Protective Syling

As part of my challenge to grow my hair BSL by the end of the year I am really trying to wear protective styles more often than loose styles. By loose styles I mean wearing my hair down. Now that I have enough to make a bun that is my offical go-to style. It's easy, sleek, and quick especially on lazy days. For this upcoming week I washed my hair and left a small bang out in the front and then have the rest of my hair in a high bun. Some may think that its not a true protective style because of the bang out but a majority of my hair is up and thats good enough for me. The point of protective styles is to be low manipulation and this style is just that.
A style like this can get quite boring after a day or so so I plan to jazz it up with earrings, headbands and any other accessory I can find.

ALSO, big news! My 2 year Nappaversary is approaching on March 9th so I will be posting a length check very soon.

My bun:)

Twist Out Style Pictorial

This is a pictorial of how I do my twist out. I tried to make a video but I didnt have much luck, so I decided to show each step through pictures since it's a fairly simple process.
Hope you enjoy!

Products used: Spray bottle of just plain water, Knot Today mixture as developed by Kimmaytube *check out her youtube channel* (aloe vera juice, olive oil, and Knot Today), hair clips, Garnier Fructis Curl Scrunch, and avacado oil
***This was my first time using the Garnier. I usually dont use any kind of gel at all for twist outs, but I heard from a youtuber that its good for hold so I figured I would try it to see if it will make my twist out last longer. I will have to let you know how it works through the week. So far I like the product, but I prefer my twist outs to be soft so I dont plan on using it again.
To maintain this style I will retwist every night. Usually I do the twists larger and larger as the week goes on and I get more volume and elongation.

Consistency is Key: Developing a Hair Regimen that work for YOU!

I believe in having a consistent regimen of how you care for your hair. I try to keep with mine from week to week. There are times that I get lazy but overall I keep things very routine. I chose not to write up my regimen but rather help you develop one that will work best for your hair. Use this as a basis or guideline and tweak it to suit YOUR needs. It’s really important to know YOUR hair and what it like and doesn’t like. Keep a journal or log of what works well and stick with it. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate but just a reminder for future reference.

Main Components of a Regimen

1.       Cleanse- a clean scalp allows the scalp to breath and removes build-up

2.       Condition- restore moisture after cleansing

3.       Deep conditioning- for treatment and repair of your strands

4.       Leave in- adds moisture when conditioner is rinsed out

5.       Oil- locks in moisture

Other things to consider

·         How often to shampoo?

o   Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly

·         Sulfate free?

o   Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is used in many shampoos and has been known to cause scalp irritation and dryness

o   Some people choose not to use products containing SLS and opt for natural cleansers (homemade or SLS free)

·         How often to deep condition?

o   Depends on the needs of your hair

o   I recommend starting bi-weekly and then increasing or decreasing as needed

·         Pre-Poo?

o   Usually a combo of oils and/or conditioner to prevent dryness and stripping of hair when you shampoo

·         Products to use

o   Nobody can tell you what to use, they can give you suggestions and tell you what they use but ultimately its all about trial and error and finding what works best for YOU!

Remember there is no miracle product that will grow your hair, just good technique to preserve your hair as it grows. Be Consistent!

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!