My Curls Are Poppin'!!!

So, the picture to the left, shows my curls poppin' with some conditioner in my hair. I made it a point to take a picture of this area of my hair to show the drastically different textures that are right next to each other... this is only in one little segment of my hair mind you.

I definitely haven't been wearing wash and go's because of this little fact of having extremely drastically different textures everywhere, but i missed my curls, so i prepared for a day of crazy, curly hair! I oil treated my hair overnight with wheat germ and neem oil, a little Trader Joe's Nourish Condish, and baggied to sleep.

After Cowashing, I realized I had never tried the whole T-shirt wrapped on the head thing, but decided to give it a try and OMG! Love this technique! My hair was still damp but not soaking wet, and my curl pattern wasn't disturbed or made frizzy.

Four products (Lacio Lacio Leave-in, Care Free Curl Instant Moisturizer, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing smoothie, and something new to review later!!!) and a little smoothing and shaking later, pow! Curls! I had to leave my house soon and my hair was still a little damp so I used the diffuser to do a little blow drying, and then switched to my nozzle attachment to stretch my roots out a little.

  By the end of the day, a little shrinkage had ensued, but frizz was still kept to a minimum and my curls were still poppin'!


I got lots of compliments and mini convo's that day, a whole lot more stares, and even more hands in hair syndrome. And though I'm not looking forward to the detangling, I really missed my curls so I'm enjoying this wash do too much and go, lol. I pineappled to sleep, and woke up to amazing second, and today even makes third day hair (banded last night though).

After wearing my hair in roller sets and blowouts for like the last 2 months, always up in a bun or semi-protective style, it was a great change to rock my curls for a few days. 

How have you been rocking your natural? 

Vacation Hair: Puerto Rico Edition

While I'm sad that I'm not eating my way through San Juan at the moment, I'm excited to update with some posts again! I've never been to Puerto Rico and Mr. Smooth (the husband) hasn't been back in fourteen years and has actually never stayed in San Juan because his family isn't from there; it was a nice adventure for both of us!

We only took carry on-bags, so I didn't pack much products to follow the TSA's 3-1-1 rule, and I had decided I wouldn't need much anyway - just Ouidad Climate Control Shampoo, Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle (for a leave-in) and an oil, Curls Champagne Curl Elixir. I kept my routine pretty simple with WnG's and throwing my hair in a ponytail. With all the walking/hiking/activities being done, I did not have time to fuss over my hair like that. If you follow YAIS on Instagram, you might have seen a couple of pics of my hair while I was out there.

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?!

What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do With Your TWA

1. Try accessorizing! Jazz your hair up with a cute accesory like a headband or decorative clip... don't go too crazy if you're over 18 so you won't end up looking 12, lol
2. If that fails, Jazz up yourself! It could be the perfect day for effortless messy hair, a red lip, and your favorite ghetto girl hoops, lol
3. Hats, Scarves & Turbans, oh my! Slouchy Beanie's are my ultimate favorite for my natural hair, and I can easily wear my satin bonnet underneath, but turbans and any head wrap of your choice can also be a beautiful alternative
4. Wigs! If you're going natural, a natural wig might be one of the easiest things to keep on hand... Just throw on ya fro' and walk out the do'! (door... tryna rhyme... sorry, lol) Just think of it as a hairy hat if you're not a wig person :)
5. Wash and Go! Sometimes we try styling or re-styling and it doesn't work... when all else fails I just wash my hair and wear it in it's natural state... it' a lot easier than fighting with it. Get those diffusers out for the winter so you dont have to walk out with a wet head.

I hope these tips were helpful and you all continue to employ them along your journey!

How Long Will You Be In The TWA Stage?

I don't know how many times I've thought I was out of the TWA stage, only to be reminded when I tried to do one of those styles for long hair... you know, the ones that definitely don't work for TWA's no matter how you try to tweak it. If someone broke down a TWA to me and how long it takes to get out of this stage before I BCed... who knows... I might have transitioned a little longer. lol
One thing's for sure, I would have definitely been more patient if someone said
"You know your hair isn't gonna start to look long until you're into like, year 3, right?"

My hair straightened may be shoulder length, but If I wash my hair and let it air dry with no product, i'm basically a curly ear length... I can't wait for the day when I can really wash and go and have at least neck/shoulder length curls.

