Saturday, July 30, 2011

Featured: Kendra

283361 2280634093785 1186772780 2840675 4821126 n
My first flexirod set... came out pretty nice!!!





















Natural Hair 101:  What sparked your decision to go natural?

Kendra:  The versatility....u can be happy and nappy one day and silky straight the next.....and of course for the health of my hair.

Natural Hair 101:  How long have you been transitioning?

Kendra:  Since Oct. 2010....sooo about 9-10 mths.

Natural Hair 101:  What's your staple style?

Kendra:  Bantu knots....so easy to do right after a wash, then let air dry.

267342 2280633293765 1186772780 2840672 1244077 n
Week old bantu knots... Laundry day I was being lazy with my hair





















Natural Hair 101:  If you had to choose one hair product to do it all, what would it be and why?

Kendra:  Sheamoisture's organic raw shea butter restorative conditioner w/ sea kelp, argan oil and shea butter because it can be used as a leave in, a daily moisturizer and deep conditioner. oh yeah, and it's a great detangler!!!!!!

Natural Hair 101:  What do you find most challenging about maintaining natural hair?

Kendra:  I would say finding the right products and a routine that works for u and your type of hair...and finding cute styles that arent time consuming.

Natural Hair 101:  What advice do you have for those who are transitioning?

Kendra:  My advice to those who are transitioning would be: do your research, get educated about the products that are good for your hair and those that aren't.

270147 2280632053734 1186772780 2840665 3459210 n
bantu knot out

Friday, July 29, 2011

Yaya Dacosta

Many of you may recognize Yaya from Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model.  She finished second in the competition and went on to have a successful acting and modeling career.  Enough about her career though, I'm in love with her hair!  I believe she's been natural her entire life, and she definitely knows what to do with her hair.  She sports the best updos and she does a great job with making her natural hair look chic.  She's definitely an inspiration!  Take a look.


Yaya+costa
George Napolitano/FilmMagic.com
Yaya+costa
 

I have to try one of these styles soon!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Monthly Routine: Week Two

The end of week two of my monthly hair routine is almost here!  I'm so ready to get these twists out.  This weekend I will be attending a cookout and possibly getting into the pool so I decided to pin my twists down for the rest of the week (it's just an easy setup pool that my parents are putting up for the kids :-)).  I believe that this style is better suited for getting into the pool and will help preserve my twists. I plan to wash my hair while the twists are in, moisturize it, and rock a twist out next week. Here are the pics of my pinup that I initially put in and the style that I switched to:

Before:
1016001656a1016001658a
This carried me through the first week and a half

After:
100 0755100 0749100 0741

To achieve this look, I did a reverse french braid (or cornrow) in the back and pinned the excess hair under at the top of my head.  Then, I formed a bump in the front and pinned it back to where the reverse french braid ends.

I will be posting again at the end of the week to show you how I wash my hair with the twists in and the outcome of my twist out. 

Later

Saturday, July 23, 2011

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

I loved Amy Winehouse's music!  She was such a talented and unique individual and will be missed.

R.I.P. Amy


Friday, July 22, 2011

Get Featured on Natural Hair 101!

Natural Hair 101 will be featuring naturals on the site to get other perspectives on natural hair.  If you would like to be featured, please drop a message under the Contact Us section and use "FEATURED" for the subject line.

Later

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Monthly Routine: Week One

Today marks week one of my monthly hair care routine (I started this post this past Saturday)! This means that I get to spend half of my day washing and styling my hair. As I mentioned in my last hair care post, caring for natural hair can be quite time consuming if you don't have a plan.  I've created a monthly routine for my hair that allows me to do minimal styling for most of the month, and gives me the option to wear my favorite styles with little effort, at any time.  I'm able to do this by using protective styles as my default style and transitioning them into other styles throughout the month.  This may seem like common knowledge to some naturals, but there are still a lot of naturals who don't have a solid routine.  I just started mine this year!

Here is my process for day one of the first week:

Step One: Wet and Detangle hair
I begin by spraying my hair with lukewarm water to soften my hair.  In the picture below, you can see that my hair is damp, and not soaking wet.  This allows me to detangle or separate any pieces that are tangled or curled up together.

