Giovanni Samplers giveaway!

We Extended the time for our Mini Giveaway so you ladies and gentle guys could get your submissions in and win!

Winners will recieve a 4 sample sizes of Giovanni products! 

The Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo and  Conditioner and the 50:50 Balanced Shampoo and 50:50 Hydrating Calming Conditioner.... That's 4 products!!! 

(This is the 2 fl oz sample size you will recieve of all 4 products!!!)

 We both love Giovanni products and the Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo even happens to be a staple for CFC. Check out her review here.

Giveaway rules...

Since it's winter and protective styling is pretty useful for growth retention, we want you to send us a pic of your favorite protective style. It can be buns, twists, braids, etc. Feel free to tell us how you achieved the style in a sentence or two. Since we are extending it, we figured we'd wait until after Thanksgiving/Holiday because we know everyone wants to look nice and will be sure to pull out their coolest style ideas...


We'll be selecting 2 winners at random and hope to post our favorite styles from people who have submitted. Deadline is next Sunday, November 28th @ 8pm so make sure to get those styles in! Send your entries to yais.nyc@gmail.com with  "Protective Style" in the subject line.


In order to be eligible you must reside in the United States (sorry no internationals right now!) and a follower of the blog. Have fun and embrace your curly you!

Relaxers Vs. Naturals III

The pro's and con's of being relaxed.

The pro's and con's of being natural.

I figured i could be a credible source to speak on this topic considering i have been both relaxed and natural several times in my life. Also, through being a hairstylist, i have learned a lot about hair and chemicals scientifically and also the way people feel about different hair types and textures. I feel like i understand both the natural and relaxed worlds for what they are and i am not biased to either side (okay... maybe a little)

That being said....to the lists!

RELAXED

Pro's of being Relaxed:

• Wearing straight hairstyles ~ We all know we can blowout and straighten our long curly hair easily, but what about those girls who wish they could stay natural and sport a Halle Berry cut? No? Is that only me? lol 
• Ease of styling. ~ For some... Depending on a person's texture, or just their preferences, they may find styling relaxed hair easier.
• Can cut down on styling time.
• Doesn't alarm "The MAN" or his brainwashed counterparts.

Cons of being Relaxed:

• Putting a chemical on your head every other month or so.... for years.
• Compromising the integrity of the hair ~ Weakening the hair with chemicals, causing damage and making it susceptible to further damage.
• Over-processed hair ~ Over processed hair can lead to a great deal of ailments, such as brittle, dry, thin, lifeless, breaking hair.
• Chemical burns ~ Some people suffer severely from chemicals burns, causing a peeling, raw and painful sore on the scalp. It can cause scalp dryness and may even burn the hair follicles in some areas, potentially resulting in a bald spot.
• Even those women who's hair seem to tolerate relaxer very well will experience thinning over years of relaxing.

NATURAL

Pro's of being Natural: 

• Not putting a chemical on your head to straighten your hair permanently and comply with the unrealistic beauty standards of today's society.
• Versatility ~ Having the versatility of wearing so many different styles. From braids, to twist- outs, to Afro puffs, to wash and go's, we can wear our hair in so many different styles in it's natural state, and if we want to wear our hair straight, we can just flatiron, roller set, blow dry, silk wrap or find other methods to stretch our hair.
• Don't have to worry about your hair getting wet in the rain, or on a vacation, or sweating your hair out in the club (if you go with a natural style) or at the gym or during any other extra curricular activities.
• Hair doesn't look thin and stringy when wet
• Fuller, thicker, stronger, longer growing hair if properly cared for.
• Hair looks fuller, healthier, and has a beautiful texture when worn straight, and can always just be washed to revert back to curly.

Con's of being Natural:

• Tangled hair, single and double strand knots.
• Shrinkage  and Frizz~ I think the same goes for both of these issues, some people don't mind the shrinkage and frizz associated with natural hair, while  a lot of women do. 
• Can be time consuming (But i would always take the time for myself =)
• Some women may have multiple textures and may need to learn how to properly style their hair to achieve their desired look. 

Now these are just my general observations from way too many hours of blogging and forums, along with some facts, that i have broken down into Pro's and Con's. I'm sure there are  some missing and i would be very interested in seeing what everyone thinks are the best and worst  :)

*Check out Relaxers Vs. Naturals  and Relaxers Vs. Naturals II  

My Color Decision

Natural hair enthusiasts, I have a confession. I am one who has never been to a salon, and yet for the first time in my (whole) natural life, I made an appointment for this Sunday to get my hair colored. It's not so much the coloring services I'm worried about. I love color and have had it before, and each time either my mother or SP put it in. But seeing as how I can count the number of people who have ever done my hair on one hand, I'm nervous about anyone touching and managing my hair. I'm sure we can all relate to that.

