Cold water sealing your twist out

The Coily Queens regimen uses a cold water sealing method to help you achieve better looking twist outs.  Cold water makes the hair cuticle lay flatter. It seals your hair giving you better twist definition, hold and less frizz. Cold water sealing also enables the hair to retain moisture longer.

Your porosity does not matter for this technique!

4 WAYS TO COLD WATER SEAL

1. Cold water quick rinse

This consists of running cold water over your twists for 10 seconds. Follow up with more oil. This works best on your shampoo day. This is done after creating your two strand twists. Apply more moisturizer, after rinsing if needed. 

2. Cold water spray

Put a spray bottle of filtered water in the fridge and let it chill. After completing your two strand twists, spray each twist with cold water.

3. Ice cube sealing

Rub each twist with an ice cube.

4. Cold leave in or styler

Put your leave in conditioner in the refrigerator, until it is cold.  Apply to your hair as you twist it.  

Either one of these cold water sealing methods will give you smoother twist outs, with better coil definition. Choose the one that is best for you. Your porosity does not matter.

Getting rid of crunchy, dry hair!

Chronic dry hair, is probably, the number one complaint from women, with coily hair.. If your hair has been consistently dry, there is no one step solution to correct it. Most people expect a one product solution to their hair issue. In most cases there are several reasons why your hair is not holding moisture. Therefore it will require more than "one" solution to correct it. 

The Coily Queens regimen, when followed, gets you to what we call, "Good Hydration".  Good Hydration is when your hair holds moisture for 3 days or more, before you need to apply more moisturizer. A moisturizer is a leave in conditioner that contains water. Water is listed as the first or sometimes second ingredient.

YOUR ROAD MAP TO GOOD HYDRATION

1. How often do you cleanse?
You cannot expect your hair strands to stay hydrated, if you do not clean your hair on a regular basis. Removing dirt, germs and old product is very important to hydration. You should shampoo twice a week. Germs accumulate daily. 

2. What products do you cleanse and condition with?
Cleanse with a non sulfate shampoo and a moisturizing conditioner. Choose conditioners with close to all natural ingredients. Add 1 tbsp of honey to your DC. 

If you have used various good quality shampoos and conditioners, but nothing seems to work? I highly recommend forfeiting all shampoos. Replace you shampoos and deep conditioners with clay washes. Bentonite clay, red clay cleanses the hair and conditions in one step. More INFO 

3. What technique do you use to cleanse and condition?
The CQ Shampoo process is a special shampoo technique, that leaves your hair properly moisturized. Hair becomes more hydrated the more you do the process. FULL DETAILS on the CQ Shampoo Process. 

Following these 3 steps consistently and your hair will become healthier overtime. You will reach GOOD HYDRATION, with your hair. 

PH balancers for moisture retention and better hair growth

Keeping the hair in the proper pH balance is an essential part to maintaining healthy hair. Hair is acidic with an average pH around 3.7. Most shampoos have a pH between 7 and 9. The wash process should always consist of cleansing and conditioning. Conditioners help to restore the pH to the hair, after cleansing. 

But conditioning is not enough!

On top of  conditioning, the Coily Queens Regimen uses pH balancers.  Each wash process is completed by applying a pH balancer to the hair. The program has two pH balancers: ACV rinses and Aloe Vera spritz.

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

After rinsing DC from hair, pour all over hair, leave on for 3 minutes, and rinse with cool water.

Pure Aloe Vera Leaf

ALOE SPRITZER: Apply to hair after you rinse out your deep conditioner. Leave on hair, then add your leave in conditioner or moisturizer

Both of these are done at the end of your shampoo process. Both have great benefits. I recommend using them both. Simply alternating each wash routine. Both of these treatments are cheap. But ACV is the cheapest of the duo.

ACV Rinse

Is a rinse out treatment

Use once a week only

Helps the hair cuticle to lay flatter, so hair holds moisture longer and has more shine.

Helps growth by removing bacteria and fungus.

Be sure the pH is a 4.

Aloe Vera Spritzer

A leave in treatment

Use daily if desired

Helps hair cuticle to lay flatter, thus creating smooth twist outs, shine and hair holds moisture longer. 

See how to increase hair growth with aloe Vera leaf HERE

How to fall in love with your natural hair

We commonly concentrate on finding that perfect product and perfecting our style technique. But we spend little time on dealing with our mindset concerning our natural tresses. This is one of the biggest mistakes some women make when returning back to their natural hair. For most it is discovering their natural curls for the first time. I divide the hair journey into 3 parts. It is 25% the products you use, 25% the techniques you use and 50% your mindset towards your hair. One can see how not addressing such a huge part of your journey can be hindering. 

