Style File #1 - dontuwishuknu

I don't know about you, but I'm always on the look out for amazing natural hair styles to inspire me and what I do with my hair. One of the best places to look has got to be You Tube. There are so many natural sistas on there rocking such amazing styles, it can be a little bit overwhelming. The Style File is going to be a new feature that I'm going to use to bring you all those amazing styles I find to inspire us all. Here's first entry to the Style File.

90 day Twist Challenge

I've been inspired by one of favourite YouTubers/Bloggers AGrlCanMac to go on a personal twist challenge. She's challenged herself to rock twists till 1st April and she's been on it since January. So go'head girl. She's also one of my favourite mixtresses so check her out.

Since according to my hubby, I suffer from chronic hand-in-hair disease and we all know that over-manipulation leads to breakage, I've decided that something needs to be done to break the cycle. Now, I haven't any major breakage but I know that if I don't ease up messing with my hair, I'll begin to suffer breakage. So there you have it - this is the reason for the 90-Day Twist Challenge.

I'm challenging myself to rock twist styles consistently for 90 days to minimise the manipulation and stop breakage in it's tracks!! I'm going to follow AGrlCanMac's challenge rules (with a little personalised twist). Here are the rules:

1.I will wear my twists for and re-do them every 2-3 weeks

2.I will condition and wash my hair every 2-3 weeks

3.Challenge will officially end on 1st June.
 
The only twist on the rules is that I'm going to try to stretch my twists to 3 weeks at a time and she's a regular user of Henna, which I'm not. Henna is on my list of things to try this year, so you never know, it could creep it's way into my challenge.
 
I'm going to twist my hair with Fantastia IC Gel Hair Polisher Styling Gel. I was going to use a new hair mixture but my hubby's put my on strict hair budget - LOL!! I'll moisturise daily with my glycerin,water,olive oil mist. It's not really cold here so I can still use glycerin - but if the temperture suddenly drops, I'll switch it up with aloe vera juice.
 
I'm going to be following AGrlCanMac's progress on her challenge and I hope I can stick it as well. I'll post starting pictures once I've finished my twists. I'll update you guys on progress monthly.
 
Till next time.
 
xxMwuahxx

Solange Knowles gets a TWA!!!

Solange Knowles, the younger sister of Beyonce, is turning heads... with her own head - a shaven one.

Solange, who is not yet the publicity target that her big sister is, has actually sported the hairless look for two weeks. The paparazzi apparently just noticed. Unfortunately, the her decision to sport a TWA (Tweeny Weeny Afro) hasn't necessarily been well received. I'm pretty sure she knew that was a given so, my question is why did she do it?

Solange, however, tweeted about the matter recently with the following message (please excuse the punctuation - it's hers, not mine):

i. have. done. this. twice. in. my. life. i. was 16. i was 18.

So why did the aspiring singer/songwriter shave her once gorgeous hair?
"this. phase. of. my. life. i. want to spend . the time. the energy. and the money. on something else. not in the hair salon."

More power to her I say. I believe that it's so empowering to 'chose' not to conform to the ways of this world and I suppose she's even putting her career on the line to do this. What do yall think? What do you think of her TWA - I think it's so cute and really suits her? Do you think her decision was smart/clever in relation to her career and aspirations?

xxMwuahxx

Rollerset Success!

This is different for me as I’m actually blogging from work via email! Just wanted to give you a quick update on the rollerset I did last night.

I was a little bit disappointed this morning when I took the rollers out because my hair was still a little bit damp at the crown so I had to spend 10 minutes drying it with a hairdryer. And if I’m honest my rollersetting skills aren’t the best anyway so I wasn’t holding out much hope for the style, just had my fingers crossed. Well, what can I say? It came out quite well. Hopefully I’ll do better next time but it’s good enough for work and church.

I got quite a few compliments on my hair when I walked into work today so it’s a good sign, I think. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I can.

Till later

xxMuwahxx

Sorry I'm MIA

So I disappeared for a little bit there. Went MIA for a little bit but I'm about and I definitely haven't 'backslidden' and gotten a relaxer. My hubby's been practically glued to the computer for a few days so I haven't been able to get my blog on.

Anyway, I've been rocked the twist n curl for about 2 weeks so I need to do a full review and tell you what I think in all honesty. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Twist n Curl!!

I'm sitting here and I've got rollers in my because I'm trying a rollerset, so I need to blog about that as well.

It's mad busy so I might not be able to do it for a couple of days because it's church tonight and then my daughter's birthday tomorrow, but I promise I'll do it.

I also tried a curly pudding recipe I got from AGurlCanMac on my daughter's hair, so I'll tell you about that as well. OMG so much to do, so little time!

