For my relaxed hair sisters considering going natural - Natural hair starter kit

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Now that we have the dealt with the other issues we can get down to the hair. I swear to you it is not rocket science. You do not need to have a complicated regimen, use a million products, rub vayjayjay cream on your head or spend hours on end on your hair. Let me say now: if at anytime you feel like having natural hair is impairing your ability to be happy and is encroaching on your peace of mind you might want to go ahead and choose a less stress inducing option for the time being. after all, it's just hair.

Here are a few links for posts I have posted previously that will help you with the basics in terms of the keys to building a regimen and understanding the structure of hair

Building a regimen for healthy hair growth

Hair Structure and the Importance of pH

Coconut prepoo - great for detangling and potentially softening your new growth

To summarize, if I had to give a transitioner a starter kit these are the things I would put in it:

1) A moisturizing shampoo - you want to cleanse your hair without drying it.

2) A cheapie conditioner with lots of slip - moisturize and helps to detangle

3) A deep conditioning treatment - really moisturize your hair and strengthen it to prevent breakage, especially at the demarcation line between ur relaxed hair and your new growth

4) A Plastic cap - serves as a cheapie steam cap when deep conditioning. Also good for baggying.

5) A protein treatment - correct porosity issues and reinforce your hair

6) Apple Cider Vinegar - pH balance, close your cuticles and smooth your hair strands to prevent tangling and breakage. Also removes buildup on your hair and scalp

7) A Wide Tooth Comb - for detangling. Use your fingers first and any detangling implement you have afterward, taking care not to overly manipulate the hair.

8) Water - drink lots of it, use it on your hair.

9)A good leave in conditioner - different hair types like different leave ins. You want something that leaves your hair moisturized, soft and doesn't leave a residue. Experiment until you find one you like.

10) Sealing Oil - Use any oil you prefer e.g coconut or olive to seal in your moisture.

Figuring out a regimen that works for you will take some experimentation both with methods and products and will depend on your lifestyle. You can search around my blog for what I do but take it as a guide as no two heads of hair are the same. Only you can determine how often you need to wash your hair, if you prefer to shampoo or cowash, whether or not your hair needs a protein treatment, etc. Below is a summary of my current regimen

1) Coconut prepoo once every 2-3 months. 

2) Shampoo once a month with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo

3) Protein treatment once every 1-2 months with Nexxus Emergencee

4) Condition once a month with Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner

5) Deep Condition once a month with ORS Hair Mayonnaise (also experimenting with Shea Moisture and Hollywood Beauty Carrot)

6) Steam with my Huetiful Steamer whenever I deep condition

7) ACV rinse whenever I wash

8) Detangle using diluted infusium 23 every time I wash my hair or style my hair. Also use it to moisturize between washes.

9) Use my fingers, wide tooth comb and tangle teezer to remove shed hair and detangle once a month/ whenever I style.

10) moisturize with an adapted version of the kimmaytube leave in 

11) Seal with coconut Oil

I rock protective styles most of the time, mostly 2 strand twists and box braids. This keeps my hair stretched preventing single strand knots and excessive tangling. It also reduces manipulation. I refrain from using heat, getting my hair straightened maybe once or twice a year. When I do use heat, I make sure to prep my hair by doing a protein treatment and making sure my hair is well moisturized. I also make sure to use heat protectants so that I don't get heat damage. If you decide to do your transition using a protective style such as weaves or braid extensions, you have to remember to care for your hair as well. Make sure and keep your scalp and hair clean and moisturized!

Again to my natural sisters on here who were transitioners, feel free to pitch in and for the relaxed sistas if you have specific questions, please post them in the comments or send me an email! In the meantime here is a great inspiration album for people thinking about transitioning, especially longterm transitioners

Hope this helps somebody!

For my relaxed hair sisters considering going natural - tips for the transition

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I was recently asked for a few tips on going natural from a sister who is currently relaxed and thinking about transitioning. I told her I might just do a blog post with the answer because I'm pretty sure she is not the only one in her situation with this question so C this is for you! lol

Let me make it clear from the beginning that I myself have never been relaxed and so have never had that relaxed to natural transition per say. I have however done some big and not so big chops (BC) in my life and I have definitely had experiences of not taking care of my hair as I should and now actually taking the time to do better and observing the results so I think I can still share some useful tips.

