At some point I started using perm rods. It was either while I was pregnant or during my pregnancy. Once I started using them, I rarely picked up those flexi rods. Perm rods are so much easier to sleep in. My favorite thing to do was twist my hair into like 20 twists or more and then roll each twist with a perm rod. It would give me a spiral, curly type of look. Like most people, I can only tell you the color of the perm rods I used. My favorite at the time were the white perm rods because they worked well my hair length at that time. I also used the purple perm rods once my hair started growing. They are my favorite now as well as the orange and sand colored perm rods.
I started rolling my loose hair the way you would to get like a "candy curl" type of curl. Don't act like you don't remember candy curls. Everyone wore them for Easter or to church on Sunday's at some point in life. But anyway, they would come out ok. The problem I had with them is if they got wet or if I was in humid weather, they would shrivel up and just become a twisted and tangled mess. I recently started to get the hang of wrapping my hair around the rod to get a spiral curl. It took me FOREVER it seems like to get that together, but now I think I'm pretty good at it.
I never mentioned anything about straightening my hair because I really didn't do it. I wanted to use the least amount of heat possible. I had some heat damage in the front of my hair, which was my leave out when I had a sew-in. I always let my hair air dry. I made a decision to only straighten my hair once or twice a year just to do a length check. In 2014 I had my hair straightened at the beginning of my pregnancy. That was the first time my hair had been straightened that year. I also straightened my hair for our maternity shoot in February of 2015 and that was the only time that year I did that. The next time that I straightened my hair or came close to that was this year in January when I blow dried my hair straight to prep for a sew-in (that I kept in for 5 days and happily took out because I missed my curls). Every now and then I will use the blow dryer to kind of give my perm rod set a head start on drying, especially if I need to take my hair down the next day. That's one of the good things about being a stay at home mom. I can let my rods stay in for two days if I want. I'm sure I will have plenty of bad hair days once I start working again.
If I don't straighten my hair often, then how or when do I trim my ends? I was skeptical about trimming my dead ends myself at first but I had my aunt (the old school licensed beautician) walk me through it. I just twist my hair in sections like I normally would and when I get to the ends I just clip off the dead ends. It's important to have some nice shears when doing this. Not some dull scissors that you keep around the house and cut up everything with. I got mine on sale from Sally's. I would put a link up but I don't even remember the brand and I'm too lazy to get up right now and look. I'm not sure how to explain how dead ends look, but it's kind of obvious what needs to come off at the ends of your hair. I try to trim my ends every 8 weeks or so, but I really just do it whenever I remember. I plan on getting a silk press and a good trim at some point before the summer arrives.
Let me talk about combs and brushes. There are so many combs and brushes to choose from. When I first decided to mess with my natural hair, I just had some regular wide tooth combs that I used for my weave. Let me tell you--I broke so many combs. You are not a real natural unless you have broken some combs. A lot of that was due to lack of patience, which is something you will need in order to be a successful natural. After doing some reading and watching YouTube videos, I knew I had to get some more combs because I was pulling out more hair than I should have been. I got frustrated in Sally's because I couldn't settle on a comb. Randomly I was in Wal-Mart and came across a Conair Styling Essentials Shower Comb. For some reason I just loved this comb so I bought it in several colors. It works for me so I haven't even tried to use another comb. I had a hard bristle brush from Avon that my mom got years ago. I'm sure she got it from my grandmother since she was the "Avon Lady" around town. That brush is so old but it does the trick for my edges. I actually still use it almost daily. Just last year I decided to purchase a Denman brush. I'm not sure what in the hell took me so long to get the brush but I love using it. It just gives my curls more definition and helps to make detangling an easy job.
This was the start of the time where I felt comfortable with my hair. This was also a transition period in my personal life because I had made the decision to be a full time stay at home mom and it was time for us to leave Iowa and move to Kentucky. I'll post again within the next few days to talk more about the current products I use, my wash day routine, nighttime routine, etc. My husband and daughter are over here snoring like bears so I think I better go join them.
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