Rods and Straws = Good Combo.

I'm not really a fan of straight, this has been the case ever since I could remember, even in my relaxer days. I was one of those black girls with really long jet black hair that everybody used to ask "who does your hair?" my answer, "my mother" because she did.

But I don't think I saw what everybody else saw. Yea, it was nice but it was just there, sitting on my head, hanging straight down, not doing anything. It was boring. I remember one day, I sprayed it with water and spent and hour or more scrunching it with my hands so I could get some waves or curls or something. It looked nice when it was wet but when it got dry, "hunny chil'" it looked like "who dun it and why"...lol

That's actually the main reason I grew my hair out natural. To have some texture, shape, wave, curl, coil, something, anything but straight. Now, I'm reaping the rewards of my labor for sure.

I love the flexibility that my hair has. I rocked it straight for a week, thanks to the hairdresser that hooked it up for me. But of course, I got bored because of the reasons already stated above.

So, I took advantage of the flexibility it has because its still nice and straight and CONTROLABLE, and added some curls. I first curled it with my trusty curlformers and was dissapointed, it didn't turn out too nice.

Then I used some perm rods and straws, regular ol' straws that you'd get anywhere. Voila! a nice mixture of small spiral curls and large spiral curls. It looks so cute.
I won't lie though it took me about an hour to get the rods and straws in but it was so worth it.

I love, love, love it. I love the fact that its a variation of small and big spirals. Its a really good mix. I used a holding spray from DESIGN and then sprayed water all over my head. More like a mist, not enough to revert the hair back, but enough to make sure that the curls hold.

I'm really and truly enjoying the versatility of my hair. I feel like I am slowly but surely arriving in a good place with my hair. And I'm loving get up and go hair!
I promise that I will start adding pics of my hair in May! Now that i've said that, it means I really have to do it, so I will...so help me God!!

Here's Another One: Tassanee - Natural Hair Beauty of the Month

I couldn't let the whole month of April fly by without posting a natural beauty of the month.

When and Why did you decide to go natural?
I decided to stop relaxing my hair(last relaxer march '07) and focus on growing healthy natural hair when my fiance told me about a dream he had of our wedding with my hair down my own hair down my back. I knew I wasn't going to get my relaxed hair to grow to that length(I didn't know what I do now about caring for relaxed hair), so I began to consider growing my natural hair out. Long story short I transitioned for a year, big chopped on March 5th 2008, and haven't looked back since.

Who does your hair mostly, i.e. hairdresser, aunty, urself, e.t.c.?
I've only had three professionals in my hair on this journey, the stylist who was a co-worker of mine at Trade Secret who did my big chop, the stylist I went to get evened up (who didn't really even it up), and my old stylist who I went to for a trim after i blew my hair out for a length check. I love her to death, but she WON'T be doing my hair with a the tugging and tearing she was doin, had me bout to cry for my poor hair. I prefer to do my own hair because no one else will take care with it like I will, it's FREE, and experimenting and learning how to do new things=fun!

What r ur "IT" Hair Products?
The products I think are AMAZING and would recommend to anyone are: Unrefined Shea Butter, Castor Oil, EVOO, Mega Tek, Baking Soda, IC Fantasia Gel, Aloe Vera Gel, Aloe Vera Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Coconut Oil, my Goody Jojoba Infused Brush....let me stop b4 I get too carried away!

Who is ur natural hair inspiration?
ESPERANZA SPALDING!!! I love that chick she epitomizes a great sense a nappy confidence!!! I love her hair, her style, her great voice, and I love that she plays the cello!!!


Words of Wisdom to natural hair folks or those considering it.
My advice to any and every natural be she new or vet, considering, transitioning, bald, rocking a twa, or swanging hair down to there....ALWAYS DO YOU. There will be haters and lovers just as in anything else you do in life. Unfortunately some of those against you or trying to bring you down will be those closest to you. Don't let it get to you. Facing the adversity I have has only made me stronger and more confident. Always reach out for support when you need it(that's what these sites are for), and give support to those in need. As much as I love that we are unique for being ourselves, I love it even more when I see our numbers rising! Maybe one day it won't be so "different" to see sistahs walking down the street, on tv, or in the office with the audacity to have their hair the way God had the nerve to make it grow out their scalp. Always hold your nappy head high, cause NAPPY IS FLY!!

$60 Was Worth It!

I was at the hairdresser's chair at 9:00a.m. this morning just as promised. I think even she was surprised that I showed up because I asked her how she was going to charge for a natural hair blow-out and she said $45-50 (and why did I end up paying $60 in the end...thats how they trick you).

