I Think I Need Something New

I'm getting really tired of looking the same every day...every week.

I always wear my braid/twist and curl the same! Either all down, pulled back with a headband or pulled up into a ponytail.

Or every so often I'd get the itch to do a little something with some bobby pins.But even that never looks any different.

I did another braid and curl on Friday the 8th, and this is how I wore it looks:

I pinned it back with bobby pins and got the same look I would with a headband! It's really sad.

But I don't really like this braid and curl, so I am going to use this opportunity to mess with it and come up with some new styles.

We'll see what that will look like...

'till next time

Braid And Curl Results

I love it! It was really soft and really shiny!

I love my hair like this -- it looks and feels so healthy!

I used little rollers to curl the ends of my hair (a little less then 3/4 of an inch) which gives it the appearance of a regular braid-out.
Not the look I was going for, but I don't mind because it does look more natural and it still had more bounce and volume than a regular braid out.

There's a lot of shrinkage (which is to be expected) and I usually like my braid/twist outs to reach my chin in the front and shoulders in the back, but this is still cute.

Overall, I like it. Not bad, not bad.

Sunday's Hair - Flexi Curl Bangs

I didn't have time to do my hair (again) this weekend and I needed to get my hair looking decent for church today.

So I combed out the front of my hair and set it, using SheaMoisture's

smoothie, with two purple (about an inch) flexi rods.

These are the results of my hair after coming home from church:

 This is a side view of my hair -- I made a roll and pin bun in the back

2nd Day Braid And Curl

 This is the second day wearing my Braid And Curl. It is still looking so good.

I'm actually surprized that it still looks good-- even if it is only the 2nd day-- because this style was done on dirty hair.

I just sprayed (with water) and added a little bit of Hello Hydration conditioner and sealed with Olive oil, then again that's probably the reason it still looks good.

Stretching it!

I've noticed that the only time my hair reaches past my shoulders, is when it's straightened or in two-strand twist.

This revelation prompted me to try stretching my curls. I twisted my wet hair [HEHH already added] and the next day I took the twists out and braided the sections. When I took my braids out, my curls were thick and shiny.

I went shopping today and my hair got damp from the drizzle...but I still think it held up well. I put in 5 chunky braids again tonight.

Candy-Scented Hair!

My hair styled with SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

My hair smells so delicious!!! And what has it smelling so yummy? My SheaMoisture products.

When I got home from taking my last final on Wednesday the 22nd, I thoroughly washed my hair (for the first time in weeks!) with the Deep Cleansing Shampoo[sulfate-free] for dry, itchy hair (because I have scalp issues...yea, it sucks). I'll do a separate review on the shampoo if anyone's interested.

I didn't however have time to deep condition (as usual), but I shampooed, conditioned and de-tangled with suave naturals conditioner and I styled with SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.


SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie Versus the Suave Professionals Conditioner??

I was soo excited to try these products (they were not gifts from the company or anything) when I got them!
BUT, I was disappointed!

I was shocked that a product that has such moisturizing ingredients, left my hair feeling so mediocre!
I actually compared the curl smoothie to my other product, Suave Professionals Almond and Shea Butter conditioner...And I liked the Suave better!

The Suave Professionals left my hair softer and with less frizz than the SheaMoisture. I'm not sure if that was because of the olive oil that I added, but even with that, I was still upset that a $3 product worked so much better than a $10 product.
I had pictures for the Suave twist-out, but they didn't upload. I'll do a separate post on this as well though.
Pictures of SheaMoisture results:

Pros:
1. My hair was a bit shiny and bouncy (although I got about the same shine and bounce with Suave)

2. It smells great!

Cons:

1. Not moisturizing enough/ a bit drying to my hair

2. Not enough frizz control (I got more frizz control with suave)

Although I love this product for it's smell, I will not re-purchase because it doesn't moisturize enough.

Out And About- Twist Out

This was the way I wore my hair yesterday. I took all of the twists out and wore it down. I rolled the sides (toward the back) and pinned them.

I also rolled the very front section and pinned it back. From the front it resembled a pouf.

the back

The entire style resembled a fro-hawk. I liked it!

