3in6: Day Fourteen

See "3in6 Challenge" details here.

Hey ladies!  We are officially two weeks into the challenge.

After wearing small twists for nearly two weeks, I transitioned into my trusty, medium twists.  (Fingers only; no comb.)  Why the transition, you say?  It's been raining galore and ... rain + small twists + shrinkage = single-strand knots on my ends.  Yep.  They had to go.  For me, bigger twists work better at keeping single-strand knots at bay.  Eh ... it was fun while it lasted.

These larger twists will be in for a few weeks as I re-do the perimeter weekly after each wash.  You know the drill.

As for the rest of my update, I've been:
+taking my multi-vitamin
+eating my vegetables and fruits
+drinking my water

The scissors have been calling my name, so I hid them to minimize my temptation to further cut.

So ladies, how are you on day fourteen?  Any surprises or adjustments?

Interview with a Fine-Haired Natural: Session I

{Box braids}

This is session #1 of the interview.  Session #2 coming soon ...


1. How have you "faked the fullness" in protective styles?

The only true protective style that I wear is mini twists. To make them appear fuller, I do them on wet hair and twist loosely, or do them on damp hair and twist tightly. For wet twists, I do not twist my hair as tightly after initially securing the roots, so that my twists can expand as they dry. This means more shrinkage, but fuller twists. The goal in protective styling fine hair is to mimic the natural volume, shape, and layering of your hair when it is in an afro state so taking advantage of your natural shrinkage is key. As my twists dry and every 3-4 days, I stretch them in a braidout to get some length. With the length, I do a variety of down and up styles where I 'fan' out my buns to create an illusion of volume. I try to avoid bunching my hair up together into tight buns or updos so that the volume is not minimized.

{Super micro twists (LEFT) vs. bigger twists (RIGHT)}

For semi-protective styles such as braidouts or twistouts, I set my hair damp rather than wet, I separate my hair strand by strand when unraveling the style, and I sometimes 'bob' my hair to create fullness when wearing the style down. For braidouts, I use the "quick dry method" that I learned from youtuber CurlyChronicles. I set my hair in very large twists immediately after applying my leave-in and sometimes styler, then after an hour, I unravel the damp twists and let my hair naturally start to dry as I style section by section. By the time I reach each section, my hair is slightly damp, but still detangled and easy to manipulate. My hair is set in a braidout with volume in a matter of hours, but I usually take it out the next morning to get maximum definition. I usually create my twistouts from my 'quick dry' braid-out by dampening my hair with a spritz bottle and twisting medium size sections. If I am styling from wet hair, I will do a braidout that I will need to re-braid once more the next evening for fullness, or I do a flat twistout in the front and bantu knot out in the back to wear a pinned up bob.

{Today with longer hair
in micro twists}

2. How do you deal with scalpiness in twists/braids?


I have not mastered dealing with scalpy braids, which is why I do not wear them after several failed attempts. For twists, I simply have to make more of them where my hair is finest. For example, the sides of my hair are very sparse so those twists are usually half the size of the twists at the crown of my head where my hair has the most density. I have tried all sizes of twists and the best ones for my whole head are smaller or mini twists since they are able to show the 'natural volume, shape, and layering' of my hair. I now know my twists are too large when I wear them down and they mimic the natural layering of my afro, but not the volume or shape. Example: I turn to the side and the back of my hair is flat, rather than rounded out. Despite making my twists smaller, I still tend to have scalpiness near the front and sizes so I just do lots of side parts, middles parts, and bangs to cover any exposed scalp. For twistouts, I separate more as I mentioned above and I make an effort to blend any parts that show.

Reader's Question: Healthy Bunning of Twists

Post inspired by a reader.  Thank you for your question.

For some ladies, buns can be a dangerous protective style (an oxymoron, but true).  The style can cause tension on the edges for those with a sensitive hairline (like me).  Meanwhile, those with fragile ends can suffer damage from repeated pressure via ouchless bands.  Even those with strong strands from root to tip can experience the dangerous side of buns when styled improperly.  To avoid these problems, find alternative protective styles (such as loose updos with jaw clips) or use alternative bunning methods such as the ones below:

Bun Alternative #1: The Kimmay Bun
Purpose: Less pressure on the hairline
See this video for details.  NOTE: If the banana clip is not your friend (i.e., too teethy), then avoid this style.

{Bun using a banana clip}

Bun Alternative #2: The Pinned Up Bun
Purpose: Less pressure on the ends
Step 1: Use jumbo ouchless bands as opposed to small ones.  Small ones tend to wear quickly and get caught in the hair.  I also find that the jumbo bands can go around the hair twice or thrice with less pressure and tension than the smaller ones.

{Small (top) vs. big ouchless bands (bottom)}

Step 2: Use the jumbo ouchless band to make a standard ponytail.  Then flip the ponytail upwards as pictured below.

{Flip the ponytail upwards and pin down}

Step 3: Use a large bobby pin (or a few small ones) to secure the tip of the ponytail to your crown.  (If you hair is longer, you may wrap the ponytail around a few times before securing the tip.)  Use a few more hair pins to secure any stray hairs stemming from the bun.  NOTE: Do not pin the very tip of the ponytail.  Pin about 1-2 inches from the tip, then tuck the tip under the rest of the hair.