I went for a consultation last week and my hair was in twists. The colorist had curly hair too and she felt on it and asked me if I had ever gotten color before. I told her that I had hi-lights about a year-and-half ago and use henna and she said okay. She studied my face and my hair and then asked me what colors I was interested in. At first I told her I wanted a full head of light brown hair, like a chocolate color, but after discussing it with her a little more I decided on hi lights. She gave me her card and said to make an appointment with her anytime. I decided that I would because she made me feel as comfortable as I was gonna get with anyone. And then I promptly called SP to tell her and we decided to make a whole hair day out of it. Meaning, she's going to accompany me to the salon and then style my hair after (and I get to apply henna to her new twa!)

For anyone whose interested, I decided to go to an Aveda Lifestyle Salon Natural Looks in Elmhurst, Queens (my newly adopted boro!) inside the mall. I know of Aveda because SP trained there and they use a lot of natural ingredients. I have even used some of their products. I opted out of box dyes because I want to try this and I like Aveda, as pricey as they are. I'm hoping it's worth it.

The best TWA twist out i ever had!

So obviously i can't control myself and keep in a hairstyle for too long... well i was tempted okay! (what was i thinking when i said locking? lol) Yesterday i went to the health food store to pick up some Aloe Gel and essential oils when i came across a product line i had seen and heard much buzz about, Beautiful Curls. I am such a product junkie so you know i had to get something!!! Lol

I tested it out on one of my little twists in the store and i loved the way it felt in my hair, not to mention how beautiful it made my little curls look.  I sat up last night while on the my computer, untwisting my twists with this cream, doing a little finger twirling, not even looking at what i was doing. When i got up and looked in the mirror, i couldn't believe how beautiful the twist out looked. I sprayed my scalp and hair with my Aloe grow, put on my bonnet and went to sleep. When i woke up this morning and took off my bonnet... WOW! My twist out is so soft and looks so silky and shiny and is by far my best twist out to date... it also looks like a i got a little bit of growth... tomorrow will be one month since i chopped again, so that's prettty cool.

A little TWA hairporn? 

Short hair don't care! Lol

Hair For the Week: Buns

Since my hair is loose and I had no desire to put my hair in twists since experimenting with the bantu knot outs buns seem to be the answer. I still want to keep up with protective styling. I was practicing different ones last night so that I'm not at a loss of what to do in the mornings. I watched some youtube videos for inspiration and this is what I got...

Low side bun

high bun

Double Buns

Excuse the slight messiness of the hair, I'll share neater buns in later posts as well as a couple of other bun styles...

Tiny 2 strand twists

I put these 2 strand twists in on Thursday night because i felt like it was time for a protective style for my new lil' TWA. Here is a picture of them today after i twirled them around my finger with some vitamin e oil for shine and moisture.

I would definitely say my hair is happy being in these little twists, and my head is happy that im not still trying to co-wash daily cuz its freezing here! I am going to try and keep these in for another week,  and just moisturize them with shea butter and vitamin E oil, and add a little castor oil to my poor thin egdes :(
I have been wearing these under my satin bonnet and Beanie since it's cold and i think i may just continue to 2 strand twist or maybe even lock (probably not) my hair for the winter because i want to retain as much length as possible. I also dont plan on needing to trim again until the summer, so wearing 2 strand twists under a satin bonnet and hat for the winter should help to keep away any splits and single strand knots. Hopefully i will see some nice growth when i take these out too...

I may try a twist out with these on Friday or Saturday or something... stay tuned And dont forget about the GIVEAWAY!!!

Bantu Knot Out part 2

So instead of just wrapping my hair around itself I set my knots by doing two strand twists and then wrapping the hair. I co-washed my hair with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration, rinsed it out with cold water, and then used Knot Today as a leave in, sealing with Burts Bees Avocado Butter and Coconut Oil.



Unraveled hair



It seems to resemble more like a twist out to me. I like the way it looks, but it doesn't look anything like the knot-out I did with just single strands.

Hmm, more practice is in order... maybe more with the single strand knot out. I might even try using gel next time.