How’s everyone’s Healthy Hair 2011 challenge progressing? Good..bad…? Hopefully no dramatic setbacks to report as of yet…(side eye at myself.) The previous week a woman was sufficiently geared up to undergo her second Henna Treatment, but found a hidden case of brunch-itis overtaking her entire.weekend. Shame.

But here’s to hoping right back  on the bandwagon, avoiding all calls from friends & Mr. Mimosa to come out and play, and finally getting down to business! Henna Dayz returned triumphant this past weekend, starting earlier than usual in the day to avoid the onset of predictable agita. Sticking with my ultimate hair health check list.

I began with a Hot Oil Pre-poo on the scalp – this week using Jojoba, Grapeseed, Tea Tree & Vatica Oil. Mix was applied directly to scalp using an applicator bottle, massaged for 5-10 minutes & then cleansed.

• Cleanse: Carol’s Daughter Curl Perfecting Shampoo
• Henna Gloss: 3/4 pack of Jamila quality henna mixed w/this week’s brew of chamomile + marshmallow root, couple tablespoons of raw honey & a thick conditioner (Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose)
• Deep Condition: Shea Moisture’s Organics African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner
• Style: KBB’s Hair Ambrosia + EO’s Everyday Leave-in Weightless Moisture Conditioner

I picked up this handy tool a few weeks ago in hopes of incorporating a few more herbal brews into my hair game. This was the first week it was put to use, and I have to say it’s very easy to handle  and leaves relatively no mess behind. Ikea sells this & something similar anywhere from $5-$13.

Benefits of Chamomile Tea for Hair:

• Soothes an itchy/dry Scalp
• Helps calm Inflammation

Benefits of Marshmallow Root:

• Marshmallow is a medicated, conditioning, mucilaginous herb that provides an abundance of ‘slip’ which helps to nourish and detangle thick naturally curly, wavy & Afro type hair.

The Henna Gloss was applied to clean, lightly detangled hair & left on for 2 hours before  rinsing thoroughly. Made sure to use a cheapie conditioner& lukewarm water to rid the hair of the mix before proceeding to Deep Condition (2 hours while errand running).

I’ve been getting much better at applying the Henna, leaving a lot less mess behind on my white bathroom walls & a plethora of newspaper & plastic bags on the floor. Easy cleanup for the #win!

Initially I thought of not DC’ing after the Henna Gloss, but felt the hair begin to tangle and feel slightly straw-like moments after the final rinse. After the DC hair did feel soft and tangle free, so those 2 hours were not in vain. I find this to be the main downside to this whole process, having to DC a bit longer after applying the mix – but I’m almost certain this varies depending on your hair’s porosity, length and other hair health needs.

Once a month is definitely more than enough to go through the Henna Dayz phase, and with my 2nd attempt happily in the books, I’m looking forward to this coming week’s less time consuming routine. Due to a mix of frigid weather & outright laziness, hair’s been kept & swept up in two strand twists. Have you heard? It’s a tad brisk here’s on the East Coast, and while I wouldn’t mind letting the twists out to play, my winter scalp issues are often kept in check when things are under wraps.

*things to do*

• Length check (I’m horrible about this but it’s a MUST to help gauge progress)
• body health post (changes in diet over the past couple of weeks, including the addition of dietary supplements)

*Anyone face any personal obstacles during the challenge? What have you done to overcome?*

I’m sure many of us have watched & digested the natural hair video that’s evidently gone viral since the 1st hour of it’s posting several days ago. A young woman in clear visual distress, takes to her video phone to record a myriad of tribulations associated with her ‘unmanageable’ natural hair. It’s a doozy….certainly entertaining well throughout, yet once you’ve reached the end mark of the video you’re left wondering if in fact she’s just spilled the beans on what many newly naturals have long been feeling, but are either too frustrated to speak on, or are still in search of that ‘miracle product.’

After first viewing the vid, I chuckled and empathized  as she guzzled her slurpie & hightailed it to the wig shop to cover up her TWA. I laughed but also felt a pang of sadness for something that has evidently ballooned into a clear unattainable idea of what it means to be natural today.

Can we talk about the Wash-n-Go for a sec? Mmmkkaaay.

A brief background on where I’m coming from first: As a woman who went natural a little over 10 yrs ago, I still feel there is a ton of lessons to learn as far as how to care for one’s hair. I doubt this will ever change, much like my skin, body and other aesthetics  change over time and require different needs, so goes my hair.

Looking back over the years, it’s clear to see what was lacking in my journey. I had very little to work on as far as product knowledge, proper methods to wash/detangle textured hair…the importance of moisturizing…etc. There were very little resources at my disposal 10 years ago, and in hindsight while this may seem disastrous to those just going natural today, it was a personal blessing.

I did not have to filter through what’s today become the prodigal language for most naturals (wash-n-go’s, hair typing, protective styling..etc.) I’ve adjusted my vocab over the years to stay inclusive on the natural hair scene, but a part of me  still continues to hold tight to what it was like not to have to worry about the debate & divisiveness that props up from the ironic misunderstandings.

Tami from What Tami Said makes an interesting point:

Drop in on a natural hair forum and you might think caring for natural hair is like nuclear physics. Gotta figure out your hair type…4c…4a…3c…To co-wash or not to co-wash?…Use this brush not that one…Buy this expensive product and that one, too…Let this thing sit on your hair for 30 minutes, followed by this thing and that thing for just the right curl…And a lot of this is done because we are supposed to look like the neatly curly women on the “after” side of that Miss Jessie’s page. Except most of us naturally don’t.

What she addresses here is the possible  Tyranny of Natural Hair, a new conformist ideal we’re all attempting to mold into each time we struggle to understand the directions to yet another hair pudding or custard.

