Twist Outs on Curlformed Hair

 I wanted to post a few pics of how I had been wearing my hair over the past few days, in this time between setting my hair on curlformers and installing my new curly weave (yes, curly... I'll explain later). Aside from sharing with all of you lovely readers, It always helps when I have photos to look back on as I achieve my goals.

What's in that black bag I'm holding? Yup, My Weave is in that bag, lol.
I left my house that day with a beautiful twist out and the weather laughed at me and asked "How dare I try to look cute?", and thanks to the windy, rainy, weather, I ended up coming home with a curly fro. Twas cute, and I played in it while reading my book all the way home... terrible case of hands in hair syndrome.. lol

1st Curlformer Set On My TWA

I FINALLY got the chance to borrow Curly Film Chick's Curlformers so I can try them out! 

Okay, I'm just going to get down to the nitty gritty:

The Install - I did not enjoy any part of installing these, at all! lol I know it was my first time doing it on myself, as I had done them for CFC when she first got them over a year ago, but for some reason, things were just not working for me.
It took me three hours, 2 snacks and few arm stretches to get through this set. I felt and heard my hair snagging at different times and I didn't like that, and everything just wasn't as easy for me as it was made to seem... I know, I just need to do it a few times to get the hang of it, but if I don't like it somewhat by the third try, Never Again!

I didn't want to try sleeping on the Curlformers just yet, so under the dryer I went to also get in my mani time :) 

I didn't calculate the time I was under the dryer, but I think 45 mins to an hour later, Curls! I did not enjoy the Curlformer take down either. My Verdict on the curls? 
Curls - Loved the curls! I definitely like it better for long hair, but in the meantime it's a cute little look for my TWA when I need a change from twist outs, roller sets, and even my own curls. As CFC had mentioned to me, they don't really get all of your ends straight if you have really curly hair like us, I could see that from the time my hair was in the roller, but I still love the outcome and they got my roots extremely straight... reminds of when I had a relaxer and would get those roller sets like this, lol. It was definitely cute and I'd like to see how I can manipulate it more in the future... and get the set to last! *Note to self, find good holding product to use with Curlformers!

I knew the set wasn't gonna last so I just threw my hair in a ponytail to sleep, and brushed it out the next day and wore my hair in 2 loose flat twists. 

Quick crazy story: I had on sunglasses while walking down a shady block, so naturally I did not see that I was walking through a swarm of gnats, until I felt the need to swat profusely. When I got to my destination I realized I had like 2 dead gnats in my hair (EEWW!!! FREAKED OUT) and realized they probably drowned in the oils in my hair, did some more freaking out while ripping the twists out and whipping my hair back and forth like a mad woman... which resulted in this look, lmfao. And I'm pretty sure I got all the gnats out too.

Have you used Curl Formers on your TWA? I also wouldn't mind hearing a few crazy natural hair stories! Send 'em in 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?!

Band Out Puff + Hair Plans

Traveling home last week, my hair had been in my usual 2 buns, which I left a load of conditioner in and oil in. When I got back home, I got so used to my tanning rituals on the West Coast, that I was naturally compelled to go up to my roof and tan. I took out my buns just to give my hair a breather, but I guess the little bit of banding I had done to stretch the night before had really helped because I thought my curls were actually looking pretty good. Because I had to go out that evening, I decided a puff was going to be the way to go, because I didn't want any hair around my face or neck, or to have to fuss with it not falling the way I wanted if I had left it out. I even went for a more carefree look and didn't put any holding product on my edges or any of my hair going back into the ponytail. I really loved my hair that night, though it shrunk quite a lot, but I'm really happy to see the difference in my puff, it's so much bigger without all the extra fluffing and/or blowing out the roots!

