Band Out Puff + Hair Plans

Traveling home last week, my hair had been in my usual 2 buns, which I left a load of conditioner in and oil in. When I got back home, I got so used to my tanning rituals on the West Coast, that I was naturally compelled to go up to my roof and tan. I took out my buns just to give my hair a breather, but I guess the little bit of banding I had done to stretch the night before had really helped because I thought my curls were actually looking pretty good. Because I had to go out that evening, I decided a puff was going to be the way to go, because I didn't want any hair around my face or neck, or to have to fuss with it not falling the way I wanted if I had left it out. I even went for a more carefree look and didn't put any holding product on my edges or any of my hair going back into the ponytail. I really loved my hair that night, though it shrunk quite a lot, but I'm really happy to see the difference in my puff, it's so much bigger without all the extra fluffing and/or blowing out the roots!

  I was searching back through our blog yesterday and assessing my hair over time. I've learned when I have my greatest setbacks... always when I'm extremely busy.... both mentally and/or physically. With Fashion Week quickly approaching (an extremely hectic time for me) I've been trying to think ahead to the approaching madness, and what will I do with this hair of mine. I really do not want to deal with another setback, as my hair grows incredibly slow and is also incredibly fragile. From all my researching, my fashion week options so far are:

1. Twists & Twist Outs! I love Twist outs, as regardless of anything, they keep my hair stretched and smooth, and if I don't love the outcome, it always has a beautiful texture I can manipulate into another style.
2. Banding! Though I'd love to imagine that if I do wear a twist out I'd have the time to retwist, but in case it's all in my head, banding is an easy and much faster way to keep my hair stretched and hold on to whatever curl pattern I can.
3. Buns! After looking at a few tutorials and photos of beautiful natural hair in buns, I think aside from putting my own hair up, I want to try adding some Marley Braid Hair for a different effect. 

I don't think I'd have time to do much else... plus that's the other thing I've learned: Keeping it simple is the way to go. I'll definitely be applying that to my Fashion Week makeup regimen as well, with a little tinted moisturizer, whatever color lip, my cat eye and mascara. A little blush if I'm feeling fancy. Done.

I've also been thinking ahead to the approaching fall and winter, thinking of what I will do with my hair to continue retaining as much length as I possibly can, especially in a cold climate like NY where we definitely need to pile on the layers! Scarfs, hats, and coats can snag and dry the hair out, so it's so hard to wear my hair out in the winter without being afraid of life! lol I definitely plan on getting a long, straight weave once I no longer have to worry about humidity, just for fun!

How has your hair been lately? Any Special Plans?

Between the TWA

Hello all of my beautiful YAIS readers!
I think we've all pretty much established that I (SPstyles) am the TWA blogger on here and Curly Film Chic is the long/full  hair blogger. We didn't plan for it to be that way, as we are two high school friends who just one day decided to start a natural hair blog together, but I guess it totally works, lol.
Anyway, I always wondered why all of my TWA posts got so much attention when they were posts I wasn't particularly excited about... all because I was all too eager to get away from my TWA. The other day I decided to send my most recent TWA post to Curly Nikki, as I thought the feelings evoked from the post here on the blog, might translate to a wider audience, and it did! One of the readers left a comment that totally opened my eyes to a little more of what's needed here in the TWA world, In Between TWA posts! Reader Comment:
"It is soo nice to see someone on here in the same awkward stage that I am in. Though the long glossy meins are great inpiration, I sometimes feel that there could be more catered for up neck lenght girls. Maybe it should be you. Post some more."

And that is just what I plan to do!!! TWA ladies, I, SPstyles have taken a vow to hold you down for as long as I still have this in-beTWA! Lol I'm a hairstylist so please utilize me! I would love to be able to try out and come up with new methods for us In-beTWA-er's! (eew. ugly word play, lol)

Have any Ideas for TWA Hairstyles you've been thinking of and just don't know how to execute? Any Questions concerning anything... Please let me know what you all need, as I'd love to be able to cater my posts and videos to those topics


nothing? really?

