I'm married now, I barely craft or cook, and I finally decided to shut my blog down

This post may be a huge surprise to a lot of people's blogroll feed. This is Monique, I'm still alive, I'm blessed, and I'm well. I apologize for my long departure. I continuously toy with ending the blog, and leaving it open for a comeback on a low committal basis. I've finally decided to come to peace with closing this chapter of my life. Before that, I'll provide a few updates...

1. I'm actually a Mrs. now!

I handed in my single card and married a wonderful man, a fellow classmate, on 12/20. He's anti posting pictures online, so sorry, no pictures of him :(. He's handsome, brawny, brown, and hails from the island of Dominica. We had a medium-sized ceremony and reception with about 70 people at a restaurant outside of Pittsburgh. It was beautiful, and I feel so blessed to have met my life partner. We are getting ready to move to Minneapolis once we graduate in May. I'll be working for a major retailer as a buyer, and he's doing IT consulting for a large accounting firm. Naja loves him, and they get along quite well.

2. Little miss thing - that's Naja - is 3.5, and she is really a big girl now

I'm talking sass, intelligence, even a little deception at times! She stays home with my mother-in-law, and will be entering Pre-K at a school in Minneapolis this summer/fall. Every day is a new challenge - some that are frustrating, but I'm learning:

• Don't take things personal
• Be consistent (and firm)
• Make sure she knows momma don't play that!

3. As for crafting or fun stuff, I'll call the wedding my latest craft project.

I DIY'd a lot: the centerpieces, the farewell wave wands, the signs, the favors and the programs. I seriously need a job that pays me to do these things since I always seem to find myself doing this stuff for free!

4. I got Sisterlocks!

You know I've had hair woes for forever. My hubby told me he would make my SL installation a wedding gift (what a guy). I have had the SL for almost 2 months now, and I love them. No turning back or taking these things down.

5. I'm a blogger who is really focused on her career, so that means all of the artsy stuff gets put on the backburner.

This is why I continue to buy cookbooks, and pin crafts to pinterest, and agree to help other people with things. As a full-time grad student/working mom/wife, I've come to a few anti-good-blogger conclusions:

• I don't have time to take pictures of Naja when the lighting is best (mainly because lighting is best during the day, and I don't see her then)
• I can't tell you the last time I prepared a meal during the week (I thank God for my mother-in-law's authentic Caribbean culinary skills)
• My crafting happens a la carte when it needs to happen, which is very rare
• I haven't been shopping for myself in the past five months (gasp!) - thankfully, I do still wear clothes daily
• I don't participate in the community of blogging anymore

I want to be the "go-getter blogger who does it all mom," but I realized that if I try to be her - I'll go crazy. Don't worry - I've read Lean In, so I know she doesn't exist, but I still try. However I need to stop trying, and just accept me as I am: A career focused woman who likes artsy stuff, cooking, and style, but doesn't have time to document this love daily.

With that said, I've connected with so many wonderful people, and shared so much of my life, and I'm grateful for that opportunity. Thank you for joining me in this journey. Thank you for sharing this space with me. It's been real. Peace.

September Updates

Happy Friday folks! I've been a little better snapping pictures of Naja, although she is incredibly difficult to catch these days. As soon as she sees the camera, she walks up to me and wants to look at pictures, or she runs away like we're about to start a game of hide and seek. I think we're well past due for some updates on the little one so here goes...

Naja is growing like weeds these days. She's pretty tall for her age - but she doesn't have a lot of girth. I'm still cloth diapering her, and she's long off the bottle and uses sippy cups with a straw. She is starting to formulate some words/sounds. To name a few, she says "buh" for book and "bah" for bath, and she says "Woof woof" whenever she sees a dog. She also says three words very clearly now:

1. "agua" for water - yep, she's bilingual - JK - agua is much easier to say than water
2. "Naja" to refer to herself, because she speaks in third person often and loves the sound of her own name...
3. "Momma" It may sound crazy, but whenever Naja sees a picture of me, she calls me "Naja" or "Momma". When I point out that I'm Momma, she sometimes points to herself calling herself "Momma". So, basically - we're both Momma and Naja.

