Straight for the 1st Time...

Remember how I mentioned I had to get my hair trimmed twice in the course of one month. Well, the first time I got my natural hair straightened I was excited to see what the length of it was. Unfortunately, the only way you can really tell how long your natural hair is...is to get it straighted...blow dryed (or some way of getting it dry), and the use of a flat iron. I would never recommend using a pressing comb - we've advanced to using flat irons, so don't let anyone put a pressing comb in your hair. ...we'll talk about flat irons in a bit.

Okay, the first straightening -
My hair was so healthy!!! That made me excited and the length was pretty nice too. It didn't last too long because I went and played tennis - hard and the sweat caused my hair reverted - oh well! So, let's get into how she (Kena) straightened my hair. Kena was the stylist that did my big chop. Kena washed and conditioned and then she did a few large plats and set me under the dryer - about 30 minutes. After that she released the plats and blow dried each section individually. Then she used some heat protectant on each section and flat ironed my hair. It looked pretty good and I was excited to see I did have some hair, although the shrinkage of my natural hair would have you believe otherwise.





The heat protectant didn't protect as I wished it had. They say, if you want your hair curly, wear it curly, if you want to wear it straight then straighten it...so, when you go back and forth, you may experience some...um, problems.

After my hair was straightened for the first time, I had straight pieces..that never, ever, never ever, got curly again...and I had to cut them off. I didn't straighten my hair for a long time after the first time because...
1. damaged ends (straight pieces), that had lost their ability to curl...and just stuck out like a sore thumb.
2. texture changed - when I washed my hair it just didn't feel right! I can't really explain it..., but it had a coating maybe that just wouldn't wash away....and thus my texture was a little off. It took me about 3 washings to get my hair texture back...maybe it was the heat protectant that Kena applied...I'll probably never figure it out.

So, after a few months of having those straight pieces and there was absolutely no hope to get them curly again, I cut them off...with a pair of scissors! Those that I could see in the mirror. They weren't terribly too long, but there were at least 6 pieces that were permanently straight.

It took me months to decide to straighten my hair out again, this time I sent to Darryl...probably the best hair stylist that I know (July 2009). Darryl was the stylist I relied on when my hair was relaxed to show me the best my hair could be. Darryl, when I went regularly (like once every 2 months) my hair was the longest I had ever seen it (I've now seen longer "smiling"). So Darryl, got me in and out in like a hour. He did my hair so quickly I was impressed! He blew me out and flat ironed, introduced me to jane carters hair serum (smells so good!).

Once my hair begins to smell (curling iron scent - can't stand it), and I washed my hair after Darryl did it, my texture wasn't altered and the straight pieces weren't existent. I was pleasantly surprised.

Between Kena straightening and Darryl's straightening, I found this young lady to do natural hair styles. She did a few two strand twist on me - and I eventually decided my attempts looked better - so I haven't had her do it in a while...and I haven't done it in a while either, because it takes me so long. Oh, don't let me forget to tell you about my visit to the Dominicans (after I had twist put in - the horror).

Additional topics (so I don't forget): the Dominicans, braiding, taking care of your straightened hair, good hair - the movie, new products...and I'm sure I'll think of more things a long the way.