Protective Style: Three Strand Twist

Now when i first learned of this, i was like no way is that possible, but it and and its fairly easy..
fairly.

Now I found a simple tutorial on youtube (click here) that completely dumbed it down. I always refer back to this video when i get my finger placement wwrong or need a refresher. its simple, and i liked the fact that she showed you how to do it with the yarn rather than having to try to catch her finger movements as she does her own hair.

So yea...

I havent done these in a while, the last time being 2012 (i think) yep it was then so lets compare shall we

dec. 2012 vs. feb 2014

 
Not that much of a difference other than length of my hair, i colored it, and i did them a bit chunkier. The method used (not that you can really see it) is also different. I had to go back and make some smaller since they were really puffy. I use a tension method to keep the twist really tight. Meaning that after a few times of going around i would pull at the ends as far as it would go to bring the hair up and start twisting again.

I recently saw this video and i like the method of braiding the hair a bit first (same as a stylist would do when twisting with extensions) and starting the twist from there.

I like how mines came out and how i look with the twist. I'm leaving it in until friday. Got an exam that day and then Saturday is the Locs Revolution: Know Your Roots natural hair even in Harlem. Ill be there as brand ambassador for Alikay Naturals.

So come through!

Have you tried 3 strand twists before?

A.Soul

Protective Style: Flat Twists & Roll Tuck

found this on Entwine Naturalle Couture facebook page.. might be my style for this week!

i dont know if i'll get my twists this lose, cause i usually twist tighter than whats shown but ill give it a go

And there it is. Not as neat as hers but i like it and it fits my face. Instead of leaving the back straight i had it in mini-twists to give it a more crinkled look. Left that in for two days before i took them out and roll tuck them away. 

Protective Style II Take Down & Wash Day

                     

Braids are gone people! (finally) After 7 long weeks, i took them down friday and im and so glad to have my hair out and about again. Its a learning experience doing these type of long term protective styles. its long term for me since i dont where my hair in twists for more than a week or 2, 3 is sometimes stretching it.

But take down took me an entire day. I pretty much stayed home after my surgery and chilled on netflix on my brothers big screen lo. Like the loc extensions, i took my time taking out the hair, spraying my roots with the acv spray and ball of dirt collected at the start of the braids. I gently pulled that apart and finger combed for each braid. After a while the pain kicked in from sitting in one position so long and i had to stop for the rest of the night.

heres a good video to watch on take down..

Saturday was wash day. i treated with a protein treatment plus a bit of garlic in the mix to help with my major shedding that occurred. Garlic will be a new addition to my weekly treatments from now on. Afterwards i followed through with the luscious locks shea butter shampoo (can find here or here) and then alikay naturals honey sage deep conditioner (here).

                               

With the DC i read on Curly Nikki this "Before rinsing, add a daily conditioner to seal in the treatment" It was a couple months ago before when i read this that i finally put it to use this weekend because hair still felt some type of way to me. i used Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Restorative Conditioner and it felt great afterwards. i would have used the shampoo but it smells something awful. Never have i ever used used the raw shea shampoo before and it smelled rancid (like rotten eggs and perm)... Just NO! i was not using it and i emailed them immediately! i really like their shampoo its just his one bottle that came out wrong... Lets see how that goes (cue side eye)

As for moisturizing and styling products, i used;

• alikay naturals lemongrass leave in (20% off Code FOC2014, ends 2/10)
• my oil mixture
• alikay natural shea yogurt moisturizer (20% off Code NMEL2014, ends 2/20)
• luscious locks shea butter curl enhancer (out of this months curlkit)

A well needed trim followed. I dusted my ends in th large sections after moisturizing. then again in smller sections as i went through for styling. I was aiming for a flexi rod set.. before i headed out for my friends surprise birthday party (of course my hair didnt dry in time... NEED HOODED DRYER!)... ended up with two large flat twists for the night (no pics)

And now i need a protective style for the week, cause its gonna be cold in NYC =(

...found it yesterday, new post with pics later!

Happy Days,

A.Soul

Protective Style:: Box Braids: Maintenance & Wash Day

So its been 4 weeks since ive had these box braids in (my mommy did them for me!) And ive been treating them so poorly. The first week or two i was tying it every night, spraying it with the Alikay Naturals leave in, massaging in my oils... and now its just like i cant bother with it.

