Flat iron.....

I dunno why, but my flat iron was really calling my name tonite. I wanted to wait until I was a year in, but thought I'd just try it out.

Let me just say, I'm not even halfway thru and I now remember why i cut it in the first place. My arms hurt and I was very bored.

A few notes: definitely should have bothered to detangle beforehand. My ends are a bit knotty. Next time, i will try washing and blow drying too before I attempt this again. The top half is pretty smooth, but the ends are looking rather frayed. The "curls" settled at the bottom where I was holding it straight so the heat just glided over them.

I used grapeseed oil as a protectant, because I didn't have anything else.

I won't say this was a fail, just incomplete since I didn't even finish. I'll try it again in a few days. Maybe. I'll put some rollers in for the finish. My hair still, obviously is not at the length I want so maybe I won't bother with it for a few months.

I may try twisting it tonite though after I wash my hair. I do need to practice flat twisting.

..............

Nah. Wash and go, you are my friend lol

Location : 2403-2423 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040,
holysht, that's me!

White men, black hair

So, I was with my white guy friend earlier and he was sticking his finger in my hair. He said, "I'm trying to see if its grown any." I laughed and pulled a few strands and said "you have to do this to see how long it is." He just looked at my hair and said wow lol.

I didn't go into great detail, but I did sort of explain that my hair is like a slinky. Its incredibly curly, so its going to shrink up looking shorter than it really is..

He started to ask me about some styles, but I explained to him that I'm lazy and will probably sport a fro most of the time. He says he really likes my hair. He likes how it frays out at the top and the constant "unkempt" (my.words not his) look. Before anyone gets offended, my hair is very unkept lol. I cowash, detangle, then toussle thru some gel.

Ok, I'm tired. Got work in the morning, blah....

Location : 2403-2423 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040,
holysht, that's me!

CG wk 3, day something.

My mom came up to me a couple of days ago and started playing around in my hair, then she says "ooh, its like super tight coils".. I almost wanted to say duh, but not too long ago I didn't have.a clue what my natural hair was like either.. she then asked me why I don't get those twists in it, which I responded with "because I don't have twists money, nor do I have the patience to do it myself". My main concern now is growth, not style. 4inches is not enough for someone as lazy as I am to worry about styling lol.

Just by looking, I can't tell a great difference in definition, not to say there isn't one, but I can definitely feel where my coils and naps are more clumped and sturdy.. yea, that sounds like a good adjective

In other news, today/yesterday was.christmas. yea, it kinda sucked. Not much to say really, then I went to work. Just getting home now. Too tired to enjoy a self pity party, but feel I should chug down a few celebratory shots since I'm childless for the night.. grr.

Back to hair for a moment, I have been slacking on the GHE. I don't use oils or anything since I cowash my hair practically everyday. I think that's the classic way of doing the GHE. There are a lot of modified ways to do everything.

I guess that's enough for now. I'm tired. 

Location : 2403-2423 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040,
holysht, that's me!

Curly girl: week 2 day 2

Can I just mention really quick, my hair has so many fewer knots, its ridiculous. I know that didn't make much sense, but I haven't had to comb my hair in a week.. ok, to be fair I never really combed my hair before, but even finger combing/detangling is so quick. I basically just detangle as I'm cowashing.. granted, my hair is still significantly short.

I'm not sure but I think my hair is also more elastic.. but it does feel like there's a film on it. That could be from the olive oil spray I made.

Location : 2403-2423 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040,
holysht, that's me!

Curly girl/GHE: week 2 day 1

I know I'm all over the place with this one.



My first week doing the curly girl has been ok. I stopped using the tresseeme split remedy and actually, I've stopped using anything in my hair outside of conditioner and a little oil. I have definitely noticed my hair is beginning to feel softer and moisturized longer. I can't tell if its doing anything for curl definition, but I suppose that'll come later. I just want to say though, I don't expect it to fo much for my afro and scab hairs. I just don't believe there is any way to permanently change your curl pattern without force of tools and chemicals. If that's your goal, then you're going to be disappointed. You can't make define curls that don't exist.

