Curly to Straight and back again...

This winter I decided to straighten my hair because I needed a trim... REALLY BAD. After the hack job the "salon that shall not be named" did on my hair for my birthday and just TIME, I need a trim super super bad but I didn't feel like vetting curly salons to get a DevaCut. My first DevaCut experience left me in tears and very angry about the money i spent so I didn't feel like wasting my time. (sn: I don't think DevaCut salons are bad but find a stylist that does YOUR KIND OF HAIR)

I know I said that I don't do heat but I say a lot of things when it comes to my hair so i'm going to stop saying "never" lol. The last time I straightened my hair was when I was transitioning in December of 2012. Anyway, I found this stylist through a friend of mine. I've had very bad experiences with stylists so I decided that I would wash/dc/detangle my hair at home and then I went to the salon so that he (the stylist) could blow dry and straighten my hair. I'm very happy with the decision I made and this salon experience went without incident *praise Him!*

When he straightened my hair he only did one pass with the flat-iron and was able to get bone straight results. My hair looks thick in its natural state but my individual strands are really thin. I've never had problem getting bone straight results ever. He trimmed a smidge more than an inch off all over but when I got home I sat in the mirror for a couple of hours and did a serious dusting. I basically cut off the single strand knots and split ends that were left off each individual strand.  That resulted in an additional 2 inches being cut off in a lot of places.

Basically I cut off all my growth between June and December lol . It's okay though. Now that I've gotten the trim, I notice that my hair doesn't shed as half as much as it used to and it's stronger so I know that it's going to grow back. I've changed my goal from #WLby25 to #WLat25 . I think I'll be able to reach my natural waist by December if I don't have any serious set backs. *fingers crossed*

My hair was straight from December 5th to February 8th. I did not use a flat-iron again in that time period. I didn't do many fancy styles while my hair was straight. For the first month I oiled my scalp like every other day and did 4 or five big pin curls every night.  

Upcycled Christmas Dress

During the second month I tried to experiment a little but my hair was so oily by then, my styles would be flat by the end of the day. I wore buns and ponytails for most of the second month.

Simplicity 1364

I did try to get some body back in my hair because I was going to the BET Honors so I took a kiddie curling iron and curled my hair and let them cool in pin curls. Unfortunately, by the end of the night, my hair was flat again lool. I forgot to curl from the root to the ends. It had been a while lol

Ginger Jeans

So quick recap lol:

• Flat-ironed one time (one pass) with no touch-ups for duration of hair being straight
• Hair stayed straight for 2 months
• Leave-in used after deep condition : Renpure Organics Argan Oil Silky Blowout Creme (same one I used 2 years ago to straighten my transitioning hair)
• "Trimmed" 3 inches overall
• Still BSL

I think those are all the important parts lol

I wasn't concerned about having heat damage. I VERY RARELY use heat so I know my hair was strong enough. Plus, the leave-in I mentioned above plays a big part, I believe. To go back to curly, sprayed my entire head with a mix of apple cider vinegar and water and let that sit on my hair for about an hour. This was the result:

I washed my hair and deep conditioned and styled and all is right with the world again :-)
Let me know if you have any questions!

Talk to you soon!

Back to my curls!