new growth TLC (stretching touch ups)

It's been about 25 weeks since my last touch up and I'll be visiting a hair salon very soon. Today I'll be talking about how I stretch my touch ups and care for my new growth when it really starts blooming.

Keep hair in low manipulation style 23/7 or solely flat iron new growth. Doing this minimizes the breakage from the line of demarcation. For this particular stretch I kept my hair in a low braid for the majority of the time, I find that low styles are less manipulating than high ones. Keeping my hair tied up really lessens tangles so I can breeze by the week with just finger detangling. Sometimes I'll use a comb, but only on my relaxed length. Usually during a stretch, however, I interchange with flat ironing. I leave at least a 2 week gap between flat ironing sessions. This allows me to have my hair out and be less cautious about combing.

Hold hair while shampooing to prevent tangles. This is the most recent technique I've been doing, and it really helps. Pulling and holding a section of your hair with one hand while the other hand massages the shampoo into your scalp helps keep your hair strands from going this way and that way, cutting the amount of tangling that usually comes with shampooing.

Only thoroughly detangle new growth on wash day ( especially when it isn't flat ironed ). I usually detangle twice on wash days: before washing and thoroughly after washing when it's almost dry. Yes, when it's almost dry. Combing natural kinky hair is usually easiest in the shower, but that does not mix well with relaxed hair. At least not with my hair. The line of demarcation is already weak, and then hair is weakest when it's wet. The farthest I may go is finger detangle under the shower. Combing when my new growth is almost dry works better for me because I stretch the curl and detangle my relaxed hair first.

Coco caramel treatments. This is just my combination of the coconut cream and caramel treatments, aka natural relaxers. Calling them relaxers is an exaggeration, but they do help many girls loosen and really condition their natural hair. They are also often used for better flat ironing. When I start getting deep in my stretch I use them as my deep conditioners, some wash days I only use them on my new growth.

MY RECIPE:
1/2 CUP coconut milk
1 JAR banana food
1 TBSP molasses
3 TBSP honey
2 TBSP coconut oil and grape seed oil
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP rose petal powder

Don't let new growth curl up when drying, band new growth right after towel drying. When my new growth really starts accumulating I stretch my curl by doing the band method solely on my new growth. I do this with small hair ties and wrap lotion, just because it was something I had on hand and it's easy to distribute. It's important to start on wet hair or it won't take at well. Doing this also aids detangling. I comb out my relaxed length while the bands are still in, resulting in no breakage. Then I take out the hair bands and comb out my stretched out new growth, which is easier because there's less curl and the bottom portion of my hair is tangle free.