Don't call it a comeback...

There were plenty of Crayola-colored wigs and long, silky extensions displayed at the 64th annual Bronner Bros. International Hair Show, which drew more than 60,000 stylists, hair enthusiasts and exhibitors who work with black hair this past weekend....Yet against the backdrop of energetic hip-hop music and among the booths stocked with glossy tubs of chemical relaxers, some black women went back to basics: They wore their own natural hair.

That might be seem like an unexpected trend, with music artists such as Beyonce and Nicki Minaj sporting bright wigs and extensions. Wigs, weaves and relaxers are indeed big business. In 2006, black hair care products including relaxers, shampoos and hair accessories for weaves totaled $1.8 billion, according to The Hunter-Miller Group Inc., a market research group specializing in African-American issues. But going natural, say several stylists and experts, is making a comeback. There were education sessions for women who were curious about styling their natural curls in courses titled "Innovative Styling for Natural and Locked Hair" and "The Art of Natural Hair."

Continue here.

Many people say that this natural thing is a trend that's making a comeback.  If CNN is writing articles about it, they must be on to something right?  Well maybe not, considering that CNN is headquartered in Atlanta where there are just as many natural people as relaxed so it can't help but go unnoticed.

What say you?  Do you think this is a trend that will go away or is natural hair care here to stay?

Hair Idols: Marsha Ambrosius

Fab Spirals + Volume = FIERCE

Length Check 1 2 1 2...2011 Hair Goals

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a great holiday.  Mine was action packed, but I'll save that for another day.  In preparation for going home for Christmas, I wanted to get my hair done.  Not only had I had my weave in for almost 10 weeks, but I hadn't had my hair trimmed or straightened (for real) in like 8+ months so I was anxious to see my hair and check progress.  It was an interesting process to say the least....

After the beast (the weave) was set free

Banging curls

"Stretched"

Excuse me while I feel myself...lol

but I was very pleased with the results. I was a bit nervous since I hadn't had a trim in so long, but my hair has made great progress and there wasn't a bunch of hair on the floor.  Now that it's a new year, I feel like I should set some goals and have something to work towards.  My goal for the year is to be bra strap length (BSL).  The longest layer of my hair is at armpit length (APL), so I don't think this is unachievable.  Maybe I can even get beyond that, although I think I'll be over it by then, but we'll see. 

What are your hair plans for 2011?  Do you have any specific goals?  If so, please share.

Stay Fierce!

So...I Big Chopped

As of November 23, 2010 your girl is officially natural. Yes, I finally ended my 18 month transition and I did it without losing my sanity in the process.

Ruff and tough with my afro puff

Twist and Curl

I heart my roots

Curlformer set

Curlform Fro

Dry Bantu

Bunnin'

So, what's new?

• I am now washing my hair biweekly, with dry styling as needed in between.
• I am using Karen's Body Beautiful products (review to come).
• I will not press my hair out until June 2011, which will be one year without heat.
• I have as much as 8 inches in some spots. My goal for the June press is 12. This will take me to just above apl.

I think that's about it. I missed you guys. Toots and I have to do better.

Wedding Hair

The wedding has been come and gone and many people have asked for a post on my wedding hair.  Since it seems like Miss G is never going to write again (she has much to update us on), I figured I might as well step up to the plate. 

As the wedding was approaching, I could not figure out how I wanted to wear my hair.  I knew I didn't want to wear it straight or weaved down my back.  I was thinking of going with just a regular bun, but came across this picture on the net.

It was perfect!  It was chic and textured and would look perfect with my birdcage veil and fascinator.  I sent to my hairdresser so she could mentally prepare for the trial run.  On the day of the trial run, I brought my veil to see how it would all look.  She did some flat twists, I sat under the dryer for at least 2 hour and my hair still wasn't completely dry.  At this time, I'm thinking that this wasn't going to work because I didn't not 4 hours to spend in the salon on my wedding day.  Nonetheless, this was the result of the trial run.

Not 100% in love, but it was getting there- I could see my vision coming together.  On the day of the wedding, it all come together and in under 3 hours!  Here is the final product.  

 What do you think?

Should I BC?

I know I have been neglecting you guys with hair updates. But there hasn't been much going on. I have been weaved for 8 weeks now. The break from Sunday hair days has been great. Now I am officially missing my hair.

I'm shooting to BC in the later part of November which will be 17+ months of transitioning. I plan to let my mom do it. You put the perm in, you cut it out. LOL. But am I ready? Since I plan to keep my weave for another 3 weeks, and my edges are mostly natural, I will use those to help me decide.

Soaking Wet

Added a little Giovanni gelto see what my wash and go may look like.

