Protective Styling Vs. Hands In Hair Syndrome!

And this time, Protective styling won! Lol
For someone who is trying to achieve great lengths, I may have worse case of Hands In Hair Syndrome ever!!! Besides the fact that I rarely wear the same style from one day to the next, If that style is out, I definitely have my fingers dippin' in it. Even if it is up, once I get home and take out whatever pins, banana clips or whatever types of hair constrictors I'm using, it's one on one time, hands to strands all over again. Finally, since weaving my hair in the summer I decided to protective style again to give my hair a little break. I weaved it up again, this time wearing a straight weave though since it's winter and my hair will stay straight... and even decided to do a video of how I do my own weave, kind of start to finish. I didn't post it on YAIS' YouTube, I posted it on my personal one since it's not much advice for natural hair, but it's definitely a great way to protective style for naturals. So without further ado...

Enjoy! And stay tuned to learn about how I care for my hair when it's in a weave :)

Hair Product List: Cool Weather Edition

It's December folks, and time to address and assess hair needs for the season. I plan to wash my hair twice a week and mainly stay with protective styles, such as buns my new favorite go to style, the Side Braid. I also want to concentrate more on preserving my hair and growth because I have a goal to be MBL (Mid-Back Length) by my birthday in May 2012--is it possible? Guess we'll see...

Now that I have a better understanding of my hair and what works for me, I'm going back to what I know for the Northeast winters. Behold, my list of products that I hope to get me through the season; some may be recognizable to you because I have reviewed them before:

Cleansers:
Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream
CURLS Pure Curls Clarifying Shampoo
SheaMoisture Moisture Retention Shampoo


Conditioners:
TRESemme Naturals Silicone Free Conditioner
Sauve Naturals Conditioner
Jessicurl Weekly Deep Conditioner
Henna 'N' Placenta Hair Olive Oil*

Stylers:
EcoStyler Gel
Jane Carter Solutions Wrap N Roll**
SheaMoisture Hair Milk
Burt's Bees Avocado Butter

*I recently tried this and really like it. It's cheap and easy to find, and gives my strands an extra boost of moisture. It's also a great to de-tangle with. 
**Jane Carter Wrap N Roll, which I originally wasn't sure about, has won me over. It's great for dry styling and setting, particularly for bantu-knots. It's a decent leave-in as well

I'm also on a quest to find a great hat for my hair. I love hats and scarves and would love to cover my head in style! What's on your hair shopping list for the winter?

My New Go To Styles: Buns and Side-Braids

These days, I've been trying to find hair styles that are easy to throw together in the mornings before work and to easily travel with while out of town (I just came back from Tampa and New England, and it looks like 2012 will be travel-heavy as well). I've been testing a couple of looks out and so far my favorites are Buns and Side-Braids.

I know you're thinking a bun isn't a really big deal. But it is for me. I was never really into buns, but now I love them and have already made a case as to why they are awesome. I really loved this bun I did yesterday when going uptown to Harlem to see my Nana - it was full, shiny and secured. I simply used Jane Carter Wrap and Roll to create this bun with a side-part, and secured it with a pin.

I think the "side bun" is officially becoming my signature by the way...

Next up we have the Side-Braid. It's also a style that is very simple and easy to do on wet or dry hair. It's actually great on wet hair because it will stretch your hair out really well. You need a lot of bobby-pins while gathering your hair to the side of your choosing, and then a pin to hold the place of where you want the braid. Start braiding as smoothly as you possibly can, and secure with a hair-tie of some sort.

This style takes me about 5 minutes. I also realized that I prefer a textured look with this style, so I tend to do it right after I wash my hair, or after an old braid out.

I've worn both these styles to work and I think they are very acceptable for those of us who may work in conservative environments. To keep them from being boring rock accessories such as earrings or headbands, which can be as "quiet" or as "loud" as you want. Hope you all like!

Intro Tips For Grocery Shopping and Cooking (for the Young, Natural and Busy)

We talk a lot about hair here at YAIS, but this is also a blog for the twenty-somethings who are navigating adulthood. It can be really rough sometimes and although we are "adults"  we do need some guidance and life lessons, especially in time management, how to to deal with emotional issues, etc. For those of us who graduated high school and work or have recently finished college (like myself) we have been thrust into the "real world" and expected to fend for ourselves-- the big question is how? But it isn't all bad, if you have direction and some resources to help you out! First, let me share a picture of a recent cooking experiment SP and I had a couple of weeks ago. We made a garlicy alfredo sauce over Angel Hair pasta and spinach with garlic bread and some wine--it was a quick and delicious meal!

