Tag Archives: straightened natural hair

Oct5

I’ve Become A Straight Hair Natural (without Heat Damage!!)

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And I like it!! That’s right, I said it. I’ve been natural for 15 years, big chopped twice, and have nothing to prove. I love my natural curls. However, right now, I love the convenience and ease of straight hair a lot more! And, sometimes, that’s really all there is to it.

Anywho, with the arrival of the cooler and dryer air of autumn, it seemed timely for a straight hair post. So I’m about to share why I began straightening my hair regularly and how I have managed to do so for the majority of the last year without suffering heat damage (the latter of which always seems to be the mythical unicorn of the natural world ;)).

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Anywho, I started straightening my hair around the 5th month of my pregnancy last year. When I realized that I could get at least 4 weeks out of straightened hair (sometimes 6), it was a no brainer given my increasing ungainliness and fatigue. When I had Wyntr in January, it again made sense as taking care of a newborn is two full-time jobs and I needed to give up my part-time (i.e. my hair on wash day). Then, as I was coming up on 3 months post-partum, I decided to straighten as a preemptive move to combat the threat of post-partum shedding. I figured that it would allow me to comb my hair between wash days in order to get rid of excessive shedding, making detangling easier when I did get around to washing it.

That’s the why. Following is the how. But first, two caveats. Number one: I do not care about having perfect hair 24/7. I don’t aim for bone straight hair and I live in a bun 99% of the time (Hello!! 8 month old!!). So, if you are looking for advice on keeping your natural hair straight and “laid” without heat damage … ummm … this may not be for you. Number two: I don’t have scalp issues, so I can easily go 4 weeks between wash days without excessive scalp build up/flakes.

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PREPARE & PROTECT, PROCESS, PRESERVE 

Following are the steps I take and my products of choice. I don’t straighten my hair any more often than once every four weeks and if I can stretch it longer, I do.

PREPARE & PROTECT:

  • Pre-poo to moisturize (virgin coconut oil mixed with Aubrey Organics GPB and/or Honeysuckle Rose)
  • Clarify to start with a clean base (Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo)
  • Protein treat to strengthen (Sally’s GVP Joico K-Pak)
  • Deep Condition to moisturize (Sally’s GVP Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm)
  • Apply a leave-in* conditioner (small amount of Kinky Curly Knot Today mixed with aloe vera juice)
  • Apply a heat Protectant* (Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist)

*Note: I’ve found that it’s very important to use a leave-in and heat protectant that are light and don’t leave my hair tacky. This allows my hair to glide/flow once straighten and reduces the amount of lint and dust that it attracts.

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PROCESS:

  • Choose one or the other (this controls the amount of heat used on the hair):
    • Blow-out slightly damp hair OR
    • Air dry hair stretched (in 2-4 braids) and flat-iron (usually dry one day and flat-iron the next.
  • If blowing-out:
    • Use a quality tool (Conair Infiniti Pro 3 in 1 Styler with double comb attachment)
  • If flat-ironing:
    • Use a quality tool with temperature control (BaByliss Nano Titanium Pro)
    • Use lower temperatures (280-320º max)
    • Take small 1″ sections
    • Gently comb section well using a medium to fine tooth comb
    • Two to three passes of the flat-iron on each section max
  • Seal/Shine (Shea Moisture Raw Shea Reconstructor Elixir and/or Sally’s GVP Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum)

PRESERVE:

  • Never re-apply heat between washes (that’s a surefire way to cause heat damage).
  • Use heat free styling techniques between wash days: braids, buns, rollersets, curlformers, flexirods, pin curls, etc.
  • Bun, braid, pineapple, or pin-curl hair at night.
  • Use a satin bonnet or scarf and sleep on a satin pillowcase.
  • Use an edge control paste/gel (Ampro Protein Gel mixed with moisturizer – IKR??? Who knew?!; Curls Blueberry Bliss)
  • Use a terry-lined shower cap.
  • Forget the umbrella for the rain, use a raincoat with drawstring hood.
  • Apply a light moisturizer that doesn’t cause reversion, as needed (Wonder Curl Get Slick Hair Smoothie; Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter).**
  • Apply a light oil as needed to seal moisture/add shine (Shea Moisture Raw Shea Reconstructor Elixir and/or Sally’s GVP Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum).**
  • Oil scalp, as needed (Wild Growth Hair Oil).*
  • Exercise with hair bunned and use an open-ended wig cap under a sweatband. (I’ll admit, I haven’t worked out with any type of consistency since the baby and my work-outs have been moderate in intensity. But, thus far, this has worked for me.)

