Sunday Question: Styles You Still Haven't Mastered

I have a confession to make guys. After all these years of being natural, spending the past 3 on healthy hair care practices and great styling, there's one thing I fail at.

Twist outs.

If you check out our twist out tags, you'll notice a sea of beautiful posts from SP and this one little post from 2011 from me, which wasn't even all that. I SUCK at them and no matter how many techniques I've tried, I just can't. One of my hair goals of 2013 is to do a really great twist-out, although I'm kind of holding my breath for it. Meh.

So tell me, which natural hair style/technique have you yet to master?

Results: Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls

Description:
Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls is a light-as-a-feather styling lotion that incorporates "fabric softener" technology to help you obtain large, flowing curls. Helps prevent tight, ramen noodle curls, instead offering larger, expanded curls. 
This lotion delivers fluffy, touchable curls and larger than life volume, without weighing down your hair's natural bounce. It’s made with a healing blend of avocado, coconut, sweet almond, and olive to repair dry, damaged locks.

Took a picture with flash so you can see fluffy curls

End of day hair

Wednesday's experiment with Miss Jessie's Soft Pillow Curls was...interesting. I washed and conditioned my hair, then split my hair into four sections and worked some of the product through. I wasn't heavy handed with it and still have plenty left in my sample pack. I don't think my hair turned out bad, and it seems the product did exactly what it promised to do: curls with volume. But there's a reason why I washed it out of my hair last night: the smell. It wasn't a joke when they said this product "incorporates "fabric softener" technology" because that is exactly what my hair smelled like. It gave me a headache and I couldn't shake this feeling of being at the laundry. I don't know, guys. I'm glad I got a sample and it wasn't a complete disaster but for $22, I won't be purchasing. The smell alone turns me off and I just can't take it, but some people can.

Have you tried Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls?

Trying: Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls

I subscribe to Birchbox to get samples of beauty, hair and lifestyle products and this month, I found Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls in my sample box. I've never tried anything from Miss Jessie's because I've read reviews where they're hit and miss and they were too pricey for my college wallet.

I've looked up some reviews specifically on Pillow Soft Curls and I admit, I'm not hearing too many great things, but I'm going to give it a try and report back tomorrow - might as well. For the record, here is how my hair looks now:

Pardon the tired look, it's been a long day of work (as usual, ugh!) From the description of the product, it's promising the big hair I love and possibly some definition. Off I go to try this out!

In The City: Spot Dessert Bar

My sister-in-law and I went out one night a couple of weeks ago and after dining at a nice Portuguese restaurant in East Mid-town, we were on the hunt for some delicious dessert. I had planned to take her to this cafe in the West Village, but by the time we got there it was closed! Determined to get our desert-fix we ventured over to the East Village in hopes that we'd find something. Luckily we walked down St. Mark's Place (8th Street between 3rd and 2nd Avenues) and stumbled upon Spot Dessert Bar. As many times as I've hung around this area I never heard of this place so it was new for both of us.

Apparently this place is really popular (being Zagat rated and everything) and I immediately saw why. At 10pm it was bustling and bright inside, with patrons enjoying coffees and teas with pretty looking desserts. My SIL and I were seated by a friendly server and given a menu with choices of cakes, ice-creams, and other pastries and since we were completely new to this place, we decided to share their most popular dessert, the Chocolate Green Tea Lava.

I'm actually not a huge fan of green tea ice-cream and my SIL didn't like the taste of it plain, but eaten with the chocolate lava cake it was actually a delicious combination of flavors. I also had a cup of Jasmine tea and the SIL had coffee. We stayed there for a bit enjoying the dessert, the ambiance and best of all at 11pm cupcakes were half-off, so I decided to bring one home for Mr. Smooth (which means I had some too #nomnom). This place boasts of fresh ingredients with Asian inspired desserts and I have to say, worth checking out. It's not a cheapie spot but I also don't think it's expensive given the type of food it is. We enjoyed our night here for sure and it looks like we have plans to be back here this coming weekend.