This stage of motherhood is a busy one! I can tell I'm going to have lots of fun stories raising this little one!

As for me - I'm rearing up for the last week before my cousin's wedding. I passed my sign off for the new role I assumed at work, and I have a new look.

The glasses are prescription - I wear them for distance, and while sitting at the computer at work. As for my hair - I cut it...why? well...why not? Peace.

On Naja: 1 & 4: top - gift; leggings - gap kids; sneakers - baby zara |  2 & 5 - tutu dress - gapkids; boots - baby zara | 3 & 6: top - target; skirt - baby zara |

Guess who's one...

Taking a dip in the pool on a hot summer day

Naja loves water...almost as much as food

On the run and saying "me, me, me" - this girl loves herself

A picture of the birthday girl on her actual birthday :)

Yes, my little bundle of joy Naja Simone is one year old today!!! I can't believe that one year ago today, on July 19, I called out of a morning conference call for work due to contractions which bred baby Naja a few hours later (yes - my labor was only a few hours - thank God!).

I hosted a party for her last weekend, but didn't take any pictures, however I did post a pic of Naja smashing her cupcake ;). I feel awful about not taking more pictures, but this is the kicker with taking pictures: it's really tough to experience the moment, when you're always snapping away. It's like I'm there, but I'm not "in it", I'm just observing. Since it's just Naja and me most of the time, I'd rather experience the moment than observe the moment.  Nonetheless, I do like to capture these moments to share with friends.

The party had a loose theme of "ombre everything" based on this picture. I prepared the food and kept the menu simple: sliders: buffalo chicken, ginger turkey burger, beef burger & eggplant, pasta salad, chips, corn and watermelon. Thanks to Libby, I offered my guests flavored water as a beverage. I ordered four dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles, and I gave everyone colored assorted candies in the ombre white-to-red theme as a gift.

Naja was surrounded by lots of friends and family at the party. There were no kids at the party -- I have yet to vibe with any parents with kids around Naja's age. Still there were a handful of my friends - Naja's "aunts" and "uncles" - who came out to support her. Naja's family was also there to celebrate. I seriously am so blessed to have the family and friends I have - they're awesome.  It was a good time!!!

As for other life updates...
We finished my sorority chartering, now we're back to our regular scheduled programs
I'm still training for the marathon, my furthest distance thus far has been 10 miles straight. I need to kick up my training, which requires a good amount of time, but I'm not quite sure how I'll balance it just yet...
Naja and I are moving out and getting our own space in a few weeks (we've been living with my parents since she was born), I'm mostly packed and ready for the move
I'll be wearing this little number as the MOH in my cousin's wedding in September, and will be planning the bridal shower soon
I may be locking my hair now - I installed a set of finger coils 2 weeks ago, I don't love it, but few people love these beginning stages of locking
I'll be 26 in 15 days and I have no plans for my birthday right now, but I'm kind of ok with that (if you wonder why -- see above)

Splash

Wow, I haven't taken a blogging break since I started blogging regularly in Kendi's 30x30. I have to be honest and share that I started to question whether or not I wanted to continue blogging. Things have been extremely busy, and recently, I haven't even been able to keep my room organized. This is pretty huge for me as I am the type of person who is affected by the space around them - unwanted noise (I.e. constant TV) and constant clutter totally affect my zen. Well, all I had to do was see some old pictures that somehow didn't make it to the blog to recharge my memory of why I enjoy this so much.

This picture is from late February, from a birthday celebration for my maternal grandparents. They are 1 year, and 2 days apart, they have been married for 59 years, and they still carry a spark that is absolutely admirable. I totally look up to them and love those guys!

I'm still working on finding a decent arrangement where I can do all of the things I need to do, and most a few of the things I'd like to do, including finding some 'me time' -  sans baby, and sleeping more (5 hours is not cutting it). However, I can already say that it feels good to be writing again.