Not being honest about how your truly feel about your hair many times leads to setbacks. Either the person returns back to the relaxer, continuously rocks fake hair or they experience breakage from bad hair care practices. 

Below are some very common negative mindsets black women have towards their hair. Along side each negative mindset I offer some solutions for you. I want you to have the hair you desire, minus the setbacks. Therefore I offer help via some solutions I have seen help ladies tremendously. 

My 4C curl pattern. Smoothed back into a bun by using curls control passion fruit paste by Curls

NEGATIVE MINDSET #1
"After going natural for a year, I hate my curl pattern"

SOLUTIONS:

• Be sure you are seeing your true curl pattern.  Until your hair is hydrated, consistently you will not see your real curl pattern. Work on your hydration. 
• Do a moisture fusion treatment (Nine day moisture therapy)
• Be sure you are following a consistent healthy regimen.
• If you are continuously rocking fake hair, that will mess up your hydration. Thus lay off the fake hair until your hair is healthier hydration wise. Take a 7 months break from fake hair. 

NEGATIVE MINDSET #2
"I do not like how I look with short hair and my hair appears to grow slow."

SOLUTIONS:

• Examine your cleansing regimen. How often are you cleansing your hair?
• Are you following a consistent healthy hair care regimen with natural products?
• Have you measured how much your hair grows each month?
• Is your shrinkage blinding you to how much your hair is actually growing? For some motivation set your hair on magnetic rollers, for a nice stretch. 
• Are you breaking your hair off by doing bad hair care practices?
• Sometimes you need extra help. Sign up for hair growth coaching and start growing the hair you desire.

NEGATIVE MINDSET #3
"I cannot get past the amount of shrinkage I have. "

SOLUTIONS:

• Want less shrinkage use less product.
• After day two of your style, stop applying any type of water or water based product on your hair.
• Use bands to stretch your hair
• Stretch your hair using magnetic rollers, before you create your styles. 
• Allow your hair to air dry, 70% while in big twists. Then set your twist out, on 70% air dried hair. You will have more elongated styles.  

NEGATIVE MINDSET #4
"I love my hair but it takes so long to achieve styles I love."

SOLUTIONS:

• Perhaps it takes you a long time due to tangles. If this is the issue then work on your hydration to reduce your tangles. Do lots of pre poo treatments to combat excessive tangles. 
• Re-evaluate the styles your are trying to achieve. 
• Work consistently perfecting one style. Afro hair is like memory foam, the more you mold it into the same shape, the easier it molds. 
• Examine areas of your style regimen in which you are making them more lengthy than they need to be. 

NEGATIVE MINDSET #5
After I spend hours creating a style, it frizzes up so quickly. So I rather wear fake hair, it is easier. 

SOLUTIONS:

• Pay attention to the weather. Do not try to compete with mother nature, most likely you will lose.
• On  high humidity days or misty days, wear your hair in a puff, bun, ponytail or roll tuck and pin. 
• Invest in some anti humectants. Anti humectants contain ingredients which help the hair to hold its style longer by blocking out the humidity.  Pomades do this very well. 
• Get use to how your frizzy shrunken hair looks.  Fall in love with the truly natural you. 

TRANSFORM YOUR MINDSET TAKE THE 30 DAY CHALLENGE.

CHALLENGE A:   Rock your hair in it's shrunken undefined state for a whole day. Be sure to leave the house. This experience is liberating for those who do not normally wear their hair in its Afro state. 

CHALLENGE B: Rock your natural texture for 30 days. Make journal entries as to how you feel about your hair experience. It will transform how you see your hair. Concentrate on how you feel not what you think other people are thinking. 

Your hair and Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is an awesome natural ingredient for your hair

Create your own moisture and style spritz
1/2 cup aloe vera+1/2 cup filtered water
Store in a spray bottle in the fridge
Use when very cold
Moisture & Seal spritz

Benefits of Aloe Vera to your hair

Increased hair growth

Less Frizz

More shine

Awesome detangler

Scalp healing

If you find that your hair responds well to aloe vera, then shop for products which have a good amount of aloe in them. Here is a list to help you out. 

