair is less time consuming - I do not have to baby it as I did my relaxed hair. I have not been to the hairdresser in years - I couldn't do that relaxed. I retain more length as a natural than I did relax.
What’s your usual regimen?
For convenience, whenever I am in school, I box braid with kinky extensions, and spray a daily moisture solution (water based on my braids. Every Saturday, my choice of shampoo is to rinse my hair with Shaikarai (mixed with hot water), massage the scalp, rinse and air-dry. When my hair is out of braids and loose, I henna every month; every Saturday I rinse with my Shaikarai mix, DC under my pibbs for 30 minutes and I alternate between flat ironing (maybe 4 X per year), twisting or a loose up-do.
What's your heat styling regimen?
I slept overnight with henna applied to my hair. On wash day after rinsing the henna out I rollerset and stayed under the dryer for 35mins. Products used:
Karmin Iron to straighten
Redken Heat Glide for protection
Elucence Silk hydrating elixir for moisture and shine
Damage Control Leave-In
Water for setting hair
After taking the setters out, I brushed the hair out, sprayed protector on each section and flat iron. I turned the iron up to 350, flipped the back up when I curled and that's about it.
Any tips for fellow heat styled naturals?
Try to minimize heat as much as possible. I am 4a, recently experimented with rollersetting, and I love it! It is the perfect way to get the hair straight with no heat damage. A rollerset before flat ironing is a healthier way to get natural hair straight. It minimizes the need to go over the hair strands with the flatiron more than once. This reduces heat damage.
See more of Mystic on her Fotki.
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