5 years Natural| The Struggle

So I thought I'd share a recent experiment of mine! Unfortunately my phone is deciding to keep the photos to itself (it doesn't want to share).

I'll start from the beginning. Exactly, what made me consider blow-drying my hair?

Well, I saw a hair regime video by a fellow YouTuber, JoStylin who regularly blow-dries her hair to stretch it before braiding up and doing a braid-out. Similarly, I wanted a low manipulation lifestyle that also showed my length more.

So on Monday, I shampooed and conditioned my hair in chunky two-strand twists and unearthed my blow-dryer (Babyliss). I carefully finger detangled the sections then used the blow-dryer on the cool shot setting at the minimum speed setting. This was I never had any warm or hot air touching my hair. I held my hair at the ends with one hand whilst I moved the blow-dryer repeatedly down the hair. I made sure the roots were feeling smooth before focusing lower down the lengths.

I managed 4 sections before I gave up! I was just not feeling it.

My ends felt like straw and it felt like I was sucking dry every bit of moisture my conditioner had just instilled! I quickly turned off the blow-dryer and grabbed and twisted up the rest of the sections.

I was torn! There are pros and cons to everything:
Pro: I liked the stretched look of my hair.
Con: I hated the tangly dryness of my hair!

Pro: My hair looked smoother along the length.
Con: My hair felt rougher at the ends!

Overall, this failed attempt has reinforced my decision to not blow-dry my hair. However, I have discovered that if I leave it in chunky twists and a bun for 2 days, I get a good stretch that could be the base of more styles. Maybe I can try a braid-out on this!

Most of all, I realized that I have to be fully comfortable with my stretching style or I will never appreciate the results I achieve. Next up, curlformers in winter! Watch this space.