March 28th; 2014
Hello, before I get started I
think it is necessary to explain what type of hair I have. Naturally I have
kinky, coarse, and very thick hair that I relax with a chemical relaxer every 6
months. I don’t relax my hair to the point it becomes bone straight but I leave
some texture to it. I very rarely use heat tools (flat irons, curling irons, etc
…) My hair has always been very dry even when I kept it natural (no chemical).
Those past years I have lost a lot of volume due to some health issues but my hair
strand is still coarse. Because I have very dry hair I
really don’t need to wash my hair too often; that’s why I wash it once a week.
Step 1: finger detangling
My hair tangles a lot so I have to detangle it before each shampoo. I don't like to use a comb on my dry hair that's why I use my fingers. I apply a small amount of a light oil (grape seed oil or olive oil) on my hands to give me more slip.
Step 2: preepoo
Before each shampoo I like to do a prepoo with oils overnight or for a few hours. For anyone who has dry hair it is a good step to retain as much moisture as possible during this process. It also gives my hair amazing shine. I apply the oils from roots to tips, wrap my hair with a plastic wrap and add a heated cap on top. If your hair is not that dry you may focus on the ends only because it is the oldest part of our hair, so it is also the weakest and the driest part. Most of the time I use coconut oil but sometimes I also use olive oil or grape seed oil or a mix.
Step 3: shampoo
Because I have dry hair I use moisturizing shampoos that are designed for very dry hair. As I said my hair also tangles a lot so I am always looking for good detangling shampoos. Those 2 shampoos (picture above) are my favorite ones because they are just amazing on those both issues I have. Bashing on every single shampoos that contain sulfate has become a new trend lately. The first shampoo (Keracare) does not contain sulfate but the second one (Creme of Nature) does, and I have absolutely no problem with it; it cleans perfectly and it is not drying at all.
Step 4-Week 1:moisturizing deep conditioner (Keracare humecto...)
Once again because I have dry hair I always deep condition after each shampoo. I apply the deep conditioner, wrap my hair with a plastic wrap add a heated cap on top and warm the all thing with my hair dryer for 15 to 30 min. If you have a professional hood hair dryer that's even better. Sometimes I like to add oils or honey in my deep conditioner to enhance its efficacy. This conditioner is not my all time favorite but it is good enough. My favorite conditioner is more expensive that’s why I don’t use it weekly on regular wash days.
Week 2: protein conditioner
A protein conditioner is good especially for anyone who has weak or damaged hair. You should aslo definetly give
it a try if you use chemical treatments or if you use heat tools a lot. But
be carrefull with it as some hair do not like proteins at all (protein sensitive). So
you have to find out by yourself if your hair likes or not and how often you can use it. The aphogee 2 min reconstructor is
my favorite so I always use this one. I leave it on for 10 min then rinse.
Step 5: leave-in conditioner
I apply it on damped hair;
it helps to detangle hair and retain all the moisture you’ve just put into your hair.
It is also a good way to minimize frizz while your hair is drying.
Step 6:
When my hair is slightly damped I finally throughly detangle with a comb.
***My Bonus tips for very dry hair***
1-Just after I have applied my
leave-in I love to apply a small amount of olive oil. I have realized that it
helps to combat frizz better. It is also a good plus for moisture.
2-When my hair is almost fully dry I
mix some argan oil with a small amount of shea
butter and apply the mix on my hair. I like to focus on the ends. Argan oil is a very
light oil that will not weight your hair down even if if you have fine hair. Using shea
butter is good especially for coarser hair that may have more problems to retain
moister. A little goes a long way so a very small amount is enough and it will not make
your hair looks greasy;
This is the process on my regular wash days; it may seems a lot when you read it but it actually goes pretty fast when you're used to do it. This full process is helping me keeping my naturally very dry hair soft and well moisturized throughout the week.
Do not hesitate to leave any questions below !
XOxo
Dianna.H
First of all if your hair is naturally very long and thick you absolutely don't need to add extensions and this style is going to be much more easier for you. A side french braid is not more difficult to do than a regular french braid. The only difference here is that you need to pull the hair from one side to an other before you add new rows to your french braid. Here I had to pull all my hair from the left side of my head to the right side. The difficulty for me here was to add the extensions. I had done this style before but I was never satisfied. I used to add the extensions at the end of the french braid, into the regular braid. The result was not good because it was not looking natural enough, it would easily unravel and you could see exactly where I had added the extensions. When I was adding less extensions the final braid was looking way too thin than my liking. So after several trials and errors I finally found the right technique. While I braid my french braid I add a portion of my extensions bended in two at several levels under my hair, then I braid everything together. I added the extension at 2 different levels in the french braid and one more time at the beginning of the regular braid. I hope I am clear enough. To sum up I just try to allocate the exensions evenly into the braid, that way it is big enough and it also looks natural.