The title of this post is due to the new splash of color in my hair - I got it colored when I went in for my first shape up since my big cut. It's really liberal for me...and I'm actually surprised I did it. Remember, I do not work in the fashion world, and most of my friends work for conservative, old school, Fortune 100 companies. In fact, I'm sure if I had thought more about it, I would have talked myself out of it, but I love it (surprisingly), and I'm glad I went for it.

So how did I come upon this color? Well, I have been loving my hair cut, but it was time for a shaping, and I was feeling the urge to do something different, so I thought - COLOR! I googled: 'afro color' for inspiration, and most of the results were not all that inspiring. I did come across this picture, and I also referenced Zarna because her hair is super fierce. My stylist came up with this after seeing the pictures - she's good ;). I hope now when folks google 'afro + color' they have another idea for inspiration. 

Finally, I leave you with a nice picture of my little bear. I mentioned needing some 'me time' - but don't get it twisted - I love this girl, she is an absolute joy and blessing.

New Year, New Hair

I did it! *In my Dora the Explorer voice* I cut my hair. Well, Alexa at Modern Concepts Salon in Ashburn, Va cut my hair. I love it. It's cute, and easy to maintain.

A new hair blog I found said, "It's time to see your [hair] stylist when:
You have a mullet
You can't remember your last visit
Your hair reaches your bum
You have split ends
You're unhappy with your hair
Your hair is always in a ponytail"
 She's right - problem solved!

Answers to a few questions some folks may have:

Why did you do it?
Remember when I talked about my hair woes here, here and here? Well I realized that I'd rather have cute hair that was easy to maintain over cute LONG hair, that takes hours to maintain, and isn't always cute anyway.

Who did it?
Alexa Zagorites at Modern Concepts Salon in Ashburn, VA

How much did it cost?
$70

What do you do to maintain it now?
Same wash routine as before, with a couple new cheaper products that are easily accessible, that I hope to review soon, and I don't make deliberate sections, but it's much quicker with half the amount of hair. I just let my hair air dry, and this is what I get.

I talk about the cut in a video below. So, what do you think?

Hair Candy for Naja

I haven't talked hair in a while. I wanted to share the cutest lil' hair candies I found for Naja. Giddy Giddy sells cute little felt hair clips for girls. I purchased clips for Naja on sale through The Mini Social (a sale site for kids). Naja is pictured below wearing the strawberry little girl hair clip. I typically just clip it somewhere in her hair in the front, just like I showed you here.

Nothing special, but it works. The clips are easy to put in, and they also don't fall out. They are very safe, even for Naja's curly hair with the felt being the 'back' to the clip. I purchased six clips in total. The first set of three: 1. A birthday cake, 2. A pink & green flower, 3. A strawberry.

The final set of three (which are my favorite): 1. A squirrel with a pink bow; 2. A bunny rabbit; 3. A snail. Seriously - how cute are these?

Lost Focus

I finally did it - I got a hair cut. Really, it's more of a hair shaping, and I love it. It ias exactly what I needed to channel my version of a Bad @ss Afro.

I know this picture is blurry, but I thought it still captured my fro's essence. I have no complaints about my hair for once, and I'm on Day 4 now. #winning.

If you're wondering about the cut, I went to a Deva Curl stylist at Modern Concepts Salon in Ashburne, VA named Alexa. She was not black, however she did have curly hair, and she knew what she was talking about. Those Deva Curl stylists know textured hair, Taren got her hair cut by one in NY, and she also did a very good job (click here to watch). I went to the salon with a fresh chunky twist-out. She cut my hair in its twist-out state (dry). She took about 4 inches off in the very back, and cut ~2 inches on the sides, and pieces here and there. She didn't charge me, because the amount she cut was minimal. However, it's crazy how much of a difference a couple of inches can make to a shape. I would definitely recommend her.

Retro Flat Twist/Braid Video

After multiple comments and requests, I carved out some time to film a quick video on the hairstyle I sported last week. The video is very brief - I hope not too brief - but the style is quite simple: Flat twist in the front, and two french braids in the back. This style can be done on all hair types. While my pictures show the style on my natural hair, I straightened it last weekend and did the tutorial on my straightened hair. Also note that the lighting is better - not perfect, but better;) Enjoy!

