Kinky Curly Custard

I've heard a few people say that Kinky Curly Custard worked for them,so I decided to try it for myself. For those that don't know, KCC is used to help define your curl pattern. You apply it to soaking wet hair and either let it air dry or sit under a hood dryer.

I bought the 8oz jar from Target and tried it Saturday morning. I did my abbreviated routine and just shampooed and conditioned my hair. I picked and combed through my hair with the conditioner in and twisted my hair into a few sections. Then I rinsed with the twists still in. Using a spray bottle to keep my hair wet, I untwisted each section, one at a time and applied about a dime sized amount, maybe a little more. It really doesn't take that much. I did just like the instructions said and pulled the product from root to tip.



Then I let my hair air dry.

My hair was a little frizzy, but I'm glad it didn't feel dried out or sticky. I have 4a type hair, so my hair shrank drastically. I haven't found a product, yet, that helps with elongation. My curl/coil pattern wasn't defined as much as I hoped it would be. I think that's because I combed and picked my hair. Next time I will try to rub the product into my hair without combing and just use my fingers to divide into sections.

Saturday night I slept in a satin cap and was nervous to see what my hair looked like Sunday morning. I was hoping that I didn't have to re-wash it. Luckily, my hair wasn't flat at all. I simply mist sprayed some water all over, fingered through my hair, and that was it. I think I could get three solid days out of this style before I have to wash it again.

With all things considered, I liked the way my hair looked and felt. This is the first time I've done a wash and go since my hair has been this long; even though with shrinkage, it looks pretty short. I'm going to try it again later this week and I'll repost then.


If you've ever used KCC before and have some tips, please share!

Thanks:0)

Ladies, You've Got An Edge. Use It!

Ever since I was little, I've gone through great troubles to make sure the edges of my hair were straight and flat. When I had a perm, and my new growth started showing, I would take a toothbrush, water, and sometimes gell, to slick my sides back. My toothbrush traveled with me, just in case those edges decided to creep back in. I didn't want anybody teasing me about new growth.

Even with my natural hair, my edges will crinkle up, coil if you will. It makes a fuzzy look around my face. Whenever I pull my hair back for a puff, I will take a scarf and wrap it around my edges to help them lay down. When I would go out, I'd remove the scarf, making sure my edges were "in place."

But today, I've changed my mindset. I'm embracing my edges! I will no longer feel the need to make my hair lay flat and bone straight. We, as black women, have been fed all of these negative lies, feelings, words, and images about our hair just because it's different from the mainstream. Think about it--nappy, buckshots, beady-beads, kitchen, mess, knotty, etc, etc! It's ok to be edgy. It's ok to be you.

Ladies, don't let society relax you. I'm living on the edge. Will you join me?

Surviving Winter After the Big Chop

I thought about writing this post a while back, but never did. Just recently, one of my friends started a thread on Facebook about maintaining during the winter season as a newbie to the natural world. I have a few tips below.

1. Don't be afraid to rock your tweeny weeny fro. Especially if you did the big chop and don't have much hair, now is the perfect time to wear your fro. It's not a lot of hair to manage and it's shape won't be as heavily affected by everyone wanting to touch it. Pick your hair out and go with it.
At night time, moisturize and sleep with a satin scarf. If your hair is long enough, put a few twists in it. This will help keep it soft. If your hair isn't long enough to twist, no worries; just use a water bottle and spray a light mist to get rid of bed head. Don't drench your hair; you don't want pneumonia! Add moisturizer and go. I recommend Carol's Daughter Hair Milk or Organic Root Stimulator's moisturizer.

2.
If you like your curl pattern, you could wash and moisturize, but don't use a pick. Sit under a dryer or use a blow dryer. Your hair may be a little hard, but you can use a water mist and moisturizer to help soften it. At night, sleep with a satin cap, and use the mist and moisturizer in the morning to revive your curl pattern.

3. Try Kinky Twists with extensions or without, depending on your hair length and what you feel comfortable with. I caution that you go to a professional for kinky twists if you want extensions. They tend to break the hair off around the edges, so be careful with them.

