Monthly Archives: June 2015

NATURAL HAIR, UNDERCUT

3 Ways To Take Your Hair Higher

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Hi luvs!

Today I want to talk about 3 easy ways to take your hair styles higher! Ya’ll know how much I love high hair. It has so much presence. It’s daring, bold and down right fierce!  I use a few key methods to achieve high hair that I want to share with you today, all which I’m able to get the most height out of when I style with completely dry stretched hair.

1. Pompadours: This is probably the easiest way that I achieve high hair.  My pompadour method is quick and easy and the hight can be adjusted easily. To see A video tutorial of my go-to pompadour method click here. If you want to surpass my rambling just skip to about 4:25 into the video :o)



2. French roll: The thing I love most about french rolls is the opportunity for versatility, which you can read more about here. Some of my highest hairstyles have been achieved with different french roll variations. The hight is achieved in how high you gather the hair and how loose you roll and tuck the hair

3. Loose flat twists: You can do a million and one things with flat twists, including create high hair! Loosely flat twisting a section of hair up front allows you to form and adjust the hight of your hair easily. 


So, next time you’re looking for a style that will command attention, consider taking your natural hair higher with one of these styling methods. 

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NATURAL HAIR, PRODUCT REVIEW

Hydrate + Repair Aragan Oil Line

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Hi beauties!

This weekend I tried out another product line that OGX Beauty sent me. My last product trial was of their Quenching Coconut Curls line. You can check out that review here if you missed it. This weekend I decided to try out the Hydrate + Repair Aragan Oil line. 



I have to admit that I wasn’t as excited to try these products as I was with the coconut curls line. I’ve tried a slew of aragan oil products so I honestly didn’t expect anything outrageously different. 

I started off with the shampoo which I’m always a bit reluctant about because of the whole sulfate issue. This particular product offered the biggest surprise of the three I tried. Typically after I rinse shampoo out of my hair my hair feels dry. NOT the case with this shampoo! My hair didn’t feel dry at all which was a very pleasant surprise. It felt even better than it did with the coconut curls shampoo. 

I followed it up with the conditioner which was pretty much what I expected. It coated my hair nicely and made my hair feel very soft.  It’s hard to go wrong with an aragan oil based conditioner.

After that I decided to two strand twist my hair with the hair butter. I wondered how this product would differ from the coconut curls hair butter. The consistency is quite different surprisingly. The Aragan oil hair butter has a thicker consistency than the coconut curls hair butter which is much looser and seems to contain more liquid or moisture to it. 



Here’s a look at my twists and my twist out results







Overall I enjoyed the hydrate & repair aragan oil line. The only product I’d say I was especially  surprised with was the shampoo. 

In comparing the coconut curls line with the aragan oil line my preference is definitely with the coconut curls line. These products just seem to house more moisture which is key for me. 



I had a great time trying out these OGX Beauty products! Have you tried these products? What’s your preference. 

NATURAL HAIR

Another Perk Of Twisted Updos

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Ever wish you could start the day with your end of day hair. It’s kinda like how 3rd and 4th day twist outs have a tendency to slay harder than days 1 and 2. Well, this is my reality at least 2 days out of the week.

Despite my total adoration for updos, I love big messy, curly with a side of frizz type hair just as much as the next naturalista. My ability to end the day with a brand new beautiful natural hairstyle is yet another perk of twisted updo styling! 

If you follow me on Instagram you know I post those let down hair slayage pics fairly often. While I am consistently amazed at the transformation, I love to showcase the additional opportunity for natural hair styling made pretty effortlessly from the days updo (which typically takes no longer than 10 minutes whether my hair is straight or not.)

So, as I sit here enjoying today’s updo thinking about what awesomeness I’ll encounter when I get home and let my hair down, here is a look at some before and after, from updo to let down hair slayage transformations.

Updo

The let down



Updo



The let down

Updo



The let down

Updo




The let down







NATURAL HAIR

Quenching Coconut Curls

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Hi beauties!

