Humidity, the media our culture and our foremothers told us its the worst and it ruins hairstyles, but thats not the complete truth.

Humidity ruins your hair style only if you let it. On my heathy hair journey if theres anything I learned it’s that you need to work with instead of fighting against your hair or the elements. Make the most out of any weather conditions. Check the weather at the beginning of every week and guage if its gonna be more humid or more moderate to dry weather and style accordingly. Do styles that you love the look of and also respond well to that particular weather condition…..don’t just straighten your hair because that’s what you’re used to doing if you know the weather will just make it revert, do a braid-out, do some kind of alternative that will both protect your hair and help you retain growth.

Having issues with shedding? Just wanna reduce the amount of shed hairs in your weekly wash?

Well Garlic is the solution for you!!!

You can either take garlic supplements internally (Please take the unscented version lol) which is the most effective

Or you can also use products that have garlic in them like Alter Ego Products they’re said to be incredibly effective.

Or you can make a do it yourself deep treatment mixing honey garlic olive oil or your favorite hair oils apply to the hair and scalp and leave it for 25-45 minutes. Be aware that Garlic has a strong smell and there’s a chance, you wont be able to mask the smell for a while if you do it topically.

That’s how you can significantly reduce shedding!!

Well I’m in love! I finished them last weekend it took me two full days which wasn’t that bad. Unwashed dry braids can feel very brittle and dry so once I finished I immediately conditioner washed them with Aussie Moist and it was wonderful. I used the Aussie moist as a leave-in as well, they shrunk a bit but they look beautiful, feel soft & they’re flowy bouncy from a few feet away it just looks like my hair is just loose and down but when you get close you see the detail of the braids. They’re super neat, the ends curled up beautifully.

Maintenance:

I wet the ends daily in the shower, then I get out, moisturize the ends and seal them with an oil, it keeps my ends super soft and touchable and helps the curl really pop.

If you want you can wash these braids every day or every other day with no problem (its best to use a sulfate free shampoo) however I want to keep them fresh looking for as long as possible so I wash them 1-2 times a week instead.

At night I just cover my pillow with my satin scarf and sleep free

When I go into the shower all I do is clip my hair up I don’t even need to use my shower cap at this point humidity doesn’t do anything to it but define the curls at the ends and give me a nice daily steam treatment for my hair (although I might start when it starts to get cold).

This is by far the easiest style I’ve ever worn in my life, I really don’t have to do a thing to it, washing and conditioning is a breeze wearing it up looks cute wearing it down looks cute its just a fun time all around and all the while my hair will be growing in a protective style not being manipulated pulled or stretched at all just being cleansed and deep conditioned I expect some nice growth from this style its a wonderful break from styling.

I’ve included the pix I’ve taken since this weekend of the look hope you enjoy!!

Here’s a sneak peek at my new style! Enjoy loves!!! This is my hair (no extensions)

I’ve been looking forward to rocking this versatile look for a while.

• Its low maintenence
• it can be worn in a multitude of styles,
• its wash and go
• it allows you to retain length
• its a protective style

As a natural we all know that oftentimes our hair will shrink up on us due to the tight curls, well this is a great look for naturals that want thier hair to lay down, swing and show off all the progress they’ve made by displaying their true length.

It’s a time investment when you’re doing them, but I think its worth not having to worry about my hair for 1-3 months

What are your thoughts? Let me know!

So you’ve successfully made it to long lengths with your natural hair and as lovely as it can be, you’d like some style options that show off your length more rather then always wearing it shrunken.

Here are some chic style Ideas for the Long Haired Natural Woman that show length wonderfully:

Press & Flat Iron – This is a great style to do from time to time to show 100% of your length its gorgeous and lasts nicely when done correctly. Be sure to allow your hair some breaks from heat from time to time to avoid heat damage.

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-  The Braid-out - Wash and condition as usual, get your favorite moisturizer and braid the hair in small to medium sized braids. Once dry, undo the braids. You’ll be left with a nice crimped look that shows off about 80-90% of your length!

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-  Pixie Braids on Natural Hair – These braids are just like the braid extensions you got from the African salons *except* these are done without extensions. They’re very small briads that do take a serious time investment to install but once they’re in they can be left in for 1-3 months they can be co-washed weekly or bi-weekly, they allow you to retain length, airdry and eiminate manipulation for the duration of the style, so I’d say its worth it. Pixie braids are versatile and neat, it makes natural hair lay down and allows you to show your true length completely. It’s a wonderful carefree style that requires little to no maintenence other then sleeping with a satin cap.

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-  Hair Banding - Hair Banding entails taking a pony tail holder and wrapping it around medium sized portions of the hair untill you reach the ends of the hair this allows you to stretch the hair without the use of heat and in that way you get to show off much of your length.