4. Get another protective hair style, in addition to the kinky twist. This will keep you from having to do your hair everyday. You can look through a natural hair magazine or find pics online of styles you'd be interested in trying. Or you could just steal a style from someone that you see. I posted the pics below earlier, but I thought I would do it again. I saw this woman at a wedding and thought her hair was very cute.

Sorry . . .

Sorry followers. I know it's been a minute. Since I started this blog, I found out I was pregnant and then the school year began (I teach). With the combination of the two, I just haven't taken the time to update my blog. I'm only up here now because we have a snow day. More posts to come. I promise.

Curly Nikki

I really like this website, Curly Nikki.

Something I Did That You Shouldn't Do: #2

The Bible says that wise people learn from others' mistakes. So I'm going to do a series of posts about hair mistakes I've made, and hopefully you'll learn from them and not do the same.

#2-If You Get a Headache From Your Hairstyle, Take It Down

In January of 2006, I had to do a 2nd big chop (see earlier post). I was devastated that I had to start from scratch with growing my hair back. Around August or so of the same year, I started to notice that my hair was getting longer. I did a blow out and was so pleased with what I saw.

Finally, after all this time, I had an afro puff. I even did a mini-photo shoot. To keep my hair pulled back, I started wearing these stretchy bands around my hair. Every once in a while,though, I'd get a headache. My hair felt like it was a little too tight. I'd try to loosen the band, but my head would still hurt. I just started popping in an Advil pill or two and kept it moving.

A few months later, I noticed that the hair on one side of my head was shorter than the hair around it. I looked to the same spot on the opposite side of my head and noticed the same breakage. I also noticed that my scalp was sore in those areas.

I immediately knew that my hair had broken off from wearing those bands. I guess I ignored those warning signs of pain because I was so happy to see that my hair was finally growing and plus I had an afro puff! Crazy I know. But nonetheless, lesson learned!

Nowadays if I want to pull my hair back, I'll use a scarf or a knee high stocking.

Something I Did That You Shouldn't Do: #1

The Bible says that wise people learn from others' mistakes. So I'm going to do a series of posts about hair mistakes I've made, and hopefully you'll learn from them and not do the same.

#1-Do Not Use Excessive Heat

Back in 2005 when I was preparing to get married, I had only been natural for a little less than a year. I had no idea how to style my own hair, and I didn't know of anyone who did natural hair. Most of the people I talked to would say, "I know how to straighten it," but I didn't want to wear it straight.

At any rate, I had tried several natural styles, which I didn't like. So I decided to let this lady who had tried the natural styles with me, straighten it with a hot comb. She styled it, and it looked very nice (my hair was way longer than I had thought!). I didn't have a lot of time to be picky. It was the middle of September, I didn't have a hairstyle, and I was getting married on October 1st.

I let the straightened style stay for about a week. Roughly two weeks later was my wedding and I had my hair straightened again. I liked it and was very pleased, until I got back from my honeymoon.

I washed my hair and noticed that over half of my head was still straight. I figured that it might take a few washes to get all of my hair to revert back. Here comes December and the back of my head was nappy and the front half was bone straight. I went back to the hair dresser and she was dumbfounded. She said laughingly, "I've never seen anything like this before!" First of all, I needed her to not be laughing because I was extremely mad, but I didn't carry out any of those violent thoughts I was having in my head.

Well January rolled around and my hair was still a mess. It was depressing. I already didn't know how to do natural hair, and I really didn't know how to do this half straight half natural stuff. My hair looked like it was having an external conflict, and I was the one losing.

I slowly came to the realization that I had to cut all of my hair off again! I had only had one hair cut in my entire life, and it was the big chop. Now, a year and a half later, I was going to have to do it all over again. I washed my hair, and went to the bathroom and just started cutting it off myself. I didn't trust anybody else to touch my hair. Once it was all over, I looked in the mirror and felt a lot better. There are worse things in life than having to cut off your hair. So I got over myself, but I learned a very important lesson: Ronda's hair + excessive heat= a hot mess.

Now, I'm not sure if it was the hot comb, the heat, the oil, or a combo of all of them that damaged my hair; I just know that till this day, I have never used a hot comb nor a flat iron, and I probably never will.