TOP ALOE VERA BASE PRODUCTS

(these are products which contain aloe vera in the top ingredients)

Jessie Curl DC treatment

Aubrey Organics GPB protein balancing conditioner

Oyin Honey Hemp

Mielle Babassu oil Conditioner

TGIN triple moisture replenished conditioner

TGIN Honey Mask

PURCHASE 100% PURE ALOE VERA HERE

Top Protein free or low protein hair conditioners

Some people feel their hair is protein sensitive. Therefore they try to afford protein in their hair care products. If you use a hard protein treatment on your hair such as the aphogee 2 step treatment. Then you should watch the amount of protein in your other hair products. Doing so will keep you from creating a build up of protein on your hair. 

Think you have protein overload?

No problem!

Good deep cleansing shampoos: Shea Moisture Black soap shampoo, Jane Carter hydrating shampoo, DIY black soap shampoo, DIY Mud Wash

TOP PROTEIN FREE CONDITIONERS

Camille Rose Algae Renew Mango DC

Camille rose Moroccan Pear Condish custard

TGIN Triple Moisture replenishing conditioner

TGIN Honey Miracle hair mask

As I am hydration elation

Eden bodyworks all natural DC

Jessicurl DC Citrus & Lavender 

Products which give you moisture for days

How well your hair holds moisture depends on two factors.

1. Health of your hair cuticles

2. The quality of  the product used

In order to lock in moisture your hair must first be moisturized. This means the hair must be wet or the product you use must have water listed first on the bottle. Oils or butters used over dry hair will not moisturize it. The oils and butter will only lubricate and soften the hair. For some people it dries it out even faster. To be sure you have moisturized your hair the best always use a water based product. 

A successful hair care regimen will keep your hair moisturized for 3 days before it requires more product. At the beginning of your hair journey you might find that you need to apply a moisturizer/leave in product everyday. But after 3 years of being natural on a good hair care regimen your hair should retain moisture for 3 or more days. If this is not your case, then re-evaluate your hair care regimen and the moisturizers you use.  

If you do not have a good hair care regimen, start the CoilyQueens Regimen today. Your hair will thank you. 

SIGN UP FOR THE CHALLENGE HERE

Here are 3 moisturizer products, which gives you moisture for days. FOR DAYS!!!!!

1. Camille Rose Curliade
 This is a rich cream water based product. It will give you good twist definition and fullness. This blend of ingredients allows your hair to stay hydrated for days. This means that you use less product so you get more bang for your bucks. Can find it at Target, CVS and most beauty supply stores. You can always order it from amazon link below.  

2. ORi  Essentials  moisturizing leave in conditioner
 This is a rich moisturizing lotion. No parabens,  This product is very thick, white and does not cause build up. Great definition and helps with tangles. This is a glycerin water based moisturizer. It will give you hydration for days. 

3. As I am Double buttercream
Great definition for your twist outs or wash and goes. It is a light cream product. It works well with other products. Locks moisture into your hair for up to a week.  Amazon link below. 

 

Apple cider vinegar for your hair

Organic apple cider vinegar, aka ACV, is an excellent health and beauty aide. Be sure to purchase organic. ACV is a very important item to always keep in stock.  

1. Apple cider vinegar contains potassium. Potassium is great for preventing hair loss.

2.  It is anti bacteria and anti fungal.It prevents fungus from taking residence on your scalp.  It contains acetic acid, which kills off fungus and bacteria. Scalp fungus is a top cause of hair loss. You may or may not have symptoms. Read more about fungus HERE. 

3.  The low PH of ACV causes the hair cuticle to lay flatter. This enables the hair to retain moisture for longer periods.  When the hair cuticle lays flat your hair will have more vibrancy and shine. 

4. Because ACV makes the hair cuticle lay flatter, you will notice that detangling is a lot easier. You should also notice a reduction in single strand knots. 


5.  When the ACV hits the scalp it stimulate better blood circulation. This increases your hair growth. 

HOW TO BENEFIT FROM ACV

Organic ACV rinse
Mix 1/4 cup of organic ACV with 2 cups of filtered water. This creates a final rinse to use on your hair. On shampoo day after you rinse out your deep conditioner, pour this rinse over your hair.  Use it all and let it sit on hair 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse out with cool water. With soaking wet hair, apply your leave in conditioner.  

Upgrade your shampoo
Add one tablespoon to 1/4 cup of your shampoo. The ACV lowers the PH of the shampoo and helps the shampoo to work better. With this combination you will notice an immediate difference in the vibrancy of your hair and less tangles. 

Anti bacterial growth braid spray
1 tablespoon of organic ACV
7 ounces of water
1 tsp tea tree oil
1 tsp of lavender oil
Use as a braid spray, to keep bacteria from accumulating on your scalp when wearing braids. 