**Note: Again, it is important to use a light moisturizer and oil for maintenance to avoid tacky hair that attracts lint and dust. By reducing the amount of dirt the hair attracts, straight hair can be maintained for longer.

Finally, I do take a break between straight cycles sometimes with a stretched braid-out, twist-out, and even a WnG once! I also henna or henna gloss when I can. And those are my tips! Hope they help!

(p.s. My hair is the longest that it’s ever been and the fullest it’s been in a long time following this regimen.) 

Bun Waves
Braid-Out
Flexi-rods
Braided Ponytail
Braided Bun
Braided Bun
Two Cornrow Crown Braid
Two Braid Braided Bun
Bun
Twisted Bun
Typical Simple Bun

 

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Are you a straight-hair natural? What are your tips of the trade?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Apr24

Heatless Curls on Flat-Ironed Natural Hair

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pincurls11 Just coming on here very quickly (well, not really, because I spent two hours putting filters on these iPhone pics, emailing them to myself, saving them, renaming them, uploading them … while “multi-tasking” and watching Duck Dynasty! LOL!) to share how I got these pretty curls, with no additional heat, on my 2 week old flat-ironed hair (straight hair maintenance post coming soon!). Wow … run-on sentence much?

Anyyyyyyyyywho … after debating between using flexi-rod or pin-curls to get some bouncy, heatless curls … I decided on the pin curls, because they wouldn’t disturb my sleep!! I remembered that Chime (aka HairCrush) had done a pin-curl video that I watched a couple of years ago. So, I pulled it up to refresh my memory on her technique.  

via HairCrush

Now, obviously, my process had to be a bit different as my hair  was straightened and I would be doing a “dry” set. Also, that “scrubbing” of product into her ends that Chime does? Yeah, her hair is obviously of the GANGSTA variety as my ends would come off in my hands and curse me out if I did that. So, I skipped that part.

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HEATLESS PIN-CURLS 

Products/Tools:

  • DevaCurl Set It Free
  • MetaGrip Premium Roller Pins (check out this post to learn why this brand of hair pins is AWESOMETASTIC!)
  • Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter
  • Shea Moisture (SM) Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Finishing Elixir
  • 2 satin scarves (1 square; 1 oblong)

Set Process:

  • Applied a little Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter to my edges and tied down with the small square silk scarf.
  • Separated about 1″ wide sections of hair.
  • Pumped 2-3 spritzes of Set It Free into palm of hand and smoothed down section of hair. (I decided on Set It Free because I knew that it would make my hair damp enough to set the curls a little. But, because it has a creamy consistency, it wouldn’t make my hair so wet that it would revert. I often use it on my ends before rolling them for braid or twist and curls.) 
  • Rolled the 1″ section of hair around TWO fingers (my forefinger and middle finger), twisting the section about a 1/2 a turn at the same time I made each revolution around my fingers.
  • Secured pin-curl flat against my head with a MetaGrip Roller Pin.
  • Repeated process over my entire head (I worked from the front to the back on each side of my head).
  • Tied pin-curls down with my favorite EboniCurls satin scarf and hit the sack for a comfortable night’s sleep ;).

From this …

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To this …

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Take Down:

The next morning:

  • Removed the roller pins.
  • Applied a little SM Raw She Elixir to my hands and unraveled the dry pin-curls.
  • Separated the curls and used a wide-tooth comb to lift the roots to add some fullness.

To this …

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(Check out my IG post here if you want to see video of how the curls dropped to waves by the end of the day.)

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What is your favorite heatless curls technique?

Apr19

Trimming Natural Hair and Length Retention

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I straightened my hair about two weeks ago (see that post here). Although I “search and destroy” regularly, my ends were desperately in need of a trim as it had been 10 months since my last professional one. So, the Monday morning after straightening my hair, I reached out to my stylist Tameeka (aka Jaded Tresses) to see if she would be in her NJ location that night. I was hoping that she might be able to slip me in between her other appointments.

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Well, it turned out that it was her son’s birthday and she wasn’t working that night. I was totally bummed, but understood. However, later that day, Tameeka texted me that she was going to Sam’s Club in Edison and couldn’t come to NJ in good conscious without trying to hook me up.  So, she asked if I could meet her at the salon later! Y’all … I was on YouTube trying to figure out how to self-trim when I got the text (and, she suspected that is what I would do)!! LOL!! I was ecstatic that I wouldn’t have to take on that task myself!!

