Lifestyle – Forever Thugnacious

Curly Commitment: The 3 Year Update

Three years ago, I made a decision to honor my natural curly hair and embark on a “Natural Hair Journey“. Though I had stopped relaxing my hair about eight years prior, I had not stopped straightening it and had no idea how to navigate my life without doing so. Every product, hairstyle, or trick I had revolved around keeping my hair sleek, smooth, and most importantly, pin-straight. After “transitioning” from routinely straightening my hair in 2015, I chopped off more than 12 inches of heat damaged hair and patted myself on the back for completing my transition into the natural hair lifestyle (if you haven’t read about my transition yet, I suggest you stop reading and click here to catch up). What I didn’t know then was that my transition was far from over.

My first year as a curly girl was a huge success, or so I thought. I experimented with different styling lotions, cremes, and jellies until I found ones that worked best for me. I kept up with routine trims (at home & by myself), and kept my hair away from heat as much as I could, but, I still struggled to fight the urge to straighten my hair from time to time. Initially, I thought a little heat wouldn’t hurt every now and then as long as I conditioned it well before and after. What I didn’t realize was that those sporadic weeks of straightened hair maintained with daily touch-ups added up and eventually I found myself close to square one by the time 2017 rolled around.

By February of 2017, I found myself with split ends and heat damaged deep waves where curls had once formed. Determined to undo the damage, I cut off about 6 inches and began implementing a strict deep conditioning routine complete with various oils and foods. Within a couple of months my hair showed signs of recovery and I was overjoyed. That joy was short-lived, however, because as my hair grew there was a clear divide between my healthy roots and “recovered” ends and it made wearing my hair loose a nightmare.

Now it was September, and my hair was past boob length (I use my boobs to measure hair length, sorry not sorry) when stretched, a length I had craved for since I first cut my hair in 2015, and though my hair was begging to be chopped I couldn’t bring myself to part with it completely, so, I continued with my routine trims thinking I could get away with semi-healthy hair. After straightening my hair a couple more times in the three months that followed, my hair felt dry and brittle, most of the longest layer was stringy and thin, and not one strand formed a complete curl. I reached a point where I was so dissatisfied with my curl pattern that I decided it was time to go back to basics. Not only did I cut my hair about 6 inches and revamp my entire hair care and product routine, but I also decided not to take on the ‘No Heat Challenge’ and not straighten my hair again until further notice.

In the past year since I have been fully committed to my curly hair, I’ve completely changed my perception of my hair and how I value it. In the past, I’ve often chosen lengthy hair over healthy hair because I preferred my hair long. Split ends and choppy hair can easily be concealed with some product and styling when you straighten your hair, but it’s not the same when you wear your hair natural. Straggly straight ends show no mercy and do not blend well with healthy coils and I’ve learned that when it comes to achieving a good wash day, the key is having healthy hair. I have cut my hair no less than 10 times in the past year trying hard to chop off as many unhealthy ends as possible, and though my hair is not as long as I would like for it to be it is strong and healthy.

In many ways, I still feel that I am still at the beginning of this journey with my hair but I do have to say that I appreciate every lesson I’ve learned thus far. Better to have learned them on my own hair than have to experiment on my future children. Here are some of the things that I’ve learned that might help you on your own journey:

Hydration & Moisture – It is super important for me to moisturize my hair between washes. Some weeks I dampen, untangle my hair, and put more leave-in conditioner and braid it, other weeks I replace the leave in with an oil.
Braids are your friend – Though I style my hair in a bun 99.6% of the time, I try to braid it at night as often as possible and will usually have my hair braided when I’m at home. Braiding hair with product helps to ensure each strand is getting some love and not just tied away and forgotten.
Sectioning hair is not optional – Over the years I had gotten lazy with my routine and stopped sectioning my hair when applying conditioners and products and it left me with nice conditioned roots and a dry section right in the back of my head. Always section your hair.
Do not touch wet hair – I too often made the mistake of trying to fluff my curls while they were drying and ended up with a frizzy mess. The key to achieving volume without messing up the curl pattern is to wait until your curls have fully dried before fluffing.
Wash Less – If you struggle with dry hair try to limit washes to 1x a week and switch out your shampoo to a co-wash 2-3 washes out of the month. Washing your hair less with cleansing chemicals and adding extra conditioning will help your hair retain its natural oils, keeping it healthy and shiny.