2011 A TWA Year In Review: Protective styling by any means necessary...

This post is kind of like a 2011 in review post looking back on my second year being natural and growing out my hair from an inch long... I decided to come up with a "TOP 5" of categories to kind of track my hair progress or digression.. here they are in order from most to least important (for me, that is.)

Moisture ~ I have definitely learned how to perfectly moisturize my hair for all seasons and needs... My problem is remembering when the seasons change that I have to switch up my regimen too... I always seem to have a bumpy start at the begining of a season and then i'm like "Oh yeah... DUH. Time for the old one, two, switcharoo!"

Ends ~ Split ends and single strand knots (curse those things) Inevitable for me as with my hair texure and curl patterns. I just do my best to keep my ends protected, stretched, moisturized, and I dust them (small trim) every 2 months approximately.

Satin/Silk head covering while sleeping & under hats ~ When I wear a hat I always make sure to wear a bonnet underneath so my hair wont get dried out and ripped up by cottons, fleece, and wools... Yeah... this is where I start messing up... I'm so lazy!!! If I sit down without my bonnet when I'm tired, that's it, I'll knock out without it... sometimes I'll get up in the middle of the night and put it on (if I can find it). I've been much better about it though lately and my boyfriend will even put my bonnet on my pillow if he finds it first

Length Retention ~ The question I should have asked was set backs?! lol All due to me not tying my head down at night and it getting all tangled, dry, and forming single strand knots ::shudders at the thought::
Otherwise, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give myself a 7.5 on the length retention scale

Protective styling ~ I hate it!!!! Isn't that horrible? I'm going to be honest, all I wanna do is grow my hair out so I can wear it out, do cool updo's, cool styles with large long braids or twists, or wear it in a ponytail or bun... The only thing i've really been able to do from that list so far is wear my hair out and try an updo or two (which was a struggle)

Now that I'm finally growing out of this TWA stage, I feel like protective styling is starting to have much better options for me and I'm so ready because I want to retain as much length as I possibly can from now until my birthday! I just don't know what to do... Extension braids? A weave? Should I stay weaved up from now until the summer? I also really want to protect my edges, especially in the front, so we'll see...


This week's style:

Rollerset hair which I decided to lightly flat iron.... once it gets all puffy on me it'll be twist-out time... and guess what?! I made a video too so as soon as I can get it up and edited I will!

Growing out of the Trial and Error Phase

It's been about 2 years natural and 1 year with this hair I have now (as I "big chopped again about a year ago), and It feels great to finally feel like most of my new trials should have minimal errors. These past 2 years have taught me so much about myself, my natural hair and caring for it, and really understanding what my hair needs.  Now that I've really learned more about different ingredients in products, I also realized that I'm having a lot less error when it comes to buying new products or tools to try.

Aside from the fact that I also feel like I've finally streamlined my top and favorite products, I have also seemed to streamline my methods too; Methods for detangling, twisting, parting, braiding, placement, washing, product application, mixing products and more. It's funny because I've been watching LOST from the begining on Netflix since the new year, and I've even gone as far as to thinking about what would be my regimen if I was stranded on a deserted island... papaya juice moisturizer? Detangling tool made out of bones or teeth of some sort (no snag?) Yes... I thought long and hard about this because you know I would still be trying to retain length on the island too... l wanna get rescued with some Rudy Huxtable/ Ciely braids! Lol Lemme stop now...

It definitely feels great to know what single strand knots are and how to keep them at bay, to understand moisturizing and how to do it properly, knowing that when I can't run my fingers through my hair, it's time for a trim, and just to have gotten into a flow of a regimen because I'm definitely not usually one to stick to a regimen.

I would say my favorite part has been my whole change of mindset when it comes to natural hair and beauty in general. It feels good to know that the ignornance of "good hair/ bad hair" has been erased from my mind and I now understand beauty and hair care practices.

What is has been your favorite part or least favorite part of doing your natural hair?

Any trials and or errors you're happy to be over?

Hair Product List: Cool Weather Edition

It's December folks, and time to address and assess hair needs for the season. I plan to wash my hair twice a week and mainly stay with protective styles, such as buns my new favorite go to style, the Side Braid. I also want to concentrate more on preserving my hair and growth because I have a goal to be MBL (Mid-Back Length) by my birthday in May 2012--is it possible? Guess we'll see...