Today I want to talk about a product line I recently tried by OGX Beauty. Last month this great brand sent me several products and one of the lines was the Quenching Coconut Curls line. The shear name got me excited and so naturally these were the first of the products I decided to try out.



I was a little reluctant to try the shampoo just because well, I don’t do shampoo! I’m a cowash girl. Shampoos despite how rich they are in other ingredients tend to make my hair feel really dry (especially if the have sulfate in them.) This shampoo, while rich in some great ingredients like coconut oil and citrus oils does also include sulfate. But, I gave it a try.

Surprisingly my hair was pretty soft after shampooing! It wasn’t the feel I get from cowashing but much better than a typical shampoo. I followed up with the conditioner which I loved! Really good stuff. But what really did it for me was this stuff right here



AMAZING!! I twisted my hair using the curling hair butter and the twist out was life!





I will definitely be using these products again, especially  the curling hair butter. Yasss! 



NATURAL HAIR, UNDERCUT

3 Undercut Myths

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Hi beauties!

I’m always talking about how much I adore having an undercut and how the decision to go for it was one of the best decisions I’ve made.  Since then I can’t tell you howmany comments, misconceptions and myths I’ve seen about what it’s like to have an undercut. Today I want to share with you what I personally feel the 3 most common myths are and give you my personal insight. 

1. It’s less work

Ok, so it’s pretty natural to think that if you cut off a chunk of your hair you’ll have the benefit of it being a lot less work. Not necessarily so. Cleansing, conditioning, mousturizing, it’s all still very important to your overall hair care. Having an undercut doesn’t give you a pass to skipping any of these steps. So, don’t let the idea of having an undercut equalling less work for you be your reason to join the cut life because you will be disappointed.

2. You’re going to get bored quickly

This is the probably the most common myth about having an undercut.  I personally do my best every day to showcase how untrue this is. Just because your friend got bored with hers doesn’t mean you’re going to have the same experience! After I did my undercut my styling options actually increased dramatically! If you think you’re going to get bored quickly with having an undercut, I invite you to take a stroll trough my Instagram feed. Trust me, you won’t bet bored. Here’s just a sampling:


3. You’re too old for an undercut

Say what!? That’s kind of my reaction to this one. If you feel like you want to try something different with your hair, please don’t let your age or your fear of what other people will think hold you back. You are not too old for an undercut!

That’s it! I hope you’ve found this to be helpful. I get so excited when I see more beauties stop contemplating an undercut and just go for it! 

NATURAL HAIR

My Favorite Curl Defining Styles

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You all know that I don’t do a whole lot in the area of curl defining styles, but l do enjoy playing with curls every once in a while. There are a slew of ways to get curl definition but just a few that I continue to gravitate to. Here’s a look at my favorite curl defining styles and why I adore them.

Twist outs & Braid outs

These two curl defining styles allow for some of the best definition on my particular hair texture. What I love most about these styles is that they are super easy to transition into an updo and can last for multiple days. You can check out the video tutorial for this twist out turned updo using Camille Rose a Naturals products here. The transition from a twist out to an updo starts at about 7:15.



Flexirod Sets

The most fun and flirty curl defining style ever! That’s the main reason I adore Flexi rod sets. The curls come out so beautifully and even though they don’t have the longevity of a twist or braid out, they’re so much fun to wear that I don’t even care! Lol! Check out these curls. 





Bantu Knot Out

This is the curl defining style I have the hardest time mastering and for that reason I love them! Of course the curl definition is amazing but there really is an art to bantu knots. I seem to get a little better every time I do them. This is another style that doesn’t come with a long life span with my hair. But this look challenges me and yall know how much I love a challenge.







Wash and go

Last but not least, the wash and go. This style is great for longevity. They’re easy to transition into buns but not as flexible for styling as a twist or braid out. Either way, there’s nothing quite like defining your natursl curl pattern.



That’s it! What are your favorite curl defining styles?

NATURAL HAIR, Uncategorized

A Night Of Beauty, Recognition & Inspiration

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This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending an event hosted by Its My Hair Magazine honoring several black women in publication. As a black woman in publication myself I wanted to come out to support these lovely ladies and their accomplishments. Click here to see the beautiful honorees.