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-  Shingling with Gel – Dividing hair into small sections, saturating it with a “natural friendly” gel like ic fantasia gel or eco styler gel which are well known curl definers and elongators and “shingling” the hair with it. Meaning you would saturate a small section with the gel, comb thru it, hold it semi taught at the end and take a diffuser set on “cool” or low and allow it to dry like that. the gel will give it the hold it needs to remain elongated and you can show much of your length in this way. I would recommend starting the hair off with a natural oil like olive oil, coconut oil or Castor oil to allow the set to me smooth and not as crunchy.

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Well those were some ideas on how to show length once you’ve become a long haired natural. Let me know what you think! Until then, happy hair growth!

This post was inspired by Katelyne who asked what style options would show off her long natural hair thanks for asking a questions many others were probably wondering about as well!  ;)

-   Limit your Hair’s Exposure to Heat and Chemicals.

-   Do a light trim when you notice your ends need it.

do a slight trim when your ends need it to prevent split ends from traveling up the hair shaft and comprimising more growth.

-   Whenever humanly possible airdry! Find pretty styles that fit your style that you can achieve by air drying with a creamy thick leave in for moisture and sealed with good natural oil.

-  Low manipulation is key!

Opt for styles that require the least amount of combing separating pulling or disturbing of the hair as possible like: buns, twists, jumbo braids for braid-outs. This will allow you to maintain fullness and length.

When you do apply heat: Use the minimum amount of heat necessary to achieve straightening. The Last thing you want is heat damaged hair.

Instead of relaxing bone straight, Tex-lax (or Texturize) that will mean that instead of leaving the perm on your hair until its dead straight leave it on so that it loosens your hair pattern to a wave or a curl maintaining some of the texture. This will reduce the damage done and make it so that there isn’t as much of a dramatic difference between your natural texture and your relaxed texture. It will do less damage to the hair shaft as well. This will allow you to stretch your relaxers with much more ease. You’ll also be left with a really cute loose curl that will look great when you do wash and go’s!

Protective Styles are KEY to reaching your hair length goal, you don’t have to wear them all the time but they can be integral to reaching long lengths.

Some examples of protective styles are:

-   Buns

-   Braids / Braid-outs (which is braiding your hair in large sections while wet and allow it to airdry overnight….then unbraid it and wear a soft wavy look the next day this works especially well on relaxed hair or softer hair textures)

-   Twists/Flat-twists, Twist-Outs (undoing your twists for the spiral curl look)

- Wigs and when done properly…….. sew in weaves (the glued in tracks are never good for your hair) Many of these looks will be demonstrated in my YouTube tutorials when they go up

-   Comb Coils

Find a protective style that works for you that suits your style and strive to wear that protective style as often as possible to achieve your longest growth potential!

Let’s start the discussion!

Any and all questions on haircare are welcome! Don’t hesitate to ask thinking its a stupid question……no such thing. Let’s grow healthy long and strong hair together!

Ask and ye shall recieve lol I look forward to the discussion

Whats your hair Goal for yourself? Shoulder Length? Bra Strap Length? Mid Back Length?

Me myself my hair goal is Mid Back Length Hair and beyond I’m about and inch or so away from reaching that goal but its important to declare a goal for yourself and work toward it.

Declare Your Hair Goal Today and feel free to comment and share!

A True Blue wash and go hair style that will allows you to:

-  Conditioner-wash every week or maybe even twice a week (which is what I’ll be doing )

-   TRULY wash and go no muss no fuss just airdrying

-  Achieve a protective style that will give your hair a break and allow it to retain length nicely

-   Wear the style for up to three months if you wanted

-  Stays neat as long as you wear a scarf or bonnet at night

Jump in the pool, walk in the rain, go have dinner on a night with 90% humidity with your hair neat and in tact……..ALL that can be achieved with Pixie Braids! aka micro-braids on natural hair with no extensions…..thats what makes it so versatile. It’s also much more mild on the hair when its just using your own hair there is no excessive weight on the hair you dont have to fear washing it as you often do with extensions its absolutely gorgeous. I will be doing this as my back to school style. It does take a while to put in when your hair is as long as mine but its a time investment thats worth it for 1-2 months of never having to worry about your hair. Thats a good look!!

For anyone that has daughters this is a great style for the summertime when they want to play in the sprinklers and jump into the pool without having to worry about their hair….which is how childhood should be.

This style looks best on thick natural hair, I posted some of the best demonstrations of this style below, some of them will require you to go to youtube to view them but either way check them out, feel free to skip forward to get to the good stuff