How To Style Natural Hair Without Breaking The Ends: While Straightened

Natural Hair While Heat Straightened

Fun, Fun, Fun with my Blow Dryer, Flat Iron, and eventually straightened out coils. I enjoyed the two weeks, and tried to keep manipulation to a minimal. Here's a Few Tips on Avoiding Breakage While your hair is Straight:

1) Make sure your ends are moisturized properly. While heat straightened, it's not wise to use water moisturizer, so I used Butter Based moisturizer, mixed with oils. Any time I felt I needed to, I would just add some avocado oil to my ends.

2) Minimize combing, even though it's tempting. Try to smoothe with your hands, fingers. I know the hair can't be wrapped without comb/brush, so that's unavoidable. Just keep it moist if you must wrap.

3) Combing/Brushing hair over a light colored surface will enable you to see if any hair ends are breaking. You'll also get to monitor the amount of shed hair. This is a great way to know if you need to amp up your moisturizing! I used my Vanity Table Top. I saw no breakage (Yayyy)!

4) Do styling that doesn't require combing through the ends. Bantu Knots were great! Just grab a section, moisturize, wind up, knot, then go to sleep. When I took them down in the morning, all I had to do was fluff and go! NO DAMAGE.

Moisture and Healthy Ends Show Well on Coily Hair

In the end, I did everything possible to save my ends, as that's where I will ultimately gain my length. And don't forget, that's how I'll keep my coils looking healthy and moisturized for daily wear! I hope to pick up 3 more inches of healthy hair by August 2012, which will bring me close to mid back length. Meanwhile, I'll just keep having fun thinking up sweet Summer Hairstyles for my coily girl wash n go's! See you then ;o)                   ---tia

Can Curly or Coily Hair Be Straight & Healthy? The BEST of Both Worlds

HOW TO GET HEALTHY NATURAL HAIR: AND WEAR IT HOWEVER YOU WANT!

Time for me to really share our inside information. My daughters and I love our natural hair. We love the versatility. We have so many options. Just recently, we switched roles. I usually wear my hair coily. But for the past 8 days, I've been wearing my hair flat ironed straight. I'm having so much fun with this. I haven't missed my coily hair yet, but trust me when I say that my coily hair is where my heart is. What do I mean by that? Well, it's truly a part of me, and because of that, I see the true beauty.

Natural Hair: Straight Or Curly?

 My daughter, who is often caught on the camera wearing her hair flat iron straight, is having fun with her coils! And to add to that, since she's seen my phenomenal length retention, she's decided that she will wear her coils until summer (we will see how that goes Hahah). 

As for the family secrets, I'm just going to hip you to what we've been doing to achieve "Bra Strap Length" natural hair. 

You're not going to believe this, but we just...................................

Leave it alone.

I could tell you some stuff about oils, butters, conditioners, shampoos, and yessss, that's all important, but if you ask me what the main contributor of our length retention is, I'll tell you that it's because we left our hair alone.

Meaning:

Brushing/Combing: 1x week (at most)

Washing with shampoo: Never to 1x Week  (Me: Never, T: 1xWeek)

Heat: Minimal

Styling: 1x Week

Straight or Curly? You Choose With Natural Hair

 But Let me also share what we Love To Do:

We love to mix home made concoctions. Deep conditioners with mayo, olive oil, avocado, honey, jojoba oil. We don't need to buy a deep conditioner. 

And if we need protein, we'd just add an egg or 2.

I love to add oil to my hair randomly.

I love that I don't use commercial shampoos. This is all a part of my "respect the coil" idea. 

 When we wear our hair straight or curly, we moisturize and check for breakage. When I wrap my straightened hair, I brush it over a surface where I will be able to see if my ends are breaking. Off white surface will show up any breakage.

If it's breaking, I'll know I need additional moisture. No guesswork here.

Baby girl and I had a sweet dinner date for my birthday at the melting pot. You see we don't know how to act. We are definitely playing in the smoke just to get a good picture.

 That's probably why dude came and turned down our fire. Some people just don't know how to act. LOLLOL. 

I truly appreciate our blog followers, and will be doing a birthday appreciation giveaway very soon, so keep posted, and don't forget to......................................love the curls you're in.

Happy Birthday To Me.....................

Long & Healthy Afro Textured Hair: Straight Without a Relaxer or Keratin Treatment

STRAIGHT HAIR CHEMICAL FREE

Straight Hair Without Brazilian Keratin Treatment

I saw a t-shirt recently that was advertising for the Brazilian Keratin Treatment. I guess it was from some salon Promo Event. The t-shirt said "Lose the Bush", and then it had "Brazilian Keratin" treatment on it. It showed a silhouette picture of bushy (Afro textured hair?)--with a big, red X over it. 

