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?

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!

Heatless Up-do - Back to Flexirods

After coming back from Puerto Rico, I caught some serious hair boredom. To conquer this, I was considering being a "straight natural" for the fall/winter (my hair was straight up till a week ago) but quickly changed my mind after going back to my flexirods over the weekend. SP's recent post about her roller-set using eco-styler gel reminded me of how I wore my hair last winter, and I decided to revisit, especially since I don't want to put heat in my hair for the entire season.

Winter 2011

Since I wanted my roots to be as smooth as possible, this time around when I took our the flexirods I carefully put my hair into six single-strand bantu-knots securing with hair-ties.

Then I placed my hair in an up-do which I posted to our Instagram. I simply used some bobbypins for a messy up-do, and then a neater version that I wore to work yesterday

 All I did was wash and condition my hair, used Lacio Lacio as a leave-in, Eco-styler gel, and sealed with Champagne & Caviar Curl Elixir. At night I put my hair back into the 6 bantu-knots. Today I left my hair hanging loose, but it's still moisturized and my roots are still smoothed and stretched without any heat! I didn't even sit under a dryer (although next time I might, simply because I won't have all the time in the world). I'll probably still straighten a few times this winter, but since I don't want heat damage it's nice to know I have this option. Next post I'll give my Fall/Winter routine and products!

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.

Straight Hair and Another Salon Adventure

If you follow us on Instagram (@yaisnyc) you've probably caught some straight hair pics coming from me. Last Saturday I spent the day at the Asanda Aveda Spa Lounge in Soho with a couple of my friends. We had a 5-hour spa deal from Groupon which included full body massage, facial, mani-pedi, and a blow-out. I was very nervous about getting my hair straightened at a salon (the only other time I've been was to get color at another Aveda salon at the Elmhurst Mall in Queens) but I decided to suck it up and give it a try. I ended up calling the place and asking them if they had any stylist who could work with very curly hair, which I recommend natural-hair folks to do, and they assured me the did. In fact, they called me back within an hour to let me know that there were two stylists that would be in tomorrow to take care of me. One thing I did NOT do is describe my hair as "problematic," "nappy" "unmanageable," when speaking on the phone because I don't want a salon to view my hair in that way.

 So after an amazing facial and massage - two things which I never had before - I had my mani-pedi by a woman who was nice enough to let me know that she was natural under her wig and that they would do a good job with my hair. I expressed that I was a little uneasy about my hair being done and she said that Aveda trains stylist in "ethnic" hair (which I semi-knew already because SP was trained at Aveda schools). I felt even better when my stylist Jessica asked me questions that let me know she was very familiar with my hair type: did I wear my hair natural all the time? How often did I heat straighten? And then assured me that she had a weave in her hair but had hair very similar to mine! So we chatted about how she specializes in curly hair and she shared her salon experiences as a child where her father took her to salons to get her hair straightened and she would always come out with a poofy afro. I even chatted with a stylist who had a TWA and she chimed in about natural haircare, so it became fun. Jessica washed my hair, deep conditioned, blew it out, (mentioning that she would normally do it with a comb attatchment,) de-tangled with a denman-type brush, and said that because I don't use heat often she would get my hair pin-straight with a flatiron. She totally did!

Today's Hair: Curly Fro

So I'm pretty excited at the unexpected results of today's hair. Yesterday's Sunday Question brought up a small discussion on ideas we have for our Fall hairstyles and I mentioned I wanted to still rock fluffy hair and high buns like I was during the summer - except I won't be walking out the house with wet hair and it will definitely be stretched out.

Yesterday I washed with Yes to Cucumbers and deep conditioned using a new product I'm experimenting with, La Plancha Deep Conditioning Treatment (I'll give a full review later this week). Next I used Lacio Lacio as my leave-in and a little John Frieda Ease Straight Fixation Smooth Creme (both of which I've used earlier this summer) and set my hair on flexi-rods. After a few hours of air-drying I took my hair down (even thought it was still a little damp) and put my hair into four big twists and tucked them in with bobby-pins to sleep in. This morning I took down the twists and I had a curly fro!