Have you been to Spot Dessert Bar? Let us know!

Back to Henna

So what have I (CFC) been up to? I haven't posted in nearly four weeks! Longtime readers know that there are patterns in terms of how often SP and I update. While we usually stagger our posts throughout the week, when there's only one of us doing most of the posts it usually means the other is putting in overtime in our work life - during fashion weeks SP is m.i.a and in my case when film festivals or major industry conferences (since I work in entertainment) come up, I'm swamped!

What has that meant for my hair? Nothing of note. I've played with my flatiron a couple of times; one time was going all out with blow-drying included while the last time was just a pass of the flatiron over hair that had been washed, conditioned and braided the night before which gave me a big wavy look:

My hair last week

I've noticed this weather has made my hair react all sorts of ways, and that I have more gray hair then I remember! Coupled with the fact that my ends were feeling a little stale I was looking forward to some gentle TLC for my hair. While packing over the weekend (I'm in the midst of moving) I came across a pack of henna that I recall buying over the summer. Since I knew damn well one box wouldn't be enough to cover my entire head, I opted to do a henna conditioning treatment (otherwise known as a henna gloss). This just means I add conditioner to my henna amongst other ingredients, and for those who experience severe dryness after henna or do not want too much color this is a great alternative to a regular henna treatment. I used Herbal Essence Hello Hydration and added about a tablespoon of raw honey. Since I did want some color, I let the henna sit over night and used red wine for dye release because I didn't have any green tea, which worked just as well. I was tempted to use apple cider vinegar instead, but I read that it really stinks up the mixture.



















I left the mix in my hair for about an hour or so, then rinsed it out with the help of a Suave Conditioner and wrapped my hair in a white t-shirt to dry. I have to say, my *naked* hair felt really good. My curls were really defined and felt silky smooth. I apologize for the crappy phone picture but I hope you can see what I mean

So that's that! I actually washed my hair again today just to be sure I got all the henna out of my hair, and it's now set in bantu-knots. I have a holiday party to attend tomorrow so I have to make sure my hair looks nice and big!

Sunday Question Revamped: Dealing With Negative Hair Comments ON A DATE!

My first Sunday Question! Yay!! lol

While reading through the blog, I had came across one of Curly Film Chick's loved Sunday Questions about dealing with negative hair comments and it really triggered a few thoughts of my own, especially being I recently went through a situation I thought I should post about...

A few weeks ago, I met a new guy (uhg... single life) and decided he seemed nice enough to allow him to take me on a date. He was a black guy, of Carribean descent, so I was very taken aback when he decided to make a "joke" about my hair. He was wearing one of these hats:

And proceeded to tell me not only that my hair looked like his hat, but that I needed to give Oprah her hair back.

 -__-

Last I checked, I actually wouldn't mind having some hair like Oprah's, in any state... we all know Oprah has that good hair. lol

I'm new to the dating world, but I know thats definitely not okay, joke or not. I responded with my greatest amount of sarcasm "Oh, I'm sorry I'm black" and proceeded to do my best not to choke him out.

He was surprised that I didn't find it funny (dumb@$$) but I just didn't get where any one in their right mind would think that's okay...

 I mean I met him on the day I had this hairstyle (not the style that was judged) but I guess he didn't notice then that I had natural hair... and that I was black ... so I don't know what he was expecting. 

It doesn't even surprise me that it would be coming from a black man either...

What do you think ladies? Have you ever experienced such adversity on a date? Even when dating "your own kind"? 

Help!

Pincurls: Preserving My Flatironed Natural Hair

That's right! This is probably going to be the last video of this week but here's for you all! Videos from me to you! I hope you all enjoy these videos and they are in some or any way helpful :) 

Love you followers! 