My first piece of advice would be to take the time to get your mind right about what you are about to do. I spend a significant amount of time scouring YouTube videos, natural hair blogs and forums and it seems that a few key themes emerge for sisters contemplating the transition or already in it or even those who have BCed. Many complain about how hard it is to manage their hair, not liking their curl pattern, not knowing how to care for or style their hair. Others have problems of acceptance, from their family, their friends, their colleagues and even themselves. Some ladies go through a stage of not feeling as feminine or as pretty or as attractive as they did before they embarked on the journey. 

To help you get your mind and in turn your spirit prepared here are a few insights to help you cross those hurdles. 

1. First and foremost, hair is just hair!

What your hair and what you choose to do with it ultimately means should be at your sole dictate and nobody else. If you decide to embark on the path to natural because of deep seated philosophical or even health issues or whether you decide to do it on a whim is your prerogative. Don't let anybody invalidate your experience based on your rationale. Once you are secure in your reasoning for doing what you are doing it becomes much easier to be strong in the face of negativity that may or may not come your way but more importantly it will make your journey that much more fulfilling.

2. The journey may not start off easy but I promise it gets better with time

Remember, it's like learning to read all over again. Your natural hair is not the same as your relaxed hair. What worked when you were relaxed may not work on your new growth and what works on your twa may no longer be effective when you get to shoulder length, if that is a goal of yours. Be cognizant of this, it helps to ease the frustration on those days when your hair is acting like a rebellious child. With this in mind I would advise that if your lifestyle allows, it is a good idea to not do you entire transition in braids or a weave as you miss out on that valuable learning time of getting to understand what your curly hair likes. When you do the bigchop you will already have an arsenal of products and styling techniques you have confidence in as opposed to being thrown head first into curls and/or kinks that you didn't spend any significant amount of time getting to know.

3. No two heads of hair are the same

The only way to truly learn what works best for your hair is through your own experimentation. It's great to learn from other ppl's experiences but there are no guarantees. This is particularly important now that we have all these natural hair gurus, products, youtube vids and blogs. Take everything with a pinch of salt and find what applies to you and enjoy the rest. Do your own research and view bandwagons with great suspicion. lol. I'll take the time here to say resist the urge to become a product junkie! lol

4. Your hair is always growing!

You don't need growth aides, magical products or anything else. The key to maximal hair growth is keeping your hair follicles healthy via diet, exercise and your daily water intake, keeping your scalp clean and healthy with a good cleansing regimen, and retaining length by moisturizing your hair and protecting your ends. More on this later.

5. You are not guaranteed to have curls

I have encountered so many ppl who get inspired to go natural based on somebody who has a more relaxed curl pattern and then when they realize that they can't get ms jessie curls or carol daughter curls or mixed chick curls or kinky curly curls they are devastated. There is no one natural and you may in fact find that you have numerous types of curls or kinks on your head. All natural hair is beautiful and your hair will be beautiful because YOU are beautiful. Don't have unrealistic expectations for your curl pattern and embrace and work with whatever you have!

Now that that is out of the way lets get down to the science of hair. In my next post I will provide some specific hair care tips you may want to keep in mind and other resources to make your transition as painless as possible!

To transitioners and formally relaxed sisters who read this blog, feel free to add your own tips in the comments! Let's help our sisters out.

Mini Two Strand Twists - the verdict

So, will I stick to month long mini two strand twists as my new protective style? Look at the picture and tell me what you think I decided

Left bag - this weeks shed hair, right bag - shed hair from the week I put in my twists. Granted the left is 4 weeks of shed hair compared to one week, that is still a lot! Lots of that is broken hair as opposed to truly shed hair.

Determination: HELLLL NAH! 

Man, look at how much hair I lost! lol. It took me a full 2.5 hrs to detangle and style my hair post deep condition and ACV rinse, a process that usually takes an hour. there were so many disturbing tangles, I even had to cut two because I just couldn't. lol so yeah. I will def rock mini twists again because they are stylish, easily styled and the resulting twist out is phenomenal but I am NOT leaving these babies in my hair this long again ever or washing with them in. I think that's the main problem. Once my hair gets in water, it gets freaky and wants to flirt with other strands resulting in tangles, locs and general detangling disaster.

Hair post Deep Condition and ACV Rinse

This week I put my hair in about 22 box braids to recoup. I'm going to try to leave them in for 2 weeks and not wash for two weeks. I won't be surprised if I had a length and health set back because of those mini twists. So much breakage yall. And look at the size of that hair ball! (tear) 

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For this week's leave-in mixture I used Hollywood beauty's carrot creme instead of Cantu and I like it a lot. It gives my mixture a thicker consistency and is much easier to use with less wastage. Depending on how my hair responds I might permanently replace the Cantu with this. As of right now my hair is nice and shiny and breathing a sigh of relief.