I'm out, till next time.

xxMuwahxx

The pictures are finally here!!

I finally got the hang of the camera so I know how to download stuff to my PC now - yay! Here so pics from my Twist n Curl when I took out my crochet braids.

All the hair that broke off when I detangled the 1st time - I told you it was enough for a small mammal

Ok, so the breakage was major to say the least. I was so heart broken when i saw all that hair - MY HAIR! *sob sob* But the truth is that quite a lot of my length was damaged and would only have ended up falling out at some point anyway.

For picture number two, have a look at what my head looked like with the perm rods for the twist n curl all it in. This was actually just before I started to take them out. I'm dressed for church and ready to go, the only thing left was the hair. I know that it may look a little bit crazy but trust me and take a look at the next picture for how it came out.

I really liked the results and it really blends the new growth into the relaxed ends. I mean you can't really see the new growth as distinct from the relaxed ends in this picture. Once the week's truly over i.e. one more full day of work, I'll let you know how the styled fared during the week and if it was all totally worth it.

Till later, xxMwuahxx

Twist n Curl Success!!

So I took the curlers out and my husband says "Is that it? Are you going out like that? It's cute but I hope that's not it." I'm like "no, there's more to do"

Anyway, I took the twists out and fluffed the curls a bit and OMG it's too cute - CurlyNikki and Shuantae1 would be so proud. I wish I could get the hang of my camera and post the pics. I will as soon as I do.

I got to church and comments ranged from "your hair's so nice, I really like it" to "wow, it's so sexy". My husband loves it, so I'm really happy. I wasn't sure about it as I did it because it seemed so short and I'm trying to grow it, you know? But I think this style's going to be a staple in my transitioning closet.

For tonight, I think I'll just tie my satin scarf on it and hopefully won't 'squish' it too badly and then rock it to work tomorrow. Will definitely report back on that.

xxMwuahxx

Transition Style #1 - Twist n Curl

Ok, so I'm transitioning to a natural look and my hair's kind of short, so I'm a little bit low on the kind of styles I do while transitioning. I was thinking of doing a sew-in weave but it's getting too warm for all that. My hair's also very weak from years of frying so braids are also out of the question.


So I was searching for a transition style to try out. I've just taken out my crochet braids - sorry I don't have any pictures - but I loved them and I'll definitely be doing them again in the colder months. I've heard a lot of fuss about Twist n Curl on the Hair Boards esp CurlyNikki and I couldn't wait to try it.


Right now, I'm sitting with perm rods in my hair and I'm itching to see how it turned out. Here's what I did:

• Washed twice with Luster's Pink Oil Conditioning Shampoo and 1/4 cup of baking soda - I've heard that adding baking soda to your regular shampoo turns it into a great clarifier, which is what I needed after wearing the braids for 4 weeks. Also won't be using Pink Oil shampoo again because it's got Sodium Laureth Sulphate in and they are sooo bad for your hair.


• Deep Conditioned with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner for 1 hour (no heat) - I absolutely love this conditioner!!! It's awesome! I use it on my daughter's hair and her hair is so soft and manageable. It made my hair much easier to detangle.


• Detangled with Wide Toothed Comb - OMG My hair was such a mess of knots and breakage - there was enough hair for a small mammal sitting on the side of the bath tub when I was done detangling.


• Rinsed and blotted with towel


• Sprayed in Aphogee ProVitamin Leave-In Conditioner


• Rubbed in Kids Organics Shea Butter+EVOO Detangler Moisturizing Hair Lotion (it's my daughter's) and did a final detangle - the comb was just running through at this point. Everyone raves about Shea Butter on YouTube and the Hair Boards so I'm definitely buying some in bulk and mixing up a batch of Purpleola's Special Shea Butter (hehehe) - I don't know what I'll put it yet though. I'll keep you updated.


• Rubbed in some Oils - Wild Hair Growth and Wonder 8 Oil - just some stuff I had laying about the house, which I may or may not use again.


• Parted into 4 sections


• Did a bunch 2 strand twists in each section with KeraCare Curling Wax- I had to trim my hair (each twist) because that's how I plan to transition without really doing the BC and my ends looked so ragged it was embarssing.


• Curled each twist on perm rods till it was all done


• Tied a satin scarf on it and went to bed

Shuantae1's video was my inspiration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8X8xtcOdgA

It took a while because in the midst of it all, my duaghter wanted me to twist her hair and made sure I used some wax - "Mommy do it hair?" (while holding up the tub of wax to me) - she's going to rock a twist-out to church today.

So that's it. I'm excited to see what it'll look like and I'll add some pictures to this post and show the results real soon.

xxMwuahxx