Hair

Heat Styled Natural For The Winter?

Yes, you heard it here first. Your girl has caved in. I've had it! I have officially decided to become a heat styled natural for the winter. Why you ask? Very simple. It's as cold as an iceberg and I'm finding it extremely difficult to keep moisture in my curls/braidouts. Everyone knows that it's much easier to keep straight hair moisturized than curly hair, and I've said before (see Q and A Volume 2: Transitioning, Winter Tips and Fairy Knots) that if you were ever thinking about straightening your hair, winter is definitely the time to do it!

I came to the decision to wear my hair straight two weeks ago. I'm on my second week of straight locks and let me tell you, my wallet is already loving it because I have to use waaaay less products on my straight hair than I do my curly. So you can say the decision was both financial and weather related. I live in Cali, but for some reason it's colder than a Polar Bear out here. My hubby had to remove ice from his windshield this morning, no lie!

So, here's a quick length check. I'm still on a waist length journey, and last time I checked in (see Waist Length Journey: One Year Later), my hair wasn't straight and some of you complained about that. Well, here's the most recent update, as this pic was just taken today:

12.19.12

And in case you were wondering, here's a side by side shot of today vs. when I started my journey:

October 2011

Today

Oh, and for the record, the pic posted today is post trim. I trimmed my ends last week.

My Heat Styled Regimen

We all know heat can wreak havoc on the hair. Plus, combined with the natural elements such as the cold air and wind, that can really do harm to the ends. That's why I have devised a deep conditioning/moisturizing regimen that will protect my locks during the winter months. Here's the run down:

1. I wash my hair every 7-10 days. (I can't go two weeks without washing and really, 10 days is pushing it, but that's as far as I'm willing to go.)
2. I do a pre-poo deep conditioning treatment prior to shampooing. (Sometimes I just use EVOO but lately I've been trying a mixture of Organics Hair Mayonnaise by Africa's Best and pure coconut oil. I sleep with the products in my hair with a processing cap on then wash everything out in the morning.)
3. I deep condition my hair after shampooing on occasion (when I have time), and will sit under a hooded dryer for 10 minutes to allow the conditioner to penetrate. (I switch between moisture and protein, but usually go for a balance of both.)
4. I apply heat protectant to damp hair, ring out excess water and product with paper towels, then allow my hair to air dry by placing it in a ponytail. My heat protectants of choice at the moment are: 

   

   Frizz Ease Straight Fixation and Silk Elements Megasilk Heat Protection Spray

   
   

   FYI, I use the regular Megasilk Heat Protection Spray instead of the one infused with olive oil because I feel the olive oil was making my hair too greasy and was possibly causing heat damage.
5. After my hair has air dried for most of the day in a ponytail, at some point I have to let it loose and allow it to dry some more. I'll usually do that in the evening, but will comb it out and place it in two braids prior to going to bed:    
   
   
6.  And when I wake up, I take the braids out:
   
   
7. I flat iron on the lowest setting possible. Basically, I place the iron on a setting high enough to keep my hair from poofing out too much, but not so high to where it gets bone straight:
8. I moisturize the ends as needed. For the first few nights, I moisturize with Oil Moisturizer Hair Lotion by Bronner Brothers and seal with pure coconut oil. By about the third night, I'll only apply the moisturizing hair lotion as needed, as I don't want the products to build up and cause my hair to get greasy/stringy. 

Here's an example of "Day One" vs. "Day Five" hair. As you can see, there's a lot less frizz by day five, as the moisture I apply throughout the week calms the hair without the need for extra heat:

Day Five

Day One

I don't "retouch" my hair after the first day of styling. These last two weeks I've been wearing it straight, I haven't even used my curling iron. I'll flip the ends with my flat iron and then do my ponytail pin curl method. I've even tried wrapping the hair for a different look, which is what I did the night before I took my "Day Five" pic above. Anything to keep from having to put heat on it.

If I absolutely feel the need to touch up my hair during the week, then I'll use my Remington Curl Setter, as hot curlers are a lot less harsh on the hair than a flat iron or curling iron. For instance, I had to use them once during the week to touch up my hair before going out to dinner for my birthday:

Hot curlers in place

I love how you can just snap them in and then go on about your business. I did my makeup as the curls were setting, then took them out and got this:

Curls fresh out of rollers.

Curls finger combed.

Now, this isn't to say that I won't be wearing my hair curly or in any other heat-free styles this winter. It really just depends on how much time, energy and products I feel like investing in my hair. Once spring hits however, it'll be a whole other ball game, and summer will mean game over for the flat iron all together, as it makes no sense for me to straighten my hair when it will only get sweated out.

What's your hair care plan this winter?

XOXO,

DPrincess28