Last Week's Fashion's Night Out Puff

My friend was snapping pics of me on the low, trying to be funny, but I was really loving how massive my puff was that day. I put moisturizer in it and unfortunately it shrunk up a bit, but was still quite cute.

The puffs are the result of old twist outs just pushed back with a little Murrays Cream Beeswax and a doubled headband... my go to style for recycling my twist outs when I'm in hurry and on the go!

What do you do with your old twist outs?

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?

Long TWA Style: Banana Clip Up-do with Twisted Pompadour

In my latest efforts to make sure to hold my TWA ladies down, I decided to look back through my computer to see what I hadn't posted over these pasts TWA months when I came across and remembered this super cute style.
I wore this to work when I was still interning at Wilhelmina and they were in love with my hair that day!
How did I achieve this style?

• My hair was banded overnight in 2 ponytails after washing, to dry and stretch my curls. 
• In the morning, I unbanded my hair, parted and separated out the section I wanted to use as a pompadour, and proceeded to apply Eco Styler gel and brush the edges and the sides back.
• Next, I put in my banana clip. The easiest way to get all your hair in, is to gather and hold all of your hair as if you were going to use a scrunchie to put it in a ponytail, then put in one side, then bring around the other and snap closed.
• I then took my pompadour section, added a little eco styler gel for shine and to tame frizz. I stretched the section of hair to the side and proceeded to to do a loose 2-strand flat twist.
• I tucked the end of it under and inside of the pompadour, pinned to my liking, and voila! Style! lol
•  It's also a style I really love because you can always easily wear it again, Just remove the banana clip when you come home, tie it down to sleep, and replace your banana clip the next day! Simple as Pie!

This style is perfect for going out, formal or not. You can embellish the sides of your banana clip puff or add an accent to your pomadour for a formal occasion. You can rock a smooth look to the office or go to your job interview in style.
This style can be worn to the club for a fuss free night, or (as it kind of was in high school for me) an easy every day go to style.
I would say it takes about 5-7 minutes to achieve this style and it's a great way to fake it until you make it for us short haired ladies, as a banana clip always makes my hair seem fuller and longer. I use the Goody banana clips (large ones) and they haven't failed me through out the years, plus they don't break easily.

So Long TWA Ladies, would you rock this style? Would you say this would be a Formal, Casual, or Go- to style for you?

I hope this helps!
(My hair was between 4 and 6 inches long for this style)

New Ombre' Color + Curly Side Puff Updo

 Every year when the spring/summer comes around, I always get that itch for fun, vibrant, bright color! Last year I decided to go with some creative color I referred to as my party patch. This year I decided to lighten a piece of my hair in the front, in the same area where I had placed last years party patch (since it was previously lightened which would make the process a little easier). Being that my roots were virgin, I knew they would lift to blonde, and my end previously being dyed green, i knew would lift to a lighter green. (left)
Once my hair lifted to my desired level using B&W bleach and 40 volume developer, inspired by the oh so trendy Ombre' hair color effect, I decided to use Lie Locks and Shocking Blue from Manic Panic to create my own colored Ombre look. I used a little 10 volume developer on my own hair and then added the manic panic, starting with the Lie Locks and then fading into the Shocking Blue, without disturbing the already light green area. The photos below shows my hair with being highlighted with bleach in foils, then shows my hair immediately after the color was rinsed out.

 And here are some photos of what the color looks like a little damp... while contemplating doing a full head of 2 strand twists... (In the stretched hair photo, you can totally see all the bleach damage on the part of my hair that's green, since it's been bleached a few times :(

And here is my hair, fully dried,with the front twisted out, and everything pushed to the side with a headband. Those twists that didn't make it to a full hair style made a great set of twisted out bangs and my is hair so curly from the 4 braids I did the other night to sleep, after washing my hair...
which I wore yesterday in 2 buns which really helped to stretch out my curls while still keeping them in tact!

I am sooo in love with my hair today and hope I can try to re-visit this style next week when I actually have something to do! lol

How do you like the curly side puff with the heavy bangs? What about the color? Would you Rock it?

Fashion Week Hair

Ladies and (if we have any) Gentle-dudes,
I'm so sorry I've been gone from posting, things have just been so hectic with fashion week and all, but in a few more days things will be back to normal for me.... as if my life was normal before.. lol.
Anyhoo...
It's been crazy hectic for me chaperoning girls around the city to castings and fittings, going to a few different shows, working in the office at Wilhelmina, shooting girls for their showcards and books, and all while still taking my clients and hoping to get a moment in to eat, shower, and sleep... I've had 2 days off in the past month and the universe only knows what I'm running on..
My hair however has been running on Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Elasta QP's Olive oil and Mango Butter, Jojoba Oil and Shea Butter... whatever it takes to keep her majesty moisturized during these busy times when I can't remember when was the last time I washed my hair... Oh! And a new favorite product:

CHI Deep Brilliance Glisten

 I seal in my moisture with this stuff and my hair seriously does glisten, all while still being light and fluffy and softer than cotton candy, plus it smells awesome. I trimmed my hair sometime within this crazy month because my split ends were getting a bit ridiculous but I have been retaining length which i'm super excited about... my hair in the front is like a 1/4 inch from my top lip! I haven't been able to rollerset my hair since last month, so i just washed my hair and blew it out, and have been basically wearing it in afros or twisted up ever since. Everyone's been loving my hair and it's been a crazy, sexy mess! I love it too.
Rollerset Hair:

Wash and Go Curls:

Blown Out Hair:

Me extremely tired with my hair twisted up

And this was my hair today, the result of doing  cornrows to sleep, fluffing in the morning, and after much wind, Voila! lo.

 So Basically fluffed up fros have been my life this fashion week (though it been more like a month for me), as I really haven't had time for much else. I can't wait to have the time to do some DEEEEEEP conditioning and get back to my rollersetting regimen!

What do you or have you resort(ed) to as a regimen when you're too busy for your regular regimen?

Natural @ Wilhelmina Deux

I hate when my life gets so busy that I have to do one of these where the heck has SP been? type of posts... but I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes... Tis the season for back-posting!

 So... I'm loving Wilhelmina! Strolling into the office, it's all white and refreshing, the perfect temperature, carpeted walkways for Diva's like me who wants to walk every runway in heels and comfort, and my favorite, the free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and on Fridays, bagels and muffins! lol (I know, there's a hungry woman in this little body)

Having freelanced for the last four years, with the last three in Fashion, it's natural that I'm loving every aspect of Wilhelmina. I work in the Women's division, and as a hair and makeup artist I am usually working with agency models, but it's amazing to be able to see all of the girls come in on a regular basis. It feels like getting a private showing of the girls available for me to shoot! I'm learning more and more about the fashion industry and so many doors and opportunities are coming my way...  I'm super psyched and I can't wait to watch this journey of my life and career unfold.

Now while that's been unfolding, I've been doing Galaxy Knows What! with my hair, lol. For some reason, it seems as though whenever I hit busy moments in my life, It's like I forget everything I ever knew, everything I get on this blog and share with you all, and suddenly Her Majesty (My hair that is) becomes this beautiful foreign creature that I stare at and want to touch and understand, but somehow feel lost. I know a lot of it is due in part to my crazy mental hairstylist problems where I have issues with wearing the same hairstyle 2 or 3 days in a row sometimes... but a lot of protective styles just aren't me, especially at my current length and job location. I know I could have retained way more length by now, and my hair is definitely healthy and not breaking off, but without a lot of protective styling, I do need to trim a little more when the time comes. I do plan to protective style soon... I want to give myself a weave when I have the time and money to do so, just to switch up my look and not feel like I have to look the same everyday.

Todays Hairstyle: Inspired Natural Grecian Updo/Puff

Today, while thinking of what to do with yesterday's twist out, I came across this really cute style and decided to give it a try!

At first I thought the middle part would look funny on me with my long face shape but I actually like it. Cute, quick, and easy style, I'll say it took me all of 5-10 minutes... Thanks Dominique!
On my way to my cousin's dance class now... Peace!

My Color Relapse and the perfect twist-out formula

 Okay... so i know i went through the whole cutting my hair off because it was color damaged last year, but i dyed my hair like a million times in a short period of time last year and I can't live without color!!!!
I realize that probably for the rest of my life I will be addicted to color, so instead of fighting it, im just going to make good, sure choices about my color and take very good care of my color treated hair with loads of deep conditioning and the whole 9... I will no longer deprive myself of color because I know I will always relapse, so as with everything, I will color with moderation.

These pictures are crappy iPhoto and BlackBerry photos so they don't show the true color of my hair  but you can see that it's a little lighter and a lot brighter.. and how amazing my twist out looks!!! I wish you all (had to fight the temptation to write 'yall') could just reach in and feel how incredibly soft my hair is. This is a twist out from 5 flat twists i did last night, taken out, separated and fluffed with loads of Shea oil this morning. Not to mention, i started a new reggie of stretching my twist outs a little more by putting the nozzle on my blowdryer, holding my hair taught from my head and with cool, low air, I blow down the hairshaft.

I really couldn't get enough of my hair today... I've been playing in it like crazy because it feels so soft and conditioned and fluffy and managable. Most of the styles were pinned, and the 2 puffs were done with 2 banana clips

Oh, and my new killer combination for the perfect twist-outs: Herbal Essences None of Your Frizzness Smoothing Leave-in Cream and Eco Styler Gel... OMG! Best Combo to date! My twist-outs come out more like sets because my hair is like straight, but curly, as opposed to being more afro-curly like usual... In my usual twist outs you can sort of see my natural texture where as with these two products it looks almost as if my hair were straightened first and then set on small rollers. I give both of these products 2 thumbs and 2 toes up each and together... a STANDING ovation!!!

