June 20, 2011

Cornrows and Puff

At work I have to wear a headset all day and needless to say it flattens the top of my hair. So I try to wear hairstyles that wont get flat due to the headset. I usually wear the front clipped back with hair clips, barrettes or bobby pins, or on occasion I wear headbands.

With some headbands after the first four hours or so of wearing them with the headset I start to get a headache - not too sure if this is because of the added pressure of the headband/headset combination or the fact that after the first four hours of work I am ready to go home - I'm guessing it's the combination of both - lol

Cornrows in the front with a puff in the back has become one of my signature work styles. I also wear flat twists, but they don't last as long as the cornrows, especially with wearing the headset. I usually wear anywhere from six or more cornrows at a time in the front - depending on how large or small I make them.

Here is a set I wore for two weeks.

I didn't cornrow the top back far enough, so instead of taking them out and starting again I just used a clip to keep them flat.


Side ... these pics are from the end of the first week.


Other side :o) At night I cover with a satin cap and in the morning just spritz or let the shower spritz and add oil, or a curly product-cream, hair milk or gel in the back. Having the cornrows in the front also saves on the amount of product I use as well.


I got tired of the clip so for the second week - I decided to add some back-in-the-day silver clasps :o)


These also come in gold - I found them in a beauty supply in a mall in the beads section - I couldn't believe they still sold these. I also slept with them in and got them wet and everything. They have little slits in the back, where they can be opened and I just opened them a little and squeezed them back together once I put them around each cornrow. A few of them bent and broke when I took them out and tried to reshape them though, so if you find some get more than one bag :o)

Stay tuned for more updates
Peace and Blessings...



June 05, 2011

Kinky-Curly Review

Yay! I've finally got around to posting pics :o)

Okay below are pics of my Kinky-Curly results. I have been on this "mission" of actually using up the products in my cabinet before buying any more. I love Kinky-Curly's Knot Today. I've been using it as a detangler/leave-in. And since I've cut my hair I've been using the combo of Knot Today and Curling Custard for wash-n-gos.


As you can see I am almost out of both products :o) I also used my Tangle Teezer to detangle and distribute the Knot Today after washing...


Me :o) Freshly washed hair...


I used this much Knot Today for the back half of my hair and added about the same amount for the front ...


After smoothing in the Knot Today with my hands, I used the Tangle Teezer to distribute it throughout my hair...


Closer shot... you can see my henna dyed gray - now gray roots/reddish streak - it's almost time to redo :o) (I use henna to condition once a month)


Next I dipped my fingers into the Curling Custard and starting from the back up - I raked it through sections of my hair. I always get carried away with this step - dipping my fingers back in the jar for each section..


As you can see my heavy-handedness resulted in lots of white spots.


Again I worked my way from the back up raking it through - a rough version of the shingling technique. I found that raking with my fingers versus going over each section with a comb is much faster, but doing it with a comb results in more defined curls.



All done :o) You can also see some white spots. I usually get rid of most of the white spots by gently dabbing with a damp cloth or...

by wetting my fingers and lightly dabbing the spots. Both ways work, but you have to be extremely careful not to disturb the curls to prevent frizziness.



Right after you've applied your curly product, it's best to just leave your hair alone until it almost completely dries. Once it dries, then you can shape up and/or gently lift your curls.


All done :o) I had plans to add hair pins or clips in the front, but I liked how it came out so I wore it like this for the day.


Closer shot - You can see that the front of my hair is a different texture than the back - it requires less product to curl and I don't have to rake it through - just smooth the product on.

I don't do this process (the raking) every morning, just once after washing. For daily maintenance, I just wet my hair, or let the shower 'spritz' it and then add a little of the Curling Custard in the palm of my hand, rub my hands together and smooth through my damp hair and go. I sleep with a satin bonnet on at night.

Stay tuned for more pics of other curly products that I've used...

Peace and Blessings :o)