Afro Puffy Twists (I will do this style MYSELF) :-)

I ordered 4 packs of #2 (dark brown) Nafy Collection Afro Puffy hair. I wanted #1B but they were out. I will attempt my first set of puffy twists in about 2 weeks. I need 2 days to do them so I have to be off an entire weekend. I have watched a ton of YouTube video tutorials. I know how to attach the hair, I just need practice on actually twisting the hair. Currently, I have in kinky twists that I did myself. I have touched up the edges but other than that have been wearing bun styles for about 3 weeks.

Here are links to some to the videos that I will use to help install these puffy twists:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmefAjTCfKg&feature=g-like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td5mIzPPv-A&feature=share&list=PL625FBD975C449329

 I purchased off of www.ebay.com for $10.95 a pack. I will try and keep these in for 4-6 weeks. Will update with pics of the hair once I receive the package.

I am so excited to do another full head of braids. Practice makes perfect..no more shelling out hundreds of dollars to a stylist when I can learn how to do them myself!

Pics of the hair: Nafy Collection Afro Puffy Twists

Finished style: 

So I love the end results!I did the twists big because I didn't have the time to make the smaller and I hate taking extensions down. This style took about 5 hrs to complete. I could have did it in 4 but I took multiple breaks and my daughter was interrupting constantly! LOL 

I will keep these twists for 4-6 weeks. I used a leave in hair conditioner mixed with twisting gel so I am certain the twists will hold up.

I have Big Chopped!

Well I Big Chopped (BC) August 20, 2012. I was trying to wait until Spring 2013 so that I would have enough length to be comfortable wearing my natural hair but I could no longer handle the two textures. I took down my genie locs and proceeded to condition and comb out the tangles. I thought I did a good job but the next morning my hair was a matted mess. I was schedule to get kinky twists but I could not comb out my hair. I calmly went and got my shears and cut off my straight, relaxed ends. I love cutting my hair! This is third time I BC (1st time to get locs, 2nd time to cut off locs, and then now to cut of relaxed hair). It felt great! However I feel it was too short for me to wear comfortable. I got the kinky twists, took those out and put more in myself. Yes I said it...I braided my own hair!! I studied YouTube videos and it took 2 days to do them. They are just ok. Not to bad for my first time. I had issues curling the ends but I did not have perm rods. So I just wear buns. I need to work on my twisting technique but the twists are wearable. I will attempt Nubian Twists in about 2 weeks. Will post an update then. Here are the pics:

Genie Loc Styles

I am loving my Genie locs! They remind me so much of my locs that I had 2 yrs ago. I may just grow them back. Here are a few pics of twisted plaits into a high bin. I will add more once I think of new styles.

May/June Update

I have been busy and/ or too lazy to update my Hair Blog.

But here is a May/June Update:


May 2012-  I pretty much wore half wigs and I got a sew in bob (with an invisible part). Sorry no pics but I kept the sew in for almost 4 weeks, the longest I have ever kept a sew in. The hair I used was Janet Collection King Yaky. Very realistic looking hair but it shed A LOT by the 3rd week. Also my hair was growing and the invisible part was spreading so it was time to take it out.

June 2012- In the first half of June I wore a half wig that I made using Pro 10 Bohemian Curl hair, 12 inches. I tried to make a full wig but the cap size was too small, so I wore it as a half wig. I love this hair. It is really soft with a spiral curl. I revived the curls using a water, protein conditioner, and Argan oil mix.

 

Half wig- Pro 10 Bohemian Hair, 12 inch.





Genie Locs/Yarn Braids

Health Hair Journey Talk: I am still very much on a Healthy Hair Journey (HHJ). Whether I am wearing a weave, wig, or braids I still take care of my hair on a daily basis.

My current HHJ Regimen  is as follows:

1. Co-Wash once a week (wash with conditioner only) with various conditioner but mainly VO5 or Creme of Nature Argan oil conditioner. Clarify once a month with shampoo (mainly Creme of Nature Argan Oil Shampoo or black soap from www. nasabb.com to remove product build up).

2. Deep Condition once a week (w/o usually apply a DC early in the morning, put on a plastic cap and wrap with hair scarf, and rinse in the evening.  

3. Use Giovanni Direct Leave in Conditioner and Organic Coconut oil- plait my hair or make small braids throughout my head. Air dry.