I've also been baggying my hair every night to help promote growth, moisture and length retention. Some people complain about a smell, but I haven't noticed. I'm trying to avoid baggying up my hair too moist because I don't want my scalp getting all soggy from being wet all the time. While I want my hair to be moisturized, its important to let your hair and scalp dry. Imagine when you're in the tub too long, how pruny your fingers get. now imagine your scalp doing the same. You probably also don't want the salt deposits from sweat sitting on your head too long. that isn't scientific, that's just me. I'm not concerned really with the.salt because I find myself cowashing practically everyday. Hopefully in another week or two I'll start to notice a difference with both techniques.

Ive been combating that by focusing more on the growth aspect. Last night I baggied my head up without water, but I did massage a tiny bit of oil in my scalp.

Location : 2403-2423 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040,
holysht, that's me!

Relaxed hair doesn't determine state of natural hair

 Here's a cool YouTube video 

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More naturals.

Ran into a newly natural girl at work the other night. She definitely embraced her natural hair better than me. What I mean is, she big chopped back in may, which is when I stopped getting relaxers. Her hair seems much longer than mine, but she had it clumped, which I wish my hair would do.

She described her hair as 4c which looked nothing like mine.. then again, I never really suspected my hair was 4c except sprinkled throughout my head.

She suggested I try ecostyler gel with olive oil.. so, I guess I can try it. I would like a good styling product. Her hair felt hard, possibly from the gel, which is definitely not what I want. I mixed the Shea butter curling souffle with a little Jam gel and it seemed to work alright. I put the garnier leave in cream in my hair first while still wet, then mixed the jam and jelly together in my hands and rubbed it thru my hair. I used my soft brisstle brush to help pop some curls out by running it thru my hair in circular motions. I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but she said she does that too.

She has a youtube page, but I forgot what she told me. When I find out, I'll post it. Very sweet girl. She has kind of a baby voice like me, so that made me feel more comfortable, like "wow, she's a lot like me"..... except tall and thin lol

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Incomplete night time routine

Ok, doing the baggy green house effect thing again tonite. My head is itching around the edges.. not sure if I.should take that as a sign. If I wake up bald around my entire hairline, we know it was a sign lol.

I will say that my hair seems to have grown. I used baking soda yesterday mixed with water and a teeny, tiny bit of conditioner before shampooing with my loreal. I also used fenugreek, sour cream, and squash (baby food) as part of my deep conditioner. Anyway, my "curls" certainly feel more defined. I dunno how they look. I suppose I should start taking pictures. Hehe. Feels softer too; possibly the fenugreek or moisturizing while my hair is still soaked... or a bit of both.

I've been finger measuring, since I can't work a tape measure up there. Its reaching up to the fist knuckle of my index finger, if that makes sense lol. I'll do an "official" length check in november, after a month has passed. Although, it won't really be official til december since I never took a before picture lol. Its the b12 deficiency. It makes me a little slower than the rest lol.

I'm gonna close with: I'm so glad I checked my sons diaper; there was poop..

Goodnite!

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Regimen update

I haven't updated in a while, so here we go.

I've been using the aloe vera and lemon juice mask about everyday. I'm not sure if its helping with the dark spots, but my acne is beginning to clear up. I tried using honey in it, but it made my skin oily. If you have dry skin, I would definitely recommend using it as part of your facial mask and regimen.

I haven't exercised, at all yet. Been so super lazy. I really need to do that today. If I can just get myself started, I'll be alright. Its just that initial push that's hard to get on.. this is also how I know that most fat and obese people are that way from sheer laziness. Trust me, I know how genes work cause I got em. I'm built like a football player; I gained 70lbs while pregnant although I was exercising and eating healthy. I'll never a double zero, but I don't have to weigh 200lbs either (which I don't, just sayin). Exercise helps with hair growth as well, so that alone should be enough to make me want to go run a couple miles lol.

As far as my hair is concerned, I was doing well in the beginning to do the things I said I would, but sort of fell off here in the past week. The only thing I have really kept up with is the watering my hair thing. Now, I do believe my hair has grown, but I can't tell how much or if its just normal growth. I read somewhere that sweat can cause hair loss, so I decided to slow down with the baggying.. in the process, I ended up stopping all together lol. I may try to pick it up again this week. I don't really think that it helped with my moisture problem because my hair feels the same without it and I don't really know if it helped with growth either. We'll see.