It only made me sad because just a few days before, I received an email from Environmental Working Group that shared information about one of the many toxic ingredients that the Keratin Treatments are said to have. The article specifically spoke of the high levels of Formaldehyde that is often found in the treatment. Browsing through the Skin Deep Database, I read up on some products that I previously used. Most of them contain numerous chemicals to be placed on the scalp by gloved hands.

I write this post only to share that I wish I knew that my hair could be straight without using harmful, sickening chemicals. My personal experience with the  relaxer has brought me into the doctors office, and then later a specialist.

Straight Hair Without Relaxer Use

 I've used many boxes of Affirm Relaxer. I know I've used my share of Dark & Lovely Relaxers. I can't even name all of the Relaxers I've used, because most hair dressers didn't bother to share that info with me.

For sure, my hair NEVER came out this lush, thick, healthy, AND LONG in all my Relaxed days.

The ends of my hair are probably so confused. They've not been in a situation where they weren't constantly breaking. My hair shaft is totally used to being thinned out (also breaking).

The purpose of this post is to share with anyone who is looking for an alternative to chemical use, but would still like to get that "Dark & Lovely" Straight, hahaha. Or even that "Soft & Beautiful" Look. To start, you're already Lovely, Beautiful, maybe even Dark like me, and hopefully Soft like most girls are LOL. 

About the straight look, if that's your signature look, then by all means---do it. It's a beautiful look (I will admit). It's just another beautiful look option that I have in my arsenal. Never before has my ponytail grown this long! Never before has my hair grown this long!                                        

Use of a blow dryer, a flat iron (purchased from the mall), and some avocado oil produced these results.  Check out Our YouTube Channel for a Tutorial on this Texture Option!

The Longest Ponytail I Ever Had!

NEW STYLING THOUGHT PROCESS FOR COILY/CURLY HAIR

NEVER GONNA CONFUSE COILY HAIR WITH STRAIGHT HAIR!

Enjoying a Sweet Coily Girl Hair Style!

For over 10 years, I've been styling straight hair. 

Straight hair 

lays flat. 

Detangles easily (for the most part), 

is comfortingly predictable, 

has shine, 

is easily parted

is easily moved around (braided, styling, etc)

is very "blow in the wind"

Curly/Coily hair:

Gets tangled easily

Is not very predictable

is hard to part

isn't easily manipulated into styling

doesn't move with the wind so much

With that in mind, I do this post about styling curly/coily hair. I had to change  my mind-set about the hairstyles that will "work" with coily hair. I kept thinking of styles that I used to do with my straight hair, and my efforts left me frustrated. I know that my coily hair won't "hang" like my straight hair used to, so I need to remember that when selecting styles that require hanging hair. ESPECIALLY AT THIS LENGTH. 

Also, I embraced my hair with the knowledge that it will "stand up" with most of my styling. I've come to love that about my hair. 

Before, my expectations left me frustrated. Once I realized what my hair is designed to do, and learned how to work with it, then it became BEAUTIFUL! The mind is a strong force. This healthy hair journey encompasses way more than the right shampoos and leave in's. It requires a "make-over" of the mind. Why did it take me so long? Especially since I've been in love with my hair from the day that I saw it in it's raw, coily state. Well, there are still some things that I'm learning, and it just so happened that my mind is still set in some of it's straight hair days.

Long Curly Hair Requires Different Styling Preparation than Straight Hair

And with that knowledge, I will use this Spring/Summer to learn new styles for my 2012 coily hair (un-stretched). Knowledge is Power.

What's My Hair Length Looking Like Now? Two Strand Twists Grow That Hair!@

My Mini/Micro Twists on Natural Hair

 2ND SET OF 2 STRAND TWISTS FOR THE NEW YEAR

 Hello Dolls! I know it's been a minute, but it's been so hectic on the home front. In an effort to not to have to deal with hair, I spent 2 days twisting up my hair!!! Yeah, 3 hours on the first day, and about 4 hours on the 2nd day. My wrist started to hurt! No joke.

Anywhoo, just popping in to share some thoughts on this whole two strand twist situation. I love them. I'm still sticking to my decision to keep them from getting wet. I let the steam from my shower work on them. So they get moisture. I also mist them in the morning or at night with a mist bottle, and then put my favorite oil of the day. For this week, I'm using hemp seed oil! 

