Re-visiting the Hairdresser

Honestly there are days when I wish I was a living mannequin, sometimes I want to unscrew my head give it to someone else to make my hair and screw it back on, this is how I felt last week. I was determined to make my own twists but as the day flew by, I started buying into the idea, well not screwing my head off, but letting someone else make mini-twists for me.

That's how I met the hairdresser, known to me in typical African fashion as "auntie". She was bubbly, enthusiastic and most of all happy to see my hair. She loved making my hair, no harsh pulling, no relaxer offered, she asked me what I wanted and gave me exactly that.

I felt happy that someone loved my hair the way it was, its been quite sometime since I had that feeling and comfort that my hair was in good hands, I'm grateful for this small blessing, it's good to know there's someone close by who can help me get the look I want for a reasonable price, with no fuss. I like the DIY but if I had a choice I wouldn't DIY! I hope to visit again in two weeks time for a deep treatment and a more interesting style.

So back to the twists, they were ok, but men in the morning I wasn't feeling it at all. All I kept thinking was, God please help me turn this into something nice. I didn't want to have to resort to a twsitout, which I didn't have time for and after all that money? Just to keep it in for one night, my blood was boiling hot in my chest.

Well, after agonizing for a considerable amount of time, and making my head a sea of bobby pins I came up with this look:

front/r-side

l-side

If this style could talk, I bet this do will be saying "at last", perseverance pays. This journey is taking an unbelievable amount of gut, obsession, patience and commitment, but the rewards make all the effort worth it.

This week I used:

The last of a V05 conditioner I had for a co-wash and used Kinky Coily Leave-in and a mix of my favorite oils.

How are you wearing your hair this week?

A Few Lost Strands

This week, I've lost a few dear strands, ok more than a few. I suspect that flat ironing two weeks ago was to blame and some dry combing too. But the situation is improving, I'm in control. Out of all the mayhem came this do:

It's quite simple, a puff and two flat twists in front.

This style is what I'll call a living breathing style: it suited me well in all my activities, it held up elegantly at work, stayed in place when I worked out and and survived my daily trips to the pool. It only took a about 7 minutes to re-style in the mornings, as I like to condition or rinse after a swim.

This weekend my plan is to make small twists, I'll like to use some flexi rods to curl them up but I haven't got any! I'm staying away from the high street, and trying to use what I've got to create the looks I want to achieve, so I'll have a look in my stash and see what I can come up with.

Here's a list of Products I used this week:

Pink oil
Ojon Hair Shampoo and leave-in
Herbal Essences Beautiful Curls conditiner
Giovanni Extreme Protien Conditioner.

What are your hair plans this weekend?

Six Months Natural Update

Hey All,

I've had a amazing time with my hair over the last two weeks, I'm trying to get used to the new routine and weaning my hair off braids and extensions. I admit it's a bit challenging, but nothing good comes easy they say. As I continue to grow and care for my hair I feel a great sense of accomplishment and independence and I'm trying to simplify my styling options and routine as time goes by. For example, last week I maitained my twistouts by retwisting at night, for my length and thickness it is not possible to do four braids so I have to make 7-9 twists every night. And you can guess sometimes I'm too tired to do this at night, so I decided to try putting my hair in little puffs instead and the results were as good as the nightly braids. I've uploaded some pictures on my hair dairy album on facebook, click here to see what I've been up to

Also my hair clocked 6 months on the 4th, and following in the foot steps of other natural sisters I flat ironed my hair. I've been watching videos on youtube over the past few months to learn  how to do this. I found mitchellzee's video on flat ironing short natural hair and simplyouniques's straightening natural hair:  very helpful.

Here are the results:

I didn't like the feeling, my hair felt like a woolen blanket, I didnt know what to do with straight hair, besides combing it down, but on the positive side I was glad to see how far my hair had come in a short time and I found some ragged ends I need to trim.

But for now I'm back to normal:

Happy days!