Tag Archives: bedtime routines

Nov11

Nighttime Routines – An Alternative to the Pineapple

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nighttime_updo

First, my fine strands don’t do well with daily manipulation and nightly re-braiding/re-twisting routines. So, I need a nighttime routine that involves minimal hair handling. But, the “pineapple,” high unicorn horn ponytail just never worked well for me. I mean, I gave it the ol’ college try! Really I did. Over and over again. But, my curls just don’t defy gravity *sad face* (don’t you love that song though?). So, they would just flop all up in my face, or fall back down onto my neck (no matter that I started the night with them daintily draped over my satin pillowcase). Inevitably, I’d end up sleeping on and crushing at least half of my curls. Not only that, when it was time to take the pineapple down in the  morning, my less curly nape hair “tail” would be even longer (ughhh!!! Yes! The dreaded curly mullet) and my hair would be frizzy. So, finally, I gave up on the pineapple and just started bunning my hair instead. I still had to deal with flattened curls and ends, but not so much frizz, no excessive tail, and no face-flop for sleepy time.

Then, a couple of months ago, I accidentally discovered an alternative to the pineapple that really works for me! I just wanted to get to bed as quickly as possible and threw my hair up with a barrette. Well, the “technique” ended up keeping my hair up and off of my face and neck, prevented excess frizz, and preserved my curly ends! I was also able to swap out my satin scarf for a sweatband and get my morning workout on with minimal damage too!! Eureka!!

Anywho … that’s enough lead up … so, wanna hear it? Here it go!!!

BEDTIME UPDO

  1. Gather hair into a low ponytail.
  2. Twist the ponytail up head one to two times like I am doing a French twist, leaving the curly ends free.
  3. Secure the twist against my crown with a Goody Comfort Flex barrette and with the curly ends loose at the top of my head.
  4. Wrap a long, oblong satin scarf around the back of head towards the front and back around again, tying a knot at the nape.
  5. Leave the curly ends peaking out at the top or pull the scarf up and tuck in the curly ends to cover them (in the pic, my ends are covered; in the video, they are out).
  6. “Anchor” the scarf with two to three large “doobie” pins to prevent slippage while sleeping.

And for those of you who are visual learners …

And that’s it. Super simple. Super easy. Super quick! That’s a winner in my book!

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Have you found an alternative to the pineapple for preserving your curls at night?

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May1

Overnight Maintenance: Wrapping Curls?

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wrapresults_3

Over the course of the last month or so, I’ve been seeing videos of ladies using wrapping techniques to achieve heat-free, “blown-out,” natural hair. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I came across this video by Naptural85 using wrapping to maintain smooth, stretched curls overnight!

via Naptural85

Hmmmmm … interesting!! Wrapped curly hair!! Who woulda thunk?! *lol* Anywho, I had been loving the results from re-twisting/braiding my hair at night (I was getting great multi-day hair), but my strands were NOT loving the daily manipulation. So, I decided to try the wrapping technique to achieve good day two hair from the dry twist-out I’d done with Cantu leave-in and Eco Styler gel (here).

And the results:

cantutwistoutday1_2 wrapresults_1

Not bad!! By the end of the first day, my hair had frizzed and poofed just like Naptural85’s. The wrapping technique worked to smooth and calm the frizz, just like it did for her. But, the thing is, it really did stretch my hair more than I would want on day two. So, I didn’t do it again after that first night. I find that loosely bunning my hair overnight helps tame the frizz and preserve the curls, with some stretching, but not as much as seen with wrapping. Therefore, I don’t think that this will become a “go to” overnight maintenance technique for me. But, I’ll keep it in my back pocket for days where I want to achieve stretched and controlled curls! And for those seeking ways to stretch their curly styles, this may be just the ticket!!

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Have you tried wrapping your curly natural styles? If so, how did it work out for you?

Apr1

Natural Hair Girls Be Like …

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NaturalGirlsHairBeLike#truestory #realtalk

LOL!!!  I couldn’t resist!!! If you don’t get the joke … a couple of weeks ago, this meme was floating around everywhere in the naturalhairverse and became very popular:

NaturalGirlsHairBeLike_originalDang it!! I should have posed like Celie! LOL!

Anywho, since I’ve been re-twisting my hair the last few nights, this came to mind and I had to recreate it with my bedtime/daytime look!! The things we do for beauty ;).

Nighty night.