"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?!

Braids too ethnic for the office?

So with all these thoughts of protective styling on my mind and wanting to be able to put all of my hair away, I've been thinking of putting large extension braids back in my hair, but one question arises over and over: Are extension braids too ethnic/ghetto/unsophisticated? Now I only use these terms, not as my own feelings, but as terms I just know would be said/used to describe me or my hair if the people in my industry percieve it negatively. I could just hear them making fun of me now... "Girlfriend is giving me Dashiki!"
I guess the question is: Do I truly care about what they think?
Yes and no. I take my right to freedom of self expression through my hair very seriously as someone who changes my hair, and I haven't worked in any environment where I was told I needed specific hair or that they didn't like my hair. In the end, I would only care because I want to continue my internship and I wouldn't want something like hair to mess it up, because I can find other alternatives if needed...

What do you think? Any one work in High Fashion? Law? Any other appearance conscious occupations and haven't been sure how a certain natural hairstyle would go over at work? HELP!

Extension Braid Pompadour Updo

So as i was saying in my Feeling a Little Frustrated post, i finally had a little time so i went ahead and braided my own hair. I would have loved to go to the salon but being tight for cash, and knowing that i need to wait a little while longer before getting the larger braids again, i decided to braid my hair myself for the first time again since i had been in high school! I used to put my hair in microbraids all the time, no problem,  but i had never done bigger braids before so my backup plan was to just do cornrows if the box braids hadn't worked out. Luckily, they did, and i'd say they turned out pretty good! My mom actually almost got upset with me cuz she thought i went and spent money on getting my hair done... i'll take that as a compliment! lol
I did these braids on day old hair (it was spur of the moment) using regular Kanekalon synthetic hair. I started in the front, did the side edges, the back and then worked my way up to finish the middle, all the while just parting long rows, and sectioning the rest of the hair out of the way. From there i would say i just sliced 1inched cubed sections, fully detangled and added some Eco Styler Olive Oil gel before starting to braid. Non stop i would say this took my about 6 hours total, but since i did have a few distractions, it took me about 12 hours. Finished result?

Not too bad if i must say so myself :) You know the deal, I've been wearing my high buns and ponytails, lol. I went out last night and decided to try something new, an updo of sorts and it came out so beautiful! I got a million compliments on my hair last night so if you ladies love it just as much, let me know and i will do a video tutorial of how i did this updo. Here goes:

1st step ~ Trying to figure out exactly how i was going to wear my hair. I was loving the Pompadour but not sure about the ponytail so i decided to try doing one of my trusty buns and that was all i needed!

 The Girl next to me is my cousin and she has beautiful curly hair as well... and another who's been through it all with her hair... Stay tuned to hear a little more about her too =)

High Bunned Braids

Today makes 2 weeks for me having these braids in already and they are still going strong! I did have to go and get a few replaced, as they slipped off cuz they're big braids and my hair is short.

 To sleep or around the house, i've been just throwing the braids up into a huge messy bun, and i realized how much i actually love that look! I sooo can't wait until i have hair (long hair anyway) so i can wear all of the styles i love that require lots of long hair with my own hair. I went out to meet up with a friend for dinner and drinks last night and decided a big bun was the way to go, because i love a sleek high fashion look. 

I bunned my hair up with 2 of my stretchy headbands, since a scrunchie wouldn't be large enough to hold the braids. As i bunned i made sure to tuck the ends in and under the scrunchie, and secured any pieces sticking out with a few push pins. I made sure i didn't pull the braids too taught, especially at the edges, so i then added a little aloe gel and smoothed my edges back with my fingers, tied my scarf around my head to hold them down while i brushed my teeth, then untied before leaving the casa and Voila! Braid Bun! lol

You like? I love!

Don't forget to have fun with your protective styles ladies!

Extension Braids again...

So today makes one week having these braids in already and i'm hoping to keep them in for a month (i hope i can hold out that long)...

I got them done smaller this time than the last time i got my hair braided in hopes that this will help them last longer.
I plan to post a video on how i maintain my hair in these braids soon :)