MtrlGirls Guide to Longer Healthier Hair

MTRLGIRL'S
GUIDE
TO

LONGER

HEALTHIER

HAIR!

table of contents

About MtrlGirl™ 3
my personal hair growth story 4
Hair Growth Time line 5
hair growth tips 12
thank you 17

HER-STORY

ABOUT

MTRLGIRL

MtrlGirl™, born Atiyah McDaniels, is the Founder & CEO of
Intense Beauté™, a virgin hair extensions and lifestyle
company. Intense Beauté offers 100% pure virgin straight
and curly hair, lace frontals, silk-based and lace closures; soon
to expand into hair tools and hair care products.

I’m a Jersey-girl born and raised who grew up as an only
child living with my mother, who was a single parent.
Growing up, I always did my own thing and never really
followed the crowd. While everyone was out playing, I spent
a lot of time with my favorite aunt, who is a beautician. I
always had an interest in beauty and hair, but I never really
pursued it until all my hair fell out in the sink (you’ll learn
more about that a little later.)

I’ve always wanted to start my own hair company, but as a
young adult my other interests (such as partying, shopping,
and hanging out with friends) took up most of my time and
money. After five years of neglecting this calling of mine, I
finally mustered up the courage to get started.

I hope by reading this ebook you learn how to remain positive
and remember good things take time. However, with care,
dedication, and consistency, you can meet your personal hair
growth goals too. I hope you enjoy!

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MY PERSONAL

HAIR GROWTH
STORY

Going natural was actually a mistake. From 2008 to
2009, I wore my hair blonde. In September 2009, I
went to the salon for a relaxer touch-up. I also
decided to lighten the blonde (what was I
thinking???) in my hair that same day. To my horror,
as the relaxer was being washed out, chunks of my
hair were also rinsing away right with it. The entire
nape area was left bare as if a barber had shaved it
off. That day was the day I decided I would never get
a relaxer or put any bleach in my hair again. During
this time, I was restricted to wearing my hair in a
bob in order to compensate for the hair loss I
experienced.

4

HAIR GROWTH TIME LINE

2010: I big-chopped in February 2010. I started wearing
protective styles such as box braids.

Length Check: TWA (teeny weeny afro)

2011: I tried different protective styles such as box braids and
sew-ins. Braids weren’t for me. Sew-ins were okay for a while.
My hair was growing but the part I left out had heat damage.
Also, I started to hate the pulling and tugging of the sew-in
process.

Length Check: Neck-length

5

2012: I purchased my first kinky curly extensions from a lady
that sold hair. After watching countless YouTube tutorials I used
the hair I purchased and created my first wig. Wigs became my
go-to and ONLY protective hairstyle because of their flexibility.
Around this time, I started to dabble in texlaxing. Texlaxing
relaxes your natural curl pattern and leaves texture in your hair
so that it is still manageable and strong. Later that year, I went
to get my hair straightened to check length. The hair stylist
ended up drastically “cutting” (not trimming) away all of my
precious growth.

Length Check: Before trim: shoulder blade → After trim:
Armpit length

6

2013: I started using Hairfinity for six months and with it I saw
some growth. It helped my hair gain strength, but at the end of
day, I realized I couldn’t depend on it solely for hair growth. For
this year, I wore wigs consistently. This was also the year I
came up with my hair regimen.

Length Check: A little past armpit length

7

2014: This year, I cut about four inches off (but this time it was
a cut I actually wanted). My ends just weren’t healthy. There’s
no point in having long hair if your ends are unkept. Remember,
with proper care, hair grows back. Having hair that never went
past shoulder length in my life I was super excited to finally see
all of my dedication to my regimen paying off. That in itself
motivated me to keep growing.

Length Check: Before cut: Bra strap→ After cut: Armpit
length

8

2015:From cutting my hair in late 2014 I was able to grow my
hair back to bra-strap length. I stuck to my hair regimen and
switched to taking Mane Choice hair vitamins. With the Mane
Choice vitamins I noticed faster nail growth as well as my hair
seemed to appear thicker as it grew from the roots.

Length Check: Back to bra-strap

9

2016: I started Intense Beauté because I wanted to help other
woman get the right products to achieve their personal hair
growth goals. I am still applying the same hair growth regimen
but as my hair is getting longer I am finding it harder to conceal
it under my wigs to where it appears as flat as possible. But! I
am forever a wig girl so I will find a way to make it happen!!

Length Check (as of April 2016): Not quite waist-length (but
almost there!)

My ultimate hair goal? Hip-length.

10

11

HAIR GROWTH

TIPS

Tip 1: Always make sure the oldest part of your hair (your ends)
are protected and tucked away.
You can be wearing what you think is a protective style and be
doing all the best deep conditioning treatments, but if your ends
are not tucked away all of your hard work is going to waste. As
your hair grows from your scalp you want to preserve the most
fragile part (your ends) so that it doesn’t break away as fast as it
is growing. This way you will be able to see your progress as you
enter new growth milestones in your journey.

