Bantu Knot Out- Failed Attempt

Sooooo....I decided to try bantu knots on my hair last week. I blow dried my hair on a cool setting and then put my hair in about 20 bantu knots all over. A lot of people say that bantu knots are the kind of thing that really take several attempts to master, so I was really taking a chance with doing them because I was going to a wedding the following day. My plan B was to to wet my hair down and wear a bun.

Initially I hated how my hair turned out. It was really soft to the touch (I used olive oil and Knot Today on my hair before blow drying and shea butter after) BUT the curls were all twisted in different directions and I had parts all over from where I separated my hair into the bantu knots. Also, after I began to separate the curls for more fullness my ends were frizzy UGH. I believe this was because I am not that great with the blow dryer and I only used it on a cool setting (I am not using heat on my hair until spring).

The following pics are of how I styled my hair. My goal was to wear all my hair down but all the curls were in different directions and it looked really off so I just pinned up the top portion. When my dad saw me he called me a rooster HAHA!

The end result was decent. Here are a few things I will do differently next time:

• tuck my ends into the knot better so that they come out smoother
• twist the hair in a consistent direction so that curls fall in the same direction
• not dry my hair completely leave it a little damp for a smoother finish
• don't make defined parts just grab sections so there aren't any gaps in the finished look

Give this style a try and see what kind of results you have. I plan on trying this again and hope to have better results. It's all about trial and error...learn from your mistakes and do it better next time. I will show the whole process step by step on the next try!

Fav Products

Shampoo/Conditioner

• Suave Humectant- Great for detangling and as a leave in!
• Tresemme Moisture Rich Shampoo/Conditioner-  This is what I was/condish with on a regular basis
• Aussie 3 Minute Miracle- great deep condish makes my hair feel extra soft!

Styling

• Eco Styler Gel- clear or olive oil both work great on edges!
• Kinky Curly Knot Today- I swear by this as a leave-in! I usually add oil and aloe vera juice to it (kimmytube method) to stretch it so the bottle lasts longer
• Shea butter- used for mini twists mostly because its heavy
• Miss Jessies Curly Pudding
• Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
• Donna Marie MiraCurl

Oils

• Avocado oil
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil

Check back soon for a style tutorial!

New Year Hair Resolutions

With the new year officially underway I have made a few hair goals.

1. I am joining blogger The Moptop Maven in her Healthy Hair Challenge. Currently my hair is APL (armpit length) and my goal for Dec 31, 2011 is BSL (bra strap length). http://moptopmaven.blogspot.com/
2. Do more protective styling, and by more I mean to start doing protective styles. I seem to have a problem with wearing my hair in the same style for more than a few days. Recently I did mini twists, and after 3 days Im ready to change it. I have learned however that low manipulation encourages retiontion of length so I have to learn to endure for atleast a week.
3. Try Henna. A lot of pros swear by henna for shine, strength, and conditioning. I have wanted to try it for a while but I know that once you use henna you can't use hair color so I didnt want to commit. I used to be on the fence about getting color but have recently decided against it and to go with henna. People always blame color for dryign their hair out and causing breakage whereas with henna you get a nice hair tint and it acutally helps your hair, so I'm going with henna.

I only have 3 goals because I wanted to choose things that I can really commit to and be successful. I plan to update my progress with these goals monthly.

My Journey

I contemplated going natural for several years before I acutally followed through with the idea. I knew that the only way that I would be successful in this would be to go all the way, so on March 9, 2009 I big chopped. My hair was the shortest it had ever been...a little more than a fade. I got mixed reviews from people, but it wasn't about what others thought because I did this for me. The natural community on youtube was (and still is today) my support system. Here is a look at my journey....

Shortly after my big chop

My first style:)

3mths

This was around 5 mths the back of my twistout puff

 Maybe 7 mths here...

 Straightened after 1 yr

 This was summer 2010 twistout

Sorry this pic is so small (it's from my phone)
Straight hair Oct 2010

Present day pics soon to come!