It's very windy today so I pulled my hair back very loosely, but I really wanted to wear my hair to work just like the first picture, as messy as it looks. I'm sure you can get the same results doing a bantu-knot out too. I'm still feeling really good about this look and will definitely be adding this to my "fall hair." What do you guys think?

Big Hair Days - How I Get to 3 Day Hair

So I've decided for the rest of the summer to wear my hair big, which has kept my routine pretty simple for the last couple of weeks. I was stuck in a styling rut after my wedding and since I was tired of buns and the weather has cooled down significantly, I decided to just let my hair "do what it does."

I've been washing my hair twice a week and using either conditioner or Eco-Styler gel as a leave-in, then I put my hair into 4-6 braids. Because I have so much hair, it's usually not dry by the morning so on Day 1, I have a shrunken curly look:

At night, I put my hair back in the 4-6 braids, sometimes with conditioner if I want some definition, and wake up and fluff in the morning so that Day 2 hair looks something like this:

By Day 3, my  hair is pretty stretched out and it's when my hair is at it's largest. Again, I'm braiding the night before then fluffing out my hair to get it as big as I feel like for the day:

Yesterday's Hair

Day 3 (or 4) is when I wash and condition and do the same thing all over again. I love how easy this is for me and I've been getting so many compliments at work from all types of people (I'm one of four black women at my job and the only natural). Of course I do get the "omg did you get a haircut" thing when my hair is wet and appears shorter, and after a while I did get annoyed. I finally decided to tell one of my co-workers who asked, that I have the ability to control the length of my hair using a Jedi Mind Trick - it at least made him laugh and now it's a running joke.

How I Finger De-Tangle My Hair

Hey YAIS readers!

I've finally mustered up the courage to do another video. It's a really quick video of how I de-tangle my hair using my fingers - I said goodbye to the comb a while ago!

Last Saturday I pre-poo'd my hair with Burt's Bees Avocado Butter, shampooed with Yes To Cucumbers, deep conditioned with Ouidad's Climate Control De-Frizzing conditioner, and used TreSemme Naturals Conditioner (the silicon free kind) as my leave in and de-tangler. Enjoy!

Hair Adventures: From Curly to Straight (in the Summer?)

I posted my summer routine last week, and I meant to show what my hair looks like on day 1. This was my hair last Friday:

 

I used my water/oil/gel combination to define my curls/coils and used a banana clip to hold it back. I'm not sure if you can see it clearly but if you can, you'll notice the variety of curls I have which range from tightly coiled to tightly curled, to wavy-coiled - at least that's how I describe it. I'm not much into the hair-typing system *shrugs* I actually really liked my hair, I think it's one of the best "wash n gos" I've done thus far. I was at my dress fitting and the tailor, a Dominican woman, admired my curls telling my friend and I that "her hair goes just like that" and my friend kept telling me how much she wanted to play in it.

Anyway, over the weekend I decided to straighten my hair. I know, pointless for the summer right? Well at first I was in the beauty supply store for something, and then I ended up purchasing two products that promise to be anti-frizz and "smooth" your hair: Lacio Lacio Leave in Conditioner and John Frieda Frizz Ease Straight Fixation Smoothing Cream - and I decided I was going to blow my hair out.

Summer Natural Hair Routine

Thanks for those who voted in our poll about having a hair routine!

57% have one
28 % don't
14% are still trying to find one

I posted this question out of curiosity: I was having trouble with a set summer hair routine because I'm often not sure what to do with my hair, especially since this time around I have more hair then I have ever had to work with, which is both a blessing and problematic for me. I want to wear it loose all summer (as in no twists or braided styles), but there will be days of high humidity and stormy rain, bbqs, picnics, baby showers, and work-related events. I don't want to use a lot of product and I don't want to spend hours prepping and priming because frankly, I don't have time for that.


For the last couple of weeks I've been washing my hair up to 3 times a week, deep conditioning once a week, and using a combo of water/oil/gel or conditioner/oil as my leave in. Sometimes I set my hair with bantu-knots, most times I let my hair airdry in a bun or two braids, and my go-to styles have been pulling my hair back with a banana clip, or buns. I've been pretty busy with work, wedding planning, and a film project and this routine has been pretty low maintenance. My hair seems to be doing well. Now the issue I have is I actually want to do other things to my hair that are a bit more creative and interesting for the summer, but of course, time won't allow. I express myself through my appearance and since I can't indulge too much (because I have an "office" job) my hair is the main thing I have. I don't want to end up being the girl with long hair and a ponytail, it's just not me.

