*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 |
| This next series of pics is of my semi-stretched hair 2 days before I straightened it. |
 |
| Shakin it out, havin some fun with it! |
 |
| Love my big hair!! |
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 |
| November 18, 2011 High, swirly bun with headband |
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 |
| LOVE how big it is :) |
 |
| November 19, 2011 Big, puffy ponytail the day before straightening |
 |
| November 19, 2011 Big, two-twist bun |
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 |
| November 19, 2011 Pre-straightening day wash & prep. Detangled & removed shed hairs with olive oil. |
 |
| Twisted up hair into 6 sections before getting in the shower to shampoo & condition. |
 |
| You can see the heat damage in the right front area (it's the straight part). |
 |
| Braided my hair up for bedtime. I wanted my hair to be stretched for blow drying the next day. Also gave it some time to air dry so I could use less heat. |
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
November 20, 2011
Straightening Day!!!
 |
| See my post here to get the details on my straightening process. |
 |
| Love love LOVE my big hair!! |
 |
| All done! The longest my hair has ever been in my adult life. |
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Straight Hair Fun!
 |
| Quick updo with my Goody Comfort-Flex Updo Barrette |
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
November 25, 2011
Fishtail Braid
 |
| My first (successful) fishtail braid!! So happy :) Got it on the first attempt, too ;) |
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
November 27, 2011
Semi-half ponytail with bobbi pins
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My Natural Texture
January 2013
 |
| My heat damaged ends are almost grown out. The front of my hair has very thick strands. |
 |
| Ear to crown |
 |
| Ear to crown |
 |
| Ear to crown |
 |
| Back and nape My hair gets finer from the back to the nape and the curls are looser. This area of my hair is easier to manage but definitely tangles & knots easily too. |
 |
| Back and nape |
 |
| Nape As you can see, my curl pattern is the loosest here and it is also the finest hair on my head. |
Your hair is absolutely beautiful! Nice pictures ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, KeeKee!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, beautiful hair!! I can't wait to see your length check!! You look about WL to me already!!
ReplyDeleteShelli
Thank you, Shelli!! I love your hair as well, especially when it's big :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so pretty! Love you're hair too :)
ReplyDeleteAwww thanks so much, Lena!! Can't wait to check out more of your site :)
ReplyDeleteYou have so much hair! It's beautiful! I feel you about the heat damage. I think I just about chopped off all of it...finally. The fishtail braid looks great. I would love for my hair to get a little shorter than yours. My goal is armpit and you just inspired me! :-)
DeleteI forgot to add- you remind me so much of Nicole Ari Parker! lol
DeleteShe's your celebrity twin:-)
Hey M! Thank you so much!! I feel the same way about your hair! :) You can definitely achieve armpit length. How long is your hair now? And thank you for the Nicole Ari Parker compliment, I think she's beautiful! Funny thing is, I think my Mom looks more like her than I do, and people say my Mom and I look like twins! :)
DeleteHi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI met you this past weekend at the International fair. Thanks you for this blog. it is helpful. I do have a question about co- washing- what is the step by step regimen? I work out too and would like a way to clean my hair in between. Also, this is what I use: I cleanse my hair with baking soda and white vinegar to remove oils and dirt. Then I wash my hair with Fructis shampoo for curly hair or the blue shampoo for curly hair by Herbal Essences. Then I detangle in the shower with a wide toothed comb. Then I apply the shea butter condition generously. I section and apply olive oil and jojoba oil. Then I double strand twist using EC gel on the root and ends to keep it shiny and together. I like to keep my hair in the protective style of 2 strand twists for the most part, because when I take it out it is another style- big curly hair! Thank you for all the compliments and thank you for this blog. - PaShawnda, sister in Christ=)
Hi PaShawnda! Thanks so much for visiting my blog and commenting! It was such a pleasure and a joy to meet you this past weekend! Caring for my hair and working out are two things that I'm still working on, to be honest! Since I started running 3x a week, I went from washing once a week to twice a week. The mid-week wash is usually just a co-wash because I have very little time for more than that! But I should probably do an ACV rinse prior to co-washing to cleanse my scalp. That's what I would recommend. Last summer I did ACV rinses all the time and my hair and scalp loved them - until it got colder out, which is why I stopped doing them. But ACV is a great way to cleanse the scalp. But as far as co-washing goes: I section my hair with a little water and sometimes coconut oil, removing tangles as I section and smoothing each section down. I twist each section to keep them separate. Then I hop in the shower, wet my hair and use my wonderful moisturizing and detangling conditioner - I love that stuff!! Lol - to finger detangle my hair one section at a time. Once I'm done co-washing, I apply the Kimmaytube leave-in and usually gel on top of that, then braid each section up, twisting the ends on themselves so the braids don't come undone. I'll either wear a crocheted hat over the braids until my hair dries (which takes more than 24hrs for my hair) and wear a braid-out, or I'll sometimes take the braids out the next day to rock my natural curl pattern.
DeleteSorry I got cut off with my last reply. My hair grew a TON when I wore it in 2 strand twists. So if that, in addition to the rest of your regimen, is yielding healthy hair and length retention, then your regimen must be dead on for you - great job! I know it can be challenging for some women to stick with their natural hair long enough to figure out what their hair likes. I pray you continue to find my blog as a useful resource for hair and anything else you may be searching for, PaShawnda. I hope to see you again soon! Peace & Blessings, Lauren
DeleteYou have a BEAUTIFUL hair girl! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteAnd you are beautiful too!
I really liked of your blog! Very cool.
visit my blog... :D
www.deboraninja.wordpress.com
Thanks :)
Thank you, Debora! You're so sweet. How did you find my blog? I visited your blog and it looks really nice! It's in Portugese, correct? Are you from Brazil?
ReplyDeletegirl you are beautiful!!! thank you so much for being so kind to me. You are such an encourager, and its such a beautiful gift to have. thank you:)
ReplyDeleteaw thanks hun! you're so sweet! :)
Delete