One thing I noticed that did help soften my hair is actually a trick I was using while transitioning but stopped after I big chopped. I read that with low porous hair you should apply products to damp hair because the hair can't absorb anything more.. well, my hair was still hard doing it this way, so instead I reverted back to putting pruduct on my hair while its still wet, then seal with coconut oil. This, to me, makes more sense. Water is the ultimate moisturizer, so I need to seal as much in my hair as possible. Plus, my cuticles will be the most open right out of a hot shower.

I've noticed my hair doesn't really care for the cocoa butter. In fact, I may not use any butter, except maybe on my skin. It just doesnt appear to help my hair, although, I was using it with the new method of piling product on damp hair. Feeling my hair right now, ut does feel a bit different using the.soaking wet method, but I also did a deep conditioning treatment yesterday too. I dunno... I probably will stop using butter though. May pick it back up once it gets colder, but with a different formula. 

I've been swishing hydrogen peroxide after brushing as a way to whiten my teeth. I also use listerine hehe. Just started that so not sure how long it'll,take to make a difference. I know everyone says my teeth are so white, but that makes me want to whuten them more cause I just don't think they are.

Well, that what I've been up to as far as my beauty regimen goes. I call it all the lazy girl method, hehe.

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I'm natural? well, that takes care of that.

So, what does it feel like to be natural? Its been about 2weeks since I chopped my hair and I must say, I don't feel any different. The only time I really notice is when I wash or try to tuck my hair behind my ear...

I keep reading about how people feel invigorated and relieved, like a whole new person. I didn't really feel any of that. I felt more regret than anything else.

I don't really feel natural. I just feel like I have short hair... really short hair. I guess I just thought my transformation would be more noticeable; more monumental; more, liberating. I'm actually disappointed. Had I known I wouldn't feel anything but remorse, I would have waited longer to cut my hair.

I was going to do a natural hair search the other day, which is what got me on this. I realized, the only thing that matters to me right now is growing my hair back out, and I know I can't do anything about that but wait. So, I'm officially bored with my hair.... that didn't take long lol.

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Ignorant insults

Last night, my neighbors, the horrible ones downstairs that I'm 100% sure had something to so with my money stolen from my wallet, came home and were angry about something.

I could hear them yelling outside about a no-haired bitch, white guys, and some mention of a gang bang. I'm certain they were speaking about me..

Really, the only thing I want to say about this is, there's a difference between being bald and being deliberate. I cut my hair because I wanted to. Considering both of their girlfriends wear weaves and relaxers, I don't imagine they understand, especially since my hair was both longer and thicker until about two weeks ago.

It hurts a little yea, but I smile because I know what my hair looks like, and I like it. One of my white (well, he's hawaiian) friends was over and before all of that, he said he liked it. In fact, all of my non black friends have told me how much they like my hair and my cut.. kinda sad, actually. Black men are about the only ones with nothing good to say, but all the naysayers only motivate me to keep going harder on this natural hair journey 

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Baggying and other hair stuff

I've been trying that baggying method, not sure if I mentioned that already.

The jist: baggying is placing a plastic cap (or bag, or wrap) on the ends of the hair or whole head to create a steaming affect on the hair. From what I understand, its ok to do it the ends of the hair everyday, but not the whole head. Don't quote me on that.. just listen to your hair. Don't risk over moisturizing it by ignoring its signals.

Anyway, slowly, my low porous, thick, newly chopped hair is beginning to feel softer. I've also incorporated a couple of other things to help moisturize my hair, thus a semi regimen is being born.

I've been doing the baggying thing quite a bit. Mostly when it starts to feel dry. I'm still working on a schedule with that as I work on balancing my moisture levels. I'm doing a hot oil treatment once a week and deep conditioning once a week, but not on the same day.

Also, I'm wetting my hair everyday. It basically simulates watering a flower. I found a video on youtube suggesting drenching the hair everyday. We'll see how it does after a month. Ill post it if I see it again. I know I sent it to twitter.