So approximately how long will you be in the TWA stage?
It all depends on your amount of shrinkage and curl pattern.

• If your hair is tightly curled/waved and shrinks up anywhere between 50% - 90% expect to be in the TWA stage anywhere from 2 - 4 years.
• If your hair has medium curls/waves and shrinks up anywhere between 40% - 80% you can expect to be in the TWA stage for about a year or two.
• If your hair has loose waves or curls and your shrinkage is about 20% - 60% you can expect to be in the TWA stage for about a year to a year and a half.

These values are based on my own calculations and averages from comparing the shrinkage of many naturals with different textures and hair types, and is also a calculation for girls who are starting off with a shaved head to 2" - 3" of hair tops. If you have hair that doesn't shrink as much in any texture, you will be able to see your length sooner than later. And of course the opposite for us girls with major shrinkage, it takes forever!!! lol

How Long has it taken you ladies to get out of the TWA stage?!

Hair Crush: Corbin Bleu

Day in and day out we see plenty of beautiful women with gorgeous heads full of curls in our little natural hair blogging world we've created for ourselves, but very seldomly do we get to beef it up with a little testosterone. Let me be one of the ones to add: Corbin Bleu of Disney's High School Musical.

I was never really a High School Musical Fan (saw it once and it was cool), but I did definitely have a certain attraction to this dude's hair. I always remember thinking that he had the perfect head of spiral curls that were perfectly bouncy and frizz free. I think seeing his hair was also the first time I saw such perfect tiny curls... I'd only seen the perfect curls on people who had bigger curls, like Tia and Tamera Mowry for example. I guess in a way, I could kind of say Corbin Bleu was one of my first hair inspirations, before I had any idea of natural hair forums, blogs or anything of the sort. I secretely always wish my hair will look like Corbin Bleu's as it grows out, lol.

With the way we know shrinkage can be, this dude's hair must have been down to his waist!

 

Corbin has since cut his curls into shorter more coifed styles, but as a woman who personally likes men with hair, I think his short curly hair looks great. You can tell he takes great care of his hair, as it always appears shiny, healthy and frizz free.

Did you love Corbin Bleu's Curls too? 
 So what do you think ladies, are you into men with hair? 

Quick and Easy After Pool/Beach Up-do

One thing I always remembered about the summer, was always needing to have some way to contain my hair during water activities. For the most part, as a child, I lived in box braids and single strand twists, so going in the water meant nothing but shrunken hair... which at that point meant nothing because my hair was always shrunken anyway. lol Since I was never the one in charge of my hair and my mother worked a lot, styles like braids and twists were essential to my mother, being able to easily rinse them and not have to worry about combing hair if she didn't have the time.
This time around while out in LA, I figured going in the pool with loose hair couldn't be that bad, now that I'm old enough to do my own  hair (lol) and my hair is now long enough to go into a ponytail... that would be my saving grace, and it was! I grabbed whatever conditioner I could find, and smoothed it onto my hair after I was finished with my pool shenanigans. On my way to tan, I put the back of my hair up into a little high bun and left what would be the bang area out. It shrunk up quite a bit... but if you don't mind the skrunken look and want to pull off a little more than a curly fro or ponytail after the pool or beach, this can be a cute and quick little updo look for you. Adding some conditoner is a great way to keep your hair from totally drying out from pool and/or ocean water and the sun, and get a little deep conditioning time in. You can even try a conditoner with SPF if you know you'll be out in the sun for a while, or adding a little oil to your conditioner if you have really dry hair.

 I hope this saves someone's beach/pool hair!

Hair Adventures: From Curly to Straight (in the Summer?)

I posted my summer routine last week, and I meant to show what my hair looks like on day 1. This was my hair last Friday:

 

I used my water/oil/gel combination to define my curls/coils and used a banana clip to hold it back. I'm not sure if you can see it clearly but if you can, you'll notice the variety of curls I have which range from tightly coiled to tightly curled, to wavy-coiled - at least that's how I describe it. I'm not much into the hair-typing system *shrugs* I actually really liked my hair, I think it's one of the best "wash n gos" I've done thus far. I was at my dress fitting and the tailor, a Dominican woman, admired my curls telling my friend and I that "her hair goes just like that" and my friend kept telling me how much she wanted to play in it.

