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! 

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

How to Remove Your Twists for a Defined, Frizz Free Twist Out

I made a video for you all last week of how I twist out my hair. These twists were done on freshly washed damp hair, and left over night to dry.
 A lot of people always go goo goo over my twist outs and I'm not sure why, except for the fact that I know my curls are usually super defined... so much so that people think I have a straw or flexi rod set usually. I tried to make it short and sweet so I hope you all enjoy.. and stay tuned for another video of a couple of styles I did on my twist out!

Have you been loving your twist out results lately?

Looking Forward To Trying a New Fall/Winter Regimen

Me & My Hair Dec 2011

Fall seems to be approaching really fast here in NYC this year, as August is nearly over and the weather has already cooled down. This Fall going into the winter season is going to be sooo different for me, now that I have a little more length to my hair! I was thinking I should try rollersetting every week to week in a half... and then doing twist outs when the hair no longer looks good as a rollerset. Idk... I just definitely want to be able to retain more length while wearing my hair out, and still keep a stretched look. I realized, I don't think I wore a wash n go once this summer because I'm sooo over the shrunken look. I was wearing a short haircut for like 6 years before I decided to go natural and grow out my hair, so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it too.

Anyhoo... I realized in all these years (2) I still haven't created a solidified regimen for myself... but could I? I've had an inch of hair, virgin hair, bleached hair, dyed hair, curly weave, straight weave, extension braids, lol... Yes, I find it hard to keep up with myself! lol So now that I'm 2 years in, with a color that I love, doing my best to retain as much length as possible, I'm really going to try putting myself on a strict regimen and seeing if it makes a difference in my length retention this year.

Day 1 ~ Wash Day! Start with a hair and scalp oil treatment (either the same day or baggied the night before). According to how the hair feels I will either shampoo (Roux Porosity Control) and condition or just cowash and finger detangle my hair in 4 sections. My favorite condish for detangling is Hello Hydration. :)
Rollerset w/ end wraps & Sit under dryer, pincurl and sleep w/ Satin Scarf and bonnet. (Sitting under the dryer also makes me take time out for posting, reading or doing my nails)

Day 2 ~ Wear amazing hair... and if amazing hair fails, wear a banana clip or bun! Moisturize at night using Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango butter  and morocan oil on the ends before sleeping, re-pincurl and zzzzzz.

Days 4 - 7 ~ Hair will probably get larger or flatter... go with the flow and either continue to pincurl or 2 strand twist for twist outs using Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango butter and Shea Moisture's Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Hold Smoothie, sealing my ends with Jamaican Black Castor Oil.

Back to wash day for a new hair week!

I really enjoy the outcome of rollersets and twist outs on my hair, which create beautiful textures I can always manipulate into other styles. One thing I did learn in the previous Fall and Winter seasons with all the cold weather accessories is to keep my hair in the back up! There will be no scarves and coats eating up my hair this year! I do need to do a little fall/winter accessory shopping so we'll see how that goes! lol

I plan to start this regimen as soon as I take out my extension braids and trim my hair!

 I plan to try trimming with the moon cycles for the next year as well, so I will be trimming on Friday August 31st with the full moon. I need a really good trim too... 1/4 inch, maybe like almost 1/2 inch to have all fresh ends. At the slow rate my hair grows I don't want to trim that much but after the pool and dry heat on the west coast, I think I definitely need it. Styling and detangling has been rough :/
(another reason I put these braids in... been trying to prolong this trim, lol)

Any of you ladies already thinking forward to your fall/winter regimen?

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!

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?

Natural Hair Weekly Routine

Hey folks!

So I finally decided to make a video about my weekly routine. If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that I use curlformers to stretch out my hair. I actually didn't like the way the set came out, but the point was just to show the routine. I show how I pre-treat my hair, the sections, how I  deep condition and detangle, as well as how I put in the curl formers. It's less then 5 minutes, but I think I captured the necessary parts. Here are pictures of the results:

TWA Do's and Don'ts

My quest to finally have long hair this year has had me thinking quite a bit about how I handled my TWA in 2010; The good, the bad, and the ugly!

Here are some quick TWA Do's and Don'ts from my lesson's learned in 2010...ahhh...good year... lol

DO!!! =0)
- Have fun with your TWA while you have it. Even if you aren't excited about having short hair, hair grows back so don't waste your time feeling down about it, learn to enjoy it while you have it. 1 year having short hair out of an average of at least 80 years of life really can't be that bad right?

- Make sure to moisturize! Even if you have less than an inch of hair, make sure you're moisturizing daily!