I feel like my hair is getting longer. Not from the techniques, but just growing faster in general. It could just be me finally adapting to having short hair. I always felt like I had fast growing hair, but because my hair was relaxed and never got passed my shoulders, I dunno. My grandma says her hair grows fast and my other grandma is cherokee so I imagine her hair grows fast too. Not gonna lie, I'm hoping those genes have been passed to me lol. If I do notice some significant growth over the next month or two, I'll post a detailed blog of what I'm doing. 

Another update, I created my own hair butter using cocoa butter, coconut oil, aloe vera, olive oil, and cinnamon. I added water too to help soften it up. I've only used it twice but it seems ok. After the Shea moisture and cantu trials, I'm not sure if I'll go the shea butter route. Plus, a stick of cocoa butter is readily available and only a dollar.

Because of the cinnamon, I'm not going to use the mix in Micah's hair, its a little potent; too strong for children or the tender headed. Its supposed to help with hair growth, and apparently hair lightening. Hair coloring isn't my goal, but I guess I won't complain if it happens, that is, if it helps my hair grow faster haha.

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Hot oil treatment

My ears are burning... no, no one is talking about me. I'm sitting under this hooded dryer for a hot oil treatment. I basically grabbed every oil in the house and slathered it on my head..

Actually, the first thing I did was rub my hair lightly with a little baking soda and water mix. I didn't want to soak my hair, but I want to test the theory of this baking soda low porousity thing. I said I was only going to use baking soda twice a month, but I want softer hair NOW.

After I rubbed a bit of the water over my hair (mostly the tips cause that's where my hair is driest), I applied my every oil mix (olive, jojoba, coconut, canola, castor, aloe vera gel), then I took a few medium-large hunks of coconut oil and piled that on my head. I'm talkin soaked.. already my hair felt much softer.

I'm under the dryer now, hence my ears burning, wiping oil off the back of my neck.. atleast its not running down my face. *cringe* I'm going to attempt at minimum one hot oil treatment a week and a deep conditioning treatment once a week. Probably not on the same day, cause I'm lazy lol.

If I don't see any improvement soon, I'm gonna get a wig! Ok, maybe not.. I saw the prices of wigs before I did my big chop.. Uh, yea, no. I'll just rock a hard frizzy fro until my hair grows out enough for twists. A shame too cause I've got some super defined curls.

Actually, on that note, my hair is crazy. The front is wavy, the top is curly, the sides are loosely coiled, and the back and sides above my ears are a mix of frizx and tight, tight coils... this is going to be an interesting thing to see as it gets longer. Feeling like a ragdoll head lol. Bouquet of wildflowers sounds better though. My head though only further proves that hair typing is pointless

Well, I'm hot and greasy. I think its been 30minutes.. time to rinse and shine! Well, I'm hoping for some shine. This dull mix of brown and black is not working.

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Hair typing.

I so badly want to make a youtube video about this... your hair type, curl type, curl pattern, whatever you want to call it is of little to no importance in regards to hair care. The purpose of categorizing hair is strictly cosmetic and a marketing ploy.

If youre trying to create a hair care regimen, look at your individual hair, not a type. Decide what your hair needs. Is it dry? Is it fine? Is it thinning? Frizzy? Thick? etc.. In my opinion, hair porousity should be placed way before curl patterns. Hair porousity, in my own terms, is the rate at which your hair can hold water.. I'll try to explain. I have low porousity hair. My hair does not easily absorb moisture, but it also does not readily let it go. Many products just seem to sit on top of my hair without moisturizing. Another girl has high porousity hair. Her hair absorbs much faster than mine, but has a much harder time retaining that moisture. Now, let's say she and I have the same hair type. Ideally, we should use the same products? Wrong. Our processes and products will be different simply because our porousity levels are much different. Then you have to take into account the differences of our strands. I have medium-thick high density hair. She has fine, low density hair. Our individual hairs are not going to respond the same way to the same things.

