Marley Hair Faux Hawk Updo - Protective Style

I posted the above picture on Instagram last week.  I was at my godsister's high school graduation and it was extremely hot that day.  I knew if I wore a loose hairstyle, the heat & humidity would cause it to swell, poof, & frizz on a special day where I wanted my hair to be a little more predictable finishing than documenting.  LOL!  The tip that I will give you is to watch the beginning where daneteb shows how she tucks & pins her hair and focus on the technique not necessarily the exact placement of her Marley hair.  I knew I had to wear an updo.  I searched Youtube to find a tutorial and found the one below.  It was my intention to recreate the style and do a step by step tutorial but between time & effort to create the style, I became more focused on finishing the style.

Here are some other shots of the style.  I used a pack and a half of Marley hair to create this style and I wore it for a week.

I loved it so much that I think I'll recreate this again for another event that I'm going to later this summer! Let me know what you think of my version of the style?  Is it pretty close?  

Natural Hair Protective Style: Buns!

As is usually the case during this time of year, I wanted to give myself a break from styling my hair daily.  I typically  get a braided updo style but with my increasing length, I decided to try styling my hair in a series of buns!  I wore the following 3 buns over the course of 3 weeks. I loved the break, my hair stayed moisturized and protected, and I looked very chic with each style!  I can see me returning to buns for a quick style alternative throughout my hair journey.

Prep

Before setting each bun, I shampooed my hair, deep conditioned, & applied my leave in.  I then sealed the moisture with coconut oil & applied a moisturizer.  I smoothed my hair back with Koils by Nature Herbal Gel for each style.  I pulled my hair into a ponytail and 2 strand twisted the loose hair into 4 twists & then rolled and bobbypinned the ends down.

Bun #1  - Marley Hair Bun

I used Marley hair to achieve this bun.  I received my inspiration for this style from Jouelzy from Youtube's Empress Bun.  Her's is larger than mine but I followed the same concept. 

Bun #2 - Low Side Bun with Side Part

For the next week, I decided to change it up and create a low side bun.  This time instead of using Marley hair, I used regular braiding hair and bobby pinned it around my ponytail.

Bun # 3 - Bun with Center Part

First of all do you see those waves?!  LOL!  I used the same braiding hair for this bun as well.

Maintenance

I tied my hair down each night with a satin scarf.  In the morning, I would rub coconut oil over my hair for sheen.  If my edges needed to be slicked mid week I would add the Curls Paste to smooth them down.  

I loved these options!  What is your favorite protective style?

Natural Hair Protective Style: My Take on The TrendySocialite's Her Royal Flyness

After my success doing my first Marly hair protective style, I decided to try my hand at another. This one was inspired by Youtube's TrendySocialite's "Her Royal Flyness" protective style.

For this style you will need a rat tailed comb, a holding gel, 1 pack of Marley braiding hair, 2 small Ouchless ponytail holders, and hair pins.  This style was done on freshly shampooed, conditioned & detangled hair.  My leave in conditioner had already been applied and I had sealed with an oil.

Here is my pictorial tutorial:

 Step 1:  Part your hair from ear to ear.  Add holding gel to smooth your hair into 2 buns and then secure with Ouchless ponytail holders.

Step 2:  Take 1 pack of Marley hair split the hair in half.  Slide a rubber band to the middle of the length such that you have 2 equal halves on each side of the rubber band for each 1/2 bundle. Wrap1 bundle around the rubber band around your bottom bun. Wrap the other bundle around your top bun.  Group the "hair" strands together on each half and create 1 extra large two strand twist with the Marley hair.  Secure the end with a rubber band to keep from unraveling.




Step 3:  Wrap your Marley hair twist attached to your bottom bun up and around your top bun in a figure 8 fashion, pinning down in the top and sides with hair pins.

Step 4:  Wrap your Marley hair twist attached to the top bun downwards in a figure 8 fashion on the opposite side pinning under the bottom bun with hair pins.  Use extra hair pins to pin where needed until you feel the style is secure.

Maintenance:  Sleep in  satin bonnet at night.  For flyaways, mist with water and apply more holding gel smoothing with your hand or a soft bristled brush.

See the video inspiration below:

Have you ever done a protective style using Marley hair?  Did you create your own or get inspiration from somewhere else?  I'm always looking for new styles so please share in the comment section below!

Natural Hair Winter Protective Style using Marley Braiding Hair

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a meetup hosted by The TrendySocialite AKA Adeea Rogers in Greenville, NC (check out her channel on Youtube by clicking here).  While there she showed us how to achieve 3 different looks with a protective style she's currently rocking.  One of the looks she demonstrated incorporated the use of Marley braiding hair.  I was in the process of looking for a protective style for this week so it was right on time.

The first look is my attempt at creating a recent hairstyle that Youtuber BlackOnyx77 posted .  I wore this style to church this past Sunday.

 Step 1.  I gelled my hair up into a high bun & secured with a Goody ouchless band.
Step 2.  Took 1 package of Marley Braiding hair and looped sections around my bun. (see video below for demonstration.)

 Step 3.  I took half of the braiding hair from each side and pulled it to the front a created a bang by stuffing a large ball of separate braiding hair (which I eventually made smaller b/c this bang was too large) underneath & wrapped the marley over top and around.  Secure the bang with bobby pins.

 Step 4:  I was running late for church so I didn't get to take a picture.  BUT take the loose hair and pull up vertically.  Take another small ball of hair for stuffing and place in front at the top of the loose hair.  Roll the loose hair forward covering the ball of stuffing to create a high bun.  Secure with bobbypins.

 Step 5.  If you can see the circle in the back, portion of the bun, that is actually "my hair" bun that started the style.  I pulled the Marley braiding hair up to cover my bun so it would blend.

Step 5.  While this above style was regal & gorgeous, it added about 4 inches of height to my already 6'1 frame.  To make it more manageable I removed the stuffing in the rear and wrapped the loose hair around "my" bun to create a bun flatter to my head.  I wore this style to work on Tuesday.  To preserve this style at night, I simply wrap a scarf around my head and under the front bang.  I reposition/shape the bang in the morning, making sure any bobypins that moved that night are secured & go!

For those of you who are like me and are visual, here are videos showing how to recreate these styles.

This is the bun I used on the 2nd style.  I may recreate this exact style using the below tutorial next week, just to change it up a little.  I'm just trying to keep my hair protected from the cold weather & well as stay fly and cute doing it!  Natural hair IS versatile!

NaturallyNita is a women's lifestyle blog.  After chronicling her natural hair journey 2.5 years ago, Nita realized that there were many other life  journeys where she could share her lesson's learned with others.  This blog focuses not only on natural hair but also health/fitness, business, finances, spiritual & personal growth. www.naturallynita.blogspot.com