Fresh Twists!

Hey everyone!

Yesterday, I got another installment of twists in my hair! They are very cute and bouncy. I hennaed my hair on Thursday, so it came out reddish brown, but in the twists, you can barely notice!

Just wanted to check in with you guys!

Morgan

It's Been A While...

Hey everyone!


It has been a while since I've posted! I am at orientation for my college as an incoming freshman so i have been very busy, lol. I have been doing the usual with my hair, moisturizing and sealing everyday, co-washing and regular washing as needed. I have not done a deep treatment yet because I am on a college campus and it's a little more difficult to do one. I will probably mix together the following ingredients:

Amla Powder
Brahmi Powder
Rose Water


Then leave on for a few hours with my heating cap, then rinse and co-wash with either HEHH or Suave Naturals!

I have a good feeling that this will make my hair feel stronger again!


Morgan

By the way....

I almost forgot to add that using henna on my twists came out great! My hair feels softer and stronger, even though I didn't leave it on for very long (45 mins at the most). Some of my hair is lighter than usual (my hair is already sandy brown) and added some coppery color to my strands. I was very happy with the results!! I will probably henna again in maybe 6-12 weeks.

French twist with my twists!

Good morning everyone!

Despite my efforts, my twists have gotten frizzier than ever! It's only been twelve days!! So to preserve the protective style, I will just be wearing a french twist for the next four days until Friday, when I get my next installment of twists done. I have to admit that I haven't been following my own advice on how to keep twists un-frizzy. I think I slept three days without a cap on a satin pillowcase which didn't exactly protect my hair. I feel really badly, because this time, I spent about 90 bucks on smaller twists. So maybe the bigger twists actually worked out. Hopefully I will get my act together and not mess things up this time! Lol.

Hennaing my twists right now!

Hello everyone,

On a whim, I decided to henna my hair. Not for the coloring benefits, but for the health benefits. It is said to strengthen the hair and loosen the curl pattern (which reduces fairy knots). I am now sitting under the dryer for the next 20 minutes or so because I don't have much time, but I will have been under for a total of 40 minutes or so. I hope that's enough. I will then follow up with a co-wash with a moisturizing conditioner (HEHH in my case) because henna is said to dry the hair, and will moisturize with my spritz mix. I have a dance class, so I don't have much time! I really want my hair to be stronger so that I can retain as much length as possible!

I will take pictures of the results a bit later!


Morgan

Twists are getting longer!

My twists are getting longer and im so excited! I was able to put my hair in a high ponytail. They are starting to gain some weight, lol. I haven't straightened it in forever, and I probably won't again until December or January of next year.


Just wanted to update!

Morgan

Pictures!

Hello everyone! Here are some pictures of my semi-mini twists! I could've had them smaller, but my twist out would've come out frizzy. I really like the outcome. I hope you like them! I started moisturizing and sealing yesterday. Little to no breakage here! I added some of my protein spritz to my moisturizing pray and I think it's working! :-). By the way, if you know newly natural people, please encourage them to join this blog! I would really like to see new naturals and their hair! I may even conduct mini-interviews on them and how their journey is going!

Hope you like the pictures!


Morgan

Mini Twists!

Last minute, I decided to get mini twists. They are very small and they make my hair look fuller in the twists. I am so happy with my decision, and I hope they last me longer than my usual 3 weeks! For the first few days, I will just spray my moisture and protein spritz on it but no sealing to reduce early on set frizz. I hope this will help with my breakage issues!

I will post pictures when I leave the salon!

Morgan

Hair is breaking off again! :-'(

Hello everyone,

It is a sad day for me. My hair is breaking off again and I am very unhappy. I think it's starved for protein. The protein spray I bought worked then I took a day or two off of it to prevent protein overload. My breakage started maybe yesterday.

maybe I am not as protein sensitive as I thought. ughhh. any suggestions on products that have mainly protein in them? I would really appreciate it!

Morgan

New interim style before getting two strands again!

