Last Sunday my mother finished installing my waist-length braids.
This is the first time I've worn braids in about two years, and I've never had braids so long. I was a bit uncomfortable swinging around all the hair on my head and they also felt quite heavy for the first few days, but I've since adjusted to the weight.
Whenever I saw women with waist-length, or longer, braids I always thought, "Why would anyone want to wear super long extensions??." I assumed that it must be a pain in the neck to take care of them.
Now, I see that they really aren't so annoying, and I love the elegant look I get from wearing the braids cascading around me.
The most annoying thing about them was figuring out how to seal the ends. My mom used 'Xpressions', 100% kanekalon hair, which was very light but tangled very easily when manipulated. I tried plaiting the braids to the very end, then dipped them in boiling hot water. So far, most of the ends have stayed but some are already unraveling.
And here is a video of some styles I plan to wear if I'm not lazy.
Yesterday I quickly washed my braids, skipped deep conditioning and proceeded to use a braid spray, then sealed my hair with jojoba oil. Next weekend I'll show my hair some much needed tender loving care by doing a lengthy deep conditioning session.
This was my first attempt at the "fishtail braid". I found a really good tutorial on youtube and decided to try it out, since I was feeling a bit bored with my hair.
The braid isn't perfect since it's my first try, so I'm definitely going to practice styling it just right. :)
This braid is much easier to create than it looks! It just takes a bit of practice to get used to twisting the hair.
Loose fishtail braid :)
In the picture above, I removed the hair elastic at the nape of my neck, then gently pulled on my hair to loosen the braid a bit. I think that when my hair grows out longer this style will be much cuter.
Today I had my hair relaxed at the salon at 6 and a half weeks post.
Yes I know what you must be thinking...what the heck's wrong with me?!
I only relaxed before 8 weeks post because I'm travelling home this week and next week is Christmas. I doubted whether I would be able to find a working hairdresser after this week. Anyway, after my relaxer I declined the offer of a trim as I am determined to trim my hair myself...properly this time! lol
On my hair journey I've already had one set back in length due to a "trim" by my previous hairdresser, and I switched in good faith to my sister's salon in refuge. Unfortunately, scissor-happiness seems to run in hair salons.
So I decided that I would trim my hair myself. I've tried to do this over the past few months but I really wasn't sure how to get all the uneven ends throughout my hair. Sectioning my hair in two ponytails and trimming the ends wasn't enough to cut off the ends of the shorter layers of my hair.
To help solve this problem I did done some research and found a couple of interesting videos that should help me to do a better self trim.
1. Search and Destroy Method. This involves twisting the hair to reveal shorter layers that "poke out" from the rest of the section of twisted hair. This will allow me to cut off the ends of shorter hairs throughout my head.
2. Feye's Method for a U shape cut. I actually learned about this method through Jeni's blog, justgrowalready.com as she uses it herself. Here is her original post and a video of how she trims her hair.
I won't be cutting off as much as the woman does in the video (hopefully) but I thought that this method should be great for shaping up my ends.
Honestly, I'm anxious about self-trimming because I don't want to accidentally cut off too much hair...At the same time I don't want to cut too little and remain with split ends again =(
Do you have any more advice on how to trim my own hair?
I slept with my hair in two braids, then in the morning I finger-combed my hair into a top bun. Even though I got really loose waves, I loved the volume I was able to achieve, especially as my hair was just relaxed on Saturday. =)
If you read some of my previous posts you would have realized how much I love Megan's videos! She was my very first youtube hair-spiration who motivated me to start my own hair journey.
I found out about this cute chic from reading loveyourtresses.com. Laila-Jean transitioned from relaxed to natural hair and is now rocking a head-full of beautiful curls! I always admire ladies who are able to take great care of their natural tresses, making amazing looking natural hair the newest envy on the block. ;)
Jen! What more can I say? Besides reading every one of her posts and scouring her blog several times a week, I use Jen as a real hair-spiration for what I want my hair to look like some day! She's transitioning from relaxed to telaxed hair and so far she's almost middle-back length. Every post about her journey is informative and, okay, I admit it, I'm a bit addicted to her site!
Ms Ebony, like Jen, is a seasoned lady on her hair journey and likewise inspires me very much. She has hosted many hair challenges (like the Six Month Rollerset) and recently debuted her first e-book! Check out her website, you won't regret it. =)
Ahhhh, Nadege. May I say she is the top of the top of hair-spiration? Her blog was the first I found that I thought was the key to healthy, long relaxed hair. lol Nadege is always on the look-out to discover better and better products for her hair and blogs about her progress. Jen and Nadege's blog definitely top my list of best hair blogs.
Yup! A great forum site to ask, discuss and receive answers on all and anything hair related. Reminds me of longhaircareforum.com but honestly I prefer hairlista! Like LHCF, you must have an account to access the forum and create a profile. However, the set-up is easy and I recommend any serious hairlista to sign up for the site to expand her knowledge of hair care (both natural and relaxed). Are you a hairlista like me? Check out my hairlista page here.
The best natural hair care site I've found so far! Like I said before, I admire natural-haired ladies and I can see myself transitioning back to natural hair in the future. After searching youtube I came across Mae's channel, which linked to her site naturalchica.com. Interested in transitioning, caring for natural hair, or, (like me) just love to look at gorgeous hair? haha this is the site for you. Mae also provides tons of great info from hair doctors and other professionals about natural hair care.
I hope these sites inspire you as they inspired me!
Are any of these sites among your favourites? Did I miss any?
Last night I was randomly searching youtube when I came across some fantastic videos by user thecherrydollface. She did a hair tutorial of a 1950's look: curly and verrry cute. Look at her hair! Gosh I am in love with that red/pink colour =)
I just love the big, soft curls she made. Pincurling them while they cool is supposed to help the curls "set", I think. This look was created using a curling iron, but when I try it I think I'll use rollers. I don't think flexi-rods might give me the kind of curl I need...but who knows?
Also! Who wouldn't fall in love with this pin-up girl look?! x.x
