Wedding Styles for Natural Hair

Hundreds of thousands have lined the streets of London today to celebrate with Prince William and his new bride Kate Middleton.  Want to see the pictures from the royal wedding? Click here. 

If there's one day a woman wants her hair to be looking it's best, it's certainly at her wedding! Natural hair yields so much choice for brides.  Loose, locked, curly, twistout, rod set, straw set, canerowed, intricate and detailed or simple, sophisticated and understated. The choices are endess!  Errol Douglas MBE and owner of swanky salon in Knightsbridge gives instructions on how to achieve the above gorgeous double bun do here.

There are so many wedding/formal styles for transitioning or natural hair out there.  Here are a few ideas (**Pictures all found via our friend Google):

  



  

For more wedding hair inspiration, check out this blog - http://africanamericanweddinghairstyles.blogspot.com/.

I went for minitwists on my wedding day.  Regretfully I didn't have time on the day to style them as I would've liked so I wore it in a high bun with some curled twists framing my face in the front:

Off to enjoy another long weekend  : )

Pooks

Kimmaytube on Fros

So I recently watched this video by Kim Love, where she talked about why she doesn't wear an unstretched 'fro' - well, at least not intentionally.  She explained that it just leads to tangles and potential breakage which could all be avoided by just keeping her styles in the confines of 'stretched styles'.  For me personally, I totally agree with KT's sentiments because of my current hair length, and goals.  My hair out for extended periods just equals more detangling than I find fun, and potential breakage.  So while I used to love wearing my puffs, I've seriously cut back on them. 

This is all subjective - if you have less hair, a looser texture, or aren't fanatical about retaining length, or simply love an afro, then go 'head, pick it out and rock it, if you like it, I love it!

I think textured (twistout/braidout) out styles are the way forward, as long as I'm trying to retain length to achieve longer hair. 



Twistout puff Jan 2010



Fluffed out braidout puff Jan 2011

Chunky braidout Apr 2011

Peace and love,

Pooks

'Fluffy Cloud' Bun Tutorial

As promised...

Revolving Bookcase? Yes Please!

I have quite a collection of books, (former literature student, lover of language, private poet).

I used to get told off for walking and reading at the same time. 

I will (IJN) have a house with a library in it, one day. 

For now, I could make do with one (or several) of these...

Source

'Fluffy Cloud' Bun

After taking my minibraids down, I prepped my hair for this super simple updo  - YouTube tutorial coming soon!

Minibraids (and Length) Update

My hair will be back in another set of minibraids very soon.  Frequent exercising is cementing this as my perfect style for the upcoming month or so.

Today's Natural Queen: Kelsie

Meet Kelsie, an International Programme Coordinator from London.  I met the gorgeous curly and beauty enthustiast in college, and e-bumped into one another in recent years on fotki. She rocked her curls with the hotness at every stage - I'm a fan of her hair.  Enjoy...

How long have you been natural?  What was your reason for transitioning? [OR if you’ve never chemically altered your hair texture], why have you stayed natural?

I’ve been natural 3 years! (exclamation mark because I had to count lol). I transitioned from a “healthy” head of well kept relaxed hair because I got tired of stressing about maintaining my hair poker straight, worrying every time it rained or if it got too hot, having to shower as fast as Clark Kent changes in Superman  because the humidity would give me frizz, not being able to swim in the sea on holiday (because salt water + sun would wreck my hair i.e. make it curly) then  it would take me a min of 2hrs to fix it straight again.....sadly the list goes on.....

Relaxed 2007                                                              Big Chop

    

Tell us some of your hair journey and how you transitioned.

I transitioned for 3 months then BC’d to about 1.5inches of natural. For the first 12 months I trimmed regularly as I wanted to remove the scab hair as quickly as possible and get to the good stuff!

Does having natural hair hold any special significance for you, or is it ‘not that deep’?

For me natural hair means complete self acceptance. Not trying or wanting to be anyone but me.... I always felt restrained by my relaxed hair; it was always so neat, sleek & precisely cut! Natural hair has definitely liberated me.

May 2008

What are your staple styles?  Are there any natural styles you can’t wait to try? What styles (natural or not) do you detest?

My staple style is a wash’n’define.  I basically wash/co-wash my hair apply leave in conditioner, section in 4 then apply a styling cream or gel to each section using my fingers to define my curls by raking the product through my hair....then shake my head like a heavy metal rocker for 5mins to let the curls form.