Hi everyone,

My twist out has gotten old after 2-3 days of wearing it out, so I decided to twist my bang in small/medium sized twists and i pulled the rest of my hair back in a puff ( I have some pictures! They don't look amazing though, my face looks kind of fat using my webcam, lol).

Anyways, I like this style because it's cute for work and it's also a protective style! I can tell my hair is growing because in the twistout, my hair reached my shoulders and hit my collar. I think I will wear this style until tomorrow, then get my hair done Saturday morning. Sadly, I leave UPenn to go back to Saint Louis, so I won't be able to go to the same salon I go to in Philly. I am going to Swarthmore College, which is about 20 minutes away by train, so I may just commute once every 3 weeks or so. It's cheap to travel by train too, so it won't set me back a whole lot.

 Front View

 Bangs Side View

Bangs Side View #2


Hope you like it!!!

Morgan

Straightening hair once it gets long

Hello everyone!

I was wondering what your opinions are on stopping protective styling once your hair reaches a certain length. I plan on straightening my hair more often once it hits APL because it that's when the ends stop rubbing on your clothes as much. I think I may keep my hair mainly in twists and maybe straighten every month in between twisting and keep that style for a couple of weeks. What do you guys think? I won't be able to moisturize and seal while my hair is straightened because it will get puffy, but I think I would like my straight hair since I haven't worn it straight in maybe 5-6 months. But while it is in the twists, I will moisturize and seal everyday. I also like the idea of straightening my hair because my hair LOVES to tangle upon itself when it is in its natural state (even stretched while in twists). Maybe that will actually PREVENT breakage by keeping it straight and keeping all the knots at bay. I would really appreciate your opinions on this!

Twist out!

Hey everyone!

I am currently wearing my twist out right now and it looks very cute! I really like it. I will probably wear this until Thursday and get my hair done on Friday. My usual two strand twists! I have been seeing a lot of growth and I am really happy! This morning I saw some breakage, so maybe it's time for another dose of my protein spray! I don't really have any news to report, but I will start posting more about my hair more often so I can document my progress more easily!


Morgan

Saying no to the hot oil treatment for now.

I am saying no to the hot oil treatment right now. I am afraid it will make my twistout too frizzy due to the extra manipulation! What do you guys think? Am I on to something?

Rant about men and natural hair...

I personally have never gotten criticism about my natural hair. I once had a boyfriend who said he preferred straight hair, but then I dropped him like a hot tamale. LOL. If you don't like my natural hair, GET TO STEPPIN'. Anyways, I just don't understand why men don't like the way our hair grows out of our heads. Maybe because it's going against the European standard of beauty, but I think it's more than that. It just seems to elicit a visceral reaction of disgust from some men, and it bothers me! My ex-boyfriend who I broke up with because of that straight hair comment told one of my friends (who just went natural and was rocking a TWA style) to GO BACK TO AFRICA! I mean REALLY??? Who says that?? You may think it, but swallow your words. Why do some black men feel disgusted by the way our hair grows and acts? It just makes absolutely NO sense to me at all. I was reading an article about how people were tweeting about Gabby Douglas' hair, and I was like "go out and get a gold medal in gymnastics and see if your hair stays in place!!" her hair looked just like the other white girls' hair- slicked back in a ponytail with clips to tame flyaways. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT??? People (especially black men) need to go back to their roots and change their feelings about what really is beautiful! Yes, straight hair is beautiful, no denying that. BUT so is curly hair, coily hair, and kinky hair!!! If you want to wear your hair straight one day, then go ahead and straighten it. But don't have your only motive be to feel "beautiful". Your natural hair IS beautiful. And plus, I always say wear your natural hair out and if you attract a guy, then he's the right one. He's attracted to you for who YOU ARE, not because your hair is straight. I once met a guy who really liked me for my hair and the statement I was making for all black women out there. Now that I mention it, why am I not with him!?!? lol. I'll have to give him a call.

