No Heat Hair Straightening Technique

I don't normally post things about how to straighten your hair, but I have been wanting to learn this No Heat Hair Straightening Technique for soooo long that I felt like it was my duty to share my fabulous results with ya'll.

You do not have to watch both videos, but they each have something to offer as far as tips, techniques, and general information goes. I apologize that I could not find any videos that were shorter in length. I tried. Feel free to skip through some of the nonsense parts and go straight to the meat of the videos. You will not be missing much. I used more of the techniques from the first video, but I did have to use clips (actually I used bobby pins), like the second video suggested, to keep things in place.

I wrapped last night before I went to bed. Yesterday was an unusual day for me in that I washed my hair and did NOT wear it curly (Gasp of horror!). Instead I put it up into a french braid so that by the end of the day my hair (of which I have A LOT) was still slightly damp in the center. I proceeded to wrap my hair with it being damp in places.

When I woke up this morning, I took down my hair and found that it had straightened considerably. However, I still had some waves on the left side of my head (I had wrapped my hair going from right to left, so clockwise). Since I happened to have some time where I didn't have anyplace to be, I went ahead and re wrapped it going in the opposite direction, so counter clockwise. I kept it wrapped for a few hours (2-3 hrs not sure) and then took it out. The left side was MUCH straighter this time, although I did have a few kinks from the bobby pins.  I took those few pieces that were kinked and straightened them out with my flat iron. I know, I know...it was not totally heat free, but hey this was my first time. :)

Below are pictures of how it turned out. Try it out yourself and let me know how it turns out. :) P.S. I slept fine. It was no different than wearing my plopping towel to bed.

Make your own shampoo

 

Because I know that some of you out there like to to dabble in experimentation, I am posting these videos just for you. I haven't tried them yet, so please let me know what you think. I personally think I will be trying the No-Poo version first, once my current cleanser runs out.

This second video is a bit more advanced, but looks like it yields a very nice low-poo kind of shampoo. You could use Dr. Bonner's Castile liquid soap as your base instead of making this one and then doctor it up with the ingredients you need for you hair.

Happy soaping! :)

Coarse haired curlies and dry climates

So I have been on vacation for a couple of weeks in Utah, and I found out very quickly that my coarse hair did NOT like the dry environment.

In case you don't remember from my previous article on the differences between fine and coarse hair, coarse hairs are lacking in the moisture department but doing great when it comes to protein. So the dry desert weather in Utah has been doing nothing to help my moisture challenged hair.

In comes Deva curl's new product, Set up and Above, to the rescue. Sort of like a pomade, with all it's oily, moistury, goodness, it added back just the right amount of oomph to my parched locks (as depicted by the pictures below).

I would definitely recommended this product to any of my coarse haired curly clients living in dry weather conditions.

Update: 7/5/12
I am back home and once again in the humid Texas weather and I am still loving this product! I use much less, but I love the definition it brings to my curls even here.

Deva curls B'leave-in and Aquage Defining Gel

Since the last product article I did was for coarse hair, I thought today I would do one for fine hair. You know...to level out the playing field.;) I have been using Aquage defining gel in the salon, on my fine haired clients, for a couple years now. While it's not been the right fit for everyone, it has been a big favorite with a majority of these clients (as they keep coming back time and time again to replenish their supply). I personally like the way the clients hair looks so much more defined and holds its shape well. I have more recently begun cocktailing Deva Curl's B'leave-in with the Aquage defining gel. Why? Because B'leave-in has protein in it, which fine hair needs, and I wanted to try it out, but I was not ready to commit to using it by itself. My observation has been that it does seem to give the hair a more bounce. These two products do not need to be cocktailed to be effective. Although I have not used B'leave-in by itself yet, I am confident it would do well on it's own. And of course I know, from years of experience, that Aquage defining gel does well on it's own too. So mix them or by them separately, but don't pass them up all together cause you might just be missing out on the product that will be just right for you.

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Short hair headband braid

5 easy braids for wet hair

    Who doesn't need a quick easy way to style their hair?! I love all of these looks! They are great for summer time, when you are bumming around, or you can clean them up and wear them to the office.
     This would also be a perfect hair-do to use after your lunch workout, when you have to head back to work, but don't have time to dry and style your hair.

Milk maid braids for short hair

Updated 5/5/15: A commenter brought to my attention that the previous video I had linked in this post was no longer visible to the public, as it's creator had switched the video to private. I am replacing it with this shorter and very easy to follow tutorial that accomplishes the same objective. It's great for those who have shorter curly hair and want something different to do with it. It worked great on my chin length, short layered curly hair. Hope you enjoy it too. :)

Skip Curl Styling Technique

I personally do not use this technique (although I have in the past), but I really like the finished look. It didn't work as well for me but maybe it will work better for you. Tell me how it turns out for you.

Figure 8 curling with a marcel iron

I know that most of my readers only wear their hair naturally, but I also know some you of like to have a change every now and then. Using this technique on dry second day hair is a fun and interesting way to switch things up a bit. You do not need to have a Marcel iron to accomplished this same look. However, you will have to adapt it slightly to your curling iron. Remember this is an advanced technique, so don't beat yourself up if it takes you a while to figure it out.

Making the cut

There is nothing that a little haircut won't cure or, in some cases, a lot of haircut. It heals in many ways problems that otherwise would take years to fix. I had to be reminded of this the hard way. An unfortunate side effect of having gone so blonde was that my scalp could no longer endure the process of bleaching. Subsequently, I had to go progressively darker and darker even though my hair was in dire need of a rest from the coloring process. However, beauty does have its consequences. Eventually, I did have to cut off quite a bit of hair. Why you ask? Well not only was it dry and brittle but the curl was all but gone. Even employing my gentle hair techniques were not enough to overcome the damage caused by all the coloring. In the end I had to make a choice. Sad, frumpy, ugly hair or shorter, happier, healing hair. To wrap up just remember that when it seems hard to get your haircut but, because of damage, you need it; it is always worth it! Even though I was, and am still at times, saddened about having to start over in my hair growing process my curls are finaly back! And no amount of length can make up for that.

