Natural Hair and Humidity – When the weather is not your friend

Posted by admin on Oct 29, 2011 in Products, Random | 1 comment

 

 

The weather can be your worst and best friend when you have natural hair.

You may have the perfect routine down for your natural hair, or your transitioning hairstyle as you are transitioning to natural hair.  You may have found your holy grail natural hair products.  But guess what?  All of that goes out the window when the weather changes.  I’m not talking about just a raining day in your city.  I am talking about a drastic weather change when you travel outside of your home area.

I have not been wearing my natural hair out that often since my transition since I was not yet happy with my length. However, I have been wearing my hair out almost daily since August in a braid out style.  I have found the products that give me the look and hold that I want and they work for me each and every time….except on a recent trip to Miami.

My hair was done in the same braid out style that I have been wearing for months.  I got on the plane and all was fine.  When I landed in Miami I did not feel the full brunt of the heat and humidity until I was out at the pool in the hotel.  I could literally feel my braid out shrinking up.  All was not lost though.  It was only  a relaxation day and the meetings were not until the following morning.  Well, breakfast and lunch were outside in the hot, humid Miami Beach climate.  By the afternoon, my hair looked nothing like my usual go to style.  I had not brought my usual products with me since my braid out typically lasts a few days without the need to touch it up.  I checked my favorite hair forum to ask what Miami naturals were doing to deal with the weather and was told about a beauty supply store near the hotel.

I decided to just roll with it and go out to the various clubs and bars with my colleagues.  I had a banana clip on hand just in case.  They had no idea that my hair was not supposed to look like that.  For all they knew, it was my hairstyle for the day.

It turned out that I did have a creamy gel product in my toiletry bag.  I had forgotten all about it since it’s a product that I decided not to buy it again.  It’s a keeper now though since I was able to salvage my style.  I rebraided it with a tiny bit of product on each section and by morning my old style was back….only to come back home snow/rain in NYC.  It was a great lesson for me, and hopefully for you too so you do not have to experience it.  Pack hair products for natural hair for every trip and make sure to have a back up hair product plan in case the weather does not cooperate.