Sunday Question: Your Curl Preference (Poll)

Last week's fluffy hair

In case you haven't been following YAIS for very long, it's a good time to mention that I prefer to rock big, poofy, undefined hair. I've been considering my reasons why and I think it's a combination of me being lazy (can't be bothered defining all the hair on my head sometimes) and adoring really big hair. That's just my style preference. However, I do notice that some naturals knock others for not defining their curls, because undefined hair looks "unkempt" or maybe it reminds people that a lot of us who are black (mixed or not) have a hair type that still isn't fully accepted. I mean, Solange gets crap for her so-called "uneven, picked out fro"and many seem to always comment on how the black kids of celebrities who leave their hair in the same manner. It seems we really have something to say about it! I like the defined curly look but as I said, big "fluffy" hair is a style preference. I'm wondering though, how many of us are strictly looking for curl definition and how often do some of us rock the undefined look? Vote in our poll at the top of the page and leave your comments below!

Reflections: Length Obsessing

Just passing my 2nd year anniversary on this journey has had me doing so much thinking... One of the biggest thoughts being: Why have I been obsessing so much over long natural  hair?

As I have been trying to get out all of my last few TWA posts and now that I'm in the In-Be-Twa stage, it really put this length obsessing into perspective.

 When I was relaxed I hated my hair! It was always thin and stringy, though it helped me blend in with the rest of society for as long as I wanted until I decided to go natural (texturized really) in high school.

Once high school was over, I was over my stagnant hair.

I never remember having any hair that went significantly passed my shoulder, so with having "hair that doesn't grow", I opted for a short cropped cut, and loved it!

 I thought I could keep my hair texturized with this process, but that was too much work for me to keep it straight, so I finally gave in and relaxed it. I loved wearing my cropped cuts for a while, but after a catastrophe, even if I decided to relax my hair again later, I knew that going natural was the way.

All of my natural hair inspiration were long haired girls. I mean, I saw pics of beautiful TWA's, beautiful TWA cuts and hairstyles, but even though I went natural and chopped all my hair off, what I really wanted was natural long hair.

I liked my 2 inch TWA, easy and beautiful, but I won't lie, I've hardly enjoyed the in between time, and I still haven't gotten to a point where I truly love my hair and everything its doing. Don't get me wrong, I've already fallen madly in love with the textures of my hair, but I never wanted or even considered short natural hair, I want to see my curls in inches upon inches! I'm also dying to see my curl pattern as my hair gets a little longer and heavier! lol

So why am I obsessing over length? Because I want what I want! lol I wore my cropped cuts for nearly 4 years, and had nearly shoulder length or only a little past shoulder length (when i was much younger) hair my whole life before that, so I'd say I have every right to be extremely over having short hair...

That being said, I'm calming down on the length obsessing, because unfortunately i don't have play-doh hair that i can just press my scalp down and grow it as long as I want instantly, lol.

I also realize that I am a slow grower, yielding about a 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch a month, so I will not be reaching my goals as fast as the average growers, but instead I may be 6 months to a year behind.

I've also realized how extremely fine and fragile my hair is, and I think I can finally say that I'm ready to let go of color! I will be keeping my little party patch in the front, and i would be lying if I said I might not try some highlights or a little Ombre in the future, but I can say that i will NEVER do a full head of color on my hair again. I realized that my hair is silky and is a lot stronger without the color, which also means more natural slip, less ssk's and split ends for me... more length retention.. woop woop!

Look at how naturally happy, healthy, and silky my virgin hair is! I can't wait!

Funny because at the start of my natural journey, I had did a second big chop to get rid of color damaged hair and go back to virgin hair, and my hair wasn't even as damaged as it is now. One thing's for sure, I won't be making any hasty decisions and chopping my hair off again! lol

So, I'm calming down on the length obsessing and turning up the protective styling and patience, because I have at least 3 or 4 years before I reach my length goals. With my tightly curled hair, I want to grow my hair  until it's shoulder length to arm pit length in a wash and go without any stretching. You know what that means, look forward to at least another 3 to 4 years of growing and styling with me!!! Woo Hoo!!!

What reflections have your hair milestones bought upon you?

Dry and Itchy Scalp Remedies That Work

Forgive me for not posting for a bit, it's been a hectic week! Hurricane Sandy really devastate NYC, and while my area in Queens doesn't have terrible damage, I've had to check on family in nearby New Jersey and Staten Island by renting a car (which was hell in itself), while working from home all week because my office in Manhattan had no electricity. Hope all our YAIS readers faired through the storm ok! Luckily everyone is good on my end, and I'm trying to get everything back to normal. One of those things is washing my hair today and getting my scalp back to normal because as I type, it is on fire! It's been itching and flaking like you won't believe, which always seems to happen when the weather changes, so I'm revisiting some treatments that have worked for me in the past that I thought to share!

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

Diluted in water, this treatment has always been tried and true for me. After washing and conditioning my hair, I use the mixture (about 1/4 cup to 2 cups of water) as a final rinse. It results to a soothed scalp and shiny hair with no lingering scent. I used to do this once a week in the winter especially and had no scalp issues for the entire season.

Bentonite Clay

I consider myself a veteran user of this. I actually make a clay mask once a week for my combination skin type, and I've blogged before how awesome it is for hair. I definitely have focused on my scalp when applying the clay to my hair and it really helps - I actually use apple cider vinegar and raw honey in my mixture which leaves my scalp and hair feeling and looking great!