100 0662

Step Two:  Apply Hair Treatment
Once my hair is fully detangled, I apply an egg mixture to my hair to strengthen it.  I leave the egg mixture in for at least 30 minutes (1 egg & 1tbs honey).  If you are mostly looking to strengthen your hair and provide your hair with protein, the honey isn't really necessary.

100 0666

Step Three:  Wash and Condition hair
After leaving the egg mixture in for at least 30 minutes, I rinse the mixture out using cool water.  Next, I do a vinegar rinse (1tbs Apple Cider Vinegar & 1 cup of water) and co-wash my hair with Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Conditioner.  I leave the conditioner in for about five minutes and rinse with warm water, and then I do a second co-wash and a partial rinse with warm water.  I leave some of the conditioner in to act as a leave-in conditioner (This really helps me to be able to comb through my hair after washes).  Some sources state that you should either include moisturizing/conditioning products with the rinse or do it before the rinse because the hair shaft is sealed afterwards, but I do what works best for my hair.  This process works for me. 

100 0672








100 0696

Step Four: Dry Hair
To dry my hair, I start by separating my hair into four sections.  If I'm going to blow dry my hair, I comb through each section and apply heat protectant.  If I'm going to air dry my hair, I comb and braid each section or let my hair dry in individual puffs. 

100 0704

100 0735

Step Five:  Protective Styling/ Hands-Off Style
Now that I have a dry head of hair, I'm ready to put in my protective style.  I like individual twists the best because they are the most flexible and they are easy to put in and take down.  This can take several hours depending on how small the twists are, but it can carry you through the next two weeks.  You can actually wash your hair while the twists are still in. 


1016001656a
1016001658a

Individual twists in an updo. 

I will be posting more as I transition into different styles throughout the month. 

Later

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

What can be worn on your ears, neck, and coffee table?

You probably didn't guess this one, but the answer is
Molly M Designs
! While browsing through an interior design site this past week, I stumbled across this environmentally friendly architect, who creates jewelry and housewares constructed of sustainable materials.  Her merchandise does not come at a small price, but you will definitely find her pieces to be very unique and beautiful.  I haven't purchased any items yet, but I do plan to possibly splurge on a pair of earrings.  If you're feeling crafty and you can't afford to splurge, maybe this will give you some inspiration for a DIY project.  Here are a few of my favorites from her website:

2nh101logo
laser cut coasters made with oatmeal felt

Picture2  
earrings made with dark bamboo veneer and oxidized sterling silver hardware

Picture3
Pendant made of gunmetal leather, seafoam suede, and cherry oxidized sterling silver hardware

Picture1 
Prints made with 100% cotton, acid-free paper, responsibly farmed birch, and paperboard

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Monthly Routine

I struggled a lot with my hair this past year because my work schedule was pretty hectic at times.  I was just getting into the swing of things with my career and I found myself with less and less time to care for my hair.  If you know anyone who works in the IT field, you may know that they almost never get out of the office on time.  If you're working on a project, you're lucky to get home by 10:00pm some days.  So, I decided to map out a plan that I can stick to.  Here is my monthly hair care routine...

Week One:
Wash and condition hair
Put hair into a protective style

Week Two:
Continue to wear protective style (touch-up style if necessary) or switch to a different protective style

Week Three:
Wash hair with protective style in
Remove protective style and wear as a hair style or restyle on stretched hair

Week Four:
Style hair in favorite hair style or resort to a puff for the final week of the month

This routine is gold!  I have been able to stick to it and it is completely stress free.  I'm the type that always likes to have my hair out, so it was a challenge at first to wear the protective styles, but now I love it. It beats letting my afro puff get tangled up in knots any day.  The great thing about protective styles is that they can be easily transitioned into a nice twist out or braid out if you need to change it up a bit during your routine.  Today, I'm beginning my routine to prepare for the next four to five weeks, and will be posting pics and details on the different stages of my routine. 

Later!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Marsha Ambrosius

I've always been a fan of Marsha Ambrosius' music, but these days I'm an even bigger fan of her hair.  I think she looks absolutely amazing with the style that she's been rocking lately.  The thing that I find most inspiring about her is her hair journey.  If you look at her hair over the course of her career, you can see that she has had a similar journey to most of the naturals that you see everyday (corn rows with afro, braids, head wrap, straight hair, twist out, blow out), which makes her so relatable.  She's done it all, just like most of us have.  Take a look and share what you think. 



Also, reminisce on this: