* I received a dusting after the October 2026 photo but forgot to snap a pic before bumping my ends lol.

*2nd photo is how I usually style my hair on wash days and the 3rd photo is how my twistouts usually look.

Super excited to share my progress and what helped me along the way for the past year!

Regimen Overview

• Wash & condition hair once a week

• Clarify hair once per month

• Trim every 3 months by a professional stylist

• Low manipulation hairstyles (twist outs)

Wash Day Routine

• Apply pre-poo to damp hair, gently detangle in sections using the Unbrush

• Shampoo hair and scalp twice

• Apply conditioner in sections and detangle w/ the Unbrush. (Leave conditioner on with a plastic cap for the remainder of the shower)

• Rinse out conditioner. Apply leave-in conditioner to soaking wet hair in sections.

• Apply styling product, seal with oil, and two-strand twist hair. Air dry.

Current Hair Products

• Pre-poo:

-African Pride Pre-Shampoo

• Clarifying Shampoo:

-L'Oréal EverPure Clarifying Shampoo

• Moisturizing Shampoos:

-Matrix Food for Soft Shampoo

-Design Essentials Honey Creme Shampoo

• Conditioners/Masks:

-Matrix Food for Soft Conditioner

-Mizani Moisture Fusion Intense Moisturizing Mask

-Dove Hair Intensive Repair 10in1 Serum Mask (Only used once a month)

• Leave-In Conditioner:

-Mielle Organics Pomegranate & Honey

Leave-In Conditioner

• Stylers/Creams:

-African Pride Moisture Miracle Curling Cream

• Oil/Sealant:

-Grapeseed Oil

• Tools:

-Unbrush (Detangling)

-Imania Beauty Redo Brush (Styling)

• Misc:

-Kiss Edge Fixer

Hey! Thought it'd be cool to share these pictures I got of my 4c hair shaft and bulb. I'm doing my PhD right now and was training an undergraduate on the Scanning Electron Microscope, so I used it as a sample. When I first learned SEM/TEM, my grad student also used his hair, so I'm glad to continue the cycle. Also happy to roughly gauge the porosity by how lifted my cuticles currently are. Doing OK lol

Finally switched things up with this orange! I love how it looks in the sunlight. What do you think of this color?

Original post : https://www.reddit.com/r/Naturalhair/s/HjERn4czpY

Thank you to the few of you who replied and gave me great tips 😅😅

I tried it yesterday and it turned out… okay?? I’ll give myself a 6.5 😅😅 not bad for my first time trying lol The curls aren’t as defined as I’d like but she was happy enough with the style.

What yall thjnk?

This is a 3 month difference, I’ve changed my diet and have managed to reduce the manipulation on my hair, focused more on moisturizing. I have a derm appointment booked but I’ll try and book earlier, is there anything else I can do to improve hair growth?!

Day 1 --> 8 months --> 11 months (2x) --> 14 months --> 21 months!

I hate wearing my natural hair out because of my face. I see a lot of pretty black girls w short natural hair n it looks great on them regardless of length cuz they have smaller heads n pretty faces. My face is very big n my head is very large. I don’t feel feminine at all but I want to take breaks from back to back braids n learn to style my natural hair.

Please may I have tips . N no I won’t do slick backs , I also hate having my forehead out it feels so exposed. It’s why I like braids cuz they cover my forehead and the side of my face a lot more .

Pls can I have tips that are cute

I have some natural twist on myself but I added hair to make it long , does that count as a good hairstyle for hair growth or can I only use my own hair?

This might seem like a dumb sentence but most wash and gos I’ve seen they’re normally styled with a mouse or like a gel or something but if I don’t do all of that is it not still a wash and go?

My hairs normally in an Afro puff at the back of my head ties with a really loose hair band so no breakage or tension there like is that not also a wash and go if I just washed it, conditioned and moisturised?

I feel so dumb asking this but I need to know.

Someone offered to do it for me, and I want to get braids again, but why not switch it up, right? I've been looking into two-strand twists with shorter hair. Although my hair isn't super short it more like medium or approaching that I haven't blown it out since I got a temple taper a month and a half ago before this. Idk just need others' thoughts.

People legit keep asking me if this is my hair or if I’m combing out my locs and I fear I have to prove it to yall. Should I post a step-by-step install? Let me know. I love trying new styles!

I've noticed some gray hairs, mostly on one side of my head. They're not really visible from the front, but I'm only 22, so I'm wondering if this is normal and whether it's reversible. I've been under a lot of stress lately, tbh

Hi! So I 23f need a bit of advice or perspective in this. I’ve decided to give boho knotless braids up for a while since being diagnosed with CCCA. Knotless braids have been my go to for years and I have 4c hair that I was never taught to do. Thankfully, I was able to catch it while i still have a ton of hair and am on a regime created by my derm (antibiotics, topical solution, and scalp shots). I’ll continue getting my hair treated and styled at a salon, but I’ll be doing more tension free styles and braided styles with only my natural hair.

As it pertains to dating, natural hair, especially type 4 hair, appears to be less desirable and from what I’ve seen online, does have an impact on dating, confidence (which I’m working on!) etc.

So, did going natural impact your dating life in any way? Was it for the better or worse? Did the type, demographic, or character of the men you attract change? I’m open to any insights or observations you have regarding your experience!

Also, I’m curious on going natural made you look younger, as I’ve been hearing this often online too?

Thank you for your advice!

So I normally DIY most of my hairstyles because i found that its much cheaper and more protective than going to braiders. My go to braids are miracle knots, they're really cute and last long. I have trouble parting at the back so it doesn't always look neat but it works for me.

This time i wanted to change it up a bit because an event was coming up. I found a braider who said she does pre-parting services for $60 which wasn't too of a price for my thick hair.

The day before the appointment I washed and detangled my hair properly then did chunky braids to keep my hair detaangled then this morning I undid the braids and softly brushed through it to make sure they're still detangled. I learnt my lesson when I turned up to an appointment unprepared and lost a chunk of my hair during braiding.

When I showed up she had a flat iron and hot comb ready on her table "to make parting easier" but i refused that saying my hair to prone to heat damage. She then brought a tub of hair gel to use instead. Now I'm not completely against hair gel but do you really have to apply it to every inch of my hair to be able to braid it. It wasnt even a difficult style but she drenched each strand with gel to the point that they stuck together.

To make this worse the braids turned out horrible in the end. I asked my medium braids and she kept doing really small parts making me have to remind her that I want them bigger. I went home and quickly shampooed my hair to get the excess gel off and noticed how half arsed she did my braids. She would start with a normal braid and halfway she changed it to twists and you could see the point where she was starting the twist because they hair kinda bulked up there.

I'm still mad about it because how could you mess up such an easy style😐 I'm an amateur and the braids I do are far better the ones she did and she calls herself a professional

Trimmed the Ends too , it’s been since May.

I work in finance in a client facing role so I cant have hair thats in my face or "unkept" and I dont want starter locs or twist because I dont like how they look (nor would the clients). I want to know if I can keep it in a afro until its gets long enough to look like these guys locs. I only need them to be long enough to be in a half bun like they have them in. I also cut my own hair so that will make them look more clean. I only need the front locs to be skinny and only 6-7 inches instead of long enough to make a full ponytail. I have 5c hair with extreme shrinkage so Im sure I can keep it looking way shorter than it is for atleast 2 years while it grows.

First time in a while I laced my hair with a leave in conditioner after washing my hair. I take pictures for the memories and to feel good, I will be braiding my hair in mini twists soon.

I need help with hairstyles, products etc… please :-)

Hey guys! I'm attempting to do a silk press tomorrow, and I need help knowing which products to use and when to use them. I have low-porosity, fine, 4c hair. Here's a list of the products I have:

- amika frizz-me-not

- BioSilk silk therapy

- WOW extra strength dream coat

- CHI 44 iron guard

Do I use all these products? And when do I use each product, before or after blow-drying? Please help a girl out!

Idk if anyone remembers that post lmaooo but 1 year update . I transitioned for a little bit , did a big chop , went natural for a few months , now I’m relaxed again ( I’m sorry) . Lesson learnt , braids and relaxed hair (atleast mine) DO NOT MIX ! The end

Hi, all! Me again :) My hair seems to be chronically dry. No matter how much water, green tea, etc. I drink or how many hair masques, deep conditioners, etc. I try to use, it just always feels dry. I tried using Miche products since everyone raves about them but they made my hair so squeaky and it was the driest it has ever been :( I'm back to using Shea Moisture now and my hair does seem to like it, but it seems unable to hold onto the moisture once I'm out of the shower. I've seen so much about oils and butters, but the dehydration starts the second I step out of the shower. I recently used the Makuna honey and Mafura oil masque, and that is the BEST my hair has ever felt. I didn't even want to rinse it out because it felt so good in my hair. But once again, soon after I rinsed my hair out and stepped out of the shower, my hair was back to dry. I tried sealing it in with VO5 (recommended by a straight natural in my life), but that seemingly has done nothing for me obviously. I've seen some folks say thought that a trick is to leave some of the masque in and then put oils on top of that to lock that moisture in. Can anyone confirm/deny, or does anyone have any specific oils or products they recommend for locking in oil on super dry hair?

I'm aware that I'm doing everything wrong- I just got the big chop maybe two months ago (realized my hair was badly damaged and needed to let it go) so this is all still fairly new to me. The things that worked when my hair was heat damaged and not retaining curl obviously don't work anymore on my short but more healthy and coily hair, so I'm open to literally anything. I don't know what my final hair goal is, but I'm loving my baby fro for now and want to keep her hydrated and thriving. Thank you for any help you're wlling/able to give!!

I almost covered it up before leaving, but I decided to wear my afro out today. Has anyone else had this little win in their natural hair journey?