My 2013 Fall/Winter Protective Style - Full Sew In (Selecting the Hair)

Tailgating at NC Central's Homecoming

You may or may not remember but my last professional style was for my birthday last year (November 2012) , when my stylist, Taji, created this amazing soft updo look for my my birthday and UNC Homecoming weekend.

Since then, other than going in for my regular trims, I have been styling my hair.  Needless to say, I And  my hair was in need for a break.  I decided it was time for another sew in.

I definitely wanted a curly look with virgin human hair so it could be reused.  I did not want to have to invest a whole lot into the hair.  One of my friends told me about buying human hair wholesale and so I checked out dhgate.com.  On there I found a store called "wiginchina".  I bought from this company for several reasons:

1. They had 641 transactions which meant to me they had been in business for a while.

2. They were categorized as a top merchant on dhgate.  This is their highest ranking.  

3.  They had 94.4% positive rating.  I read some of their ratings and they were about the quality of the hair and so I decided to buy.

Order:  100% Brazilian curly virgin hair in lengths, (2) 12", (1) 14", and (2) 16"

Shipping:  Quick.  I ordered on a Friday and received the hair on the following Wednesday.

Bundles.  The bundles were packaged in clear plastic sleeves with the lengths marked & each bundle had a thin mesh netting around it.

Here are pictures of the hair before it had been washed. All I did was run my fingers through the 16' bundle so you could see the difference when the hair had been frizzed out some verses how it comes packaged.  You can see here that the hair is a "natural brown" color.  You can also see how curly the ends are.

Then I co-washed the hair.  I used Tressemme Natural's Conditioner & detangled with a wide tooth comb & hung the hair to dry.

After co-washing

See how curly the ends are?  Gorgeous!

The next two pictures are showing the length of a the 16" bundle.  The track was longer on the 12 inch bundles and decreased as the length of the hair increased.  You can also see the density of the hair here as well.

Hair Hanging to Dry

Showing Length of the hair

My stylist used all 4 bundles of the hair in my sew in, creating a very full install. She left a little bit of my hair out so I could do a center part and an invisible part to the left of my crown in case I wanted to do an natural fall to the right.  You can see my center part here.  I have 2 strand twisted my leave out in the front.  The first picture shows the hair with no styling product.   Where I'm pointing on the left shows the side misted with water and styling mousse applied.  The 2nd shows it after the whole head had been completed.

  

 I will share what products I am using on this hair as well as provide a preliminary review of the hair in my next update post.

My Coil Out Results - 2.5 Years Natural

Before - Finger Coils

After - Coil Out

Yesterday morning I decided to uncoil my hair.  If you follow me on Instagram, I posted that my coils were getting a little frizzy and my roots were puffing a little after a college move in day + 100 degree heat whew.  Since my hair was coiled very tightly all the way to the ends, I misted my ends with water to reactivate the gel and create a little slip & coated my hands with coconut oil as I pulled the coils apart.  It results in fuller coily hair with lots of movement.  I have a little frizz but I like that effect.  Here are a few shots of my final results!  I love it!

If you've never done a coil out check out this video below.  She made her coils a lot larger than mine but you will see the technique used to uncoil the hair.

Revisiting Comb Coils on My Natural Hair

After advising Christyn to try out finger coils on her hair and seeing the below video, I really wanted to try coils on my hair again.

This time I made a few modifications to who I styled my coils.  I did as the video suggested and kept my hair soaking wet & soaked with gel.  The difference was instead of using my fingers, I used a rattail comb to style my coils.  In the past, my roots were never coiled tightly enough and would puff up before I wanted. I used my Koils by Nature Herbal Styling Gel on freshly shampooed and conditioned hair.  I used Giovanni Direct Leave In for my leave in conditioner and sealed with organic coconut oil.  This style took about 5 hours to complete.  I did the front half of my hair on Friday night and styled the 2nd half of my hair Saturday morning. I maintain the style by sleeping on my silk pillowcase and just shaking my hair to loosen the curls.  

Check out my finished results!

Aug 2013 on medium length hair

Shrinkage!

Flash back pics from my previous attempts at coils.  I think this is my best set yet!

Sept 2012 on mid length afro

Sept 2012 on mid-length afro

Feb 2010 on TWA

Feb 2010 on TWA

Christyn Big Chops!

I've known Christyn for a while and she's always had beautiful long locs.  Well, last year she decided to cut off her locs and start a loose natural journey and she is finding her way through styling!  After wearing her hair cut very closely for a few months, she decided to let her hair grow and venture into attempting some loose natural styles!  This week was her first attempt at finger coils and coil out.  I think for a very first time she did an AMAZING job!  Go Christyn! Check out the photos below.  Also, this was her birthday week.  Wish her a happy birthday and leave her some encouraging words below!

Finger Coils under way!  You can see her TWA length on top.

Finger Coils All Done!

Coil Out in the Back!

Coil out Close Up in Front

Happy Birthday Christyn!!!  Looking Good!

Curly Flat Twist Out on Natural Hair

One of the things that I'm finding out with my natural hair journey is really that technique & understanding YOUR hair texture is the key.  After my hair trim I decided to do a flat twist out on hair & set it with rollers on the ends.

A couple of things happened that challenged this style.  (1) I finished the style at 1 am & went to bed while it was still wet.  (2) It didn't dry all the way by morning & I was trying to get to church.  I had to undo the twists & sit under the hooded dryer to get it to dry before fluffing.    This was the result.   My hair was very defined, which I loved, but I had no curls on the ends even though I slept in the rollers.

This week I saw this video.

The thing I noticed she did differently was that she didn't twist all the way to the ends.  So  I flat twisted my hair again during the day a 2 weeks later, let it air dry in addition to 15 mins under the hooded dryer and got this result.

I loved both twistout results but really like the 2nd one best.  I didn't get disappointed that my hair didn't look exactly like the girl in the video.  I appreciated the styling tip for a different look & will try it again.  Plus these were both successful flat twistouts!  I'm going to continue to practice flat twistouts because I love the additional definition it creates all the way too the root!

Which do you like best?  What styles had you previously given up on that you've finally mastered?

Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner - My Favorite for the Summer!

Let me explain why I love this leave in conditioner:  there are so many reasons!

• It's rich - this leave in conditioner is rich with oils & natural botanicals which helps with my thirsty strands
• It's very moisturizing - it helps to retain moisture in my hair for a couple days at a time
• It doesn't have glycerin in it - glycerin is found in many leave in conditioners & that's fine except for when it's extremely humid & you're trying to keep defined styles.  Glycerin is a humectant and draws moisture into your hair, which equals swelling of the hair & poof.
• I can use it as a daily moisturizer - with some moisturizers my hair feels good at night when I'm adding it, but in the morning it feels dry.  This moisturizer packs a punch to keep my hair feeling great the next day.
• Price point is super reasonable - It's between $7 - $8 in my local brick & mortar stores
• It reactives my definition when retwisting my hair!

3 day old twist out - refreshed with just Giovanni Direct Leave In

Ingredients:  Aqua (Purified Water), Cetyl Alcohol, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B5) Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Natural Fragrance, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Extract, Aloe Barbadenisi (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Betula Alba Extract, Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) Extrac, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Equisetum Arvense Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavendar) Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Salvia Sclarea (Clary) Extract, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract, Tussilago Farfara (Coltsfoot) Flower Extract, Urtical Dioica (Nettle) Extract.

What is your leave in conditioner of choice for the summer months?  Do you have a favorite?  Share!

Wash & Go Variation For A Springtime Evening Out

Well, it looks like Spring is finally ready to arrive with warm temperatures!!!  *insert happy dance*  This weekend in NC, it was in the 60's and this week will bring a week's worth of 70 degree temperatures.  Now we can wear our cute, flirty, flowing, colorful outfits.  Along with that comes carefree, fun hairstyles.  Around this time last year I had a date for a comedy show and created a very fun look that was easy to achieve.

To achieve this look:

• After cleansing and moisturizing I slicked back the front of hair with Argon Oil Ecostyler Gel
• Then I smoothed back the front of my hair with the side of my brush (not the direct bristles) 
• I used bobbypins to secure my hair just beyond the crest of my head
• I applied Koils by Nature Herbal Curl Defining Gel in an attempt to define my curls but this gel is just not heavy enough to provide curl definition to my texture I still liked the results though
• For a more island look, I attached a hot pink flower to my hair
• As my hair dried, I used a pic to shape my hair.  (Funny story, I was asked if this was my real hair.  Yes it is!)
• The outfit I wore was a Grecian style one shoulder tunic with black leggings. I wore 4 inch strappy heels. 

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT UPDATE: Return of the Curls "Curls Gone Wild" Hair Show & Natural Hair Expo & Tweet Chat!

I am so excited to announce that Return of The Curls will be bringing their Curls Gone Wild Natural Hair Expo & Hair Show to North Carolina!  Last year, the event was hosted in Virginia and featured guests such as celebrity natural hair stylist, Felicia Leatherwood, vloggers Jenelle of Kinky Curly Koily Me! & Nina of BeautifulBrownBabydoll & founder & creator of Jessicurl, Jessica McGuinty.  This year's event has been expanded to 2 cities & states of which Greensboro, NC is one!  Other Return of the Curls events will be held in:

• May 4 &5 2013 Richmond International Raceway Richmond, VA

No matter which location you attend, you can expect on site consultations from stylists that specialize in curly hair, product giveaways, hair shows, workshops & vendors!  What's so exciting is that in North Carolina we will have NC's own, Curly Nikki of www.curlynikki.com  & recently published curly girl guidebook Better Than Good Hair!

I am honored to be partnering with Keenya Kelly and her amazing team to share the news about the Return of the Curls events this year.  Look for more posts about details for these Expos as they develop!

MORE BIG NEWS AFTER THE BREAK!!

Updated Perm Rod Set

During my natural hair journey, I have done several perm rod sets on my hair.  I did this one on my twa and I loved the results.  I used Jane Carter's Wrap & Roll to set my hair.

Then in December 2012, I did this perm rod set using Qhemet Biologics & Taji's Aloe Jelly to style my hair on the perm rods.  In both cases, the style lasted about a day because the hold was so soft and because of humidity.

This time because I understand my hair a little better, I used different products for my perm rod set.  First, I understand that my hair has high porosity which means it loves moisture.  This is detrimental to any sort of smooth curly style.  So to minimize some of this, I used Giovanni's Direct Moisture Leave-In Conditioner instead of my usual Koils by Nature Shealoe leave in.  The KBN leave in has glycerin which is a humectant meaning it draws moisture to the hair so eliminating this helped to maintain my style longer.  Then I used the Koils by Nature Herbal Gel to set the style.  Another thing that I did differently with maintaining this style was to sleep on a satin pillowcase instead of putting a satin bonnet on my head.  The satin bonnet tended to just mash my curls down.

Want to see what my new & improved technique looks like?  Check it out after the break!