Taylor Swift Inspired Natural Updo

Remember the post I wrote about putting together my fall looks?

Well I was looking back into that post for inspiration, and decided to do a video for you all of the Taylor Swift Updo Look!

I did this style when my hair was shorter on another video, but I hope this is a much better rendition

 In the past I had been taking the videos with my computer, so this time around I decided to do them with my phone so I hope it's a little clearer for you all! Enjoy!

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.

2 Strand In-Be-TWA Twists

About 3 weeks ago I decided to play around with twisting my hair... didn't really like the outcome since my hair is so fine and I was looking very scalpy... so to get something out of the time I wasted (lol), I decided I was going to put them up somehow... and this is the how:

I did these twists on hair that was stretched from a rollerset and only wore them for two days (It was in a low side bun in the back). I will say I'm really happy I took the twists out so soon, because I was actually having a lot of trouble taking them down. With my dry ends snagging at each other, had I left them in I might have suffered from a set back!!
:::wipes sweat from brow:::

I wish my hair was fuller because I would definitely rock twists more often, not to mention i'd love to just wear them down... but I guess we'll see as time, fullness, and length progesses :)

 My mom used to do box braids or twists on my hair all the time when I was a little kid, and apparently I had the same scalpy, fine twist/braid problem. She always did my hair wet, so I always had major shrinkage, as I do remember being the girl in class with the "boingy hair," but I never retained any length really so apparently my hair wasn't in it's best health.
That still doesn't take away from the true nature of my hair, very fine and not at all dense. Until my hair gets much longer and hopefully fuller, I don't think single braids and twists are going to work for me. At least when my hair gets longer I can do big twists on wet hair so they can be really puffy and look fuller, without being shrunken to my ears or making me look like I'm balding. lol

Twists, ladies and Gents? Do they work well for you?
We would also love to start a throwback thursday segment so
SEND IN YOUR THROWBACK THURSDAY PICS TO YAIS.NYC@GMAIL.COM
"I'M NOT SCREAMING, THAT'S JUST THE WAY I TALK." lol.

Layla and her TWA

 Meet Layla. 

She is one of my new friends and clients I met earlier in the summer, and we are on a hair journey! Layla was recently adopted from the Congo, and since her mom doesn't have the same hair texture as her, needed someone like me to help with teaching her how to care for the hair, and giving her fun hairstyles along the way! 

When Layla was in school in Congo, they would give her short haircuts, so when she came to the US, she decided she wanted to grow her hair out. She has an auntie who I know hot combs her hair (and I don't think she's been using heat protector -_-), and gives her extension braids from time to time, which I know she had complained were too tight. 

Layla is 8 and is also into doing her own hair (which is why her hair is uneven because she gave herself a haircut because she thought it was uneven, lol), so I also try my best to educate her on her natural hair and will do so along the way. Her hair is beautiful, silky, soft, and tightly curled and I love that she already has her own sense of pride in her hair... not to mention she knows exactly what styles she wants too... telling me to brush down her baby hairs and all, lol.

The photo of her in the pink tank top was the first time I did her hair, and the purple tank top was the growth result ... I forgot to take a photo of her hair out before I started, and then I forgot to take a photo of her hair after I braided it up the second time. In the beginning her hair was too short for anything but straight braids, and now her hair can actually have designed braids. 

From now on, no more forgetting as I will be documenting her little journey, and might I add, it's growing fast! This is the style I gave her on Sunday evening:

Next braid day I will fill you all in on our little routine, growth photos and whatever new hairstyle she chooses :)

Any of you helping a little one grow out his/her TWA?

TWA Braid/Twist Out

The beautiful view from the ferry

One fine morn while at a friend's house out in Staten Island, I decided to style my hair because I was going to be heading to an event later that evening and wouldn't have time to do my hair when I got home. Since I hadn't planned for any of this, I hadn't packed any products so I was at the mercy of whatever my friend could spare. Luckily for me, since I got her to go natural about 2 years ago she had a few natural hair products in her house that I quite liked. I'm still testing the products now so I don't want to go name dropping and false reviewing... counting my eggs before they hatch basically. I will say that i was in LOVE with my hair that day! I don't know if it was the Staten Island water, the cowash, or the whipped shea butter product I used.. or all 3... but I can say my hair was perfect. It was defined, stretched out, light, bouncy, had movement and smelled amazing. This was also my first time trying a 1/2 braid out, 1/2 twist out... which i decided to do on a whim as an attempt to  minimize shrinkage while still achieving twist out curls.... I basically got the idea from the ladies who like to do braid & curl's.