Anyway, here are the list of products I've been using which will probably be my summer staples:

Ouidad Climate Control Defrizzing Shampoo
Herbal Essence Hello Hydration - Leave in
Aubrey Organics Glycogen Protein Balancing Conditioner - DC
Vatika Oil - Leave-in, seal
Eco Styler Gel - styler
Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel
Aveda Anti-Humectant Pomade - only a little for some of my hair

And here is today's second day hair, after going through my routine Monday night and throwing my hair into a couple of braids to dry in:

What are your summer routines?

Quick Post: It's Just Too Hot Today

When it's really hot out, it means my natural hair:

- Will not be in my face
- Will be pulled back
- Will be sealed with products meant to combat humidity
- Will not be styled eloborately
- Will not take more than 5 minutes to do in the mornings

There you have it, back to the pompadour and banana clip! I washed my hair last night, used vatika oil as my leave in and smoothed in a little Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidty Gel and tossed my hair into a couple of braids. This morning I fluffed them out and this was the result. How have you styled your hair on really hot days?

Vacation Wash-and-Go: Virginia Beach Edition

Good morning YAIS readers!

I'm back in NYC after relaxing for a bit in VA Beach for my birthday. Even though I'm a little sunburned and sore from attempting to ride strong waves, I had a great time. It was quite an adventure and I have to say, every time I go South I'm reminded how much of a "Northerner" I am. I'm actually a very polite person but whenever I talk to people down south they are so surprised to learn I'm from New York City because of how "polite" and "talkative" I can be to strangers which is always hilarious.

Now for hair: I did wash-and-gos which I figured was the easiest way to handle my hair in heat and humidity. I packed TreSemme Naturals Conditioner, Ouidad Climate Control Shampoo and Conditioner, and bummed Coconut Oil and Eco Styler gel off my sister.

I washed my hair and used TreSemme as my leave-in and then shook my head to get definition of my coils/curls, a trick SP showed me a while ago that works pretty well. It's funny to describe - I just shook my head like a dog to get definition lol.

Defined curls after shaking my hair

At the beach, I kept my hat on unless I was going into the water. Of course my hair shrunk like crazy (you could never tell I'm like a quarter-inch from bra-strap length) but after I was done in the water I would braid my hair down and put my hat on. I used gel in the evenings when going out because I wore my hair slicked back.

Also, I loved seeing naturals at the beach!  It was so freeing to just hop in the water and not worry about hair and I saw it on their faces too - pure enjoyment of shaking their TWAs or wringing out their curls. I will say my hair was really tangled after 4 days of wash and gos and I had some knots - it took me half-an-hour just to detangle when I got home, and the salt water was starting to dull and dry out my hair but I see myself rocking freely shrunken hair maybe once a week this summer. I know I probably won't get to the beach again until next month after my wedding but at least I know what works for my hair now!

Reader Question: Transitioner Learning how to Style

Sietta (Not Pictured Above) said...

I'm looking to transition from wearing sew-ins to wearing my own natural hair again, but I'm lost about how to go about styling it :( I haven't worn my own hair for more than a week in almost 5 years and I don't have a perm so as you could imagine it is very difficult to work with at this point and I am concerned about styles because of this. Also, my coils are SUPER tight and idk what to do with them at this point because my hair has never been this untrained so I know I have a job ahead of me lol. Do you have any suggestions for styles until I can get my coils to loosen a little?

Hi Sietta, 
Thanks for asking and we're glad to help =)
For starts, I would say it'll be a little hard without a few extra details (Hair length? What look you would like to achieve? What do you mean by trained hair and coil loosening?)but I will give you the best advice possible for anyone in your situation or anyone who needs help learning their new texture and how to care for it.

Part 1 - Moisturize, Detangle & Stretch!!!
As a professional hair stylist, time and time again I've seen women trying to go natural after wearing weaves for quite some time, but feeling discouraged about their "rough, dry, hard" manes. They think they have this horrible texture of hair because it is usually dry and malnourished, and because of this, their hair may also be a lot more shriveled and shrunked up.