I labeled this post as 'winter routine' also because, this is part of my winter routine that I'm working on. The majority of the week, my hair will be kept in chunky twists and under a hat and maybe 2 or 3 days, I'll wear a twist out. So far, so good!

Straight Hair- Braid and Curl Results

This was my hair when I took it down Thanksgiving Day!

Unfortunately, it was raining and cloudy that day and so, I pinned it up and put on a beret hat.


The following day, it was elgongated from wearing it up all day Thursday and so, I wore it down.

A Trim And Some Pin Curls!

For the past two days, my (freshly trimmed) hair has been styled with pin curls.

I think this is the first time I've successfully worn a pin curl set. I never quite seen to get it right, before now.
I love the results! I reminds me of Bantu knots-- which I have done on my straight hair before, with basically the same look, except it added a bit more volume and curl definition.

I think what I like most about pin curls and other means of curling straightened hair over night, is that I get both a good night's sleep and beautiful curls in the Morning.

The take-down: my hair right after removing the pin curls

The results: After finger combing/loosening the curls

I love the pin-curled look! The results are big, bouncy curls! And it's also really easy to sleep on.

Have you tried pin-curls on your pressed/straightened hair?

Did you love the results?

It's That Time Of Year Again-- My Hair Goes Straight!

I've been following my 'straighten only twice per year' method, to get to enjoy straight locks every so often while keeping damage to a minimum.

The last time I straightened my hair was in May of this year. I straightened, for the last time this year on Saturday November 6th.

These pictures doesn't really show the length of my hair, but the length of my longest layer(pre-trim) was bra strap length length and the shortest was a little longer than armpit length.

I'll post pics of my trimmed hair at a later date---sooo happy I got a trim, my ends look so healthy!

Hair Pics-- Week Old Braid and Curl

This is how my hair looked today-- old braid and curl

The Amazingly Versatile Hair!

Lately, I've been thinking about how amazingly versatile natural hair is.
There are sooo many style options for people with natural hair. Whether your hair is short or long, fine or thick, tightly coiled or loosely curled and many other combinations, there are so many styles for you to choose from. Some of my favorites include:

1) Braid Out
2) Braid and Curl (adding rollers to the end of the braid)
3) Twist Out
4) Twist and Curl
5) Two Strand Twist
6) Pony Puff
7) Wash and Go
8) Straightened (not frequently)

These are the ones I remember for now. If I get bored/tired with one style I can move on to the other! I love being natural!

Shape Up? I Think Yes!

I'm thinking about cutting the layers out of my hair. For some styles, the layers work to my advantage; making my hair appear bigger and fuller. But it seems that for the majority of the ways I wear my hair, the layers just make it looks...weird and chopped, like I got a terrible hair cut from a scissor-happy 3- year- old.


This is my wet hair right out the shower. As you can see, there's this weird 'gap' between my short front-layer and the long back-layer (I turned to the side, so my hair would fall on my face and you can see what I'm talking about).
Although my hair shrinks up, the back doesn't shrink up enough (looser curls in that area) to even out the length of my hair.

This is a braid and curl I did a while back. I loved the definition, softness and shine but I hated the shape! To me, it resembles the shape of a house...can you see it? The top goes out, stops and then the bottom goes straight down. It creates, in my opinion anyway, a sharp- edged look (at the point where you can see the end of the short layer and the continuation of the longer layer) It just doesn't 'flow', which is what I want.

The same 'house shape' with this one. Although it's not as noticeable because, my hair is stretched (braid and curl on dry hair) and the the layers are closer together; closing the gap a bit.

I think this was a dry braid and curl, combed out. I hate the multiple 'W' shape at my ends; it looks really ragged :(

I don't want a blunt hair cut, because I've heard that can make curls look like a pyramid. But I don't want the layers to be so far from each other, making it possible to create that weird and annoying gap.
I'm hoping to gather up the nerve to be able to cut a couple inches from my longest layer. I think I might do it the next time I straighten.

Finally, I Deep Conditioned!

I deep conditioned yesterday with a cheap container of Lustrasilk's Shea Butter Cholesterol. I added a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Herbal Essences Hello Hydration(HEHH) and applied the mix to my hair and then sat with my heating cap for about 45 minutes. After I washed it out it felt soft and silky and moisturized!

