ACT-SO calls

Hey guys no new posts for the next two weeks. I will be back right after my science fair and oratory competition is over. More hair and health posts to come!

Twists and Turns: My Two Strand Twist Journey

I spent all most all of last Autumn and Fall in prective styles. In 2009 I gave myself horibal heat damage by keeping my press longer through constant flat ironing ( haven't gotten pressed since!). I learned that when you get a press let your hair go back when it wants, dont try to go back over it with a flat iron! After going through most of the summer constantly wearing bantu knot outs (it is a great style that worked well with both parts of my hair. The hair that didn't go back from the press, and the hair that did) without moisturizing my hair enough or giving it a rest. I noticed that my hair had broken off noticeably... I went protective style crazy! I wore my (own) hair braided into a bun for months on end getting the same style over and over again to hid the large sections of my hair in the front did not go back to my texture. What I didn't know at the time was that I have about three different textures in my hair ( baby hair on the edges, a tight curls above my ears, and kinks everywhere else) which responded the worst to my excessive flat ironing. Washing, Conditioning, Moisturizing, and braiding my hair once a week did wonders for my hair and helped it recover. But back to twisting. I had not been twisting hair most of last year because the straight hair didn't hold a twist ( without without drying hair are twisting in rollers) at all. After five months of my braids only regimen my hair had grown out and it was time for a cut. I went to a natural hair salon and had my hair cut and twisted.

I know funny pose, this is the only picture I have that shows the front.
 The back it just twists that have been dried in curling rods. 

I got inspired and next time I washed my hair. I quickly twisted that back and did some flat twists in the front ( my hair was/is uneven in the front) and wore it for a week it wasn't the best but it worked. At this point i only had about a half an inch of burnt hair left at the crown of my head.

first time in a while. Notice the the straighter ends of my hair at the top.
 thats the hair that didn't go back. 

In the back I didn't  twist the hair
 from the roots and it showed.

flat twists on top.

One of the second times

Right

This time in the back I made sure to twist the roots of my hair.

left

The same diagonal parts in the front.

I did my hair like this a couple of other times than I started to excrement with different parts in the front. I have always loved two strand twists because they are sooooooo versatile. Twists are to me an easy classic style, they can be a big or small as you want. Depending on the size of the twist it can take anywhere from seven to three hours and lasts about three weeks if you sleep with a scarf. It is definitely a staple style for me!

update:
Over the years my technique has improved to the point that I am often asked "who did your hair?" to which I reply "I did" with a smile. To see some of my more current twist/flat twist creations click on my hair style index page.  

Unparted Territory: The Return of The Partial Two Strand Twists

In the back I did the twists just small enough not to show any scalp.

This is a new style for me, when I started out twisting my hair I thought I was going to do much smaller flat twists in the front but alas because of the short hair in front that is a result of the hair breakage that happened (a little behind the hair line in two places) two weeks ago I did bigger flat twists. I am happy I did, not only because it concealed the uneven lengths but also because it was refreshing to be done in a faster time. I will definitely be doing larger twists more often.

Unparted Territory: New Flat Twist Style

 

   

When I did my hair three days ago I had pictured something totally different. In between parts of my hair on the front being very short and chance this is what I ended up with. Throughout the style I combined flat twists more out of laziness than anything else. I like it mostly because it has the simplistic look I go for. Its not amazing but it is new and I have to change things up. I love two strand twists and only reason I have not been wearing them is because of a dandruff ( much, much better! all but gone) breakout I have been dealing with since last month. So I have been wearing styles that are less time consuming to do so I can wash my hair when needed.

Weathering Your Natural Climate

We all face our own unique natural hair climate, and even though some areas seem similar they each posses a one of a kind character.

What kinds of reactions do you get when you walk into the room with your hair? Do you get the "whats on her head" look or the "ohhh I wish my hair did that" reaction? Living in a euro-centric society afro hair textures and the variety they come in are grossly misunderstood. I have been in groups where I felt my hair didn't stand out at all and others where I was the "natural" in the room. The number of things that effect the reactions you will get from other people are enumerable! What I have found is that the diversity of your area can be as much of an asset as a setback when developing a strong confidence with your hair. Although things are much better than they were (trust me!) the response you get from Black people may be more negative than from White people. People who have not been taught that relaxers are the only way are sometimes more open minded and also don't have the same hair traumas to deal with. 

If you are natural or going natural for the first time remember most of the time people are more curious about your hair than you are. So little is known about natural hair today even though the natural hair revolution is here. These are some methods for dealing with your Climate. 

•  Play it off, even if you don't feel the best about your hair that day sometimes a little confidence makes all the difference.
• Don't feel the need to respond to negative comments, if a person doesn't have an open mind they can't be convinced of anything. 
• Do not confine yourself to "acceptable" styles, at the end of day all that matters what YOU think about your hair and makes YOU happy with YOUR hair. 

 Once you know what the weather will be you can work around it and soon you will master your hair and your climate.  

. 

Unparted territory: new parts, new styles

This is a new style that I got the inspiration for from the picture below..

Image from blackwomennaturalhairstyles.com 

Although I originally wanted the back to look like the picture above it didn't come out the way I wanted. I improvised, and ended up with a Jenelle Monae esque style. I liked the style but I think I made the flat twists that I had already twisted frizzy as I continued twisting the rest of my head because this style became very frizzy too early. All and all I liked it and it was nice to try something different. I will experiment with this style next time I'm feeling adventurous.