Natural Year 2: Blow out, Flat Iron, Length Check & Reflections

 I broke the videos down into 3 parts so it wouldn't be one super long video, but I guess I'll let the videos (or me) do all the talking for themselves :) ... but wait? Why is Debbie in the background tryna steal my shine? lol
 #pleaseexcusemycreepyoldcosmetologyschoolmannequinhead

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Baby Eczema Therapy Review

 You know how they say everything happens for a reason... well what a grand reason today! I was on my way to Yoga, only to realize that it was overcrowded when I arrived :(

Instead of fretting, I remembered that I wasn't too far from Bryant Park and the fact that Shea Moisture had a tent sent up there!!! Did I mention they also have their products selling at 3 products for $25 there?

Anyhoo, I know I mentioned using a new product in my post yesterday about my Poppin' Curls... watch the video to check out my review! The product I'm reviewing is Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Baby Eczema Therapy with Argan Oil & Extracts of Frankincense and Myrrh.

Though this is a body product, I loved the ingredients and decided to try it in my hair and boy do I love this product! It really moisturizes my skin, without leaving it greasy, smells great, and keep my eczema from feeling dry and itchy. I have even used this overnight on my face with no issues. It moisturizes and seals my hair amazingly and gives it shine like I've never seem before, almost like a sparkle!

I had the honor of meeting Jenell from KinkyCurlyCoilyMe.com  and of course she is just as adorable in person as in her videos and of course her hair was amazing as usual! Randomly, she complimented me on my hair when I was lurking to get a peek at hers, lol! We ended up having a cute little convo and hopefully I'll be able to get some input from her over here! Not to mention, everyone over at the Shea Moisture pop up was super awesome, humble, and down to earth. There was definitely a beautiful vibe going on in there.

All in all, I'll have to do my Yoga on a different day but I had a great time vibing with everyone in the Shea Moisture pop up shop and especially meeting Jenell!

What's your favorite Shea Moisture Product?!

My Curls Are Poppin'!!!

So, the picture to the left, shows my curls poppin' with some conditioner in my hair. I made it a point to take a picture of this area of my hair to show the drastically different textures that are right next to each other... this is only in one little segment of my hair mind you.

I definitely haven't been wearing wash and go's because of this little fact of having extremely drastically different textures everywhere, but i missed my curls, so i prepared for a day of crazy, curly hair! I oil treated my hair overnight with wheat germ and neem oil, a little Trader Joe's Nourish Condish, and baggied to sleep.

After Cowashing, I realized I had never tried the whole T-shirt wrapped on the head thing, but decided to give it a try and OMG! Love this technique! My hair was still damp but not soaking wet, and my curl pattern wasn't disturbed or made frizzy.

Four products (Lacio Lacio Leave-in, Care Free Curl Instant Moisturizer, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing smoothie, and something new to review later!!!) and a little smoothing and shaking later, pow! Curls! I had to leave my house soon and my hair was still a little damp so I used the diffuser to do a little blow drying, and then switched to my nozzle attachment to stretch my roots out a little.

  By the end of the day, a little shrinkage had ensued, but frizz was still kept to a minimum and my curls were still poppin'!


I got lots of compliments and mini convo's that day, a whole lot more stares, and even more hands in hair syndrome. And though I'm not looking forward to the detangling, I really missed my curls so I'm enjoying this wash do too much and go, lol. I pineappled to sleep, and woke up to amazing second, and today even makes third day hair (banded last night though).

After wearing my hair in roller sets and blowouts for like the last 2 months, always up in a bun or semi-protective style, it was a great change to rock my curls for a few days. 

How have you been rocking your natural? 

Back to Blue Black Pompadour Up-do

You know what they say, once you go blue black, you always go back, lol.

It seems every fall, I'm in the mood for Blue Black... I get over what ever lighter color I had been trying for the spring summer season and I feel the urge to go back to dark shiny hair.