Retro Twist-Braid Style

**Update - I ended up creating a tutorial for this style, you can find it here on youTube.

It is rare that I find a hair blog exciting these days. However, I stumbled across A Curl's Best Friend and found the content to be fresh and eye-catching. The style I'm "modeling" is a copycat from this post. I love to see new ideas and contributions to the natural hair online community. Shout out to Shanti and Antoinette for doing their thing!

This style is so creative, and retro. It's something I could totally see Autumn rock. I would have never thought to mix flat twisting with braiding in this way. I loved the look as soon as I saw it! I personally think it looks better on Shanti because the "hang-time" adds to the retro feel this style portrays, however my lack of length did not stop me from going for it. *I did this style on stretched hair, and it took me about 15 minutes.

Sugar and spice

I got my hair straightened on Friday, and I love it. It got frizzy pretty quickly, but I like the look of "big hair" so i'm all for it. I think this will be my look for the fall and winter...I will be attempting to teach myself how to do it once every week, or maybe every two weeks. I'm not worried about heat damage, and here are a couple of reasons why:

1. There are naturals who straighten regularly and experience no visible curl loosening.
2. Yes, I know it will be added "damage" to my hair, but we "damage" our hair whenever we detangle, style, or touch it right? Yes, it may be too much for some, however I got my hair straightened regularly in middle school and NEVER experience heat damage. This was for 2 years of bi-weekly hair pressing. Thus, I know my hair can handle this, when done properly.
3. Loo's recent post totally gave me some validation for it, and I really appreciated it.
4. I'm really happy with my hair's current length. I'm content with MAINTAINING this length.
5. Long hair is no longer my holy grail, however I am still aiming for healthy hair. I believe you can have healthy hair, and have it straightened regularly.

Sorry for the poor picture quality - I used my phone. A picture is better than no picture, right?

New Hairstyle

I can't remember the last time I did a post about hair. This is due to many reasons. One of which can be easily attributed to my indecision when it comes to me and my hair.  Another is my recent lack of inspiration with my hair, in general. I seriously consider chopping it all off once a week. WELL, I recently was *inspired* by one of the style icons of at BGLH. Lurie is a beautiful woman with GORGEOUS hair! I wanted to style my hair to look exactly like one of the styles she displayed in her interview. Well, my style did not turn out to look like Lurie's, but it's a nice version of a that style, so it's "new."

I don't know when/if I'll have time to do a tutorial (considering I barely want to do my hair). However, I'll try to explain how I did this style. I created a side part. Did flat twists on the side with the least amount of hair. I did medium-sized two-strand twists on the side with more hair. Then, I folded and pinned the two-strand twists to my liking, and used bobby pins to secure them. The entire style took me about one hour. I'm not sure that the tutorial makes sense. I tried to take enough pictures so that you could see the style from every angle.

I think this style is a really elegant natural style, and is great for a special occasion, or a professional, office setting. If you try this style, let me know!!!

The Unavoidable

Ok, I've totally been avoiding hair posts because frankly, I don't know what I want to do with it. I took my braids down after one week because they were giving me a headache. I couldn't wear them down because it was too hot - and when I wore them up - my head hurt. I had enough things hurting on me to deal with hair being an additional cause. Prior to that, I used the previous weeks, to allow me to "get to know" my hair again. I had been doing the same routine for a while, and I felt like I reached a break point, and should switch some things up.

Switching things up included the following:

• Adding a monthly protein treatment to my routine
• Trying more out styles
• Dry detangling vs. wet detangling 
• Finger detangling vs. comb/brush detangling

My thoughts on protein treatment for my hair...
I purchased the book, The Science of Black Hair, and the author spoke a lot about the importance of protein and moisture balance. I typically don't do any protein treatments for my hair - so I think monthly protein treatments will be a nice addition. I've only done two thus far, so I can't tell now whether or not it's made a difference. More on that later...

