MY Q&A ON CURLYNIKKI.COM

CN: Were you a long term or short term transitioner, and why?

I was a long term transitioner-- 8 months. In the beginning I wasn't really planning to transition... I usually stretched relaxers for 5 months at a time. I was 4 months into a stretch when I realized I just wanted to be natural!

CN: When did you BC? What was your initial reaction to your natural hair?

I BC'ed on May 27th 2009 . I could see the difference between my natural hair and my relaxed hair-- it was so much healthier and thicker! I couldn't wait any longer and decided to cut it off. At first, I really didn't know what to think... I didn't have any ideas on how I was going to style it, or care for it, so I braided it up. The braids were in for about a week before I told myself that there was no reason to hide from my BC. The time had come for me to learn how to deal with the new texture and embrace my short hair.

CN: How did family and friends react to the new you? What was your response to them?

I hadn't told anybody I was going to do it, not even my fiance. People asked me why I did it, and I shared my reasons with them frankly. In the end, I decided it didn't matter what people thought! I also realized that hair is hair and it would grow back in no time.

CN: What was your staple hair style during the transition?

I always wore a beanie hat with my bangs flat ironed.

CN: How did you moisturize your hair to prevent breakage at the new growth line?

I was and still am using water and shea butter, and sealing with coconut oil.

CN: Why did you choose to go natural?

I was damaging my hair so bad! I had no clue that my actions were keeping my hair above shoulder length all those years. Researching online has taught me how to care for and style my natural hair. Seeing so many beautiful women with natural hair inspired me to take the leap as well. Now I'm in love with it so much, that my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner!!!

I also have a blog documenting my natural hair journey @ mizzangieshair.blogspot.com

CURLY NIKKI !! A STORY OF A TRANSITION .

ALL OF THESE WEBSITES THAT I BELONG TO ,HAVE MADE THIS WHOLE NATURAL JOURNEY VERY EASY FOR ME. I KNOW THAT WITHOUT THEM ,I MAY HAVE NOT LASTED THIS LONG.ALONG WITH MY FEATURED PHOTO ON HAIRLISTA,I WAS ALSO FEATURED ON NATURALSUNSHINE.NING.COM,AND I HAVE A STORY OF A TRANSITION ON CURLYNIKKI.COM .I'M SO HAPPY THAT I'M GETTING ALL OF THIS LOVE IN THE NATURAL HAIR COMMUNITY ,AND IT MAKES ME WANNA DO ALOT MORE VIDEOS, AND TUTORIALS ,FOR THOSE OUT THERE WHO WANNA GO NATURAL AS WELL.SO IF YOU ARE TRANSITIONING TO NATURAL OR ARE NATURAL AND HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO ,CHECK OUT THESE AWESOME SITES I KNOW FOR A FACT THEY WILL HELP YOU ALONG YOUR JOURNEY AS MUCH AS THEY HAVE HELPED ME.

YAY !!! MY PHOTO HAS BEEN FEATURED .

IM SUPER EXCITED,TODAY MY PHOTO HAS BEEN FEATURED ON HAIRLISTA HAIR NETWORK.JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT CAUSE I'VE BEEN WONDERING WHAT IT TOOK TO GET IT FEATURED LOL .I FEEL LIKE IM ACCEPTING AN AWARD LOL!!!SO THANKS TO YOU SUNSHYNE OF HAIRLISTA AND I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING MANY MORE OF MY PICS FEATURED.YAY!!!!

CAN YOU FEEL YOUR HAIR GROW ??

