Nappy Kitchen

Gettin A Lil Puffalicious

When I compare pics I see a difference just from the puff of last month to this month's puff. Summertime is a good time when it comes to growth. And it doesn't hurt that I rarely manipulate my hair unless I'm going out in the streets to be sociable. A couple of pics:

The method of stretching my hair which I mentioned in the other post got played rather quick, as it was hell combing through the back part of my hair (tangles more). So what I do now is separate damp hair into six sections and brush them up into mini afro puffs at bedtime. The next day I comb or brush each section out and pull into a puff. I've found it doesn't take supreme effort to stretch my hair; in the front it almost tends to be too straight.

I'm finding that certain products I didn't have much to say about when I first cut my hair work differently now. Take Carol's Daughter healthy hair butter. I had no idea what all the fuss was about. The other night I decided to use that on mini puffs instead of the typical shea butter. The next morning my hair was sooooft, even more soft than usual. I was quite pleased. The smell is a bit much, but nothing I can't handle.

Welp that's it for the nappy news...til next time!

Washing and Going

I wore my nurls (nappy curls) a lot when I first did the big chop, mainly because I didn't have a whole lot of style choices available to me. Now that my hair is long enough to twist and puff I don't do this style very often, even though it's very quick and easy.

I think a lot of my scab hair must have grown out because as I mentioned in the previous post my hair seems to curl with little effort these days, even with no product. For a minute I was thinking I was more 4b type than anything else, but I suppose the strands were just shocked at being hacked at. *lol* At any rate, it's grown some, so I wanted to see what my wash and go would look like now.

I didn't wash my hair per se, as I'd just done that last night. I basically just ran cold water over my head, towel blotted as much excess water as I could, and worked Fantasia IC Gel through my hair. Here's the result (my hair is still slightly damp in all these pics):

The top part of my hair is rather loose in curl pattern and tends to do the cowlick thing if I don't pat it down. It's also the most frustrating portion to work with when I'm doing twists, because they unravel like crazy. I don't know what the hell I'd do if my hair was like that all over! Thank goodness for small favors. :)

Innaresting...

Funny that the one thing that's supposed to be the worse for my hair (SLS-ridden shampoo) makes it the curliest! That's why I do low-poo instead of no-poo. And I was in heavy need of a shampoo as well as deep conditioning...I can always tell when I have buildup. The hair just doesn't respond the same. And feels like straw. Eek.

Two things I've noticed: growth and "thickness." Relative to others, I'm sure my hair isn't ultra thick, but it is a LOT thicker than when I was permed. My mane was downright limp most of the time, which is why near the end I plumped it up with braids or weave. As for the growth, well that's kind of crazy. I'm noticing that the more it grows, the curlier it gets, and therefore shrinks more. So it's almost unnoticeable until I stretch it out. In short what I do is pull as much of it as I can back and hold with a mini ponytail holder. The rest I brush back and secure with clips. Slap on a bandanna and go to bed. The next day I run shea butter through it and comb it. Voila! Stretched hair without heat!

I promise I'll get back to updating when I procure some batteries for my digital cam, or get a new one (crossing fingers). I know y'all are just as tired of hazy webcam pics as I am! But let me post a few anyway :D

Puff created on stretched hair.

A twistout...I'm starting to love these.

Stretched fro.

I'm starting to get a weird flat top look. Guess I'm due for a shapeup.

More updates eventually...

TTFN!