My thoughts on out styles for my hair...
For some reason, I think that I forget how kinky and coarse my hair can be. I had the NERVE to try a wash-n-go, SMH. Needless to say - it came out to be a tightly coiled afro that was absolutely dry and so coiled that I gave myself an additional headache finger-combing to detangle it. Out styles like braid outs seem to be fine, however I would need to re-twist/re-braid/bun it nightly to ensure my hair stays stretched. I need to come to terms with the fact that if I wear my hair out - it needs to be re-twisted at night. Period. I'm still unsure as to whether or not nightly re-twisting will be "too much" manipulation. However, if I can maintain my current length, I think I could deal with the fact that my hair is not APL, because I personally prefer wearing my hair out, over twists, unless they're the mini twists.

Dry vs. wet detangling for my hair with non-traditional tools...
I've been able to do several people's hair recently. When I saw the minimal hair loss from their detangling sessions, I thought I should try switching things up. When I say "dry detangle" I should use quotes, because I do spritz my hair with a water/aloe vera/castor oil mix to help the detangling process. Additionally - I have put down my comb, and left all detangling to my fingers. We'll see how this works with regards to length retention.

In Summary...
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my hair. Some people with kinky hair still have soft hair, which makes it more manageable, IMO. However, my hair is a different beast. I want to rock an afro like Solange, Esperanza or Julia. Although, I'm not sure what my length retention will be with that as my signature style. Additionally, two-strand twists and braids generate SSKs, unless I do big ones - which are not cute on me to say the least. Also, I started looking at some of my hair idols, like Sera, and I think her hair grows a LOT faster than mine. Her hair at her year 2 mark is longer than my hair is now, and I've been growing it for a solid 3 years. With everybody going natural now, I think it can be discouraging to see folks at their one or two-year marks with hair that is longer than mine (hello CharyJay and Nikkimae). I know I shouldn't compare myself, but I'm human, and it makes me wonder: What am I missing? Is it just genetic? Is it just my hair? What's the deal?!?!?!

Right now, I'm re-grouping and re-focusing. I took A DAY to install some micro twists. I hope to keep them for at least one month. I can wash my hair with them, and style it as I like. See pictures below.

 **Excuse the bags under my eyes, war wounds of having a newborn...and no makeup

I just wanted to give you all an update - you can see why I haven't said much. This hair is getting on my last nerve, AGAIN! I will either cut it, go back to locs, or continue on this unpleasant free-strand journey that seems to turn up no positive results...past shoulder length. I think if I was seeing more success I wouldn't feel the need to cut it, because I would know I was getting results. However now, I feel like I'm getting nowhere, and the time commitment isn't worth the poor results.

New Beginnings with Locs

In my last hair post, I stated that I planned on locking my hair. I two-strand twisted my hair on wet hair, with the intentions of starting my loc process from the twists. I'm 3 weeks into my locking process and I stumbled across a video from one of my favorite youTubers who happens to have locs. After watching her video, I've decided to take down my twists, and start over. I've started locs before, but never on my own. Additionally, I didn't find any of the tips below in my quasi-research before I started my locks.

BronzeGoddess01 really hit the nail on the head with some important starter loc tips for those folks who are doing it all on their own (click here to see the video). Watching her video led me to summarize a couple of tips that may help those who are considering starting locs on their own. These are things I wish I had thought about in detail prior to doing my twists...

1. Make neat, practical parts. When you venture on a loc journey, you are setting your hair style for years to come. Thus if you like to style your hair with a certain look/goal, it's important to keep parting in mind. Make sure all of the parts you make work with any type of style you may want to try (flat twists, side part, middle part, etc.). I used a triangle method for my parts, when I should have just done straight box parts. This is the main reason I plan on restarting.
2. Make all of your twists in the same direction. This is a big help down the road, and will help the locking process with the added consistency. Coming from 2 years of free-strand naturalness, I didn't even think about this. When I went to re-twist my hair, I realized that some were twisted clockwise, while others were counter-clockwise! When I restart my locs, I will choose one direction and stick to it!
3. Know what size you want your locs to be. Understand that this is not necessarily a one-size fits all kind of thing. Parts of your hair that may be thin (Ex. edges) may have more hair at the root, while thicker parts may have less. Overall, I'm pleased with the part sizes I chose in the front, however I think I did them a little too big in certain parts of the back.
4. Take your time when starting your locs. Be sure to set aside a reasonable amount of time to start your locks. I started my locs out of frustration, AND after I did a friends' hair, at about 1 am. CLEARLY, I was tired when I started them.