I SWEAR,I'M CONVINCED I CAN FEEL IT WHEN MY HAIR IS GROWING.IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE ??? LOL !!! ITS ONLY IN CERTAIN AREAS OF MY HEAD AT A TIME AND ITS A TINGLING FEELING .IT COMES AND GOES BUT RETURNS IN THE SAME AREA IT STARTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.ON SUNDAY NIGHT I DEEP TREATED,CO-WASHED THEN BLEW OUT MY HAIR,AS YOU CAN SEE IN MY PREVIOUS BLOG POST TITLED MY FIRST BLOW OUT.MY HAIR TURNED OUT VERY STRAIGHT ,AS A MATTER OF FACT IT EVEN HAD SOME SWAY WHENEVER I SHOOK MY HEAD FROM SIDE TO SIDE. THIS MORNING I BRAIDED MY HAIR INTO 6 BIG FRENCH BRAIDS. THE BRAIDS WERE NOT INTENDED TO BE SHOWN TO ANYONE CAUSE I WAS GONNA WEAR A BEANIE TO COVER IT UP,ITS FREEZING WHERE I LIVE RIGHT NOW AND I NEED AS MUCH PROTECTION FOR MY HAIR AS I CAN GET.IN THE EVENING AFTER WORK AND AFTER MY WORK OUT I FELT THE TINGLING AGAIN ,I DECIDED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE AREA IN THE MIRROR AND I SAW LITTLE WAVES OF ABOUT A HALF AN INCH IN THAT AREA ONLY,IT WAS EXACTLY LIKE GETTING NEW GROWTH WHEN I WAS RELAXED.YOU PROBABLY WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE IT AS GOOD BUT HERE ARE SOME PICS.
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK,CAN YOU ACTUALLY FEEL YOUR HAIR GROWING?

MY FIRST BLOW OUT !!

SO I DID DECIDE THAT I WASN'T GOING TO PUT TOO MUCH DIRECT HEAT ON MY HAIR, BUT I FIGURED I'VE BEEN COMPLETELY NATURAL FOR 6 MONTHS AND I DESERVED TO SEE HOW MUCH MY HAIR HAS GROWN. I ONLY USED THE BLOW DRYER ON A MEDIUM HEAT SETTING ON LOW PLUS A HEAT PROTECTOR SO I DON'T FEEL LIKE I DID ANY DAMAGE . SO HERE ARE THE PICS,KEEP IN MIND I TRANSITIONED FOR 8 MONTHS BEFORE I BC'ED (BIG CHOPPED) IN MAY 27TH OF 2009 AND I HAD TWO TRIMS SINCE THEN.

YAY!!!!! MY NEW DISCOVERY

WITH THIS BEING MY FIRST TIME NATURAL ,I UNDERSTAND THAT STYLING MY HAIR EVERYDAY WILL BE TRIAL AND ERROR .DOING RESEARCH ONLINE HAS HELPED ALOT ,BUT PLAYING AROUND IN MY HAIR WITH DIFFERENT STYLES HAS HELPED AS WELL.WE ALL SOON FIND FAVORITES THAT WORK THE BEST FOR OUR HAIR.MINE IS STYLING AND DEFINING MY HAIR WITH ECO STYLER GEL.FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE SEEN MY VIDEO ON HOW I DEFINE MY CURLS ON YOU TUBE YOU'VE SEEN HOW IT LOOKS BUT BY THE TIME IT DRIES IT SHRINKS RIGHT UP TO MY SCALP.I MEAN I LOVE THIS STYLE AND I JUST CAN'T WAIT UNTIL MY HAIR GROWS OUT SOME MORE SO WHEN IT SHRINKS ,IT WOULDN'T BE SO BAD.THIS PAST WEEKEND I DID MY FAVORITE STYLE AGAIN BUT THIS TIME I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT HOW I CAN KEEP THE SAME LENGTH OF MY WET HAIR WHEN IT DRIES. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID , I DID!!! I'LL BE POSTING A VIDEO ON YOU TUBE ON HOW I ACHIEVED MY STRETCHED OUT DEFINED CURLS .

PROTEIN AND MOISTURE BALANCE

Do you find random hairs in your comb, on your shirt, on your sinks and on your bathroom floors? Are you finding hair everywhere but securely upon your head? What is going on? You may have a problem with hair breakage. For black hair in particular, hair breakage is typically
The Fine Art of Protein and Moisture Balancing for Black Hair Care
a result of an imbalance of important forces within the hair strand: moisture and protein levels.

Moisture

Hair needs water to maintain its elasticity, or ability to stretch. Since water is the ultimate moisturizer, water-based products are best for really getting the greatest moisture benefit.

