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! 

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? 

Curl Preference - Poll Results

It looks like our Sunday Question about Curl Preference has some interesting results:

64% prefer to have defined curls
5% prefer undefined curls
29% will wear defined or undefined curls depending on their mood

No one has shared their reasoning for their curl preference and we're really curious about it, especially the 29% of you that voted who will wear either or. What occasions call for defined curls or undefined ones? Is it a simple difference on whether you're heading to work/class or going out with friends? Let us know in the comment section below! 

Bashing Justin Timberlake's Curls?

The Article:

Justin's Gone Straight

"Justin Timberlake always had smooth moves, but smooth hair? Not so much. James Feng, stylist at NYC's Cutler/Redken Salon, believes he recently got a Keratin treatment, turning his "unruly and coarse" coif into a "softer, more managable" one. Aha!"

Now of course I had to post this... (this article came out earlier this year, I know i'm late and I dont care!) lol

We are not alone. 

I'm always fascinated by an amazing head of curls, but I'm definitely more fascinated walking by a white person with hair that looks like mine. I assume they go through a lot of the same issues I go through, aside from the fact that they're not looked at as "colored" people. It makes me wonder what walks of life they came from, their outlooks on life, and how their hair makes them view themselves. 

I wonder how JT feels about his hair?

It's possible Justin had just had his hair straightened out for a movie role, or SNL segment, or maybe he did straighten it just for a change... but who's to say he doesn't love his curly hair? 

Personally :::though nobody asked me::: I think JT looks hot with any type of hair, especially with it buzzed down!

Over the years we've seen Justin Timberlake from the Mickey Mouse Club, to N'SYNC, to becoming a Solo artist to becoming an actor, and it seems to me like he's been enjoying, or at least embracing his curly hair. Not to mention, like most curlies, he seems to be well aware of all the hair options he has with his fyne self! lol

I don't know where the stylist, and writer of the article get off using such negative terms to describe JT's hair. The article says "James Feng... believes he got a Keratin treatment," which means he himself did not do JT's hair... how would he know if JT's hair was coarse and unruly? Or how could the writer say his hair isn't smooth? His curls looked pretty smooth, and might I add frizz free to me... Who's to say JT doesn't have soft, silky curls?

I'm sure when JT saw this article, he was like "Really? James F*&%?! How's that for coarse and unruly?!" LMFAO

I'm sure we've all dealt with people just looking at our hair and making negative assumptions without truly having any idea... 

What do you all think of the negative statements made about Justin Timberlake's hair?

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!

The Winter Wash n Go

This routine is basically what I've been doing to my hair that was left out during my weave and I realized that it may be great to try out as another styling option to add into my regimen.

• Co-wash hair with conditioner of choice, detangle and throw hair into a few big detangled twists. Rinse and leave naked hair in twists
• Let air dry a bit (The bit for me is usually the duration of my shower, moisturizing my skin, getting dressed, then getting ready to do my hair)

Once 40% - 50% dry, start this process one twisted section at a time:

• First moisturize the hair - I used Care Free Curl Instant moisturizer and Suave coconut condish
• Smooth Curls with Eco- Styler Olive Oil gel
• Let air dry or diffuse (+ add heat protector with this step)
• Once curls are dry, smooth out any crunch with your favorite oil, being careful not to overmanipulate the hair and cause breakge during the process. *My personal fave oil is JBCO because it's super moisturizing and keeps my hair sooo soft, especially in the winter!
• Without disturbing or further separating any curls, grab and separate the hair with your hands alone, and do your favorite twist out pattern.
• Bonnet/Scarf and Sleep... Untwist the next day to reveal a stretched, curly, winter wash and go look! 
• Spritz with a little water, add a little more moisturizer if needed, fluff, and go!
• Retwist with oil every night to maintain stretch, definition and softness. Keeping the hair stretched will also avoid excessive tangling.

What do you think about this Winter Wash n Go method? Would you try it?!

My New Curly Weave + Blending

I know, I know, I just said I was going to do a wavy bob weave... but do I ever do what I say I'm going to do with my hair?! lol I actually realized that regardless of anything, with that wavy/straight weave, I'd definitely be using more heat than I really want to right now (which is none), so I opted for a curly weave again instead.

I needed a break from doing my hair, and my hair definitely needed a break from me, so I figured I needed a style where I'd have to manipulate my own hair as little as possible and I think I've finally found it! The hair I used:

How/ Where I found out about this weave?