Our tasty pasta dinner

Cooking for oneself is a crucial skill which doesn't require culinary expertise, just an area to make your food. I'm talking about everyday eating, with food you can afford and the time set aside to cook it.  At one point I was taking a full schedule of classes, working two internships and commuting about 4 hours daily and I kept my eating out to a minimum - partly because I was a broke college student, but also because I like cooking. I wasn't preparing gourmet meals and shopping at Whole Foods, but I made rice, simple stews, and casseroles. These days I work full-time and work on projects on the side; it seems to me that I really only have one day of "rest" and that varies but my meals come from home on average 6 days out of the week; most of my meals take less than an hour to make. I even bring lunch from home, which is a combination of left overs and sandwiches. What helps me cook is basing my meals off of what I have in the house, which comes down to buying what I normally eat. I started keeping a log to help with grocery shopping. Here is a screenshot of my Google doc that lists the "staples" I try to have:

I don't always have everything on this list, and this may be anal for some, but it really helps me. (And I'm sure you're wondering what I make using this list, recipes to come!) I should mention that right now I don't cook with meat: I was a vegetarian for about 9 months after Turkey Day '10, then went "Pescatarian" (one who eats fish) and now I eat meat maybe once every couple of months, but have opted not to cook with it because it saves money and has made me more creative with cooking. It's easy to use a search engine for an idea or use resources from blogs and cooking sites. My two personal favorites at the moment are Poor Girl Eats Well and Cheap, Healthy Good. I've adapted recipes to my taste and what I have in the kitchen and they use ingredients that are easily attainable.

Eating out all the time really adds up quickly and if you're "frugal" like me, money disappearing like that can upset you. But if you're busy working, raising small children and/or going to school cooking may not be something you can do all the time and that's understandable. If you can boil a pot of water, cooking will be fine with practice. Taking some time to make sure that you eat and can take care of yourself is truly important however, and your body (and wallet) will definitely thank you for it later.

From Essence: The Natural Hair Blogger's Holiday Gift Guide

If you're a natural who celebrates the holidays, it's a great time to ask for all things hair-related! I came across this gift guide from Essence  from some of our favorite natural hair bloggers. Some of my favorite picks are the Natural Hair Love Affair Hair Emergency Kit, The Hair Therapy Wrap, The Science of Black Hair (I really need this book!) and Satin Pillow Cases. Nothing fancy, but items I would love to have.

Check the list out and let us know which ones you would love to have!

CHI Deep Brilliance Blow Dryer Review + Hairstyle Video

I made this video a few weeks ago to review this new blow dryer I got that I'm head over heels with! It's lightweight, not too loud, all the parts are secure and smooth, and it's hot so you can work fast!

Looking back at this video was hilarious though I must say, I did laugh at myself. Lol 

Making videos for this blog has been lots of fun and I am surprisingly thoroughly enjoying... Okay... on to the video!

My Mom actually brought the CHI Deep Brilliance Digital Titanium Flat Iron which she has been raving about! I got her to go natural a little over a year ago through weaving as her transition period and now that she has been fully natural she's only been wearing her hair in buns. FINALLY this flatiron got her to take her hair out and it's looking gorgeous! I have to get her hair up on this blog in this next week or so....  and get my hands on that flatiron so I can review that too!

So far, I've tried the Blow dryer and the Moisture Binding Shampoo and Conditioner from the Deep Brilliance line and I will say, I always liked CHI products but they really seem to be hitting the nail on the head with the Deep Brilliance line. Stay tuned for my reviews on the rest of the Deep Brilliance line (well whatever else I get my hands on... and no, no one has endorsed me to say any of this).

{and yes, I said "a lot, a little bit"}

Does Hair Length Matter?

The other day I was admiring my younger sister's hair and commenting on how well she's taking care of it while busy with college. She keeps her hair in box braids with the occasional braid-out or flat-ironed style. Her hair stretched is probably shoulder length, and she mentioned to me that she's going to cut it again to keep it at her desired length in braids, which hang at neck-length. She insists on keeping it short because long hair is "a lot to deal with." Even though her and I do not have the same curl pattern or texture, she still has massive amounts of it like I do, and while in college I too didn't like my hair past shoulder length because of how time-consuming it seemed.

I then thought about my older cousin who insists on having a TWA because she enjoys the fact that she can rinse her hair everyday, comb it and keep it moving. As my hair is approaching bra-strap length, I'm continuing to face the fact that besides the length, I have a massive amount of fiber on my head. I'm trying to grow my hair at least until the end of summer 2012 (where I have something huge planned) and SP and I have concluded that my hair stretched would be about mid-back length - which scares the crap out of me. I know a lot of naturals have length goals, but there are also some who are happy enough to rock shorter hair.

So, we've set up another poll about hair length goals on the upper corner of our blog. Tell us, does length matter to you? Is there a goal you have in mind? What is your ideal length? Let us know!