Two Strand Twist Out Side rolls

I am continuing my protective styling routine. My twists started to look a little fuzzy. They actually did not look that bad, I just became really bored with my hair so I tooked them down. They were a little dry so I wet them in the shower and then rolled then into buns down the side.



I liked how it turned out. The texture was really nice. This protective styling is forcing me to get creative with my hair styles!

What are some ways you get creative with protective styling?

 

Protective styling

Personally I HATE protective styling. But I want my hair to grow and people on YouTube swear up and down this is the way to go. So I will do it for now. Here is a pic of my current protective style.

It is two strand twists rolled back into a bun and secured with a comb. BORING! Actually, not that boring. The thing about protective styling is that you have to do it a lot it seems. So I am going to make a compromise. I will protective style during the week and on the weekends I will wear my hair out.

I have also added a few new things to my hair regimen

1. I will finger comb from now on when detangling myhair for the weekely wash.
2.  I will re moisturize (meaning wet) my hair every 3 days.
3. I will start using grease and water. I know it is old school, but I hear it works pretty well.
4. I will start using kimmaytube leave in conitioner when I get all the ingredients in.
5. I will deep condition every 2 weeks.

Wigs are still a protective styling option for me. I am still in love with finger comber and that is usually what I wear on the weekends if I am going to a special event. I currently also have Creta Girl by Freetress, I will do a review on it soon. I have also discovered a new hair weave line called the Heat Free Hair Movement. But they are busting heads on the price. One pack is $139 for the 12". And you need two to do your hair. Now, the hair is fiyah, but, I don't have that kind of money right now lol. They are also tripping cause I can't copy and paste a pic here to show you the hair. I don't understand why companies do that. It is free advertsement. Anyway click here to see the hair.

How do you all feel about protective styling? Is it something you love to do or a necessary evil?

Prom updo: Flat twist updo on natural hair

Hello! Currently my hair is about 6.5 to 7 inches. I am very excited about the length I have retained. By the end of the year it should be 10 inches or more. 

This is a hairstyle that I had for prom. I work at a high school so I was a chaperon. I should have done a tutorial or pics while it was being created...oh well. Maybe next time lol. 

My prom date

Caleb the cutie. He likes possums. And taking other folks food. 

So the style was very easy to achieve. Basically you just flat twist your to the center and then twist the center up towards the top and secure.  At the top I did individual two strand twists and wrapped it around some old braid hair to achieve the hump. I secured with hair pins...that is it! It took about an hour to twist.

This hairstyle did not stay in past two days. On the Sunday after prom I went swing dancing and people kept hitting my hair and the braid hair kept peeking through. So I just took the whole thing down and
cowashed my hair cause it was itching.

Until next time!!!!

Black Folk, White Folk, and Hair

I work at a high school. At first I was a little apprehensive about wearing a huge afro. I was like, "Is this gonna be considered not professional?' But then I was like, you know what, if my hair was this long in real life, this is how it would be. It grows up, not down. If I am cool with it, others will be too.

Well, that is what I told myself anyways.

So I walk into the school and I see several white coworkers:

"OMG! I loooove your hair!"
  "I wish my hair could do that!"
"Whooo hoooo! Tina Turner! I like it!!"

This is the reaction from black folk:

General laughter.
"You don't know what you want to do with your hair."
"What is this?"
*black power fist in the air*
*prodding and poking of my hair * (which I hate!!!)


To be fair a few black folk did say that they liked it...mostly men lol.

 And my new hair did spark some convos with co workers about natural hair vs straight hair and hair looking "nice" or "in control".

I think the issue is that my hair is "out of control", untamed, wild, up in the hair, big, free formed, just...there. And this makes some black folk uncomfortable. Oh well.

First Few Days with Finger Comber

What can I say??? I love it! This has been my everyday style since I received it. Though I love the wig, it is not perfect. Here are the issue I have with it.

1. No comb! Though there is a bra strap band thingy that makes it feel a little more secure, I still wish it had combs.

2. The color is a little to dark for my natural hair. I have put a black rinse in my hair, and it still does not match. This wig is jet black. Make sure you get you correct color.


There is actually a new wig on the website which I am interested in, but it is sold out.... here is a pic:

You can find this one at www.fingercomber.com when they get back in stock.

This weekend when I have time I am looking forward to experimenting and playing around with the wig more. More pics to come!

 

UPDATE:

A few more looks with Finger Comber are here.

Finger Comber Wig is Here!

I finally ordered and have my fingercomber wig. I loooooove it!  A better review to come.

Here is a sneak peek.

If you want to order go to www.fingercomber.com. 

Happy Halloween + 3 Strand Twist

Happay Halloween! This is my fave holiday! I dressed up as some sort of wild cat. I have one a leopard print dress.

I think my boss is cool with it. Oh well!

