Bantu Knot Out w/ a Twist

It's been a long time since I tried a bantu knot out so I decided to try again to avoid using heat for a while. The first time I tried it was pretty early in my transition and now I'm a year and 5 months in so it was VERY different. The method I used was to two strand twist the hair then put it into a bantu knot secured with a bobby pin. I saw that method on YouTube but I can't remember whose video it was. I did the knots on freshly washed and conditioned hair while it was still wet. The only products I used were Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding and coconut oil. I wore a satin cap and let my hair dry overnight. Parts of my hair were still damp when I took them out and I don't really like the results so I just pulled it back into a poof instead. Here are some pictures:

I think I had about 11 bantu knots all together.

A mess with no curl definition....smh

At least I was able to leave the house this way.

 Next blog post will be how I tried to save this by doing a twist out.....

Hair Experiment: Mini Twists Take 2

After over a year since the last time, I finally decided to give mini/two strand twists another try. I'm liking it better this time around because I made them smaller and because more of my hair is natural but I'm still not 100% satisfied. The older the style gets the more I like it but I'm only keeping them in for about two weeks and it's been about a week now. The main problem is that the ends look thin compared to the rest of my hair but that's because my ends are still relaxed. Also the hair in the front of my head around the edges is thinner too which is annoying.

Anyway, I did the twists on freshly washed, blown dry hair (to stretch). The only products I used were Tresemme Heat Tamer spray to blow dry, 100% coconut oil, and Eco Styler Gel for hold. I followed this video by naptural85 on YouTube for guidance. I did them over two days (about 20hrs total) because I get easily distracted but a normal person can probably do them in a few hours depending on how small they are and how long your hair is. Here's a few pictures of the results.

Hair Experiment: My First Straw Set

After viewing several YouTube videos for tutorials, I finally decided to try a straw set on my hair. It was pretty time consuming but I liked the results. Also I could have been done faster if I didn't take so many breaks in between but whatever. My only problems are that I wish the curls would have come out longer to show the true length of my hair and I wasn't able to get the straws tight to my roots so they look kind of puffy. Other than that I really don't have any complaints.

I did this on freshly washed and conditioned hair. After washing I detangled and separated it into about 10 sections to work with. I used a total of 58 straws that were in a 100 pack I bought from Wal-Mart and bobby pins to secure the straws. I used more than one bobby pin in a few that felt too loose. It took me from about 12p-7p total to do everything (wash, condition, detangle, input straws). I let my hair air dry overnight which I probably wouldn't recommend. Sleeping on those straws was a challenge so in the future I'll probably sit under my hood dryer so I can take the straws out. The only products I used were Eco Styler Gel, water and Lotta Body setting lotion. I think I used a bit too much gel because the curls were a little hard when I took the straws out. I'm told this style can last up to two weeks but I'm probably gonna wash it out before then. I learned to do this style from YouTube videos by diimpulz and KYSBROWNSUGA so you can look them up for tutorials. Lots of pictures to follow....

As you can see the roots are really puffy.

After separating the curls.

 

I got sick of the curly fro after a few days so I just decided to pull it back into a curly poof. I like this look much better on me.

Hair Experiment: Two Strand Twist Out w/ Perm Rods

Lately I've been straightening my hair every time I wash it and I wanted to give my hair a rest from all the heat so I decided to try another two strand twist out. This time with perm rods on the ends of the twists. At this point my hair is about half natural and half relaxed. I thought that the twist out would look better now than with previous attempts because I have more natural hair but that wasn't the case. To be honest I wasn't too happy with my results.

I did the usual wash and condition before doing my hair and I also did a hot oil treatment with jojoba and tea tree oil. After I detangled and separated my hair into sections and began twisting. I don't really remember how many sections there were but I used about 30 perm rods so that was 30 twists. The only products I used were my Cantu Shea Butter leave in conditioner and Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue. I twisted on wet hair and let them air dry overnight. Here are a few pictures....

I used end wraps the help keep the ends smooth and reduce frizz.

After removing the perm rods.

After separating to twists. It looks pretty messy and I couldn't do much with it.

In the end I just pulled my hair back and kept it pinned up until the next time I washed it. I'm not sure if I'll try this style again. It was very easy to do but I didn't care for the results at all.

Product Review: Tresemme Frizz Shield

I didn't realize how much of a problem frizz was until I spent the weekend in Atlanta earlier this year and my hair started looking crazy less than 2 minutes off the plane. The humidity down there is NO JOKE and I basically kept my hair in a bun the entire time because whenever I tried to wear my hair out it swelled up and just looked huge. I'm not a huge fan of big hair on me (in case you were wondering, I had my hair straightened).

More recently I was really excited when I first saw the commercial for the Tresemme Frizz Shield line which, according to the bottles, "lock out frizz and humidity." I thought it would be the perfect solution to my trouble especially with the heat being so crazy but to be honest, I wasn't impressed.

The products I purchased were the Tresemme Frizz Shield finishing spray for so-called 24 hour smoothness and the climate protection mousse "for all hair types." I used each product as the directions state and really saw no difference. I've used these products several times now and have not gotten my desired results. Each time I do my hair and leave the house it gets all big and almost puffy within a few minutes. Not what I wanted, expected or was promised by the product. I'll give them a few more tries just to be sure and so I don't feel like I've wasted my money but I probably won't by these particular Tresemme products again. However, everyone's hair reacts differently so feel free to give them a try on your own hair.