Cornrows and Twists

In this video, I decided to give the puff a rest for a week or so. I cornrowed my hair and twisted the front, middle, and ends of the cornrows. I LOVED this style on me and I will definitely continue doing this style especially to see how it looks as my hair continues to grow!!!

What do you think? 

Flat Twist and a Puff

 

Hello All, Sorry for the late posts- To keep up with me, check out my Youtube page or my Instagram Page (both @dsmileybface) for more frequent uploads/posts.

I have been so excited since doing my first puff that I cannot seem to stop doing them. In this video, I decided to do a puff with the back half of my hair and I did flat twists in the front part of my hair....I wore this style for a week and enjoyed it. Due to my hair texture, my hair dried out really quickly and I did not like how my hair was feeling, which is why the style only lasted a week. I am still working on the right products for me and my hair.

Check out the video below to see my hair style....What do you think. Yay or Nay?

Two Strand Twist n Curl Puff

At Seven Month's post, I tried to twist my hair using perm rods....The results were not exactly what I expected and I ended up putting my hair in a puff so that I could go out to the movies! Check out the video below and let me know what you think about my results.

~Danie~

Protective Style Box Braids

I decided to get my hair braided on a protective style mainly because I was traveling to London to attend my cousins wedding in addition to vacationing. I did not want to have my hair out for fear that I would not have been able to style my natural hair for the wedding.

I plan on keeping my braids in for two months- so by the end of May I will be taking them down.

Check out my video below of the braids.

Afro- 5 Months Post

In preparation of my box braids, I washed, conditioned, deep conditioned, and blow dried my hair. I used Grapeseed oil as my heat protectant and my blow dryer on the low setting. I parted my hair into four sections and made those sections even smaller while drying. I used a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair followed by my denman brush and then the wide tooth comb again used by drying my hair.

After my hair was all dried if formed an Afro. Check out the video below to see my Afro at 5 months post big chop (BC).

TWA Puff Attempt

After having my hair in two strand twists for a week, it was time to take them out. I wanted to try, or at least see what a twist out would look like. It came out fine, but not as I expected. I picked out my hair to stretch it and thought to my self: "I wonder if I can get my hair into a puff". And so went my journey....check out my video below:

My Two Strand Twist Out

I recently took out my protective style of cornrows and kinky twists and I wanted my scalp to breathe.

After taking down my style, I did a hot oil treatment with JBCO, washed my hair with Shea Moisture's Coconut and Hibiscus Shampoo and Tresemme Naturals Conditioner. I deep conditioned my hair with As I Am Hydration Elation and then proceeded to twist my hair while wet using As I Am Twist Defining Cream and As I Am Dougble Butter Cream.

My hair was kept in that style for a week and then I took my twists out because it was time for me to wash my hair and prepare for my next protective style.

The video below shows my hair as a two strand twist out. Enjoy

~Danie~

My hair journey since going natural and my thoughts

On October 7, 2012, to my surprise, I let my boyfriend big chop my hair. I wanted to know what my natural hair looked and felt like. My hair had been chemically processed since I was 5 years old so I was excited to see my hair.

After the Big Chop (BC), my hair did not curl- it did not look like other ladies who had their BC videos up on Youtube. My boyfriend told me this would happen; That my hair would not look like the other ladies because I have thick hair, bla bla bla. But once I seen my natural hair, I knew I had to embrace what I had.

I do not want to get caught up in curl typing- my hair is very tightly coiled in some places, my hair does not clump together and curl, and it shrinks A LOT when wet. I thought it would take forever for my hair to grow and I was growing impatient with my afro from October to December.

I measured my hair length every month from October to present, and my hair has been growing at a steady rate of 1/2 an inch a month. From December to March, I joined the Winter Castor Oil Challenged started by blogger and Youtuber Blakizbeautyful at Kinky Coily Curly Me and I continued with the Spring Castor Oil Challenge which ends in June where I have been applying Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) to my hair three times a week and most recently started using JBCO as my hot oil treatment.

In January, I found my hair to be long enough for me to braid so I did box braids for a month or so, followed by cornrows and kinky twists, and now I am in box braids again until about May.