So, I met Tameeka at the salon in South Orange, NJ, where she usually works Monday nights. And, in like 5 minutes flat, she cleaned up my ends and made me a very happy lady.

Left: Prior to trim; Right: After trim

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My hair felt sooooo much better after that trim!!  The thing that I love about Tameeka is that she really listens, understands, and respects my length goals and that when I say that all I want is a small trim, that is what she does. I’m sure other stylist would have tried to chop several inches off of my hair due to the thinner perimeter and would claim that my ends are not healthy, but that has NEVER been an issue with Tameeka. She never says, “Oh, you should take more off” or “your ends are unhealthy” or “It would look better like … .” No, she respects that I know MY hair and really evaluates the condition, and not just the aesthetics, of hair to determine what it needs. And, she has never taken off more than an inch when I have requested a trim only. A non-scissor happy stylist? That’s priceless for me y’all.

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TRIMMING NATURAL HAIR

Anywho, since we’re talking about trimming, I figured I’d take this opportunity to discuss my thoughts on a couple of questions that I’ve seen related to trimming natural hair and trimming in general.

1.  Do naturals need a blunt perimeter/even cut/ends?

In my opinion, if you wear your hair in a curly state the majority of the time, no. I don’t trim, cut my hair to keep my ends even. I trim to eliminate damaged ends that are excessively weathered, knotted and/or split. I do this with regular search and destroy (S&D) missions (usually on wash day) and a professional trim every 6-12 months. I trim in this way because, if I don’t, the damaged ends will inevitably cause collateral damage (i.e. more splits, knots, and weathering), because the “bad” hair snags on healthy adjacent strands and causes friction to the cuticle.

Another reason I don’t worry about a totally blunt/even perimeter is because hair tends to grow at different rates. The front and lower back half of my hair grow a lot faster than my crown. So, I accept that my hair does not grow out evenly or into a blunt shape. What I do try to do is keep the longest layer not too much longer than my shorter crown. When I get trims, I ask Tameeka to trim more off of the longest layer and less off of the shorter layers, to gradually thicken my perimeter. Since I wear my hair in updos and twist or braid and curls the vast majority of the time, my irregular curl pattern and length differences are disguised.

2.  Does trimming the hair stunt or encourage growth?

It does neither. Hair grows from the scalp and is dead the minute it “sprouts” from the scalp. Trimming eliminates weathered, thinned, split and knotted ends. It makes the hair appear healthier, neater, and more aesthetically pleasing to some. It helps reduce and prevent the continuous cycle of splits and breakage. However, it doesn’t encourage growth. Some may call it semantics. However, I want to state for the record that what trimming actually does is help prevent continued breakage, which impacts length retention and can make it seem like the hair is not growing. By trimming damaged ends, the hair will be better able to retain the length that grows, which some see as “encouraging growth.”

That being said, if you constantly trim and hair grows at an average of 1/2 an inch a month, you may trim off all or most of the growth, which will make it seem as if your hair isn’t growing. For example, if your hairs grows an average of a 1/2″ a month, and you get a 1″ trim every 3 months, you are only retaining a 1/2″ of growth instead of 1-1/2″. If your ends are healthy and well-maintained, that is totally unnecessary. This is why some may think that trimming stunts growth. But again, it’s not the growth, it’s the retention that is being impacted by trimming.

So, in conclusion, trimming (or not trimming) impacts length retention, not growth, depending on how it is used. And that’s all I have to say about that.

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How do you trim? How often do you trim?

Apr12

Review: Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist

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HE_tealightfullyclean_blowdryprepmistI have been wanting to really straighten my hair, rather than just doing a light blow out, for a while now. I did a “single pass” flat-iron on stretched hair (no blow-out) in June 2013 for a trim and had done a couple of blow-outs since. But, it had been over a year since I really, really straightened my hair. Part of the reason for this was that I wasn’t really feeling the products that I had been using for straightening (see them here). They worked okay, but my hair would feel kind of stiff and hard after using them. I tried the Nubian Heritage heat protectant leave-in and spray too, but everything was pretty “meh.”

