Hair Chronicles: Figuring It Out On My Own

  My mother never really taught me how to take care of my hair. She also never taught me the texture of my hair or showed me how to wash it properly, or when to wash it , or what oils to put in my hair to stimulate growth, or what type of product to use in my natural 4B hair. To this day I don’t really even know if I do have 4B hair but from the looks of pictures it really does seem so. I remember when I was a little girl I used to cry to get my hair permed, my mom never did thankfully but once I got older, I decided to perm my hair for myself. In doing so I found that my hair was shedding a lot more than usual so all those inches I had finally retained over two years fell right out.  

  Adulting isn’t just bills. It is also finding out how to take care of yourself all by yourself. It’s learning how to be genuinely healthy all around, hair, skin and nails, inside and out. That being said my hair journey has led me here. I discovered https://www.kananikurls.com/ ( Kanani Kurls ) back in January when my current shampoo wasn’t cutting it. It just wasn’t making me feel like my hair was truly healthy. If anything, it was making my hair and scalp dry and itchy. I was using the brand OGX Teatree & Mint Shampoo/Conditioner and it didn’t feel very stimulating even though it had tea tree and peppermint. At one point, I was skeptical about whether there was actually tea tree or peppermint in it. I was happy I came across this company. By doing research I found out that this company was truly for me, so let me tell you why this company is for you. 

  Being an African-American you’re constantly on the look for natural because our ancestors were all natural we never had all this plastic and synthetic things that we have today on Earth. I had to look very hard for natural products for my hair. There’s so many people out there claiming that their products are “all natural” but are they really? Even though they may list “natural” ingredients doesn’t mean that they are really telling the truth. Well the truth is in testing their hypothesis because they may be hiding something.  I am positive you could all tell if shampoo was “all natural” or something else. In this case I could immediately tell after using this shampoo that it was natural. It didn’t have the thick consistency that regular shampoos have. If your shampoo has a thick consistency then it mostly has polyethylene glycols, which is a thickening agent that is contaminated with the byproducts. Instead it was actually kind of watery and still managed to get my hair soapy, not like other chemical shampoos, just enough to wash out the harsh chemicals that I had in my hair and adding nourishment. Below you can see the consistency of this brand is actually pretty thin! Which is a good thing. I know that a lot of people would think differently but it actually is a good thing, especially if the ingredients contain mostly water and natural oils.

  If your hair gets very soapy during shampooing then that most likely means that your shampoo contains sodium sulfate laureth. Sulfates in shampoo are basically very strong detergents. It creates that lathering foam that you most likely get. I would definitely stay away from ingredients like that in your shampoo. My old shampoo contained both. Below you can see that both the shampoo and conditioner contained very thick consistencies and the shampoo doesn’t look very natural, especially if it looks silky.

  Retaining length takes a lot of work. It is definitely not easy because you have to really take the time to genuinely take care of yourself, every single day and I know for one that I have my days when I don’t feel like doing nothing. I don’t feel like taking a shower and I don’t feel like washing my hair. I don’t feel like shaving my legs and I don’t feel like putting my hair in a protective style. Whenever I feel like this I take time to remind myself why it is very important to take care of my hair and why I should make time to do so. 

  My hair journey managed to bring me here, to this company that actually is trying to do good for the African-American hair community. Best of all, my hair genuinely loves the product! I’ve noticed since I’ve started using this product, my wigs are especially less itchy around my edges or in the back of my head. Using the other shampoo made my hair so itchy in a protective style or in a wig! A lot of people associate healthy with having to eat vegetables, running every day and cutting back on a lot of food, but healthy is literally just how you take care of yourself mentally, physically and spiritually. Your mind is a very powerful tool in the hair growth process!  There was this father and daughter duo video on YouTube, that is currently taking down for some unknown reason, that said that the secret to truly growing your hair is to say your hair will grow, or say your hair is growing everyday all the time. They achieved their length through mentally achieving that divine thinking that your mind is your most powerful tool. Their hair grew tremendously! 

  Being an amazing dad he is, Benny Harlem is teaching his daddy's little girl Jaxyn Harlem, how to be confident and embrace her uniqueness, as well as showing her how to be proud of their heritage. "He really is the most wonderful man in the world. His soul inspires me to be my best. Daddy is my confidant and my teacher. Not just in my school studies, but my teacher in life" Jaxyn told VICE. The duo frequently posts photos on social media, showing how confident and proud they are in embracing their natural hair look. 

  I still have yet to really discover my own heritage or even to discover how to take good care of my hair. Who knows my parents probably didn't know about their heritage either or didn’t really know about their hair like this family did. Nonetheless, I am determined to figure it all out . Stay tuned for my next blog where I will explain how to manifest your ideal hair length! Consistency is key. 

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