I did it! (Kinda)

Several months ago I made a post about a flat twist updo that I wanted to try. The inspiration was a video by YTer SimplYounique. When I first discovered the video I attempted to copy the style; no luck. But I happened to watch it again on last Saturday night and realized that the problem wasn't just that I didn't know what I was doing when trying to flat twist. It was that I was trying to do too few twists, resulting in... well, there were no results because it wouldn't twist!

This time around I did smaller twists and the results somewhat resembled the style she did! Of course, with this being my first real attempt at flat twists, they were not nearly as neat as they should have been. But that didn't stop me from wearing them Sunday and Monday!

I was reeeeaaaally pleased with the front

front left stuck out a little

front right looked great IMO

side view. couldn't get a good pic of the back

too puffy and loose, especially the back (this was after sleeping on it one night and wearing it one day)

Next time I try this I think I'll make the following changes:
1. after twisting & pinning the top, I'll put them into a ponytail. Then when I twist the back I'll incorporate them into it to make a tiny bun (or if that doesn't work I could cover it with a rounded claw clip)
2. Using coconut or olive oil when I twist. Dunno why I didn't think about that. Frizzies are not the business!
3. Having cute bobby pins strategically placed throughout the hair
4. Using a comb to secure the back. I used almost all my bobby pins and was still uneasy about it staying in place.

The Blowout

Two Sundays ago I finally got the time (and the nerve) to straighten my hair. It was a little daunting to me, as my hair hadn't been straightened since late February/early March. But I figured why not? The weather was cooperating, and it's not like I'd been keeping my hair in a protective style anyway. It was as good a time as any. I took to blogs and books, trying to determine what the best route would be. I finally decided on the following method:

1. Wash and clarify.
I washed with my usual Optimum Oil Therapy moisturizing shampoo. (I think it's sulfate-free, but I'll have to double check that...) Then I followed up with a lemon juice & warm water clarifying treatment I saw in Thank God I'm Natural. Let that sit for about 10 minutes, then rinsed. Honestly, I didn't notice too much difference between when I clarify and when I don't. However, from my understanding, the difference wouldn't have shown at that point anyway.

2. Deep condition and detangle.
I applied my coconut and olive oil conditioners and let that sit for about 45 minutes. My plan was to go for about 20 minutes with the conditioner under the dryer, but I was too lazy to pull it out. (Sad, I know LOL) After letting it sit, I sectioned off my hair and got to detangling. Fortunately, it was relatively smooth going with minimal shedding. The exception, of course, is that odd patch of hair on the crown of my head that defies all typing, regimens and logic. That section took a lotta time and patience that I just don't have. Eventually, I got through it and rinsed. My hair was feeling all kinds of soft, smooth and slippery.

3. Blow dry and flat iron. (I.E., turn it over to Momma)
I wanted to tackle this beast on my own. I figured I might as well learn how to do it for myself... But what I learned is that straightening is something best left to the pros. Or at least to someone who can see what the heck they're doing. After blow drying about half of my head, I turned it over to my mom. When blow drying, I sprayed each section with both Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In and Frizz Ease Heat Defeat. When flat ironing, my mom gave it another hit of the heat protectant. She also insisted on using a little bit of spray oil . I can't see where it hurt or helped.

I swear my mom was born to straighten hair. It did really well Monday and Tuesday... Wednesday the weather didn't wanna cooperate with me so it got a lil puffy. It was kinda down hill from there. By Sunday I had it slicked back with a phony pony attached.

the back after momma finished. why do the gray hairs always stick out?!

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

phony pony time!

I love the results, but it's not something that I'd want to do on the regular. I missed my curls too much!

Up-Do! French roll with bang

For several months now, I've wanted to wear my hair up. There are only so many times I could look at the puff, fro or twist out. I've attempted different styles but it just never really worked out for me. Sad, right?

Well, on Wednesday evening I was going through my blog roll and saw that Jenelle at Kinky Curly Coily Me! had done a YouTube tutorial on an up-do.



Of course I had to try it, so I got in the mirror and went to work. It took a little time and manipulation, but I finally got it. I figured out that I couldn't "roll" my hair to the left, though that's the way I've always tried it. Once I tried rolling/twisting it to the right, it was simple as could be. I also had to make a few minor changes.
I don't have any plain hair combs (how is that?) so I had to use a buttload of bobby pins. This was good and bad: good because I definitely had a secure hold, but bad because they had my head itching! Another change that I had to make was with the sides. I couldn't twist the sides; for some reason that just didn't work out for me. I ended up making a smaller french twist up top, then did some pulling, tucking, and pinning until I was happy with the look I had. And I definitely had to hit those edges with some Eco Styler.
Over all, my approach was a bit haphazard, but I was pleased with the results. I was able to wear it Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately I couldn't quite get that roll going today. (I had to take it down before bed last night; the pins were killing me!) Here are the pix, but you'll definitely want to check out the tutorial to get a cleaner look. What's the verdict on this one? Although I didn't do a flower with this, I think I'll add my decorative combs to the french roll next time...

