On Hair...by pemora

I have been thinking about hair and hair maintenance a lot lately and was curious about how different folks deal with their own follicles. It is so interesting, given all the latest themes, trends and discussions about how to treat your hair.

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Hair stories after the jump.

Marie's hair:
My hair is thick, dark brown w/ about 25% grey (naturally, not that I’ve seen my “natural” color since I was 16), and getting wavier as I get older. After 30 years of short hair, I now have hair that falls just below my shoulder blades. I also have chunky bangs that fall just below my brows.

I spend a lot of time and money on my hair now that it’s longer.
Cut – bang trim every 2 weeks, cut every 8 weeks
Color – every 3 weeks (that grey is angry!)
Wash – every 3 days
Condition – every day
Moisturizing mask – once a week
Style – blow dry during the week during the school year. Air dry otherwise.

Products:
Shampoo – Kerastase’s Cristalliste or Shu Uemera’s Shusu Sleek
Conditioner – Same as above
Mask – Bumble and Bumble Mending Mask
Style products – Shu Uemera’s Essense Absolu (several times a day), B&B Brilliantine, B&B Surf Spray

Curlybrown's hair:

So according to Devachan curls types, my hair is considered Botticelli Curls. 

I tend to wash my hair once per week, sometimes twice depending on how often I work out and/or go to the pool. I wear my hair in a layered look (long layers). I use all natural products made by Devachan and Shea Moisture. I've tried Carol's Daughter and do not like them. I wash my hair with the shea moisture curl control shampoo and follow it with a shea moisture restorative conditioner milk where I finger detangle my hair in the shower. Depending on how dry my hair is I will put pure coconut oil in my hair followed my shea moisture enhancing smoothie followed by the curling souffle gel. I am growing my own aloe vera that I will add into my routine to seal my ends. At missDTM's suggestion I sleep with my hair wrapped in a silk scarf to maintain my curls for the next day and spray a homemade lavender spray to refresh my curls (lavender essential oil with purified water in a spray bottle). When I go on vacation b/c I have travel sized bottles I use Devacurl No poo, devacurl conditioner followed by arcangel and the set it free lock spray.

Des' hair:
My hair has been natural for a while. My hair has always been fine and doesn't really hold a style well (which is why I like weaves/wigs). But now it is downright fragile I think. It is 3c/4a.  I love the coils I have in the back and middle. But the front where I had bangs is the land of struggle curls. My hair is fairly dry so I try to avoid heavy products. 

I wash my hair once a week. I usually put some type of shea butter deep conditioner/oil mixture- like a little coconut oil or moroccan oil and put on a plastic cap and a silk scarf and go to bed. In the morning, I separate my hair into four sections and twist it (yes, think Miss Celie).  I co-wash my hair with Hello Hydration or Aussie Moist. My scalp is very sensitive so I massage it lightly. Rinse and put some leave in conditioner (cheapo Suave and mix it maybe w/a little Cantu natural shea butter deep conditioner). I put some type of light oil too to seal it  and twist it. Or let it go if I have somewhere to be. My daily hair routine starts with water. I drink lots of it and spray my hair twice a day w/ water and sometimes aloe vera leaf juice. As for the natural hair products, the can be overwhelming and expensive. I'm cheap. I like Cantu line. Shea moisture is a bit heavy for my hair though the Hair smoothie is cool. Carol's Daughter- ehh no. And Miss jessie's is not for me. I put Jamaican Black Castor Oil on my edges pretty much everyday. I love making my deep conditioners. I do an olive oil, egg, honey, Cantu shea butter deep conditioner once a month.  And when I think I have product buildup I occasionally do an Apple Cider vinegar mix. I like natural products and I want to make as many as I can. Youtube has been so helpful to me. But it is all about figuring out what works for you.  

Her daughter:

Z has 4b/c hair. It is thick and has great sheen. She has a good deal of shrinkage. I do braid outs to her hair.  I usually wash her hair every other week though. I begin her wash day with olive oil and a plastic cap. She sits for a few hours and plays with her cap on. Then I use a very gentle shampoo. I feel like you have to wash kids hair. I usually use the Mixed Chicks kids  line on her hair or Cantu Naturals. The Shea Moisture line also works well on her. I detangle with Kinky Curly Knot today on her sometimes. I don't use combs and brushes in our hair really. So KCKT helps me finger comb. I usually do either flat twists or a braid out on her hair. Braid outs are her favorite look. She helps me with her hair. She knows to put oil on her hands to take out her twists or braids. She fluffs it out and styles with one of her snazzy headbands. The maintenance routine varies. Sometimes I put her curls on top of her head and let her go to sleep. No scarf. She's 6. However, she watches youtube videos with me and suggests styles. 

She dances so the challenge this fall will be getting her hair into a ballerina bun. I don't use heat on her hair so I usually pul her hair up when it is wet. I do have to use eco styler olive oil gel on it sometimes. But if anyone can suggest a an all-natural product that can help me get her hair into a bun I am open to it.

missDTM's hair:

i never know how to categorize my hair but since i am being forced to, i will say that my hair is probably a 3b and 3c. it's wild. and big. sometimes it's dry, sometimes i get it just right. i've fussed with it, i've kept it simple. but my process for the past...2 years? (maybe a little longer) has been all natural products for my hair.

i use a range of products - from cheap to expensive (but not super expensive). lately i've been using the devachun no poo (best shampoo EVER), devachun one condition, aubrey organics white camelia conditioner, beauicurls conditioner, giovanni deep conditioner, and the carol's daughter hair milk lite. i rotate through products based on the weather/what i feel like doing. i try to make sure my hair doesn't get used to a product.

i detangle my hair in the shower using my fingers. i often feel guilty for not combing through it with oils while dry but doing it in the shower is the easiest way for me to detangle this madness. then, i use the devachun shampoo to rinse out the build up. at that point i use one of my conditioners on my hair before sectioning my hair into 6 sections and conditioning each section using one of my conditioners as a leave-in. sometimes i use the hair milk to do that. and usually i add more conditioner to my ends to keep them moisturized. i only add products to my hair if my hair is sopping wet. i feel like my hair holds the product better that way. i also never use a towel to dry my hair - sometimes i use paper towels, other times i use an old tshirt to get the excess wet out.

i also only wash my hair once a week. sometimes, if i feel like i need it, i will wet my curls and add more conditioner mid week because i hate how dry my hair can get. i like my hair big too so during the drying process i try to make sure i fluff my hair so that it won't dry all limp. big hair is sexy.  

Thank you to everyone who participated. I would love to continue to feature different hair stories. If you are interested in sharing yours, leave a comment here or drop me a line on twitter.