Moisturizers are simply products that are water-based and nourish your hair deep within the strand. Products with moisturizing properties tend to be your conditioners and other specific moisturizer sprays or creams. Moisturizers may also contain large amounts of protein, but these protein based moisturizers do not have the moisturizing benefit that moisture-based moisturizers have. Check labels to gauge protein content. Good moisturizers will not contain cheap, filler ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, or lanolin. Avoid products that claim moisturizing benefits and contain these ingredients. There is nothing moisturizing about them! Petrolatum and mineral oil are sealants that seal out the precious moisture our hair needs.

Sealing in your Moisturizers:

Our hair naturally contains moisture, but because our hair is also naturally porous, keeping the moisture inside is a difficult task. Providing additional sources of outside moisture, or external moisture supplementation, is a must for black hair care. Water molecules and moisture from these supplemental moisturizing products easily pass into the hair shaft, but they pass out just as easily. The moisture you apply needs to held in by something. Oil.

Natural oils like jojoba, olive, carrot, or coconut oil seem to work best.

AFTER THE BRAIDS!!!

THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN AFTER I TOOK OUT MY BRAIDS,I HAD LEFT THEM IN FOR A MONTH CAUSE IT WAS ALL I COULD TAKE.LOOK HOW LONG ITS GETTING YIPPEE.....

BRAIDS..... AS A PROTECTIVE STYLE!!

IN OCTOBER I TRIED THE BRAID THING AGAIN.IT WAS BEGINNING TO GET COLDER WHERE I LIVE AND I DIDN'T WANT TO DO THE WASH AND GO'S ANYMORE.EVERY NIGHT I MOISTURIZED AND SEALED WITH WATER,SHEA BUTTER AND COCONUT OIL AND SLEPT IN A SATIN CAP.I WANTED TO PUSH THE STYLE UNTIL NOVEMBER 27TH WHICH MARKED MY 6 MONTHS NATURAL BUT I COULDN'T CONTINUE WITH THE ITCHES ANY LONGER LOL ,SO IT WAS TIME TO TAKE THEM OUT AND DO A CLARIFY SHAMPOO.

ELASTA QP SMOOTH AS SILK STYLING GEL

THESE PICTURES ARE WHEN I FIRST FOUND OUT HOW TO DEFINE MY CURLS,I USED ELASTA QP GEL AND I LIKED IT AT THE TIME ,IT DOESN'T DRY HARD AT ALL AND IS VERY SOFT TO THE TOUCH.I'M NOT SURE I LIKE THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY HOLD ONCE ITS DRIED,MAYBE I'LL TRY IT AGAIN ONCE MY HAIR IS A LITTLE LONGER.THIS IS ABOUT 3 MONTHS POST BIG CHOP.

ECO STYLER CURLS WHEN HAIR IS DRIED

THESE PICS ARE OF MY HAIR ONCE IT WAS ALL DRY,I LOSE ABOUT TWO INCHES WHEN MY HAIR DRIES,WHICH SUCKS LOL.

ECO STYLER GEL CURLS

I HAVE BEEN USING ECO STYLER GEL FOR THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS TO DEFINE MY CURLS AND I LOVE IT.BEFORE THE ECO STYLER I WAS USING ELASTA QP SMOOTH AS SILK STYLING GEL TO DEFINE MY CURLS AND LET ME TELL YOU THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY MY HAIR LOOKS IN THE END.THE ECO STYLER IS SORT OF HEAVIER ,SO IT HELPS MY HAIR HANG MORE,WHICH I LOVE .I'VE LEARNED ALOT THOUGH ABOUT HOW TO USE THE GEL .BEFORE APPLYING THE ECO STYLER ,BE SURE TO MOISTURIZE AND SEAL .I USE WATER,SHEA BUTTER THEN SEAL WITH COCONUT OIL. DON'T USE TOO MUCH OR IT WILL DRY REALLY HARD,ECO STYLER GEL IS GREAT FOR SECOND AND THIRD DAY HAIR BECAUSE IT CAN BE REACTIVATED WITH WATER.THIS AT ABOUT 5 MONTHS POST BIG CHOP.