Since I didn't sleep in this style, I had to sit under a hooded dryer, and because I am impatient, I then proceeded to blow dry each braid, and my hair was still damp when I took it out! None the less, I used the blowdryer to stretch out my roots and my hair was perfectly bouncy all day.

I was even able to achieve really awesome second day hair without any re-twisting or re-braiding! I will definitely be reviewing the products I used soon, and trying this braid/twist out again.

What do you think ladies about the 1/2 Braid, 1/2 Twist out?  Is this something you have done or would try?                    

A Transitioning Story: Influencing My Mom to go Natural

My mother's beloved weave

A little over two years ago I influenced my mother to go natural. She didn't put up much of a fight at the the thought of fuller, longer hair, but definitely was not going for a big chop. I weaved her up for a year straight during the initial part of her transition, but for the rest of it, she either wears buns or straightens her hair. Whenever I can I'll snatch her up and try to give her a curly style with her luxurious curls, like I did the last time I made a little post about my mom, but of course she always reverts back to her die hard buns. lol
One day after washing her hair, she decides its a good idea not to detangle, or condition, throw a hat on her damp hair and walk out the door to run some errands before coming to see me. OY VEY! This lady gets here and the back of her hair is as matted as I dont know what! After about an hour of trying to detangle one small section with loads of oil and HEHH I gave up, and told her to get over it because it was Big choppin' time! (It might sound mean, but  that was a matt to remember and I was OVER it!)

 Because she still wanted to be able to pull her hair back for ponytails and have a bit of length to rock her weaves, we decided that since the front hadn't matted that we wouldn't chop it off as of yet... so I guess you could say she had to get half of a Big Chop.

Since then she hasn't worn any weaves for over a year and has been sticking to her good ol' buns and flatironed hair.

My mom has a super, simple hair regimen that basically consists of washing her hair, blow drying, or air drying in twists, and wearing a bun slicked back with water and JBCO. Sometimes she also braids and/or twists her ponytail before bunning. When she decides to straighten her hair, she generally wears it out and ends up putting it in a loose ponytail so it doesnt get all messy if she's busy and moving around a lot. 

She has told me of a few times when she's wore her hair natural (I still haven't seen her wear her hair out and natural to this day unless I did her hair that day) so she was super excited to show me this shot a friend snapped of her wearing her hair down the other day. 

I know I will be doing her hair again soon because she's due to come see me for a trim soon, and I'll definitely be doing a length check on her also so stay tuned!

 Is your mom also natural? Did you influence her to go natural or did she influence you?!

Anyone have a cool Transitioners Story they'd like to share? We'd love to hear some cool stories from all of you transitioners out there! Send your stories to Yais.nyc@gmail.com

"Minnie Mouse" Extension Braid High Double Buns!!

 I braided my hair up two Wednesday's ago, bored of my hair and wanting to take a break from having to do her... and she needed a break from me too! lol

How have I been caring for my braids?

• Spraying scalp and hair in braids with mix of Aloe Vera Juice, Peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, sage oil, JBCO, coconut and avocado oils.
• Baggying roots every other night.
• Tying hair down very night with a satin scarf.

Liking to keep my money in my pocket, i did these braids over about 7 hours (no, not straight. I took the night off and finished on Thursday). Usually I'm ready to rip these things out as soon as I do them but I've actually been enjoying them a little more this time around so I plan to keep them in until the 31st. Saturday night I wore one of my usual High Braided Buns, and yesterday decided to see what 2 would look like, i'm loving it!!! I really love the look of two buns so I can't wait until my hair gets bigger and longer so I can wear two of my own huge buns on top of my head like that! lol
When I was younger my mother used to always give me 2 afro puffs and everyone would call me Minnie Mouse... so maybe it kind of taps into that Nostalgia.

What do you think? Would you wear 2 High buns?!

I Too Summer Straightened!

I colored and straightened my hair literally a month ago for my birthday and I was super surprised with the amount of growth I had! I wore my hair up for the most part, french braided in the back... Originally I had no intentions of straightening, just to rollerset my hair, but then I got the itch to see what the color looked like with straight hair. I decided to keep my little color patch in the front and go with a reversed ombre look. I loove it!!  I can't wait until all  of these layers are grown out but it looks like the new year will be promising for that goal.

I'm not gonna lie, I havent been taking as best care of my hair as i'm supposed to lately, mostly because i've hardly been covering it to sleep and i haven't been doing twist outs... which for me = ssks -_-
But I have been deep conditioning and moisturizing like crazy, wearing wash and go's and buns mostly... yes I said buns!!!


