What To Do After Protective Styling Natural Hair

It's been 3 weeks since I installed my Havana Twists. If you had told me 3 weeks ago that I would keep them this long, I would say... NO! The last time I installed these types of twists was about 2 years ago and I only lasted 2 weeks. Click here to watch.

One thing I did differently this time was prepare the right type of moisturizing spray to keep my hair hydrated at all time. My spray consisted of 7 ounce water, 1 tsp of glycerin, my oil blend, 5 drops of tea tree oil and 1 capsule (emptied) MSM capsule 1000mg (sulfur).

Regarding the MSM and hair (Source Long Hair Care Forum) :
Sulfur speeds up the length of your hair growth cycle, by extending the anagen phase. When the anagen phase is sped up, so are the other phases, which makes your hair seem to shed faster than it would normally. The sulfur is allowing that follicle to return to the active growth stage. About 10-15% of your hair is in the telogen or shedding phase at an given time. Your hair won't thin because of sulfur use unless you are allergic, already thinning at a high rate, or neglecting your hair in other ways.

This spritz lasted the entire time. I moisturized as needed, depending on what I did during the day. Click here to watch.

After taking out the extensions, my hair was so soft, unlike the last time, when my ends were super dry and my hair was brittle. I was SHOCKED. I give credit to the glycerin in my mix for this effect and also consistency in my moisturizing process.

Here are the steps I took in cleansing my hair:

• Pre-poo with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and V05 Strengthening Conditioner for a couple of hours
• Clarify hair with Giovanni 50:50 Hydrating Clarifying Shampoo

Although I did not have a lot of buildup, I still felt the need to totally clarify my hair since it has been a while since I cleansed it.

• Used rinse out conditioner, Trader Joe's Tree Tea Tingle Conditioner to invigorate my scalp and soften my hair. The clarifying shampoo does not contain sulfates, however, it can feel a bit hard to the hair. This conditioner helps to soften the hair again.

After protective styling, you should always incorporate a protein treatment into your wash day. This is because it will strengthen your hair and help repair any damage done to your hair strands. I decided to try out a new product, Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor. After I had used this, I then read the ingredients (can't believe I forgot to do that prior to buying) and discovered it had Mineral Oil. Anywhoooo....

The direction said to use it 1/2 ounce and leave on for 2mins or 5 minutes for maximum repair. I did 5 minutes. The measurements did confuse me because I did not realize that 1/2 ounce is actually a palm full. Who comes up with these measurements anyways?! I did not use the full amount. Maybe that is why I did not feel the strong feeling the other naturalistas talked about. My hair did feel soft afterwards.

After rinsing, I applied SheaMoisture 10 in 1 Renewal System Hair Masque, a moisturizing deep conditioner. Left it in overnight and in the morning, did my LOCS method and twisted up my hair for the week.