Protective Styles: Braided Up-do's

My hair has finally gotten a little longer, and is finally in a category of hair styling that I'm more comfortable with. While having my hair straightened, it's very fine and fragile, and with trying to avoid breakage, I figured I'd try wearing some protective styles.

I've never been able to french braid but the other night I figured I'd try my hand at it again, and was actually successful! A little thought and a few moments later, I came up with this:

I liked the style, but didn't love it, especially with my braid looking so skinny. I really loved the idea though, so I figured I'd try again the next day... A few hairstyles, parts, braids, and brushes later, I came up with this style:

I believe this was a much better version of what I was going for, and I think it's an absolutely beautiful style, even to be worn in a corporate setting or formal occasion. I wasn't going anywhere special but I put on some earrings and lipstick so you all get the gist. I made a little pincurl braid in the back where the braids end, which is also the perfect place to add a little hair accessory, or even a phony pony or bun of sorts!

I really love these simplistic up-do's and they work well on my fine hair, and give the illusion of fullness. There are definitely a few more styles I still want to try with my straightened hair before I wash, so stay tuned for that! Since I am trying to protective style with my own hair a little more right now, I will be continuing to try these braided up-do's on my hair in all different textures as well, not just in straightened form.

What do you think of these braided up-do's? Can you believe that I want to protective style?!
If you ladies want any styles that I do to be made into a tutorial, please let me 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!

Why is MY natural hair good enough for you but yours isn't?

This may sound strange, but the title from this post stemmed from a few compliments, that I sort of read as an insult...
So for Turkey-day (sorry, don't really celebrate, just eat) I wore my hair in a twist out Fro because I didnt have time to really style my twist out. It came out pretty cute and all I did was untwist my 6 flat twist and finger comb them, then pulled in different directions to fill in any spaces as I ran out the door with my potluck contributions...
Everyone was raving about how good my hair looked, cute, curly, soft and healthy and how they wished they could wear their hair like mine. The crazy thing is, the people who were raving about my hair the most, that being my cousin and my mother, are both natural now too with gorgeous hair and neither ever wear their hair out. They both complimment my styles and tell me when they favor a certain style over another, but when it comes to their own natural hair, they just aren't comfortable with it until it gets longer. I really just don't get it.

Now, to give them the benefit of the doubt, they are both 30+ and have been relaxed since their teens up until about a year or 2 ago (thanks to me putting the natural bug in their ears).  I understand them being used to themselves with long straight hair, but my mother has had short hair before, my cousin never has... What's wrong with trying something new for a change anyway? My mother usually wears her hair in a bun everyday, my cousin's in a wet and wavy weave ponytail everyday (their transitioning styles basically).

I guess where my offense comes in is when I'm complimented so much on my hair, but you have the same, if not nicer hair on your head that you won't do anything with but want to question the hell out of me about my hair.

(My little cousin sporting a cute bow-tied scarf around her TWA, none other than Moi, and my mother with her gorgeus natural hair flatironed)

Friends & Family: Omg! I love your hair! What did you do to it? I love those curls and its so soft! What do you use? 

Me: Oh thanks! This is a twist out i just raked my fingers through and hoped to not look crazy, lol. You can check the blog for info and tips and everthing else too.

Friends & Family: Yeah I love the blog but Wow, your hair, i really love it. So cute, beautiful.

Me: Why don't you try it? You're natural now, and you can do this, 2 strand twists are easy and your hair is longer than mine and beautiful. You can even have the curls without the afro look if you want...

Friends & Family: No..uumm..yeahhh seeee....nah...i don't ... uuh..think...uuhhh...  yeah not yet... when it gets longer... but it looks good on you though...
Me: :::silence::: -__-

It just makes me feel like if long hair is all a lot of people are really comfortable with, how do they truly feel about my hair? Is it more like "it's beautiful...but its short"or "it's so short... but its cute"? Am I just supposed to wear all the cute short hair for everybody but its not good enough for anyone else? I don't know, maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but I can't help but to feel a certain way... or maybe I should just be happy that I have enough confidence to love my hair at any length...

What do you think? Do any of you ever go through situations like these where some compliments leave you to feel anything but complimented?

Afro @ the Party Experience

So i went out on Friday night with my girls to The Skinny Bar down on Orchard St. in SoHo for a friend's birthday party and my afro became the talk of the night. When I arrived at the bar, a guy working the door told me he loved my fro! I saw many stares from girls, some good, others questioning it, and for some reason, the guys felt they could just dip their hands in it. So this one guy is trying to talk to me all night, telling me how soft my hair is and that it smells so good, putting his face in and taking deep breaths....apparently he was really attracted to my hair and i wouldn't be surprised if some of those stares from the ladies were stares of jealousy, as there were many-a-tattered weave and broken off relaxed haired girls in there.