Then I shampooed with Dr. miracles tingling Shampoo and conditioner and braided (with HEHH)for a braid and curl, which I wore today...mostly in a pony tail because I couldn't find a way to style it that I liked.

*Sorry for the terrible picture quality. I know it's hard to see but the curls are very shiny and defined.

I completely loved it. It is light and fluffy and it is very soft and extremely bouncy.

Twisted Braid-Out

I accidentally stumbled apon something that I like: the braid-out look on twist.

Earlier this past week, I moisturized my twists with plain 'ole water and sealed that moisture in with olive oil. I then braided (cornrowed) my twist; one on each side, mainly to keep it from shrinking up.

The next morning my twist felt very soft and silky...even my little brother commented on the softness, and he normally doesnt give a crap about my hair :)

More than just the softness though, I really liked the the curls and waves that the braid provided.

I opted to pin in up into bobish look. I grabbed the longest layers and pinned it underneat itself at the nape of my hair using a bobby pin.

Doing that gave it a short, one-layered, bobed look and I think that the messyness of the bob and the curly/wavy look, made me like it even more.

I wore variations of this style all week and loved it.

:)

Favoring the Two-Strand Twist

It's been five days since I've twisted my hair, but I don't miss my curls...just yet. I've found some ways to style my twist that I like.
It's nothing complicated or really Conservative or really picture worthy (well, it is, but it's so hard to get a good picture with my camera's terrible quality).

I did simple styles like swooping a couple of twist from the front, to the side and securing it with a bobby pin, then gathering the rest in a loose, couple-of-twists-hanging-out low pony tail. I found it cute in a simple, laid back way.

I also did another style where I braided (cornrowed) the left side and gathered the braid and the right side of my loose twist into a low, messy bun. I also found this one to be cute.
I 'created' these styles myself. I've been style- hunting lately and though I found some cute styles they didn't look to good on me.

I used to think that since my hair is twisted...I don't need to moisturize it. Wrong!
So now, I lightly moisturize it. I wet my hands a couple of times and run them down the length of my twist. I then seal in that 'moisture' with extra virgin olive oil.

I think it's going to be fun to create more styles. It'll be great to fall in love with twist, especially since it's a protective style!

I'm Back....And So Are My Curlies!

I will, once again, like to apologize to my readers for my long absence. I've just finished with my finals and like any college student will tell you, finals time is the busiest and most frustrating time of the whole semester. I am very happy to be finished with them and I'm leaving everything to God!

And yes, my curls are back! I missed them dearly, after almost a month of having them straight.

I washed it with my shampoo, Dr. miracles tingling shampoo and conditioner

I then deep conditioned with Ev olive oil and Herbal Essences hello hydration (My favorite condish) and my electric heating cap.

After an hour or so I washed it out and poured diluted apple cider vinegar (3 cups distilled water and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar) all over my hair.

I believe that I may have hard water, which is water that has a lot of minerals in it, which can have a bad affect on hair and skin. I'm not sure I have it, but I've been dealing with very dry hair even after I deep condition, so I think the water's to be blamed.

I read that diluted apple cider vinegar could really help with that...so I tried it and I love it.

I poured the cider on my hair (didn't wash it out) and my hair came out feeling very soft and moisturized.

Below are some picture. The first is of my hair(still wet) after I washed it. And the remaining few are of a second-day braid and curl.

It looks really frizzy, because although I didn't fluff it much, I was constanly touching it...I really missed the boing-y-ness of my curls :)

Pictures from Wash and Go and Bantu Knots

I took these two pictures to show the differences in curl sizes that I have. On the sides, and the top half of the back of my head, I have the tiny curls and just about everywhere else I have the bigger curls. The sizes vary in between the two examples that are shown. I find it both interesting and annoying.

This is a picture of my first wash and go since last spring. I applied HE hello hydration section by section all over my hair and let in air dry. This wasn't done on freshly washed hair. It was done on an an old twist out. I sprayed water on the ends, which gave me an even length all over.

There are the pictures from my Bantu Knots. My hair really doesn't like bantu knots when it's wet or damp. I will only be doing bantu knots when my hair's straightened.