My favorite protective style with a new accessory :)

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Finally, I've added the follow gadget to this blog! So, if you like the posts, go ahead and follow! the "join this site" button is located at the upper right hand corner of the page.

Feel free to leave comments as well. I'm always open to suggestions :)

Deep treatment results

After a rough cold week, my hair is treated, moisturized and back to life. I usually do bantu knots to define my curls and let it air dry. At this point its all up to you!

Home Made Deep Treatment

Winter is the worst season for my hair. The air gets so dry and I have to pay extra close attention to the condition of my hair. 

So when my hair begins to look like this 

<<<------

I make a deep treatment at home.

If you have the same hair issues as me, maybe this will work for you too.

First things first, gather you're favorite oils and conditioners. I like to use a mixture of my favorite conditioners, 100% African shae butter, and coconut oil.

I mix it together with a spoon first, then with a whisk to get this lovely consistency:

Then, I apply it to my hair in sections, and twist each section. That's just my personal preference because I can detangle while I go through this process. It's up to you how you apply the treatment.

Lastly, I put on a plastic cap and warp my hair in the heat therapy wrap so that the treatment can really soak in quickly. You can always skip that step and just keep the treatment in your hair longer, but in this example, I kept it in for about an hour.

Stay tuned for the next post to see the results!

If you tried this deep treatment method let me know how it works on the facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Naturals-United/359542224140024

United Member Mandisa

When did you begin the process of transitioning?
I transitioned my freshman year in college for 8 
months. My last relaxer was at the  end of August 2009. I did my big chop on April 30, 2010. Some of my  friends and I transitioned together. We all had different reasons for wanting to be natural. I know a lot of people go natural because they are tired of conforming to the societal views of beauty, but my reason is a little different. I went natural because I was curious to see what my texture was like underneath all of the damaging chemicals in the relaxers I was using. Before I went natural I was the only on in my family with a relaxer so I sort of felt ostracized and I honestly thought it was the only way to manage my hair. So I made up my mind that no matter what my natural texture looked like or how unmanageable it may be, I was going to make it work. It was what I was born with and meant to have.

What is your current hair regimen?
My current routine consists of washing at least once a week. If I'm feel lazy or if I'm busy, I'll wash once every two weeks. I deep condition at least once a month, using a Hair Therapy Wrap coupled with either a regular conditioner. My post wash routine can vary. If I have time on my hands, a twist out or a braid out is my staple. I will either do a chunky twist out with 10-15 twists or a defined twist out with 30-40 twists or 10-12 flat twists (the same goes for braid-outs). If I'm lazy or busy I'll just do a wash and go. I wear a scarf and satin bonnet at night and refresh with an oil in the morning.

What are your favorite products?
These are, hands down, my favorite products. I'll break it down in the order of my daily/weekly routine:

Shampoo: Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo
Conditioner: Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Conditioner
Leave In Conditioner: Jane Carter Solution Revitalizing Leave In
Butter: Beautiful Texture's Moisture Butter
Curling Creme: Beautiful Texture's Curl Control
Gel: Eco Styler Olive Oil or Aloe Vera Gel
Oil: Argon Oil, Jojoba Oil, or Coconut Oil
Refresher: Oyin Handmade Juices and Berries

United Member Adrien

How/why did you get dreads?
I got dreads so women could play in my hair. Nothing makes me smile more than a woman's attention.

How has dreads affected your professional life (if it has at all)?
As far as the professional aspect, its about how you carry yourself into the business world. How you dress, walk, and talk take a big role in the business world but your dread presentation is how business people visualize their first impression of you. A fresh twist looks like you care about you appearance. The size of your dreads can play a role as well. Its like a tattoo: where you get it and what  you get show what kind of environment you want to be around.

What is your current regimen?
I wrap my dreads in a silk scarf before I go to bed. When I take shower, I gather it in a rubber band. When I eat, I have to put most of my dreads from the front of my head into a pony tail so my dreads won't eat my food before me!

Braids, Braids, Braids..

This past summer, I wore Senegalese twists as a protective style. I wanted to give my hair a break from all the styling and damaging habits I began to pick up again. I didn't want to visit an African braid salon because I knew they braided hair really tightly and I have a very sensitive scalp. So a co-worker recommended a natural hair stylist, April, to install the braids. She has gorgeous dreads, uses all natural products and actually mixes/sells her own oils.
 Although, I took the braids out after about 6 weeks (just because missed my own hair), it was definitely a turning my "natural hair journey". Through the experience of maintaining the braids, April guided me towards the organic direction for hair care. I never looked back and now my hair is healthier than ever!

                                                                                    Felicia G.

United Member- Sigourney

When did you start the process of transitioning?

I started transitioning in the 12th grade because I was sick of getting a relaxer! I didn't see a point in doing that any longer when my hair was beautiful as it was. So my mom helped me by stretching out the length of time she would relax my hair until she finally stopped altogether.

What is your current hair regimen?
My routine now is a co-wash weekly and a wash every other week. 