Now don't get me wrong, I know lots of men who absolutely LOVE my natural hair. It's just the ignorance that really gets to my core and makes me worry about humanity. How can the ignorant black men out there be so cruel to their sisters? That's the lowest they can get in my opinion. What do you guys think? Give me your opinions!


Morgan

The moment of truth!

Tomorrow is my moment of truth! I get to see my twistout! I am so excited! Twist out time is the best time of year! Lol.

Yesterday, I switched out my spritz bottle with Suave Naturals juicy green apple conditioner as opposed to my usual Hello Hydration. Not that I didn't like it, but I just wanted to see if all the cheapie conditioners work the same.

I found more breakage than usual in my hair this morning, so I think that my hair has enough protein from the Aphogee Restructurizer. I can just focus on giving my hair more moisture! My hair feels so soft and supple, and I think it's because the protein helps me retain moisture in my hair.

What are your opinions on cheapie conditioners? Are they good for moisturizing the hair? I feel like they have made a difference since using them in my spray bottle (less breakage, softer hair). Do you co-wash with them? What were your results?

Morgan

Hot Oil Massage!

Hello everybody!

I decided that before I take my twists out on Thursday night, I will do a hot oil massage for my scalp using Brahmi Oil and Almond Oil on Wednesday night. I will melt it (it comes kind of separated) and then do a nice massage on my scalp to encourage growth and shininess before I take out my twists! I will massage gently because I don't want to encourage frizz. My hair is actually growing and I am so happy! I need to keep it going!

It's definitely time to take out these twists. The frizz is kind of taking over! Lol. But it makes for a bigger twistout which I LOVE!

Thanks for reading!

Morgan

Twist Out! :).

Hey all!

My twists have lasted well throughout this whole process, and it's time to do a twist out. On thursday, I will take them down. Here is my takedown process:

- moisturize and seal the night before you take your twists out. I don't moisturize my hair much in twistouts to keep the curl pattern for the first two days.

- the day you take out your twists, use shea butter and stretch out your hair in sections with your hands. This elongates the curls and helps them "clump" better. Shea butter works best for me, but whatever butter, like mango butter, works.

I find that this way, my twistout comes out amazing and stays un-frizzy for a long time.

Hope that helps!

Morgan

How to keep your two strand twists un-frizzy!

I have been using a new technique to keep my two strand twists from getting frizzy! Here are the steps:

1. Moisturize the hair with a SPRAY mix (not a butter or solid mix, this is heavy and causes frizz as you spread it along your twists).

2. Seal with any oil of your choice (to keep it light, if you are using castor oil, mix it with another light oil to thin it out).

The whole idea with this method is to keep the product as LIGHT as possible so as not to disturb the twists or displace the hair in twists.

3. Bantu knot your bang (optional). I just think this comes out really cute while protecting your bang from getting frizzy!

4. Wear the tightest sleep cap possible. This keeps the hair from being disturbed while you sleep. In bonnets, I found that the twists were doing their own thing and rubbing against each other and the fabric. This is why a satin pillowcase won't work either.

5. When you wake up in the morning, re-moisturize and seal your twists. Make sure that your twists get really damp because the moisture will add slip and lock the hair in the twist, therefore reducing stray hairs from coming out the twists. That is the same idea with using the oil.

This stuff might be obvious, but it took me a long time to get the perfect combination of steps to keep my hair from getting so frizzy so soon! I used to use a bonnet and it was a disaster. Also wearing the skull cap will keep your style!

Enjoy your frizz-free twists!


Morgan

Ever realize how much your hair has grown? :). Happy post!

I pulled my twists into a french roll last night to stretch them out for this morning. When I let my twists down, I realized that they were brushing the collar of my sweater. I did a little happy dance and proceeded to moisturize and seal. That made them shrink and fatten up a bit, which was good because they are now only touching the fabric a bit. Can't stand breakage due to factors I can change! Anybody realize how much their hair has grown one day? My hair has grown maybe an inch since coming to UPenn. I thought that my breakage that I wrote about earlier was jacking up my progress, but I guess not! Just two more inches to APL! SO EXCITED! My ultimate goal is APL (which some people think is short, but I just want my hair to be able to do lots of things), but if it grows longer then I won't cut it or anything.