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I think the next purchase I make is going to be a tangle teezer. I have to try that thing out because as my hair is getting longer my comb is just not doing it for me as it used to. Especially last night, I had to take most of those tangles out by hand because my comb was ripping my hair out. 

I'm also contemplating getting my hair straightened and possibly getting a trim. I think I need a break from the curlies for a while, not deal with tangles (do I sound traumatized or what) lol. I also noticed a lot of fairy (single strand) knots last night so I think I should probably deal with that situation. My plan is to let these braids sit for two weeks, do another coconut pre-poo treatment, do some medium braids/two strand twists for another two weeks then do my monthly shampoo, a protein treatment and the rest of the works and go get my hair straightened to see what I'm dealing with.

Stay Tuned! lol

Today's leave in Mixture 

• 3 tbs Hollywood Beauty Carrot Creme
• 2 tbs Redken Extreme Antisnap
• 2 tbs Aloe vera juice
• 2 tsp jojoba oil
• 2 tsp tea tree oil
• 2 tsp grapeseed oil

Brazilian Keratin Treatments (BKT) - A Cautionary Tale

Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with one of the followers of this blog after she friended me on facebook. Her name is Lalex and she hails from France. She mentioned that she had tried the BKT and that it was a mistake for her so I asked her to share some of her experience as I have so many friends who have or are considering this treatment and I know there are many other naturalistas wrestling with this decision as well.

BKT is often touted as the perfect solution for naturals who want to wear their hair straight for a while as once you apply it, it cuts blowdrying and straightening time significantly. It also reduces frizz if you decide to rock the BKT without straightening but your curl pattern will be more relaxed than pre-BKT. Makers of BKT  claim that the effect of the treatment will eventually wear off and you won't permanently lose your natural curl pattern. This was not Lalex's experience. I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

On August 15th 2010, Lalex went to a hairdresser to get the BKT done.

Lalex's dry hair pre-BKT

pre - BKT her hair wet

After getting the BKT done. The hairdresser clarified her hair twice, semi- blowdried it, applied the Brazilian Keratin, completed the blow dry process then flat ironed at 360 degree

After getting the BKT done, Lalex was pleased, "my hair was shiny, soft, it looked very healthy... and straight. It took 5 min to flat iron my hair (against 1hour [before] the [BKT])". She had to avoid water, rain and steam for a week after getting the treatment. After that first week she shampooed (SLS free) her hair and straightened it everyday for the rest of that month with no product (approximately 5min/day to refresh the style). After the first month she didn't straighten her hair but it was still relatively straight and shiny even without flat ironing it. The BKT lasted three months and cost 140 euros (~US$190). 

Fast forward to February 14th 2011. While Lalex expected her hair would revert to her texture pre-BKT, 6 months later this hasn't happened. While some of her hair has reverted to curly, about a third of it has remained straightened or a looser curl pattern than she had before, mainly concentrated at the top/front of her head.

6 months post BKT

6 months post BKT - front 1/3 of her hair is still straight

2/3 of her hair has reverted to her pre-BKT texture

camouflaging the multiple textures

Right now she is growing out her hair and trying to maintain a healthy curly style and vows never to do BKT again. 

The important take away message here is if you want to do straight hair and don't care about retaining your natural curl pattern, this treatment will be useful to you. One caution is to be aware that most brands use formaldehyde or one of its derivatives and that these compounds are carcinogenic. Even brands that claim to be "formaldehyde free" have these compounds in them as they can legally claim to be formaldehyde free if they have a formaldehyde derivative in them, other related aldehydes such as gluteraldehyde or chemicals that react to form formaldehyde. They can also claim to be "formaldehyde free" if they have a formaldehyde concentration of 0.05% or less. 

If, however, you love your natural hair texture, you might want to think twice before you choose to do this as you aren't guaranteed to have your curls come back after you quit the treatment. 

I hope this was helpful to some folks. Thanks so much again Lalex for being so kind to let me share your story. If you have more questions about BKT or Lalex's experience feel free to send her a message via facebook (Lalex Malou) or you can email me further questions at msnappytrini@gmail.com. If you would like to share your own BKT experience feel free to send me a message or leave a comment.

Natural Haven and pH balance

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A while ago when I was looking into ACV rinses I did a post on pH balance. I just came across this wonderful blog Natural Haven which is one of the most scientific natural blogs I have encountered in a while, maybe ever. lol. check out this post on pH, baking soda and castille soap as well as removing silicones from hair.