Now that I have a better understanding of my hair and what works for me, I'm going back to what I know for the Northeast winters. Behold, my list of products that I hope to get me through the season; some may be recognizable to you because I have reviewed them before:

Cleansers:
Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream
CURLS Pure Curls Clarifying Shampoo
SheaMoisture Moisture Retention Shampoo


Conditioners:
TRESemme Naturals Silicone Free Conditioner
Sauve Naturals Conditioner
Jessicurl Weekly Deep Conditioner
Henna 'N' Placenta Hair Olive Oil*

Stylers:
EcoStyler Gel
Jane Carter Solutions Wrap N Roll**
SheaMoisture Hair Milk
Burt's Bees Avocado Butter

*I recently tried this and really like it. It's cheap and easy to find, and gives my strands an extra boost of moisture. It's also a great to de-tangle with. 
**Jane Carter Wrap N Roll, which I originally wasn't sure about, has won me over. It's great for dry styling and setting, particularly for bantu-knots. It's a decent leave-in as well

I'm also on a quest to find a great hat for my hair. I love hats and scarves and would love to cover my head in style! What's on your hair shopping list for the winter?

Does Hair Length Matter?

The other day I was admiring my younger sister's hair and commenting on how well she's taking care of it while busy with college. She keeps her hair in box braids with the occasional braid-out or flat-ironed style. Her hair stretched is probably shoulder length, and she mentioned to me that she's going to cut it again to keep it at her desired length in braids, which hang at neck-length. She insists on keeping it short because long hair is "a lot to deal with." Even though her and I do not have the same curl pattern or texture, she still has massive amounts of it like I do, and while in college I too didn't like my hair past shoulder length because of how time-consuming it seemed.

I then thought about my older cousin who insists on having a TWA because she enjoys the fact that she can rinse her hair everyday, comb it and keep it moving. As my hair is approaching bra-strap length, I'm continuing to face the fact that besides the length, I have a massive amount of fiber on my head. I'm trying to grow my hair at least until the end of summer 2012 (where I have something huge planned) and SP and I have concluded that my hair stretched would be about mid-back length - which scares the crap out of me. I know a lot of naturals have length goals, but there are also some who are happy enough to rock shorter hair.

So, we've set up another poll about hair length goals on the upper corner of our blog. Tell us, does length matter to you? Is there a goal you have in mind? What is your ideal length? Let us know!

On May 20th, I...

....straightened my hair! Yes, stupid to do on short natural hair in New York's humid spring but hey, I got the itch and also needed to trim my ends a little bit more so i did anyway. Remember when i mentioned that I straighted my hair recently back in my Side Puff! post? Well this is what i was talking about... nothing too special, especially thanks to the humidity so it was only semi-straight for about 2 days, but it's cool to have an update from the last time I straightened my hair.  Here goes!:

Setting Some New Length Goals

For those who don't know, i've never really had long hair. I've seen pictures of myself as a child with shrunken twists, afro puffs and braids that indicated that i had hair that was at least shoulder length, but never anything much longer. I decided to go completely natural about 2 years ago when i started to transition. I was one of those people who believed my hair just didn't grow past shoulder length and because of my very fine hair, i figured natural shoulder length hair is better than relaxed, thin, lifeless shoulder length hair. 

When i started all of my research on natural hair, i came across so many women with long natural hair, which was something I had never seen before. All you usually saw was the women with "good hair" who were still natural or older women with low cuts or locks, for the most part, everyone else was relaxed. Even being half Brazilian, i attributed all of the black women's hair in Brazil to the fact they had to be mixed somehow (All ignorance, i know). Now that i know and understand my hair growth and hair care, i think it's safe to say i can sort of predict what lengths i will reach with regular 1/2 inch trims every 3-4 months.