I bought a lot of 4 different oils, and I'm learning what they do to my hair separately. Loving the hemp seed oil so far. Great for my hair and face! Softens everything and calms down any inflammations (which I have bouts of).

Comparing December's set of twists (left) to the new set (above in red top), the recent ones are way smaller (maybe even micros). I like them both! When the twists are done smaller, they stretch down longer, so that's something to consider, anyone seeking length with their twists. They also look a bit more meager (skinny). That's okay for me right now. As soon as I take these out, there's gonna be some "big hair wearing" LOL! 

Have I noticed any growth between these twists and the last set (I believe the last set was done in December and lasted until the 2nd week in January. Definitely! I'm at bra strap length now (which is hard for me because my bra strap goes pretty low LOL). I mean, in inches, I'm measuring 14'' right now. I plan to flat iron in March (just for the fun of it).

Oh, and I wanted to mention that the way that I stretched my hair for the twists, caused my ends to look the way they do (they look like they're loose). So, the stretch you do prior to your twisting will cause your twists to look a certain way. I used a failed roller set attempt (yeah, I'm still trying Hahaha), as my stretch for the twists. That means I put heat on it, but my hair still came out fuzzy. So my ends started out fuzzy, but with the use of the misting and oil, they just look like they're untwisted. My ends got jokes.

For now, I'm having fun with these, but stay tuned, some styles and texture ideas for your two strand twists soon to come.

How To Go 5 Weeks Without Hair Breakage

5 Weeks Little to No Breakage Styling:


WEEKS 1 through 3 1/2: TWO STRAND TWISTS
WEEKS 3 1/2 through 4 1/2: TWIST OUT
WEEKS 4 1/2 through 5: SPRAY N GO


Not one of these hair textures called for styling that required combing, brushing, teasing, heat, or any other form of manipulation. I did some light styling that used a few bobby pins, maybe a scrunchy, also a banana clip, but basically my ends were secured and always moisturized.

Speaking of moisturized, I had to moisturize way less when I had the two strand twists in, than I did when I had the twist out. The spray and go required a spritz daily to awaken the coils.

THE BENEFITS OF NOT WETTING MY TWO STRAND TWISTS:


1) Minimized knotting and tangles (wet hair seems to maniacally twist up on itself)
2) Last much longer, less frizz, wear and tear
3) Much easier to take down
4) Less Breakage when taking down (due to less tangles)
5) Easier to take out the shed hair when taking down
6) Twist out is almost guaranteed to look better
7) No hair shrinkage

THE PROBLEMS I HAD WHILE NOT WETTING MY TWO STRAND TWISTS:


1) Itchy Scalp (That was fixed by rubbing tea tree oil all over scalp)
2) Dry Scalp (that remained a fact)
3) I personally missed water (we're pretty close friends) 



  My twists were done on dry hair, that was previously stretched. I used Jane Carter Nourish & Shine to twist. From time to time I would allow steam from my shower to give a little "mid week moisture".  I rubbed Tea Tree Oil on my scalp every other day (or as needed). This got rid of itchy scalp, and it smelled good to (not everyone likes the smell of tea tree oil). A little goes a long way!


NIGHT TIME MAINTAIN: I didn't use a scarf, I just tied back my hair, and slept on a satin pillowcase.

How To Deal With Dry Braid Outs & Twist Outs During the Cold Winter Weather

Pulled Hair Back into Ponytail After a Disappointing Braid Out

Yesterday, I took down my 8 plaits (that were previously moisturized, mind you), to reveal a semi defined, braidout. That wasn't the bad part. I was disappointed that my hair felt dry, felt hard, and looked like it felt! I'm not even joking when I say it felt like hay (okay, maybe I haven't felt hay in a while), but it was feeling crunchy. I wish I had taken pictures with it out (shown above in high bun). I was in a rush to get out of the house, and was getting frustrated. To fix this, I could re-braid everything that night after I thoroughly moisturized, but I felt like I already used enough products the first time. Here's what I used to moisturize on day 1:


1) Spray bottle mix of 1 ounce aloe Vera gel, and 2 tablespoons of Castor oil


Later that night.....


2) Jojoba oil (generously) and re-braided only the front. Put the back portion in a low ponytail





After that, I couldn't understand why my hair stayed dry. I remembered when I had my hair in two strand twists, and how soft and moisturized they stayed during the entire 4 weeks of twists.

Two Strand Twists are the ULTIMATE Moisture Keeper!