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A lesson to learn

Have you ever wondered to yourself ifu there is a connection between your hair coloring habits and your limp, dry curls? Well, after my own hair adventure today, I am here to say...absolutely yes there is!

Here is a picture to prove it. Compare to pervious pictures of my curls and you should be able to see how much more limp it looks now.

Folks don't do this at home. I did (again hazard of the profession) and 5 hrs, 3 processes, and a head full of 3rd degree chemical burns later (hey, once you start there is no turning back ... unless you like looking like a freak) I emerged with what you now see.

All I can say is that I am soo glad my hair was in GREAT condition before I started! I don't even want to begin to imagine what it would have been like if it wasn't.

My poor curls! :'( Not to fear though, if you do choose to follow in my footsteps, your curls will bounce back to healthy a whole lot faster, because the methods you use to care for your hair are so much more gentle and strengthening for your hair. From the inside, out.

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Hazards of being a cosmetologist

There are many benefits to being a cosmetologist. You get to work your own hours, meet lots of new people and hopefully make lots of new friends. But there are some some hazards. One being that, because you're always working on everyone else you don't have time to have your own hair cut or colored. And occasionally you get so fed up with it that you do something drastic, but not at the salon like you should, but rather at home in your bathroom.
Let's just say folks don't do this at home...

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Silicone or Not? What’s in a Name?

The link below will lead you to an article I recently read, at naturallycurly.com, about silicones. I found it to be extremely helpful in understanding the nature of silicones and why some are okay while others are not. I hope you find it to be as enlightening.

Silicone or Not? What’s in a Name?

Biking and hair

With spring upon us we've started crawling out of our homes and enjoying the sunshine. Just yesterday I rode my bike 8 miles. It was a beautiful day but also very windy.
That got me thinking, " how can I protect my hair from sun and wind damage?". This is what I came up with;
1. braid it or keep it in a high ponytail
2. keep as much as I can tucked up and hidden under my bicycle helmet
and
3. possibly coat the hair with sunscreen before I begin my ride.
I'm not so sure about the sunscreen but I'll try it out and tell you what I think. In the meantime, please feel free to comment on what's worked for you.

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Using Suave conditioner to Co-wash

Are you co-washing? Have you tried using suave or VO5 conditioners to co-wash with? Not all of the conditioners made by these two labels are suitable (because they have silicones) but their are some that are perfect for the job. My two favorites are Suave Green Apple and Suave Cherry Blossom. Using these conditioners are a very cost effective way the co-wash without having to break the bank. Just substitute the one of these conditioners for your shampoo and save the more expensive conditioners to actually condition with. I think you'll be happy with the results. ** Warning, do not undertake co-washing if you haven't first been taught how to properly do it.**

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Homemade flaxseed gel

Made my own flaxseed hair gel and I love it! My curls are bouncier and better defined.
To be honest I've had the flaxseeds sitting in my pantry for the past year. I've been procrastinating making it because I thought it would be harder and a lot more messy. It wasn't either. It was pretty simple and took hardly no time at all to make. The great thing about it is that once you understand how to make the basic recipe you can easily customize it to your hair needs(ie. no humectants and oils for those with fine hair, or no protiens for those with coarse hair) adding other ingredients to make it unique to you. Cool huh?
Since I know you're going to want it, here's the recipe.

Basic flaxseed hair gel recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup flaxseed
2 cups water

Tools you'll need:
Medium sized pot
Wire mesh strainer
Bowl
Squirt bottle with pour spout

Directions:
Pour flaxseed and water into a medium size pot. Place on stove and set heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and then allow to boil for about 5 minutes; stir often. Pay close attention during this time because you don't want it to overflow, adjust heat as neccasary. After 5 minutes turn heat down to low. Continue stirring until mixture thickens and makes a long slimey trail from the tip of the spoon down to the mixture, when you lift the spoon out of the mixture. It should be the consistency of egg whites.
When the gel is at the right consistency, turn of the stove and pour the liquid through the wire strainer into the bowl. You want to try to remove all the seeds, cause nobody wants seeds in their hair. :) Once gel has cooled slightly pour it into a squirt bottle with the help of a funnel. Allow to finish cooling and then put it in the fridge. It should stay good for up to two weeks in the fridge. You'll know when it's time to make more cause it will smell funny or it's all gone :)
Enjoy and let me know what you think.

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Growing pains

Well this blog has grown out of its britches and it's time to face facts. I have been trying to pretend that it could live the life of a split personality (half website and half blog), with out running into any issues. But I am positive that I have been deluding myself. So to remedy the situation I am in the process of creating a website to help clear up some of the issues I have run into. Please bear with me as I sort things out, but I promise you will be hearing a lot more from me in the near future.

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Curly Hairstyles Part 6

When I did this style on myself at home, I didn’t use any extensions. I also didn’t curl the top of my hair like he said to do at the beginning. I just kind of followed the basic idea of the style and recreated it in a way that fit my personality.

Curly Hair Styles Part 5

 

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this look on me, but I was pleasantly surprised with the finished style. This look is very easy to duplicate and didn’t take long to style.  Here is a picture of what it looked like on me.

Curly Hairstyles Part 4

This is a younger looking hairstyle. Although I think it could be pulled off by some older women too.