How to spurce up corn rows/ flat twists

I mastered flat twists years ago, but thought they were not professional enough to be worn to work for the most part.

Well enter my laziness at not wanting to spend a few hours installing mini twists and the return of the flat twist. I had an idea to transform the flat twist into a bun like style that would be professional and much more protective than my mini twists.

With the mini twists I usually still touch the hair and change up the style.

 With this bun like style I planned (and succeeded) at not

touching my hair for an entire week. This made the style truly protective.

 

So I played with this style and LOVED it, it will be added into my hair routine so feel free to also think up something like this to leave your hair untouched and protected.

 

* FYI this flat twist resulted in the cutest twist out.

 



Oil Mixture

One of the biggest adjustments for me going natural was accepting oil into my hair care regimen.

I was accustomed to using grease for many years and had considered that oil because besides the petroleum there is oil in grease as well. So when I heard of people putting oil in their hair I was opposed for a while as many of the vloggers I was following warned of the hazards of petroleum in your hair. I soon educated myself more and now swear by using natural oils for many reasons.

One of my favorite ways to use oil is my oil rinse. I have a concoction of natural oils that I have in an applicator bottle that I apply in the shower after pre-pooing, washing, conditioning, and rinsing my hair. After the mixture is in I rinse it with water (since water won't rinse away all of the oil) then seal with aloe vera juice (as long as I am not out).

Below see the oils I use

Jamaican Black Castor oil, Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Vitamin E, Almond Oil, Jojoba oil, and Lavender oil.

 

All of the oils, with the exception of the lavender oil, are carrier oils. The lavender is an essential oil which should always be diluted to avoid a negative reaction. I add the lavender to add scent and for aroma therapy. This lovely mixture is also great for your body and I will often apply it after a shower as well.

My wig adventures

I have always been anti-fake hair....mostly because I fear someone would call me out if I wore hair not completely mine. Also because I like a more natural look, this comes from a time in my life when I wore contacts and make up all the time. I found myself unhappy with myself without these things and struggled to see the beauty in the mirror. I found myself wishing I had the attributes I did when I was "made up". I decided then to get more comfortable with me as is and that has stuck ever since high school.

This issue I face now is that straight hair is not an option for me because I workout too often, as a natural girl the result is no longer straight hair. It is also not an option for me to color my hair, its not in line with my natural, healthy hair care policy. My hair resists color until it is too weak to resist and what is left is beautiful color (not the one I wanted) and hair that breaks and splits until the color is gone. Since the base color of my hair is red when I try or a stylist tries for a blond or light brown I always end up with red.

For all of these reasons I decided to find a wig, to change up my look and not have to damage my hair with heat frequently. Check out the wigs I tried and the ones that I stuck with.

The funny things is after I picked the winning wig, I went to get it trimmed some. I walked into one salon and the stylist asked "you don't have extensions do you?" to which I replied "I have a wig." Her response was "We don't cut wigs here." So It may be a while before I have the courage to wear this lovely thing out and about.

 

~Love~

The Bantu knot out that was knot

I have tried Bantu knots in the past and been disappointed but after my best friend had such cute results I decided to give it another try.

All I can say about my results is whomp whomp..... 😒

Well to elaborate the curls did not stay defined once separated, my hair looks two inches long, and it did not lay the way I would want it to.  I did this prior to Thanksgiving  and left it up for two full days. So lesson relearned Bantu knots are knot for me. 

The knots: 

                          

         

My "really face":

                            

How I styled my hair:

                            

                           

My New Hair's resolution

 I have decided I needed to revamp my current approach

to some aspects of caring for my hair.

My plan is to not purchase, not one new hair product until

I have used up all of the half used or lesser used products

I have. I own so many products that I have used once or twice

then bought something to replace them with.

Not necessarily because there was anything insufficient about them.

I am just in the habit of searching for that perfect product.

I advise against this to others but I am a major perpetrator.

 

So no more products: oils, shampoos, conditioners, leave in's, deep

conditioners, gels, or hair accessories.

The hair accessories will be the hardest for me but I honestly rarely wear

them, I always feel so dressy with them in....

But maybe I need to dress up more often.

I hope that by restraining for purchasing more products

I will discover which ones I really can't live without

and purchase more of them.

 

 

I am also planning to give my hair a little rest, I am getting braids this weekend!

 

I am very hopeful I can keep them in a while, the last time I tried braids I couldn't keep them in for more than 7 days. My scalp is so tight the pain was immense. I have always been a braid person and used to get them every summer at least, I hope to be able to return to this at some point.

 



How the pineapple method saved my twist out

I finally tried the pineapple method for my twist out  and I have a new love! Check out my results. 

 

Mistakes Naturals Make

Mistakes Naturals Make

1. Purchasing every product every blogger/vlogger suggests
2. Not experimenting with your hair to see what styles work for you
3. Under moisturizing your hair
4. Not understanding how your hair type (not 4a etc, but porosity, density) affects your hair needs
5. Forcing your natural hair beliefs on others
6. Not owning the awesomeness and even novelty of your hair (of course people will comment, sometimes saying stupid things)
7. Believing everything a fellow natural tells you (i.e. parabens are the devil) you have to know what works for you and why
8. Wearing it (your hair) exposed to the elements too much, or wearing certain protective styles long enough to damage the hair
9. Fighting your hair (it has a mind of its own, relinquish power)
10. Taking a stylist's word to heart without acknowledging the differences in hair beliefs between you

I love your hair do you?

Love

 

 

Note: I don't own this picture, a friend posted it on Facebook and I wanted to share it with you.

Texture Revolution event in Addison, TX

On August 25th I attended the Texture revolution hosted by Naturally Divine Beauty, a beauty supply shop in the Dallas area. I learned several things at this event but the main benefit was simply being around all of those other naturals.
Some key points: 1)My hair is dry!- this is to be expected of my hair type and texture
                            2)Coconut oil can be left in the hair overnight for maximum                             absorption of the water during your shampoo
                             3)I have low porosity, meaning my hair does not accept moisture in very well at all
                             4) I still don't know what hair type I have but I know that I have dry, curly, not kinky, low porosity, dense, medium not coarse hair

Of course I was told things that have already been countered since my friend attended a similar conference but I still feel that this was a worthwhile event. I of course purchased several things at the event: Moptop shampoo, a natural girl T-shirt, a twist/dread jewel,  hair tie that I will use to spice up my poufs, and two adjustable head bands. Below are some pictures from the event.

 My new fav shirt!

 See the pretty bejeweled hair tie?!?

My major take away from this event is that I should love my hair as is as it won't get any better than it is when soaking wet. So I am learning to love everything about my hair!

Braidout versus twistout

So now that I am a braid- out expert, having done it two-three times now I can evaulate their difference from twist outs. In general I like the look of braid-outs more than the look of twist outs. Also since the braid keeps the hair together better it is easier to do fewer braids and get a similar look. Twist outs usually require more work for a look that I like. I also like the way a braid allows you to keep more of your length. When I twist I often find that the length of my hair quickly disappears before I can do anything to prevent it. I have taken to banding my twists to prevent this. I have found that a braid out needs to remain in for less time to affect the hair pattern. Whereas I cannot do twists and then remove the same day for a nice affect.
A small twist out can remain well defined for two days or more, depending on your luck. Whereas a braid out only maintains shape for one day. Twist outs had been my favorite but now that I have done braid outs that may have changed. I may plan my braid outs and only do small twists for twist outs. I will no longer do the chunky twists for twist outs.
I'm so glad I finally tried the braids!