The first and third week i treated it to a dry wash with my ACV spray. Last week there was also some shampoo used (Shea Moisture Raw Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo), and i used a wash rag to get into btween the braids after rinsing them with some water. I was only focused on my scalp and not the mength of the hair.

today i really shampooed and conditioned cause it was needed.

1. i sprayed my scap with the ACV spray and gently rubbed it in to help alleviate the build up accrued. In it i have water, acv, tea tree, rosemary and peppermint
2. i rinsed using my applicator bottle ( then filling my applicator bottle about halfway with luscious locks shea butter shampoo. again focusing on my scalp i sprayed it on gently rubbing so as not to irritate it. then i rinsed with warm water. 
3. i filled a small spray bottle with water and herbal essences hello hydration conditioner and sprayed my scalp and the length of my actual hair on the braids. After i felt that i saturated it enough i poured the rest of mixture in and let it sit for about 5 minutes while i worked it into my scalp, again gently rubbing before rinsing with cool water. Always do your final rinse with cool to cold water.
4. lastly i took my rag and went in between the parts to get any lasting shampoo or conditioner that may have been left behind. i towel dried my hair (yea yea bad girl... ill get a microfiber towel for the next wash day) and went off to moisturize
5. i sprayed with the leave and oiled my scalp and hair. I oiled my scalp directly and then pouring some oils into my hands and rubbing it along the lengths of my hair. i saw this done in Jenell's video and she said that since that part of the hair was older and still exposed in someway despite being in a protective style it still needed to be moisturized as well. I thought about taking it a step further and finishing but with a C but that was too much

There was no set way in how i washed it. At one point it was all down (like the chick from the grudge) while i sprayed it. another point it was all in my fist stretched away from my head while i rinsed it witrh the applicator bottle sans spout. i was not trying to get it all wet since i had somewhere tp go later and had no dryer at home.

Funny how im trying to take care of my braids in the last two weeks when i havent been doing so well to begin with. All i know is i wont be doing box braids again. ill stick to twists (Marley, Havana, Senegalese, yarn) and loc extensions, 

Oooooh and i measured my new growth (like i really sat down at my desk at work with a ruler measuring it) but any who i measured 1 in. of growth in the four weeks that iv had the braids in.

But yea my wash routine all without completely soaking my hair all the way through. Simple for these short term styles nad not you know months at a time (which i cannot do). All i know is im starting to miss my fro but in this cold ass NYC weather im good rocking it out only for a week or two at a time, well now at least.

Whats your protective style(s) for the winter or cold weather months?

A.Soul

Protective Style :: Loc Extensions (4Weeks! & Take Down)

Yep, its been 4 weeks (and no im not wearing it any longer than this because it is so not gonna happen, i missmy fro!!!) since i've put in my marley loc extensions (marley wraps in some circles!).. and its time for it to go.

I have been asked my a few if i would ever loc my hair... i say maybe, its a thought, but i dont know if i'm about that life yet. Sure these looked great on me but to keep them in forever.. (major side eye!)

LOL!!!

So i started taking a few down. I cut off about 1/4 of the hair while at work yesterday (yea i had that much free time to sit and cut my hair at work!!!) And I unwrapped and untwisted a couple to see how my hair faired underneath. And i was hype.. grew a bit and it was still moisturized from the whipped shea butter mix that i used putting them in. There was varying ranges of buildup on a few of the twists i pulled so far. One had none while others had little to a lot.

     

So with the buildup, i was not pulling my hair or combing it dry... i want to keep my hair on my head. So what i did is used the mini Alikay Naturals lemongrass leave-in that i had in my bag (almost done so i added some distilled water to it) and sprayed it over the buildup area. I then began to gently peel the clumped area apart. Yea there was some breakage. but not much. I finger detangled as i went along and then retwisted the area.

And thats pretty much my takedown... honestly i was a bit scared before i found a youtube video saying how to take it down. I seriously was like how the fuck am i gonna take this shit out?what will i do if my hair starts loc'n up on me?.. yada yada yada..

But then i was like oh, thats easy lol.. and so far it kind of was but you know shit looks easier when someone else does it lol.

Protective Style :: Washing Loc Extensions

Hey All!

