Ooo Girl You So "Fine"!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

After going natural in October of 2009... I expected to grow these luscious thick locks, don't we all?!?   In the beginning, I admittedly only focused primarily on the curl pattern. IT.WAS.BEAUTIFUL! As my hair grew longer, I noticed that while there was a whole lot of it, my strands were what I thought of as coarse, but "thin". I felt, "I have all this hair...yet I can see through it". After about 2 years of being natural and experiencing breakage, hundreds of single strand knots and finally a drastic cut, I discovered that my curls are FINE!   Not fine in the sense of good looking like myself but fine in texture, lol! 

Through some research, I started to try to figure out what it exactly meant to have fine hair. I consider myself a little heavy handed and therefore somewhat rough on my strands. This had to stop... Fine hair is very delicate, thus, must be treated as such. I also found that I was probably using products that were way too heavy. Previously when a product label read "for thick coarse hair", I would automatically reach for it. This new discovery made me second guess every single product I put in my hair. For example, just about every natural I know absolutely loves Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie; It did my style injustice... It weighed my hair down, made it gunky and immovable.  I had pretty much given up on the line! One day while getting my product junkie fix... I was surfing the hair aisle in my local Astoria, NY CVS drugstore.All Shea Moisture products were on sale.  I thought to myself "Umph... sure would be nice if I actually liked that product"; then a second later I spotted Thickening Growth Milk for Fine, Thin Hair. Hey Hey Hey, maybe there is hope! I grabbed up the product and headed for the register. Many of my friends know meas the coupon girl, if there is one to be had... I got it! I paid $4.50 for a product that normally costs $10.99; it was on sale for $8.99 and I had a 50% off coupon. 

How do you know if you have fine hair.... Below are some characteristics..

1.  YourCurls need to be refreshed with either water or re-twisting nightly to hold astyle for the next day

2.  Hair is very prone to breaking and single strand knots, even when moisturized 

3. Hair looks flat,  you can see through it and straighten very easy (depending on texture)

What I have done to make my hair healthier.....

·       I use Coconut Oil with Deep Conditioners as  Pre Poo

·       Protein Treatments

·       When washing, I put hair in 4 sections detangle then wash with conditioner

·       I avoid shampoos except when needing to clarify the scalp ( Isometimes use apple cider vinegar)

·       Using styling products that "thicken" - aka SheaMoisture Thickening Growth Milk and Living Proof Full ThickeningCream (I swear it makes a difference) 

·       Allow hair to dry as much as possible before styling

·       Castor Oil as a sealant and light Gel as a holding agent

·       Condition, Condition, Condition...Leave Ins have become my bestfriends!

Pictures ofmy hair.....

   Picture 1: Fine Hair Twisted Out 

    Picture 2: Fine Hair in a puff 

  

Not everyone has thick hair, though it may appear to be. I know that many mistakes made with my hair were because I didn't have the knowledge of not just my curl pattern (3c/4a), but also the types of strands I have. 

Being natural... I've learned so much about my hair, and, it has made me more intuitive to my body. I am paying closer attention to the signals it sends me and I aim to adjust my lifestyle accordingly. Moral of the story... Pay attention to the messages your curls are telling you, it will help you learn best how to care for your hair, as well as insight into health and body function. 

Smile Y'all,

Kam