This method makes my curls clump nicely and lasts an entire week. Recently I’ve been protective styling (with braids) for 3 week per month and its really made a big difference to the way my hair behaves –it’s so manageable! I think its retaining moisture better now.

Ummmm what do I detest ?...well my uncle is a Rastafarian with locs down to his knees and he maintains his hair beautifully so it REALLY annoys me when I see a “fake dread” that thinks free form loc’ing is a valid reason not to wash and care for their hair...it’s just plain nasty. I also detest dyed blonde hair and blonde weaves (on black women in particular).

Is there anything about your natural texture (or a particular stage in your haircare regimen) that you still struggle with? What product/ technique forever changed your hairstory?

Where do I start! My hair is very thick, thirsty and prone to dryness. When it was relaxed products with silicones and mineral oil worked perfectly because the relaxer would act as a clarifier and remove build-up. However they do not work so well on my natural hair and during my first yearI really struggled to find products that would tame my frizz without leaving my hair gunky . 

My wonder product is EVO (Extra Virgin Olive oil) mixed in with a good moisturising silicone free conditioner and  applied to damp hair. I use this EVO/conditioner mixture daily after showering while my hair is damp (from the humidity), it refreshes the definition of my curls and my hair LOVES it. EVO has made my natural hairstory a happy one.

Bob Cut 2010

What are your hair goals?

First and foremost healthy manageable hair....second to reach BSL (UNSTRECHED) asap! :o)

Give me

A)    A common misconception about natural hair that you have proved untrue

B)    A pearl of wisdom to pass onto a transitioner / new natural

A)    (ALL) Black people have frizzy undefined very dry and very course mega short hair that never grows (in its natural state). I’m sick to the stomach of ignorant black people insisting that I have texturized /texlaxed my hair just because they are too small-minded to realise that we ALL have different textures.

B)    Spend time getting to know your hair! Unfortunately very few of us have been raised knowing how to care for natural hair. The “old skool” method of washing our hair, killing it with heat “to make it manageable” then overloading it & our scalp with mineral oil/petroleum concoctions, needs to stop! I shudder when I see natural hair being treated this way.  Always remember that natural hair thrives on moisture!

April 2011

Where can we find you online?

www.fotki.com/larizada or http://www.facebook.com/LaRizada

Your ‘tweet’ to naturallovesong readers:

‘ A hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself.’

(Hubert de Givenchy, Vogue, July 1985)

Body Beautiful Update 2

Spring seems to have sprung!  It is actually warm at the moment! (Happy dance).  I sit on the 5th floor of my office building, where I am situated next to floor-to-ceiling windows, and as a self-diagnosed SAD sufferer, nothing gives me greater pleasure on days like this, than the blue sky and beaming sun outside.  Well, what've I been up to in the gorgeous weather?

Last week I:
- walked 13.2 miles
- did 1 group fitness class
- ate relatively well

According to the scales ya girl is 2 LBS down!

On one of my walks home, I actually bumped into UK fitness guru Joanna Hall (I have several of her workout DVDs at home) and was a little starstruck.  In other news, I've not been feeling well, but instead of taking it lying down, in true naturallovesong style (natural health and prevention over pharmaceutical intervention) I was making spinach garlicky guacamole, my homemade cold remedies, smoothie-ing, souping, and getting it all out of my system #yuckybutnecessary. 

I realised the other day I've not had a piece of chocolate for about 6 weeks now!  They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit so I'm in the clear for now (*fine print: I'm not swearing off chocolate for life, just taking a break from it, lol). 

Enjoy today!




6th April - Bumped into Joanna Hall!



River Thames (Tower Bridge in the distance)



Style Icon Feature on BlackGirlLongHair!

BlackGirlLongHair is one of my top fave natural hair blogs.  Interesting on-the-pulse posts / vids / questions / articles, a great community vibe, great discussions in the comments sections all the time. As well as my favourite hair forums, I check in over there every day. 

Click here to check out my Style Icon Feature.

Happy Friday!

Pooks

How Can I Get My Hair to Grow?!

Source

Whether freshly BC’d (big chopped) or lifelong naturals, most (natural haired ladies) I come across – if they have more than a basic concern for their hair - are most concerned about getting their hair to grow.  They aren’t necessarily concerned with the hair’s overall health, lushness, etc.  That comes later if they really get into the ‘hair thing’.  The question largely, is ‘how do I get my hair to grow?’ 