Anyway, at first she was intimidated because my hair is really thick and I still had some twist-outs left in there from the week, so she had me to comb it out. But I think she got a little bit more comfortable once she ran some water over it and it got softer (which is one of the favorite characteristics of my hair). Then she shampooed, and put in a deep conditioner and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Then she was back to the challenge again because once my hair gets dry, it gets hard to control like no man's business. But anyway she applied some mystery *leave-in-conditioner and some oils* was the response she gave me when I asked her what she put in it because my hair felt a lot lighter when she started blow-drying.

At first she started blow-drying it with a comb attachment but it kept on falling out becuase my hair's so thick and then she used a paddle brush to do the rest. Then she went over the hair with a hot comb, no specific way, just to get the rest of the kinks out.

Then, she flat ironed it, trimmed it (which she charged an extra $5 for) and then she styled it with the flat iron and used some gloss and some other mystery spray. Basically I couldn't pry out any information out of her to tell me the name of the products she used.

But she did a heck of a job because it came out crazy smooth and shiny like it used back in my relaxer days. Heck, even she was proud of herself at the end because while she was blow-drying she made the comment that my hair was going to be her challenge for the day, and I'm sure it was. But at the end, even she was admiring her handiwork.

So, the essence of the story is it came out very nice but do I want to pay $60 every month or every other month for my hair. Actually, it would only be $50 because I had her clean my eyebrows (which should've been free because all she did was go over it with a razor but she charged me $5 for it).

It sounds like a lot of heat, but actually it wasn't because she didn't let the heat get too hot on any of things, and she was quick with the heat too. Didn't let it just sit there and turn into toast. So, she knew her stuff but what really made the difference were the mystery products that she used which I will try to find out again the next time I go there. I do know that she used a glosser by Design.

Bantu-Knot Out with My New Trusty Friend

I've been rocking my bantu-knot twist out since monday and its still holding up on wednesday night thanks to Sally's Generic Paul Mitchell Straightening Gel. I know, I know, you would love to see the pics, and I would love to take the pics. but until that day comes take my word for it that it came out nice.

My hair is short and I when I un-raveled it it basically came out wavy, live finger waves...remember finger waves back in the day. press the link and you can see it.

Oh yea, two weeks ago I did make an appointment with this hairdresser who claims to be able to do a good blow-out on natural hair because I got bored and wanted to see my hair looking different. The appointment is on saturday morning and her price is kinda steep so we shall see if her claim holds up or not. Of course I'll be sure to document the outcome.

Oh another thing, before I did my bantu-knot twists I conditioned my hair with:
1 whole banana
a quater of a coconut milk can
3-5 spoons of molasses
Pureed all these ingredients in a blender and slapped it on my head
Let it sit on there for about two hours without a shower cap or anything
rinsed out with water and proceeded with the bantu-knot styling

I've concoted this in my head for a long time but never got around to doing it. I will definitely make it a priority to do this as often as I can. My ultimate goal is every week but I know that I get lazy especially if the hairstyle I'm rocking still looks good and all I have to do is get up and go, like with my current style.

But I definitely like this conditioner. It made my hair feel strong and silky at the same time, which I think is a weird combo but I liked it.

Generic Paul Mitchell Straightening Gel .....Again

This Generic Paul Mitchell Straightening Gel I found at Sally's has turned out to be a little treasure...who knew.

I used it for good ol' regular double strand twist. Not flat-twists, just regular twists hanging down and it turned out very nicely. It keeps my hair soft, defined, and of course the biggest part for me is, Less Shrinkage. This is a big deal for me because my hair is short right now and I want to use products that will combat shrinkage.

That is one of the main reasons that I've abandoned Kinky Curly Custard for a little while now. As much as I love its natural ingredients, the gel still makes my hair shrink. I really do love the product and will return to it once my hair gets to the length where shrinkage doesn't matter.

I am conteplating unraveling my twists and seeing what it looks like but I'm trying to think of a product that'll keep it nice once its un-twisted. I could use more of the gel but I don't want product overload. I'm thinking of glycerin and water. We shall see.

Spiral Rods vs. Curlformers

I used spiral rods on most of my hair and used a few curl-formers in the middle section of my hair. To give the curls some hold, I used the Salerm plis technico spray left over from my hair straightening trial.

The curls came out cute but kind of rough, not as defined as if I had used curlformers for my whole head. The beauty of curlformers if you have really coily hair that's prone to frizz is that, with the correct holding product, the curlformers gives you defined spiral curls with the most minimum frizz or virtually none, at least for the first day.

But spiral rods are good for getting the ends of hair to curl. I think I'm going to stick with curlformers though. I just have to break down and get some new ones because most of the ones I have are missing their rubber tips. Someone else needs to give curlformers some competition and make stronger and last longer - the only improvement that needs to be made is basically the rubber tips need to be a lot toughter. I still have to complain to the company

I think I'll get some next week at Sally's and also pick up another Generic Paul Mitchell product that I've been eye balling, I forgot the name of it but its supposed to give maximum hold which is exactly what I need, for these curls to last longer than 2 days!