Well, a few weeks ago, Wei and I had lunch with a friend and we started talking hair. Her daughter has tons of curly hair and wanted to have it straightened, but our friend didn’t have any idea where to start. So, I suggested the BaByliss Nano Titanium Pro that I purchased  a little over a year ago. Though pricey, I told her I loved it because it has temperature control settings and straightens very well, without frying the hair. So, we ended up heading over to Harmon and picking up one for her (with a 20% off coupon, of course since the thing is $119.00!). Well, while we were there, I told her that she should also use a heat protectant and we started scanning the aisles. I had seen a couple of people use TRESemmé, so we both picked up the TRESemmé Platinium Strength Heat Protectant. But then, I kept looking and decided to see if Herbal Essences (HE) had one as I love that line. Lo and behold, I found the Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist ($4.49) and decided to pick it up too!

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What They Claim:

Light and easy does it with Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist for silky, free-flowing hair. Invigorate your senses with exhilarating tea tree fragrance as you spritz this sheer mist up, down, and all around to help protect against blow drying damage.

Herbal Essences Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow Dry Prep Mist:

  • Blow dry prep for silky, free-flowing hair
  • Sheer and lightweight protection against damage
  • With tea tree essences
  • Spritz on for silky hair
  • Intriguing ingredients
  • Incredible fragrances
  • Irresistibly touchable hair; potent pleasure for all your senses

Ingredients: Water/EAU, Glycerin, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Water, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Amodimethicone, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-11, Fragrance/Parfum, Polysorbate 80, Disodium EDTA, Aminomethyl Propanol, Citric Acid, Cetrimonium Chloride, Trideceth-12, Methylisothiazolinone.

That same day, I washed my hair and put it into two braids. The next day, I decided to spritz the Blow Dry Prep Mist onto my hair and did a super quick tension blow out to stretch it a little more. Oh. Em. Gee. My hair was soft, silky, smooth, light, and flowy! And, I loved the light, sweet smell of the spray! I was WOWed! The claims were true! Seriously, I couldn’t stop touching my hair! That night, I put it into a braid and curl and, the next day, …

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Can you say, “Pleased as punch?” Well, this past weekend, after following my regular wash day regimen, I decided to bite the bullet and flat-iron my hair for real.

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FLAT-IRONING PROCESS

  • Wrapped clean hair in a cut-up tee-shirt to dry to damp (approx. 30 min).
  • Applied a little Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in to damp hair, concentrating on ends.
  • Spritzed hair with HE Tea-Lightfully Clean Blow0Out Prep Mist and finger combed it through hair.
  • Applied a very small amount of Chi Straight Guard (picked up from TJ Maxx on a whim).
  • Applied a small amount of grapeseed oil to each section.
  • Separated hair into 4 sections and did a tension blow-out with the Conair InifitiPro Tourmaline Ionic Hair Dryer I picked up last fall. I used it to finish drying my hair and stretch it, grasping whole quarter sections of hair, halving the quarters at some points, but never doing sections smaller than that (approx. 30 min.).
  • Flat-ironed hair in small 1″ wide sections at 300°, taking two passes over each section. I didn’t let the flat-iron stop on the hair. I  moved down the length at a slow pace, but the flat-iron was always in motion.
  • Did a third pass over the top layers of hair at 340º, moving the flat-iron more quickly.

It took me about 2 hours in total to blow-out and flat-iron. Here are the results.

 

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flat-ironed

As you can see, my hair was not bone-straight. There was still a little kink in it and that is okay with me as it lets me know that I didn’t kill my hair with the heat. I also know that bunning my hair will smooth it further. And, as was the case the first time I used the HE Blow-Out Mist, again my hair felt great!! It was airy, silky, soft, and felt product-less! And, at $4.49 a bottle? We have a winner folks!!!

So that’s it, my new heat protectant find! I had to do a review on this product as I wasn’t able to find any when I bought it, because the “Tea-Lightfully Clean” line is new for 2014! Of course, now I’m intrigued to try the shampoo and conditioner … but I’ll try to curb my PJ ways … for now. LOL!!

bantuknotwaves(Heatless waves added with 2 big Bantu knots)

Next time on Hairscapades: A Trim, Straight Hair Maintenance, and Straight Hairstyles 😉

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What heat protectant(s) have you found work the best for your hair?

Nov4

Dry Two Strand Flat Twist-Out: Blown Out Hair

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Yup. I’m at it again. Still trying how to figure out how to two-strand flat twist correctly, and still not getting it quite right. But, even with my less than stellar installation, the results were pretty good!! I know that I didn’t do them right because I didn’t have two clean sections when I removed them. But … good enough.