Twisted and stretched

Shrunk

Do I have enough growth to BC?

Quasi Length Check

So this past wash day, I decided to switch it up a bit.  I'd been rocking the braid outs faithfully and they'd been giving me great results, but I just wanted something different.  I've gone about 5 months without heat and I was ready to see my hair.  Anyway, I decided (with no help from Miss G) to put my hair in 6 ponytails, roll with large rollers and sit under the dryer.  Not sure what my plan would be after this, but I went for it anyway.  So after 1 hour and 45 minutes, I couldn't take it anymore.  I took one of the ponytails down (that still wasn't dry) to do a fake length check.  I say fake because my hair still wasn't completely dry.  This is what I got:

 Check me out, medium hair don't care

 The next morning after sleeping with all my hair in one big pony (I still hadn't figured out what I wanted to do with it, so I just went to sleep), I took it down just to see what I was working with. 

Let me find out I have some hair...

My hair has gotten a lot longer since straightening it for our engagement pics in April and my ends aren't terrible.  Another thing I notice is that my hair has gotten a lot more dense since even 6 months ago.  I still haven't decided if I'm going to get my hair professionally straightened before the wedding, but when I do, I will definitely post pics.

Hair Idols: Corinne Bailey Rae

#allFIERCEeverything

Better late than never- Curlformer Results

So, a long time ago..a reader asked Miss G if her curlformers would come out the same for someone who's all natural?  Miss G asked me to post a picture of what my hair looks like when I remove my curlformers since I have no (read: little or neglible) relaxer left.  I recently took my senegalese twists out and have since been back to styling my hair so of course I had to do one of my reliable curlformer sets.  Here are my results:

Before using the curlformers, I did a DC on dry hair using Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose for about 2 hrs and then I co-washed with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration.  (I love that stuff)  I used more of the HEHH as a leave-in (not a ton) and used Giovanni Natural Mousse to set.  I slept with them in overnight.  When I finally took these out, these were the results.  I hadn't done them in a while so I didn't know what to expect, but I was extremely pleased.  My hair was super soft and I think that was due to my 2 hr DC.  They lasted for about 3 days, but that's because I wanted to finally try out a dry bantu knot out.  (I'll post pics soon, I promise)  I'm sure I could've gotten at least another day or 2 out of them especially if I remixed by pinning up.  In summary, my love affair with curlformers continues and I believe that most anyone, from transitioning to completely natural can use them.

Happy Curlforming!

Mini Chop

So... I got a hair cut this weekend. It was much needed. It's been four months since my last trim. Toots kept saying that I should wait till after her wedding to cut. But by then I'll be ready to cut again. My no heat regimen and prenatal vitamins really have my hair growing like weeds (not a complaint).

The day before

Stylist begins the chop...

Hopefully, after one more chop I will be all natural! Then the real fun begins.

Weather Burn Out

So...I am boycotting washing my hair. I curlformed last week, and since I am getting pressed and trimmed this weekend, I was determined to make my hair last for two weeks. So by Tuesday night, I had already done two dry rod sets and wanted something new. I decided to do a dry bantu knot out. I was also out of Giovanni mousse and copped some DevaCurl Set It Free as a replacement.

It started post work out...

With this weather I can not keep a style. I woke up this morning with zero definition. So I did a phony pony. No thanks to Toots who was supposed to show me how...

I'm not used to my hair falling apart in a day or two. Help. Is anyone else having this issue?

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...

Happy Anniversary Miss G!

Congrats on making it a full year without falling back on the creamy crack.  Doesn't it feel good?  I'm proud of you.  It seems so much longer.  Keep up the good work. 

Sidenote:  I've been MIA, as has Miss G, but I'm gonna get back on it.  I was feeling the urge to cut my hair which would've been bad for the wedding stuff, so I got some Senegalese twists.  I love them.  It feels good to not have to do my hair, but I do miss doing my hair.  Anyway, I'll figure out something to post real soon now.  

Red Rod Set

Remember when I posted the vid about the rod set a few weeks ago? Well I tried it.

Since I knew it would take forever to rod my hair, I cowashed the night before. I did a DC overnight. The next morning I rinsed out the DC and went to work.

2 hours and 80 rods later...

Day 1 (I did not attempt to pull them apart at all. I just rocked out)

Day 3 (slightly pulled)

Day 5 (Fully pulled apart)

Day 10 (yes, you read right)

I plan to keep the party going until my wash day on Sunday. So I actually maintained the style for two whole weeks. This is huge people. All I did was sleep in the satin bonnet. In the morning I would moisturize with jojoba or coconut oil. I would shake and pull on the curls to help them pop back out.