How to Make Straightened Natural Hair Last for 3 Weeks

When I straightened my hair at Madu Salon at the beginning of June, I just knew it was going to last all but three days before I had to wash it out. Since I hadn’t straightened it in three years, and the San Francisco Bay Area is known for being eternally misty, there wasn’t much hope for keeping my hair straight and sleek – my stylist LaTasha didn’t even have faith! Despite the odds being forever NOT in my favor, I managed to keep make my straightened natural hair last for three weeks, here’s how!

Week One: Wrap & Scarf Curls

As soon as I came back from the salon, I took my behind to Target and purchased a paddle brush and large bobby pins to help me wrap my hair. I’ll admit, when I had a relaxer I wasn’t even good at wrapping my hair, so I definitely watched a few videos to remind me how it’s done. The next day, my ends were even more tamed then they were when I left the salon, so I beat the odds!

The next night, I experimented with lazy pin curls by tucking my ends underneath a silk scarf tied into a headband (like this). Since my hair only wrapped around once, I assumed it would be a miserable fail and I would have to wear a bun for my fiance’s graduation, but my hair came out very cute! Over the next few days, I alternated between doobie wrapping and curling at night, until things became too crazy and I just covered my hair with a bonnet.

Week Two: Wigs & Buns

Once we got back to the East Coast, I had to figure out how to wear my hair with a headwrap for my introduction. I wanted some hair peeking through the scarf, but knowing my own hair wasn’t long enough, I pulled out my Fingercomber Kinky Wave Unit wig. It provided just enough length and curls, and because it’s colored, looked close enough to my hair!

After the introduction, I had nowhere to go and not much time to play with my hair, so I put it in a simple high bun/topknot. Even though the trim LaTasha gave me was beyond necessary, it did drastically reduce the length of my hair, making my bun require way more bobby pins than I anticipated. A few drops of ORS Black Olive Repair 7 Oil Elixir every other night kept my ends somewhat sleek and hydrated.

Week Three: Flexi Rod Curls

By the end of the second week, my roots were still straight but my ends were starting to frizz up since I had not been wrapping them. I decided to use flexi rods to curl my hair so I could have some texture for my emcee gig at the Living No Lye Tour’s NYC stop. I’ve done flexirods on blown out hair before, so I had a good idea that they would turn out well, and with the exception of one rogue curl, I loved my results! I used Camille Rose Naturals Aloe Whipped Butter Gel because it is not water based – so I would get a curl without reverting my hair.

I loved my hair so very much, I’ve decided to use this dope picture by Fly Life Images as my new headshot!

The next day, some of the curls dropped so I pulled my hair up into a loose puff using an ankara headwrap for CurlFest.

I didn’t do anything to maintain my flexirod curls, so in three days, my hair looked like this and it was definitely time to wash!

Stay tuned for Friday’s post where I share what products helped me revert all the way back to my fro without any heat damage.

What I Used to Maintain my Straightened Natural Hair

What methods and hairstyles do you use to preserve your straightened natural hair?