The back. Not the neatest or the best, but I was happy with it!

I wasn't aware that that part was so visible... oops!

Makes for an interesting side profile, no?

Close up of the front

Winter Regimen

This is the *plan*. It may or may not go like this because it's really trial and error. But for my first winter as a natural, I think it's gonna go something like this...

For most of the winter, I plan to wear kinky twists as my protective style. I would love to be able to do this using only my hair, but I think I'm gonna have to go with some additional hair to get the length that I want, since I'd like to be able to pull it back in a ponytail or wear it up occasionally. I really love my soror Dandria's twists (shown to the right) and I'm hoping to achieve a similar look.


I also plan to straighten my hair a couple of times while the weather is cooperative. The first time will be around the first of December so I can do a length check. Although I considered going to a salon to get this done, I've decided to do this myself get my mom to do it. There are two main reasons for this decision. The lady that I went to for my trim was great, but admitted that she doesn't do too much with natural hair other than wash, cut and color it. As fearful as I am of heat damage, I know not to press my luck with that. Secondly, Jackson doesn't have a lot of options for a natural girl, and the one salon I found that "specializes" in natural hair wants to charge a minimum of $65 for a shampoo and press. Ummm, I didn't pay that much to get touch-ups, I'm certainly not gonna pay that for a press. No ma'am, my budget is too tight for that. So the plan is to wash and deep condition as usual, then apply a heat protectant (the Oil Therapy 3-in-1 Creme Moisturizer claims it works as a heat protectant, but I'm not sure... Anyone have a recommendation?) and let my mom blow it out using a blow dryer and flat irons. I'm going back to the lady who clipped my ends before to have her trim and style my hair, because I know nothing about that.

The straight hair will probably last a week, week & a half. Maybe two weeks if I act right. In the time between pressed hair and kinky twists, I will probably continue to do twist outs. I need to work on my two-strand twisting so that I won't be ashamed to wear them for a couple of days. I've gotten so used to doing the chunky twists and immediately doing a twist-out; I think I've gotten rusty!

As far as my product line up, I'm not sure what to change! I know to give the glycerin a rest for a while, since there won't be nearly as much moisture in the air. I'm trying to figure out which essential oils I'll be trying out. First up to try are rosemary and jojoba oils. And I may be regularly going back to Sulfur 8 to oil my scalp. Hey, it works for me! And I know how my scalp gets when it's cold. Of course I'll give the oils a try first, but if it's not satisfactory... back to the grease I go. I'll probably be changing up my shampoo, but that's just because I want to try to full Shea Moisture line. I already stretch washing to about a week and a half, with little to no co-washing in between (bad, bad Tori!) so I'll probably start alternating between shampoo and co-washing every 2 weeks. As the season progresses I will make whatever changes I see are necessary. Hopefully there won't be many!

Soooo yeah! That's how my winter regimen is shaping up in my head. Any natural hair old heads have some advice or go-to winter products?

Must -Try Protective Style

I was browsing K is for Kinky the other day and came across a post about a protective style. I don't really know much about protective styling, but since winter is approaching (eventually... it's still almost 90 degrees here) I figured I need to get a style or two under my belt. This is a simple style (or should be if you know what you're doing) that works for work, school, a formal event, Saturday shopping, whatever. I tried it the night I saw it... the results were not great. I have not had any experience flat twisting, so I need to work on that. But once I get it down (or find someone who can do it for me ^_^) I'll be rocking this look all the time. The K is for Kinky post also has great fashion & accessory info as well, so check that out if you dig her over all look like I do.

PIX! (Because I don't feel like writing)

I am super lazy today. And since I'm already having to exert energy I don't have on a paper for class Monday (yes, a paper already), I figured I'd just hit y'all with a bunch of pix. Wanna see 'em? Here they go:

twist-out from the beginning of the month

Result of a braid-out. My hair was super soft and big that day!

I realized that Miss Jessie's I bought works best for me when I do my puff.