Those are the main points I would have really benefited from knowing in starting my own locs a couple of weeks ago. I kind of did it on a whim, but this time I'll be ready to start and not look back. Completing my first re-twist this past weekend, confirmed that locs are the style for me. I washed and re-twisted my hair in ~1.5 hours. I then sat under a dryer for 30 minutes, and let the rest air dry overnight. This means I'm looking at a bi-weekly routine of 2 hours, AND I don't have to worry about styling my hair every time I wash it. Pure awesomeness.

I plan on re-twisting my hair with every wash until my hair is at the teenage loc stage. Due to my active lifestyle - I can't go more than two weeks without washing my hair, and I doubt that I will like the look of my twist/locs without a re-twist. I'll be sure to be gentle on my edges. Once I'm at the teenage stage, I will move to monthly re-twisting, and wash my hair as needed. I can already tell from week 3 that my hair will loc fairly quickly with the two-strand twists. I didn't run into any issues of my twists unraveling or coming undone after a thorough wash. In fact, I'm a little worried about this take-down, but I'm sure it will all work out just fine!

Length check and long overdue hair update

I took pictures last week to check my hair growth progress (quarterly check in). I was really disappointed. Generally speaking, it looks like it has not grown AT ALL in the past three months.

I'm not sure if the lack of growth is a farse because I use my body as a measurement tool, or if it's a fact because I've had some serious breakage, or if it's a fact because I've reached my hair's break point AKA critical length (Jc talks about it here and here). I measured my hair with a ruler and got the following measurements:

Front - 9.5"
Side - 9"
Back - 7.5"

Check the side-by side January/April comparisons...




I don't know exactly what the deal is but I do know that my hair has never been longer than the length it is currently at. The last time it was this long was when I was a freshman in high school - over 10 years ago. The books I've read highlight that when hair reaches this break point, it needs extra TLC, perhaps even a change in regimen.  The lack of progress has led me to frustration...and to wear my hair out last week - I know counterproductive. Additionally, if I still plan on participating in Loo's hair challenge, I need to keep my hair in 2-week sets of twists until baby Naja comes.

So, what's my plan? Here's a quick recap: Weeks 9-10 I wore a flat twist updo, weeks 11-12, I wore two-strand twists, and week 13 I wore a series of out styles. I'm moving into week 14 of the 6-month challenge. Saturday night I two-strand twisted my hair, after a fresh wash, with the intention to start locs moving forward.

I decided to do this because I don't want to spend hours on my hair at this point in my life. I want to be presentable, and I want to have long hair. I cannot seem to achieve all of these things without committing a significant amount of time to my hair (4+ hours a week). And to be frank - I'm tired of dealing with it. I really just want easy hair right now, and when you have hair like mine, managing it to be healthy is WORK!

I mentioned locking my hair in previous post here. While I don't love everything about locs, I also don't love everything about being a free-strand natural. Thus I decided to go with the style that gives me the least amount of grief, paired with the most satisfaction for my current wants and needs. Technically speaking, I should really be able to continue with the challenge if I stick with my plan of locking my hair. In short, that's the plan. I have more details below for those of you with more questions.

Answers to other questions for my hair enthusiasts
Why did you start with two-strand twists (in contrast with comb coils)? Because of the length of my hair. I called a salon to ask them what they normally do to start locs on shoulder-length natural hair, and they said they would do two-strand twists.
Why didn't you go to a professional? When I called the salon and they told me they would start my locs with two-strand twists, I thought it would be wasteful to pay them to do something I do well. Why pay them upwards of $120?
Are you aiming for free form locs? No, I used a comb for all of my parts and plan to keep my parts separated and neat.
Do you plan to go to a professional for re-twisting/styling? Nope.
How many twists did you do? About 80 in total. The first two times I loc'd - I went for really small ones, now I realize that I'd prefer medium-sized locs, about the size of a pen.
What products did you use on your twists? A mix of flaxseed oil and aloe vera gel. I plan to use this mix for re-twisting.
How long did it take you to twist your hair? 2.5 hours
How often do you plan to re-twist your hair? Monthly, perhaps every 2 weeks for the first couple of months.
Are you REALLY SERIOUS about this? I can't say for certain that I won't change my mind, but I will say that I have a lot of things changing in my life now, and I feel like now is a great time to make this move. My hair has been very symbolic of what is going on in my life. I feel like transitioning into a low(er) maintenance category is a good move right now. There's something about locs that are low-key and beautiful. Locs require patience and waiting...there are definite parallels to my personal life.

