Back to curls + Twist outs in July

  I've been so crazy busy it's been ridiculous; from work, to family affairs, to down right tragedies... it's no wonder I've hardly had time to get on and properly blog, much less any time for my hair.
Ever since I've made my way into the ponytail/bun world my hair has been washed, moisturized, and thrown back into a ponytail or bun of sorts. I haven't had the time or patience for twisting or retwisting, and with my multiple textures, wearing wash n go are currently no-no's for me.
 In these photos I was deep conditoning my hair to get ready to twist it for a twist out. This was the week of the 20's in July, I was prepping for my trip to LA (not under the happiest circumstances, but it turned out that I got the opportunity to work while out there so that was great... more on that later). I left in some Giovanni Deeper Moisture Smooth As Silk conditioner and proceeded to twist with Eco Styler Olive Oil gel. Slept/Air Dried, and removed my twist the next evening to go to a party I didn't even make it to... lol.
Crazy thing was, I usually love twist outs but I really was not liking the outcome of my twist out this time around...
I think it probably had more to do with my hair length than the actual twist out though, because I will say Eco Styler does make my twist outs come out beautifully. My hair is just growing into a point that I think might become mildly awkward for wearing out and curly, since it is becoming overall fuller, and longer, but still has a ton of shrinkage. My hair can still look 2 inches when it's about 8. The little Bob I have going on is getting a little mushroom-y! The good thing is, I've just braided up my hair so hopefully this little break will also come with a good little growth spurt... lets see if I can hold out for a month! lol
 I have sooo much to post about my hair on the West Coast so I will definitely be back with more posts!

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?

Are Your Products Actually Moisturizing? Shiny Hair Does Not Necessarily Mean Moisturized Hair

I would say I commend myself for keeping shiny hair although my hair naturally can be anything less than lustrious at times. I have so many people stop me and ask me how I get my hair so shiny, with the famous question "What do you use? Oil Sheen?" Definitely not.
I feel so lucky to have found this community that has helped me to learn the truth about our hair and the products we use in it and why. As a hairstylist, there has been countless times where a girl would come to get her hair done and it would be dry, hard and brittle, but greasy or oily at the same time. Adding layers of grease to already dry hair does nothing but clog the pores, weigh the hair down and make it greasy, and make the hair dirtier faster. Now I'm no scientist so I'm going to break this down in laymens terms...

Moisturizing in 3 Steps:
Part 1 -  Water & Washing your hair ~ When your body feels dehydrated, you drink water, so why not give your hair water when it's thirsty? Water is the first part of moisturizing, so if your hair's feeling dry and brittle , it may need some water. If your regimen is one that is low maintanence with washing, make sure you're still adding water to your hair, i.e. via a spritz bottle before retwisting or rebraiding.

Part 2 - Moisturizing ~ Add a moisturizer of some sort. I like cream moisturizers and leave-in conditioners personally, but I will occasionally use a regular conditioner as a leave in or sometimes just a light oil like coconut or jojoba oil.

Part 3 - Sealing ~ You know that feeling you get when you come out of the shower and you dont put any moisturizer on and you feel like your skin is about to crack... maybe it does ::chapped lips for example:: Moisturizing really seals in the moisture our skin just soaked up from the water in the shower... Same scenario for your hair. Moisturizers will dry out quickly if not sealed in with anything. A few of my favorite sealers would be Jamaican Black Castor oil, Jojoba & Coconut Oils, Shea Butter & Shea Oil, Vitamin E oil, and my latest favorite CHI Deep Brilliance Glisten.

Quick Tips
If you are washing, conditioning, moisturizing and sealing and your hair still feels dry, it's possible your products aren't providing the right amount of moisture for you, or you just may not be applying them correctly or as frequently as needed. Try tweaking your regimen a bit until you find something that works... One thing I used to like to do was read natural hair blogs and watch YouTube videos of people who had hair like mine, doing the same styling, and see what they would use...

*For Transitioners and Newly Transitioned Naturals - Realize that with this new texture involved that your regimen will have to change, as well as your products probably. Don't expect everything you used to use to work for you now. If your old products are still serving you justice, just make sure you adjust to how much more moisture your natural/transitioning hair needs.

* For Naturals - If your natural hair is always feeling dry, there's definitely a huge problem there. Make sure your products contain humectants such as glycerin, propylene glycol, aloe vera, and honey to name a few, which are moisture attracting molecules.

*For the drastically different multi textured hair - Know that with extremely different textures, sometimes we need to not forget to baby our more fragile textures, or add a little more or even a different product to these areas.

I hope this helps someone out there with their dry hair... Feel free to ask any questions :)

What Does Natural Hair Freedom Mean To You?