When I had the twists, I only had to moisturize about 1 time every 2 to 3 days! I used the Jane Carter Nourish & Shine, but nothing major, just a tiny amount.

Last night I attempted to moisturize again, thinking to change my technique, and my products (slightly). I  don't like re-braiding my braid outs, mostly because I'm lazy. Secondly, I just don't like to manipulate my hair really...at all. Here's what I did differently:


1) 1 finger full of Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Mask, mixed in my hand with a squirt (not very technical) of Castor Oil. Rubbed my hands together, then rubbed this mixture into the ends of my braidout, and then moved on up nearing to the roots. I didn't section, just took the big bush of hair and applied this. 


2) Did 1 small plait at the bang area (because that went totally flat), then took the rest of my hair and did a high bun on top of my head (to let me sleep in peace without a big bulge at my neck). I tucked in the ends into the scrunchie, so that they weren't exposed. The next morning, my hair felt soft, and looked moisturized. Not just the ends, the whole body of hair. 

Keep the Moisture by Bulking Your Hair Together at Night

Braidouts, Twistouts, Winter Moisture Capture on Natural Hair

Evidently, moisturizing my hair with something "a little bit stronger", and then "bulking" my hair into a mass (while ensuring the ends were tucked in), gave me a moisturized result. I'm sure if I added a scarf or even a plastic shower cap, I would have gotten more moist results, but I'm not one for all of that LOL! I do use a satin pillowcase nightly, though.


With a little night time "tweaking", I got shine and moisture. Not much define, as I'm not one to re-braid nightly. I don't mind just using the stretch for my "big" hairstyle. LENGTH RETENTION 2012, Remember? Hahaha!! We're gonna do it ;o) Meanwhile, I'll enjoy a few braidouts, but I know I have to pile all of my hair together at night after I've moisturized with something a little "strong". 


Do you have the proper moisturizers and technique for winter braid out/ twist out wear? 


Will you even bother with braid outs or twist outs while it's cold?

Uber Defined Braid Out On Natural Hair & What Products We Used

WANT AN ULTRA DEFINED BRAIDOUT? TRY THIS..

Ultra Defined Braid Out On Natural Curly Hair

Hey All! So I promised my girl T that I could do a sweet braidout on her hair (seeings as she's not a braidout enthusiast on her hair).

What she wanted was to keep some length (you know how first day braidouts steal the length--for those of us that even care).

WHAT I DID:
1) On hair that was about 75% dry, I did corn braids. The hair was sectioned horizontally at the crown area. This way, I could do vertical corn braids of about 5 on the top section, and another 5 on the bottom section. Basically, this allows for those of us who are not that great at doing corn braids to stop halfway through before we get into problems. At the forehead area, that section was braided towards the forehead so that she could have the hair "in the face" look. She actually liked how this braidout turned out!

PRODUCTS USED:
1) Jane Carter Nourish & Shine
2) Taliah Waajid "Lock it Up"
3) Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner
4) Giovanni's L.A. Hold Hair Spritz

Braidouts Done on 80% Air Dried Hair Gives Some Length

The products you use for a ultra defined braid out will also depend on your hair texture. Looser curls will use different products for definition than tighter curls. Also, differing hair thicknesses will need different viscosity products. I will review that information in a different posting, as it will take a lot of guesswork out of styling. "Getting to Know" your hair will be the best thing for you to save time on "failed" styles.

This Braidout Had Hold Thanks to The L.A. Hold Hair Spritz by Giovanni

The Fro Hawk Styling with Two Strand Twists

TWO STRAND TWISTS, FLAT TWIST COMBO: THE FRO HAWK

Feeling in a different mood, I tested out the true versatility
of my two strand twists. Also I guess I've been "spoiled" by being able to just get up and go. And with this whole "no wash thing" I've got going (putting that tea tree oil up on the scalp for relief), I pretty much jump  at the opportunity to style my hair (only every once in a while). I see in the picture below that I missed a few twists. Oh well, that adds some authenticity.

Two Strand Twists & Flat Twist Combo: Fro Hawk Styling

 I barely just swooped each side towards the middle and then pinned down vertically to secure. Took about 5 minutes, but it definitely gave me a different look. Probably gotta re-do the flat twists once a week for that "clean" look. So Monday the 2nd of January started my 3rd week with these twists, and I haven't gotten tired of them yet. I am shocked.