If I missed something - feel free to ask a question in the comments.

Mini-Twist Pomp Updo Tutorial

Hello Lovelies! I recorded this video last night to show you how I achieved the hairstyle I've been rocking this week. It's really easy - under 5 minutes and requires less than 5 bobby pins easy. Enjoy!

PS - The number of hair posts I put up is directly related to how I'm feeling about it at the moment. So, now, I'm somewhat irked by it. I'm hoping "we both" come around soon - full update next week!

Curly Shirley & 3in6 Update

Both of my outfit posts this week feature my "Curly Shirley" hairstyle. To achieve this style, I did a simple roller set using the snap-on magnetic rollers pictured below.

These snap-on magnetic rollers are ideal for my kinky hair, because the snap-piece helps smooth my kinks to achieve this curly look. I bought the rollers from Sally's for $2.29 for a pack of 8. I set my hair on freshly washed and detangled hair. I used my Denman to smooth each section of hair before rolling it. I used the medium (pink) rollers in the front, and the back. I used the small (green) rollers on the sides. I prefer the medium size, so next time I try this style, I plan on buying more in the medium (pink) size. I can't remember exactly how many rollers I used, but I believe I used somewhere around 30 rollers. Rolling my hair took about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Since I started this style at midnight, I slept in the rollers and sat under a dryer in the morning to ensure my hair was dry. It was of the utmost importance that I made sure my hair was 100% dry for the style to come out. It was equally important to choose small sections. I applied my usual moisturizer/sealant of Aloe Vera Gel and Castor Oil after the wash to each detangled section, and used Bee Mine Curly Hold Butter on each rolled section to set my curls. Here are some pictures.

Unfortunately, it rained on Monday, and since I work outside and wear a hard hat, my hair was on the road to ruins. Since I knew it would start to kink quickly, and become difficult to manage, I did some chunky twists on Monday. Thus, I'm back into my protective styles!

3in6 Update
Now for the official update. I know what you're thinking..."Wait - I thought you HAD to wear protective styles for the challenge." Well - Loo has graciously allowed us two one-week periods to wear our hair out. I rarely wear my hair out for more than 2 days anyway, so I just used this week as one of my weeks. This is what my hair styling looked like for weeks 5-8...


Weeks 5, 6 & 7: I wore mini-twists.
Week 8: I started off with this roller set, and will wrap things up with some chunky two-strand twists done on dry hair.

PS - I definitely think I have gained some length, I will get around to a length check some time around week 9.

Urkel/Color Blocking Twist Updo Tutorial

I follow a handful on channels on youTube. I specifically enjoy following channels of loc'd folks, because they are very creative with style options. Since I wear twists all the time, I find that I can adapt a lot of the loc hairstyles for my twists. Marktastic0 is a contributor to chescalocs channel, and he has shorter locs. I like his tutorials a lot. I followed his tutorial to a tee for the hair style shown in my Color Blocking and Grandma Urkel posts. Enjoy!

Click here for a link to the original video post.

Click here for a link to Marktastic0's channel.

Click here for a link to chescalocs channel.

Congo Inspired Hair Style

**UPDATE: I forgot to tell you where the Congo-inspiration came from**

Happy Monday Everyone! Check out the video below for a tutorial on a Congo-inspired style I did. I did this style back in January and just got a chance to upload the video. It is protective, and it's pretty easy also. It has full bantu knots on the top and a roll-style in the back. Enjoy!