In March- I was able to two strand twist my hair and I wore it that way for a week. After taking the twists outs, I was able to put my hair in a puff! My first short term goal for my natural hair. I was so excited. Then I blew out my hair and seen how big my afro was. By keeping my hair in protective styles, I was not focused on its growth- A watched pot doesn't boil right! My length checks were just to figure out my growth rate.

Since going natural, I have realized that since my hair is no longer straight/relaxed, I am more willing to try out different styles with my curl texture. I would never have wanted my hair to be so short and I would never have considered leaving my house with it that short either. But now, I live freely and am eager to try new styles!!

I still have not found the hair products that make my hair stand out- I do not even have a stand out hairstyle yet- so my journey continues.

~Danie~

Cornrows and Kinky Twists Style

It was time for me to take down my braids and I wanted to do another protective style, so I chose to do cornrows and Kinky Twists. Check out the video below:

Box Braids Update

Crochet Kinky Twists

I did it again! My mother's crochet kinky twists!

Wash Day: Kinky Curly Products

In this video, I experimented with the Kinky Curly Products- I used the Come Clean Shampoo, the Knot Today Detangler, followed by the Curling Custard- EPIC FAIL- my hair hated the curling custard to the point where I had to wash it out....here is the video anyway

One Month Post BC

I have been natural for one whole month and I am so excited to watch my hair grow. So far, I have ran into a few minor challenges regarding my TWA...

1. Dryness- After my BC, I noticed that my natural hair was pretty dry. After researching and watching youtube videos, I learned that my hair may be dry as it is still in shock of the loss of the relaxed ends. I also learned that my hair is in the healing process from all of the chemical processing my hair has gone through over the years.

2. Styles- Due to me only transitioning for four months, I only had about two inches of new growth. My hair is very tightly coiled and the shrinkage is no joke. The way the barber cut my hair, I have more hair at the front top part of my hair then in the back or the sides. While I am able to brush back the front for a tiny puff, the sides, which are so short, do not compliment this look. As a result, I have just been wearing my hair in a TWA or teenie weenie afro, without the use of any accessories.

3. Growth- Believe it or not my 1/4 of an inch of growth is a challenge. This is because all of my hair is not growing at the same rate. When I pick out my hair in the morning, my TWA likes to lean to the right. I do not pay too much attention to it as I want my hair to continue to grow out. As long as I don't start looking like Gumby, then I'm fine (LOL).

4. Products- This has been a challenge for me only because I am a product junkie and feel that I have to use every natural product in my house on my hair for every wash day. I wash my hair three times a week which has meant three different shampoos/conditioners/leave ins/gels, and whatever else I decide to put into my hair. Because my hair is still short, I have not founds the right product that has made me say "WOW, I DEFINITELY HAVE TO USE THIS AGAIN", nor have I found something to make my curls "pop" as I hear other youtuber's say. I know that this is terrible, my PJism that is, and must be corrected!

Since I gave four challenges, let me talk about the good things I like with my hair:
1. Low Maintenance- I love the fact that some water, a little oil, maybe a leave in, and my pick is all I have to do to style my hair in the morning. It takes me about 5 minutes to do my hair, which means more time to sleep!!!

2. Shower/Wash Day- I love not having to  run away from the water while I am in the shower. I have temporarily retired my shower cap and have no problem letting the water run over my hair. It is a great feeling. Washing my hair is a breeze as well!

3. My Coils/Naps- I no longer feel that the term "nappy" is negative. My hair has curl definition in some places and not others but I cannot seems to get my hands out of my hair. This gives me an opportunity to feel my texture, do scalp massages, and practice two strand twists!!!( As I am doing this blog, I just rubbed the tips of my fingers (not my nails) on my scalp and it felt so good!!!- now my hands are greasy).

4. Simplicity- My nighttime routine is just as smooth as my morning routine. At night, I'll either apply some JBCO and a shower cap for a GHE overnight, or I'll apply some leave in conditioner and don my bonet for bed.

5. Growth- Its a good feeling to see that my hair is growing. This gives me hope that I will not be in the TWA stage forever!

All in all, I am happy that I made the decision to go natural and cannot wait to see what is in stall for my hair over the next few months!!! My goal is to be able to do an afro puff by the time I am six months post BC!