Ready for this?  All you gotta do is…. stay alive and healthy!!  There’s no catch; all you have to do is keep breathing, eating (obviously a + if it’s quality food), moving (aside from being great for you, regular exercise increases blood flow to the scalp and brings nutrients to the hair follicle) and doing the other things that make you a living creature!  Unless you have severe vitamin deficiencies or medical problems which can affect hair growth or cause excessive dryness, your hair is growing.  Assuming there are no medical issues at play, you can expect an average growth rate of ¼ - ½ an inch per month.  (Some people will underachieve or exceed these margins; genetics play a role also). 

There are some things you can do to create an ‘optimal growing environment’, but fundamentally if your goal is longer hair, you have to shift from the ‘what can I do to get my hair to grow’ mindset to ‘what can I do to keep the hair I’m growing’!   

Naturally curly/coily/kinky hair tends to be dry.  Dry hair is more prone to breakage when manipulated.  Rough handling when detangling or styling can definitely contribute to breakage.  Some styles will increase the likelihood of friction on your ends, again leading to unnecessary breakage.  Whether your hair has high or low porosity, is thick or more fine (actual strand diameter) will also have an impact on how often you need to moisturise, styling choices and the levels of manipulation that your hair will tolerate.  Naturals with thick strands can get away with a lot more than some fine-haired naturals for example. 

This journey isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ kinda walk.  You have to invest time into learning your hair.  Finding your key steps and products will involve trial and error; patience is a must.  In future posts, I will be sharing what I believe are some of the key building blocks of a healthy hair regimen - the knowledge I’ve gleaned from my time learning about hair online or from books.  It’s not set in stone, and how much you apply is up to you, but I hope it helps.

Peace and love,

Pooks

True Beauty

Source

Natural Hair & Self-Acceptance: Passing It On

Source

Back in January I watched a YouTube video of a child whose hair had been permed when she was 9 months old (initially not by the mother, but she continued to relax the child’s hair).  9 MONTHS  OLD!  Has the world gone mad?  At 3 years the child had a bald spot the size of a tennis ball in the middle of her head. The story was later discussed on the BlackGirlLongHair blog - click here to read the post.

I was so upset by the thought that someone would put these chemicals on the scalp of a child who has not even seen four full seasons go by yet!  Why would somebody do that?!  Miseducation?  Laziness?  Or just straight up fear of some kinky, highly textured hair?  A desire to 'assimilate' on steroids unconsciously internalised, hiding behind seeking ‘more manageable hair’?  Maybe I’m going too deep, but things like this really get under my skin. 

One thing that excites me about the growth and proliferation of the ‘natural hair movement’ is the thought that one day, hair texture will not be seen as a hurdle, an obstacle, a hindrance, a negative, something that takes away from a young girl’s concept of her self.  The hair you were born with, and the way it naturally grows out of your head whether straight, loosely curled, wavy or tightly coiled should be a ‘yay’ plus point, or at the very least a non-issue. 

To an extent yes it is just hair, and in the grand scheme of life’s priorities there are much more important things to be concerned about, but what if… What if the features that come with your ethnicity are just considered 'unappealing'?  What if 'you’re a pretty girl but a perm would just take you to the next level'?  What if you’re 'pretty for a dark-skinned/big/short-haired chick'?  What if everything and everyone around you has only ever fed and reinforced these messages?   That whiter is righter, 'light-skinned girls are more pretty', that 'n****a hair ain’t never gonna grow, girl you need a perm!'  It's sad but this negative (sometimes internal self-) talk and insults are still commonplace.  The madness that starts and propagates these thoughts has to stop.  We have to create a new dialogue with the next generation, stop pinching babies’ noses and saying ‘you’re so black!’ as a put-down!

Point is, that as each of us sings our lovesong for our natural hair, that we might impact someone somewhere to accept themselves as is.  There’s a whole world waiting to force its ideas and ideals onto the blank canvas’ of our children’s growing minds.  Make sure the picture you paint of them from the earliest moment is one where they are more than acceptable or just making it, but rather perfectly made blessings.  I thank my Mummy and Daddy for that.

Singing my natural lovesong always,

Pooks

Today's Natural Queen: tocktick

Today I'm pleased to introduce to you a hair buddy and hairoine of mine, tocktick.  We 'met' on a hair board, and I was privileged to see her hair blossom from shortly after her BC to today!  She has some thick, luscious, beautiful type 4 hair.  Be inspired!


