Natural Hair Update: My not-so Teeny Weeny Afro TWA

Hey lovelies,

I hope everyone has had a lovely week and weekend as well. If you live in London, I bet you must be taking full advantage of the sun. The weather has been really wonderful and I am loving it all the way.

 I have had my braids in for almost 14 weeks; I just had to take it out. It took me 4 hours and some to take it all out completely; almost longer than it took to put them in. It's simply because I was trying to be really careful; I did not want to lose a lot of hair due to tangling. Taking it out was a really tedious process and I silently vowed not to let my braids stay in for too long. I made a small de-tangling mixture made up of some leave in conditioner (ORS curls unleashed leave in), coconut oil, olive oil and some water. 

I mixed it thoroughly and gently took out one braid, applied the mixture to the tangled middle ( where some dust/dirt had built up), gently softened it and picked it with my traditional African comb/pick. Voila, braid out, hair intact, minimal hair loss. I wish I could say I didn't lose any hair but I would be lying. Research shows that an average female loses about 100 hair strands everyday through combing, washing, styling or any form of manipulation or just natural hair shedding. Therefore, it would be unrealistic to expect no hair loss after 14 weeks but it was very minimal compared to my former "ain't nobody got time for that" way of removing my braids. Ever since I went natural, I have been taking care of my hair more and I try my best to prevent any unnecessary loss. Below is a picture of a quick throwback in March after I had my big chop; I still had a little 'fro and looking back now in July has made me amazed at how it has progressed.

After taking out my braids, honestly, I was super exhausted because I took it out Friday night/wee hours of Saturday morning. I was really surprised my hair had grown out a little bit. My teeny weeny Afro is slowly turning into a mini mane. Very Very Pleased. 

Went to have a nice quick wash. I wish I could say I used a sulfate free shampoo, I was naughty, I wanted some lather because I felt my hair needed a super clean vigorous wash. I used my Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Shampoo and conditioned with the Hello Hydration conditioner. By this time, my hair had shrunk to the tiniest size ever. I could not care less as I was so so tired. I dried it with my old T-shirt, put in some leave in conditioner and a mixture of oils and corn rowed it to avoid further shrinkage.

  

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Next morning (or noon because I slept around 6am ish), I took the corn rows out and had my lovely lil' fro. I was quite pleased at its growth and texture. I am not sure if my hair fits any of the classifications properly but I think it's somewhere between a 4B and 4C, maybe a 4B+ or  a 4C-...hahaha. If you know what texture my hair is, let me know.

I have not tried any styling yet, I just rocked my fro for Saturday and I had to think of what to do to it bearing in mind that I don't want to have to do my hair every morning. I eventually opted for a 3/4th wig with part of my hair out which I dread because I have to straighten it. I guess I would manage it before having another set of braids done next week. 

I thought it would be nice to update you all on my natural hair journey. I am definitely nowhere near a natural hair guru, i learn a lot from many of the hair gurus from Youtube and also on some curly hair websites. I can't say there is any set way to encourage hair growth apart from a lot of research, trial and error. However, one thing that has helped my hair growth has been avoiding chemicals (relaxers and dyes- going natural), minimal or no heat (I always let my hair air dry) and minimal manipulation (protective styling e.g. Braids) and a lot of patience. Although I could be lazy when it comes to anything hair, I try to make an effort with my natural hair when it is out. That's the main reason why I love braids because it gives you the freedom of skipping any hair styling in the morning; I literally wake up, spritz my hair with some water, leave in conditioner and oil in a mixture, massage it and i'm out of the door.

I can't wait to have my next braids in next week, what kind of braids do you think I should get?Box braids, feathers, twists or kinky? Leave a comment. I hope I did not bore you guys with this post but you know all I have got is love for you all.... I hope you enjoy the rest of the week and catch you in my next post soon...xxx