For all of my bright vibrant hair color, I've pretty much always used Manic Panic, this time using Manic Panic Amplified in Shocking Blue. I love Manic Panic because it is a Vegan, semi- permanent haircolor. The amplified formula is supposed to be a longer lasting formula, and I let the color sit on for about 2-3 hours while cooking to let the color seep into my follilcles as much as possible. My hair is porous from being over processed earlier this summer, so I'd say that helped it to soak up the color.
I tried taking pictures in a few different types of lighting so I could show you all the blue-ish tint it gave my darker hair, plus how blue my little party patch is.
 I was kind of pissed because I wanted to rollerset my hair for this holiday weekend and I didn't get the chance to... #bathroomtimeintercepted; so with needing to leave the house soon after washing, I ended up having to blow out my hair again. 

For the Holiday, I decided to go with a twisted pompadour up-do (I tried my best to show all angles). I had no plan of any hairstyle aside from the fact that I wanted a high bun without having to worry about my hair falling out everywhere, and my long face goes good with volume on top, so I always love pompadours!

Get this look?

• I simply parted a huge box on top of my head from temple to temple and across the crown of my head, made a twist going diagonally back and pinned in place.
• I then brushed the rest of my hair into a ponytail behind that, twisted the ponytail, and brought it forward and pinned it in with the pompador. 
• I did a little fluffing/lifting of the twist in the front, and Voila! lol 

My lioness looks, lol Rawr!

I actually love this hairstyle and may make it a staple! Any of you realizing you always go back to the same looks for certain seasons? Loving the twists and pompadours?!

It's a Hairflip Friday!

I definitely had a good hair day yesterday, and all of the hair flipping to go along with it!

I just wanted to post some fun happy pictures on this happy friday! I realized, sometimes you just have to whip your hair back and forth, and smile :) 

And just for sh!t$ and giggles, my girlfriends and I used to crack up over this all the time!!! It's a Hairflip!!! You gotta just flip it! lmfao

Happy Friday!!!

LDFH: Working on My Edges

When I first started my healthy hair journey it was back at the end of 2009. I decided I was going to stop getting a relaxer and wear weaves for a year to grow my hair out. 

After fully assessing my hair, I realized I probably shouldn't wear weaves for a year, because I didn't want my already fine, nearly bald edges getting any thinner.

Years of African braiding, and one horrible weave I had done at a salon are what had caused my severely thinning edges. The horrible weave in particular managed to take out a good amount of hair follicles all in one sitting. With my hair already being super fine and fragile, It was easy for my edges to have thinned out with all of the tension that was being caused from these hair styles.

My hair was never long, so I never wore my hair in tight ponytails that would have been pulling my hair, and my mother used to loosely box braid and/or twist my hair as a child, and I never complained of hairstyles being too tight, so I knew it had nothing to do with my own styling, not to mention I would see the difference in my edges after taking down braids from African Hair Braiding. It had gotten to the point that I would only let them braid the back of my hair, and I would braid the front myself because I didn't want them tugging on my edges, using what seemed like one fragile strand per micro braid.

In the photos on the left side, the first 1/2" of my hairline is parted out. In the photos on the right, I parted out 1 inch from my hairline. I did this so you all can see the difference in the density.

My 2nd Braid & Twist Out

 Before I blew my hair out, my last rollerset had gotten pretty stale and my hair needed to be washed, but I had very minimal time.

I co-washed while in the shower with the plethora of conditioners I have been using to keep my over processed hair feeling as good as possible (will make a  post about that soon) and was so ready for bed!

I knew I needed to do something with this hair of mine, and my West Indian side kicked in and said "tro it in some plaits gyal" and that's exactly what I did. I plaited my hair until about 2 inches were left, and turned the rest into a two strand twist, much like when I did my Braid & Twist out the 1st time. I prefer the curls on the ends from twist outs, but like the wavy texture with braid outs.