Tea Tree Oil

This oil is magic in a bottle for me. I used to have severe eczema flair-ups when I was younger and my diluted tea tree oil was applied to my skin to clear it up. You really only need a little bit of this stuff because using too much can cause irritation. When I wore my hair straight or wanted a style to last a while but my scalp was itching, I would take a cotton swap with a diluted tea tree oil mixture and dab it on my scalp to cool it off and stop the flaking.

What are you some of your tried-and-true dry scalp treatments?

Twist Out From my Roller Set Results!

  After having fun with the pincurls after my roller set the other day, I decided to put my hair into my usual flat twist pattern to prep for a twist out.

I wore the twists for a day or two, under my silk scarves and hats, and decided to take them out yesterday (though I had nothing to do).

This was my first time doing a twist out on hair that had been pincurled, and I have to say i really love how much a lot of the ends held the curls from the pincurls, even after being twisted. My hair in the front is a lot looser than the rest of my hair, so its no surprise to me that the ends came out a little straighter in the front, so I think I will have to be changing up my pattern a little bit when doing twist outs on rollerset hair, so the texture in the front will also have the curly waves of the hair every where else.

Protective Style Fail: A Straight Weave

 I was really loving the look of this weave, but unfortunately it didn't last for me with all of the humidity that's been in NYC thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

I used to use this weave when my hair was relaxed and it matched my hair perfectly... it still does now if my hair is bone straight, but I've learned that I definitely need a weave that will plump up a little when my hair plumps up!

I did not want to have to keep adding heat to my hair so out it came, which is what led to the roller set I posted about yesterday (backwards, I know). I don't think I'll be straightening my hair again until the holidays or maybe even the New Year... until then, I think roller sets and twist outs pulled up into cute updo's is going to be the way to go for me. I'm looking to get another little job so I'm trying to make sure I have a  few go-to looks, which will definitely be including my banana clip!

I also found a YouTuber who's protective styling videos I've fallen in love with! She like me has low density, fine hair so a lot of her styles are very simple and elegant, focusing on making sure to not add too much tension to the hair, and creating styles that help create or give the illusion of fullness. I will definitely be posting and trying a few of her style videos, having to do minor tweaks because my hair is shorter, but I'm sure you all will love the styles!

I'm trying to protective style but i'm not winning here... maybe it really isn't for me... but I won't give up yet! Has protective styling failed for you in the past? What/who helped you?

Review: Rollersetting with Eco Styler Gel

 I don't remember who or where I saw the idea of roller setting with Eco Styler gel, but I wanted to roller set my hair, and was hoping that Eco styler gel would be the answer to a smoother set... boy was I right!!!


After washing, I used Lasio Lasio Leave - in conditioner, and proceeded to roller set my hair, adding Eco-styler gel to each detangled and smoothed section, before placing my hair on the roller. I used my usual roller set placement, and sat under the dryer for at least an hour while doing my little mani. 


I was surprised by how straight and unbelievably soft my hair was, no crunch, just silky smooth and straight. I ran a little CHI Silk Infusion over my hair for a little shine, softness, and to lock in the moisture.



 Of course my roots were a little wavy, as with any roller set, but they might even have been the least wavy of any set I've done before. 


When I took the set out, I had no plans to go anywhere, so I just decided to pincurl and go to sleep. The next day I was supposed to be having an interview, but due to hurricane Sandy here in NYC, those plans were shut down. So to avoid cabin fever, I decided I would take some time and play in my hair. 


Taking down my pin curls resulted in an absolutely adorable  
 curly look. I decided to further experiment with a few quick up dos and my banana clip, and even came up with a super cute look that I didn't use a banana clip for, but would have needed Bobbi pins or hair combs instead.


I'd say my hair came out amazing, and I love the silky straight results! I don't think I will ever be roller setting without Eco Styler again, not to mention I didn't even have to use end wraps
 and my ends are straighter than usual.


I would say the only downside, and only to my own fault, that I might have used a little too much gel in some areas, as I did end up with a little residue but I was able to slide it off the strands with ease.



My hair is twisted up right now, in preparation for a twist out from this glorious set, which I imagine will come out even better because of the Eco Styler gel.

Hurricane Sandy definitely ruined my Halloween 2012, but at least she couldn't ruin my good hair life! lol


 Have any of you ladies done a roller set with Eco-Styler Gel? How'd that work out for you?! I love it!!

My heart is going out to NYC right now, all of those hit hard by Sandy, stay strong, this is NYC and we will fight through it!

Vacation Hair: Puerto Rico Edition

While I'm sad that I'm not eating my way through San Juan at the moment, I'm excited to update with some posts again! I've never been to Puerto Rico and Mr. Smooth (the husband) hasn't been back in fourteen years and has actually never stayed in San Juan because his family isn't from there; it was a nice adventure for both of us!

We only took carry on-bags, so I didn't pack much products to follow the TSA's 3-1-1 rule, and I had decided I wouldn't need much anyway - just Ouidad Climate Control Shampoo, Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle (for a leave-in) and an oil, Curls Champagne Curl Elixir. I kept my routine pretty simple with WnG's and throwing my hair in a ponytail. With all the walking/hiking/activities being done, I did not have time to fuss over my hair like that. If you follow YAIS on Instagram, you might have seen a couple of pics of my hair while I was out there.