Natural recipes make me go hmmmm! Part deux

I am trying a new leave-in. It is based on kimmaytube's leave in recipe. My adapted recipe consists of the following:

• 2 tbs Aloe Vera juice
• 2 tbs Cantu Shea Leave in conditioner
• 1 tbs redken extreme antisnap
• 2 tsp jojoba oil
• 2 tsp jamaican black castor oil

This is my second week using it and it is amazing! my hair is so soft, shiny and frizz free. My twist outs are also so defined, I have way more hang-time and it doesn't shrink up as much when I'm dancing up a storm. lol You can substitute the cantu and redken for any creamy leave in you can find or prefer and the other ingredients you can get at your local health food store. 

I use this mix once a week after my wash and acv rinse and store the remainders in the fridge. I spritz my hair with diluted infusium 23 before applying and I seal my ends with coconut oil. I also continue to oil my scalp but I have now added jbco, jojoba oil and coconut oil to my doo grow for this job. During the week, if my ends get dry I spritz with diluted infusium and seal with coconut oil or plain doo grow. I still baggy nightly. 

With the recent changes in my haircare regimen, I think my hair has gone to another level. My hair is so soft, I didn't even know it was possible. LMAO In fact, it is so soft that I went to a party this weekend and I was dancing around minding my business when some random dude put his hand in my twist out and exclaimed in shock OMG her hair is so soft! LMAO I know, it's a bit off-putting (why da hell is dude's hand in my hair) but I just thought it was so cute and hilarious. Plus I was happy and in a good mood. LMAO

Natural recipes make me go hmmmm!

Hi Yall,

it's been a hot minute since I've updated but I wanted to share with you all. I have been experimenting with more homemade recipes recently. I am in the process of simplifying my haircare routine and I am really motivated right now to use stuff that I can get readily in my community as opposed to ordering stuff online or depending on ridiculously expensive products. I was also inspired to find stuff ppl can get anywhere particularly as many of my friends from Trinidad are always asking me about products I use and very few of them are sold in Trini. The more I get to know my hair and the more research I do, the less I am concerned about using specific products or brands. I think being a broke student also prevents me from being consumed by product junkyism. lmao. I believe knowing what specific ingredients your hair likes and what type of products you need are more important. Then you can go out and get what ever is available to you in your community that can fulfill similar purposes. Easy, effective, available and cheap is what I'm going for with my hair care regimen.

As my hair is getting longer and thicker now, I have been finding detangling in the shower using a comb is becoming a problem. I have stated many times, patience is not my forte and I was finding that I was ripping out too much of my hair in the shower. As such, I stopped using a comb in the shower a few weeks ago and instead did some finger combing and did most of my detangle when I was about to do my protective style. I started saving my shed hair every week to keep track of if I was losing less or not. I also started researching pre-poo treatments. I've always heard about them but I hadn't really paid them any particular attention before. I needed to find something that would take the pain out of my detangling and present less hair each week to be put in my ziplock bags. lol

It's def getting longer and thickening up

Last week I tried my first pre-poo because I finally found something I thought actually made sense for me. The majority of pre-poo's ppl use consist of using oils on their hair pre-shampooing. I guess the reasoning is that you prevent totally stripping away oils during shampooing and so prevent the drying out effect shampooing sometimes bring. Personally, I was not too interested in that part because I feel like I have mastered the art of shampooing my hair now that I don't get this drying effect. What I needed was something to help with the detangling and simply oiling my hair wasn't going to help with that.

I have been looking into coconut milk recently and came across a video on youtube by thatgirl5 with a coconut conditioning treatment that she used on her daughter to soften her hair and ease detangling. She called it a "relaxer" but I didn't see any relaxing of her daughter's curl or anyone else who used it on youtube and I personally do not want to change my curl pattern but I decided to try it for the detangling potential. The recipe I used was

• 2 tbs extra virgin coconut oil - melted in the microwave
• 1.5 tbs coconut cream (I used Goya coconut milk [no stabilizers or gums] - I opened the can and poured the contents into a glass jar and left it uncovered in the fridge so that the fatty cream would float to the top and some of the water would evaporate. I then scooped the cream from the top for this recipe)
• 1 cup of plain yogurt - left out to get to room temperature before mixing.