- Deep Condition! Yes it's only a TWA but its still hair and it needs to be deep conditioned so do so as regularly as you can.

- Make sure to Wrap/Cover/Tie your head down with a silk/satin scarf and/or bonnet at night!!! There's no reason you should be dealing with split ends and SSK's on a freshly/recently cut TWA. I also wear a satin bonnet under  my winter hats so they won't dry out my hair.

DONT!!! > = x
- Buy Every Product you hear is supposed to be good. *Although i'm not one to hair-type, i did find that finding girls with textures that seemed similar to mine helped me figure out what type of regimen and products i needed for my hair, so i was able to streamline my products, and my product junkie-ism!

- (If you are planning on growing your hair out) Don't go crazy doing everything to your hair! Stay away from over processing your natural hair with color and bleach or texurizers. Give your hair a chance to grow and just focus on making sure it's healthy

- Don't forget to LOVE YOURSELF!!!!!
Everyone takes transitions differently and making a transitiion from relaxed to natural can be a very drastic change for some. Don't waste your time comparing your hair/texture to others, take your time and learn to love the hair you have. Buy yourself a few new accesories to jazz up your new look and learn to have fun with it!

Product Stash: Conditioners

Back with my conditioner stash!

Okay, so here we have Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut, a tiny bit of Kinky Curly Knot Today, Marcia Teixeira Brazilian Keratin Conditioner (normal hair), Renpure Organics My Hair is Parched, and Herbal Essence Hello Hydration.

The Suave conditioner I used over the summer a lot, and then I strictly started using it to rinse out henna and now whenever I do a Bentonite Clay treatment. I like having it around as a "rinsing" conditioner and it's cheap and can be found anywhere. That's really all I use it for. Knot Today I use as a leave in before I put anything else in my hair. It's great for detangling and to use under gels and other styling products in my experience. It hasn't failed me yet and I'm a little sad that I'm running low.

The Keratin conditioner from Marcia Teixiera was actually a sample I got when I ordered my Jessicurl Trial pack from Curlmart. It came with the shampoo too which I really liked (but gave away to one of my sisters) but the conditioner is nothing to rave about (in other words, I won't ever buy it). The Renpure Organics I've been using as a deep conditioner since I don't really have any more of the Jessicurl Weekly Deep conditioner. And I only buy the Renpure Organics when it's on sale for under 5 bucks. The Herbal Essence I had only bought for my mini-trip to Ohio but it's a good conditioner for me to have on hand so can't complain. I really would like a thick, emollient conditioner for deep treating, so I'll have to look into that. I want to re-order the Weekly Deep Conditioner and perhaps try the Sheamoisture mask that everyone has been raving about. Any other suggestions?

Product Stash: Cleansers

I was doing some serious cleaning today, when I got distracted and started accessing my hair product stash once again. I think this help me figure out exactly what I'm doing with my products and what I need or discard. So let's start with the cleansers, aka shampoo.

So here we have the Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat, Curlicious Curls Cleansing Cream, and Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream all shampoos I have reviewed. Now the Giovanni Tea Tree is the same bottle I have had since the beginning of summer 2010 and I bought it for about 7 bucks. It does wonders for my scalp and I enjoyed using it in the summer, but I will not be purchasing again. I need something more moisturizing and with some detangling power because of all my hair. I'm going to somehow finish up this bottle.

Now the Curlicious Curls and Jessicurl shampoos, I'm going to continue to alternate with them. I love both and haven't made up my mind as to which I like better. They are both pricy but totally worth it to me. They both will last me a while too, since every other week I plan on using the bentonite clay to clarify and strengthen my hair. I know that most naturals don't seem to shampoo quite as often as I do, but every 5-7 days is for me. Especially since I'm using very moisturizing shampoos I haven't noticed my hair being dryer or anything.

Stay tuned for my next post discussing my conditioner stash....

My Product Stash

While thinking about my cool weather hair regimen, I sifted through my hair products this weekend and realized that I don't really need to buy anything else for a bit. I really should just work with what I have and determine my regimen based on that. Here's what I got:

Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Threat Shampoo

This is what I will be continuing to cleanse with. I've had this bottle probably since June so it's been a great 7 bucks for someone who washes their hair once a week. With the weather still being a little up and down I'm still going to wash with this every 7-10 days.

