Niké (NaturallyNiké)

Are you relaxed, natural, texturized or texlaxed? 100% Natural

What’s your story, how did you get to where you are? Well I should start off by saying that I didnt make a conscious desicion to transition. I never even heard of “natural hair transition” until I joined forums like BHM, and LHCF. Since day 1 of my Iife, I always had a head full of hair. I started relaxing around 9/10 yrs old (after begging my mother) about 2 times a yr. Over the years from getting wash and sets every two weeks religiously my hair started to lose it thickness and
length. It wasnt untill I was 17/18 yrs when I decided to STOP relaxing my hair,but even then I kept up with wash n sets, and wore straight weaves meaning had to press all the time. My hair was suffereng badly.
Around Feb/March 08 I got my hair cut into a bob which was technically my BC. I kept it weaved up until June 08, the summer I finally decided to rock my natural hair and begin my HEALHTY HAIR JOURNEY, and its been great every since….

What is your regimen at the moment? When its cold out, I have a weekly regimen. Every Sunday, I cleanse with a gengle SLS &SL free shampoo,oil rinse, and then DC with steam….

During the summer I definately start cowashing a few times a week and wear wash and go styles more, but I stay consistent with my weekly regimen…

And your favourite product? I have a few…

My first is V05 Passion Fruit Smoothie Condtioner, which I use as a leave in. It, it light,and leaves my hair super soft and smooth to the touch….

Second is Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I can use it in pretty much anything, my hair can never get enough of it, and it must be extra virgin…

Third is Jamaican Black Castor Oil, my hair likes castor oil, but it LOVES JBCO…I use it to seal mixed with a lil EVOO, but even alone w/o no other product in it JBCO leaves my hair is super soft, and shiny….

Fourth is Silicon Mix Deep Treatment, I absolutely love this DC, I am currently loving Lekair Cholesterol too, but no DC has ever been able to penetrate my hair like these two….

What’s your signature style? My signature styles are braid and twist outs. I love big hair, and these two styles give it to me…

I also love different kinds of updo’s…

What is the best tip you have learned to protect your ends? Keep hair stretched, to prevent it from tangling, and knotting upon eachother.

Moisturise and seal atleast daily, or when needed.

DC DC DC!!! this keeps hair moisturized from within….

Any links you would like to share? Here is the link to my youtube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/NaturallyNike
Its been a while since ive done videos.I am currently with out a camera, but as soon as I get a new one , I will be back!!!

For frequent updates, visit my fotki, it shows my healthy hair journey from the beginning to now. . .  http://members.fotki.com/lilnicka4u2nv/about/

Share your own hair story here!

BNatural

Are you relaxed, natural, texturized or texlaxed? Natural from April 2007 – 3 yrs

What’s your story, how did you get to where you are? I had my first relaxer in 2004, my hair was thick, very few split ends until I moved to England and tried to stretch my relaxers! Oh that was miserable! I made the decision to go natural in March 2007! Did I have a valid reason…? No! I did not have one then, still don’t know why, but I have no regrets! The “BIG CHOP” was the worst event in my life! Short hair! I’ve never had my hair so short! What am I supposed to do with it? Well my hair dresser twisted it small and told me to style it that way, it’ll grow out. SHORT TWISTS ON ME! Oh no! Soon as I got home took them out, and tried to pull my hair up into some sort of updo! Fell in love with banana clips and gel at that stage! Kept my hair up nicely and looked amazing! Then it was able to take a proper ponytail! I was so happy! As my hair grew longer I started cornrows, flat twists, braids, twists, afros mixed a little played a little! Then came the day when my afros started to tangle SERIOUSLY! As hair gets longer the ends tangle like crazy (all those wanting a BAA be prepared for lengthy detangling sessions)! So out with the afros! Still kept on with the other styles! My out styles never came out right so gave up on that (till I recently discovered doing a cornrow out on stretched hair)! Throughout this journey my hair has had it’s moments! I mean come on even straight haired people have bad hair days! Some days I just want to run to a relaxer but I love my natural hair! It’s amazing! It is my friend! We tough it out through the bad times together!

What is your regimen at the moment? Umm… Co washes whenever I change my hair style. Shampoo only when needed. Conditioner or Petroleum Jelly to style. In shower styling for ponytails, updos and buns. Section in shower then style for braids, twists, cornrows, flat twists! Most times I do these on dry stretched hair! Once styled tie hair for a sleek finish.

And your favourite product? Conditioner

What’s your signature style? Low Buns/Updos!

What is the best tip you have learned to protect your ends? Avoid tangles
*Detangle with loads of conditioner starting from ends to roots
*On dry hair use moisturizer and be extra careful
*Detangle in the shower in sections
*Protective/Low Manipulation styles help with avoiding tangles

Any links you would like to share? My Fotki – http://members.fotki.com/halfindian/about/

Share your own hair story here!

Reader question:

“I am seriously confused, i feel like my hair is very weak and I just found out that mineral oil is not good for the hair and almost everything i use on my hair contains mineral oil.I also just found out that my hair is not supposed to be combed or brushed when there is still relaxer on my head. i do not want to cut my hair but i think i might have to.