Start with a spritzer bottle with water, get some of your favorite slippery conditioner, take your hair in one section at a time, moisturize, detangle from the ends up, and either braid, twist, bun or band the little section to keep the moisture in and your hair from shrinking up again (You can also do this in the shower if it's easier/faster for you). 

Part 2 - Washing
Don't be afraid, moisture and water are your best friends :)
After detangling and moisturizing it should be much easier to deal with your hair now, and if you have a lot of hair you may want to leave it in those sections during your wash. If/when I wash in sections, I will bring a few hair clips in the shower with me so as I wash one section at a time, I can twist and pin it back up so it stays stretched and detangled and I won't need to comb through my hair again....or at least bring a scrunchie to throw it all in a ponytail.

Part 3 - Styling
When it comes to styling natural hair, it's all about knowing the look you're going for, and understanding what your hair will and won't do. Henna and other natural products like coconut milk have been known to cause a little curl loosening, but usually on looser textures. The way we usually go about loosening our curls usually is by way of chemicals or heat damage, as a lot of hairstylists will call burning your curls out "heat training." Know that this is not an accurate method (not a method at all) ladies.

I love the curly look and my hair is curly but shrinks A LOT so I live in twist outs as it lets me have the look of my own curls, minus all the shrinkage. Doing twist-outs, braid-outs, banding, or any other kind of Set that will stretch the hair, should help with your feeling of wanting to loosen your curls. When I want a curlier, froey-er twist out I will do it on wet hair or re-twist an old twist out, and if I'd like my hair to be a little silkier, I'll first rollerset my hair and do my twist out on that. 

Here are some links to help you along your journey:
Tips For Naturals
Creating Textures
Creating a Regimen

I hope this helped, and please, don't ever feel like your options are limited, And Haircare above all else!!!

How I Feel About You Touching My Natural Hair

There's no definitive answer as to whether or not hair touching is okay. It really matters to the individual; some naturals are all for it, others are against it. I will say I'm not a fan of strangers touching my hair and I don't care what your race is. I've had instances when both white and black men and women have decided it was okay to reach out and touch my strands without asking first. The first time it happened must've been when the concept of "going natural" was still really new; I was a junior in high school rocking my signature box braids and a woman with short natural hair stopped to ask me if all the hair was mine and if I was trying for sister locks - I guess because my braids were so tiny. As I was attempting to answer her she decided she'd reach out and touch my hair. It happened so fast that I didn't really get a chance to react, but I was mortified that a complete stranger thought it was okay to just touch a part of me without permission.

Box braids, Spring 2007

Fast forward to now and I don't allow strangers to touch my hair, I don't care how cool they think it is. I'm flattered when people stop me in the street or on the subway and chat me up about hair, but I will say no if they ask to touch it. HOWEVER, if I have some sort of connection I don't mind and depending on how close we are asking may not be necessary; my close friends touch my hair, will pull it from my face if it's windy or a strand has escaped the hold of a bobby-pin; my sisters touch my hair in both admiration and if they suddenly need to fix it, and my dad sometimes cocks his head to the side and asks "how I get my hair like that" while reaching for a lock of hair, and of course my fiance will stroke my hair absent-mindedly; he even helps me wash it sometimes. Since I view my hair as part of my body, being allowed to touch it is a matter of intimacy which strangers, or people who I don't know too well, aren't afforded.

But there have been a few times I felt it was okay. When I was working with kids last year, I let the little girl who was teased and shamed for her natural texture feel mine to make her feel better;  a few months back a co-worker was admiring a fluffy braid out - this might have been Valentine's Day. She's natural too, but always seems to struggled with her hair and I'm actually not close to her at all - we barely say hello to each other. Anyway, one day I saw her rocking a wash and go with her hair a little poofy and I could see it on her face that she wasn't comfortable even though I thought it was cute. I bumped into her in the kitchen and complimented her on her hair and she suddenly opened up to me about how unsure she had been of rocking her texture and how she always liked my hair (color me surprised that she even noticed me!). So the day I had my hair big and poofy she came up to me and chatted me about how I did it, what products and methods to use etc and asked me if she could touch it and I actually said yes. I was slightly uncomfortable with it, because of what I previously stated about hair touching being intimate, but I really wanted her to feel good about her hair. We're not buddies or anything now but I think I helped her in some way and that gave me some satisfaction.