I actually experienced this with a girl that sat next to me in class who was also was transitioning. Coincidently, we both had similar hair patterns: super defined coils, which I think is between 3c and 4a. Irrelevant. She loved Shea Moisture products, but my hair hated it. Her hair felt soft and moisturized, while mine was dry and crunchy..  even for styling purposes, my hair is thicker and more coarse, so mine held styles longer than her fine hair

Curl typing is really only useful during those few months in transitioning when you want to know what your hair is going to look like. Or after you've big chopped and you want to know what your hair will look like lol. Other than cosmetic, it really isn't that important.. If you're like me, your hair seems to fit into all of the categories from 3b all the way to 4c.. so, how would I buy products or care for my hair when it can fit into all the hair types?

It can be fun to learn about curl patterns and finding people with similar hair structures, but don't stress too much if you can't figure it out. If you're transitioning, you really won't know what your hair is like until you cut off the relaxed ends; I can attest to that lol. Also, if you big chopped, your hair will change as it gets longer. I'm not saying don't try to figure out your curl type. Learn everything you can about your hair. Just.don't stress over it and base your product selection and care on the way your hair curls up.

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Task: combat dry hair

Ok, so my hair has been super dry and rough since my big chop Wednesday. Granted, my hair may naturally be rough, its still way too dry.

I found pure coconut oil (not extra virgin..) at kroger last night. A pretty good sized jar by lou ana for 6 bucks. They also had grapeseed oil and some others that I will be going back for later. Ok, so I took a hunk of coconut oil, some olive oil and canola oil then warmed it and spread it all throughout my hair and massaged my scalp for a few minutes. TIP: massaging the scalp will stimulate blood flow which in turn stimulates healthy hair growth. Don't get too rough or you may damage your hair in the process.

I left the oil on wrapped in a plastic bag overnight. When I woke up my hair felt really soft (and greasy lol). I immediately started working on my deep conditioning mask. I prefer using natural products so for my conditioner I used: 1 egg, a jar of squash baby food, lemon juice, olive, canola, coconut and a little sprinkle of sesame seed oil, then I mixed in 3 spoons of yogurt. I warmed it in the microwave because its very cold. If you're going to do that, be careful not to cook the egg! I applied the mix right on top of the oils in my hair, then wrapped it in another plastic bag and a towel to help hold in the heat. Its not a thick mask, like a like it, but I skipped the fenugreek to see if that would make a difference.

I used the squash, in case you're wondering, because it is filled with keratene (spelling? that stuff in carrots) and super infused with vitamin a, which is great for hair growth. I don't know if it'll make your hair grow faster, but atleast it will be healthy, at whatever rate your hair grows. If you are trying to grow your hair faster, I'm sure using this or similar recipes won't hurt as it is all edible lol.

I fell asleep so I left the yogurt mix on my hair for maybe an hour. O dunno cause I fell asleep lol. Anyway, after I rinsed and co-washed my hair felt really soft. I sprayed on the aussie hair insurance then massaged my oil mix onto my scalp and hair... ok, then the problem started. I called myself sealing my hair with the Beautiful Textures curl creme. My hair started feeling hard... maybe I'm not using it in the right order. I dunno.

I made a mix of my own that I'll use. I'm just going to take both products back to sallys. Someone stole all the money from my wallet, so I need that cash back anyway to get diapers for my Micah

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Beautiful Textures

I just tried the Beautiful Textures curl butter. I skipped using the aussie. I don't think its conditioning my hair, although it does work great for Micah's hair so its a keeper for him. However, I still massaged my castor many oil mix on my scalp.

I mixed the curl creme with the garnier. The line suggests mixing their products for different results, so I used the garnier to help with frizz and the butter to seal and moisturize. On top of everything I added a tiny bit Jam! hair gel with a red top. Its light which is good. I again used the soft brush to try to make my curls "pop", so to speak.

The fruity smoothie scent and the consistency of the curl creme blended well with garnier leave in. After putting everything on my head, it had a white build up or film, but that went away after a few minutes.

I don't know if my hair is hard since it has gel in it, but its not bad. I think its just highly textured because of my hair cut which, I think is also what makes my hair appear dull even though its moisturized.

The butter feels a little oily which could be good for the winter. My hair does appear darker and shiny. Its still wet though, so yea.