Conditioning Afro Coily Hair

Shampoo removes, bacteria, dirt and product build up from the hair. Shampoos also remove your natural sebum coating. Therefore you should always follow every shampoo with some type of conditioner to help re-balance your hair.

Conditioners replace moisture removed during cleansing.  Conditioners also add strength, softness, shine  and elasticity to the hair. 

TYPES OF CONDITIONERS:

Product recommendations

Regular conditioning (aka rinse out conditioners or creme rinses)
These are products formulated to apply to the hair and leave on for 2 to 10 minutes, then rinse off. No heat is needed for this type of conditioning. How long you keep the conditioner own will vary per the product. These conditioners are not formulated to be left on the hair, unless the bottle specifies such. It is very important not to use a rinse out conditioner as a leave in. 

Who should use regular conditoner? 

•  Those with healthy hair 
•  No problems with breakage or moisture
•  Those who shampoo  frequently
•  Those who are short on time

Deep conditioning
Usually a moisturizing conditioner you leave on the hair, cover with a plastic cap for 10 to 20 minutes. This will vary depending on the deep conditioner brand you use. Deep conditioners come in the forms of masques or creams. 

When to deep conditon

•  Extra dry hair
•  Hair that is breaking
•  Before heat straightening

Hair treatments
These come in the form of a liquid, cream or lotion. They will address a specific hair need. Treatments usually add strength to the hair in the form of proteins. Some of them can be used alone while others need to be followed up with a moisturizing conditioning treatment

When to do a treatment

• When you have scalp issues
• To add strength to the hair
• Before or after any type of chemical treatment
• Dehydrated hair

Leave in conditioning 
The leave in conditioner is your most important hair product. Afro curly hair requires continuous conditioning. A leave in comes in the form of liquid, cream or lotion. Creamy leave ins are the most moisturizing and the most popular. These are conditioners formulated with ingredients that can be elft on the hair. A leave in conditioner and a moisturizer provide the same function. A good leave in conditioner will also be a great style product for your hair. So it gives you moisture and hold for your style all day. 

When to use a leave in conditioner or moisturizer

• After each shampoo session
• Twice a week for healthy hair
• Daily for damaged or dehydrated hair

When is it time to trim your hair and how?

Have you been natural for awhile but you are not sure when to trim your hair? 

Here are a few reasons to trim your hair:

• When you manipulate it you feel popping and snapping
• When your hair does not style well.
• Check the hair which falls on the sink. Do you see short hairs the size of eyelashes? Those are split ends time to trim. 
• Your hair tangles excessively
• When you twist your hair you see frayed ends
• The ends of your hair are extremely see through

Although you can mend a split end temporarily with certain products, it is best to trim that split end off. Hair can split anywhere on the strand. But the most common type of split happens between mid strand and the ends. Once your hair starts to split it will continue to split all the way up the hair shaft. Always cut your splits immediately. 

How to trim your hair:

Seek a professional stylist

• Especially if this is your first cut since going natural
• Make an appointment with a professional who can work with natural coily hair.
• It is not necessary to straighten Afro hair, in order to trim it.
• A minimally skilled stylist should be able to trim your hair in its natural state.
• No blow dryers or straighteners needed, unless you want to. Be clear with the stylist your desires, before she begins to cut.

Trim it yourself

1. Detangle hair well
2. Separate hair into 2' by 2' sections
3. Two strand twist those sections
4. Twist as close to the end as you can
5. Using cutting shears, trim off the frayed ends

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU TRIM?

If you did not start your natural journey from a big chop, then you want to start with a professional trim. You want to start from clean, healthy ends. How much you will need to get cut will depend on the health of your hair. Get this trim with a cosmetologist. She will examine your ends and tell you how much she recommends to cut.

Once you have your first professional cut. Mark your calendar for every 4th month. This will equal 3 trims a year. Remove at least .25 inch each trim. Trim off more if necessary. Following this schedule and a healthy hair regimen, will enable you to maintain healthy full beautiful ends. When your ends look good, your hair styles well. You also retain more length. So you will reach your length goals faster. 

HOW THE ENDS OF YOUR TWISTS SHOULD LOOK
NO FRIZZ AND A UNIFORMED COIL

HOW TO KEEP FROM HAVING TO CUT A LOT EACH TRIM

1. Never brush your hair, it weakens your ends.
2. Fingercomb or use a seamless comb
3. Limit your use of flat irons and all heat straightening.
4. Keep your ends from rubbing on your clothing or seats.
5. Moisturize and oil your hair on a regular basis. 