  I was searching back through our blog yesterday and assessing my hair over time. I've learned when I have my greatest setbacks... always when I'm extremely busy.... both mentally and/or physically. With Fashion Week quickly approaching (an extremely hectic time for me) I've been trying to think ahead to the approaching madness, and what will I do with this hair of mine. I really do not want to deal with another setback, as my hair grows incredibly slow and is also incredibly fragile. From all my researching, my fashion week options so far are:

1. Twists & Twist Outs! I love Twist outs, as regardless of anything, they keep my hair stretched and smooth, and if I don't love the outcome, it always has a beautiful texture I can manipulate into another style.
2. Banding! Though I'd love to imagine that if I do wear a twist out I'd have the time to retwist, but in case it's all in my head, banding is an easy and much faster way to keep my hair stretched and hold on to whatever curl pattern I can.
3. Buns! After looking at a few tutorials and photos of beautiful natural hair in buns, I think aside from putting my own hair up, I want to try adding some Marley Braid Hair for a different effect. 

I don't think I'd have time to do much else... plus that's the other thing I've learned: Keeping it simple is the way to go. I'll definitely be applying that to my Fashion Week makeup regimen as well, with a little tinted moisturizer, whatever color lip, my cat eye and mascara. A little blush if I'm feeling fancy. Done.

I've also been thinking ahead to the approaching fall and winter, thinking of what I will do with my hair to continue retaining as much length as I possibly can, especially in a cold climate like NY where we definitely need to pile on the layers! Scarfs, hats, and coats can snag and dry the hair out, so it's so hard to wear my hair out in the winter without being afraid of life! lol I definitely plan on getting a long, straight weave once I no longer have to worry about humidity, just for fun!

How has your hair been lately? Any Special Plans?

Back to curls + Twist outs in July

  I've been so crazy busy it's been ridiculous; from work, to family affairs, to down right tragedies... it's no wonder I've hardly had time to get on and properly blog, much less any time for my hair.
Ever since I've made my way into the ponytail/bun world my hair has been washed, moisturized, and thrown back into a ponytail or bun of sorts. I haven't had the time or patience for twisting or retwisting, and with my multiple textures, wearing wash n go are currently no-no's for me.
 In these photos I was deep conditoning my hair to get ready to twist it for a twist out. This was the week of the 20's in July, I was prepping for my trip to LA (not under the happiest circumstances, but it turned out that I got the opportunity to work while out there so that was great... more on that later). I left in some Giovanni Deeper Moisture Smooth As Silk conditioner and proceeded to twist with Eco Styler Olive Oil gel. Slept/Air Dried, and removed my twist the next evening to go to a party I didn't even make it to... lol.
Crazy thing was, I usually love twist outs but I really was not liking the outcome of my twist out this time around...
I think it probably had more to do with my hair length than the actual twist out though, because I will say Eco Styler does make my twist outs come out beautifully. My hair is just growing into a point that I think might become mildly awkward for wearing out and curly, since it is becoming overall fuller, and longer, but still has a ton of shrinkage. My hair can still look 2 inches when it's about 8. The little Bob I have going on is getting a little mushroom-y! The good thing is, I've just braided up my hair so hopefully this little break will also come with a good little growth spurt... lets see if I can hold out for a month! lol
 I have sooo much to post about my hair on the West Coast so I will definitely be back with more posts!

My Last Straightening Before Summer... (+OOTD)

 On May 3rd I got the itch to straighten my hair for the last time before the summer hits... I figured "Hey... Cinco de Mayo is coming up..plus I have the itch to see what my color looks like straightened." I had just gotten back from LA too, with their beautiful, even weather so I was still getting used to the fact that the weather was still $h!tty here in NYC! I thought I would leave for a week at the end of April and come back to sunny skies... it was actually colder when I got back -__-
Anyways, A roller set and flatiron later (notice: I can use bigger cap less rollers now!!!), I got invited to a friend's surprise birthday so I set out to join the fun. Without watching the weather. #nobueno
Though I was only going about 5 blocks from my house and it was only drizzling, my hair went from looking like this right after I finished it:

To looking like this by the time I got there, ending up in a little bun on the top of my head so I could look half decent just tipsy going home:

 I wore my hair in a little tightly wrapped bun to keep my ends moisturized for the next day, and went with my trusty 2 buns for Cinco de Mayo. I'm really a big advocate of only straightening once, so once my hair goes puffy on me, that's it for the bone straight look...
 I hope you enjoy my Cinco de Mayo look, I tried to play on the 2 buns and basically go for the cute Asian girl look, lol (I dig cute Harajuku Kawaii Asians!) Looks like I was feeling stripey for the start of May... I guess you could also say I did a little light protective styling, lol

 I will be posting a part 2 to this hair straightening post to show you  my straight hair length check for before summer! I don't plan to straighten again until its not humid anymore... so that'll probably be some time in late September, that should be a great comparison as long as I keep up with the hair care.

After I got tired of the buns, I returned to my regular 2-strand flat twist pattern to achieve a silky, stretched, twist out. Unfortunately my camera died before i could take a shot of how I fluffed and styled, but I promise there will be a lot more fluffing and styling to come =)

Don't judge me! I know y'all were all out there trying get your last straightening in before the summer too! Were you? lol 

**I used the same products for this style as I used in my Rollersetting and Flatironing Natural Hair Video.

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.

Perfect Second Day Hair + OOTD + Product Review

I know this is like an A-D-D post totally but f&%$ it! lol

I just had to post a pic from my hair today because I'm never able to achieve second day hair that looks the same or better and I finally did!!! Again, all I did was moisturize my hair, throw it in 3 loose, tucked under buns to sleep, and then took out and fluffed this morning. I put a few 2 strand twists in the bang area for definition, and same as yesterday, I just put my head band behind my bangs, and pushed it to the left. I figured while I was @ it I would just do a quick little OOTD + my accessories for you all while I looked semi-cute, lol.  Funny thing is I bought those earrings a while ago and hated how they looked on me, but now that my hair's bigger, I like 'em!

Wondering what has my edges held back so beautifully? One product I will quickly review:

Thanks Domin for recommending this because I < 3 it! (Click the link to watch her review 

She is definitely my number one hair inspiration, if she's not everybody's, lol)

I haven't really tried it for twist outs yet, but I will say it's amazing for slicking your hair back in ponytails. I wouldn't say it gives you as much hold and sleekness as a gel per say, but if you don't want that wet super sleek/slick look but still want to be able to control frizz and flyaways this is perfect. 

As you can see my edges and the hair going back into the puff looks well tamed. You know what?  It actually does exactly what it says on the jar: Fights frizz, Adds Shine, and Moisturizes. This cost me about $4 and a little bit goes a long way so you really get your bang for your buck. Plus the smell is divine... everyone loves a product that smells edible right? lol 

Done ranting now... goodnight! = )

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!

Great Day @ the MOMA

An old friend of mine randomly hit me up this morning and invited me out to the MOMA! I was so psyched when I got there because it had totally slipped my mind that the Diego Rivera display was on now! His work is so real and truthful, he's definitely one of my favorite artists. You're not supposed to take pictures... but I managed to sneak one..

Circa 1932

I had a great day walking around the museum, taking pics and staring at whatever I so pleased, but one of the most awesome things was my hair! My friend kept touching it and making the comment that my afro looked so "Juicy." Lol I think it's time for a nick name change. My mane is now Her Majesty aka Juicy..... I think my hair has a stripper name now, lol ... Anyhoo, I have been getting many compliments or people staring and smiling, while wearing my fro'. Some white guy even thought I was a black supremecist last week as he whispered a political statement to me while getting on the train (I'm automatically Angela Davis now). Funny thing is, for the most part, I like wearing my hair curly more but I get way more compliments and attention when I wear my fro. #grassisalwaysgreener 

All in all I had a great day and even in all of this NYC wind right now, a great fro'.

Some gratuitous shots of today's fro':

Would you call that Juicy? lol