Twist/Braid/Bun for Growth Challenge (7/1/2012 - 9/30/2012)

[nickmack]

My heavens BraunSugar

NappyNelle - lol, I took the weave out Going to twist it up this week! (fingers crossed)

 

[Tibbar]

LOVE this!! Nice save....

ETA...
BraunSugar, also really, really like your hair color, what color is it, and how did you do that?

This was a bad twistout saved by hair combs. I ended up loving it.

 

[NappyNelle]

Loving all the hair porn and progress pictures!

I can't believe this quarter of the challenge is almost over...

 

[BraunSugar]

LOVE this!! Nice save....

ETA...
@BraunSugar, also really, really like your hair color, what color is it, and how did you do that?

Tibbar My color is by L'Oreal Mega Browns and it is called Brandy. It gave me highlights and low lights which was awesome. I bought it from Sally.

 

[ladysaraii]

Back in 2 french braids. I'm hoping to have time this weekend to go back into my minibraids.

 

[Tibbar]

BraunSugar
Really love your look, and I'm not a big color fan.... Do you have to do anything special to keep your hair in good condition with this color? Did you apply it all over? ---- not that I'm gonna copy your look or anything....

(waits with pen in hand to take notes....) j/k

@Tibbar My color is by L'Oreal Mega Browns and it is called Brandy. It gave me highlights and low lights which was awesome. I bought it from Sally.

 

[MsDee14]

So, I'm just wearing my big ole twists pinned up since they don't look that great down.

 

[-PYT]

Got some medium twists in right now. They aight. You ladies make me want to keep going in this journey of healthy growth! I clipped my ends yesterday as they felt pretty riddled with ssks after my mini twists. Twisted with taliah waajid protective mist bodifier and castor oil. Good mix

 

[gvin89]

Hi ladies!!!! Missed yall....hope yall have been doing good. I've been out for the count due to pregnancy. I've been crazy sick and stuff. Finally got a chance to wash my hair today and now I'm twisting. I hope to get a little boost in growth. I think I want some color, but I will wait a few months before I try anything.

 

[youwillrise]

so ive totally been mia for a long time!

ive been back to work and school the past few weeks. just busy busy busy.

the first couple of weeks, i wore twists. then i decided that i'm just gonna go the bun/updo route. so that's what i started to do. i just dont have the patience to "do" my hair in twists and such. ive been so tired and have lots of work to do!

i think what i'm going to do is keep the style in for 2 or 3 days at a time before changing it. tonight i changed my style...put the first style in on sunday night...i just remoisturized and restyled a little while ago.

i was thinking i had to drop out of this challenge because i got too lazy to twist, but i forgot that there was a bun section, too lol. i wont say what i'm doing are actual "buns" (just "bun...ish")

i'll do my normal wash & dc on the weekends.

 

[NappyNelle]

youwillrise I was going to tag you! Glad to see you're back, although you are a busy bee.

I clipped my ends yesterday as they felt pretty riddled with ssks after my mini twists.

-PYT Why do you think that happened?

I've been out for the count due to pregnancy. I've been crazy sick and stuff.

gvin89 Welcome back and congratulations on your pregnancy! I hope you don't have to suffer through nausea for too long.

This is week three of my twists. I spritzed them, added sulfur oil (concentrating on my edges) and then sealed my length with HH CCW. I've bantu knotted my hair for waves. I love the scent and shine I get by using the chamomile whip.

 

[BraunSugar]

@BraunSugar
Really love your look, and I'm not a big color fan.... Do you have to do anything special to keep your hair in good condition with this color? Did you apply it all over? ---- not that I'm gonna copy your look or anything....

(waits with pen in hand to take notes....) j/k

@Tibbar I applied the color all over with a hair color brush. I use Ultra Sheen Duo Tex Protein Conditioner every 2 weeks. I have just recently started using coconut milk on my hair and I will be doing it once a week as a DC. I use aloe vera juice to moisturize and I seal with my Aloe/Crisco mix (aloe vera gel, crisco, grapeseed oil, and castor oil).

That has kept my color treated hair moisturized and strong.

 

[Leslie_C]

Anybody have any tips for making a puff that isnt too tight? I use a puff as the base for my buns, but its kind of tight even though I try to loosen it a little. Im afraid Im gonna put too much stress on my edges.

NappyNelle you have so inspired me....when Im all natural and have more length (and especially when I only have one texture, not 2+) Im gonna rock mini's like yours. I never had any desire to wear twists as a style, but Ive fallen in love with yours and other ladies' in this challenge! I love the idea of not having to fool with my hair for weeks at a time. I just hope Im able to wash with twists in without matting...my hair and scalp need water on a regular basis...7 days max!

FYI ladies: Im a frugal chic so just wanted to pass on a few things to look out for:
1) I found 2 pack satin pillowcases at Ross for 2.99
2) I found 34oz bottles of EVOO at Big Lots for 6.50
3)I found a big bottle (28 ozish?) of sunflower oil at Big Lots for 4.00

 

[BraunSugar]

Anybody have any tips for making a puff that isnt too tight? I use a puff as the base for my buns, but its kind of tight even though I try to loosen it a little. Im afraid Im gonna put too much stress on my edges.

Leslie What do you use to make your puffs? I have always used an elastic stretch headband and it works well for me. Maybe you could use a knee high for more control?

 

[MeowMix]

I have a long hair? Really? *hairnorexic* I read that compliment and got so giddy. Thank you Meow boo!

NappyNelle. I was cracking up with this. I have the exact OPPOSITE problem. I stay swearing I have more hair than I do. What’s that called? Oh yeah, deluded.