I love the versatility of my hair in twists. I can just do so much with them while protecting my hair! Some things I can do with it are:

Twistouts
Down styles
Half-up half-down
French rolls
any updo style (50s retro is my favorite!)
bantu knots/knot outs (love this on my bang!)
and lots lots more!

My homemade deep conditioner

Hey all!

I made a homemade deep conditioner yesterday and here's the recipe:

1/2 Avocado

3 Tablespoons Amla Powder

2 Tablespoons Brahmi Powder

Dash of coconut water (for protein)

Water

Almond oil (however much you feel is enough to make a paste)

Castor oil

Avocado oil

The reason why I add coconut water to my mix is because it helps the hair retain protein while not adding too much protein to the hair. 

The avocado provides vitamins B,C, and E and moisturizes the hair.

Amla provides high amounts of vitamin c and is a natural conditioner 

Brahmi is said to help stimulate the scalp and promote growth.

And I mixed it all up to make a oily/watery paste (the coconut water separated it though)

I will see how it goes this weekend!

Thanks for reading!

Ayurvedic Oils

Hi all!

As you know, I bought a BUNCH of ayurvedic powders and oils (Major Product Junkie!). I infused amla and brahmi in almond oil and I seal with that. I also bought rose water and green tea (for breakage) yesterday to put in my spritz bottle. I think I might just make a separate spritz bottle because I don't want to mix the rose water with the conditioner. Just because I like the smell! :). Will give updates on how it makes my hair feel!

What's in your spritz bottle?

Ayurvedic Pre-Poo followed by conditioner wash

Hi everyone!

I would like to emphasize the great effects of ayurvedic hair products. I bought a bunch of indian hair products (amla powder, brahmi powder, neem, shikakai, brahmi-amla oil, and brahmi hair growth oil) and mixed them all up into one deep conditioning pre-poo. It made my hair feel very soft. I only left it on for about 15-20 minutes with a heating cap on to trap in the heat. Next time I have time, I might do something overnight to get the most benefit. It was easy to detangle and my curl pattern (while wet) was easy to deal with and loose, before it reverted back when dry. I will start doing this after every twist installment. This morning I lightly moisturized with my spritz mix and then sealed with brahmi-amla oil (it smells so good!). My hair is feeling great in its braid out. This is definitely a staple!!!

Missing my twists :-(

I miss my twists so much! They are so easy to handle and moisturize. I am currently wearing a puff that doesn't look great on me. I usually like my hair down. I will schedule an appointment for this week sometime, but I have a BUSY BUSY week. I go to New York next monday, so I am on a time crunch! Tomorrow I have work, wednesday I have work, thursday i have work, and Friday i have, ONCE AGAIN, work. No free time at all, I'm afraid.

By the way, I mixed my first deep conditioner using Ayurvedic powders, natural oils, and conditioner. I mixed shikakai (for cleansing, I won't be shampooing my hair), brahmi (for strength and conditioning), castor oil, grapeseed oil, and almond oil. I also mixed HEHH and NTM daily deep conditioner. I hope this works! I will put this on as a pre-poo/deep conditioner on dry/damp hair and then conditioner wash it out if there is grit still in my hair.

Any ideas for any other deep conditioner mixes? What do you guys use?


Thanks!


Morgan

Hair is still breaking :(

Hi everyone,

My hair is still breaking even in protective styles! I don't know what exactly I am doing wrong. I don't know whether my hair needs protein or moisture. It's hard to tell really. I just ordered Aphogee's green tea reconstructorizer spray, which I hope will deliver some protein to my strands. I also ordered Keracare's leave in conditioner, which will also deliver moisture to my hair (hopefully). So I will see what those products do for me. Any other ideas on what to use on my hair to help with breakage? My hair FEELS strong when I pull on shed hairs, but for some reason it's breaking off whenever I put my hands on it. UGH. It's never been this bad before! Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Morgan

Taking a break from the twists?