All this talk and thought about protective styling made me really realize how much I really appreciate my natural hair freedom. What do I mean by Natural Hair Freedom?
When I thought about going natural, all I envisioned was long, beautiful free-flowing curls or big bouncy afros, not the hair restriction that comes with weaves, braids and a lot of protective styles. People with straighter, less textured hair seem to have a freedom I sort of envy... not having to worry about the rain or what their hair will look like the next morning if they don't sleep with a scarf or bonnet... I wanna wear my hair out everyday too!!! Aside from long jumbo twists and braids, I never envisioned or wanted any of the other styles like coil twists or a full head of cornrows or mini box braids... I just want to let my curls flow freely in the wind... Is that too much to ask for?! lol
Natural hair freedom to me, means being able to do whatever you want with your hair! Not having to re-twist at night if you don't want to, let that twist out get big and wild over time. It means wearing your hair out whenever you want to... knowing that you might have to detangle a little more or trim a little sooner but dealing with it. I don't mind daily moisturizing or twisting every night if it really means my natural hair freedom. I'm crazy for length right now... but not crazy enough to live in braids or weave for any substantial amount of time like people who do these things back to back for years and never wear their hair out.. not knocking it, just not for me. I Live in twist outs because they give me natural hair freedom... I'm able to wear my hair out, or pinned up, or pushed back with a headband... anyhow I want really!

What Styles Define Your Natural Hair Freedom?

From The Black Swan Diaries: Hair We Go

I came across this beautiful dancer on facebook on a friend's page and immediately took interest. She is a beautiful African American ballet dancer who blogs about her experiences facing adversities as a black dancer. She went from being told her career as a black dancer was over, to being Zoe Saldana's dance double in the movie Center Stage. While sifting through her blog looking through beautiful photos of her dancing, I noticed that all I saw was beautiful waves brushed back into her ballerina buns... a few minutes later, I found this post:

Hair We Go by Aesha Ash of The Black Swan Diaries

"I came across this photo while doing some research on my last post. It was the observation in the paragraph that followed which presented an interesting topic and stirred up some uncomfortable memories from my past. The comment went as follows:

“i find the natural hair charming/interesting, esp because a black ballet dancer would almost certainly have to straighten/pull back her hair, unless the company was alt/up-and-coming/deliberately provocative. but i don’t think i’ve ever seen a picture of a black ballet dancer with a fro. natural hair, yes. fro, no.”

This comment made me recall several instances where my hair caused me to feel distant and removed from the classical art I had grown to love. There were many ballets where the dancer was meant to wear their hair down, and the image of long flowing locks billowing through the air as the dancers movement graced the stage was a breathtaking image for all who observed. Many of the ballets highlighted hair as the dancers were required to either wear long ponytails or have lengthy hair that draped and flowed during performances. This built in aesthetic posed real challenges to many girls no matter what ethnicity, but an even greater challenge for myself and other dancers of color. Luckily, we all had tricks up their sleeves to overcome these natural challenges. One particular instance during my time at Bejart Ballet will forever stick with me. While choreographing a new piece, Maurice Bejart instructed each dancer to let down their hair to see if he could incorporate that into the piece. He instructed each girl, one by one to take down their hair, and as I stood their watching each girl’s hair fall gracefully down their backs, my insecurity begin crawling its way up my spine. My hair is textured and not prone to falling down straight like what I have seen in many ballets. I believed in protecting my hair by keeping it natural and avoiding harsh and damaging chemical perms and relaxers.  I also enjoyed the versatility that my natural hair provided. However, inside I knew this was not the image he was looking for.  I certainly had never seen any evidence that my hair type was desired as the above comment so pointedly stated. Therefore, when my turn came and I loosened my hair band—my hair puffed out crinkly and curly, not straight down.  Maurice smiled and some dancers chuckled. Luckily, I was a much more mature dancer and was able to brush off such a reaction. I could only image how such insensitivity would have affected me as a younger dancer. However, this episode still bothered me. It never feels good to be laughed at because of who you are. However, although I was offended and disappointed, I was not surprised."

To read the rest of her post go to Hair We Go by Aesha Ash of The Black Swan Diaries

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?

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!

Relaxers Vs. Naturals IV: Stop the Hate; Remember the Truth

These days there's so much talk out there about who's truly natural, based on who's been natural their whole life, who has color treated hair, who doesn't use all organic/natural products, and/or whatever other bogus rules people seem to keep coming up with. Who died and made them the Natural Hair Gods who get to decide who is a natural hair puritan and is allowed into the curly gates anyway? Lol
As someone who's been through everything when it comes to hair, both physical and emotional, I've learned that there are lessons far more valuable behind being natural than shunning someone for straightening their hair occasionally or having color in their hair.

