Unraveled

I decided to leave my twists in for another week or so, but they are finally out! This twist out can actually last for a few weeks if you moisturize it and tie it up properly at night. I like to use a daily moisturizer on my ends and I use oil on my scalp and the rest of my hair to maintain my twist outs. I have included a pic of my twist out and also pics of my attempt at creating a bob by pinning my hair under. With a little more practice, I think I would like the bob look. What do you think? Feel free to drop a comment below.

Later

Beat the heat!

It's been quite a while since my last post and my hair routine has changed quite a bit. I haven't applied any heat to my hair since September of 2012, which has been a great experience for me. Prior to making this change, I would only blow dry my hair about once a month after washes, but the time that I've saved by eliminating this process has been worthwhile. I've noticed that my hair has become more healthy and I wash and moisturize my hair more often now that I have learned to better manage it without the use of heat.

One thing that I will mention is that not using heat adds an extra day to my styling process because I like to do most of my styles on stretched hair. Also, without heat, my hairstyles such as flat twist outs and bantu knots don't turn out the same way. The major difference that I've noticed is that the styles don't hold up as long and obviously the texture is a little different. These are things that I don't mind, but it's something to consider if you're planning to stop using heat. You will definitely end up changing your routine.

This summer has definitely been a hot one and I've been wearing small two strand twists to help protect my hair and stay cool. Here's a peek at a few of the styles that I've worn this month. I'll be washing these twists today and will post pics of my twist out when my hair is dry. If you have any suggestions on how to beat the summer heat or the use of heat on your hair, please comment or leave a message.

Later

Retro Vibe

This weekend, as I rushed home from work to get dressed for a gospel concert, I realized that I didn't have a plan for my hair. I washed and blow dried my hair last weekend and I hadn't styled it yet. So, I had 10 minutes to whip something up. It sort of has a retro look to it. I've never attempted this type of style before, but this one is definitely a keeper. This style was extremely quick and easy (literally 10 min or less). I am going to do a repost on this style with instructions. Let me know what you think.

It's Our Blogoversary!

Today is Natural Hair 101’s 1 year blogoversary!

I can’t believe that naturalhair101.com has been in existence for an entire year now.  Around this same time last year, I was still contemplating whether or not to even publish the website (#hugeprocrastinator).  Finally, on July 13, 2011, I decided to just give it a try and see what happens. One year later, I have a functioning site with over 4,000 hits to date.  

This year, I plan to make quite a few enhancements to the site.  I received a lot of feedback and suggestions that will help me to better inform the natural hair community.  So, please stay tuned!

Coming Soon:

Beginners Corner – Basic information for new naturals and those curious about natural hair

Video Tutorials – Step by step instructions on how to achieve my styles

Inspired Hair Styles – My rendition of celebrity styles and other unique styles

Natural Hair Recipes – Great hair products/treatments that you can whip up at home

Thank you to everyone who has shown support and visited Natural Hair 101 this past year.  Your support has definitely helped me to continue on this journey.  I hope that you have found the site be useful and inspirational.  Please share with others! 

Oldie but Goodie!

I remember the days when my mom first started letting me do my own hair. Ok, she didn't really let me do my hair, I would just wait for her to leave for work and then change it. One of the first styles that I mastered back then, was half up in a ponytail and half down. Well, for those of you looking to recycle an old Bantu knot out or twist out, here's the natural take on an oldie but goodie that's sure to complement this beautiful spring weather.

For this look, I started with a three day old Bantu knot out. I took a small section of hair on each side of my head, pulled them towards the center of my head and pinned them down with hair pins. Next, I took the hair between each side and fluffed it up and pinned a section in the front towards one side of my head for the bang. This is a fairly simple style to achieve. Let me know how it works for you.

Sticky Bun!

This is one of my new styles that resembles a pull apart sticky bun. It's a great style to use in place of a puff. Also, if you've been unsuccessful with other bun styles, this may definitely work for you.

How I did it:

First, I put my hair up in the same way that I would to create a puff. Next, I used the Luster Slick Stick to smooth down my edges and hold down stray pieces of hair. Once my hair was up and smoothed out, I sectioned the hair in my puff/ponytail and made several large two strand twists. After all of my twists were in, I pinned them in different directions to form one ball on the top of my head. Let me know if this style works for you.

I will be trying to move toward creating video tutorials for all of my styles, so stay tuned.

Later

Whats New???

What to do with a long weekend??? Watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the 5th time, clean and blog!

First off, since my last post, I've been wearing a Bantu knot out. I think that's going to be my new staple style. It's really easy to do and it lasts for at least a week without any touch ups.

Also, for all located in the Richmond, Va area, Jcrew is having their warehouse sale until the 22nd of Jan. It's located on West Broad street at the closed Borders bookstore. So far, I've gotten 2 pumps, 2 sandals, 1 ballet flat, 1 shirt, 1 sweater, 3 dresses, and a headband for around 100 bucks. I will post pics as soon I get a chance to wear each piece.

The blue dress in the pic below was purchased there. The hair is like day 9 of a Bantu knot out. Love it!