Vintage Post: No Lye Anniversary!

In the midst of all the baby hoopla, I forgot to celebrate my one year no lye anniversary.  Last year, on April 26, 2010, I cut my hair into a Rihanna cut. I later decided that I was over relaxers and it was inadvertently was my last.



My new easy breezy hairstyle is to rock twists for a few days and then rock a twist-out.  In the coming weeks, I'll have to do some product reviews and regimen updates. I don't try new products often, but I have tons of products that I have used over an extended period of time.  I can provide some detailed reviews for those products. 

The biggest lesson(s), I've learned over the last year is:

Keep it simple and if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Do you have any specific hair questions you would like me to answer?

Vintage Post: Trial and Error (Additional curl rod tips)

Recently, I did my first hair tutorial on rodding short hair. (It will be featured on curlynikki.com tomorrow!)  In hindsight, I realized that I did not take enough pictures.  To supplement my previous post, I am providing some additional pictures and tips. 

About two weeks ago, at 10:30 at night, I rushed a rod set. Every time a rod fell out, I just replaced it with a curler.  It only took 45 minutes, but the curls were too loose so they only lasted three days. My curls normally last about a week. 

This is how my hair looked the second time around.  I didn't look bad, but I learned my lesson.

After learning my lesson, I took my time this weekend. I first pre-pooed with extra-virgin coconut oil. I left it in for about 30 minutes under my self-heating conditioning cap. I then washed and conditioned my hair as usual.

I first tackled the back and sides of my hair, since they are shorter and more difficult to do. Last time, it took about 2 hours to set my rollers, this time only 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Practice makes perfect.  This time around, I used Organic Root Stimulator Lock & Twist Gel. It helped my short hair stick to the roller and provided great hold.  I also used it to twist the short hairs at the nape of my neck.  I highly recommend moisturizing your hair with shea butter and oil prior to applying the gel when you work on each curl. I didn't. When I took out my curls, they were crispy. To fix the problem, I applied African Royale Hot Six Oil and put on my conditioning cap again. Problem Solved.

I separated each curl into about 4 or more curls. Last time, I said three or more. I lied.  The more you separate the curls, the bigger they will be.  

I hope that provided some further explanation. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Vintage Post: A Lesson in Confidence

In the past, I've talked about learning how to my love myself, and knowing my worth,  but my struggle with the concept of the BC has me questioning, "Am I as confident as I think I am?"

Quite frankly, it's easy to be confident about your outward appearance if you meet society's standards of beauty. But what if you don't?  At various points in my life, I've been underweight, had buck teeth, had braces, bad skin, and hair all over the place.  As I got older, I learned to hold my head up high, despite my "malfunction" at the time.  I knew how to feign confidence, even when I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw.  But was I truly confident? Or did I only regain my confidence once I corrected that "malfunction". 

 Right now, I think my "fake" TWA is adorable. (I call it fake because of my relaxed ends.) Those same relaxed ends I want to keep for length, are the same relaxed ends that take forever to curl and dry.  I don't mind taking time to do my hair.  The problem is...it's not long enough for a ponytail; and I can't simply wash and go. And THAT is what drives me nuts.  There are days I just want something quick and neat. But to look presentable, my only option is a roller set.  Plus, my natural roots are taking over and they need nurturing (water) that is very different than my relaxed ends. 

After a day of checking out TWA and Big Chop videos, I noticed a recurring theme...Confidence.  I'm beautiful. I just need to make the appointment.  My hair will grow back.  I need to let go of the West Indian concept that "your hair is your beauty". It's not.

I'm about to learn what true confidence is...

I got mad one day and cut off the relaxed ends in the back.

What is your definition of confidence?