Hi everyone!

I think I am going to take a break from my staple style: my two strand twists!! I want to start wearing chunky twist outs everyday, which means twisting my hair every night. I just love the look of them! I also will get the chance to try out my ayurvedic oils and products without the frizz (by applying at night before twisting) and see where that takes me. If I get tired of the twist outs, I will wear a french roll, which is easy for my length of hair (two inches past collarbone). I think I will try this for three weeks and see if I get any major growth from the ayurvedic products and also the MSM I started taking. I am looking for a good boost of growth because I really want to hit APL by next January or February! What are your thoughts? Too much manipulation for my hair? I would appreciate your input!!!


Morgan

Oil Massages and Ayurvedic Deep Conditionings

Hey everyone!

I am going to start doing daily oil massages just to see how it affects my growth. Adding stimulation to the scalp everyday will help activate your follicles more and therefore help with growth (hopefully). Everybody is different however. I just received almond oil, castor oil, and grape seed oil (my favorite) in the mail. I will also be receiving avocado oil soon! I will switch off oils every two weeks to see which one affects my hair health for the better.

I also will start deep conditioning my hair overnight with a cheapie conditioner mixed with ayurvedic powders (amla, shikakai, and neem) to see if it strengthens my hair. I know I am experimenting a lot with my hair, but I still need to know what it likes and doesn't like! I also need to buy a new shampoo. I don't care about sulfates really, because I will only be doing it every so often. Do you guys have any ideas? What do you think about the ayurvedic powders? Should I add them to conditioner or just mix it with water and/or oil and see what happens?

Your comments are greatly appreciated!


Morgan

Bantu Knotted my Bang!!! (and other news...)

Last night, I bantu knotted my bang (in twists) and this morning I had this fabulous looking 50's style bang! I will start to bantu knot my whole head for sleep and see the results! :). Follow me @morganmizell93 on twitter and search for me on facebook for pictures! I also have an instagram and my username is morganmizell93 (i think lol).

I think I might do a pre-poo hot oil treatment soon. I need to strengthen my hair so that it will stop whatever breakage I might have. This Friday I will be taking out my twists and rock a twist out for maybe 3-5 days. I'm just a little worried about matting, which is another reason why I think the pre-poo with an oil will be good to do.

What oils do you guys recommend? I currently have Wonder 8 oil, castor oil, and grapeseed oil. I would really like to try avocado oil because of the nutrients packed in it. Thanks in advance for your answers!

Morgan

New Products!

I have been buying new products to add to my hair regimen. I recently bought Amla powder and Neem powder to increase my hair's strength and I bought some other carrier oils. They are listed below in my regimen.

Here it is:

Prepoo: Amla Powder (and Shikakai once I buy it) and Neem Powder mixed with castor and grapeseed oil. Put on a shower cap and heat up for 15 minutes.

Shampoo as needed or co-wash

Conditioner: Suave naturals with Amla and Neem powder (is this too much neem powder?)

Deep Conditioner: To be determined. I bought the ORS replenishing pack, but I don't know how my hair will respond.

Leave-in conditioner: HEHH mixed with water (or maybe a silicone free conditioner?) or Suave Naturals conditioner mixed with water.

Moisturizers: For twists, I will use my spritz mix. For braid-outs, I will use Kera Care moisturizing butter cream for rebraiding at night (I think that's what it's called lol) and my spritz mix the next morning if needed). For twistouts- mainly my spritz mix to avoid frizz.

Sealants: Grape seed oil, Castor oil, Avocado oil, Jojoba oil (maybe). My favorite so far is grape seed so I will stick to that right now and change it up later.

What do you guys think about my regimen? Any comments would be helpful!


Thanks!

Morgan

Morgan's Regimen

My Regimen so far!

