Hi all,
Another crazy week, but things are settling down. For that, I’m extremely thankful and grateful to God! My sister and I are heading to Miami on Thursday to celebrate her birthday and I am going with my natural hair.
I’ve never traveled anywhere really hot and humid with my hair out. Last year, when I went to Barbados, I had my hair braided up. Now, with some length and some real knowledge of my hair and how to deal with it, I want to see how my hair reacts to tropical weather and high humidity (although, Toronto was extraordinarily hot and humid last week and my ‘fro dried up to a crisp). Because my scalp HATES sweat and Miami is going to be hot (the forecast for the weekend is high 80s and low 90s plus humidity), I know that I may have to wash my hair… although I would prefer not to.
Anyhoo, here are the products that I’m going to take with me:
- For co-washing: Suave Naturals Fresh Mountain Strawberry conditioner (yes, I don’t co-wash regularly, but I washed my hair yesterday and I am going to wash it again on Wednesday. I don’t need to wash my hair and scalp with shampoo three times in one week. I may shove a mini shampoo bar in my suitcase, but I doubt I’ll use it.)
- For conditioning: EO Rose and Chamomile conditioner Moni just posted that I could mix my oil mix with my co-wash conditioner if I need a ‘conditioning boost’. So, I’ll leave this one at home.
- For moisture: Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Nikkele and Moni both suggested taking something heavier, so I’ll bring my Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter.
- For sealing: Castor oil and olive oil mix (also for the oil cleansing methods. I love when products are multi-purposed!)
- For styling: Eco-Styler Olive Oil gel (I broke down, y’all! I was in the beauty supply on Saturday morning and I saw a small jar for $1.99. How can you pass that up? Especially because I knew I was going to need something to style my hair over the weekend.)
- Tools: Jilbere shower comb, Denman brush, a couple of hair clips, four perm rods, my curly wig, a big ol’ bunch of bobby pins (I’ve decided to walk with my wig just in case my hair has a nervous breakdown after spending too many hours at the beach. If it does act up, I’ll just flat twist my hair and slap on my trusty wig after curling some hair at the front of my head for a few hours.
I would love to just rock a wash-n-go, but somehow I doubt that would be helpful. Regardless of hair, I plan to have a good ol’ time with sis, partying it up in the MIA. I’m hoping that LeBron, Wade and Bosh (I’m sorry to see Bosh go, but not sorry at the same time. I think that Toronto can put together a stronger team without Bosh in the mix. As for Turkoglu and Calderon, don’t let the door hit where God split you as you leave ACC) are still celebrating 😉
So readers, what do you recommend that I bring with me?
The Accidental Natural 
I was in Miami a three weeks ago. I brought with me shea butter (I normally use Carols Daughter Healthy Hair Butter), Aubrey’s Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner, Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Shampoo, and lots of bob pins! Although the weather was hot, it wasn’ t as humid as Florida normally is. If you go swimming, I would suggest you coat your hair with conditioner to cut down on the salt drying out your hair.
Have a good time and make sure you check out Shake Shack! Delicious!
I just picked up some Healthy Hair Butter a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I’ll drop that in the suitcase too! I don’t swim, I splash (my parents never sent me to swimming lessons — I had a press ‘n’ curl and my mother worked evening. My father was not about to fight through my hair and my sister’s hair without reinforcements), so I don’t expect to get my hair wet… but you never know.
The Shake Shack? I gotta Google that before I go. Thanks for the tips!
I just came back from a long weekend in Atlanta and my braidout lasted throughout the entire trip (well until it got splashed with beer and water from over-exuberant fans at the game on Sunday). I didn’t take many products, just a small bottle of vatika oil and a sample size of qhemet biologics’ gel (really light, more like a moisturizer than a gel). Before I left I washed/conditioned my hair, than applied leave-in (Giovanni Direct), then moisturized (QB burdock root butter cream), sealed (shea butter) and applied gel (Fantasia IC), then braided in about 8-12 braids. I know it sounds like a lot, but I just applied thin layers of each. The shea helps seal in the moisturizer and seal out the gel and humidity and the gel obviously helps block the humidity as well. My hair got bigger, but stayed defined and didn’t shrink (any more than normal) or get frizzy. At night I just rebraided with a little vatika oil.
The good thing about humidity is that your hair stays moisturized and soft, so you probably dont need the EO conditioner. If you really feel the need for a conditioning boost, I would add some of your oil mix to your co-wash conditioner. Also, I don’t know how your hair reacts to lotions versus creams, but you might want to consider using a more creamy product than the hair milk if liquidy products tend to make your hair shrink, frizz or lose definition. I highly recommend a braidout, since you can wear the braids pulled back in a bun for a day or two (great if you’re swimming), but also wear it out. Since it’s so few braids, it doesn’t take long to do. Have fun!!!
Thanks for the tips! I’ll leave the EO conditioner at home and mix the oil with my co-wash conditioner if necessary. And, instead of the Hair Milk, I’ll bring the Healthy Hair Butter. It’s so great to hear from everyone about what they’ve done and what works! I was fearing a shriveled up mess on my head. Maybe I’ll be able to leave the wig at home!
As for the braidout, I tried that once and it looked a mess on my head. I don’t know if my technique sucked or what, but I wasn’t impressed. I’m going to do some small two strand twists and wear them twisted until Saturday and then wear a twist out for the rest of the weekend. If no one splatters me with beer and water, I should be OK 🙂
Did you wash it before re-braiding? 🙂