Recognizable Natural: Kim Wayans

Kim is Wayans is a part of the famous comedic Wayans family.  She is mostly known for her roles in the Fox variety show originally written by her brothers, "In Living Color".  Has has however had appearances in other comedic productions such as "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" & "Don't Be  A Menace.....".  You may also recognize her from her supporting role in LL Cool J's sitcome "In the House."

When I think back on when I've seen her in some of these roles, I do recall her mostly wearing braids.  However, it was when I was researching naturals that I saw how beautiful her natural hair is!  It's gorgeous and BIG!

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Want to get to know me a little better?  I really am more than my hair!   To see what is on my mind on a daily basis feel free to follow me at  @NaturallyNitaNC. 

The Return of the Wash & Go!

As you may have noticed, since my 1 yr anniversary, I haven't worn a wash and go.  I wanted to experiment with twist outs and other styles since I had a little bit more length.  However, with our extremely hot weather & my very busy schedule as of late, I needed a style that required less maintenance in the morning and evening to maintain my curl pattern.  So back to the wash & go I went!

I'm still using the same shingling method that most naturals use when applying gel for curl definition.  I'll post a video below of one of my favorite Youtube vloggers, PhillyDiva19154, for those of you who may be unfamiliar with shingling. (Note: I use a different leave-in conditioner, etc but this is just for the technique of applying the gel.)

Now, I will prepare you that when you get up in the morning you'll have "helmet head" meaning your hair will be flat on the sides that you sleep on.  This is how I refresh my style in the morning.  I spritz my hair with my
moisturing mist.  Then I take my shower and let the moisture from the steam loosen my hair.  I shake it vigorously to loosen the curls.  Then I pull out a few sections with my fingers and stretch with my pic.  Another technique is demonstrated in the video below by another Youtuber that I follow.  I don't band my hair at night like she does but from the 4:00 minute marker and beyond, my technique is very similar.



One of the things I love about doing this blog is that I am able to see my growth progression.  Check out the pictures below for pictures from previous wash and go's.  I'm definately on the grow!!!  I'm loving this natural hair journey and all the lessons I'm learning along the way!

March 2011 - Wash & Go with Smooth & Shine Curl Activator Gel

May 2011 - Wash n Go with Argan Oil Ecostyler Gel

July 2011 Argan Oil Ecostyler Gel Wash n Go - Day 2 Hair



Cinnabun Hairstyle Tutorial

While browsing Youtube videos I ran across several for the cinnabun hairstyle.  I was looking for a way to put my hair up without having it in a traditional puff.  Having it in a puff, while easy, does create a few tangles for me.   So after wearing my previous style, I was looking for a way to keep my hair stretched, but up, especially since it's been over 100 degrees for a couple days this week.

To create this style I used the following products:
My glycerin/water/aloe vera juice moisturizer
Sealed with my Kimmaytube leave in & whipped shea butter
Used Curls Goddess Curls gel on my twists
Used Olive Oil Ecostyler Gel on my edges

Below I have posted a slide show tutorial of how I accomplished this style.  Enjoy!

Photo slideshow created with Smilebox

Recognizable Natural - Audra McDonald

Right now one of my must see television shows, Private Practice is on hiatus until the fall.  One of the characters on the show is Dr. Naomi Bennett, played by Audra McDonald.  Audra is an accomplished theatre actress having won 3 of her 4 Tony awards by the age of 28.  She won these awards for Best Featured Actress for musicals Carousel & Ragtime and the plays Master Class & a Raisin in the Sun.  Not only has she had a remarkable theatre career, she also has co-starred in the TV seres Mister Sterling, The Bedford Diaries, Kidnapped and received and Oscar nomination in the category for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV movie for her role in the HBO series Wit.

Though for a lot of her acting roles she wears her hair straight or in a weave, she has naturally curly hair.  I though her hair was possibly natural when she's worn hair in a low bun on Private Practice because it would be wavy in the front as shown in the picture on the right.  Imagine my surprise when I unexpectedly saw a picture of her with her full tightly coiled tresses!  Her hair is absolutely gorgeous and just reading about her accomplishments has made me want to strive to go to another level.

While gettting information about her for this post, I learned that this season was her official last season on Private Practice.  Though she will potentially have guest appearances in future seasons, she will no longer be a regular cast member.  I'm bummed.  I enjoyed her character.  Check out  more pictures of her gorgeous natural tresses below.

Recreating - Alicia Key's Empire State of Mind Hairdo

BlackOnyx77 does a tutorial on this hairdo on Youtube and I favorited the video during my TWA months.  Well, now my hair is long enough to recreate it...though it's not as long as Alicia's (duh!).  Pictures of the hairstyle and BlackOynx's tutorial is posted below.  Enjoy!

In my interpretation of this style, I started by stretching my hair by using the tension method to blow out my hair.  The hair dryer was set on medium heat.  Then I created two cornrows on each side of my head.  In the crown and bang area, I did 5 individual braids and curled them on perm rods.  In the back of my head I created medium sized 2 strand twists and also curled them on perm rods.  I used Curls Goddess Curls gel and my creamy shea butter mixture on my plaits and twists.  After my hair was set, I used coconut oil on my fingers as I unbraided and untwisted my hair.  I used hair pins to pin my bangs in a side sweep and used my fingers to pull my hair slightly in the rear to hide my parts and fluffed for fullness.

Here BlackOnyx77 shows her version on slightly longer hair. 

Curly Nikki's Says Farewell to NC

For those of you who follow Curly Nikki's blog, you know that she is relocating from NC to PA.  Shea Moisture sponsored her last meetup in NC & the curlies showed up!    There were gift bags for the first 350 attendees, free appetizers, give aways and plenty of networking and great fellowship!

Check out the pictures from the event below.

Personalize a photo slideshow

I personally would like to thank Ms. Nikki Walton for all she's done for the natural hair community and for putting NC on the map in the natural hair world!  I wish her and her family all the best and pray that for her and her efforts, the best is yet to come!!

Say DEUCES to bad products! - Video

One of the Youtube vloggers that I follow, Charjay posted this spoof of Chris Brown's Deuces featuring some fellow vloggers.  It talks about the dangers of "bad ingredients" in natural hair products.  It's creative & hillarious.   So here's your Friday's 7 chuckles (a Katt Williams reference) ladies.  Enjoy!!

Coil Out Revisted

I got inspired this week to give an old style another try after seeing a Youtube video.  It took me a while to finish the style but I was quite pleased with the results and I was able to get two hairstyles out of it before my wash day.  I used Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding to  finger coil my hair.  All you do is take a section of hair and literally twirl it around your finger until you get a spiral curl.  Because I had an issue with my roots puffing up the last time, I took special care to twirl close to my roots and then coil all the way down the section.  This is how it looked after I finished coiling.

I then took each large coil and separated it into smaller coils by pulling the coil out, unraveling & lightly twirling the smaller section of hair to reestablish the coil. I made sure my fingers were coated with coconut oil so as not to cause frizz.  The finished look is below.

As the week ended my hair was getting more & more poofy.  I separated the coils a little more in the front and the back & I pulled the hair back on the sides to create this look.

Here is a comparision shot of my first ever coil out.

Finger coils  02.17.2011

Coil out  02.19.2011

Fro's on the Fourth!

So today, all naturals are supposed to wear their hair in a fro.  I don't usually wear my hair in a fro (haven't really since it was a TWA) but this weekend I did and I was surprised with how big my fro has grown!  Happy Independence Day!  I am so glad to be free (and I mean that in more ways than just relaxer free)!

I took my fro to the beach!