{Large bobby pins}

{The finished look!}

Short Twist/Braid Styles: Part III

Cute, professional twist and braid styles for shorter hair.  The 3rd in a three-part series.

The style: Flat-twisted Twists, French-braided Twists, etc.

Duration of wear: your choice

Great for: 

+working with your scalpiness (if any);

+creating the illusion of length;

How to (recommended):
1.) Start with a set of neatly parted twists.  This pre-step is important for those with with fine hair and/or scalpiness.  When twisting, do neat and defined parts.  Then proceed to the next step. (Those with thick hair may fair fine with "grab and go" twists.)
2.) Take several rows of twists and flat twist each one into your desired style (e.g., updo).

Amp it up a notch:  If you know how to flat twist or cornrow loose hair, then go ahead!  Mix up your style by flat twisting or corn rowing the sides or front of your hair and then two-strand twisting the remaining section.  (To learn how to flat twist, check this earlier post.  The videos included there taught me how to flat twist!)


Amp it up further:  Add a cute hair clip and put on your favorite sparkling, studded earrings (or bold long earrings) to transform your day look into night.

Two-strands Flat Twisted #1:


Two-strand Twists Flat Twisted #2:


Regular Flat Twists (or Cornrows) into Twists:

Healthy Hair Feature: MsKibibi

{Length retention from wearing wigs}

1) Are you natural, relaxed, texlaxed, or transitioning?
Texlaxed

... If texlaxed, what is your method?
My stylist texlaxes my hair now but when I self-texlaxed, I would do the half and half method. I did not add anything to the relaxer, but I reduced the relaxer time and did not smooth or let the relaxer just sit on my hair.

{Current length}

2) What mistakes have you made in your hair care journey?
The biggest mistakes I've made was usually the result of me diverting from my usual routine. I had a major setback when I tried to dye my hair black with henna and indigo. It was a disaster. Also, not doing a strand test before I tried new products all over my hair. I've had allergic reactions to hair dyes (which was why I tried henna/indigo) and even some shampoos. Also, not paying attention to ingredients. I had protein overload once because I use 3 protein products on the same wash day. It was another time that I didn't follow my usual regimen.

{Scalp shot of waistlength hair}

3) What is your current HEALTHY HAIR routine?
I'm doing my winter regimen right now, which entails me wearing a wig. I wash, and deep condition weekly, moisturize daily with a liquid moisturizer. My regular routine is pretty much the same except I use a creamy moisturizer daily instead of a liquid moisturizer.

4) Do you have a HEALTHY BODY routine? If so, what is it?
I need exercise to be fun and challenging so I don't get bored. Hence the gym is not a viable option for me. So I take ballet classes, horseback riding lessons and play tennis (when the weather permits). I also try to eat a balanced diet and take vitamin supplements.

{Winter wig}

5) Do you have any advice for those seeking healthy tresses?
Write out a regimen and be consistent. The best thing you can do is be consistent with your regimen. The one method that I believe people overlook is moisturizing their hair daily. Regardless of whether your hair is natural or relaxed, we can all use more moisture.

You can find MsKibibi at:
www.KibibiHair.com. My sister is also a guest blogger and she has natural hair.

For My Fine-Hair Ladies ...

{2008; First career; big chop; believe it or not,
my hair still shrinks up to a TWA-ish size if I allow it.}

Bear with me.  These next couple of weeks are insane outside of cyberspace.  In the meantime, check out these youtube videos of fine-haired women in twists.  Feel free to ask them questions as well.  (I have a possible fine-haired interview coming soon as well):

Braiding twists forward for volume: Niafloda
Pinned up bantu knots for volume: blackhairchronicles

And as one of my awesome fine-haired subscribers came to realize, perhaps focusing on accessorizing is best.  Though I'm not fine-haired, I understand what it's like to work with what you have (for me, it was and has been crazy shrinkage).  Sometimes it's about the accessories!

Henna Melt Giveaway!

The owner of The Hair Shebang has graciously offered two ROOI Henna Melts for this giveaway.  These melts are easy, ready-to-use henna treatments molded into beautiful rosy heart shapes, rectangles or squares. They are perfect for those who are shy when it comes to experimenting with henna or Ayurvedic powders.  The ROOI ones, in particular, yield beautiful, wine burgundy highlights.

So how do you enter the giveaway contest?  Well just leave a comment below stating how you strengthen and protect your tresses.*   The entries will close on February 14 (Valentine's Day) at 11:59pm EST.  On February 15, two lucky winners will be announced.

*Only subscribers to (or followers of) the blog will be allowed to enter.

About The Hair Shebang:  

The Hair Shebang is a

"one-stop shop for all your haircare needs, from shampooing to styling! This shop will cater to those who wish to use all-natural products for their skin and hair, as well as finding supplies for DIY (do-it-yourself) haircare and maintenance. Although hair products are our niche, many items are multipurpose, and can be used on the body, hands, feet and face."