Click here to see some pictures of my progress between September 2016 and November 2018.

Skin Care Routine

Lifestyle

Throughout my teenage years and the first couple years of my twenties, I struggled a lot with my skin. I was always getting breakouts and though they only lasted a few days, the scars they left behind always lasted weeks and sometimes even months.

When I was 19, I began wearing foundation to try and conceal my scars because I couldn’t find any real solution. At 21, I began experimenting with all natural acne treatments and at 22 I finally implemented a skin care routine. It was when I finally stuck to this routine (and increased my water intake) that I discovered what the root of my acne problem was… DRY SKIN.

I had been under the impression that since I had acne my skin was oily and over produced natural oils. I tried to treat it by using Astringents and other products that are specially designed to “dry out” acne, but I never really focused on moisturizing my skin. Not providing my skin the moisture it needed, was contributing to the over production of natural oils that I tried so hard to reduce. It has been a year since I began to focus on moisturizing my skin and my skin has made a dramatic improvement. I no longer suffer from frequent breakouts, and when I happen to get a pimple, it’s only one and gone in a few days.

I have also noticed that sticking to a routine guarantees consistently clear skin. Many times over the past year, I had reached points where I felt that my skin was “cured” and could afford a few days without the routine. It never took more than a few days of abandoning the routine before my skin began showing signs of regression, and slight breakouts began to appear. Consistency is the key to ensuring healthy, beautiful skin.

Below, is a detailed explanation of each step in my routine. This is not a how-to, or an exact recipe for clear skin, these are simply steps that have worked for me and my specific skin care needs. Feel free to draw inspiration from these steps and incorporate them into your own routines! (The products featured are ones that work for me, and it is important to note that these products may not work for you. The key is to find similar products that fit your needs and come up with a routine that fits your lifestyle.)

1. Cleansing

I did not include a picture of the facial cleanser I use because this is a part of my routine I’m constantly changing. Typically I will choose a product designed to clear acne. Sometimes I buy a facial cleanser with exfoliating beads, sometimes I won’t. I have found that either works just fine for me. I do, however, stay away from cream cleansers. For one odd reason or another, those have never done me any justice.

Personally, I wash my face 2x a day. Once in the morning, and once before bed.

Leaving the dirt and oils that can accumulate on your skin (especially if you live in a big city with lots of pollution) over night will cause them to clog up your pores and having clogged pores is what leads to black heads and pimples. Not washing the oils and dirt you may have soaked up from your pillow while sleeping, can also lead to clogged pores. So, make sure your face is being cleaned regularly.

2. Toning

I have used a few different skin toners/astringents and I can’t say that I prefer any specific one over all the others, but this is the one I’m currently using. Currently, I use this 2-3x a week after cleansing but if I have been wearing make up a little more than usual, I make sure to use it more often.

Toning your skin is what gives you a nice even texture (I’m not sure that’s even the right word) and an airbrushed look and feel to your natural skin. It dramatically reduces the size and visibility of your pores, and picks up any impurities that may be left behind after cleansing.

Toning my skin regularly has made a huge difference for me personally and I definitely recommend including a toner in your regimen.

3. Hydration Mist

This is not a staple in my routine but I use this when my face feels a little dryer than usual or I spent too much time between cleansing my skin and applying my moisturizer. When my skin is too dry, my moisturizer doesn’t apply the same way so this definitely helps fix that issue.

4. Spot Correcting

As I mentioned before, scarring is a huge problem for me. A pimple may only last a few days but the scar lingers for quite some time on my skin. I’ve been using this product for about 6 months now I definitely notice how much this speeds up the scar fading process. I use 1-2 pumps of this 2x per day (after every time I cleanse my skin) and it works wonders.

This product is becoming one of my holy grails and I definitely recommend using this for people who suffer from scarring like I do. It is not a magic eraser and works best at preventing new scars from lingering while providing an overall evenness to your skin tone.

4. Eye Cream

This is a step that most women my age tend to skip but as someone who tends to have dark circles under their eyes, this is a must. Also, in my opinion the best way to avoid signs of aging is to be proactive and take steps to prevent them. This eye cream is not a drugstore product but is worth every penny.

I use this 2x a day and I apply it only around my eye area. After 2-3 days of using this you definitely start to see the improvement to the discoloration that can be caused by lack of sleep, and an overall rejuvenation of the eye area. This is without a doubt one of my favorite products and I recommend this to anyone looking to improve the appearance of their under-eye bags or lines.

