Tag: natural hair

Much Needed Trim

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Spring is coming! Thought I’d share that real quick! For the last few weeks, when I’ve been washing and styling my hair, my hair was shedding and knotting so bad that I didn’t want to do anything to my hair. My braid outs didn’t last, and my flat twists would knot when I try to unravel them. It was unsettling. Then, it hit me. Girl, you need a TRIM! And I’m not talking, clip here and there, I mean go in your hair, section it if you need to and take those scissors and investigate! Then, you need a protein treatment too (but we’ll get into that in another post)! This past Monday, I woke up super early (we had an appointment to meet with our caterer!) and went straight to my bathroom and started prepping for a much needed trim.

I must say, I am in no way a professional, I just watched a plethora of videos on deva-cut styling! LOL! Well, I did. I really did. I learned, its best to dry cut in my natural state and to only snip the ends, or where it needs to be snipped.

I decided to section my hair and start in the back, pulling my curls to see how they fall and to snip the scraggly ends off, making sure I even it as much as possible. By the way, if you’re doing this by yourself, this is not a rat race. TAKE. YOUR. TIME. I was able to snip away the dead ends, probably only cutting a half an inch. Take a lot at how much I cut below.

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I was amazed at how much I snipped and was able to keep my length, by just shaping my fro. I was able to maintain a cute shape and there was no shedding during my next styling! I promise to record my next trim!

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Are you due for a trim?

Curly Up-Do with Jane Carters Solution!

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This year I plan to experiment more with my hair to see how creative I can get with heat free hair styles. Our curly hair responds very well to perm rods (if achieved correctly), so I decided to do one with a new product that I picked up from Target.

Note to self: NEVER let your natural hair arsenal get low. Things will add up.

I wanted to try a few new moisturizers for my hair and I of course gravitated towards the Jane Carter’s Solution Curls to Go! Curl Cocktail Conditioning Cream. My overall opinion of the product: I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the line. For my hair, 90% of the time, if the deep conditioner or the moisturizer works well on my hair, then the rest of the line will (FINGERS CROSSED).

This product is very hydrating and I feel like it will do well in a twist out or a braid out. My curls felt soft and bouncy and I like how this product can be used on its own, meaning that you don’t have to cocktail it to make it effective. This product does not leave a white cast or flaky residue and has a creamy consistency, with a floral, fresh smell.

One thing I will mention, is if you’re looking for a longer lasting style, you will need a holding product.

Styling Process

Take a look at my first Youtube video of the year to see how I created his lovely curly updo using old hair! Please comment and subscribe! I would appreciate it!

 

 

Natural Hair: Big Curly Hair on Day 1-2

Published on by CurlsWithStyle10 Comments

As a fellow natural, I think it’s safe to say that majority of us like big hair with lots of volume, right? No shade to the pixi cut gals, because I’ll rock a short cut in a minute, big head and all! Since I’m on a journey to long, thick, beautiful healthy hair, I love to wear my hair big. It goes with my head shape, lol. Sometimes, after wash day, when you unravel those fresh twists or braids, your hair is looking kinda flat. Even though you fluff the roots and separate until there’s no tomorrow, its still not big enough. As time progress and your twist out gets a little older, your hair gets a little bigger. Sometimes I can’t wait until day 3 or 4; I want this on day 1 or 2. So let’s try it! Here are a few tips that you can try to get these results!

Make sure you use a great styling product that yields great definition. My favorite product to use right now alone is the Cantu Curl Activator Cream. It has a thick consistency and I can use this on its own. I wait until my hair is about 75% dry, after I worked my leave-in conditioner in.

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Do medium size braids or twists. The smaller, the more definition. Make sure to twist or braid a little tighter than normal, but now to where it is difficult to unravel. Also, make sure the ends are saturated with product and that the ends are coiled to perfection!  Adding rods to the ends help too.

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Leave the twist/braid in for a day. You can skip this step, but if you’re not doing anything the next day, or you don’t have any events worth showing your amazing curls, don’t unravel them. I did my hair on Friday and on Saturday, I went to work with the twists in, not caring, because there’s only like 10 people in the building. Who ‘gon check me?