Anywho, the weekend before last, I was going for a wedding day hair trial with Jaded Tresses. So, I blew out my hair and she lightly flat-ironed it. A couple of days later, I decided to try another NaturalNeiicey (aka PGneiicey) twist out tutorial I’d watched weeks earlier. I was just hoping that my hair would look HALF as gorgeous as hers.

I had blown my hair out over the weekend and used a leave-in, heat protectant, and smoothing cream for that purpose. So, when I set it in the twists, I didn’t want to add any additional products to the length of my hair. Instead, I just spritzed the twists lightly with water after they were done. Then, I did use a little Deva Curl Set It Free (my unsung hero) on my ends before setting them on rollers. And, on day 2, I used my good ol’ Soft n’ Free Mold & Hold Wax for edge control.

(Click pics to see captions.)

Blow-out in progress.
Blow-out complete.
Quick length check.
3 Day old hair.
My two-strand flat twists (I set the ends on grey perm rods).
Day 1
Day 1
I was really feeling my outfit. LOL!!
Day 2 (better than day 1!)

End of day 2 (better than day 1!)

Okay, gotta go get in Day 258 of 365 Days of Fitness (it’ll be a short one because it’s late now). Oh, and I completed Day 58 of 365 Days of the Word earlier this morning. Update on both challenges coming soon!!

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Do you do blow-out styles? If so, which styles do you prefer the most on blown-out hair (i.e. twist-outs, braid-outs, buns, etc.)?

Jun16

Flat-Ironed Hair and a Length Check

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Okay, THIS is really is going to be a quick post as I need to work on an article for … wait for it … Carol’s Daughter Transitioning Movement site!! Yup! They accepted a proposal I made for an original guest post and my deadline is tomorrow! Anywho, just wanted share some pics that I’ve shared over on Instagram and Facebook (so, if you follow me there, some of these are old news) and a few impromptu length check photos I had Wei take this morning :).

A couple of weeks ago, I flat-ironed my hair (one pass with my Babyliss Pro Nano Titanium flat-iron set at 300°) to stretch it some. Then I put it into a couple of “Pocahontas” braids for a “beach wave” love. It frizzed up by the end of the day. But, whatevs. That’s ALWAYS been my hair, even when I was relaxed. So, it doesn’t bother me much anymore.

Anywho, it looked like I had gained some decent length since my haircut in December (and it’s definitely time for a trim, which I’m getting next weekend). And, since I was thinking about it, I grabbed Wei and had him take a couple of quick, pseudo length check pics this morning.

Top: Jan. 9, 2013
Bottom: June 16, 2013

Jan9vJun16-2013
6/16/13 length check (back close-up)

The longest parts in the back have now gone past the lines on my length check shirt! I’ll be back to at least the last one after my trim. But, on my way to tailbone length!

Okay, gotta go! Hope that everyone is enjoying their Sunday/Father’s Day!!

Dec18

Bunning Challenge Week 5: Still Straight

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A little late, but here is the recap for last week ;). My hair was still straight and I essentially wore it in a twisted ponytail or bun every day except Saturday. I continued to use Sofn’Free Nothing But Mold & Hold Wax and Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter to keep my edges smooth and Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Elixir for softness and shine.

On Wednesday, during a late evening at work, I created this bun by wrapping a twisted ponytail around the hair elastic, tucking and pinning the ends, then spreading the twist a little to cover the elastic in the middle and securing the hair with another hair pin.

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I was so pleased because it looked so intricate from behind, but was so simple and easy to do!!

On Friday evening, I arrived home to a LOVERLY surprise!!

Threadmillgift

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My wonderful Dottie of Threadmill made me earrings and a beautiful hat and infinity scarf set for Christmas!!! You see, her shop and satin-lined hats (which was a suggestion I gave her last year to appeal to her natural-haired clientele), were featured in Essence online’s article, The Ultimate Natural Hair Bloggers’ Gift Guide.

ThreadmillessencefeatureThere are some great gift ideas in this gallery, including Dottie’s hats, of course!!

Okay, back to hair. On Friday evening, after wearing my hair in another twisted ponytail during the day, I it into a chignon.

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I slept in the bun and on Saturday in the early afternoon, I released it with plans to put my hair back into a high ponytail for an event … only to discover the prettiest waves I’d gotten from an overnight bun yet!!

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They were so deep, full and shiny … I was very pleased … except, I still had to get in the shower!! Ughh!!! But, I just clipped up my hair, threw on a satin-scarf and my terry-lined shower cap and got it done. The waves did fall a little from the confinement, but it held up pretty decently for the next part of the recap!!