What are your favorite products?
My favorite products are: Carol's daughter leave in conditioner, mixture of oils, and Joico K-Pak for washing and conditioning.

How has being natural changed other aspects of your life (if at all)?
I would say by going natural my eating habits have changed. I'm working water into my diet slowly lol I drink a lot juice and I take a multivitamin everyday now.

#productjunky

Not Organic, but Not Too Bad.

We all know I love organic products, but they can be a bit expensive. There are however, some products that are actually quite good and most importantly, cheap!


Here are a list of a few of my favorites:

VO5 Tea Therapy
It happens to be silicone free! It's got great slip, it smells amazing, and you get usually get it for less than a dollar at your local grocery store.

Creme of Nature leave in conditioner
This was my favorite moisturizer back when I was transitioning and especially after I did the big chop. It kept my hair soft and pretty especially while my hair was short and my styling options were limited.
It also has some great natural ingredients including the lemongrass and rosemary as well as other plant extracts.


Motions Weightless Hairdressing
This product was awesome during my transitioning process. It was a great styling product for twist outs and left my hair moisturized without the greasy build up.


Feel free to leave comments below and tell us about your favorite products.

United Member Felicia

When did you begin the process of transitioning?

I started transitioning my senior year of high school. I sort of stumbled my way into the natural thing. I started extending the time in between each relaxer and reduced the amount of heat that I was using. I noticed my hair becoming thicker and growing much stronger. When I finally moved into the dorms at college, I decided to give up relaxers all together and in December of 2010, I did the big chop.

What is your current regimen?

Right now, my hair regimen is pretty simple. I wash or co-wash my hair once a week (sometimes more depending on how dry my hair is). Then I oil/massage my scalp and apply a leave in conditioner and twist my hair. I wear the twists a lot to keep my hair stretched out and less tangled. If my hair is really dry and matted, I'll deep condition it with my own little mixture of conditioner and a few oils.

What are your favorite products?

This is hard to narrow down! I love shae moisture's shampoos. I currently use the one for moisture retention. It's gentle on my stands and doesn't completely strip them leaving them dry. For my conditioner, I absolutely love Giovanni's tea tree conditioner. Their conditioner has a lot of weight to it which is great for me because it can tame my hair while  I detangle it. My next favorite are the shae moisture conditioners. I use those as leave ins because they don't have the slip I need for a regular conditioner, but the moister is definitely there and they make for a good leave-in. I also use as a daily moisturizer  It leaves my hair feeling soft and not overwhelmed with product build up.
I also love to use organic oils such as coconut oil for my scalp, black Jamaican castor oil to seal my ends, and I have a mixture of shae butter and oil that I also use as a sealant if my hair is borderline in need for a trim (I like to avoid those lol).

How has natural hair changed other aspects of your life?

Being natural forced me to completely reteach myself about my hair texture. I was so use to my straight hair that learning a better way to care for my hair was definitely quite a journey. As I searched for healthy and beneficial products, I began to realize that my hair is apart of my body just the way my limbs and organs are. As a result, I began eating healthier. It started out with drinking more water, taking vitamins, and fish oil. Soon after I dramatically reduced the amount of meat I consume in my diet and started drinking organic juices. I've noticed the difference in the way my body feels and the quality of my skin as well. So naturally, my hair responded as well.

United Member Alex

When did you start the process of transitioning?

I transitioned my junior year of high school. I'd been getting relaxers since I was seven and around middle school my hair started breaking off badly. I'm sure it was partially due to me not knowing how to properly take care of my hair, but I'd also use ANY product that advertised hair growth (including relaxers) and I didn't pay any attention to ingredients or reviews. Needless to say my hair was a pretty bad state. I honestly wanted a fresh start. I figured that i was at an age that i would be able to take better care of my hair, so why not start with a clean slate? I grew my relaxer out and 2 weeks before school started I got the remaining relaxed ends of my hair cut off.

What is your current natural hair regimen?
 I usually try to wash my hair every 2-3 weeks--basically as soon as my hair starts to slightly smell (I know that sounds gross, lol) and before my new growth gets out of control. I re-twist my hair every time I wash it. Every now and then I'll do a braid out to make my hair wavy or curl my locks with pipe cleaners to make them super curly. It lasts for a long time. During my wash I wash once with a shampoo called Irie dread (one of my favorite products), then I wash with black soap. I condition sometimes with my own concoctions (Shea butter, avocado, and olive oil) and sometimes I just use the cholesterol conditioners. I try to deep condition every other wash. And I re-twist with gel.
I shower with a scarf AND a shower cap on just to preserve my roots/edges and wrap my hair every night.

If you have dreads, how and why did you get them? 