Length Goals:

FNL by August 2011

FSL by Halloween 2011

FAPL by June 2012

FBSL New Years 2013

FWL New Years 2014

FHL Summer 2014

I would like to start maintaining my hair at hip length or when my hair is shoulder length in a shrunken wash n go. So yes, i know some of these goals are far out (only 3 years) but that's what makes them goals :)
I really can't wait to get out of this TWA stage, as i know my hair will be so much more managable once i can put it into ponytails and larger braids and twists. I loved my short natural hair too, don't get me wrong, but for my textures and the look i like to maintain, this in-between stage is just rough. When it's short you just continue to washngo, when it's long you start throwing it back in ponytails and buns. When it's at medium length? Uhg. Constant twist-outs and styling... (for me anyway) My hair is almost back to where it was before I BC'ed last year in October so i'm excited to be getting into some length as this year goes on!
This is Louel, Louel83 on YouTube and she is my biggest hair inspiration because i feel like we have very similar hair textures: a range of fine/medium, small frizzy-ish waves; Also a full head of hair that gets huge, but not  massive amount of hair. (this is a picture of her hair damp, before any major shrinkage)... It feels as though i get a sneak peak of what my hair will look like when it starts to hang and do all of the lovely things i want it to do... or at least i hope because her hair is awesome!

New Hair Goals

In thinking about what to do with my hair, I noticed that I'm always learning something new about it. In 2010 I learned that my hair and scalp thrives on being cleansed with high quality, moisturizing shampoos. I also notice that I have to adjust my regimen according to weather changes because my hair and skin react differently. I've also been pretty good with length retention and haven't experienced much breakage. But what I need to really work on in 2011 is taking care of my ends. I'm thinking of growing all this hair of mine to mid-back length simply so that I can rock really long braids ^___^

Since the trim I got when SP straightened my hair,  I've been paying special attention to them as I freakishly check to make sure that my hair isn't drying and breaking--especially because I have colored strands. I know that there will always be some wear and tare to hair but here are some things to keep in mind to minimize/prevent splits and breakage:

- moisture
- low manipulation
- handling my hair gently
- continuing washing my hair in sections
- strengthening treatments (not entirely sure what those will be yet though!)

I had a wash day this past weekend where I used bentonite clay, air dried in braids and then twisted my hair up. I haven't really been in much of a mood to style my hair (which was definitely a win when I was rocking it straight--easy routine) so I just put in some twists all over my head and have been wearing them pulled back in a ponytail like so

I've been spritzing my hair with a homemade mixture of aloe vera juice, conditioner, water and some coconut oil daily and then I keep it moving. With the really busy schedule I've been keeping lately, low maintenance hair has been awesome!

Still readjusting goals...

I've been in these braids for 2 weeks and already thinking of what to do with my hair when i take them out, as i'm also eager to see the growth. I know 2 weeks won't give me much growth, but an 1/8th of an inch will open up new style options for a twa sometimes, every bit counts! :) 

Looking back at photos i had taken over  the of span last year, I realized that since i had done so much to my hair between dying and cutting, and I hadn't readjusted my 1 year anniversary. I guess i could say i had like 4 anniversary's.... lol

* Halloween 2009 I applied my last relaxer, so this Halloween 2010 was my 1 year natural (relaxer free) anniversary

* In March of 2010, I cut off all the relaxed ends and started wearing my  own natural hair (i had been transitioning in weaves), so this March 2011 will make 1 year of me wearing my natural hair

* April 29th 2010 I dyed my hair for the last time, so with all the color chopped off already, this April 29th will make exactly a year since i've been growing this 100% natural, no relaxer, no dye hair and i have to say it's the best hair i've ever had!

That being said...
I do need a trim.
I plan to trim with either the new or full moons this year so according to the calendar and me wanting to see what one full year of growth with no trimming/cutting or processing looks like, i plan to trim my hair on May 3rd, 2011. I hope i can make it that long... 4 more months without trimming (i need to join Shears Anonymous)!!! I seem to be on track with growing about half an inch per month, so i can't wait to see what 6 inches of Fro looks like on me again... I haven't seen that since...

(6th grade class photo)

Umm... yeah. Lol

Any of you TWA ladies end up having to readjust your hair goals because you dyed/cut/permed your hair again or damaged it in some way? Need help? Ask me, I've been through it all!