Kinky to Straight and Back

Two Sundays ago, I straightened my hair. Just like that, because I felt like it.

I had 8AM mass so I woke up at 5:30 to handle my bidness. It was already raining before I started at 6am, yet- like the stubborn grasshopper that I am, I committed to two hours of straightening, knowing that the slightest rain would most definitely revert all my hardwork. Commonsense eludes me sometimes.

So. The day before, I decided that Sunday would be the day I brought out my flat iron. I washed and deep conditioned my hair properly on Saturday, moisturised and sealed before chunky twisting my hair. I used the Carol’s Daughter Chocolat Blow Dry Cream as my heat protectant, and the instructions say to apply to damp hair. Later at night, I undid the chunky twists, put in the Blow Dry Cream and retwisted.

Safely straightening natural hair is one of the things I research every now and then. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen like 20 videos on the subject and read soooo many blog posts. Every girl has her own method, and because of the fear of heat damage, some straightening regimens I’ve seen can make you a little weak. Having applied my heat protectant on Saturday, all I did on Sunday morning was straighten. I didn’t blow dry first, I simply used a flat iron on still damp hair, that’s all.

Beloveds, I went to church late, and the two hours spent on my hair were not enough. The second hour was quite rushed.

I don’t know if you can notice in this picture, but I was scared of putting the heat to my roots. I wasn’t too keen on putting so much on my ends either, even though I had put extra heat protectant on them. If I had more time, I would have done one extra pass all round, to flatten just a little bit.

Peep that parting naw. If you have to wear a straight wig to a wedding or something, see how you can blend!

I don’t know what degree exactly I straightened at. My mom dashed me this flat-iron back in uni, way before I knew (or cared) about the effect of high heat on hair. The label with the degrees has since gone off, but I know I used the third highest setting (out of 4).

I went to church safely enough, but raindrops from Car to Church, Church to Car, Car to House, were inevitable. Somebody buy this girl an umbrella right? LOL. As a natural I have little fear of the rain, but when you temporarily want your kinky straight, you have everything to fret about. Long story short, in 3 hours, my hair had reverted to its kinky state.

Straightening natural hair is a serious job o, one I wouldn’t mind outsourcing to a professional but considering our humid environment, I’m not sure paying good money to straighten will be worth it. Still thinking about it sha, but I will try one more time before I submit myself to a stylist. I also think I’d be more efficient straightening someone else’s hair.

I’ll review the Blow Dry Cream properly after a couple more uses, but so far, I don’t think it was a waste of $20. It’s more than a heat protectant, I think it actually helps the straightening process. Though my hair reverted, it was still super soft. And, it managed to keep some semblance of straightness longer than I was able to do without it. The last time I tried to give myself a blow out in October, I did the same thing- shampoo, DC, moisturise and seal, leave overnight. I applied Grapeseed oil as my heat protectant. I did the blow drying in a cool closed room with the AC on, and my hair was reverting before I even finished! It also felt very very dry. Almost a full fro before I stepped out of the door and I had to use a flower crown to hold it down somehow. I didn’t want my time to be a total waste! struggle.com

Left Pic- right after I finished blow drying. The way it was ehn, straightening would have been an exercise in futility.

I’m not in a hurry to go through this process again, but I might, on someone else’s ‘fro. Any volunteers? ( ._.)

Today’s moral lesson: Don’t straighten your hair on a wet day. Don’t do it. Check the weather forecast, plan ahead. It can pain when your hair reverts. But then you’d laugh because Mother Nature is so funny, and laugh at how your hair, that stubborn girl upstairs doesn’t really listen to you. And then of course, you’d be grateful it reverted, a sign that you don’t have heat damage. ^_^

Have you succesfully straightened your hair in Nigeria? Please tell me how you did it and how long you were able to wear it for?

Love,

AB,

xx

 

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