I never really know how to answer 'why' I got dreads b/c it's nothing really spectacular or meaningful.  I rocked an Afro for about 2 years, I was heavily into Jimi Hendrix around this time and I reaaalllyy wanted my hair to be huge and make a statement like his. Naturally, it took longer for my hair to get to that state than I'd anticipated so I kinda got tired of having a medium sized 'fro. I never really knew how to style it and since my hair gets very dry, I'd constantly put kemi oil, pure glycerin & water, and other creamy leave-in conditioners in my hair. This would leave my hair oily and greasy all the time! Not only did it make my forehead/along my hairline breakout, it was also embarrassing socially to have someone touch my hair and pull their hand back and stare at it like "wtf is on my hand right now??". I also felt like the Afro didn't fit me. Sometimes I see people Afros and I feel that that particular style FITS their facial features and personal style--I couldn't see that when I looked at pictures at myself. I didn't feel that I looked like someone who's Afro worked with their style. I was just someone who happened to have an Afro b/c I didn't know what else I could do with natural hair.
I've always been surrounded by dreadlocks. My Dad is from Antigua, and most of my uncles are Rastafarian. I had an uncle who had locks past his butt. I always found them fascinating, but at the same time--if you know anything about Rastafarians and their locks, you know that they often adopt the method of neglect, meaning they just let the locks form naturally by not coming or really manipulating their hair in any way. Once the locks are formed there is rarely and type of retaliating or maintenance done to them. This usually means that their locks will not be a consistent size--some huge and some super skinny, and they'll have a dirty unkept look to them (I.e. Bob Marley's locks, although his were some of the better ones I've seen). SO, with that being my main visual/idea of dreadlocks, I was pretty turned off to the idea of having them. I wasn't aware of the different methods I could take and I feared that my hair would end up like that if I dropped the ball just once. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I was really uneducated about locks--it's kinda sad. Around the summer of my freshman year going to college, I started watching a lot of natural hair videos on YouTube just to get an idea of what I could do with it style wise. I stumbled upon this youtuber named 0ndeck--she was actually my age, lived in Atlanta, was a film student, and had locks. Her locks had been dyed I kind of burgundy red and they were GORGEOUS. This was the first time I'd looked at locks and really felt blown away by their beauty. I'd watched videos of her re-twisting her hair and found it so interesting to see her actually keeping her roots and new growth in check rather than simply letting them grow out of control. From her channel I found the channel of people like 'applesandmustard' and 'thebronzegoddess' who also had beautiful locks and personalities to match. I couldn't tell you how many lock videos I'd watched a day. Eventually I stumbled upon a youtuber named 'chescaleigh' who I'd initially started watching because of her funny sketch videos and vlogs.  I soon found out that she had a second channel called 'chescalocks' and I really fell in love with locks. The styles she'd create we're amazing. She'd also review and suggest products and have Q & A's about her hair. I loved seeing locks on these strong beautiful women and I began to love everything about locks. I could honestly see myself with locks and i could see myself taking care of them and committing to them.
So before I started my freshman year, I went to my nearest beauty college and paid $20 for two students with locks to comb coil my hair. I couldn't wash my hair for the first month or so, which was hard--and my first re-twist wasn't the best, although it wasn't as bad as it would've been if I hadn't watched a million videos of ppl watching and re-twisting their locks. I've had and loved my locks ever since!


How has natural hair changed other aspects of your life?

•  Having locks has changed my life more than I thought it would. It's almost as if there was this secret community I was unaware of until I got locks. When I see someone with locks, it's almost like we've instantly got something to talk about and I love exchanging style and maintenance tips.
  I also get cat-called differently: "Ayyeee dread!" "Natty dread!" "Can you shake ya dread for me?!" "Let me re-twist yo hair!"
  Lmao. I swear none of those were made up.
  I find myself answering A LOT more hair questions now than I did when I had an Afro.
  I'm lucky to have never suffered from any type of discrimination because of my locks. I've gotten jobs easily and gotten along with professors fine. I'm not sure if its because I'm a woman, or because I keep my locks pretty neat. A guy friend of mine recently cut his locks off--he'd had them for 6 yrs. he had a totally different experience than I did. He used to go to Clark- Atlanta and told me about a professor who wouldn't let anyone with dreadlocks into his class, even though they'd paid for the course. It's weird because his locks were beautifully maintained and nearly pulled back, so it was shocking to hear that he'd had such an experience.
  I'm not sure of the stereotypes that apply to women and locks (if there are any), but I know there are stereotypes regarding men and locks--both black and white.
  I really feel that locks fit me in the way that my Afro didn't. I plan on keeping these babies until they're all the way down my back! I love them!

Introducing United Members

As you've read in my previous post, this blog is all about sharing experiences. It's simply about being apart of an open natural hair community. Throughout this blog, I'll be featuring new members of this community by giving a short interview and posting their responses here on the blog! Anyone can do this. If you would like to be featured, just send me and email at naturalsunited@gmail.com

Hello and welcome to Naturals United.

This blog is about, well, natural curly/kinky/Afro hair (however you want to say it). Here, we will share everything from our experiences to favorite regimens and products with one another. It's all about learning from each other and having fun in the process. I hope you readers enjoy!