Read all about New Moon Phase trimming and get the dates for March and April HERE

SEAMLESS COMBS

Coconut Hair Care

The coconut  is an amazing fruit. On top of its amazing health benefits it is one of the best treats for your hair. The best way to use coconut in your hair care is by using it in a cold pressed oil form. It is also beneficial in the form of juice, cream or milk.

HAIR GROWTH FORMULA

PRE-SHAMPOO TREATMENT HELPS DETANGLE AND PROTECT HAIR FROM BREAKAGE DURING SHAMPOOING

Coconut oil is part of a select few oil that penetrate the hair shaft. While most oils sit on top of the hair, coconut oil penetrates into the hair shaft by 50%. It contains lauric acid. Lauric acid has a low molecular weight, so it can infuse the hair strands. This gives your hair strands extra strength to better withstand damage from combing or brushing. Broken spaces on your hair strands are filled in and this keeps the hair from breaking so easily.

In order to receive the strengthening benefits of the coconut oil, it must sit on your hair for 16 plus hours. If you are using coconut oil for protection against hydral fatigue or breakage, it is best to lubricate your hair, cover with a plastic cap overnight for at least 16 hours.

Coconuts are full of fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Great for deep conditioning. Apply to hair, cover with plastic conditioning cap under heat for 20 minutes. 

Leave in conditioner/Braid spray

Regular use of cold pressed coconut oil will make your hair follicles healthy. It kills viruses and fungus on your scalp. Regular treatment of coconut oil strengthens your hair and gives it great sheen. 

Use coconut oil on your school age child's hair. It repels lice and keeps the eggs from attaching to your hair follicles. 

Correcting crown breakage and dryness

Lots of black women have a issue with breakage in the crown area. Many complain that their crown area is extra dry, hard and shorter than the rest of their hair. They experience extra tangles and knots in the crown area. Most women have had this issue all of their lives, along with other females in their family. If your crown is not bald, this issue can be corrected. The hair on your crown can be just as healthy as the rest of your hair, just by making a few changes to your hair regimen. 

TWO MAIN REASONS YOUR CROWN IS BRITTLE AND BROKEN

1. Lack of moisture
As your hair follicles secrete sebum, that sebum travels down the hair strands. When one does not produce enough certain areas can go lacking. Sebum is what lubricates your hair strands. The sebum usually settles at the lower part of our neck. You will notice many times that the curl pattern of our lower back hair  is a loser softer texture than the rest of our hair. This is due in part to the sebum settling at the base of your neck, giving that hair extra conditioning. However this also  leaves your crown area lacking sebum.  Usually this issue can be easily corrected within 30 days.

HOW TO CORRECT THE LACK OF MOISTURE IN YOUR CROWN AREA

• Be sure to cleanse hair twice a week or no less than once a week
• Apply extra moisturizer to the crown or dry areas
• Treat area with an organic apple cider vinegar treatment
• Seal moisture into your hair, using one of these products: castor oil, jojoba oil, red palm oil or hemp grease.
• Baggy overnight, 3 times a week

2. Damage under the scalp from  relaxers, hair dye or heat tools
A large portion of women who have relaxed their hair, have scar tissue under the scalp. In most cases you do not know until your scalp starts to give you trouble.  It affects most women in the crown but it can occur anywhere on the scalp. The affected areas tends to be sore, red, itchy, thin or irritated. These symptoms can exists for years before the hair starts to fallout. The hair loss usually starts  with a dime size bald spot. The bald area will become larger, if left untreated.  

If you suspect the above is your issue, you must see a dermatologist asap. Ask the doctor for a scalp biopsy. You need to know what is going on under the scalp. The quicker you seek treatment the more likely you can slow the progression of the hair loss or reverse it.

PREVENTING CROWN BREAKAGE

• Feed that area moisture everyday, even if the rest of your head does not need it. Remain conscious of your problem areas. 
• Get a aphogee 2 step protein treatment once every 4 to 6 weeks.
• You can spot treat with protein treatments. Meaning you can choose to just protein treat your crown area only, if you feel the rest of your hair is not breaking a lot. 
• Never lay down without a satin scarf or bonnet.
• Use both a satin bonnet and a satin pillow case. (works amazingly)
• Do not wear ponytails or apply pulling in that area. 
• Do not use a brush in that area (fingercombing is best)

GET HELP WITH GROWING YOUR HAIRJOIN THE CHALLENGE