My hubby called this hairstyle the predator hair style. I ain't gonna hate (although the kids said he was hating because I looked cute LOL) --those crazy kids. But yeah, I'm going to agree that this is the hair style that the predator wore (hahaha the predator didn't wear no hair style. That was his head!!). What ever! I enjoyed my predator hair.

10 Things We Love About Wash N Go's on Natural Hair

 10 Things To Love About Wash N Go's.....What do you Love About YOURS?

Wash N Go's: The Summer's Answer to Cute Hair!

When we don't have a clue what to do with our hair, we do "wash n go's" around here. I mean the for real--just wash your hair, condition and go. Sometimes we use conditioner to define our coils, and sometimes we use gel. Each time we do wash n go's for some reason they come out different. There's 3 of us here, each with totally different curl patterns, hair textures, hair densities, and hair porosity. All of that determines what our wash n go is going to look like from day one.

Each of Our Wash' N Go's Look Unique

Carefree Wash N Go On Natural Hair

I'm finding out that there are ways to do wash n go's without having to sleep with soaking wet hair. You especially don't want to sleep with wet hair in the winter. For right now, we do our wash n go's on wet to damp hair in the morning, so that by bed time, everything's dry. The wash n go is a great low manipulation styling option. You can preserve this style for on average about 3 to 4 days, while not needing to comb, brush or disturb the hair too much. Meanwhile, you are able to moisturize daily. This is a great length retention method!

Different Natural Hair Types Will Show Different Wash N Go Results

Natural Hair Wash N Go's Are Quick and Easy Styling

10 THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT WASH N GO'S

1) IT'S A QUICK AND EASY STYLE SOLUTION

2) NO ONE ELSE'S WASH N GO WILL LOOK LIKE YOURS

3) IF YOU USE CONDITIONER TO DEFINE YOUR COILS, YOUR HAIR STAYS MOISTURIZED

4) IT SHOWS WHAT YOUR HAIR DOES ON IT'S OWN ACCORD

5) EASY TO KEEP MOISTURIZED, WILL HELP TO RETAIN LENGTH

6) LOW MANIPULATION STYLING

7) IT'S SOOO CUTE!

8) EVERYBODY ASKS "HOW DO YOU GET YOUR HAIR TO DO THAT?"

9) YOU CAN WET YOUR HAIR DAILY!!

10) NO FEAR FOR THE RAIN OR HUMID WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you haven't figured out the way to do your wash n go exactly how you love it....it's okay. The fun thing about natural hair is the experiments that you can do on your hair to figure out what your hair likes. I have a technique for a wash n go on wet hair, dry hair, and damp hair. They each produce different results!

SEPTEMBER 2012 UPDATE!!

Hey Beautiful! I Recently Lost My Last STUBBORN 8 Lbs!! 

When the weight started to drop off, I was encouraged to continue my weight loss/toning routine--and document my progress. Want to hear how I lost 8 pounds in 4 weeks? Check out how I simply changed 3 habits and lost 8 pounds safely. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE FOR THIS INFO PACKED ARTICLE BY ANGELSRINGLETS on hubpages.  http://hubpages.com/topics/health/2155

Using Two Strand Twists To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Hair!!

 

You ever notice how long loc'ed hair gets--and how quickly? I think the same growth/length maintenance rules apply to two strand twists. This "low manipulation" styling is the perfect storm for length retention. Lets establish that your hair is growing. It was easy to see all of that "new growth" when your hair was relaxed! But why isn't the hair length going down my back? Mostly because of the hair ends. The hair ends have been on the head for the longest time as compared to the rest of the hair. It's been subjected to the environment (sun, wind, clothing, etc). It snags easily with each comb/brush friction. It's pretty much being beat down daily. BUT two strand twists require that your ends are twisted together (forming a thicker bond). 

With this thicker bond, your ends are better equipped to sustain the environmental abuse. Also, when you wear two strand twists, you don't comb through or brush through at all during that time. If you keep the twists moisturized, alternate with protective styles, then you can pretty much be assured of seeing growth over a two month period of time. A few challenges are: 

1. Keeping them moisturized  
2. Having the patience to take down all of the twists safely  
3. Re-doing the twists again in another 2-3 weeks.

The longest I've ever kept my two strand twists in for is about 3 weeks. I co wash my hair approximately 2 times a week while I have my twists in. Once your twists are wet, they are suseptible to "loc'ing". Many people who are beginning dreadlocs often begin with two strand twists! So be watchful of your twists during the time you wear them. Watch the roots for tangling. Some two strand twist wearers "refresh" their twists on a daily basis by re-doing a section at a time. Do whatever works best for your hair.