I generalize this all as the ‘Myth of the Wash-n-Go’ because this was my wake-up call. I distinctly remember watching Youtube vid after Youtube tutorial, trolling through the often times overstaturated forum boards filled with advice…standing in front of my mirror and attempting to recreate an image that would never…or could never be an authentic representation of me.

Truthfully, while I dish on the proper maintenance and stylings of the ‘traditional’ wash-n-go, hardly ever do I clock in under 30 minutes when attempting this style. I haven’t met many naturals who have either (save for the TWA gals, heeeey!), & I think this is why it’s often kept in the confines of the warmer months.

Realistically, what ultimately goes down is a washing/light conditioning/styling/slight drying = end time of 1hr (if that) . Now, like it or not natural hair…no matter how you slice it or style it, takes not just time…but patience. You cannot cut corners 9 times  out of 10, and expect satisfied results. How often do many of us spend a minimum of 30 minutes in a Hair Salon & expect top notch results? Maintaining natural hair is all in what you know, how you use it…rather than what you use to achieve the perfect twist-out, braid-out. I don’t doubt there are many women who do get up in the a.m. brush their teeth, wash-no-go, and head out the door, coffee in hand to greet the day in less than an hour. Yet, for the majority of women living their own day-to day, whether with children or attached to a textbook…this is often not the case.

Today, I choose to take care of my natural hair because no one else will. I wash/style/condition because currently there are not enough hair stylists working their magic fingers on a woman with highly textured hair…I don’t trust that. I trust me, and what I’ve learned in the over 10 years that I’ve been on this journey. None of it was easy, nor did I expect it to be. I learned to manage the frustrations, overcome the inevitable obstacles and love that me & Fro are still here…taking compliments, biding time until the next lesson needs to be learned. Taking care of one’s natural hair can be easy…over time it certainly does, but much like other instances in life, you have to earn your place…follow your own path and demystify your own misconceptions of what going natural is really about. There is no singular ideal to having/wearing natural hair….no sameness to all of our looks & styles.  Forget what marketing brands & companies who are vying for your attention ( & $$$) have to say. Reject the mold & begin to cultivate your own version  of you.

Here’s another great opportunity to co-mingle with fellow natural haired ladies, swap product secrets & shop for some of your favorite hair goodies while at the Karen’s Body Beautiful Spa in Brooklyn, New York.

Karen along with SumKindaWndrful from Youtube have teamed up to host a Natural Hair After Work Mixer! If you’re in the area do stop by, it’s sure to be good times. Z from Leave In The Kinks will also be on hand dishing out her gorgeous new “I Love Your Hair” cards.

To RSVP to the event, click here.

When: Friday, February 18th,

Time: 5pm – 8pm

Where: Karen’s Body Beautiful Spa, 436 Myrtle Ave Brooklyn, NY

I was under the impression many years ago that it mattered greatly what a person put on their hair to help it to achieve length. As a young girl, I’d often watch my Aunt who’s a talented hair stylist engage her clients on the basics and products used to care for their hair. She would help promote the product du jour to the many ladies who came in and out of her chair, explaining to them that in  a few short weeks they ought see ‘some improvement.’ Today, I’m almost certain many of these women believed in the ‘truth‘ of these products and their claims, to help grow hair in a specified amount of time with the aide of hair growth oils/serums applied to hair/scalp nightly…etc.

This was a way of thinking I instinctively bought into as I grew older, the same as many of the ladies that pass in and out of many salons and beauty care aisles each day. If the product didn’t ‘work,’ we’d all quickly move onto the next….and the next.

Even as a little girl, I wanted longer hair & fully believed in the immediacy of achieving it after seeing the powers of the relaxer. It was all about the dramatic transformation while completely stripped of the long term effort often required when achieving many goals. And because this notion was so ingrained in my way of thinking, I carried it with me several years into my natural hair journey.

Recently, because of some revaulation & a better conscious view on how I was going to achieve healthier longer hair, the changes that were to be made to my routine mattered mostly in how I cared for my strands as opposed to what was put on it.

Simplicity.

Being a person who loves to dip her fingers in the latest product of the week, and constantly looking for that latest and best conditioner to quench my dry, thirsty hair I’ve come to realize that I can continue to experiment while still focusing on the bare essentials. If I want to reach my goal of healthier hair while retaining length, I had to change more than just my conditioner – methods, practices and carefully watching what I eat were now all major players in the game.

Knowledge is key & when you know better…you do better. No more believing in just the sanctity of how well a product performs, I’m here to hold myself accountable.

• No more rushing through the detangling process (I’ve gotten significantly better at this:)
• Maintain a proper eating lifestyle/diet
• Minimizing daily stress levels (ooooh jeez!)
• Exercising (double JEEZ!)

This a a short practical list to help get me on track, but I’m there – at the starting line & willing to win this because setting goals is also about achieving them in a smart, effective manner. I’m also here to look at the other side of the coin, re-evaluating my hair goals in terms of my overall body health.

So many challenges…so little time these days to keep track! But one that I’ll be loosely following is the new Curly Nikki & Kim Coles Hair Health challenge partnered with NaturallyCurly.com & JessiCurl. The guidelines to the challenge will take an extra step of dedication each day, but I’m willing to dive in. I’ll be blogging about my progress, setbacks (hopefully not too many) and newfound discoveries along the way. Rerouting my current diet into something more health conscious will be my biggest hurdle…sad. But here’s to the future sexy in all of us…it doesn’t just begin with the Fro.

Along with updates here on the blog, I’ll be posting periodically on my Facebook Page & of course Tweeting tips, ideas & food related recipes to help remain on track. If you’ve taken up a challenge or two, would love to hear any words of encouragement & to follow along with your journey!