Hey Everybody,
Small warning…this post has a quote all kinds of tags and snaps…oh my

gvin89. CONGRATULATIONS on your pregnancy. I know it’s hard being sick and taking care of hair. Hang in there.

Nice to see you back youwillrise, ladysaraii and LilMissRed.

Victoria44 and MsDee14, anitsocial, & bajandoc86 thanks for the snaps.

Leslie_C. Thanks you my friend. I’m all about saving that coin. Good luck with your puff.

Wow, this thread just keeps getting heavy hitters. Hey BraunSugar and Tibbar. I really like your conversation. Tibbar you cracked me up with the note taking. That’s what I tried to do with with westNDNbeauty (snaps below). I’m going to have to try this again because the take down was a little brutal. I just gave up and put my loose hair in a little cotton ball.

There's under 2 weeks in this challenge. Hope to see everyone in the next

 

[jprayze]

LeslieC thanks for passing on the savings.

MeowMix I like your braids; I cannot braid at all.

Today's style is two flat twists...simple and sweet, will wear these until I feel like doing my hair again. Just had oral surgery today :-(

 

[NappyNelle]

MeowMix I wish I could braid! Yours look so nice and not painful.

jprayze Get well soon, hun!

Leslie_C I also use a cut piece of stocking for puffs. Well, not anymore, because puffs started hurting about a year ago, no matter what I did.

This only lasted an hour before I had to take it down.

And this one was done with an old elastic:

I don't remember how long I was able to keep it.

 

[MeowMix]

Hey jprayze. Thank you. Hope you feel well soon. BTW, thanks for all your snaps in this challenge.

NappyNelle, thank you. I was multitasking

 

[NappyNelle]

MeowMix Can you give us braiding tips pretty please with sugar on top?

 

[MeowMix]

NappyNelle. No need for sugar, shuga. You know I'm know expert, I'll try.

I definitely did not get braiding the first several times I did it. So patience is key. Also, IMHO I would suggest just making 4 big parts and braiding backwards. In the beginning I wouldn't worry about parts.

I really found YT the best place to learn. I tried reading about it in a book and looking at pictures. Just didn't work. It helped me to look at the video a couple of times before even starting. Mooks hair is my favorite video on braiding. She used to be on here, I don't know if she still is. One thing that she said that really helped me was to keep your fingers close to the scalp. She says you should be able to let go of the hair. For me that was key. Believe me NN, if I can do it, you can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=537oZV_ZlQM&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82HRzDFbbKo&feature=plcp

 

[NappyNelle]

I remember Mook from Fotki! Never knew she had videos. I will start practicing; not sure when, but I will start. Thanks for sharing the videos.

 

[Tibbar]

Gosh @NappyNelle you have such thick, pretty, thick, fluffy, thick gorgeous, thick hair !!

Oh, and did I say your hair is THICK?? Cause it is....
Looking good girl... How long is your hair now??

This only lasted an hour before I had to take it down.

And this one was done with an old elastic:

I don't remember how long I was able to keep it.

Oh, and edited to add...... I fooled around with a twistout, but I'm back in twists now. Curled with flexirods....

 

[bajandoc86]

NappyNelle girl you are killin 'em with that puff!

Tibbar lovely twistout and flexirod twists!

 

[-PYT]

NappyNelle I think the times that I washed my twists my ends would coil up so super tight and form knots in some places! Made for very cute twists, but not so cute ends lol After this I'm done trimming for a while....well for 8 wks at least!

 

[BraunSugar]

I put smaller twists in on Monday. I will prob do a perm rod set tonight.

 

[NappyNelle]

Gosh you have such thick, pretty, thick, fluffy, thick gorgeous, thick hair !!

Oh, and did I say your hair is THICK?? Cause it is....
Looking good girl... How long is your hair now??

Tibbar On the other hand, your hair is actually thick and looks so healthy! How do you keep your hair so dark?

Awwww, thank you so much for those compliments! The thickness is an illusion, but it is getting better with castor/sulfur oil and protein conditioners! I have fine strands with medium density. I'm hoping that I've reached MBL, but I haven't done a proper stretch test.


-PYT Ahhh, I see. That happened to me, (plus meshing at the root) so I can't cowash my twists. The knotting decreased tremendously when I started sealing the ends with a butter or cream.

bajandoc86 Thank you

 

[NappyNelle]

Oh yeah, I saw this baby and squealed!

Isn't she cute?! That little face!!!

 

[NappyNelle]

Ok, This is my last post for the day. (I'm sorry I keep hogging the thread!)

So I was perusing the Everyday Hair Thread, and saw two loose protective styles that are easy to duplicate:

Hairsnob is textlaxed, SL+ and wore this bun:

I've been wearing this type of bun for the last couple of weeks. I usually have to put in track hair to make a bun because my own bun looks no bigger than a mini meatball. But when I rediscovered my accordian headbands (see pic below) I realized I can have another big bun illusion.

There are other great photos in there, particularly flat twist styles on textlaxed hair from IMFOCSD, and ScorpioRising's french roll hawk-bang. I couldn't get their pictures to quote nicely, so check out the thread if you need some inspiration for these last two weeks.

 

[BraunSugar]

So the perm rod set turned into a flexi rod set. It's quicker and I can sleep better w/flexi rods.

 

[BraunSugar]

Alright, I took the flexirods out this morning and it was okay. I had some errands to run this morning and the fog was pretty dense outside. The curls started falling so I put my hair in a ponytail.

And here is how they looked when I first did them.

I dried my hair overnight in big braids, then twisted in the morning. My hair was slightly damp but that was fine. I did them Monday so I will prob keep them in another week or so.