My New Curly Weave + Blending

I know, I know, I just said I was going to do a wavy bob weave... but do I ever do what I say I'm going to do with my hair?! lol I actually realized that regardless of anything, with that wavy/straight weave, I'd definitely be using more heat than I really want to right now (which is none), so I opted for a curly weave again instead.

I needed a break from doing my hair, and my hair definitely needed a break from me, so I figured I needed a style where I'd have to manipulate my own hair as little as possible and I think I've finally found it! The hair I used:

How/ Where I found out about this weave?

My little cousin found in it her local BSS in BK and decided to give it a try, so naturally when she came to me with this hair to get her weave done, I fell in love with it. I bought the 10'' and 12'' because I originally wanted it to be a little longer and with minimal layers, but that ended up being a waste of money because I chopped it up for it to look more realistic anyway. One thing I also learned, was that the curl of the 8" vs the 10" and 12", is a lot more of tight curl that resembles my hair almost perfectly, the 10" and 12" is a much looser, silkier curl, but still very beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos during the process, but I saw her a few days later at my Grandmother's house with the weave piked out; Here's the outcome of my cousin's weave to you can see the difference:

I love the curly look so I'm not mad that I didn't get the 8 inches, but I will definitely be trying the 8" as well. To see some of the steps I took to install and how I blend my hair with the weave, click the jump :)

Here is the start of the process:

• Braid the hair up for weaving in your desired pattern with desired leave - out. I left hair out all around so I will be able to do puffs and ponytails.
• If need be, rinse your hair to match the weave. Your hair matching the weave hair will really make a difference when it comes to blending

I just wanted to show you all a few texture shots as the rinse had my curls poppin'. Look at all those different textures!!! I've definitely totaled it out to be 7 different textures on my head.
(sorry for some of the crappy pics... and my parts aren't that bald, the lighting just made it look that way)

And here are a few more photos with my hair blended with the weave. How I blended:

•  After rinsing out the color, I deep conditioned, rinsed added my leave in conditioners, Care Free Curl Instant Moisturizer, Suave Coconut Condish,  and smoothed my curls with Olive Oil Eco Styler gel. 
• I let the air dry while randomly and gently tugging at the hair at random times to help stretch and decrease shrinkage during drying. You can use a diffuser on your blow dryer and include heat protector in this step if you are in a rush to dry.
• Once dry (i usually do this in the morning so it dries by night if air drying), I scrunch out any crunch with JBCO and do two flat twists going around my head to sleep. 
• Wake up, untwist, and spread hair out to cover weave tracks.
• MAIN TIP TO BLENDING -Then, randomly tuck the ends of your own hair, under and around some curls of the weave hair. Voila, you are blended!

Ends sticking out will give away the length of your own hair vs the weave hair and have you looking un-be-weaveable for sure! Make sure your ends especially are always the same color of the weave and are tucked in for optimal blending, and people won't even know it's not your hair!

Wearing a braided up, sewn - in weave can also be a great time for your hair to flourish underneath if healthy hair care practices are followed all through out the services, and with proper care and maintenance through out the duration of wearing the weave.

I will be updating you all with my care routine, as I think this is a style I will actually be able to keep for a while!

Do you wear weaves as a protective style? Would you try one?