Tales From the Roots: Length Check and Update

   The fall season has really set in here in Chicago and the winter is coming quickly around the corner. With the brisk air and low humidity I decided that this was the perfect time to straighten my hair. So far I have only done this twice in my journey, once in April 2014 and now in Oct-November. The first time it only lasted about a week, maybe two because of the humidity but this time around I've been having more luck.

Product Review: Younique "Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes"

     If you have a social media account, namely Instagram, you have seen posts from popular pages raving about the Younique "Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes" for the past few months.
    Every post features a pretty girl with her eyes open wide, showing off thick, long eye lashes that unbelievably came out of a bottle. I went from becoming mildly interested to captivated when I saw a video review from one of my favorite YouTube personalities Miss Ken K. She loved the product of course but when she mentioned that this was a great alternative to false lashes I was sold.
    I recently received my order and was able to use it a few times. Keep reading to see my full review.

Tales from the Roots: Chunky Twist out for a Stretched Afro

     I have been natural for over a year now, my last perm was on May 4, 2014. Since then I have been on a constant path of learning how to manage my the health of my natural hair while also learning to love and style it to my liking. Most of that learning took place after my Big Chop in January of this year. Since then I have had good and bad hair days but recently it seems like I have finally hit my stride with this natural hair thing. It is my opinion that the best successes with hair, any texture, natural or relaxed, comes with both trial and error and also embracing what you have to work with.        As a new natural I did a ton of research on YouTube and Instagram on how to style my hair and get that 'look'. You know, the curly, flowing, natural hair. fast forward a couple months down the line I realized that that hair was never going to be my hair. With that realization and adopting bits and pieces from the regiments of other natural girls, I began to have a better understanding of what works for me. 

    I took a lot of my current hair styling process from MyNaturalSistas, MissKenK, and Yolanda Renee. I suggest you check out their videos and their Instagram accounts for some great tips and styles for kinky, thick, natural hair. 

Now let's get into my process. I recently wrote a general update on my natural hair but in this post I'll be showing you, in detail, how I achieve my twist out and how I make it last for three and sometimes 4 days.

Tales From the Roots: Natural Hair Update

     

      It has been a couple months since I've done a natural hair update so I figured it was about time! At this point in my journey I have learned a lot and I have a lot of advice for those new to the natural hair life.

Before I get into my updates I just want to go over my natural journey time line to get you up to speed:

May 2013- Last Perm

June 2013- Partial Chop, Bob hair cut

January 2014- Big Chop

May 2014- 1 Year natural Anniversary 

July-Sept 2014 Weave

October... about 16 months natural 

Growth

     

     I am now starting to notice a significant change in my hair length. This summer I used protective styling for about 2 months and it really helped me
1. Give my hair a break from constant styling
2. Give me a break from those long nights of twisting
3. It helped my hair grow.
     After taking down my weave I quickly realized that my hair had grown a significant amount. It actually took my about a week or so to figure out that the styling techniques I would use for my smaller TWA just didn't cut it anymore. When I first big chopped I was more concerned with curl definition and having a very neat, uniformed look. Now I am more concerned with showing off my length.

     I put my hair in chunky twist, which I stretch and bobby pin to my head, almost every night using my staple products and pick out my fro in the morning. I usually get the best stretched look about 2 days after washing it. Even though my hair has grown a great deal when I style it wet, or if I use smaller twists, my hair will shrink back to a fro about the size that it was in January (not to mention that it literally takes forever for it to dry now). It will be cute and coily but it won't hit its big, fierce, fro potential. This is why I like my hair to be in a mostly dry state. Even at night when I retwist it I hardly ever get my hair really wet with product.
 

Ways to Wear it: Little Black Dress

     I'm all about getting the bang for your buck and the best way to do that in your closet is to figure out how to wear your clothes many different ways. In this blog I will be showing you how to create five different looks using this $12 Black dress I got from H&M. I'll be wearing the same dress with different accessories, jackets and shoes to tell a different story with each outfit. Since it is late September I will be showing you five different fall looks with this long sleeve body con dress but you can do this with in any season.
    If you are not comfortable with wearing such a form fitting dress you can also create these looks with skater or flare dresses. You could even check out Pintrest and see all of the different ways you can wear your summer maxi dresses in the fall. Of course I used Pintrest to gain inspiration for my looks. If you want to take a look at my Pin-spirations for these looks and get more ideas you can check out the Little Black Dress board I created on the Little Things B Loves Pintrest Page.