I also did a three strad twist out on my hair. I have mixed feelings about it. For one, my hair is still not that long. I feel that it would have looked better if I had longer hair. 3 strand twists results in really defined curls. Next,  It took about twice as long as a regular two strand twists. Last I was at my BF house when I woke up and I did not have all the proper hair tools so maybe I could have done something else with it if I had been at home. At any rate, this is my Halloween look. You can see a vid on how to do a three strand twists below.

Have a great day!

I Felt Like Cooking

So I am off work. I have a little more free time than normal. So I decided to go grocery shopping and cook. I was quickly reminded why I don't cook that much. I don't mind cooking. I love cooking. I hate cleaning up. That is why I usually cook at my BF house. He cleans up (usually).

Today I made plantains, coconut rice, and spinach seasoned with thyme and garlic, salt and pepper. It was a simple meal but very tasty.

First I chopped half an onion, half a tomato, and one clove of garlic.

Next I sliced the plantain diagonally. This sticker was on it.  I thought it was cute!

The onions and garlic were sauteed. 

At this time I also started cooking the plantain. I used coconut oil and fried them over med heat. 

Next I added tomatoes to the onions and garlic. I also added thyme, salt and pepper,and red pepper for spice. 

I added the spinach. This is one of those pre washed spinach box thingys. It seems like a lot...

...but this is what it amounts too lol. 

Lunch is served! 

 To make the coconut rice I just put a can of coconut milk in the rice cooker instead of water. The sweetness balanced out the spiciness of the spinach. I have eaten...Now I am ready for a nap. Till next time!

Fall Weather Skin and Hair Butters

Well...it is fall. I hate cold weather. I am a tropical girl. I am always freezing.  It wreaks havoc on my skin. My skin used to be perpetually dry until I discovered the wonders of shea butter. Now winter is bearable.

I want to share a recipe I use to keep my skin from being dry in cold weather. 

The tools needed are a stove, a small pot, and a measuring cup that can be boiled. I used a pyrex cup.

 

I boiled some water and placed the cup in the water

My main ingredient is shea butter. I had a ex who ships stuff to and from Africa. He got me a whole ball of shea butter. I have had this for at least three years and only made a small dent in it.

.

 I also have various oils and butters that I use to make the shea butter more spreadable. Today I used  a little jojoba oil, almond butter, olive butter, and coconut oil. I get most of my supplies from soapgoods.com. The almond butter used is not the kind that you eat from a grocery store. It is this kind used for cosmetics. You can find and example here.

 I added the shea butter to the cup and let it melt. I added 10 oz.

When it melted I added the jojoba oil. It was not that much.

 Next I added 2 spoonfuls of almond butter.

 I added one spoonful of olive butter. I olive butter is kinda grainy so i usually don't add much of it.

 Finally I added enough coconut oil to make 2 cups of liquid. As you can see this is not an exact science lol.

 Here are my tins that I use to put the butter in. I reuse them over and over till they break. Each one can hold 8 oz.

 I use this strainer to filter the shea butter. Sometimes it had bits of I don't know what in it.

 Poured in the butter. I had a little left over so I have these tiny tins I use. They are great to take on the go. I take one if I am traveling or to work with me.

All done! In all the process took about 10 mins. You can use it while it is liquid or wait for it too harden. To make it harden faster (that's what he said) you can put it in the fridge.  If you want to add essential oils or other smell good oils I would add when the butter had cooled some otherwise it is going to burn off while the butter is hot. I usually just keep the natural smell.

This can be used on my hair and body. It works well with a twistout.

What are some hair/skin butter recipes that you use?

Dancing In The Night Away

So I have been M.I.A....

This past weekend was the Hotlanta Salsa Congress in Atlanta. My dance group Nashville Rueda had a performance. I had to mentally and physically prepare myself for it and for the weekend full of dancing. I partied till 3am + every night. Met lots of wonderful people, saw lots of old friends, got inspired, improved my dancing, and had a wonderful time.

So I am currently obsessed with this dance called Kizomba. It is from Angola and is danced to Zouk music from Martinique, Guadalupe, and Haiti. I took a few workshops from Kizomba NYC and I am working hard to bring it to Nashville. Here are a few clips from the workshops:

Her name is Annie and his name is Joel. They are Haitian.

Annie and Ivo. I think he is Brazillian but not sure.

This weekend we were going to have a perfromance in Knoxville, however, it will probably by cancelled. I had a death in my fam and a few other team members had some things going on. The next weekend we will be in ATL again for the MySalsa Festival. I am super excited. Last year the festival was super fun and this year will be even better. That was where I learned how to dance Palo and where I met the awesome Daybert. They have classes in Kizomba, Casino, and afro-cuban dance. If you are in the area you should stop by.

 When I go to ATL I will get to dance with my friends Else and Patrice from Martinique, Daybert and Lena from Florida, Chris form NY,  and all my peeps in ATL. Look for more vids to come! Maybe I will take a vid of my dancing lol.

So what do you all think of Kizomba...It is HOT right?