For the past year since my BC (big chop), I had been wearing my hair in a shrunken WNG (wash 'n' go). This was a very orchestrated choice on my part. I do not have the kind of lifestyle which affords me the time to spend hours during the week styling my hair. Any other style on less than 6 inches of hair requires lots of "attention." Therefore, the WNG style below freed me up to work the 12 hour days I normally put in every week and be a mother and wife.
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| Wash n Go 12/2011 |
I achieved my WNG with my former holy grail product, Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel. However, I knew that gel was not the product I wanted to use to twist my hair. I did not want crunchy, tacky, sticky curls.
Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie is my new holy grail product. Not that I am tossing my Eco Styler Gel. I will definitely keep it for my WNG and summer wet styles.
I achieved my Twist-Out below using the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.
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| This twist-out was done with larger twists than I describe below |
How I achieve my Twist-Out:
1. Co-wash as usual.
2. Braid in six big braids to keep my hair stretched while styling.
3. Apply leave-in conditioner. I still love Carefree Curl Gold.
4. Apply dime size amounts of castor oil.
5. Apply Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (a nickel to quarter size). This size is based on a
huge section of hair. Remember, I had already sectioned my hair in six big braids. So a little of this
product goes a very long way.
6. Finger-part off a very small (1/2 inch) section of hair and twist tightly to the ends. Because of my
coily curl pattern, my hair responds best to small twists. Yes, this takes an hour. But I do this early
Saturday morning, and I'm done well before noon. (Note: my hair is still damp while twisting)
7. I let my twists stay in for at least 24 hours (to "set" them). Then I untwist them.
8. At night, I re-twist in very large twists. I realized very quickly that my hair cannot remain loose at
night. The re-twisting only takes me 30 minutes. This is a reasonable amount of time for my
lifestyle. The untwisting in the morning takes about 15 minutes (also reasonable). If I'm really
pushed in the morning, I untwist in the car on my way to work (I have a 45-minute drive and I use
one hand).
Why I love Curl Enhancing Smoothie:
1. It keeps my hair moisturized for at least 5 days without reapplying during the 5 days.
2. It keeps my hair baby soft for at least 5 days
3. It's not sticky or tacky
4. It's not greasy
5. It's 99% natural
6. It smells good
7. It's cost effective: $9.99 for the 12 oz. jar above at Target
Wasn't this the product I recommended to you??? Yeah, when I found this two years ago (in TARGET!), I was in heaven. To have such a cheaply priced product for natural hair that works just as well, if not better, than Miss Jessie's is awesome. They do work well for twist outs but I now use this on my sisterlocks for moisturizing. It's just as good on locked hair, in my opinion. I love it! And I STILL have my jar from my original purchase! So you are absolutely right: a little goes a loooong way.
ReplyDeletePS: LOVE THE NATURAL STYLES ON YOU! Now you're loose and I'm locked. We've exchanged places...how amazing. :)
I tucked that recommendation in my memory bank until I got out of the TWA stage. Back then, I needed hold and more hold. Now that my needs have changed, my new "go-to" is the smoothie. I totally hate Miss Jessie's stuff. All that petrolatum makes the hair hard. And the stuff is outrageously priced. The Shea Moisture products are definitely "the answer."
ReplyDeleteThank you! I love locs on you. Very becoming indeed. I was just thinking how I ended one journey and began another as you ended one journey and began another. That's pretty cool.