It's a Hairflip Friday!

I definitely had a good hair day yesterday, and all of the hair flipping to go along with it!

I just wanted to post some fun happy pictures on this happy friday! I realized, sometimes you just have to whip your hair back and forth, and smile :) 

And just for sh!t$ and giggles, my girlfriends and I used to crack up over this all the time!!! It's a Hairflip!!! You gotta just flip it! lmfao

Happy Friday!!!

My 2nd Braid & Twist Out

 Before I blew my hair out, my last rollerset had gotten pretty stale and my hair needed to be washed, but I had very minimal time.

I co-washed while in the shower with the plethora of conditioners I have been using to keep my over processed hair feeling as good as possible (will make a  post about that soon) and was so ready for bed!

I knew I needed to do something with this hair of mine, and my West Indian side kicked in and said "tro it in some plaits gyal" and that's exactly what I did. I plaited my hair until about 2 inches were left, and turned the rest into a two strand twist, much like when I did my Braid & Twist out the 1st time. I prefer the curls on the ends from twist outs, but like the wavy texture with braid outs.

On my damp hair, I applied Lacio Lacio, Elasta QP's Olive Oil and Mango Butter, JBCO to seal and 8 plaits later I'm in bed. Unraveled in the morning with Vatika oil, fluffed, separated and go! I was super busy and tired last week, so this was optimal for quick styling.
I think I will forever be a twist out girl but I look forward to enjoying more braid outs as my hair gets longer.

Which Do You like Better, Braid Outs, Twist Outs, or a Braid/Twist combo?

Twist Out From my Roller Set Results!

  After having fun with the pincurls after my roller set the other day, I decided to put my hair into my usual flat twist pattern to prep for a twist out.

I wore the twists for a day or two, under my silk scarves and hats, and decided to take them out yesterday (though I had nothing to do).

This was my first time doing a twist out on hair that had been pincurled, and I have to say i really love how much a lot of the ends held the curls from the pincurls, even after being twisted. My hair in the front is a lot looser than the rest of my hair, so its no surprise to me that the ends came out a little straighter in the front, so I think I will have to be changing up my pattern a little bit when doing twist outs on rollerset hair, so the texture in the front will also have the curly waves of the hair every where else.

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 :)

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!

TWA Braid/Twist Out

The beautiful view from the ferry

One fine morn while at a friend's house out in Staten Island, I decided to style my hair because I was going to be heading to an event later that evening and wouldn't have time to do my hair when I got home. Since I hadn't planned for any of this, I hadn't packed any products so I was at the mercy of whatever my friend could spare. Luckily for me, since I got her to go natural about 2 years ago she had a few natural hair products in her house that I quite liked. I'm still testing the products now so I don't want to go name dropping and false reviewing... counting my eggs before they hatch basically. I will say that i was in LOVE with my hair that day! I don't know if it was the Staten Island water, the cowash, or the whipped shea butter product I used.. or all 3... but I can say my hair was perfect. It was defined, stretched out, light, bouncy, had movement and smelled amazing. This was also my first time trying a 1/2 braid out, 1/2 twist out... which i decided to do on a whim as an attempt to  minimize shrinkage while still achieving twist out curls.... I basically got the idea from the ladies who like to do braid & curl's.

Since I didn't sleep in this style, I had to sit under a hooded dryer, and because I am impatient, I then proceeded to blow dry each braid, and my hair was still damp when I took it out! None the less, I used the blowdryer to stretch out my roots and my hair was perfectly bouncy all day.

I was even able to achieve really awesome second day hair without any re-twisting or re-braiding! I will definitely be reviewing the products I used soon, and trying this braid/twist out again.

What do you think ladies about the 1/2 Braid, 1/2 Twist out?  Is this something you have done or would try?                    

Fashion Week: Cotte D' Armes Presentation

How adorable is her headpiece?! I was so in love with it... like I wanted to snatch and run! lol

Stopping to take a quick flick with the team.

I came across this super cute chica snapping photos and was in love with her mod style...

Turns out she's an awesome style blogger who shot some amazing images of our show! Here are some awesome images from her blog

I love all the snaps she shot of me!

Don't you just want everything from this line?! I love Unisex clothing!

 

And now back to my crappy iPhone pics and on to the after party, lol

Designers Coco & Breezy  & their super cool mohawks (they're both natural)

I was definitely making sure to snap all the most fashionable naturals for you all!