Yet Another Braid-Out Attempt....

This is my third braid-out attempt after two VERY unsuccessful previous attempts. I have to say that I actually don't hate it. I was all set to hate my hair and swear off braid-outs forever but it's not that bad. It's not as good as I would like but at least this time I think I know what I did right and what I did wrong. For starters, I did it on dry, stretched hair. In the past I tried braid-outs on wet hair and it was just a mess, especially because I tried to do cornrows. I learned that I just can't braid my hair in cornrows while it's wet. That's pretty much the only thing I really did "right" with this braid-out. Everything else I still need to work on.

For starters, the curls in the back aren't defined as well as the ones on the front and sides. They look more like very loose waves than curls. That's probably because I'm not very good at doing cornrows in general and trying to do them on the back of my head is still hard for me. With a little more practice I'll be okay with that part. The other thing is that the ends are kinda funny looking. I don't have any soft rollers to put on the ends of the braids so I just tried to pin-curl but that didn't work out too well.


This is what I did:
-Separated hair into five sections with my fingers
-Applied coconut oil to the roots and Cantu Shea Butter leave in conditioning repair cream to the rest of the hair
-Braided in cornrows and pincurled the ends
-Tied up hair with a satin scarf

I left the braids in for two days before taking them out this morning. Here are some pictures: 

Back of my head, you can see there's really no definition to the curls.

After taking braids out, before styling.

Hair Tools: ConAir Styling Brush

Another product that I keep hearing about is this Denman brush. Everyone says it's good for detangling, etc, so I figured I should give it a try. Now that my hair has been growing out for a while it's becoming more difficult to comb through and detangle when it's wet.

After looking online I saw that the Denman brush is a little pricey so I held off on purchasing it. Then when I was in Rite Aid I happened to see a ConAir styling brush that looked very similar. I didn't buy it the first time I saw it because I wasn't entirely sure. I went back online to see what was so special about the Denman and I saw that the main thing was the rubber cushion base. The ConAir brush has the same type of base and is only $4.99 so I figured it's probably just as good.

I haven't used the brush yet but hopefully it'll get the job done. The label says it's for all-purpose styling and it's "great for thick, coarse hair." Only time will tell.

Hair Products: Miss Jessie's

Ever since I started looking more into transitioning I've been hearing about Miss Jessie's hair products. They recently had a buy one, get one free sale so I figured it was a good time to buy a few products at a reduced rate and try them out. The products I got were the Curly Pudding, Curly Butter Creme (not pictured) and Curly Meringue. I haven't had a chance to try them yet but it seems like everyone that uses these products swears by them. Hopefully they live up to the hype. I'll keep you posted!

It's Been a While....

Hello, I know it's been a while since I've posted any kind of hair update, etc but to be honest there's not much to post. I've been so busy over the last month or so that I really haven't had the time or the energy to try anything new with my hair. I did the Curlformers again for New Year's Eve but I already made a post about that so I wasn't gonna do another one.

Now that school has started again I'm probably gonna have even less time to focus on my hair. I'm interested in trying different styles and all that but if they come out looking crappy I don't want to have to go to class looking crazy. A lot of times I'll try a new style and end up hating the outcome but I don't have the time to really do anything about it before going to class so I have to wear a hat or try to make a ponytail or bun. And I'm NOT one of those girls who leaves the house with a scarf on their head. Unless that scarf is under a hat I don't plan on taking off, it's not gonna happen.

Anyway, just a little life update to let you know that I'm still here. Peace out.

Hair Experiment: Curlformers Take 2!

Finally I was able to try out my curlformers again! If you remember from this post, the last time I tried I wasn't able finish the entire process. Anyway, I'm very satisfied with my results and I'll definitely start using them more often. It's a very simple way to get bouncy, heat-less curls. I won't get into how to use the curlformers because they have instructions in the box but this is what I did:

I co-washed with my new Herbal Essences hydralicious conditioner and detangled before rinsing out the conditioner. I didn't use a comb to divide sections, I just finger parted. I also combed through each section before applying the curlformer. Make sure the hair is wet when applying. The only products I used were Neutrogena Triple Moisture silk touch leave in cream, chi silk infusion, Twisted Sista 30 second curl spray (mentioned in my last post) and a spray bottle with water. I sprayed each section of hair individually with the Twisted Sista. I used 33 of the 46 curlformers that came in the box and I slept with them in overnight which was uncomfortable but not terrible. Results pictures below!

As you can see my hair is a little longer than the rollers but it wasn't significant.

After removing....obviously lol

Another view of the curls.

After separating the curls with my hands...

It's a little messy but I like it...lol