For me, being natural is not hard. 22 years in, I feel like a G for sure—on most days. Cutting my hair is not hard, but navigating my hair through the transition of that “in between” stage can suck. Especially now that the texture and flow of my hair seems different since I am totally gray and 2 years from 50. Gray hair is ORNERY! It’s dry, wiry, strong and pretty much likes to free style on a regular. Finding the “right’ product and being willing to switch up my regimen has been key. Here are some things that have helped me.
Cleansing
There are a bunch of products for “silver” hair that turn your hair that old church lady bluish purple (not a good look unless that’s how you get down”>. I prefer to use products that are “sulfate free.” I like to wash my hair with Pantene products because they have a range and they are sulfate free. I have also found that if I don’t moisturize my hair—I have a swirl of little platinum tuffs everywhere. Before I wash my hair, I rinse it in the shower with warm water, co-wash and then wash with shampoo. It seems to make my hair so much more softer and manageable. I like Creme of Nature conditioners (the one with the Moroccan Argan oil in it”> and Cantu. Coconut oil is my Frank’s Hot Sauce, I put that ish on EVERYTHING! I seal my hair when it is still wet and that also seems to help with the proverbial dryness. I am also a big fan of Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade. You only need a little and it smells so good.
Styling
So this bobbie pin, a scarf and a gele walked in a bar…Real talk, the transition from a taper to a fuller fro has required some straight up trickery! I keeps an arsenal in my car for any given hair catastrophe. When I was initially growing it out, it was too short on the sides to pull up into a puff so I would use bobby pins to create a faux hawk. Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel saves the day every time. I would also give into days when my hair was clearly in charge and just “wrap it up B.’ African Geles are my safe guard. I wear them for cultural and spiritual reasons and they have so much utility in addition to looking amazing. Now that the the hair is longer, I like to either pull it up into an awesome chunky puff, create a funky up do/protective style with bobbie pins leaving the front out or use my African fabric and pull some hair out in the front for a funky bang. I am looking forward to the top knot which was my go to syle when I had locs.
Sleeping
The last thing I would say, is that I am lazy when it comes to my hair routine. People assume that I do so much, but I really only do a few things that work for me. I don’t like to wrap my hair at night every night. I like to sleep. I also don’t like to twist my hair every night…I like to sleep. So, sometimes, I just, go to sleep and when I get up in the morning, my hair is doing whatever it is going to do that day. If I like the organic free flow I see in the mirror, I go with it. A little coconut oil (cuzzzzz I put hat ISH on everything!”> and I am out the door!