It was wonderful seeing these hard working and talented women accept their awards. But, most of all it was great seeing black woman support other black women.

As for my look of the evening, well, here are some pics! 





This purple infinity dress went perfect with my baby bump ❤

My hair of the evening was a combination of two dramatic chunky flat twists. I really wanted to give my face some length as its started to fill out from the baby weight. This look helped accomplish that. 





I really enjoyed this look for the night. 

Lastly, I had the opportunity to meet some amazing ladies at this event, some of which were honorees. I’m so excited about this becoming an annual celebration and opportunity to recognize black women in publication. 

The beautiful host of Its My a Hair a Magazine Selena:



The stunning I’sha of HoneBeNatural Magazine



The lovely Nickecia of Black Girl Fly Mag



NATURAL HAIR, Tutorials, UNDERCUT

Best Style of the Week – DIY Tutorial

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Hey beauties!

Today I’ve got a video tutorial of the best voted style from last week. To recap, here’s a look at all of the styles from last week as well as what the top looks were.


Here are the top two voted styles from last week
Best Style

Second Best Style

Today’s tutorial is for the best voted style. I didn’t have time to do a twist out over the weekend to show you all how I got the second best style which was a twist out updo, but I will try to get that in for you later in the week. 

So, to see how I got the best voted style from last week click here!

BEAUTY

My Eyeshadow Staple 

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Good Morning beauties!

Today I wanted to share some insight on a staple beauty product of mine. I get a lot of questions about whether or not I’m an MUA which is extremely flattering! However, I am just a beauty lover who enjoys playing with beauty products. But, when it comes to my eyes which are very large and expressive in case you hadn’t noticed (lol) I use just one product to achieve different pops of color. BH Cosmetics 2nd Edition 120 Color Eyeshadow Palette is it!



This bad boy has some gorgeous colors that challenge my creativity daily. And, you all know how much I just love to challenge my creativity. 



The colors are very pigmented and help me form some great looks. 

Edit









There are 3rd 4th and 5th Editions available but I’m still having tons of fun with this 2nd Edition Palette that I’ve had for over a year now, as you can probably tell (lol). You can get either of these Editions for just $16!! I highly recommend it. 

That’s it for now! Muuuaahh!



NATURAL HAIR

Stretched Hair vs Straight Hair

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The majority of the time I style my hair when it’s completely stretched and completely dry. However I do also enjoy styling my hair when it’s straight. Both textures allow for distinct looks that allow me to achieve unique eye catching styles. Today I want to take a look at the major differences between my stretched and straight styles and give you all some insight on what my preference is and why. 

Stretched Hair

First things first, the preparation for my stretched hair takes a bit of time but isn’t necessarily a lot of work. You can find the detailed process in how I stretch my hair heat free here. The photo below is of completely dry completely stretched hair prior to my most recent hair cut.



Stretched hair allows for flexible styling with shapes and dimension. I almost always wear updo’s so although it doesn’t necessarily seem like I’m benefiting from the length I get with stretched hair, I really am in the shapes I’m able to create.





Straight Hair

The straightening process for my hair is quite lengthy and requires a lot of work. I don’t have a video on the process but I’m sure you can imagine what goes into straightening natural hair. Below is a photo of flat ironed hair after my most recent hair cut.



Styling my straight hair can be a lot of fun when I’m playing with flat twists. The styles always appear incredibly intricate and tend to get a lot of attention. I very rarely however wear my hair down when it’s straight. 





Either way, stretched or straight, I always have the ability to try out new creative styles with my hair. Having that opportunity within the versatility of my natural hair is a huge overall b benefit to natural hair.

As for preference, 9 times out of 10 I would take my stretched hair over straight hair. For me personally, it takes too much time to get my hair straight and too much maintenance to keep it that way (especially in the warmer months). Additionally, after 2 or 3 flat twist styles I’m totally bored with my straight hair. At the end of the day I can do so much more with texture!