So those are my views on hair touching! How do you guys feel about it? Do you let strangers touch your hair, why or why not? Let us know!

That Awkward Moment When Everyone Wants You To Straighten

Growing up, I remember everyone hounding me to straighten my hair. Even in the best twisted style, or colorful hair with box braids, no one seemed satisfied with my hair because they were dying to see it straight. I too wondered what my hair would look like and it was a welcomed change, until I started becoming dependent on it because I thought my hair was too crazy any other way.

Hair is hair and can be changed whenever and however you want. But why does it seem like people are so invested in naturally curly/textured hair being straight? I will never forget this girl I knew freshman year of high school who had beautiful curls; everyone complimented how nice and long her hair was but immediately suggested that she straightened her hair. When she did, they ooo'd and aaah'd over it and said she should wear it like that all the time. I notice when I started putting pictures up on Facebook of my hair straight, I'd get tons of comments of how I had "good hair" how long and pretty it was, how I look more "Indian" and folks wondering why I didn't do it more often. I notice a different grade of comments when I post pictures of my hair curly, the comments are either fewer, or I get comparisons to "insert-random-black-celebrity-I-look-nothing-like." I pretty much made it a thing not to post anymore straight hair pics because of this; now I post poofy fros and my hair fresh after washing. You all know that I have no issues with straight natural hair and I enjoy it every so often, but the comments are not about "oh look you changed your hair" but more of an admiration of what my hair is not. And that's what seems problematic to me.

SP and I were talking yesterday about how people who are mixed are expected to look a certain way, and I've blogged about this before. People act downright shocked to learn SP is Brazillian unless she dyes her hair a lighter color; folks want me to look more "Indian" (or do they mean Native-American? Which is what I actually am) and wear my hair straight. I find it both silly and frustrating that in this day and age, people think that the hair that grows naturally out of your head is "wrong." Again, I don't care if you have a relaxer, my preference is not to have one because I don't need it. Wanting and needing are two different things, and honestly no one needs a relaxer, even if we've been conditioned to think this way.

So, here's to big poofy hair, embracing the way I look and having the freedom to change it whenever the hell I want to!

Straight hair 2011

Night out sometime in 2011

Just washed, Summer 2011

Poofy hair, April 2012

Early 2012

There you have it folks! Basically, wear your hair the way you want and don't let anyone tell you that you need anything! That's all!

Today's Style: My Own Pompadour!

I know I said this would probably be a boring hair week for me, but after seeing my fellow co-blogger/bestie show off her updo with a pompadour I got inspired to do something similar. I have an event to attend tonight and I want to look cute without having to manipulate my curls too much, and a style that wouldn't take so much time. So this morning I got in front of the mirror and in about five minutes I had this style:

This is my version of a pompadour with banana clip, just like SP's in yesterday's post. Basically I just took some hair in the front and gathered it to one side with a little "hump" secured with a bobby-pin. Then I secured the rest of my hair with a banana clip. I'm very pleased with the results! I'm sure anyone who does this style can make it a little sleeker with some gel or something on the edges, I'm just really not the "sleek" type so the fuzzy hairs don't bother me.

Who says that natural hair blogs and youtube videos aren't needed anymore for inspiration? And in this case, your very own blog can help you out!

Boring Hair Week

Happy Belated Mom's Day!

The weather over the weekend was great, but it's rainy and humid again today. I think this is going to be a boring hair week for me; even though I'm always happy to be back to curly, I really have no desire to style my hair. Yesterday I washed and deep conditioned my hair, then used conditioner for my leave-in and added some Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel. I've actually been experimenting with this gel for a few weeks now and haven't made up my mind about it. I will say that my hair is less frizzy when using it, but using it alone I'm not sure. So I just let my hair air dry yesterday which took forever and I had a lot of shrinkage. When bed time came I tossed my hair in a couple of braids and then this morning I quickly pulled it into a bun with a little flat-twisting (single) from the front all the way to the back for a side-bun.

