Wow.
It has been a little longer than a minute and far too deep into this new and wonderful year; but the realfros keep popping and certainly growing. Andile and Mandisa’s hair looks amazing: completely tangle free (well, mostly, say 95% tangle free); so well moisturized and nourished, and coils strong and shiny; which means great health and better length retention! My hair, on the other, unfortunate hand, has stagnated in this natural hair journey.
This KiDezemba holiday I put my hair in these beautiful and long twists, and yes SHE LOOKED CUTE, but ‘oh goodness the neglect was on 80%. I literally only washed my hair all of 6 to 8 times in the 2½ months I had these lovely braid twists in, and I deep conditioned less than 3 times. I paid dearly! I had to remove my twists and detangle my hair for FOUR DAYS. I am not joking, nor am I being dramatic; I played myself during the summer holidays and I got served with trying to remove the knots and dirt in my hair for between 4 to 6 hours every day for four days (yes, we are students, young professionals and hustlers across the board; who has an entire day to detangle hair?). And of course, I sat there thinking, “Never again! I am not doing this to myself ever again!” But I know deep down inside that I want micro-braids so badly in my future! Erykah Badu style micro-braids! But my hair will continue to pay the price if I don’t take care of deep conditioning and moisturizing my hair during its time locked up in braids.
If you think it’s okay to braid or twist your hair in whatever fibre and NOT wash and/or deep condition your hair WHILE IT IS IN the protective style (which is easier because yey, you don’t have to separate or detangle your locks right then), then keep reading Realfro because your hair is in need of some real attention and good care. One good thing did come out of this bad experience though; while I sat there detangling my hair, I learned how to exercise extreme patience. Love yourself enough to be patient with your growing fro.
NEXT UP:
How did I try to bring back the moisture retention and healthy shine?
What am I doing in terms of styling now?