On my damp hair, I applied Lacio Lacio, Elasta QP's Olive Oil and Mango Butter, JBCO to seal and 8 plaits later I'm in bed. Unraveled in the morning with Vatika oil, fluffed, separated and go! I was super busy and tired last week, so this was optimal for quick styling.
I think I will forever be a twist out girl but I look forward to enjoying more braid outs as my hair gets longer.

Which Do You like Better, Braid Outs, Twist Outs, or a Braid/Twist combo?

My Fall Staple Products

After a some experimenting, I narrowed down the products and somewhat of a routine for this season - which has been temperamental to say the least (hurricanes, snowstorms, and sunny 60-degree days, oh my!). Here are the list of products on rotation for Fall/Winter 2012:

Cleanse

Jessicurl Cleansing Cream

Yes to Cucumbers

Pure Curls Clarifying Shampoo

Conditioners

Aubrey Organics GPB

Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle

Herbal Essence Hello Hydration

TreSemme

                                                           La Plancha Deep Heat Reconstructor 

Leave-in/Stylers

Lacio Lacio

Eco-Styler Gel (Green/Olive Oil)

John Frieda Ease Straight Fixation Smooth Creme

Miscellaneous

Apple Cider Vinegar

Bentonite Clay

Champagne & Caviar Curl Elixir

Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment

Ideally, here is my weekly routine:

- Pre-Poo/Deep condition with Aubrey Organics or Burt's Bees depending on my hair's needs. If I find that it needs a bit more strength/protein or just used heat on my hair, the Aubrey Organics. If I just need to focus just on moisture, Burt's Bees.
- Cleanse with any one of the shampoos listed - the Clarifying shampoo will only be used if there's too much build-up (most likely once every six weeks). Bentonite Clay once a month
- Detangle/Condition with any one of those conditioners. La Plancha will be used if I'm prepping to heat style
- Final Rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar  as needed - when my scalp calls for it
- Use Lacio Lacio as my leave in on freshly washed and detangled hair, seal with Curl Elixer (oil) and Burt's Bee's Avocado Butter for extra protection against dry hair
- Use other other products based on hair styles (straight, rollerset, braid outs, etc)

Cool weather for my hair means protecting my ends, diligently sealing moisture in my hair, and keeping my scalp in order. I plan to try out some more products this season as well, but the products on this list are my tried and true favorites of the moment! See anything on this list you use? Let us know!

LDFH Protective Style: Flat Twist Side Updo

I've been in the market for a new job or two, and not sure of how I should be wearing my hair to go about interviewing. I know the world is still taking in all the naturals, and I don't want my hair to ever be a reason as to why I may not have gotten a job. I love my natural hair and texture and refuse to straighten it unless I want to, so I wanted to experiment with an up do that would look professional enough and still showcase my fun personality!


With my latest post about switching my focus on this blog to styling and haircare for my low density, fine hair (LDFH), I thought of how flat twists can be done loosely to give the illusion of fuller hair, and came up with this style! I had done a flat twist style on my blown out hair a while back, which also came into mind while searching for inspiration.


I wasn't crazy about the twist in the front going from ear to ear, so I decided to do a little tweaking of sorts to add a side part. I then also started to play with the idea of the front twists hanging as another alternative!

Speaking of density, I'm sure you can see here that my crown area has far more density that my edges. My edges are so fine and not at all dense.

This style is only 6 flat twists in total and took me all of 10 minutes to do. I did nothing intricate with the parting, just tried to do straight lines all over to the side, starting with diagonally staggered parts (what gave the sort of zig zag part effect).

 I also tried to do the twists as loose as possible for a voluminous effect, especially to create a pompadour type of effect in the front, then just twisted all of the twists into a little side bun/pin curl of sorts... One more fave thing about this style? The twists are so loose, it literally takes a minute to take them all down! This really helps with being a style chameleon and all, making it quick and easy to switch up my styles.

What do you think of this flat twisted up do? Would you rock it?