- 2 months post BC -

How long have you been natural?  What was your reason for transitioning? [OR if you’ve never chemically altered your hair texture], why have you stayed natural?

My last relaxer was in August 2006 and I big chopped down to about 2 inches in February 2007. I actually put off transitioning for a few years. I tried to go natural at about 15 because my hair was so damaged but didn’t have the support or know-how to do so. Finally in 2006 at 18, I got sick of the continuous damage and just started growing out the relaxer.

Tell us some of your hair journey and how you transitioned.

I wore individual braids for my 6 month transition. I didn’t know about proper hair-care or hair-boards for the most part. I found MoTown Girl, printed off her transitioning guide and pretty much would refer to that religiously. There also happened to be an article from ElleGIRL that featured a story on one of the writer’s transitioning and becoming natural – her journey really resonated with me and for a long time that one article and my MoTown Girl print off was my support network along with my brother.

I’ve now been natural for 4 years and I’m glad my hair has been this was for this long now. I’ve have had my issues along the way but I’m now in a really comfortable stage with my hair.

Does having natural hair hold any special significance for you, or is it ‘not that deep’?

Funnily enough, I think it was deeper to me when I first went natural. It was like my eyes had been opened to the indoctrination that I had been under for years and years. It never dawned on me for such a long time that one could just “go” natural. I thought a relaxer was something that must be done. I never thought I disliked my natural texture because to be honest having had my hair chemically processed since age 6, I had no idea what it was. What I did come to realise is that over time having people say things when doing my hair like, “wow – your hair is past due”, “your hair is so tough, it needs to be relaxed”, “I can’t get a comb though here!” when I had some new-growth and then hearing positives like, “your hair is so soft” etc when it had been straightened meant that I came to associate my “new growth” as something unruly that needed to be treated as opposed to something that I could grow out.



What are your staple styles?  Are there any natural styles you can’t wait to try? What styles (natural or not) do you detest?

Most of the time these days, I can be found in a bun. I like to do variations sometimes – regular bun, high/top-knot ballerina style buns or just a low bun. It sounds a bit lame but getting my hair in a bun was one of my long-term hair goals -  it took me such a long time to finally be able to a decent one because my hair is quite dense. I was pretty ecstatic when I was finally able!

When I want to switch it up or if I’m going out to a party, I usually do a braidout. I used to hate these on me but I love it now! I love the big and bushy look with some defined strands. With twistouts, my hair loses it’s definition and shrinks up quite quickly. With braidouts, although my hair can sometimes lose it’s definition, it only ends up looking thicker and doesn’t shrink up too much.

I think I’ve reached a point with my hair where any styles I’ve wanted to try, I’ve been able to go ahead and do. Of course, some styles don’t pan out quite like I’d imagined sometimes!

As for styles I avoid on me, these are usually twists and braids. I haven’t done either using my own hair for a long time and don’t plan to. Individual braids used to be my go-to protective style but I find even though I actually retain length a bit better, sometimes it does lead to my hair feeling a bit weaker they’re removed and because I’m so caught up in trying to maintain my regimen, they look messy at the root far too quickly. Above all though, I start to miss my own hair super fast and feel a part of my “look” is missing with braids.

- 2 yrs 3 mths post BC -



Is there anything about your natural texture (or a particular stage in your haircare regimen) that you still struggle with? (Please specify your hairtype and thickness)  What product/ technique forever changed your hairstory?

I still struggle with wash-days sometimes. The whole process is quite time-consuming. I don’t brush my hair often (I only finger comb and don’t use regular combs) but when I do I pretty much end up adding another 45-60 mins onto the process – which is already about 30 mins long. I wish there was a speedier way.  If I’m brushing my hair, I like to do it in about 8 sections and then twist each section (washing it in the twists helps my hair not tangle up again).

What are your hair goals?

For my hair to be continue to be healthy and reach its own potential.

Give me

A)    A common misconception about natural hair that you have proved untrue

That it can’t be versatile. It’s very versatile!

B)    A pearl of wisdom to pass onto a transitioner / new natural

When things get tough, just stick with it (and stalk Fotkis)!

Where can we find you online?

www.fotki.com/tocktick

Your ‘tweet’ to naturallovesong readers:

Thank you for featuring me and I hope this was helpful!

- 2 yrs 3 mths post BC -