Tip 2: Use as little tension as possible.
Braids as a protective style are not good for everyone. If you do
choose to use braids try not to get really tiny braids and make sure
whoever does your braids are not heavy-handed. It’s not important
that the braider catches every single hair strand on your scalp
(especially your edges.) These tendencies scream breakage. If wigs
are your protective style of choice, a simple four to six plaits with
tucked ends should suffice for hair-care under your wig cap.
Contrary to popular belief, I do not wear cornrows under my wigs
because they cause tension. Stay away from too much hair styling
while wearing braided extensions because the weight of the
braided extensions can cause breakage to your edges and nape
area.

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Tip 3: Do not manipulate your hair too much.
I know as a natural (or relaxed) you want to try all the coolest hair
trends but if hair growth is your ultimate goal you are going to
have to take a L(oss) on the styling when it comes to your own
hair. Stick to at least one style per month. Keep it in and DO NOT
TOUCH YOUR OWN HAIR UNTIL IT IS TIME TO WASH IT.
That includes combing, brushing, or touching up. It’s okay to
moisturize and oil your scalp, but don’t “re-do” anything unless it’s
time for your wash day. Some people like to wash their hair every
week or two weeks but that can even be counted as over-
manipulating. Allot a minimum length of one month for protective
styles before manipulating again. Personally, I wear my plaits
under my wigs for four to six weeks at a time before washing and
re-plaiting.

Tip 4: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Build yourself a hair regimen. Find products that you like (i.e
shampoo, conditioner, leave in, moisturizer, oil, and hair growth
vitamins) and keep using the same products. Set your calendar for
when you are going to treat your hair and the style you are going
to wear for the four weeks minimum. If you stick to the regimen
that you have set for six months to a year, I guarantee you WILL
see a big difference in your hair.

Side Note: An oil alone is not considered a moisturizer, oil locks in
the moisture of a water based product. I personally use the L.C.O.
(liquid. conditioner. oil) method when moisturizing. It's a layering
technique. So you apply water to your hair (remember always
focus on your ends) then your favorite conditioner and seal it off
with your favorite oil.

13

14

My regimen:
1.At the beginning of every month, I wash my hair with
Tresemme shampoo.

2. I deep condition using Tresemme conditioner. (I use the
Tresemme brand because their products are a thick consistency
and my hair responds well to it. The thicker and opaque the
shampoo the more moisturizing it is for your hair)

3. With conditioner applied to my hair I then coat my hair (my
ends mainly) with coconut or olive oil. I leave it in overnight using
a plastic shower cap.

4. The next morning, I wash the conditioner out with cold
water. (Using cold water allows moisture to remain in your hair.)

5. After washing I put a little of Tresemme conditioner back onto
my hair as my leave-in before I style it for under my wigs.

6. While it’s still wet, I part my hair down the middle and section
my hair into two.With a wide tooth comb, I comb from the ends up
removing all shed hair. Then I begin to plait four braids on each
side. After plaiting, I saturate my hair with Jamaican Black Castor
Oil, really focusing on my ends to make sure they are moisturized.
Then, I gently twist the braids on each side into a flat cornrow and
tuck the ends of both sections underneath each other so that it lays
flat against my nape and none of the ends are exposed.

7. Because I do not blow dry, I let my hair air-dry overnight as I
sleep. When I wake in the morning it is dry, and I am ready to
apply my wig of choice.

15

Tip 5: Cut out all hot tools.
When I stopped using a blowdryer in 2013 and started plaiting my
hair wet and letting it air dry, within 6 months I saw a really big
difference in my hair’s thickness. All of the heat and tension, even
from a blow dryer, is not good for your hair. Besides flat-ironing
my hair once a year when I do my length checks, I have minimized
my heat usage to none. That was the best decision I ever made.

Tip 6: Do not excessively cut your hair.
They say trimming helps your hair grow, but that is actually a
myth. What helps your hair grow is time and a good, consistent
hair regimen. No growth vitamin on the planet can grow your hair
faster. They only aid in helping your body produce healthier hair
strands. I personally get trims once a year.

Tip 7: Practice patience.
Growing hair is not a goal you begin and then think you will
accomplish overnight. When trying to reach hair goals I believe it
is safe to say you can expect to reach your milestones a year at a
time. That’s what seems to be working for me. I’m not obsessive
about the rate by which my hair grows, but I do know with two
big trim setbacks, it took me six years to achieve almost waist
length hair from a TWA (teeny weeny afro). As African
Americans, our hair is susceptible to breakage from even the
softest touch. Remember the less you do to your hair the more it
will grow.

16

Thank You
xoxo

I hope reading these tips inspired you to start (or continue) with
your own hair growth journey. Personally, using these methods I
was able to grow so much over these six years and am looking
forward to reaching my ultimate hair goal of hip-length. I believe
I can expect to reach it by 2018. I must say, these tips worked
wonders for my hair.... but what worked for me may be a bit
different from what will work for you. I encourage you to use
these tips as a guide as you craft your own unique regimen and
growth goals. Also, I’m so excited about launching Intense Beauté
and creating hair care systems and products for others to achieve
their goals with.With that being said, I invite you to keep in
contact with me and share your experience and growth. We can
grow together!

Xoxo,
MtrlGirl ™

@MtrlGirl

@Intense Beaute by MtrlGirl
www.youtube.com/materialgirl6892

@MtrlGirl
@Intensebeaute

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