The Young, Curly and Fabulous - Another Curly Perspective

Please join us in welcoming our newest contributor to YAIS, Ariel. She is a college student hailing from NYC and currently studying Fine Arts in San Francisco. She was featured as a Style Icon at Black Girl Long Hair and between studying and creating her art she will be contributing to the blog a couple of times a month; show her some love!

Ariel

Art student, poet, visual artist, amateur chef, social commentator, sister, friend, daughter, procrastinator, and full time daydreamer. *Phew*. Oh, and did I forget to mention I'm a 3b, no poo, bleach-blonde (for the moment) curly? I bet you're wondering how I balance pigment stripped hair, two online classes, two studio classes, and a life.

I've been a natural my whole life, and I didn't have my first real roller set at a salon until I was fourteen. I know that's not every little girls story, and some curls are late in life which is totally fine. Hair at the end of the day is hair. I never had a choice; after a lifetime of perms my mother never wanted either of her girls to have one. But as any normal teenage girl, I wanted to rebel. My mother loved my curls so I straightened them in all the wrong ways. I've flat ironed my hair wet, slathered it in Dax, hot combed it, blown it out, colored it black and bleached it to blonde with a 40 volume. In case you didn't know, all those things are bad. I'm not a professional, but I do have a crap load of experience in damage control. I can save me some damaged hair like nobodies business.

Now that I think about it, I use to tell myself I didn't want a perm because it had the potential to damage my hair. Honestly coloring is not that much different. I choose to be curly because I love my hair. I like that I can have a neon yellow bone straight style, a hot pink fro, or have ebony black finger waves. You don't ever really know who you'll be tomorrow. With that being said I feel like just as unknown as the future me is, my hair should reflect that unpredictability.As silly as it may be hair means something to me; as impossible as it is to find a decent black hair salon out here in San Francisco (that doesn't require you to give up your first born child for a wash and set) I would never perm my head. I look at my hair in the mirror an I see potential. I see that it needs attention, care, I see that its wild and romantic, its strong, I see my blackness (or should I say I can see my Africa showing). I see me in my hair every morning. So, if I can depart some words that might
make others feel similar so shall it be.

Questions for Ariel? Send an email to: yais.nyc (at) gmail (dot) com with "Ariel" in the subject line, or just leave a comment below!

Twisted and Braided TWA Updo + Fun Makeup!

Yes, another video, and this one was actually filmed within 6 months of posting, lmfao.
I've been sick for the past couple of days with a cold, and not only have I been physically sick, but i've been sick of detangling, single strand knots and dryness, so with my scratchy throat and runny nose, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and got to styling... 

I had no specific style in mind, although I would say I was inspired by Curly Film Chick's many 2-strand twisted hairstyles which is what had me starting with the twisted bang area. The rest I totally freestyled, keeping in mind that I didnt want any hair hanging, and the back of my hair is soft and would slip out of twists. This updo was done on an old twist out that was picked out. I parted my hair into 5 sections, one for the bang area, and then 4 equal sections, with 4 flat twists in both front sections going inward towards the back/middle of my head. The back sections consist of 4 cornrows on either side, going inwards towards the middle/back of my head. Once all braiding and twisting was done, i twisted all of the braids and twists together, tucked where ever needed, and used booby pins to secure the style. I wasn't crazy about the bang area hanging but i love the way it looks with it pincurled in a pin-up sort of way.  One thing I did think of when doing this style was versatility and i like that I can take the bang area out and wear it as a twist-out or even put in regular 2 strand twists!

I only used 2 products while doing my hair: Shea Moisture Curl Enhacing Smoothie and Herbal Essences Split End Mender (which i quickly flashed in the video). I plan to keep this in for about a week and I'm hoping I actually stick to what I say this time! 

A shot of my makeup before I started doing my hair

Styling My Straightened TWA

So Ladies and Gents, I know this is horrible but I made this video for you all back in February when i straightened and styled my hair and never got to post it... So without any further ado...

Enjoy!