My little cousin found in it her local BSS in BK and decided to give it a try, so naturally when she came to me with this hair to get her weave done, I fell in love with it. I bought the 10'' and 12'' because I originally wanted it to be a little longer and with minimal layers, but that ended up being a waste of money because I chopped it up for it to look more realistic anyway. One thing I also learned, was that the curl of the 8" vs the 10" and 12", is a lot more of tight curl that resembles my hair almost perfectly, the 10" and 12" is a much looser, silkier curl, but still very beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos during the process, but I saw her a few days later at my Grandmother's house with the weave piked out; Here's the outcome of my cousin's weave to you can see the difference:

I love the curly look so I'm not mad that I didn't get the 8 inches, but I will definitely be trying the 8" as well. To see some of the steps I took to install and how I blend my hair with the weave, click the jump :)

Hair Crush: Thandie Newton

One of the first movies I saw the gorgeous Thandie Newton in was Beloved (a movie that actually freaked me out, but that's a post for another day!) and The British actress transitioned for 2 years so her daughters could see that their hair is nothing to be ashamed of.

  

I read through this interview where she discusses her hair issues growing up, how Chris Rock's Good Hair documentary opened her eyes about how strong the chemicals in relaxers are, and the notion that we have to "tame" our hair. I really liked that she stood by her decision to allow her daughter's hair big and loose so that she doesn't have a complex. If you haven't read the interview already, you really should; Newton brings up a lot of hair issues I think we can all relate to. In the meantime, check out her big, curly hair!

 

Have a hair crush? Submit to us at yais.nyc@gmail.com!

How Long Will You Be In The TWA Stage?

I don't know how many times I've thought I was out of the TWA stage, only to be reminded when I tried to do one of those styles for long hair... you know, the ones that definitely don't work for TWA's no matter how you try to tweak it. If someone broke down a TWA to me and how long it takes to get out of this stage before I BCed... who knows... I might have transitioned a little longer. lol
One thing's for sure, I would have definitely been more patient if someone said
"You know your hair isn't gonna start to look long until you're into like, year 3, right?"

My hair straightened may be shoulder length, but If I wash my hair and let it air dry with no product, i'm basically a curly ear length... I can't wait for the day when I can really wash and go and have at least neck/shoulder length curls.

So approximately how long will you be in the TWA stage?
It all depends on your amount of shrinkage and curl pattern.

• If your hair is tightly curled/waved and shrinks up anywhere between 50% - 90% expect to be in the TWA stage anywhere from 2 - 4 years.
• If your hair has medium curls/waves and shrinks up anywhere between 40% - 80% you can expect to be in the TWA stage for about a year or two.
• If your hair has loose waves or curls and your shrinkage is about 20% - 60% you can expect to be in the TWA stage for about a year to a year and a half.

These values are based on my own calculations and averages from comparing the shrinkage of many naturals with different textures and hair types, and is also a calculation for girls who are starting off with a shaved head to 2" - 3" of hair tops. If you have hair that doesn't shrink as much in any texture, you will be able to see your length sooner than later. And of course the opposite for us girls with major shrinkage, it takes forever!!! lol

How Long has it taken you ladies to get out of the TWA stage?!

Hair Crush: Corbin Bleu

Day in and day out we see plenty of beautiful women with gorgeous heads full of curls in our little natural hair blogging world we've created for ourselves, but very seldomly do we get to beef it up with a little testosterone. Let me be one of the ones to add: Corbin Bleu of Disney's High School Musical.

I was never really a High School Musical Fan (saw it once and it was cool), but I did definitely have a certain attraction to this dude's hair. I always remember thinking that he had the perfect head of spiral curls that were perfectly bouncy and frizz free. I think seeing his hair was also the first time I saw such perfect tiny curls... I'd only seen the perfect curls on people who had bigger curls, like Tia and Tamera Mowry for example. I guess in a way, I could kind of say Corbin Bleu was one of my first hair inspirations, before I had any idea of natural hair forums, blogs or anything of the sort. I secretely always wish my hair will look like Corbin Bleu's as it grows out, lol.

With the way we know shrinkage can be, this dude's hair must have been down to his waist!

 

Corbin has since cut his curls into shorter more coifed styles, but as a woman who personally likes men with hair, I think his short curly hair looks great. You can tell he takes great care of his hair, as it always appears shiny, healthy and frizz free.

Did you love Corbin Bleu's Curls too? 
 So what do you think ladies, are you into men with hair? 

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?