Hair Update

Yesterday I wrote about the new double conditioning that I did and also the fact that I accidentally left my gel out of the process. Well I am happy to say that the conditioning and the no gel have worked! I was lamenting the fact that I had left the gel out but my curls look like they first did when I started the new styling process back in June. The curls are soft and more flowing and not crunchy or hard at all. I also didn't put gripper clips on the ends yesterday. I had been doing that previously to help stretch the curls but I decided to embrace my frizz instead. I would rather have more bouncy curls with shrinkage than without. So I embraced my shrinkage. I still used the gripper clips at the roots, two on each side of my part to keep the roots from shrinking up. I only use one at the back since it is longer and doesn't shrink up as much. I was really pleased with the results and really excited that I was able to see a couple of the problems I had mentioned resolved. I haven't noticed any flaking of the product in my hair which I was attributing to the Curly Pudding but could have been too much of the gel and the pudding mixed together that it didn't adhere to my hair fully leaving a surface residue. I also have noticed less frizz today than after my previous washes. So I am really happy to have my hair groove back. I read an article today on Curly Nikki's site that was from last year but was talking about how you go through a process with your hair when you're a natural. There's the process of going natural, the process of finding the right styles and products for you, and the process of constant upkeep that you go through to ensure that your hair remains healthy. In the article the writer expressed feelings that I have had previously as well which is that many natural women go through a lot more with their natural hair than they ever did with their relaxed hair but it is so worth it. I remember this past summer when I had first started using products on my hair to get the right style that I was looking for. I went to a baby shower and saw some family that I hadn't seen in a long time and they were asking me where I had gotten my hair done and who did it. I was so happy to reply that I had done it myself. And it was rewarding not just because they were complimenting my hair's look but because I knew all that I had had to go through to make it to being able to give my hair that look. At the point that they saw it I had been on the natural hair journey for about 2 1/2 years and for much of that time my hair did not look the way that it did that day. And for that reason I was especially happy that I was able to see my hair reach the point of looking like I had wanted it to look for those 2 1/2 years. I remember looking at my freshly washed wavy and Z curl strands in the mirror after showers and wondering why it couldn't just stay like that. I would say, "I just want to wear my hair curly!" But I didn't know how to make it happen. But I am so thankful that I was able to get to a point where I was able to watch some vloggers do their own hair and figure out what products might help me accomplish the look I was going for. If you have read the past couple hair updates I've written my main concerns now are length, stopping breakage, and moisturizing. So it is an ever continuing process and I have felt so relieved when I have read and viewed other women speaking about the same things. They get to a point where things work for a while and then they might notice something that they want different or need to work on and then they focus on that. It's not 100% all the time. And I am glad to know that there are other women out there battling against single strand knots and split ends too. I'm so thankful for the natural hair community online and I am so grateful that natural hair is becoming more of the norm. It is really exciting seeing other women embrace their natural textures.