So I know what you guys are thinking…I was supposed to blow dry and straighten my hair at the end of December for an official length check, but… I realized a couple weeks ago I really don’t desire a sleek, super laid look. I spent my whole life with straight, lifeless hair and I’m not ready to give up my voluminous fro just yet. All I wanted was to be able to enjoy more of my length along with my texture, so I decided to do a heat less blowout!

Heat less blowouts are amazing for women who suffer from excessive shrinkage because it elongates the hair while giving volume, fullness and fro-ness to your hair style of choice! Which was exactly what I was going for and I absolutely loved my results! So if you desire a similar look follow the steps I took below.

1. Pre-Poo, Wash & Deep Condition

You’re going to want to start on freshly washed and conditioned hair, then part into 4-6 workable sections. Prior to this I pre-poo’d with honey, mane ‘n tail conditioner, avocado oil, and JBCO.  I left this in for several hours with a plastic cap allowing the heat to penetrate my hair. After my pre-poo I shampoo’ed with Shea Moisture’s JBCO non-sulfate cleansing shampoo. When attempting any type of blown out look, starting with clean hair allows your hair to stretch out more easily so I would suggest using a lightly cleansing shampoo. After shampooing each of my sections, I did a quick shower deep condition with the Aussie 3-minute miracle. Since I do follow a slightly modified version of the coily girl method, I wanted to ensure that my hair was still getting tons of moisture since I was using a slightly more harsh cleanser this wash. After allowing the deep conditioner to sit for about 5 minutes I rinsed with cool water twisting each section to keep it stretched. I know I don’t usually stress this but using cold water for rinsing out conditioners is essential. This closes the hair shaft and seals in all that moisture we put in.

*Wash day tip: Store Aloe vera juice in the fridge for wash days. Pour into a spray bottle and spritz in your hair after rinsing out your conditioner. This prevents you from having to switch the water from hot to cold and closes the hair shaft.

2. Air dry & Tension Method

After I was all twisted up, I wrapped my hair into a t-shirt for about 15 minutes and air dried until my hair was 50% dry. You want to air dry at least some of the way so you aren’t blow drying for hours, especially if your hair is thick. Once I felt my hair was halfway dried I applied my 12 in 1 Amazing Leave-in Treatment and held my hair taut as I blow dried on cool air. I broke down my twists into even smaller sections to ensure all areas were getting dried.

3. Results, Styling & Maintenance

After hours of blow drying your hair should be a stretched voluminous afro! Once you’re done you can rock a beautifully unstyled stretched fro or you can use this as a base for your next style. I rocked both and i’m in love with each! The first day I rocked it big and picked out with a top knot bun in front and the second day I used Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Styling Milk and did a chunky twistout with a bang. Second day was my favorite because it was fluffier and more moisturized due to the styling milk. (Strongly recommend!!)  To maintain I’ve just been sleeping either in large twists or several pony puffs all over my head and using a satin pillow. Then I take a small amount of styling milk (if needed), fluff, style and go!

Day 1 Fluffy Fro

Day 2 Chunky Twist out

If you want voluminous, show-stopping hair, I recommend using this no heat blowout method! Below you will find links to all the products I used to achieve and maintain this look. Until next time, later kinky krew!

12 in 1 Leave-in Treatment: http://amzn.to/2svje6m

Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthening Shampoo: http://amzn.to/2l1FPFi

Avocado Oil: http://amzn.to/2l1Dfzd

Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Styling Milk: http://amzn.to/2l1OaJc