I've been super busy and I'm running to class but i'll be back shortly with more hair and hair stories to come!

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!

This Week Should Have Been: Banana Clip Week!

 Earlier this week, I posted an easy little Banana clip w/ pompadour up do I had done a few months ago, and Curly Film Chick was inspired and also made her own, super cute banana clipped style. I too had been inspired and decided to wear my hair up in a banana clip!

I did the two braids in the front to give my thin/fine/fragile edges a break (minimal protective styling), as I can leave them in as a headband and style around them, not having to constantly manipulate the hair in my hairline/edges. The braids in the front are also great at keeping the front of your hair looking neat and frizz free with out having to manipulate the hair with brushing and pulling to to slick it back.
I was rocking a twist out I had done on hair that had been twisted and banded to stretch after washing, and decided to put it up with a Banana Clip. Using a banana clip is always a favorite and easy go to because they fit all of my hair, aren't too tight, and won't completely ruin whatever "set" I had done to my hair. Wearing a twist out with braids in the front, I was able to easily go from the banana clipped hair style, to this:

Think of options like these for all of you ladies who need the ease of changing your hair from day to night in a cinch. Also for you ladies who feel stuck with limited options, think of little, low manipulation ways to be able to easily switch your style up for the week. In one week we've shown you 3 different Banana clipped hair styles at 3 different lengths, and all are totally adaptable!

Any of you try rocking a Banana Clip this week? Have a super versatile style you like to share? We'd love to see it too... Please send any style ideas to yais.nyc@gmail.com so we can share them too!

VERY Happy Hair as of lately!

 You all know I'm impatient, so it's no wonder I took my weave out in a week! lol I guess what it is more so though, is that I really enjoy my own hair, especially now that it's getting longer. And though I enjoy wearing weaves and extensions, I still end up feeling fake. I know I will enjoy weave more when my hair is long enough to fully and easily blend... right now it's just a little more work and leaves me with limited styling that makes me just rather my own hair...

So, I took my hair out 2 nights ago, and since I had washed my hair about 3 days before that and moisturized it, It left me with a beautiful, soft, and defined braid out.. In love!!!

Randomly, I bought this Aloe Body Lotion at the hair show that I did not love for my body, but upon reading the ingredients further, decided to try it in my hair, and so far it's amazing!!!

I don't want to jump the gun, seeing as how i've only been using it for a day or two, so I won't give any reviews or names of anything until I've used it for a while... especially since it's initially intended to moisturize the skin... Review in let's say...a week?  

Anyhoo... I moisturized my hair yesterday using the Aloe Cream and decided to wear the braid out in my fave 2 buns, and was so happy to see how much my hair had grown, as my buns were bigger, fuller, and longer! I even had to squish them down quite a bit to get scrunchies over 'em.

I definitely loved the protective styling benefits of wearing the weave for a week, and I am thinking of wearing my usual large, long extention braids for the first 2 weeks of May... just to  get some protective styling in (especially for my front edges) without missing my hair like crazy. Also, though I love those braids, they're damned heavy! lol

 I bought some new products at the hair show I wanted to try and my scalp was a little itchy so I decided to wash my hair last night. Again, I won't be reviewing anything until I use it for a little while so I can give a full and thorough review...

Before washing however, I decided to do a few length checks, just to see how this growth process is going and I'm happy to say I'm pleased. My hair doesn't grow super fast, and it can break, tangle, get split ends and single strand knots pretty easily, so growth around here is a joyus occasion, lol. My edges are still basically the shortest of my hair, my hair at my crown and upper head in general being the longest. 

Outifts & Hairstyles

I hate when I get so busy that I don't get to post as much as I'd like to, but the good thing is I'm always taking photos so I can post later! I'm so happy my hair is growing, as well as my options in styling.
I live in twist outs, with the occasional blowout and very seldom straightening. In the past summers with short hair I've lived in Wash & Go's, but now that my hair is getting longer, I just realize my hair gets way too tangled with Wash & Go's... I think I may try overnight banding If I i still want to wear a semi-Wash & Go look with my own curls... plus i love the feeling of washing my hair everyday in the summer... I guess that's one thing I'll miss about having a TWA... that's probably it.  Lol
Here are a few photos I've posted on Instagram of some different outfits and hairstyles I've rocked over the past 3 or 4 weeks.

 What is your go to hairstyle?

Also, is anyone interested in Curly Film Chick and I posting outfits of the day? Let us Know!