Now of course i was flattered but i warned him not to touch a girl's hair without asking, as I have noticed since being natural this time around, that people, especially men feel like they have a right to touch just because it's natural. I  said to him "Well if a girl had relaxed hair im sure you wouldn't just touch it, and if you did you would definitely expect her to be upset," to which he agreed and understood, but went on to explain that he just had to... he was lucky he's cute, lol.

The week before that i went to a Christmas party at a friend's house and again, AFRO DIPPERS! lol
One of my good friends from cosmetology school always throws the best little get togethers,  and i'm usually the tolken black person, lol.... which i have no problem with of course but you can imagine why my afro would be a big deal. Asian and white hands in  my fro, loving the softness and puffiness.... the descriptive words have to be the funniest of all but i love it.

I feel like my afro will definitely be my style of choice for New Years since it appears to be the ideal party hair for me. Its growing so the bigger the better!!!

Natural ID

So I'm going to take my new ID picture for my Driver's License in the morning...
My Hair?
I think i'm gonna fro it out!

My last ID picture was from my original, first learners permit. I was 15 then and natural too but my hair was pulled back into a banana clip (my everyday style back in HS) so you couldn't really see what my hair looked like.

I know i should be asleep but i'm thinking about how i should do my hair and makeup since this is the ID picture i will have for a while, and seeing as how i had my last one since i was 15.
Full fro or pulled back puff? idk?!?!

Im just so excited to have a new natural haired ID pic and i hope it comes out good =D

*** Update!!! This is just a quick flick i had snapped of what my hair and makeup looked like, i just hope my forehead doesn't look that huge on my ID! lol

We'll see when it comes in the mail in 2 weeks time

TWA Afro Formal

Who says the "natural" can't be formal?
Funny that Curly Film Chick just posted on wearing natural hair to formal occasions and i planned on doing the same thing; I guess great minds think alike =)

This past Saturday, Big Chocolate and I attended my mother's 30 year high school reunion with her.
During the past week i had been contemplating different ways to wear my hair to the reunion, especially since it was my first formal event with a TWA. I contemplated many different things; from trying a twist out, to flat ironing, to roller setting, to even saying i was just going to buy a wig.
Then i realized that i had a grown a good amount of hair and wondered why i felt it wasn't good enough for a formal event.

When i saw Curly Film Chick's graduation picture i fell in love. I remember when i graduated from high school and i still had natural hair, i didn't think there was any way i could possibly wear my natural hair with my cap... how would it fit? would it stick up? would it look weird? if i took it off, would my hair be a mess?

I was definitely the only natural in my graduating class and i was terrified of looking terrible with my natural hair, so i stayed up the night before to sew in a straight weave that my cap would surely fit onto...

I didn't want to be that girl again but time was pressing on and i still had no clue of how i wanted to wear my hair. 

While accessory shopping last week, buying different things to go with my dress, i sported my 'fro which received many compliments and amazed stares.  Upon buying all of my accessories i needed to go with my dress, i went home to try everything on together. Once i looked in the mirror i knew i had to wear my afro <3

Special Occassions

Is wearing natural hair appropriate for special occassions?!

Duh O_o <---insert side eye...

At one point and time-and I'm sure many have felt the same way-I thought that wearing my hair out for a special occasion was an absolute no, unless it was straightened. So for job interviews, celebrations, family dinners and such I would straighten my hair since I didn't want to put them in box braids (and this was before I discovered how much I loved twists.

Well, this past May I graduated from college, and in that month alone I had numerous events to attend. There was graduation,  my thesis film screening and my b-day--all within days of each other and I really was fretting over my hair. I know that had to look presentable but I still needed to feel myself. And thus, I went with my usual big hair....

At my thesis screening...

with my robes for graduation...

grad potrait (yes I've sent this out to relatives)

I'm proud of myself for actually feeling confident enough to just sport my hair out. I'm not oppose to moderate use of the flatiron, but I am so happy that I didn't bother to reach for it because I didn't think I needed it and it felt good to be that confident. If you want to rock your natural curls or coils but feel like you can't without it being straightened, weaved up, or with extensions, I  say go for it. I'm sure that for the events, people might have hoped that I wore my hair differently, but to hell with what anyone else may think is "proper" or not. It matters what you want to do and what you are comfortable with. I challenge those who are afraid that for your next family bbq/fancy dinner/insert special outing that you may have to hide your hair, wear it out and proud!