Hair For the week: Curly Twists

So I went from being really lost with how to style my hair to coming up with a style I really like. It's funny- I parted my hair into four sections like usual and started doing two strand twists in the back. When it came to the front half of my hair I had no idea what to do, so I decided to wait till the following morning (Monday) to do something. And here was the outcome:

Not to bad right? Another variation on single twists in the back, and flat-twists in the front. For some reason I still wasn't satisfied, so I went a little further.

Playing with Protective Styling Ideas: TWA Updos

As most of you can see, I dont protective style much although i'm trying to get back into a better routine of doing so, my problem mostly is that I'm tired of looking the same way, and a lot of other styles just aren't me...
 I can easily create a lot of twisted and braided styles to wear but with being conscious about my thin hairline/hair and just not liking the overall look.. I tend to lean towards more loose styling alternatives. Now don't get me wrong, I more than definitely plan to wear more twisted and braided styles, but the twist and braid looks I'm going for are looks that are on longer hair, because I'm not a fan of how most short braided and twisted styles look on me. I also must always keep in mind my personality and professional appearance when i'm styling my hair because as a hairstylist, my hair really reflects my talents and who I am.

I also keep having the problem of braiding my hair too tight and needing to take it out right away... I'm not a super tight braider, but i braid very secure for it to be neat, making sure every strand is accounted for, so by the end with all the braids together it starts to feel tight and I just can't take it. Last week I was going to try braiding my hair into a protective style but by the time I was done with 3 braids it was feeling tight already and  I couldn't do another.... so I decided to free-style the rest of the hairstyle with 

flat twists and hairpins.. lol

I didn't care about neatness in the "kitchen" (still don't know why its called that... Is it because that's where you keep the peas? Lol.. No seriously?) area, I just used my hands to flat twist, roll, pin and tuck what ever I felt and however it came out was surely how I was going to wear it. I added no extra products while doing this and my hair was done on an old twist out, which explains the bang area. 

I quickly made this style messy when I passed a hat vendor and came across this slouchy cutie which I immediately shoved on my head and wore for the rest of the day! The only thing is... since i wasn't wearing a bonnet, it dried my hair out a whole heck of a lot. Some oil treatments and a few DC's later... all is well with your majesty.

What To Do With This Hair of Mine?

A.

B.

C.

Hey there natural hair enthusiasts!

So shots A-C show my general cluelessness about what to do with my hair for the week. It's been clarified, deep conditioned and air-dried in bun (a sleek one I might add, for a 90th birthday party I had to attend yesterday for a relative) and now I'm up  this morning and full of energy, with no idea on how to style it. Should I do curl formers? A Twist-out? Should I do a protective style like twists or box braids? Bun it? Alas, the possibilities seem endless.

I plan on relaxing today and tomorrow (since I'm off from work) and I have some time to play in my hair. I've been having the urge to wear it straight for a bit, which usually happens when I'm utterly bored and need a drastic change up so that might be coming within the next couple of weeks. But for right now, what should I do ladies and gents? How should I style my hair for the week?

Bad Comment About Your Natural Hair? "Dust Your Shoulders Off"

--You're at a party with family you haven't seen in a while. You're loving the way you look and your twist out looks gorgeous. A cousin tells you that you shouldn't be wearing your hair like that because it's upsetting an aunt, showing up with "nappy" hair.

--You've just mastered a new hairstyle. You've been practicing it for weeks and finally you've gotten your hair to look amazing. Your significant other (boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife) really isn't feeling the look and tells you so.

-- Another celebrity once again sounds off about wanting someone with good hair, and you know your hair type isn't what they have in mind.

--Your parents are asking you when you're going to do something about "that hair of yours."

-- At work, you are told by another black co-workeryour braids/locks/twists are inappropriate and will not get you a promoted

-- A friend has offered to straighten your hair for you and you know they mean well but it's still rubbing you the wrong way.

What do you do?

Dust your shoulders off.

I know it can be tough because the people who are the closest to you may be the ones who are making these comments. But take a moment today to just look at your curls/coils/waves and appreciate who you are and what you've got, whether you're transitioning or fully natural. And once you've done that, feel free to let us know what you've discovered about loving your hair! Let's keep positive vibes!