Anyway, over the weekend I decided to straighten my hair. I know, pointless for the summer right? Well at first I was in the beauty supply store for something, and then I ended up purchasing two products that promise to be anti-frizz and "smooth" your hair: Lacio Lacio Leave in Conditioner and John Frieda Frizz Ease Straight Fixation Smoothing Cream - and I decided I was going to blow my hair out.

Vacation Wash-and-Go: Virginia Beach Edition

Good morning YAIS readers!

I'm back in NYC after relaxing for a bit in VA Beach for my birthday. Even though I'm a little sunburned and sore from attempting to ride strong waves, I had a great time. It was quite an adventure and I have to say, every time I go South I'm reminded how much of a "Northerner" I am. I'm actually a very polite person but whenever I talk to people down south they are so surprised to learn I'm from New York City because of how "polite" and "talkative" I can be to strangers which is always hilarious.

Now for hair: I did wash-and-gos which I figured was the easiest way to handle my hair in heat and humidity. I packed TreSemme Naturals Conditioner, Ouidad Climate Control Shampoo and Conditioner, and bummed Coconut Oil and Eco Styler gel off my sister.

I washed my hair and used TreSemme as my leave-in and then shook my head to get definition of my coils/curls, a trick SP showed me a while ago that works pretty well. It's funny to describe - I just shook my head like a dog to get definition lol.

Defined curls after shaking my hair

At the beach, I kept my hat on unless I was going into the water. Of course my hair shrunk like crazy (you could never tell I'm like a quarter-inch from bra-strap length) but after I was done in the water I would braid my hair down and put my hat on. I used gel in the evenings when going out because I wore my hair slicked back.

Also, I loved seeing naturals at the beach!  It was so freeing to just hop in the water and not worry about hair and I saw it on their faces too - pure enjoyment of shaking their TWAs or wringing out their curls. I will say my hair was really tangled after 4 days of wash and gos and I had some knots - it took me half-an-hour just to detangle when I got home, and the salt water was starting to dull and dry out my hair but I see myself rocking freely shrunken hair maybe once a week this summer. I know I probably won't get to the beach again until next month after my wedding but at least I know what works for my hair now!

Momma SP's Natural Hair

My mom came over yesterday for a little moment to chill and I was surpised to see her with her hair in it's natural state. I always thought my mom had some of the most beautiful hair, so of course I got her to go natural too. The last time she had seen her hair all natural she had to be in her early teens... 30 sum' years later, I helped her transition for a year by weaving her hair up, having to chop a little earlier than she inteded because of a matting incident (Lady didn't listen to me, washed her hair, didn't condition or detangle or anything and just threw a hat on. -_- NO.) My mother works a lot and ponytails are easy for her, so since the matting only occured in the back, all of the relaxed ends were cut from the back, but she still has a few relaxed ends at the top/front to be able to pull her hair back into a ponytail.

She came over with a ponytail, that I switched out for a banana clip, picked her curls out, and proceeded to resmooth her curls with a little Eco Styler Olive Oil gel to prolong her style.

Before:

After:
I really love her beautiful, full curly wavy hair, and I can't wait to chop those stringy ends off. My mom has very strong, healthy, full hair and I'm soooooo jealous, but also so proud of her for letting go of the relaxer... it was about damn time. She is in her second year of being natural and nearing APL soon, the longest her has been since she was a teenager... She's always had a full head of shoulder length hair, but I think that's saying something about the creamy crack! lol

 Love you momma... And all that hair!!!

When you started your natural hair journey, who did you take with you?!

What Does Natural Hair Freedom Mean To You?