4. Daily Hair Spritzer mix- water, Castor oil (Jamaican Black Castor oil or regular Castor oil), almond. Change mixture weekly

5. 2-3x's a week- oil scalp using Herbal hair oil from BSS.

- that is my standard Regimen. Some times I use different products but the main idea is to use a hair spritzer daily, moisturize and seal (with oil) daily to every other day as needed, DC weekly, use a clarifying shampoo monthly. Limit heat and no chemicals.

- I will have a length check update when I take down my Genie Locs (probably end of August). I did trim at least 1/2 inch off before getting the Genie Locs. I am not too concerned with the length of my relaxed ends. I am concerned with keeping a healthy scalp which promotes healthy new growth.

April Hair Update

Well its May 1, 2012 and I thought I would write a quick update. I have been wearing a half wig for a month now. On May 2nd I am getting another sew-in. This time a full sew-in bob. It will be less hair and easier to maintain than a longer weave. I plan to keep it in for 8 weeks. I am going with a new stylist. I will most definitely request no tight braids whatsoever. I will also be wearing a weave cap to protect my real hair underneath. I also need to purchase another applicator bottle so that I can still moisturize and oil my scalp and real hair. Even with a weave, one must also take care of your nautral hair. I do not want my hair to become too dry and break off when I get the weave taken out.

Tonight I will wash, DC. Tomorrow morning I will blow dry, oil and moisturize my hair before going to my appt. I will hopefully remember to post a progress pic.

Also, I still have not decided what to do about going natural or not. It will be 7 months post on May 31, 2012. I really need to decide something. At this point I do not want to wear my real hair. Even if I did relax I would still be searching for ways to not manipulate my hair everyday. I would be running to weaves, braids and wigs.... Since I have not decided anything, I will just do nothing.

Hair Length check January 2011-May 2012

Its been awhile...March update

Ok so I am 5 months post relaxer (last relaxer October 30, 2011). I have been doing JBCO challenge on the hairlist website. I usually oil my scalp 1-2xs a week. My hair has really grown (especially in the back). My edges are slowly filling in. I am very happy with my edges but my front edges are taking FOREVER. I have decided not to relax until my hair is healthy again or until I make up my mind on whether I should grow my locs back.

In February 2012: I wore a sew in. The first run I used the hair Premium Now. It did not hold up well, so I took it out after only 1 week. I bought Indian curly hair from http://www.tonsurehair.com/ and had that sew in. I wore it for about a month. That hair was trash too. I had to keep wetting it in order for it to stay curly. It was a BAAD batch.

Now I am wearing clip ins. I braided my hair in a circle and left some top and sides out. I made weave clip in from a 10 inch pack of Premium Now human hair. It is ok for clips but not for a full sew in. I wear 4 clips. I will keep that style until the end of April. April 28th is my commencement so I will make longer clip ins to wear with my cap and gown. I purchased 1 pack of 12 inch Janet collection King yaky for $39.99.

I will post pics of my clip ins later.

I also purchased a half wig for Outre Chandra. This wig goes really well with natural hair so the times I wear it I wont have to flat iron. The weave hair and half wig was purchase from http://www.nyhairmall.com/. I had a $10 off coupon for the order.

So I guess I will be using protective styles throughout the spring and summer. It is getting harder and harder to take care of both textures. But I am trying so hard not to relax. It is very tempting because I really like the straight hair feel. So its 50/50 if I will grow locs again.

Hair Update...I've been so lazy

OK so it been about 3 weeks since my last post. I will be 12 weeks post 1-31. I do not feel inclined to relax my hair. I am not even wearing a lot of it out. I have been half wigging for a full 3 weeks. I do not even remember the last time I wore my real hair. I just wash once a week and try to m/s 2-3 times a week. I am still participating in the JBCO challenge with the hairlistas on Facebook. I have been slacking the past week or so but will jump back into it next week.

So far my hair has been pretty manageable when I either blow dry or roller set. I only flat iron my bangs once a week. My bangs is the leave out part to wear my half wig. I will post a pic of the wig later. Because my hair is doing really well, I will not relax. My edges are doing well. But my the edges on the front of my hairline is not growing in as well as I would like them too. After the challenge (ends in April) I will try something different. A different growth aide, probably something containing garlic and onion oil which promotes hair growth.

I have been doing well with my wigs, but I am itching for a sew in. However I have to factor in the cost of hair and most time my hair does not act right in braids. With that being said, I will continue wigging it until I can figure something else out.

Length Check 1.7.12

Length Check 1.7.12