I am also very confused as to what exact products I should use for my hair. please could you make a list. Thank you so much for this website. Please reply. I live in Nigeria and it is very hard for me to get information.”

Our answer:

Hello, I’m sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your hair. It may be difficult to get the same hair products we use here so it probably won’t do you any good for me to write you a list. Don’t be too hasty with chopping your hair off however, as long as you understand that from now, you must treat your hair gently like a silk scarf in order to allow it to grow, To tell you the truth, you do not need any fancy products to grow your hair long, all you need is a good protein conditioner and a good moisturizing conditioner and a natural oil to seal in moisture. Most supermarkets have a good range of conditioners and as long as one of the ingredients is not mineral oil then its fine (I usually buy 4 bottles at a time!). I would avoid black hair beauty stores as many of the products will have mineral oil. Go for good quality brand names which are made for ‘dry hair’, many women make the mistake of assuming that these products are made for white people which is not the case. Black is dry hair so a conditioner made for this purpose will be perfect. If you cannot find a specific protein conditioner then all you need to do is to add a couple of egg whites to your regular conditioner to make it a protein conditioner. Pure henna powder is also an excellent hair strengthener.

I would advise against shampooing your hair for a few weeks but washing with conditioner only every couple of days until your hair has regained a good moisture-protein balance.

You may have to accept that your current hair will all have to be cut off eventually if it is really weak, damaged or overprocessed. All you can do at the moment is keep it on your head long enough to allow for stronger hair to grow! Don’t worry, hair grows constantly and if you treat your hair right it will grow longer than you ever imagined it could.

I can point you in the direction of a lady who also lives in Nigeria, she has an album on fotki click here She makes her own hair products with natural ingredients and she has beautiful hair. Bear in mind her hair is natural and she is currently locking it but she can give you pointers on making your own products.

Also, if you are looking for general hair care advise just read the articles on BlackHairInformation.com in a systematic manner and you will have all the information you will need to begin your journey to healthy hair.

All the best of luck

Reader Question:

My hair tends to not grow in the back, on the right side of my head, my hair grows fast, on the left side, it grows slow…In saying all of that, my hair is contantly at 3 diferent lengths…might you have any reasons as to why this may be happening?

Our answer:

Hello,

It is common for people to have different growth patterns and areas of varying density on different areas of their scalp. It may simply be a matter of genetics.

You have to remember that each hair follicle is independent and has its own rate of growth which can change according to hormonal and aging influences independently.

However, to be sure that breakage is not the culprit for your lack of progress in your nape area, you can try protective styling that area of your hair constantly for a couple of months then measure the growth. Many ladies achieve this by braiding the hair in a single or two cornrows from one side to the other just in the nape area. If you wear your hair down then it will not affect your style as the cornrows will be covered but your nape hair will remain protected. You may find that your hair does in fact grow just the same in the back as it does elsewhere and it is possibly something in your hair regimen that is causing the breakage. Nape hair problems are especially common with relaxed hair.

Good luck!

Reader Question:

Hi, about three months ago I had chemically straightened my hair but I went back for another treatment about a month and a half ago because the previous treatment left some hair un-straightened.

But since then I have lost a lot of hair, from both split ends and from the root. Now I’m worried that the hair that is coming out of the root will not grow back. Do you think my hair will grow back. Any advise? Thanks.

Our Answer:

Hello,

Scalp burns from relaxers is one of the leading reasons for baldness amongst black females so you have every right to be concerned.

Let me start by saying that a month and a half between relaxer services is not long enough if your aim is to grow your hair long. If you search the hair boards, you will find that majority of the women who have managed to grow their hair to unimaginable lengths have done so by ‘stretching their relaxers so they are only having chemical services 2-4 times per year. If you switched to such a regimen you will find that your hair will do much better.

Now I cannot tell you whether or not your hair will grow back as I do not know what damage may have been done to the hair folllicles but what I can say is that it sounds very much like your hair has now been overprocessed which could explain why you are now having long strands come out.

All I can recomend is that you have a strong protein treatment service like aphogee 2 step protein to minimize the hair loss until healthier hair grows back. Follow this up with a moisturizing deep conditioner. If the hair has been terribly overprocessed however, all you can do is keep it on your head for a while but it will eventually break off. On the other hand, if you now start reducing relaxer services to every 12 weeks at the very least then your hair will be healthier for it. You may also want to consider texlaxing your hair rather than relaxing bone straight to keep it stronger. Purposely underprocessing hair is a useful practice as not all the bonds in your hair strands have been broken by the relaxer which means your hair is stronger. You can always straighten your hair bone straight by roller setting or flat ironing!

Please read the article on the website for more information: http://www.blackhairinformation.com/relaxed-hair/relaxing-texturizing-and-texlaxing-black-hair/

For further hair care advice I would advice you to read some threads on this forum: http://talk.blackhairmedia.com/default.asp

Good Luck!