5. Moisturizing

The final step in my skin care routine is one of the most important ones… MOISTURIZING. As I mentioned before, this has been the key to avoiding breakouts and keeping a healthy looking glow.

My personal preference when it comes to moisturizers is cocoa butter or raw shea butter. These products are both very moisturizing and considered to be a little “heavy” on the skin but I love knowing that the moisture will last me all day. Lighter products don’t provide my skin with hydration that lasts well into the evening, which is something I personally need (especially during the colder months). They also leave my skin with a dewy finish that leaves me with the natural glow I love.

Again, the products you use in your regimen can be unique to fit your personal skin care needs but implementing a routine and sticking to it (and drinking more water) will definitely help you achieve the healthy glowing skin you’re looking for. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, please be sure to check back for other posts like this one.

Natural Hair Journey

Lifestyle

I started my natural hair journey by accident in early 2014. When I was 12 years old (2007), I stopped relaxing my hair after getting a really bad relaxer that had my hair all kids of messed up. For the next 3 years I went through a really awkward transitioning phase until my hair was finally 100% natural. I learned how straighten my own hair as a freshman in college (2012) when my mom bought me my first flat iron. Once I had started straightening my hair on my own nothing could stop me. I had mastered the flat iron and I loved it.

By the time I was halfway through my sophomore year of college (2014), I decided that I wanted to wear my hair curly more often. By this point my hair was so heat damaged that it literally did not curl. Loose frizzy waves were the most my hair could manage, even after endless crunching.

Eventually what I had started doing was french braiding my hair while wet and letting dry to achieve a more defined curl and I would rotate back and forth between this and straightening my hair.

FullSizeRender (4) — My braid out on a good day.

Since I didn’t really know of any curl styling products besides gel at the time, I had been relying on my conditioner as a styling product to hold my “curls” and fight frizz. I had attempted using gel in high school but I could never find one with enough hold or one that gave my “curls” any definition so I abandoned the idea of using gel altogether. By now, it was early 2015 and at some point someone recommended that I look into Shea Moisture products because they were really good for styling curly hair, so I did.

I started off simple with their Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie and boy did I love the results. It was the best curl styling product I had ever tried. It held my “curls” like Gel was supposed to and gave them definition I had never seen on my hair before. Now that I had found my new miracle product I wore my hair curly all the time. I should probably note that what I considered curls were actually more like deep waves (which is why I’ve been putting the word in quotations) but as time went on they kept getting closer and closer to the curly side of the spectrum.

Throughout the Spring 2015 semester I only straightened my hair a handful of times and as a result my hair became so much healthier and thicker. As a child, I was always told that I had so much hair that I had enough to supply four people with a whole head’s worth of hair. Once I had begun relaxing my hair I lost a lot of the fullness I once had and I never really regained it. It was only until I had stopped applying so much heat to my hair that I finally began to see a difference in my hair’s fullness.

FullSizeRender (6) — Wash & Go, February/March 2015.

Towards the end of the semester into the beginning of the summer I began to experiment with different products ranging from styling jellies to styling lotions and milks. I started combining different products to see which ones worked best to achieve my desired look. Finally, towards the end of the summer, I found a product formula that worked best and it was one of the best days of my life! My hair finally developed its own curl pattern, and I was the happiest girl on the planet.

FullSizeRender (5) — Wash & Go, July 2015.

Today, my curls are healthy and bouncy and actually curly but I still feel like I have a ways to go until I can say I am 100% satisfied with my hair. Looking back my journey thus far I can say that this has been one of the most rewarding experiences. Not only do I feel accomplished when I look at how far my hair has come but I also feel more like myself.

FullSizeRender (7) — Wash & Go, November 2015.

My natural hair journey has served as so much more than just an aesthetic transformation. It has been a road to self discovery. I’ve learned so much about myself and the woman I aspire to be and I’ve gained a sense of accomplishment. For so many years, hair stylists had me under the impression that my hair was an un-tamable entity and now that I have learned not only how to “tame” it with a flat iron, but also how to properly care for it in its natural form, I feel like there is very little I can’t do if I put my mind to it. Through my natural hair journey I’ve been able to inspire and assist so many young women my age to start their own and being able to have that kind of effect on people is such a rewarding feeling. Going natural is something that I would recommend to every woman. It is not a quick or easy process, but it has such a beautiful outcome.