Twisted...

Hey Mane Stars!

So I've been playing around with my flat twists. It's been a litlte tricky for me with this porcupine hair cut but I think I finally got it down.

Here are the products I used:

Beautiful Textures Taming Shampoo

Trader Joe's Nourishing Spa Conditioner

Giovanna Direct Leave in

(Can you say "staple"? I love this stuff!)

Tresemme' Heat Tamer Spray

Curl Care Soft Hold Creme

(Curlbox score!)

After washing and conditioning I wrap my hair in a t shirt to softly absorb excess moisture. I then apply

the Giovanni Direct leave-in in 4 sections. One section at a time I apply the Heat Tamer spray and blow dry. YES Luvs! This set is done on blow dried hair. I need some hang time! Now when my hair grows back I'll go back to air dry stretches.

Now, once my hair is dry I begin my flat twist sections. I softly mist each section with a travel size spray bottle like this:

Thats right shrinkage is NOT my friend. This bottle delivers just a mist. Thats all I need. After wetting the section I used just enough Soft Curls Creme to make sure that section is moisturized (The amount used should vary based on the thickness of your hair). Too much product will not yield good results. I do a total of 8 flat twists.

Now the results:

Definition

2nd day hair...still nice and defined

On the 3rd day I started playing with styles...

Dont you just love Buns?

Decided to tame my long bangs with a faux

You like?

I use different product mixes for almost every set. Im still experimenting with products that work best for my hair type. Stay tuned for product reviews.

My magic wand...

I absolutely adore the curling wand. There is so much you can do with it.  You can give life to an old press or whip up a sea of curls off a fresh blow out. Along with flat ironing this is a styling option for both natural and relaxed manes. The key is to protect, protect, protect. Before you get your curls in a bunch gather your favorite heat protecting products. Once your mane has been prepped twirl away!

My process is to take a small section of hair,  start at the base of the wand and carefully wind the hair around. Hold for 10 seconds and release. I start at the bottom of my hair near the nape and work my way up and around. One thing to remember about this styling option is where you set your curls is where they will be. It's not easy to let's say fill out a part in the middle. These ringlets stay put.

At night I simply cover  my hair with a satin bonnet. Believe it or not, I've actually extended this type of style for over a week. Cant wait to rock this on my much shorter mane. I'm in the mood for something funky!

Check out some of my previous sets:

Wand set on blow dried hair

                                   

This was a wand set about 4 days old.
This was done an old light press.

Fresh set on flat ironed hair

3 days later. Nice loose curls...

5 days later. Curls have transformed into waves. Did a sexy side sweep.

Life after a haircut...

So we've already touched on "why" you should trim. But let's face it, sometimes you get a little more than you bargain for. I'm not exactly scissor shy. I love the way my tresses fall after a good trim. The problem I'm having right now is finding my style rhythm again after an all out cut. Yes, while we say "trim" which means cut an itty bitty bit, sometimes you end up getting chopped up. I'm just saying... Then its back to the drawing board when it comes to stretching etc. Bad enough we have to deal with the dreaded "shrinkage"!

Now on the bright side, as Mia has shown us life after a cut can mean a nice healthier weight, the strings are no more and the curls are popping!!

With that being said I gotta feel my way around this cut. My heat styles are still my go to's. The results are similar just shorter:


Wand Curls before and after hair cut:

Light press before and after hair cut:

My challenge right now is NON heat styles. My flat twistouts which normally give me good results have been just okay. My first attempt below was good. But as many of you know that does not mean you are going to have a hit the next time.

Flat twist out before and after hair cut:

I'll be playing around with my no heat styles. I'll keep you guys posted on my progress. The goal is to get curly looks with SIMPLE techniques. Yes SIMPLE. Time does not stand still because you want to play around with your hair. We get it. Stay tuned.....

Sister with Locs

Mane Star Mya

This Mane Star loves her Locs! She's been rocking these strands for a little over 5 years. Mya tells us she maintains her fearless mane by getting her Locs professionally touched up every 6 weeks. We love her fun funky styles and color choices. I think we'll be seeing a lot of this loc star beauty.

Healthy hair

Mane star Mia before trim.. And yes I thought those stringy ends were sexy... Don't judge me!

After trim....

pressed and curled hair

My curl pattern on T-shirt dried hair with no product.

Rule #1 there are no rules!

"She tried it"...

Hey Mane-Stars!

Yup! "she tried it" (in my Tamar voice).  So I've been super infatuated, borderline obssesive with the box braid trend.  So what's the big deal Mia just get the braids right??? Well if your natural like me, Im sure you understand when I say, I have a serious "hand in hair" issue. So for months I obsessesed debated over to protect or not to protect and guess what?? "She Tried It"!

Do you likey??

Shout out to all my mane-stars sporting their protective styles during the cold winter months and remember there is a method to our madness. If done correctly, protective styling minimizes daily manipulation and maximizing portential hair growth. So remember, that's your hair under there. So moisture, seal and protect. don't forget those silk scarves and satin bonnets.

I use my simplicity oil @simplicityoil.com and my water bottle daily to to keep my natural hair moisturized. I protect my hair at night with a silk scarf.


check out other protective styles below:

wrap it! hair is in twist and moisturized with oil and water prior to wrapping.

Weave it! yes I said weave it. And remember... That's your hair under there, so the less manipulation the better.

No you have not ventured off the page. Saturating your hair with just for me de-tangler when removing braids and weave minimizes tangling and shedding. Thank me later!

mediumhairstylesupdate.com

And last but not least. Bun it. This is perfect for any hair type to protect your ends. Remember to moisture and seal.

What's your favorite protective style??

Flat Ironing

Who doesn't like sleek, straight hair? I think we all do to some extent. However with the curl craze some of us are afraid of damaging our tresses. I too am the victim of heat damage. I experienced this about 2 years ago after faithfully going to get my hair straightened by a stylist who did very little to protect my hair from the harsh heat. Afterwards, I went almost a year without heat. However,I felt cheated. The glorious thing about natural hair is its versatility. With proper maintenance and protecting you can enjoy heat styling within reason.

My staple products I use when I'm doing a heat style are:

Chi Silk Infusion

Definitely a "Mane Crush"! I've been using this product for years. I simply use less than a pea size on each section prior to flat ironing. A little goes a very long way. A bottle of the size pictured will last me well over a year for both me and my daughter's hair

Tresemme' Heat Tamer Spray

This is a new addition to my heat protecting arsenal. I apply this during the blow drying process. A few light sprays to each section is more than enough.

Mane Star Lisa

Mane Star Jareyah