Nothing spectacular, but it was quick and easy. Plus my hair is already well de-tangled and I'd like to keep it that way. The self-trim I did when I straightened my hair was great because I had a lot less breakage when handling my hair yesterday. Also, the product I picked up during lunch last week worked out pretty well. I won't say it was anything to dance about, but it did do a great job and I will most likely be passing this conditioner on to one of my sisters. That's all for my quick check-in, hope you're all doing well YAIS readers!

Hair For The Week: Straight

Good day YAIS readers! Hope you all had a great weekend. I cleaned, cooked, played video games and straightened and trimmed my own hair! Yeah, haven't done that myself in a looooong time. SP is the one to normally do it, and I always feel bad when she does because I have so much hair. I decided I wanted to do something different with my hair and trim it a bit so I can have less breakage (snap, crackle pop!) I tried my best to keep even, although it wasn't my main concern. I blow-dried my hair with a paddle brush using Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel (I've been using this for a couple of weeks, review to come) and then used my Soila Flatiron at around 350degrees (maybe a little less). It took me forever and my hair isn't bone straight which is fine with me. My only complaint is that my hair felt dry, but it's since been moisturized with Vatika Oil. I have only used the Soila once so I can't give a proper review, but it seemed to do it's job; part of any styling process is technique and mine is a bit rusty. Of course, I didn't take any initial pictures of my hair when it was freshly done, but it was a little poofy which is the norm for me; after I wrap or pincurl my hair flattens with no problems.

Anyway, I also wanted to share my look for today. My hair is just pulled back with some bobby pins.

I've never worn bright pink especially to work, but I thought why not. A co-worker noted that she liked the look and the black sweater tones it down and makes it "office friendly." I suppose you can also tell from the pictures that I'm a small person and am wearing wedges to give a teensy-bit of height LOL.

Lesson Learned

This weather has been so confusing; warm and gorgeous one day, cold and rainy the next. My allergies have been so bad I'm recovering from a sinus infection which left me sounding like a horse the last couple of days (I'm almost back to normal today though) Anyway, I washed my hair on Sunday and threw in some bantu knots which didn't dry in time yesterday but stretched my hair our nicely. So Monday night I dabbed my strands with some EcoStyler Gel and  because I heard it was supposed to be nice out Tuesday I woke up a little later then usual because allergy medication always makes me drowsy (thanks Zyrtec!) and I overslept so did know that there would be some rain first from the news? No, I thought I was going to rock a wonderfully defined (if I may so so myself) braid - out for the day

A better picture of my red lips

But guess who's hair puffed up to a not-so-cute afro by the time I got to the train station? I didn't have a headband or anything to make it look cute so I had to bun it when I got to work. #fail

 Lesson? Watch the weather channel or listen to the radio for weather before you leave the house. Or look at the sky because when it's gray that's usually a sign of some wet weather which apparently I didn't think to do either. It's rainy again today so my hair is back in a bun because I can't be fooled twice!

Today's Style: Twisted Up With Red Lips

Just a quick check in YAIS! Over the weekend I washed my hair and re-twisted, this time while soaken wet which I rarely do. I used TreSemme Conditioner as my leave in and sealed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (SP's post about moisturizing is reminding me to become a little more diligent with my hair). The shrinkage made my twists appear shoulder length and prompted a couple of co-workers to ask the inevitable "Did you cut your hair" which I always think is funny.
Anyway, it's windy today and I decided to just tuck in my twists with some bobby pins. Also, I'm enjoying the splash of red on my lips and the headband, so for your viewing pleasure:

I forgot to mention this before, but I bought this lip tint from Lush a few months ago that I absolutely adore, and tend to wear when the weather is cloudy and gray to cheer up my look a little. I'm pretty sure I bought this right before Valentine's Day. It's a kind of matte lip tint, so it can be drying, but I use chapstick or something under it before I put it on and it works for me. I wish I had a better camera on me just so you can see how bright and bold this color is; I have a very dark upper lip and this tint still spreads pretty even. Have any of you shopped at Lush? I love that store so much!