Summer Go To Styles

Since having my hair trimmed on June 1, 2012, I knew that I did not want to style my hair in ways that would cause my ends to split or become damaged, so I told myself that I would try to keep my hair up and off of my shoulders until I reached APL again. Not only does wearing my hair down cause breakage and split ends, but the weather can also add to this. Since it is summer, my hair needs to be well moisturized so that the sun does not dry out my hair and my ends. Here are some pictures of styles that I have been wearing:

 Flexi Rod Set on dry hair

Banana Clip Bun

Flat Twist Out on Damp Hair

Flat Twist Out Dry

Donut Bun

What do you ladies do to your hair in the summer?

Wash Day- Roller Set

After spending four days vacationing in Cancun, I came home and felt that my hair was dry and brittle and needed a good deep condition. I washed my hair while in Cancun and let it air dry, but I did not deep condition.

Anyway, on June 28th,  I pre-poo’d overnight with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration, EVCO, sweet almond oil, a few drops of peppermint oil and jojoba oil. I sectioned my hair into four sections and applied by pre-poo which I covered with a shower cap and then my turbie twist towel before going to bed ( the pre-poo stayed on about 8 hrs). Then I had the boyfriend wash my hair with Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo followed by Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner. I detangled my hair with my wide tooth comb and then I applied my leaves ins: Sprayed Aloe Vera Juice, (I am trying to cut back on my shedding), Sprayed Aphogee Green Tea and Keratin Reconstructurizer, and applied my version of the “KimmayTube” leave in (which is Kinky Curly Knot Today, Aloe Vera Juice, Sweet Almond Oil and Coconut Oil). Then I proceeded to roll my hair with the large size rollers and sat under my hooded dryer for about an hour and a half. Once my hair was dry, I took out my rollers and applied some Frizz Ease to my hair and then wrapped my hair for the night. In the morning, I took down my wrap and bunned my hair. 

Check out my video below:

No Direct Heat Challenge (June 1st -September 1st)

Relaxer and Trim- June 2012

Micro Braids and Sew In- 6 wk update

So it has been 6 weeks since my micro braids and sew in was installed with the Janet Indi Remy wet and wavy hair and it is about that time to take down the style. The box braids in the front of my head held up well, however, my hair has grown about an inch so my hair looks old when I pull it back to style it. The box braids at the back of my head are a different story. They do not look well at all and I think it is because of all the rubbing on my shirt it has done. The braids look old and fuzzy.

The Sew In: It is clear to me that my hair has grown as I can lift my braids from my scalp. I would love to keep this hair in for another two weeks, but it will interfere with my up coming busy weekend schedules for the month of June. The weave however is a tangled mess and I have to blame myself. Initially that hair was so soft and silky that it would not stay in a ponytail. I continued to roll my hair nightly with flexi rods and one night I wrapped my hair. At night, I would use my tangle teezer or denman brush to detangle my hair before using the flexi rods.

My scalp continued to irritate me as it does when I wear a weave so I used an applicator bottle with Sweet Almond Oil and Peppermint Oil to get in between my tracks. I was careful not to have the oil land on the weave, but I noticed a few days later that the weave was oily as if the oils from my scalp were running down the length of the weave which caused the hair to tangle and knot- in my opinion.

I used Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner about a week ago to wash out the oil. I let the hair air dry about 90% and then I blow dried the hair on a low setting. It did not help the situation. My hair would look nice when I left the house for work, but my the end of the day I had a birds nest. I even tried to use steam rollers which came out nice but once again, the end of the night was a nightmare.

The hair shed so much that there was always clumps of hair in the bathroom after detangling. I would love to try this style again, but I will use a more reliable brand of hair.

So for my last week with this style, I will be bunning it up!

My next style may be a 3/4th wig until I relax on or around June 2nd.

Yaya Hair Ombre'd

So after reviewing Ms. Chanda's youtube video on how she did an Ombre to her Yaya Hair, I feel so in love with the way her hair looked that I wanted to Ombre my Yaya Hair. Check out the video below:

My Favorite Protective Style

My last relaxer was November 8, 2011; I was about 23 weeks post. Since my hair length goal is Bra Strap Length (BSL) I have to keep reminding myself to keep my ends pinned up and protected. So the hair style that I have been wearing at least once a week has been working in my favor!

The style is just two flat twists which goes into a ponytail. The ponytail is then wrapped around itself or placed into a bun. This is an easy to do, quick, heat free protective style and I love it!. Check out the video for more details.