For my next twist-out, i will do a video so you all can see how i flat-twist my hair and how much product i use to get my results :)

Side Puff!

I planned to go out on Saturday night for my friend's birthdays but had no idea how i was going to wear my hair. I straightened my hair earlier in the week (Yes! I said straightened... I'll get to that a little later) and the humidity and the fact that it got caught in the rain caused the ends to puff and frizz up. I wasn't sure what i was going to do with my hair but i decided to get in the shower without a shower cap so it could puff and swell up a little. When i came out of the shower, it had shrunken significantly on the sides and just curled up everywhere else. While adding some Shea butter and playing with possible ways to manipulate my hair into cool styles, i pushed to the side and was loving it! I used my brush to smooth down the sides and pushed my headband back, and sideways and ....

(Please excuse the shiny, oily, tipsy face... lol)

I was really in love with the outcome and even got to wear it the same way again the next day before decidng to wash it because the ends were feeling pretty dry. Don't you love when you discover a new favorite style?! 

Stay tuned for the next post coming up to see my straightened pics!

Minimal time styling

I've been so busy in this past month that i really haven't had much time for my hair. I usually wash my hair 2 to 3 times a week but lately its been more like once every 5-7 days. Having such little time for myself, i've really been learning how to prolong my styles. I blew out my hair last Thursday and i've been keeping it stretched by sleeping with it up in a puff or putting it into 4 small puffs. I went to visit my mom yesterday and wore my hair like this:

When i got home last night i had a little extra time so i decided to flat twist my hair. I was originally planning to keep it for the week but i wasn't crazy about how the twists looked so i decided to rock a twist out instead. I twisted 6 big flat twists using my Curls Passion Fruit Curl Control paste.
Click the jump for the results...

Style Longevity (The Post Blogger Ate)

Long, Long ago... a week and a half ago... lol
I rollerset my hair about a week and a half ago and I've really been able to do a lot with my hair. I'm seeing growth and i feel like i'm getting into a few more styling options which i'm loving! About 2 days after wearing the 2 strand twisted updo, i got tired of the style because as it was nice, the style just really wasn't me... I washed my hair with the twists in and just wore them pushed back with a headband while they dried that day, and dried they did, and shriveled all the way up too!

Once they were dry that night, knowing that i wanted to wear a twist out the next day and that i wouldn't want it to be so shrunken, i untwisted my hair and  banded to stretch it for the next day.
After banding, i pinned my hair down using roller clips to encourage downward handing, then tied with my satin scarf to sleep.
Here are the results!! :
Day 1 Hair ~ Defined, virtually frizz free and stretched out.



Day 2 Hair ~ Still stretched, a little frizzy but in a good way and much bigger! I used my pinned-down method which i always get soo many compliments on.

Day 3 Hair~
I decided i wanted to wear my hair up so i pushed my hair back using a doubled headband to make a puff and made pinned-down side bangs .. Love it!!!

 They caught us Ridin' Dirty.... and the guy in Toys R Us came and told us that we weren't allowed to play in the Power Wheels, lol.

Ketchup!

I hate the times when i'm so busy that i dont have time to post, and trust me, I try. These days i've been so busy I haven't been going to sleep, but instead, literally passing out... I woke up the other night wondering why i was hot and came to realize i was still fully dressed, leather jacket and all. LOL.
Either way, just because i've been busy doesn't mean i've forgotten you ::hugs:: I've still been trying to keep tabs with whats going on with Her Majesty up there. Time to play ketchup.

04/17 ~ Attemped Bantu Knots for the first time .... eehhh... Didn't come out bad but not really my cup of tea with this TWA. It curls up a lot which im sure would come out nice on longer hair with bigger knots, just with the fact that im trying to avoid shrinkage, no thanks on the bantu knots for a while.

I'm really over having short hair so i've been wearing my hair in anyway that i can keep it somewhat stretched. 04/18 ~ Trusty Blowout Pinned up on the side with a flower

The next day I decided to wear  a puff with twists in the front

And this past Thursday i rollerset my hair, brushed it out, and wore it in a banana clip :)

It seems as though the looser/silkier textures, which is basically down the middle, came out straighter and the curlier/dryer textures came out stretched but still looking afro-ey.

Here are some crappy phone pics of me today rockin' a 3 day old twist out from this rollerset (the flash is making my makeup look wierd.. uhg)

My hair is growing and April 29th, made it officially one year since i had last colored my hair, the reason why i did my second BC back in octoboer.

It's time for a trim and with how busy i am, i think i'm just going to do extension braids again so i can prolong needing to trim and work on some length retention :)