A braid-out on mostly relaxed, transitioning hair

So after my last small set at the hairdresser lasted me all of 1.35 days, I decided to skip the salon this week and try some of my new-found hair skills on myself.

Update: I have since this post, mastered the braid out! 

I know how to blow out my hair and flat iron it but keeping moisture has always been my problem and as a lover of coloured tresses, moisture is very important.

Plus natural hair is all about DIY and less about heat right? I better start working in what I want to be my new Sunday ritual for me and the munchkin. I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and watching youtube vids from naturalistas out there and I’ve picked up a few tricks.

Of course all of them are shunning the shampoos I’ve got in my bathroom currently but I’m not about to throw them out you see so baby steps.

So I jumped in the shower to wash my hair and boy it felt so good to feel all that new growth underneath baby! I have about an inch and a half and I already feel like big chopping but I’ll slow my roll and try to be patient.

I have to tell you when I came out the shower I was like omg what am I supposed to do with this hair now? I looked in the back of my closet for a bag of sad looking rollers I’ve never really had luck with on my own and weighed the choices in my mind.

Should I roll up my head and try to sleep with them? I was in no mood to go under the dryer and sleeping with rollers in my head is not the business.

I don’t see a twist out working on relaxed hair so I decided to do some braids. Quick easy and funky. I hate braid outs. I much prefer the softness and curly-ness of a twist out but I went with it.

I put some of this in my hair to moisturize it along with some olive oil and coconut oil and put them in 6 plaits. I rolled them up to try and get some curl going with the braids, sealing my fate of waking up with still damp hair.

But I had no morning appointments so I went with it. At the end of the night my head was looking like this:

Just 6 big ol plaits. I wasn’t in the mood for a big styling session. Next time I’ll put one in the center so my crown doesn’t come out flat. I stayed with my hair like this for two days and pulled it out the third realizing that as I read on Curly Nikki‘s blog, it really is important to moisturize them plaits even if you’re not pulling them out because my fro wasn’t as moisturized as I would have liked. I’m just not sure what to moisturize relaxed ends with. Same olive oil and water mix? Iono…

But my fro was looking fierce! I loved it and I really can’t wait til it’s all natural and big and soft! I wish my hair looked like this even when the sun isn’t shining down on it 🙂

See how my ends are in need of a little love? I’ma trim ’em. Will I be getting second day hair from this? I’m not sure. Right now its up in a pineapple so we’ll see how tomorrow goes. The middle is super curly so maybe I can do a half up, half down style. If not, I can always throw on my new funky fedora 😀