1. In the morning I spritz my hair with my braid spray and infusium-23 repair and renew mix

2. Seal with grape seed oil or Wonder 8 oil, depending on whether I run out of grape seed. I need to order some more offline!

3. At night I follow the same first two steps and put on a sleep cap.

4. I wash my hair every three weeks with a sulfate shampoo because my twists get really dirty. I am trying to incorporate weekly co-washes with cheapie conditioners like Suave Naturals, which have pretty good ingredients and slip. My favorite is the apple flavor! Yum!

5. As of now (TBD), I deep condition once every three weeks, but I want to change that to bi-weekly. I deep condition with NTM Daily Deep Conditioner. Sit under a heating cap for 30 mins then rinse. I need to find another one with more natural ingredients though, just because I don't like silicone build-up. YUCK.

6. Light silicone spray after washes to reduce frizz, any product ideas? Garnier Fructis has had good results for me in the past.

7. Leave-in conditioner ??? Maybe a watered down conditioner like my HEHH mixed with water.

8. *maybe* protein treatment every 6-8 weeks to retain moisture in my hair. or even infusium repairologie or moisturologie products….i will look into those as potentials!

Any other suggestions ladies?

Thanks!

Morgan

Retaining length through deep conditioning with twists

I just realized how I am going to keep my twists in for three weeks without getting them too frizzy! I will spritz to moisturize with my water, infusium, and braid spray mix, then I will start sealing with a silicone spray mixed with my usual grape seed oil. I think this may work and i will also incorporate a sleeping cap that is not a bonnet, but keeps the twists flat to my head. This way I can just spray and fluff in the morning. I hope this works because I feel like I have nothing left to do. I don't mind my twists shrinking at all, but I like to keep them stretched to decrease the probability of getting single-strand knots. 

I will also need to implement some kind of deep conditioning regimen because my hair might be in need of a more intense moisture treatment. I packed a 3 oz. tube of Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner just to try that out. I think i will buy a stocking cap so that I can wash and not worry about my twists getting frizzy. Or I can do it between installments, but I feel like once every three weeks is a long time. What do you think? Along with twice daily moisturizing and sealing, is deep conditioning once every three weeks enough? I know lots of ladies who religiously do it every week, which is what I used to do when I had a TWA. I want to retain lots of my length, so maybe weekly is the way to go. I need your input!

Speaking of retaining length, I think that maybe once monthly to every 6 weeks I should be doing a protein treatment. My hair gets dry easily and I think it's because my hair doesn't have enough protein to lock the moisture in my hair. I bought a few packs of the Aphogee 2-step treatment and the balancing moisturizing conditioner because my hair was feeling extra mushy and was too elastic for my taste. I might do that treatment soon. I hope this prevents my breakage immensely, because I have been seeing a few broken hairs even just with moisturizing and sealing in the morning. 

I used to use castor oil as my sealant because it is a heavier oil than grape seed. But I think that the heaviness of the oil was pulling on my hair too much when I rubbed it onto the length of my hair, and I think that lead to breakage in the past. The grape seed oil helps solve that problem because it is so light and is very nourishing. It makes my hair really soft and supple until I need to moisturize again at night. 

I am on a flight now with nothing to do but write, lol. I definitely should've brought some kind of entertainment besides my computer. It just has articles on schizophrenia for my research job at UPenn and some Facebook photos. They oughta change that rule about Wifi, or at least let us put our phones on airplane mode so that we can listen to music. I have been on planes where there is Wifi and it is so fun! I don't know why they haven't translated it to all airlines, which sucks.

If you want to follow me on youtube, my username is itcomesnaturally93. Me and my friend did a segment on natural hair FAQ's that people may have about natural hair in general. I don't know if it's very informative, but I thought it came out pretty well. :). If you want to follow me on twitter, my username is @morganmizell93 and I will start tweeting about natural hair and quick tips on how to keep your hair healthy! I will also be starting a fotki to document my progress, even though I sort of do it on here. I just want to become a member so that I can see what other people's regimens look like and maybe tweak mine a bit.