After getting home from a party in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I applied the mixture (pH 4) to my hair section by section, put a plastic cap on and went to bed. Putting this mix in my hair was a revelation in itself. It felt amazing! I was skeptical about if it would work on my dry dirty hair but as soon as I started smoothing it out, it stretched out my curls and i was removing my shed strands with so much ease! When I was done applying it I had so much hang time and my hair already felt so moisturized and detangled I was quite pleased. I ran to take a pic but my camera batteries were dead and I didn't have replacements. I promise the next time I do it I will post pics.I was also quite tired as it took me near an hour to apply it. 

My reasoning for doing it at that time was "hey I got to get up soon anyways so I'll rinse it out and then do my regular washing routine". I didn't want to leave it in too long because I didn't want to run the risk of changing my curl pattern. Needless to say, I overslept and 8 hours later I was washing this mix out of my head. I rinsed the mix out throughly then shampooed with HE Hello Hydration and conditioned with HE Longlasting Relationship. I then did an ACV rinse. When I was done my hair was so soft it kind of scared me. LMAO. I was like "OMG I think I changed my curl pattern" It was weird, my hair had the same curl pattern but it definitely was stretched more and just so unbelievably soft it threw me off. I wasn't sure I liked this soft mane after all. Regardless, detangling was a BREEZE and I can now happily report that one week later my hair is definitely still my hair just so much softer and easier to detangle. lol. But next time, I'm only leaving it in 2-3 hours tops because I don't like it super soft. 

Left bag is my shed hair from detangling the week before the coconut treatment, middle bag is week of, right bag is this week (1 week post treatment). I know you can tell the difference. lol

This week I used the HE long lasting relationship conditioner for a co-wash and used my regular hair mayo from ORS for a deep condition. It is astonishing how much less hair I removed from my hair this week. I will def continue to use this coconut treatment on my hair, probably once a month or even every other month, depending on how often I think I need it. I also tried it on one of my friends hair yesterday and she also loved it and reports she is going to use it as a deep conditioner in the future. This is also an effective protein treatment as the yogurt has lots of protein in it. I would also recommend it to ppl who do adapted KCCC methods, this is great for getting your curls to clump so you start with a great foundation. 

So if you are looking for softer, way easier to detangle, more hang-time, clumped curls hair, you might want to try this. and u can find all the stuff u need cheap at your neighborhood grocery store. lol

Combating Shrinkage

I just came across this link talking about different ways we can combat that shrinkage. I have never heard about these milk treatments and such, I'll have to look into that some more. As I learn I'll share, I promise! but in the meantime check this link out. Stay Blessed!

Question from Apples - Hair growth

I recently got a question from a visitor to the blog, Apples, and I thought I should share my answer to her as I am sure many ppl might have a similar question.

"I've recently cut off all my relaxed hair on my quest to embrace all things natural. any tips to get the growth process started?"

Hi Apples!

Congrats on your BC and good luck with your natural journey. There is really no secret to growing your hair. Our hair is always growing, the problem is because many of us don't understand how to care for our hair, just as fast as it is growing, it is breaking off. The key to seeing your growth is retaining it. And doing that is fairly straight foward if you are diligent about it.

The keys to success:

• 
  
  healthy mind, body and spirit - includes eating right/ supplementing your diet, exercise, drinking lots of water and reducing stress
• 
  
  clean scalp and hair - find a hair washing regimen that suits your lifestyle
• 
  
  moisture - you will need to ensure that your hair is well moisturised. Water, a good leave in, a sealing oil and baggying are essential
• 
  
  protective styling - it is important to protect the ends of your hair. They are dead, once they are damaged, you can't repair it. So be good to them and keep them out of harms way.
• 
  
  low manipulation - the less you handle your hair, the fewer opportunities to damage it.

Once you routinely practice these things, you will retain your new growth and so it will appear that your hair is growing faster than usual. That's only a sign that you are finally starting to understand what your hair likes and you are doing right by it. Feel free to check out earlier posts on my personal regimen and products I use, but they should just be a guide as all of our manes are different, have different needs and like different things.

That said, I would also say don't obsess over it. At the end of the day hair is just hair, it shouldn't define you. What you choose to do with it should be an expression of you, not the other way around. So I would say as you embark on this new journey in your life, enjoy every stage, learn as much as you can and do you! And thank you for letting me share in it!