A Family Holiday Dinner: “Operation Get Right” Got Stalled

Ughhhh. Yea. I didn’t work out at all last week :(. It was a rough week at work and I was at the office as late as 8:30 pm one night and didn’t get home until 7:30 pm most nights last week. And, although I didn’t eat horribly during the week, can’t say the same for the weekend. You see, we had a family holiday dinner on Saturday and the spread was RIDIC!!

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Gallery pics jacked from courtesy of my sister, Shana ;).

So yeah, completely fell off the wagon and need to get back on it *sigh*.

Oh … yeah … and you might want to know, a few other ladies and I got Jaded this past weekend!!

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But, I’ll have to tell you more about that tomorrow ;)!

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So how are you ladies wearing your hair for your holiday lunches, brunches, dinners, parties, events, etc.?

Feb29

Post Flat-Iron Reversion

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It’s 7:18 a.m. and I’m writing this post very quickly as I need to hop in the shower and get to work! I did a WnG in the morning yesterday and waited for it to dry as I made the trek to my Trenton office. I wore it down in the morning so that it could fully dry. However, I really can’t stand to have my hair down during the work day most of the time. It was really getting on my nerves, getting caught under my purse while I tried to juggle a portfolio, water bottle and cup of coffee. Plus, my ends were looking scraggly.

This is the “good” shot, but I took it when I got home, after it had been bunned.

Ugh, scraggly. But, I’m not screaming “heat damage” yet. My hair wasn’t as wet as I normally leave it when I applied the products and I also didn’t put it into 4 big twists like I normally do. Again, I was in a rush ;). Plus, I usually give it a couple of washes after being straight to “snap back” as the first wash my hair is usually more wavy than curly. So, I’ll keep you guys updated after my next wash.

Anyway, back to down hair at work. Before heading back to my office up north around lunch time, I pulled out my new purse standby, the trusty hair fork, and put it up in a bun.

Okay, that’s it! Gotta go! Stay tuned for a new Naturals Around the World HairStory later this morning!!

Feb28

Length Check Video (Pressed Natural Hair)

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Just a quick video that I filmed on Sunday to video “journal” my straight hair before I washed it. It’ll probably be another year before it’s straight again!

Feb27

The Best Laid Plans

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Well, not really. I only kinda sorta planned to wash my hair this weekend. You see, although my scalp is in serious need of a washing, you can’t tell and my hair still looks halfway decent! So, when push came to shove, I opted to do nothing on Saturday afternoon and, on Sunday, to finally fold the two mountains of clothes in laundry baskets and put them away with the two stacks of folded cardigans that have been sitting on the loveseat for 3 weeks (yeah, it’s been that bad).

So, that’s why I’ll be rocking a bun to work today. I have an important meeting this Wednesday and am trying to figure out if I should wash it before then or just leave it alone until Thursday. Guess it’ll depend on how it looks and how my scalp feels over the next couple of days. My scalp isn’t itchy, but I do have some “build-up,” which isn’t typical for me. I’m not sure what the cause is though. Maybe it’s because I only oiled my scalp once and it’s dead skin cells due to dryness? Anywho, I definitely want to wash it before the weekend as a good scalp scrubbing shampoo is looking good right about now.

On another note, here is a LOTD from last week. I LOVE tie-neck blouses, especially printed ones as I am a fan of layering them under vests, sweaters (short and long-sleeved) and blazers. Here, I’ve layered a sheer floral print, grey, baby blue, navy blue and deep plum tie-neck blouse under a deep plum short-sleeved wrap sweater. I don’t remember where I got the blouse, but probably Marshall’s, and I believe the sweater is from Old Navy. Then, I broke out a pair of staple black, wide leg pants and accessorized with a matching pin and clip-on earrings set I got from my local Goodwill. The baby blue of the “berries” on the pin and earrings picks up the blue in the blouse. Finally, I finished the look with purple, faux suede slouchy ankle boots (Sami by Dollhouse) that I got from MJM a couple of seasons ago.

Now, the thing is, though I liked this outfit, I really wanted to wear the blouse and sweater with my grey with baby blue pin-striped pencil skirt (Marshall’s) and grey patent leather peep-toes (Nine West). Buuuuut, I still don’t have any nude hose!!! So, I couldn’t. But, I took a few pictures to show you what I would have worn with the proper leg wear!

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What did you do with your hair this weekend?