Okay, so I got a weave (PICS INCL.)

[MrsHdrLe]

I wanted a hair break and something long with romantic curls for my wedding in two weeks. I bought Lanik's natural curly 2x ( I think) and while the hair is beautiful, I am not happy with how it doesn't blend with my own texlaxed 4b hair. I think I should have gone with kinky straight b/c there definitely is a learning curve with this hair. I left quite a bit of my own apl hair out in the crown b/c I hate that "bump" you get from some weaves and of course there's some left out around the edges. I wanted to stay away from heat, but nothing seems to work in creating a natural blend. I've tried twists (wet and straightened), braid outs (wet and straightened), and finally tired the caruso small rollers, which seems to be better, but I still want a more silky look to my own hair.

Have any of you had this problem and how did you fix it?
I've attached pictures below to give you an idea. Tell me what you think, am I being neurotic or do you think it's okay?
TIA

(Excuse the shine on my face-forgot to do the swipe before clicking and yes that is a black clip in the back shot forgot to take it out.)

 

[FlawedBeauty]

i think its you! it looks great to me, and appears to blend well from the pics i see.

 

[Rocky91]

first of all, congratulations on your wedding! how exciting!

honestly, i think you'll have to use a bit of heat on your own hair to achieve the look you're going for. it doesn't look horrible, but it can look a lot better.
for your wedding, are you planning to do your own hair? are you going to rock that texture or are you going to straighten the hair? maybe the hair will actually be able to blend easier if it's straightened..

 

[levone]

I think it looks pretty good in the pictures, however I'm not weave expert. I'm working on trying to blend myself right now (I'm natural and wearing a kinky curly weave). I'll check back to see the tips you'll get.

 

[MrsHdrLe]

first of all, congratulations on your wedding! how exciting!

honestly, i think you'll have to use a bit of heat on your own hair to achieve the look you're going for. it doesn't look horrible, but it can look a lot better.
for your wedding, are you planning to do your own hair? are you going to rock that texture or are you going to straighten the hair? maybe the hair will actually be able to blend easier if it's straightened..

Thanks. I'm really happy and excited.

Actually, I'm going to have this hair (and mine) starightened for the wedding with soft curls cascading in a half up half down style, but
I was trying to do something that would not require heat so my own hair won't suffer a setback. I get so tired of always wearing a ponytail or a half up/half down all the time. (That's how I have to wear my own hair b/c I have some relaxed sections from the weave I wore two years ago. My natural hair is flourishing and beautiful, but the edges and crown leave ALOT to be desired. I plan on doing a bc at the end of the year to get rid of those straggly and ugly ends)
Thanks for your advice.

What do you think of Eco Styler? I've heard quite a few women here use and like it. Though I've never seen it anywhere here, maybe it'll be worth the search?

 

[havilland]

i know this isnt a daily solution. but i would get some beautiful scarves and tie them around the top of your hair like a headband. i wouldn't even worry about blending. tha's what i do when i wear a curly weave texture. i moisturize. twist my own hair and tuck it behind my ears. put a "little", very little, gel on the edges and let the hairline peek out of the headband.

i have so many scarves from when i wore my weave, it's a shame.LOL!

also...see if it's not to late to have her braid up more of your own hair. when two textures are so different, it's hard to blend flawlessly. i think you do a decent job, but i can see that the main difference is that the laniks hair reflects more light than your own hair does when it's curly. so to a weave wearer and in daylight the two textures are gonna be noticeable.

straightened all that hair (yours and the extensions) is gonna be beautiful on your wedding day. congrats!!!!!

 

[MrsHdrLe]

I'll look into the scaves thing. I'll also ask her if she'll charge more to add more hair to the top. Dang! When I ordered the hair, it didn't look so shiny nor were the curls this loose. I guess that's the down side of ordering human hair online. Lesson learned.


What kind of gel do you suggest for the edges? I want something light and healthy for my hair. What about build up? How do you handle that?