PS - this weekend I took outfit pics - YAY! I'm going to try my best to get back to daily posting, because I really do missing blogging. Here's to being hopeful, and to a great week!

Why the Congo inspiration? I originally saw a video posted by afr0st0ry with a picture of a Congolese woman with a similar hair style. Her entire head had these type of fuller bantu knots. Additionally, she appeared to have some type of mud mask in her hair. The style looked very nice, so that's where the inspiration came from! Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a picture that resembles this woman's hairstyle, and I can't find the original video either, but that's where the Congo-inspiration came from.

3in6 Hair Challenge Update

I'm right in the midst of week 4 of the 3in6 Hair Challenge, and I'm surprised to say that I've learned and re-learned some things about my hair. I'll break my learning's down by weeks.

Weeks 1-2: I wore small/medium two-strand twists. I washed my hair at the end of week two, and I noticed that a lost very little hair in my wash session - probably half of what I typically lose. I think this was due to the fact that I went straight from to my twists to my wash routine. I normally wear my hair out for one or two days after twists. Observing the minimal hair shedding/loss led me to see that even one to two days of wearing my hair out in loose form affects my hair retention.

Weeks 3-4: I attempted a new protective style at the beginning of week 3, and it was an ultimate FAILURE! The style was a side-cornrow style with the rest of my hair in medium-sized two-strand twists. After I saw the style, I realized that I do not like cornrow styles on me - personal preference. After the failed attempt, I twisted my hair in small two-strand twists. Since I did the FAILED style on wet hair, I also lost more hair than I expected due to re-detangling my semi-dry hair. I haven't twisted my hair on wet hair in over a year. I decided to try this old routine, because I didn't know when I would have time to twist it in the coming days. To my surprise, I found that this method of twisting on wet hair led to more detangling and hair breaking than I remembered. Clearly, that is something I won't do again. I really was about to call the challenge quits at the beginning of week 3, because I was not feeling how my hair was looking. Thankfully, I found another updo style for my twists that I received tons of compliments for, and that I love. Check out pics below.

I'm contemplating box braids for my Week 5-6 hairstyle, however I think I don't like box braids on me, so maybe I should just stick to twists...However, I know I'm getting tired of twists so I'm not sure what I'll decide...maybe I'll just bite the bullet and do some mini-twists - only time will tell!

Loo's Hair Challenge - I'm In

Hello Lovelies, you know how I feel about a challenge...bring it on!!! I decided last minute to participate in Loo's 3in6 hair challenge. The challenge is based off of the idea that hair grows an average of 0.5 inches every month, so it's a 6-month challenge, with a goal to retain 3 inches by following the rules below.

1. Eat fresh fruits and veggies
2. Take a daily multivitamin
3. Drink lots of water
4. Wear twists or braids for 2-4 weeks at a time
5. No direct heat
6. Pre-poo with coconut oil for 20 minutes SS: I'm subbing coconut oil with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose because my hair doesn't like coconut oil, and I checked with Loo ;-)
7. No trimming

This is how I feel about the rules...I pretty much have numbers 1-3 covered already. I washed my straight hair on Friday (1/28/11) to return to my kinks. I dusted my ends when I straightened it so numbers 5 and 7 are covered. I already do number 6. My main issue is rule number 4, it's going to be tough for me. Loo advises to re-twist your edges weekly and/or to wash hair while in twists. I don't know, I hope I last, but we'll see how this goes! As of know, I'm rolling into the end of week 2 of the two-strand twists I did on Sunday (1/30/11), and they - surprisingly - are holding up fairly well. Check out pics for this super cute updo!

I came up with this updo based on a style I rocked when my dreads started getting longer when I was locking. This style has three flat twists in the back twisted towards the top of my head. I then twisted the ends from the three flat twists into one flat twist on the top of my head. I also did one additional flat twist in the front on one side. Then, I pinned the other side back. Hopefully this makes sense. If I find time, I'll make a video. The first week I wore my typical side-swoop low "bun" with bangs.

Are any of you participating in this challenge? PS - if you don't know about Loo - check her out, she has GORGEOUS HAIR and her blog is pretty cool too!