 Happy hair journeys ladies!

Frizzy Two Strand Twists!

I have a serious problem! I got my hair two strand twisted last Friday and it's gotten sooo frizzy! I like the look of older two strand twists, but this frizz is out of control. I usually keep my twists in for three weeks, but I think that I can only deal with two or maybe two and a half, then wear a twist out for a few days. I tie my hair down every night and spritz it with braid spray and infusium and seal with grapeseed oil. I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Maybe not enough holding gel? My stylist used something different this week and I feel like my last twist installment had better hold.

Question #1: What holding gel do you use? Usually when im twisting my own hair, I use Ecostyler olive oil gel.

Question #2: How do you moisturize and seal without disturbing the twists too much? Should I put the oil and water-based moisturizers in the same spritz bottle? My only worry with that is that the oil might go on before the moisturizer and it will jut sit on top of my hair without any moisturizing properties.

HELP!

The importance of moisturizing and sealing the hair

I am going to stress the importance of moisturizing and sealing natural hair. My regimen for moisturizing and sealing is all over the place (still experimenting with different moisturizers), but the idea is the same. Here are the steps to moisturizing and sealing your hair. First, moisturize your hair with your favorite moisturizer (the mix I use right now is made of braid spray, infusium 23 leave-in, and water OR Hello Hydration by Herbal Essences and water). The second step is optional, which is to put a shower cap on top of your head to trap in body heat, which opens up the hair cuticle and allows moisture to penetrate the hair shaft. This method is called the baggy method. Thirdly, "seal" your hair with a hair oil of your choice. I prefer NO mineral oil, because it is know to clog pores and inhibit hair growth. So I use either castor oil or grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil is a light, runny oil that is great for absorbing into the hair without making it greasy. Castor oil is very heavy that I usually use to seal in water on freshly washed hair. If I want my twists to really hang to get the stretched longer look for my twists, I will use castor oil. BEWARE, castor oil used on twists can contribute to frizz since it's so darn heavy!

Moisturizing and sealing hair is especially important for natural hair. It is very difficult to retain moisture in natural hair and just moisturizing without sealing will cause the moisturizer to evaporate in little time. Since oil has larger molecules than water-based compounds, it coats the hair shaft while the moisturizer does its thing inside the hair cuticle. The oil then absorbs into the hair and nourishes it. So it's like killing two birds with one stone! I love moisturizing and sealing because it leaves my hair feeling so soft and moisturized. It also helps retain growth because moisturized hair has increased elasticity so it can stretch and then go back to its original state.

Thank you for reading!

Morgan

Twist Updo Pictures

I did an updo with my twists! That means that they are growing a lot longer. I will keep this updo in for a week so as to hide the frizz. It is a basic french twist that will hide most of my ends, so I'm happy! Before I moisturized my twists by baggying them with my spritz mix and then sealed with grapeseed oil. Pictures are below.

My natural hair!

I thought I'd add some pictures to give you a full picture of where my hair is now!
This first picture is my natural hair straightened. It is shoulder length in this picture.

This is my hair in (sort of) mini twists. They got kind of frizzy because I think my stylist didn't use enough holding gel or something. I will probably keep them in for two weeks as opposed to three. My hair has been growing nicely in the twists but also breaking, so I don't know if I've actually retained anything. I'd like to keep this blog updated with hair pictures so I can see the progress.

First post!

Hey all! This is my first post about my natural hair. I am so excited to be starting this blog because I want to educate people and get them to embrace their hair the way it grows out of their heads. I see that many people relax their hair because they feel they have to in order to get jobs and be successful and that just isn't the case!

I have another blog documenting my neuroscience research, but I didn't want to mix in natural hair stuff with it, so I decided to start a totally new blog! This blog will document everything natural hair and my own triumphs and issues with my own hair. Hopefully we can help each other out on this website so we can be on our way to thick, beautiful, long natural hair! I will post pictures later!