Blessings

MzNappyTrini

Another hair type classification system

So somehow I stumbled across this hair typing system I had never heard of before called the LOIS system. Those who know my government name will know why I was tickled by this. lol. Personally I find it kind of confusing and the whole hair typing thing mostly useless but it's fun learning new stuff! enjoy

LOIS Hair System

ACV Rinse and pH control

So I have been experimenting with the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Rinse and I think I like it. It started when I was on vacation with those two strand twists in my hair. One day after washing my hair I had the scalp itchies so bad I was like oh my lord give me something! I look around the kitchen, I see some Braggs, I grab it up and I start making a concoction. I didn't have internet access right that minute but I had remembered reading somewhere some time ago that ACV helps eliminate itchy scalp. So I mixed 3 cups of water with 2 tbs of apple cider vinegar. Then on a whim I added a dash of baking soda and some honey (don't know why but they were in the kitchen lol). Mixed it up good and poured that baby over my head. Lord the smell! LMAO But miracle of miracles: the itching was gone. I hopped in the shower to run some water and a dash of herbal essences hello hydration conditioner in my hair to get rid of the smell, concentrating on the hair so as not to wash the rinse from my scalp and thus defeat the whole purpose of the exercise.

Later that day when I did get some internet I started researching what I was actually supposed to put in the ACV rinse, in terms of amounts and such. I realized that my honey hunch was a good tip because honey also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. I also stumbled across this video by Kimmaytube on youtube explaining pH balance as it relates to hair:

pH balance TEST results BONUS video

In the video she does pH tests on common homemade recipes ppl use for hair care: ACV rinse, baking soda etc. She also goes into detail about the ideal pH range for our hair, general hair structure and the effect different pHs have on our hair. The most important take away message: 

Alkali (high pH) substances open up the hair cuticle while acidic (low pH) substances lay the cuticle flat 

Honestly, I had never thought about the pH of the stuff I have been putting on my hair before so this video really opened my eyes. It seems that my instincts are good though because by mixing in some baking soda with my ACV I had essentially raised/ neutralized the pH. This is good because turns out 2 tbs ACV in 3 cups of water is too acidic for our hair! lol.

Since my aha moment I continue to do an ACV rinse every week when I am done washing/deep conditioning. However I use one capful in 2 cups of water (pH 4 - 4.5). It still stops the itchies and now I am also laying my cuticles flat and not damaging my hair. I think the rest of the videos Kimmaytube does on Hair Structure and pH balance are really important to anyone trying to understand their head of natural hair so I am posting the links below. 

The Structure of Hair - Part 1 The Basics
The Structure of Hair Part 2 - pH Balance Basics
Structure of Hair Part 3 -Are you taking your hair on a pH roller coaster ride?
Structure of Hair Part 4 - Using pH Balance Properly for Hair-Care

Natural Hair Acronyms and Definitions

So thanks to my sister for the idea of doing this post. She read the blog and then was like " it looking good eh but i feeling like an ignoramus cuz I doh know what half those terms mean. Co-wash, curlisto, bagging, bsl, what is that?!" LMAO. So I thought maybe I can make a collection of terms and acronyms as I come across them/ use them so ppl can know what is meant by these things. Similarly if there is a term u see often and don't know what it is please suggest that I include it n the list. here goes!

Co-wash - the process of washing one's hair using conditioner instead of shampoo. The idea behind this is that conditioners contain surfactants just like shampoos do but have much less of a drying effect as well as usually contain less damaging chemicals than regular shampoos, so u get a good clean but your hair remains moisturized and is less tangled.

Baggy Method - aka baggying. Used to maintain moisture in hair, particularly the ends, thus preventing split ends and retaining length. Involves moisturizing ones hair, usually the ends, using whatever products one choses and then using a plastic bag, ziploc bag, plastic cap, saran wrap or similar material to wrap the ends of one's hair or the whole head, as one prefers. May be used as a nightly routine to replenish moisture on a daily basis. May also be used if one is using a protective style such as a wig, half wig or ponytail so you can protect your own ends while wearing the wig/pony. See here for an example.

Curlisto Method - a method used to define curls. Similar methods include the Curly primer method and the KCCC method. Named for the brand of products used in the original method, this method can basically be done using various brands of leave in conditioners and curl defining gels but the two major brands ppl use are Curlisto and Kinky Curly. Cheaper alternatives include IC Fantasia or Ecostyler Gels. It involves a method known as shingling whereby a curl activator gel is applied to wet, detangled, moisturized hair, section by section, by running your fingers through the section rather than combing with a brush or comb. See example here.

BSL - hair growth term: bra strap length

APL - hair growth term: arm pit length

SL - hair growth term: shoulder length

MBL - hair growth term: mid back length

KCCC - Kinky Curly Curling Custard: product that can be used for shingling ones hair to enhance curl definition