 

[havilland]

hey lady,

as for gel....i use a little oil on my edges first to protect from the potential drying effect from the oil...then i use IC polishing styler gel. i used to use AMPRO (still do once i'm 8 weeks post, but don't tell nobody LOL!) but it's kinda harsh.

i make sure to moisturize and seal with oil twice daily to keep my edges healthy.

as for buiildup...i never comb or brush my edges once i put on gel because that can cause breakage. then i shampoo with my usual shampoo on wash day, if it's co wash day i rinse the edges REAL REAL WELL until i feel no gel. then i apply my conditioner and i apply some jojoba and castor oil to the edges only while i deep condition. i rinse it all out. moisturize and start over.

this keeps my edges healthy. protected. buildup free. and i think the extra oils to the edges while i deep condition fortifies my edges and keeps them resiliant.

 

[MrsHdrLe]

Here are some with the hair down. You can tell my hair from the weave by the lighter brown color (idk what that's about) and that's straighter, but duller than the weave hair. I do like how the ends of my hair are curling somewhat like the weave thanks to small diameter caruso rollers (notice the larger brown curl about neck/shoulder length in the center)

Perhaps some one knows how to knock off the shine on weaved hair, you know so it doesn't look like doll hair? That might helperplexed

 

[MrsHdrLe]

These are w/o flash. Sorry for all the pics, (it's just kinda fun!!!)









and one pony shot (w/ flash)

 

[Rocky91]

Thanks. I'm really happy and excited.

Actually, I'm going to have this hair (and mine) starightened for the wedding with soft curls cascading in a half up half down style, but
I was trying to do something that would not require heat so my own hair won't suffer a setback. I get so tired of always wearing a ponytail or a half up/half down all the time. (That's how I have to wear my own hair b/c I have some relaxed sections from the weave I wore two years ago. My natural hair is flourishing and beautiful, but the edges and crown leave ALOT to be desired. I plan on doing a bc at the end of the year to get rid of those straggly and ugly ends)
Thanks for your advice.

What do you think of Eco Styler? I've heard quite a few women here use and like it. Though I've never seen it anywhere here, maybe it'll be worth the search?

that sounds like it's going to be lovely!! trust, i think it will be a good match when straightened.
Eco-styler (the clear kind) has a great hold. it's good stuff if you want extra sleek edges. however, it creates waves in the hair that won't match with that 2c or whatever hair. you'd probably be better off using a pomade of some sort-i love the Motions shine pomade.

search BHM for some shine-reducing tips-they really have some great info on weaves over there. personally, when i leave hair out, i work on getting MY hair shinier rather than trying to dull the weave. coloring my hair helps with the shine, as does doing clear glosses-Jazzings has a great one. coconut oil imparts a lot of shine, as does the shine pomade i mentioned.

 

[MrsHdrLe]

I just ordered Eco-styler w/ olive oil. Has anyone ever tried that?

 

[LadyAmazon]

I had a sew in with naturally curly hair that was a similar texture. I would suggest flexi rods to help with blending. Use a little bit to the weave hair along with your own on each rod and the curl pattern will be pretty consistent. Regarding the friziness of your texture eco styler would work but I personally set my hair with chi silk infusion (when wet) to help smooth the hair on the rod. An ACV rinse will help with the shine of the hair. Also note that virgin indian hair doesn't like a lot of oil products. Congrats on the wedding!

 

[MrsHdrLe]

UPDATE!

Thanks Ladies for all the help and advice. I tried all of them and did make it to 6 weeks. BUT I'M GLAD TO SAY: FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, I'M FREE AT LAST!
I used to love weaves, but now, I began to get very agitated and anxious to touch, DC, and see my own hair. I kept feeling my new growth in my crown and ached to see and touch it all over, so I got the weave out today and am very happy to rock my own little kinky braid buns again.
Who knows, maybe I'll try it again later, but for now, I love my own hair too much!

(oh and by the way, though I didn't have her straighten (personal no heat challenge), I'm pretty sure I regrew the 1/2"-1" I loss two weeks before my wedding, so YEA! If you want to see my wedding day hair it's in the Black brides thread and the "Marry Him?" thread towards the end.)

 

[hair4romheaven]

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!