I'll keep it, but until I use it more I dunno about buying it again. My hair does feel moisturized. I'm not.sure if it.defined my curls but I'll probably have to wait until my hair longer to notice definition in the back of my head. I'd like to find something that has less unpronounceable words on its product list. I may or may not try the other products within the line since I want something less chemically compounded.

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Wave nouveau

This is the result of using the Wave Nouveau..

I sprayed in the Aussie hair insurance to dampen my hair, then added Garnier sleek and shine leave-in. After layering on the nouveau, I used the soft bristle brush in circular motions to help define curls..

As I mentioned, my hair is extremely coily (more springy on top) so the brushing is more for clumping and trying to mask the uneven parts cause I'm not about to attempt twists in 3inches of hair lol.

My hair is softer than last time used it. Maybe the combination of the garnier vs the moisture butter. I don't care for the scent of the nouveau.. smells too much like a salon. I'm really hoping the moisture butter works better because it definitely smells better lol. Plus its thicker, so seems like it'll work better for these upcoming colder months.

Hopefully I can soon start making my own butter. I think I'm going to go for mango or cocoa butter rather than the Shea butter. Every Shea butter product I've tried hasn't smelled all that great.

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destination: definition - Beautiful Textures

A continuation of my last blog ....

Beautiful Textures is a new natural line.. it kinda reminds me of that Profectiv brand... you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, this brand is geared toward "mixed textures": curly, wavy, kinky-coily, and frizzy.

Anyway, I got the Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Creme. It has an extremely strong fruity smell.. kinda like a smoothie. Its got a thick consistency which is really what I was looking for as the final piece to my product group.

TIP: i suggest having three basic products - a water based, an oil based, and a creme/butter based to seal.. that's not something I read or saw on youtube, that's just my own intuition. Basic logic.

Anyway, it worked great for Micah's hair (for those with mixed, fine -haired kids). It super defined his curly fro. I basically used it to replace the soft and precious cause I didn't feel like getting more. First I spritz on the aussie, then add a layer of my castor many oil mix, then topped with the moisture butter. His hair wasn't super soft like with soft and precious, but meh, it'll do if I dont have to get two different products lol.

My hair, meh. I can't tell right now cause I used the Wave Nouveau too, but I think it'll be a good product.. I was looking for a buttery, creamy sealing product.  As my hair dries, it is starting to feel softer. I'm a little itchy though. Not sure what that's from.

TIP: use one product at a time so that,for instance, if your head gets itchy, you can tell which products you have adverse reactions to lol.

I really don't like that it has such a long ingredients list, but for now I'll keep using it until I find something more "natural". Its got some good stuff in it like olive oil, aloe, coconut oil, mango and Shea butter, argan oil... I don't know what behentrimonium methosulfate is, but considering how everyone talks down about sulfates, its probably not very good lol. With all the good stuff in it though, could be worth ignoring until I get something else.

Also, I want to quickly mention, I have no clue what my curl type is if that's something you base your decision on. Its long and coily on top, but super springy on bottom and sides. So, yea. If you have medium- thick tightly curled or coiled low porous hair like me, then you can try the stuff I'm talking about lol

Location : 2403-2423 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040,

destination: definition - Wave Nouvea

Just got two new products at sallys in my quest for less frizzy hair. The first being Soft Sheen and Carson Wave Nouveau moisturizing finishing lotion - its made to be used with their texturizer but it does say excellent for natural hair... I don't think I'm going to keep this product.. although it does say provides long lasting softness and shine and quenches dry, thirsty hair, its not what I'm looking for in a moisturizer. Even on Micah's fine curly hair it seems to make it crunchy. My hair feels kinda hard right now.

I attempted the brush coil method, which is where you use a brush to define curls on short hair. Basically, while your hair is wet take a soft bristle brush or medium, I don't know, I used my sons old baby brush.. anywho, take the brush and make circular motions thru you wet hair and it should coil right up. I think I need more practice. I'll show pics in a later post cause this phone app will only let me post one per post, so, on to the next product 

Location : 2403-2423 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville, TN 37040,

so.. your boyfriend doesn't like your natural hair?

Considering dumping your boyfriend because he doesnt like your natural hair? This is a good video to watch: