Protective Natural Hair Style: Flat Twist Up Do

Though we're experiencing a milder than usual winter in NC (it's 66 degrees as I'm writing this) I still want to protect my hair.  In addition, I'm increasing the frequency of my workouts and I don't want my hair to be an excuse not to go to the gym.  So I visited Taji's Natural Hair Styling for another protective style.  I was able to wear this hair style for a total of 3 weeks.

For maintenance I just spritzed my hair a couple times a week with my moisturizing mist.  I would then seal in the moisture with a light oil, which would also add a little sheen.  I would also cover my hair at night with my satin bonnet.  That was it!  Simple & easy.

Check out the pictures below.

To achieve this look, Taji flat twisted the sides of my hair from the front to the back.  Then she two strand twisted the middle.  Afterwards, she pinned the twists in the middle to create this look.

During my 3rd week wearing this style, I took out the twists in the middle and created a different updo style.

Sunday Inspiration: Vision Boards: Live Your Dreams...But First Write the Vision

 Welcome to a new feature for NaturallyNita...Sunday Inspiration.  Check back each Sunday for a post that will showcase inspirational or motivational thoughts, ideas, songs, or concepts.  Let's grow together!

At the end of each year, most people whether formally or informally take a moment to reflect on the accomplishments (or the lack thereof) of the previous year.  Most people end that reflection with this thought, "I'm going to do better at ______ next year."

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  We should all want to continue improve on ourselves year after year.  Anything that's not growing is slowing dying.  So continual growth and achievement should be applauded. The reason why New Year's resolutions are often scoffed at is because in a high percentage of cases, people don't keep their resolutions.  "I" believe that resolutions are not kept because people don't establish a plan for success. They have great intentions but no strategy for seeing it through to the end.

Vision boards became very popular after the book & movie,  The Secret  came out.  In the movie, a man talked about the vision boards that he found some 5 years after creating them and in 5 years time he had everything on the board that he had put on his vision board.   Is this some miraculous occurrence?  No. Way before The Secret, In Habakkuk 2:2 The Bible says, "And the Lord answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets so that he may run who reads it." (ASV)  When you plainly write the vision or your dreams down, you can run after them.  And when you run after your vision, you can live your dreams.

Many years ago, I created a vision board.  Many of the things on that vision board I achieved.  Still more was left to be realized.  This year I created another vision board and put the things on that board that I wanted to accomplish this year.

Here are the snap shots of that vision board and I'll let you know what they represent:

The top left corner of my dream board represents my relationship with God.  In this year, I've committed to spending more time in prayer and reading the Word of God.  I intend for my faith to grow stronger and to truly become an instrument of worship. 

The bottom left corner of my dream board represents my commitment to good health.  I intend to get those flat abs that have eluded me!  I'm committing to incorporating more fresh fruits and vegetables in my diet,  I plan to stay active, and not only do I want my body healthy, I want my hair and skin to be healthy and radiant as well!!

The top right corner of my dream board represents commitment to my business, which I haven't spoken much about on this blog.  This blog is a hobby for me.  It's fun.  In addition to my full time job, I have a business, Virtual LEAP.  This business is dedicated to small business owners and entrepreneurs and provides virtual assistant services.  We do everything from the simple letter, to market research, social media updates/campaigns, mass mailings, etc.  Last year the business was launched in August.  I ended the year with 5 clients.  My goal is to double that client base this year and greatly increase the number of billable hours per month.  You'll also note that not only are there business goals represented here but financial goals and rewards. 

The bottom right corner of my dream board represents my romantic life.  I desire to be in a healthy, mature, committed relationship this year.  This section reflects images of Black love and marriage and commitment.

The bottom center of my dream board represents vacation plans for this year!  Last year was dedicated to paying off debt which I did.  This year I want to use some of my vacation time for some fun!  The biggest vacation that I want to take this year is to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.  I also want to spend some time at the beach and I want to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial.  I would love to squeeze in another trip to visit my best friend in the San Francisco Bay area as well.

The top center of my dream board just are inspiring quotes and themes for the year.  I want to be a purpose driving Black woman.  I no longer intend on living life without pursuing the purpose for which God has set before me.  I choose joy....that is a decision every day....whether to wallow in self pity or to choose joy.  I choose the later.  God has not given me the spirit of fear and so I no longer allow it to exist in my home.  Family is always important to me...and there are other themes there that you can see.

If you've never done a dream board/vision board, I encourage you to do one.  There is nothing like having a constant reminder in front of you.  You may say you don't have the magazines to cut out the phrases that I did.  That's ok, on Oprah.com, you can create a virtual dream board for free!  For more information, click here.

So!  I've shared my dreams/vision for 2012 with you.

What are your goals for the new year?  What are your resolutions?  What steps are you taking to make sure you achieve them?  Share!

Where's NaturallyNita??

Hi everyone!  Happy New Year!  I know many of you are wondering, where in the world is Nita???  Well, I'm still here.  I took a little hiatus after the holidays to get refreshed.  I will be back in the next week with some new blog posts and an upcoming GIVEAWAY to celebrate my 1 year fully natural anniversary (December 20th) as well as my 1 year blogging anniversary (January 19th).  So if you are a visitor to my blog and not an official follower, go ahead and become a follower so that you can participant in the giveaway!  Only followers can participate!

In 2012 expect to continue to see my growth journey progress as well as more of a commitment to filling you in on my healthy lifestyle journey.  This will include my commitment to exercise and healthy eating.  I will also be providing more social/cultural commentary this year.  Last year, I purposely stayed away from this as I wanted to commit my first year to focusing on my natural hair journey, however I am much more than my hair and will be showing you more sides of me this year.  I will continue my recognizable natural feature in 2012 as well!  So much more to come this year for my blog.

Also, I'm never far away from Twitter so if you're not following me there please follow me @NaturallyNitaNC!  I do respond to tweets and I tweet daily about not only my hair but also other random happenings. 

I hope you guys are off to an awesome year!!!! 

Recognizable Natural - Willow Smith

 

In following with my feature of youth with natural hair for December, this week's feature is Willow Smith.  Yes, Ms. "Whip My Hair Back And Forth" Herself!    Willow Smith is the youngest child of Will & Jada Smith.  Often seen at red carpet events with her parents and older brother Jaden, her prepubescent years have been trademarked by two things:  her unique sense of style, and her entry into the music arena.  At just 11 years old, she has already played a role in I AM Legend and released 3 singles from an upcoming album.  Her single, "Whip My Hair" went platinum.  Even though this song would be considered what I call a "teeny-bopper" song, whenever I hear it I crank it up and whip my own hair (if it's loose).  Word on the street is that her next single "Fireball" will have a Nicki Minaj feature.  Can you imagine the hairstyles that will be showcased in that video?

One of the things that highlights Willow's style is her hair.  Her parents drew a little side eyed criticism when they allowed her to shave on side of her head a few years ago.  Willow however (and I'm sure her team of stylists) have used this style to create a number of funky, fresh, edgy natural hair dos.  Check out the pics below.

As Willow says  "All my ladies if you feel me, come on, do it, do it, whip your hair, don't matter if it's long short, do it, do it, whip your hair (your hair, your hair)!!!!!

Side note: I love the little baby in this video!

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

Natural Hair Product Review - Koils By Nature Product Line

After watching a very positive review by one of my favorite Youtubers Dawnyele, I decided to try out this next product on my twistout.

Company:  Koils by Nature
Products Purchased:  Eucalyptus and Lavender Sample Pack (includes 2 oz samples Hydrating Shealoe Conditioner, Shealoe Leave in conditioner, Nourishing Hair & Body Butter in Marvelous Mango & Herbal Gel in Eucalyptus & Lavender)  - I got a free upgrade on my Hair Butter to 4 oz...thanks Pam!
Cost:  $20.00
Shipping:  This is a small company so it took a week for my products to arrive.  No biggie.
Side Note - I love the packaging of these products.  I know it's a little thing but the containers are durable and easy to get the product out of.  The labels were created with a laser color printer.  This is important to me b/c the hydrating conditioner and the leave in are in the same size bottle so if the label blurred or came off it might be hard for me to be able to tell the difference between the two if I were in a rush.  


Review:

Herbal Gel

I used the Shealoe conditioner as my detangling conditioner.  It has medium slip & did a good job of detangling my hair.  I loved the Shealoe leave in however.  It's a thicker consistency and I only needed a little.  I was able to smooth it and comb through my hair easily.  On top of that I added the butter to seal in the moisture before I added the Herbal Gel.  The butter easily smoothed on my hair as well and left my hair feeling soft.  (SN:  I also use it after my shower on my body and it keeps my skin moisturized all night long!)  Then I added the gel.  OK, so for all my Ecostyler users, don't be alarmed.  I know you're used to the thick consistency of that gel.  This gel is watery and very thin.  I only used a little on each twist.  Initially I was little concerned about whether this would hold my 4b/4c hair.  After I twisted my hair I checked one in the back that was almost dry and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the definition forming.  So I twisted it back up.....

Check out the photo montage below of the results.  Let me just say that I have found my staple twist out product.  My hair was super defined, was soft, and had movement all week!  I did not have to reapply product.   I got 7 days out of this twist out!  I could have gotten more but I needed to protect my hair so that it wouldn't constantly be exposed to the colder weather that we're having.  It was also rubbing against my turtleneck and scarves in the back...HUGE no-no.

<

Digital slideshow created with Smilebox Here is a comparison shot between my 1st twist out in January 2011 & the one from this week. January 2011           December 2011

Recognizable Naturals - Raven Symone

As we are entering the holiday season, the one that reminds us of the birth of a special child (Jesus Christ) and the season that makes all children's eyes sparkle, I decided to feature young naturals for my recognizable naturals for the month of December.

First up, Raven Symone.  I remember when this adorable little girl (now grown woman) hit the screens as Olivia on the Cosby Show.  This little girl stole our heart with her adorable innocence and never gave it back. She went on to star in her own show on Disney, That's So Raven as well as try her hand at singing with 4 solo albums and with the Cheetah Girls.  Raven became a brand!  Still in her early 20's, she has been a positive representation of young people in the entertainment industry which is so refreshing to see.  In 2011, Raven hit scene revealing a remarkable weight loss.  She has always been beautiful and her slimmed physique just adds a healthy outlook to her beauty and grace.

I was pleasantly surprised to read on CurlyNikki that Raven had decided to go natural.  She was one of the individuals that was interviewed in Chris Rock's "Good Hair" movie and talked about wearing a weave and having curly hair underneath.  I totally missed it then but when she did the interview on Curly Nikki along with pictures, I felt it was remarkable of her to step out of that industry standard and wear her own hair.  I still see her go back to wearing a weave, which is the wonderful flexibility that we all have, but I have seen her with her hair out more.

Check out these pictures below.  That's SO Raven!

Just a flash back to the old Olivia....

Love these moments from this segment:  "You got it!",  facial expression at 1:45,  "That's not a baby!" "What is it?"  "That's gas!" with a satisfied head nod.  You just gotta love this kid!

Look out for other young recognizable naturals!