My collection of conditioners

I love moisturizing conditioners and I love trying new ones. I saw that my old favorite Herbal Essence Hello Hydration was on sale at Rite Aid during the week so I had to pick it up so that bottle is full. I only have a little bit of Renpure Organics left. I can probably deep condition with this two more times. The Kinky Curly Knot Today is my favorite leave in, but as you can see there's only a little left, and that's an $11-$12 bottle. What I've been doing actually is putting it in my spray bottle and adding some water to it and spraying it liberally into sections of my hair when I'm styling. It still works great. I also don't have much Sauve Naturals left either, but I've decided that I'm only going to use that for things like rinsing henna out of my hair because the cooler weather for my hair means thicker and more emollient moisturizing conditioners. While Sauve did wonders for me during the summer, not sure it's going to be my best choice in the winter. And then there's my Oyin conditioner which I will use whenever I feel like it to detangle and condition.

Stylers, ect

My collection of stylers is okay I guess. I don't see myself really using the Kinky Curling Custard because I doubt I will be wearing any wash-and-gos anytime soon. I'm pretty much done trying the Jane Carter Wrap and Roll, I'm not crazy about it. The Garnier Fructis Conditioning Creme I can see myself using for braid-outs and twist outs, most likely alternating with Oyin Shine and Define (sitting on top of the jar of coconut oil). The Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment I *heart* as a pre-shampoo treatment  as well as a styler. I absolutely love this stuff. I used it last winter to act as a heavy butter for my twists as well and I probably will continue. The IC Fantasia Gel will still be used as I continue to practice with rollersetting. And finally, the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (which will probably last me for another month, purchased in May) will continue to be used as a pre-treatment and to seal my hair. I might try an oil rinse with this as well.

So there you have it. As I mentioned, I won't be buying anything else for at least the rest of this month if not longer. That way I won't feel guilty when I go shopping for new products that I've been eyeing!

On Trimming

Okay naturals...to trim or not to trim? I hear some of ya'll don't think it's necessary and some of ya'll do. Some say you don't do it because you don't wear your hair straight. Others say you do because you want to keep the hair's shape...

I personally used to have my hair trimmed (or trimmed my own hair) because I had some heat damage and crazy split ends. So when I ran my hands through my curls I heard snap, crackle, pop. My last drastic trim was last November or December, because I really was sick and tired of my hair being tangly and fragile. I neglected my ends, which are the oldest part of the hair and lost nearly two inches but they were the best two inches I ever lost. My hair became smoother and easier to detangle.

I realize that my ends need dusting every three months or so. I get these damn single-strand knots ("fairy knots") so when ever I am arbitrarily touching my loose hair and feel or see a knot, I reach for my trimming scissors and snip them off. I know that I still have some splits because a the last couple of months of my college semester was so terrible stressful and I ignored my hair. Trimming, at this point is necessary for me because I do like the option of wearing my hair straight. Although I have no desire to do so right now (probably won't till November-December) I still need to be able to run my hand through my hair without snapping and I'm still learning to manage my ends.

So what's the verdict for you guys? To trim or not?

My Summer Routine

There's a debate as to whether one requires a regular routine to maintain the health of their curls. I know some naturals who are hardcore followers of their routine and their hair has flourished. I know others who do whatever they do and their hair flourished. To each it's own I guess. I personally feel like finding a way to gently care for your hair, with regular moisture and less manipulation helps the hair flourish. However you can accomplish that, go for it.

And so for the last month, I've been following a routine that has been serving my hair quite well.  So far, I do the following:

* Wash my hair every 5-7 days in sections
*Pre-poo every wash day
*Deep condition every wash day for 30min-1hr, cold water rinse
*co-wash mid-week if hair needs moisture boost
*Moisturize 2x a day (morning and night) with water based moisturizer, seal in moisture with butter and oil
*Protective style most of the week to protect ends (two-strand twists, buns), wear my hair out for 2 days or less

Products:
Pre-poo: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Shampoo: Giovanni Tea Tree Shampoo
Conditioner(s): Sauve Naturals Tropical Coconut, Kinky Curly Knot Today
Deep Conditioner: Renpure Organics My Hair Is Parched
Stylers/leave in (depending on style): Oyin Shine and Define, Oyin Whipped Butter, Oyin Frank Juice, Kinky Curly Curling Custard, Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Conditioning Creme, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Tools:
Wide Tooth Comb
Denman Brush
Hooded Dryer (occassionally)

This routine is actually very easy to follow for me because it's not high maintance and actually quite inexpensive. The most expensive thing is probably the Kinky Curly Products, but they last me a while so I think that somehow cancels out and I am heavy handed with products like conditioners. This is the first summer I know my hair well enough to determine what it likes and the first summer that I actually have a workable routine.