Unravel the twist and separate a couple times. When I took my twists down, the definition came through like BAM! This product had my hair moisturized to the Gawds! Not only that, the definition was real. Who knew this one product could do that alone? Normally, I have to cocktail stuff or use another product. After unraveling the twists, the definition was there and the curls were on point.

Separate your hair in 4 quadrants and grab your pick or a wide tooth comb. I used my wide tooth comb for a better grip. After sectioning, I started to comb out my curls, but making sure that I stop about an inch down. The key is to NOT comb the curls all the way out. By leaving the coiled ends in tact, this is help with keeping the ends in tact, plus less worries about breakage. Take your time on this part! There’s no rush. I ran the comb through my hair a couple times, still making sure I kept definition. Minimal frizz is okay, after all, day 3-4 hair has a little frizz.

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Big, voluminous hair!

 

 

Thanks for Reading!

 

 

Natural Hair Length Check +Goals

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It seems so long ago when I chopped my hair off,  but it was slightly a year ago. Within that time, I’ve managed to grow my hair to my shoulders. I went from using a blow dryer to blow out my hair twice a week, to only 3 times in 2017. When I did use the dryer, I kept it on cool air, which my hair loved. My curls have flourished and grown beautifully.

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Freshly washed hair, no product
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Passed my chin!

My main goal is to rid my hair of the last bits of color on the ends because those strands are a little iffy.  By April, my wedding month, I’m aiming for my shorter layers to all catch up to the longest length. I’ve been binge watching YouTube videos on Deva cuts, so once it grows out a little more, I plan to indulge in the Devachaun experience, including adding some color!

Bella Curls on 3a/3b Hair Review

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I was visiting my family this past weekend and I somehow talked myself into washing my baby brother’s hair. When I was eleven years old, I started doing my own hair and my brothers hair. I learned to clip hair, wash, flat iron, braid, etc.

I went to Family Dollar to find some hair products because the natural hair products are expanding. I saw brands from SheaMoisture and Cantu and happen to see a brand that I haven’t heard of– Bella Curls. The packaging looked very interesting, and I saw coconut…I love coconut. Not to mention, this brand was on sale. You know I’m always looking for a bargain. While I was standing there, I looked for the brand in Instagram and saw reasonable reviews so I picked up the shampoo, leave-in and the defining cream.

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I wanted to use my brother Alex as a guinea pig to see how they work. When I loosed his braid out, his hair was so dry, and matted and full of that black/brown gel just building up on his head. He hasn’t washed his hair in two weeks and he always pile gel on top his head. He won’t embrace the frizz.

When I loosed the braid, his hair was…terrible. I ran it under water to activate the gel to slide out and separate into four sections. The pictures above shows his hair matted and tangled. Alex has a 3a to 3b hair type and is very long (almost waist length) and thick. After I wet his hair, I added the shampoo to his scalp to try to break up the build up.

Thoughts on the Coconut Milk Nourishing Shampoo

I love how this shampoo helps detangle! Talk about great slip. When I got to the matted pieces, I combed through his curls easily being careful not to pull out unnecessary hair. He did have a lot of dead hair, but after weeks of not washing or combing or detangling? That’s expected. This coconut milk nourishing shampoo lives up to their name. For it to be a shampoo, it is very nourishing while removing all the dirt and built up gel in his hair. It left that squeaky clean feeling, but it didn’t stop anything away. I definitely appreciate a shampoo that not only removes build up, but doesn’t strip the hair.

Thoughts on the leave-in Coconut Whipped Creme Leave-in Conditioner

This leave-in left a glowing shine to his hair. Even though his hair was not drying after rinsing the shampoo out, adding the leave-in gave super slip. Combing was not a problem. His curls looked alive and they popped.

Overall, I think these products worked major magic with his hair. One thing I noticed was how big these bottles are for such a great price with or without the sale. It left his hair smelling nice and refreshing and I’m definitely going to try this on my hair since my texture is different from his. After stalking their Instagram, I immediately realize they are underrated, not to mention there’s more products to try! This brand is definitely a diamond in the ruff and I’m on the hunt to try the rest!

I know we have our favorites and we stick to specific brands that may sound trendy, but try a new brand or one you never heard of. You may be surprised. Stay tuned for a review on my curl pattern.