Flat Twists

I know that I've been M.I.A. But I haven't really done anything to my hair. I wore the rod set for a month. Then I went back to my trusty braid out. So I finally tried something new this weekend. I had told myself that I could not flat twist since I can not cornrow. But I gave it a shot.
I did a cowash with Yes To Carrots, Then a DC with HSR and EVOO. I sprayed each section with Giovanni Leave-In and a pump of the Giovanni Mousse . I ended up with 10 twists which I let air dry over night.

I was afraid it would be a poofy mess, because it wasn't the neatest job in the world. I was wrong. I kinda love it.

My relaxed ends are terrible...

Rod Set

This vid has me wanting to do a small rod set so badly...





This chick is pretty fab. Check her blog out here.

I might give it a go this weekend. Especially if it will last for two weeks!

Hair-perimentations: Flat Twist Out

I have to be honest, I have not been feeling fierce these last couple of days.  I have been sick and rocking the same faux curly pony fro (i need to come up with a better name- it's just rodded hair pulled back with a stocking and gives the allusion of a big curly ponytail).  While bored at home and cruising the internet, catching up on my reader, I came across this video on CurlyNikki .  After watching I figured why not give it a try.  I was at home with nothing else to do, didn't feel like washing but knew I needed to do something for Friday. So I went to it. Here's what I did.

1. Took a section of hair that I would twist and combed through with my wide tooth comb.
2. Applied some shea butter to my ends.
3. Sprayed a generous amount of Giovanni Leave-In to the section.
4. Followed with a pump of Giovanni Mousse (loves this stuff, shine is undeniable)
5. Started to twist.  Refer to the video linked above for the method, but I did mine a bit tighter.
6. Applied a satin roller to the ends.
7. Repeated until I had about 6 twists. Looked a lil' something like this.  (I really need to work on my phototaking skills)

I tied down with a satin scarf and kept it moving for the rest of the day.  This morning after showering, I took each twist down being careful not to manipulate the curls too much so they wouldn't frizz.  I wasn't exactly pleased with the front (I never am), but instead of pinning back as usual, I decided to try something different.  I took a section of hair from each side and braided it back, braided the other side, then pinned them to the back together.  This is the end result.

I must say, I was a flat twist queen when I was relaxed, but hadn't really attempted since being natural.  I guess I figured it was too much work, but I must say it was pretty simple. It took no more than 20 minutes to twist and I hopefully it won't look a ham tomorrow.  When I do a braid out, it's easier for me to just rebraid at night.

Half and Half

I had been wanting to achieve the half curly/half straight look that Joan does on Girlfriends. So in these last days of my press, I decided to give it a try.

Before

During

After

I am ok with the results. I am sure it will look better as it starts to fall.

Hair-perimentation: Pony and Flex

Last night I decided to try something a little different than my normal co-wash and curlform routine.  I was talking to Miss G about a style I'd seen on maneandchic that I wanted to try which was the ponytail set.  After talking through the style and wondering if this was a way that Tracee Ellis Ross achieved some of her signature looks (my hair idol), I decided to try a variation of this style.  I figured it would save me some time and I was excited to get maximum use of the flexirods that I'd recently purchased.  So after deep conditioning with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose and co-washing with Organix Coconut Milk, I proceeded with my experiment:

1. Since I'd co-washed my hair in 4 sections, I sprayed each section with Giovanni Leave In Conditioner and combed through.
2. Rubbed a dime sized amount of Ohm Body Sweet Hair Pudding on hands and applied to each section. (goal was to smooth the sides)
3. Tied each section with an Ouchless ponytail holder.
4. Took a section (about 1/3) of the ponytail, applied a pump of Giovanni Mousse and set on flexirod.
5. Repeated until done with all 4 braids. I used 12 flexirods.
6. Sat under a hooded dryer for about 30 minutes.  (I did this since I started so late and didn't want to run the risk of waking up with wet hair.  #fail because my hair was still damp at the point where the ponytail holder had been tied.)
7. In the morning, I removed each flexirod then the ponytail holders.
8. Since my hair was still damp ( :(  ), I ended up pulling it back into a messy, curly poof with my go-to cut up stocking turned hair band.

 Although the end result was not exactly what I expected (mainly b/c my hair wasnt completely dry), I still think the results were decent.  While this may not be my go-to style, I will definitely keep this in my back pocket.  However, it was quick and did a good job of stretching out my hair.  I am sure I'll try this again in the near future.

Something New

I tried something new with my hair this weekend. I did my normal deep and cowash. But then I set my plaits on the grey rods that I recently purchased.

Pros:

• Extremely quick. Since I only purchased 10 rods I only did 10 plaits.
• Very defined

Cons:

• Took forever to dry. I was finished setting it around 6:30pm on Sunday. I let it air dry until Monday at 9am. At this point I could feel moisture just by touching the roded plaits. So I sat under the hairdryer for 1 hour. My hair was STILL not completely dry. Luckily I didn't anywhere to go. So I pin curled the plaits for the remainder of the day.
• Tighter curls than I would have liked (negative hang time). This may be due to it being roded/pin curled for 2 days.