I did a roller set about two weeks ago. I didn't care for how poofy it was...

but i think i should've just pinned both sides because I love this.

roller set: side view

roller set: back

after I played around in/picked out my roller set

twist-out. really i wanted to show off my freshly waxed brows (my first time!) & makeup attempt

2nd day twist outs are the best! (i know it's blurry, but the hair still looks great so...)

The grass always looks greener....

Seems like no matter what you're born with, you always want other features.

Many (not all, of course) dark skinned women wish for "fairer" skin, sometimes even resorting to deadly methods to get it.
Meanwhile, our white counterparts risk skin cancer to be darker.
People pay big money to get the full lips and hips and booty, while I'm sure many of us at some point wanted to trade it all after some form of ridicule.

We straighten our hair in attempts to look more "mainstream."
Then others do this:



The grass always looks greener on the other side, eh?


Thanks to KinkyCurlyQueen on Naturally Obsessed for posting this. I'd never heard of/seen "afro perms" before.

Unlikely Inspiration

I've been carrying these pictures in my phone since January and haven't posted them yet!

The last time (or time before last) I went to the salon, I was sitting under the dryer thumbing through a magazine. I think it was American Salon or something like that... I dunno. Anyway, as I was going through, there was a series of photos that caught my eye. These two were the most stunning:

I love these looks! From what I can remember (and my memory is a bit hazy... after all, this was seven months ago) the style is basically a very high ponytail that has been combed/brushed forward, then tucked & pinned under. The second pic is a variation of the same style, with the ponytail veering slightly to the side to give it a more angular look.

As soon as I saw this, I envisioned myself with this hairstyle--with poofy natural hair, of course. I think the texture and thickness of my hair would take this to the next level! Although I like the hair in the pictures, I think it looks a little too flat. A bit more volume, some banging earrings, & some smokey eyes... Mississippi couldn't handle me! LOL

Unfortunately I'll have to wait a while (years maybe? OMG Imma cry) until my hair is long enough for this. But if any readers or other natural bloggers try this style out, please send pix! I'd love to show off how this already gorgeous style looks once you put that natural twist to it!

Pix: The Puff!

Y'all, I was seriously serving up some fierceness last night! I was headed to revival and for some reason the fro just wasn't looking right. I remembered a style that I did when I first started transitioning, and a lightbulb went off in my head. What I had was basically a relaxed poof! (Sounds like a contradiction, I know.) So I pulled my hair back, stuck what seemed like a hundred bobby pins in my hair to form a sort of crown, then doubled up my elastic headband to hold it taut. I was so pleased with the results!






And if you're wondering: yes, I was in the church foyer snapping pix. That's me, all day boo. I takes pix anywhere son! #thuglife LOL



*Dress & necklace: Lane Bryant

STYLE DISASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it was so bad I had to use my caps & an ungodly amount of exclamation points to explain it.

So Wednesday night I decided to try something different with my hair, since in my last post I lamented about being bored with my usual twists/twistouts. I wanted something a little funkier, a little edgier. I'm not sure of the name of the updo that I had in mind, but it was kinda like a double french roll all the way up to the crown of my head, with the front out in a spiral-y, sorta-kinda twist-out poof. (Sorry y'all, I know I'm horrible with descriptions!) The image in my head was very similar to the style that Janelle Monae often rocks.

What occurred on top of my head was not what I planned. It was not edgy. It was not funky. It was not cute. It definitely was not Tori D.

What, you expected a picture?!
I wasn't gonna photograph that travesty!

We (me & my mom) blow dried the back & pinned it up... sorta. For some reason she couldn't get the pins tight, so it felt like my hair was gonna come down at any minute. It took us forever to do that, and when we finally said eff it and quit I two strand twisted the front and rodded the twists up tight. Put the satin bonnet on and called it a night. The next morning I woke up to a disaster. The hair that had been pinned up was coming down & some pins had come completely out. No big surprise there. But the major let down was the front. It was still wet. Like I'd just washed it 30 minutes ago. Since it was still wet, the twists were loose and didn't have any kinda shape when I untwisted them; they just did a sad flop down on my forehead. I'm not ashamed to admit that I teared up! I ended up doing two quick flat twists up front (since the wet hair wouldn't lay down right) and doing a ponytail. Hated it, but hey, had to go to work so...

Yeah, that's that. It's still in a ponytail at the moment. I'll flat iron it before this weekend. I'm a little discouraged, but I'm gonna try it again soon. I may have to make a few changes, like doing it as a regular french roll instead of a double. May have to try something different with the front... IDK. Fortunately I've found several tutorial videos on YouTube. They aren't quite doing the look I was going for, but maybe they can help.