After natural hair blogging for a little over a year now, I see that a lot of the same discriminatory issues I see in the black community are occurring in the natural hair community; People discriminating against different hair types, those discriminating against other's choices with their hair. Deciding to return to being natural, and especially being introduced to the online natural hair community, really taught me the real reason behind why I was going natural this time around and the reason why I at this point felt that most other ethnic women should embrace their natural hair too: It's all about acceptance; Learning to accept yourself for who you really are, and accepting others for who they really are ...or who they really aren't ...or for whoever they choose to be. We were and still are discriminated against the most by other races, being the most different, so it really hurts me to see when we continue to break each other and ourselves down when we should be supporting each other and all the differences around us that make us the beautiful and most exotic ethnic people that we are. 

If a woman is natural and decides to straighten her hair for a week, what makes her any less natural? She is indeed natural, and obviously secure enough with herself to love wearing her natural hair and can be outgoing enough to try different hairstyles, straight ones included.

If a woman is natural and decides to color her hair, are her braid outs and twist outs now inadequate because she is color treated? When you're working with frizz and humidity or shrinkage or dryness, is she not still going through the same journey as you just because her hair is color treated? 

If a woman decides to return to or try using a relaxer, obviously she is no longer natural, but even so should we discriminate against her? What are her reasons behind relaxing, and why not learn something from her experience that you can pass on instead of joining the ignorance in bigotry?

If a woman is natural and wants to try or return to relaxer for a different hairstyle for a different period of time, its okay. Regardless of whatever chemical alterations she does to her hair, it will still continue to grow from her roots as glorious as our creator(s) intended and that, she will never be able to fight. There is nothing wrong with wanting to switch it up every once in a while and for the most part, she will more than likely go back to natural sooner than later. Learn from her reasons for relaxing her hair.

Now for example, if you took a moment to understand where the 4zzz (for hairtypers) is coming from, you would understand that a texturizer may be a better alternative for her lifestyle to keeping her hair healthier and from breaking and tangling since the curls are tight. Are you there in the morning to help her moisturize and style her hair? Now as we would all say there are other alternatives and why turn to chemicals, but if that's her choice, that's her choice.

Just for a hairstyle change... Cool, catch you back on the natural side!

Because she hates her natural hair... You should help her to learn that she should learn to appreciate her natural hair for what it is and to accept and love her true self, regardless of how she decides to wear her hair.  

We are no better than those who discriminate against US when we discriminate against each other.

The truth is we need to stop the hatred that goes on among us.

Let people be who they want to be and continue to be you for the right reasons. 

If natural is who you are, then let that natural show love and compassion for fellow people and understand that their journey may be different, but we all cross paths for a reason. Pass on the good word of being natural, self love and love and respect for all things and living beings, instead of passing on negativity and fueling the issues we're still struggling to overcome.

We should continue to promote health for the hair, the body and soul.

Going natural this last time around to me meant learning an even deeper love for myself and a deeper appreciation for the differences and similarities in others, and promoting that all people should do the same.
Don't be a Natural Hair Hitler.

The Beginning:

Relaxers Vs. Naturals III

Relaxers Vs. Naturals II

Relaxers Vs. Naturals

The Style Chameleon and Staying True to Oneself

Reading through so many natural blogs, it is apparent that many naturals have become very biased when it comes to natural hair. Watching different women's journeys and just thinking of my own, i could never be biased towards natural hair (okay, maybe a little); My main concern is healthy hair.

Every once in a while, I won't lie,  I do get the relaxer itch... just a small notion of what it would be like to relax my hair again... either chop it all off in the short little haircuts i used to get, or have long texturized hair like i used to have in high school. I would truly say that I was/am a style chameleon. I have always been known for changing my hair up all the time; Weaves to braids, to relaxers, to color, to texurizers, to bleached-out, to haircuts and hair growth, i can say i have defintely done it all... and usually on a bi-weekly basis too. I would say the same is true of my style, i love to switch up what i wear, my accessories, the eras... no one could say that i have a very specific style.

I guess the point i'm getting to is, as a TRUE style chameleon, if i were to switch up my style and decide to get a relaxer or texturizer, would i be shunned by the natural community? Even if my hair looked good and was healthy? Would i now be frowned upon, even though i know that in the long run i would always return to being natural? As a style chameleon, i feel like it would be true to my style to switch up my hair again and do something different... I mean i'm only in my early 20's and it seems a little bit too soon for me to settle into natural hair for the rest of my life so quickly... I know for sure that i want to grow my hair long and fully natural first.. we'll see what happens from there... Trust me, i've been trying very hard to refrain from doing too much to my hair just for the sake of it's health and length

Do i think i may regret relaxing or texturizing if i ever do again? Maybe... I try not to take it too personal since hair always grows back :)

How has being natural affected those of you who constantly love to switch up your hair and style? Do you ever think of going back to old hair practices and processes?