So I've had my Locs in for a two weeks now and i love it! I really do, my only thing is that with getting back to my yoga and all my hair is full of sweat and just has been a bit of an itchy mess lately. So I stopped by the Vitamin Shoppe/Drug Store and picked up a bottle of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, Rosemary, Tea Tree, and Grape Seed oil.

For those of you that don't know, i do an ACV Spray.. where i mix a 3:1 ration of water to ACV, than add a mix of oils in there as well. Originally the bottle contained peppermint and tea tree oil with a few drops of olive oil. But this time i wanted more of a cleansing, less tingling mix. so i put the rosemary and tea tree, and added the grape seed for a light moisturizing oil.

(yea im still adding peppermint but wanted to see how this mix worked first)

Thursday night,  before i hopped in the shower, i sprayed my scalp only, with the mix, and vigorously rubbed it in with the balls of my fingers (not the nails...we don't want an irritated scalp when vinegar's involved!) to help alleviate the dirt and buildup gained over the last week and half (especially after the work out i had in yoga yesterday!) I let it sit for a good 5-10 minutes and separated my hair in sections.

While i showered (which was awesome by the way after that workout) my hair was able to steam while i cleaned .. (hey that rhymed!)

So the ACV mix was in my hair for a good 15 minutes more, before i rinsed it out. I just used a cup, tilted my head over the tub/sink (pending on how you want to do it) and just let the water flow over my scalp. I of course rubbed it n around my edges and such to make sure that it really got out.

No one wants to smell like vinegar all day.

So after i finished my awesome shower and towel dried my hair i sprayed it with the Alikay Naturals Lemongrass leave-in conditioner and rubbed my oil mixture (horsetail, castor, jojoba, sweet almond, evoo) on my scalp after. I tied it with my satin scar and called it a night.

My scalp feels so much better and yea some itchy parts still (cause i know i didnt do a great wash just an alleviation of sorts) but yea its cleaner than it was before and the next time i wash is when these locs are coming out.

Protective Style :: Loc Extensions with Marley Hair

8-9hrs...
a few random breaks.. a trip to the bank, a girls night/meeting, sleep...
9 packs of marley hair (@ $4.99/each)...
and my weekend

Thats how long it took me to achieve this style.. do i regret it (well my arms did at some point) but nope i, along with many others lover how my loc extensions came out

I got the idea from my friends yarn extensions but after her complaints from washing the hair, the weight of it, the length and such i was not a fan at that point. I knew i was going to get something done either the marley twists, senagalese, or havana but i wasn't set on anything in particular just yet. so after a post on curly nikki on loc extensions i just said alright next weekend after i get paid im getting that shit done.

 

It took my 4 hours and little over 4 packs of hair to put the marley twists in and i wanted to start on the wrapping of the same night and got i good portion of the front and sides done since i had to go out. I originally bought 7 packs of hair but had to buy 2 more to finish wrapping it around for the loc look. I know some didn't come out right with my not wrapping it completely. Some took one piece of marley hair in the way i wrapped others took 2 and a bit. all in all the end result is fine!

my goal is to keep them in for a month.. i use my whipped shea butter and my oil mix on my hair to keep it moisturized cause like she said, no product buildup for me!. i have a spray bottle with aloe vera, grape seed and avocado oil so im good. to keep it clean i have another spray bottle with acv, tea tree and peppermint oil.. so i must say that i am prepared!

my only issue is the little burnt hair pieces that keep coming off.. its annoying but i know it'll stop eventually... ill have my 3 year length check come nov 6! im excited. that sunday before, nov 3, is when ill take out the hair and wash, treat and cut. Ill leave it out for the week before i decide to twist it up again.

Protective Style's & Exercise

Hey, so that's me and my two-week protective styles. From Oct 1 - Jan 1 i'm doing a 1in3 hair challenge from Hair & Health. We're into the 3rd week of the challenge and i must say its going pretty well for me. I keep my hair in protective styles for 2-4 weeks at a time, drink plenty of water, eat my fruits and veggies, take my vitamins, and exercise daily.

Week 1-2

Medium Sized twists that i pinned back in rows

Week 3-4

MiniTwist (my go-to style)

Exercise

Yoga! 10 minutes every morning (AM Yoga )