Here are a few that I found:

Two-strand Twists & Twist out

I'm sooo slack, I know! I was supposed to have this posted on Saturday! But at least this way, I get to do two posts at once, so that makes it okay, right? LOL

I wore my two-strand twists Saturday & Sunday, then did a twist-out for yesterday. Today my twist-out is looking like a faux-fro and I LOOOOOVE it! This little experiment with my hair has me even more anxious to go ahead and cut it!

Anyway, on to the pix...

First pix of the twists. Not quite what I wanted, but decent for a first try!

Fresh twist-out. Wasn't feeling it too much at first...

But today I love it!

A few pix, mid-style

So I decided to try my hand at two-strand twists tonight. For my first time, I think they're gonna be okay, although I wish I could've done them a little smaller than I did. (To kind of give you an idea of how big they are, I only have 34 of them. Yes, I counted!) I washed my hair using Optimum Oil Therapy Ultimate Recovery shampoo (yeah, I'm still using shampoo, although I know a lot of people don't...), then conditioned (Palmers Deep Conditioning Pure Coconut Milk, let it set about 20 minutes). Detangling went fairly smoothly, and although there was some hair loss, it wasn't enough to make a fuss over. I sectioned the hair off and got to twisting! I used Cantu shea butter to sculpt the twists & then put them on cold rods since I figured the relaxed ends would unravel otherwise. Sooo, here are two pix, front & back, taken before I got under the dryer. I have to have some heat, otherwise my hair would be damp all tomorrow & Sunday morning. So I put it on warm for about 10 minutes, then lowered the setting to cool for about 30. I'm excited to see how they turn out! I plan to keep them in until Tuesday, then do a twist-out Wednesday morning. We'll see how it goes!

A Tale of Two Textures

Twenty-four weeks. Twenty-four long, withdrawal filled weeks! Yes, it has been 24 weeks since my last hit of the creamy crack. I have amazed everyone--my stylist, parents, friends, coworkers-- by sticking with it this long. I have done much better than I did a few years ago when I attempted to transition. I credit having more support (thanks to a host of beautiful ladies online who are either already natural or transitioning like me), more education on the subject (internet came through on that too) and change in my personality as far as determination, self-expression and individuality.

Now I'm at that weird point where it's very obvious that I have two different textures going on. I did not get this far last time, so it's all new territory from here. I've been trying to hide the fact that all of my hair does not look the same. But since it's kinda hard to do that without heat, I'm limiting that. So now I have about two inches of thick, poofy waves and about five of straight hair. Honestly, at first I hated it. I looked at my hair and saw a struggle. It's a really weird feeling: I'm not ashamed of the natural hair, and I knew it would be different from the relaxed portion. I knew it would look like this once the transition was complete and I was okay with that. But seeing it with the relaxed hair... It was like bacon and ice cream. I LOVE both of em & I could eat both every day, but I ain't trying to sprinkle bacon bits on my sundae! (Sorry, I'm a little hungry.) My point is, I love both, but I didn't like the idea of them together. So what I've started doing is forcing myself to wear styles that basically show off both textures. I figure if I go ahead and put it on full display I'll be more comfortable when I do finally do the big chop. Will it work? Who knows, I'm not a psychologist. I'm just trying to find something--anything--to make the transition a little less shocking for myself...

Transition Styles

Even though I just started on my journey to napturality (eight weeks on Friday) I know that eventually I will get to the point where I find it difficult to manage having both natural and permed hair. Even though most people do the Big Chop, I'm not that bold; instead I'll probably just do little trims along the way. But I've started looking for styles that would work for me while transitioning. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated!
I've always wanted straw curls, and now that I have short hair, it may be an option for me. This model's hair is gorgeous!
According to the poster from Hairmilk.com (where I sto- um, borrowed this pic from) this pic shows a flat twist. I am not familiar with this, but I want to give it a try! She gives a how-to in the post "Hair Care Diary: Headscarves, Solange, and Twistouts."


I've really liked Senegalese twists ever since I firs saw them (although I just learned their real name today!). I want to try these, but I know I wouldn't want to sit there for the amount of time it takes to get it done! I'm antsy enough after 2.5 hours at the salon. Don't braids/twists usually take forever?

I may just go to my old standby method: washing my hair, braiding it in cornrows, then taking it down after it dries... I liked that look when my hair was long, so it may be cute short too...


What other transition styles would you suggest? Are there any sites you frequent or YouTube channels you subscribe to with styling tips and how-to vids?