Summary: Not worth the drying time. I should only try this on a dry braid out.

Rod Results

I look, I feel, I smell like money....

I'll never have a bad hair day again with these in my back pocket.

Dry Rod Set

It's been 5 days since I curlformed. And lets just say the curly fro was getting a little to fro for me. So my original thoughts were to dry braid tonight and keep it moving. But while at work I realized I had misplaced (not so much) my satin pillow case. On top of the fact that I had a 15% off Sally coupon burning a whole in my purse, all signs pointed to a beauty store run. Of course I never walk out with just one item. I did almost run out of curlformers last week, so hey I'll take a pack of those. Then I saw the Flexi Rods. My girl Tracy has been having wonderful results from her rod sets, and I secretly wanted to try them anyway. So....you know I bought some.

It was then kid on Christmas day ish. I had to use them tonight. So I separated my hair, added about 5 sprays of Giovanni Leave In, a pump of mousse, and then roded. I used one pack of rods, resulting in 10 sections.

We'll see what the morning brings.

Curlformer part II

Ok, so I gave the ol curlformers another chance. Well, I was determined to pull it off actually. I was not about to let them get the best of me again. So on a recent snow day I decided to just take my time and get r done. It took about 3 hours from co wash to finish. I did stop for a snack break though.

I did an overnight DT with Honeysuckle Rose and EVOO. The next morning I did my normal co-wash with HEHH. Then I got down to business. I combined my back sections ( I co wash in 4 sections), and began to tackle it in rows. I separated the rows into medium sized boxes. I sprayed each box with my leave in mixture, slathered on one pump of Mousse then finally curlformed.

I know it sounds convoluted. But it worked.

Day 1

Day 3

Day 5

Bad Hair Day Remix

Last week was rough.   The 12+ hour days were not conducive to me having good hair days.  I didn't have the energy or time to put into my hair.  The weather did not help with the situation either.  It was rainy and windy.  All in all I wasn't feeling too fierce.  I had lost all hope on Wednesday night after a 14 hour day and had decided that I was going to break out the emergency wig that my sister made for me.  While on the phone I started playing with my hair and wondered what it'd look like in a bun.  Didn't know how I felt about the mini bun action going on but I called Miss G for a quick consultation and I decided to just rock with it.  The top section is clipped up (I have a habit of always pulling my front back) and the back is up in a ponytail.  I wrapped a stocking leg around the pony to give it some weight, then wrapped my hair around and secured with another ouchless band.

I was quite pleased with the results and decided to rock the glasses and pearls to play up the schoolteacher look.  I got several compliments and this will definitely be a fall back style for 'bad' hair days.  (Since being natural, I find that my truly bad hair days are few and far in between)  I think I will invest in some pomade to smooth the 'kitchen'...lol.  Recently, I'd been seriously thinking of cutting my hair for my birthday (2-19 and I do accept gifts), but after my success, I don't think I want to let any go.

What's your fall back style for your not quite as good hair days?

Hair-perimentations: Dry Braid and Curl

I'm back on another no-heat challenge and hoping to last until my birthday in February.  Although some frown upon straightening, I like having the ability to switch it up and have the right to treat myself for special occasions.  It also allows me an opportunity to get my ends trimmed.  During my last 'challenge', I pretty much stuck to the same routine of co-washing twice a week on Sundays and Thursdays and setting my hair using Curlformers.  Anyone who is not a believer in Curlformers, please believe, they are great and I will not be told otherwise.  During this challenge, I want to try out other no heat required styles.  I was inspired by Curly Nikki and Miss G to try the dry braid out.

To achieve this look, I first co-washed with Organix Coconut Milk and used Herbal Essence Hello Hydration as my leave-in.  Using a solution of 1/2 Lottabody and 1/2 water, I did about 12 braids (plaits) throughout my hair, 4 in the back and 4 on each side.  I rolled the ends with 1/2 inch rollers and dried overnight.  I wore this style for the next day but wasn't exactly pleased with the results so couldn't wait to try the dry-braid.  Before attempting the dry-braid, I used a wide tooth comb to gently comb out my curls.  I was scared at first to do this for fear that I'd see a lot of hair come out, but surprisingly there wasn't much shedding beyond a typical styling session.  I then started to fingerpart my hair, apply a bit of shea butter to the ends and braid.  After finishing each braid, I was able to spray with my Lottabody solution and roll the ends with a 1'' satin covered sponge roller.  I ended up with 9 total braids. Since my roots had already been stretched, I didn't need to have as many braids and this time I wanted my waves to be wider.  The next morning, I removed the rollers, unbraided, and fluffed. 

Dry Braid Out

Unlike the wet braiding, I was quite pleased with my results.  The curls looked more natural, my hair was 'bigger', and I loved the effect of the rollers on the ends.  I will probably use this method to stretch out my co-washes to once a week since I'm back traveling now and after first setting with Curlformers.  The boo even commented that he liked the results from this better than braiding wet because it was more curly and less crinkly.  I love his honesty!