For Natural Curls

I love my CurlGirls.

I just think women with curly hair are fab! Why? Because curls are very unique, they add personality upon sight, and they can make a woman feel something special, sexy wonderful (oh yes I had to quote a song here). That’s how reeeal the curl game is.

BUT, the truth is, curls aren’t always the easiest to deal with it.

My Journey

Here’s how I’ve been dealing… see below for pictures of myhair journey over the past 6 years!

I like to think of hair as a garden. The more you tend to it, nurture it, give it water, vitamins, and love, the better it will be.

Well I didn’t have that memo early on in life. My hair was a nightmare from as far back as I can remember all the way to about the age of 20. Dyed, fried, chopped. You know the way.

I just wanted long hair!It wouldn’t grow. Luckily, my frustration led me to the internet goddesses who shed light on some of Mumma Nature’s gifts.

I began conditioning my hair once a week with natural ingredients from my fridge, washing, air drying, straightening, then rolling my flat ironed hair into pin rolls each night. The hair was fab. It looked so healthy and I loved my waves. My hair was it!

But it wasn’t really my hair, or more specifically it wasn’t my hair in its natural state. I mean I straightened it once a week, and the curls were finger made. I wasn’t embracing Mumma’s gifts.

It made things worse for wear when I saw these beautiful women with the most amazing natural curls I’d ever seen. Fro’s / defined curls/ spectacular waves/ BIG AMAZING NATURAL CURLY HAIR! I wanted in, but I couldn’t imagine that I could ever match their pedigree. I had had my curls all my life but they never seemed to work before. I never felt that I had the science down, BUT countless other curlies had, so I vowed that it was time I joined the ranks.

Natural Tips

This page is dedicated to my NaturalCurlies and within the pages of this site I will be giving you some tips and tricks within my arsenal to help you be in love with your natural curls.

Top Tips:

Condition. Keep those locks hydrated!
Research products, read/watch reviews, then experiment.
Learn your curl type (mine is 3b) and look for products and methods that are in line with your specific type.
Long layers give volume.
Find a stylist who will dry cut.
Don’t give up on your swirls!

My curls are far from perfect, they aren’t even on par with my curly hair idols but they have come a lonnnng way and the important tips that I’ve learned might help you curlygirly’s to get ahead of the curl game, 🙂

Hair Timeline

Below is a timeline of my hair from 2009 up until 2016 and stay tuned for the 2017 photos of my first professional chop! Stay curly, beauties!

Manika- Nia circa 2010 — Manika- Nia circa 2009. No products on hair.

2011 wet gel look and some clip- ins for length. Plus not much volume. Used a gel with loads of harsh chemicals at the time.

2011. Has lots of shine and volume due to the weekly natural treatments but is straightened and finger- rolled.

2012. Dyed my hair red. It was long but had waves more than curls and I also straightened the roots. No products on hair.

2012. I would bleach the roots then put natural henna on my whole head. The volume and health was great at this point. More of a wave than a curl. — 2013. I would bleach the roots then put natural henna on my whole head. The volume and health was great at this point. More of a wave than a curl, no products in hair.

2013. Not even the natural powers of henna could save my tresses here. The effects of the bleach and heat tools took their toll. My hair became crispy, wispy, and weak. I began to let the colour grow out. — 2014. Not even the natural powers of henna could save my tresses here. The effects of the bleach and heat tools took their toll. My hair became crispy, wispy, and weak. I began to let the colour grow out. This hair was straightened then braided overnight.

2014. Oh dear I was in hair hell. Straightened then braided with a bit of coconut oil and shea butter.

2014. Only coconut oil in hair. Got super frizzy 7 minutes after this photo.

2014. Braided at night with a mix of water and various oils. Doing a weekly treatment of egg, honey, olive oil, coconut oil. More of a wave than a curl. — 2014. Braided at night with a mix of water and various oils. Was doing a weekly treatment of egg, honey, olive oil, coconut oil. More of a wave than a curl. (don’t mind that snarl lol)

2014. Straightened the top and braided the rest every night with a mixture of water and oils. Also had micro extensions in the back here. (bleh)

2015. Straightened the top. Braided the ends with a mixture of water and oils. It was becoming increasingly dry and knotted in various places.

2015. Went back to a natural deep condition once a week. Would straighten once a week then finger roll at night to achieve a wave. — 2015. Went back to a natural deep condition once a week. Would straighten hair once a week then finger roll at night to achieve a wave.

2016. I saw too many natural curlies to use heat tools any longer! I made a commitment to go all natural for good. This is achieved by a twist out with conditioner mixed with water. — 2016. I realized there were too many natural curlies that had amazing hair and decided not to use heat tools any longer! I made a commitment to go all natural for good. This hair is achieved by a twist out with conditioner mixed with water.

2016. No volume! Plus has that wet/gel look. This is a wash and go with shea moisture products.

2016. Weekly black Jamaican Castor oil treatment + a mix of avocado/honey/olive oil/yoghurt all blended together and left on the hair for up to an hour. Then cleansed (ACV), co- washed, and finish with the curly girl method. I used Deva Curl light defining gel here and this is day 4 hair. Also my hair is near chopped off here…

7 comments on “For Natural Curls”

lilywong says:

January 10, 2017 at 2:12 pm

I have naturally straight hair and no matter how long I leave the curlers on, they don’t curl at all! I love your top tips and I tried #1 today. I found that wetting my hair first makes it easier to curl it. So thanks for the tip! Love your curls, they look really chic!

1. admin says:
  
  January 10, 2017 at 2:24 pm
  
  Hi Lily, thanks so much! I’m glad that one of the tips helped you and I would definitely recommend wetting your hair first for longevity of curls. Also have you ever heard of flexi rods? They are these flexible rods that do wonderful things for curls. Use a water bottle to saturate your hair then wrap it around the flexi rod, fold the rod to resemble a doughnut and leave in either overnight or for an hour, unwrap then I’m sure your curls can last much longer. 🙂
  
Chris says:

April 8, 2017 at 11:21 am

Hi,
Thank you for the article. I have curly hair but it’s very dry and frizzy. The only thing I do to it is use dye but it does get exposed to the sun a lot. I think I might be trying the egg, honey and oil treatment.

1. Manika- Nia Dixon says:
  
  April 10, 2017 at 7:32 am
  
  That treatment will certainly help you! Especially if you dye your hair, using a natural conditioner can help with putting that much needed moisture back in it. Please let me know how it goes for you and if you have any more questions or comments 🙂
  
Kelli says:

April 17, 2017 at 5:13 pm

I have natural curl and dry hair so I may try a couple of the treatments of natural stuff. In the early 70’s my older sisters used eggs and stuff on their hair. I will try that one first. My hair is all silver (white) now. Any tips on keeping silver hair shiny? Love your posts.

1. Manika- Nia Dixon says:
  
  April 18, 2017 at 6:15 am
  
  I love silver hair! That might sound strange, but I always have. One tip that is great for such is eating avocado and also making a mix where you add avocado and jojoba oil to really bring out the natural color in your hair. I also have used egg hair treatments many times in my life and can attest to how stronger, shinier, thicker, and prettier it made it. I hope this helps, thanks so much for reading!
  
Jhonson Grey says:

October 15, 2018 at 11:44 am

I must say, I’ really great full to this writer just for remedies told for my crisis. I am not sure what I would’ve done by myself, if I hadn’t come across such a subject like this. I can also at this time look forward to my future. Once again, thanks for your time so much for your high quality and result oriented guide.
Coconut Oil In Hair Overnight