I Need a Regimen...

SO LATELY I'VE BEEN FEELING KINDA LOST...Like I don't know what to do next with my hair. I will say that I have finally managed to wear my hair out everyday for the last week and a half (YAY!). For the first two and a half months after my big chop, I wore my hair in braids or covered it with a wig...not that I was ashamed of my kinky hair, though; I think it had more to do with how SHORT it was. My hair has always been at least shoulder length, and right before my first BC it was between my shoulder blades. So to see it go from there to a 2 inch TWA was a bit of a shock :)

I guess I have "somewhat" of a regimen. I co-wash my hair EVERYDAY...sometimes twice a day, because if I don't it is a matted mess and it gets extremely dry by the end of the day. I co-wash with Pantene "Texturize" conditioner which has a really creamy feel and a clean smell to it. I found a huge bottle on clearance at Target for about $4. Afterwards, I lightly pat out excess water and apply Herbal Essence's Hello Hydration all over as a leave-in. Reading other natural blogs, I know I should be sealing with oil, but I haven't quite figured out how to do this without disturbing the curl pattern as it dries (any suggestions?) and going to work with gooey/white hair. My hair looks fab by the time I get to work...by the end of the day? Not so much....

Sometimes I apply warm water to my hair to "revive" the dried leave-in conditioner..and sleep with a shower cap under my satin bonnet..then wake up and repeat. I will be doing my first deep conditioner this weekend with a Dr. Miracle's Treatment and hope to try my first coil out.. I've noticed that my hair fingercoils really well. Wish me luck! I will post pics afterwards..

How These Curls Came to Be...

First things first...I mean, I just wanna put this out there...I am truly a NOVICE when it comes to natural haircare. I am learning...I am evolving...and I am LOVING EVERY MOMENT OF IT!! So this blog will be for those who are new to this natural journey; those who may have recently Big Chopped (BC'd); those who are just starting to transition to natural hair; or those who are just *thinking* about going natural and want to see someone else do it first....just in case.. :)

To tell you a little about myself, I am a young adult from Memphis, TN, by way of Atlanta,GA ; the second oldest of 9 children; a mother...all which will become apparent as this blog grows, and you all *really* get to know me. But right now, lets just get to the nitty gritty of it all...how CurlyLikeMe came to be ...

The Seed was Planted during the summer of 2008. In search of a no fuss, "roll out of the bed in the morning" style I resorted to kinky twist for about two and a half months. Nothing special. I didn't use special products to keep my hair moisturized, didn't use a silk scarf to cover them at night...Nothing. I did wash them every two weeks or so, cuz I don't do dirty hair.. and they served their purpose. Two and a half months later I took them out to find that my real hair looked a hot-garbage mess!! The relaxed ends were matted and dry, it was broken off in different places, and just looked unhealthy overall. But my new growth looked amazing! It was shiny and soft..and to my surprise..coiled in the cutest little curls. I sat in the mirror for about an hour debating whether or not to just cut my relaxer out right then, but sadly, I relaxed it again.

The seed was watered during the fall of 2008 when I noticed that my great-grandmother was totally natural after about, oh, 50 some-odd years of sporting the relaxed look. While washing her hair one day, I noticed that her hair was curling all kinds of ways and it made me wonder what my hair would look like if I could ever get the courage to grow it out and endure months of looking like I "needed a perm." Yet and still, two weeks later, I relaxed my new growth...

The seed blossomed into a full blown mission shortly thereafter. I am not the type of person who jumps blindly into things, so I decided to research natural hair care to see if it was something that I was even capable of maintaining. The very first site I ran across was Mane and Chic, which was totally inspirational to me. I must have sat up until 2:00am reading her detailed story of transitioning and at that moment I knew there was no turning back. Going natural was something that I WAS going to do, so no time like the present to get started...

Fastforward to today...after a much shorter transition period than I *thought* I would have, I now have a Teeny Weeny Afro (TWA) that I am just growing to know and love. My BC was on February 12, 2009 (a funny story that will be told in a later post) and I have been totally natural ever since.

So that is where the story begins... and I am curious to see all the twists and turns (and coils!) as it unfolds... Something tells me its going to be a wild ride..so follow me!