All this talk and thought about protective styling made me really realize how much I really appreciate my natural hair freedom. What do I mean by Natural Hair Freedom?
When I thought about going natural, all I envisioned was long, beautiful free-flowing curls or big bouncy afros, not the hair restriction that comes with weaves, braids and a lot of protective styles. People with straighter, less textured hair seem to have a freedom I sort of envy... not having to worry about the rain or what their hair will look like the next morning if they don't sleep with a scarf or bonnet... I wanna wear my hair out everyday too!!! Aside from long jumbo twists and braids, I never envisioned or wanted any of the other styles like coil twists or a full head of cornrows or mini box braids... I just want to let my curls flow freely in the wind... Is that too much to ask for?! lol
Natural hair freedom to me, means being able to do whatever you want with your hair! Not having to re-twist at night if you don't want to, let that twist out get big and wild over time. It means wearing your hair out whenever you want to... knowing that you might have to detangle a little more or trim a little sooner but dealing with it. I don't mind daily moisturizing or twisting every night if it really means my natural hair freedom. I'm crazy for length right now... but not crazy enough to live in braids or weave for any substantial amount of time like people who do these things back to back for years and never wear their hair out.. not knocking it, just not for me. I Live in twist outs because they give me natural hair freedom... I'm able to wear my hair out, or pinned up, or pushed back with a headband... anyhow I want really!

What Styles Define Your Natural Hair Freedom?

Fashion Week Hair

Ladies and (if we have any) Gentle-dudes,
I'm so sorry I've been gone from posting, things have just been so hectic with fashion week and all, but in a few more days things will be back to normal for me.... as if my life was normal before.. lol.
Anyhoo...
It's been crazy hectic for me chaperoning girls around the city to castings and fittings, going to a few different shows, working in the office at Wilhelmina, shooting girls for their showcards and books, and all while still taking my clients and hoping to get a moment in to eat, shower, and sleep... I've had 2 days off in the past month and the universe only knows what I'm running on..
My hair however has been running on Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Elasta QP's Olive oil and Mango Butter, Jojoba Oil and Shea Butter... whatever it takes to keep her majesty moisturized during these busy times when I can't remember when was the last time I washed my hair... Oh! And a new favorite product:

CHI Deep Brilliance Glisten

 I seal in my moisture with this stuff and my hair seriously does glisten, all while still being light and fluffy and softer than cotton candy, plus it smells awesome. I trimmed my hair sometime within this crazy month because my split ends were getting a bit ridiculous but I have been retaining length which i'm super excited about... my hair in the front is like a 1/4 inch from my top lip! I haven't been able to rollerset my hair since last month, so i just washed my hair and blew it out, and have been basically wearing it in afros or twisted up ever since. Everyone's been loving my hair and it's been a crazy, sexy mess! I love it too.
Rollerset Hair:

Wash and Go Curls:

Blown Out Hair:

Me extremely tired with my hair twisted up

And this was my hair today, the result of doing  cornrows to sleep, fluffing in the morning, and after much wind, Voila! lo.

 So Basically fluffed up fros have been my life this fashion week (though it been more like a month for me), as I really haven't had time for much else. I can't wait to have the time to do some DEEEEEEP conditioning and get back to my rollersetting regimen!

What do you or have you resort(ed) to as a regimen when you're too busy for your regular regimen?

Fall 2010 = New TWA Color!!!

I decided to go Beef and Broccoli for the fall... lol. 

I wanted to rinse my hair a darker color since my roots were getting huge and Autumn has arrived here in New York. I decided i didn't want to dye my hair anymore because it's too damaging so i used a rinse, Jazzing's  Black Cherry. In order to do the green, knowing that my hair was blondish before, i used a bit of Manic Panic in After Midnight Blue. Blue and yellow makes green and im loving it! It's very dark so unless i am in the light, most people just think it's black which i think is a kind of cool effect.

Everyone is loving the Burgundy and Green! I am too, what do you think? Might add just a smidge more green and make it brighter =)

And i almost forgot to mention, these are my curls smoothed and shingled with Shea Moisture's  Curl and Hold Smoothie! Soft, shiny, bouncy, detangled, fragrant, moisturized hair! Loving it!

What has her Majesty been up to?

So as everyone can see i haven't really been posting much due to a bad mosquito allergy = / 

Gross right?

Anyhoo....

So i wasn't able to do much to my hair for 2 weeks besides wash n go, which paid off in the end for me because once i was able to start really touching and doing my hair again, i realized it had grown.

My roots are getting bigger, my hair is getting thicker, and although i haven't stuck to my regimen in quite a while (which i plan to get back to today!), my majesty has really been flourishing and i am so proud of her.

I am back to regular posting and i think i have some fun stuff in store = )