Just fyi- I'm LOVING her hair (Thanks GG! *waves*)...
Hi Wes!
I'd like to share with you and your readers a technique that I tried for the first time this weekend. I love your blog and appreciate all of the advice and tips that I glean from you and your followers. I have a blog thewritecurldiary.blogspot.com that documents my personal hair and writing journey. I was inspired by many ladies like yourself to document my journey and I'm so glad that I did.
Anyway, you actually inspired this style! I saw your post last week about looking for the wavy look, and I was so on the same page. I wanted to see my hair with some stretched-out, longer waves. I've been doing braid-outs all summer, so I was itching to blowdry my hair and do something different. I get bored seeing my hair styled the same way for too long.
Here's what I did. I'm so excited that it actually worked!
1. I did a clarifying wash (Suave), in-shower conditioner (Aussie Moist) and deep conditioning treatment (Lustrasilk Mango Shea Butter Cholesterol)
2. Sectioned the hair and applied Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Treatment. I really doused my ends with this stuff.
3. Blowdried by section on warm setting. This was the hardest part. I have not blowdried my hair in months and it's grown a LOT. I was sweating and my arms were sore by the time I was done :-(
4. I parted it down the middle and did about 8 cornrows- each one starting from the middle of my head (as opposed to straightbacks). As I sectioned each piece to braid it, I didn't make a defined part because this tends to leve those annoying parts when you take it out. I put some shea butter on each piece and Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave In on the ends. I put a small sating roller on the end of each braid. When I took it out in the morning, I was ready to go. I just shook it out a bit and sprayed it with coconut/avocado oil.
I think the following things really made this work:*Setting Lotion: I braided the hair dry (about 8 braids), but once all of the braids were done, I sprayed each braid with setting lotion from top to bottom. Not too much! Just a little. I think this really "set" the waves.
*Let it Marinate. I washed, blowdried and braided my hair early on Sunday, so it had all day and night to set before taking it out on Monday morning.
*Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave In for Ends. I cannot say enough about this stuff! It really kept my ends from coming out all funky looking. It always keeps them smooth and cooperative.
Sometimes the successes of these kinds of styles comes down to braiding vs. twisting. For my hair (3C/4A I think), braiding is usually the way to go. My hair does not really respond to two strand twists. I have a lot of hair, but the strands themselves are not thick. Further, the curl pattern of my hair is not very tight. Therefore, I find that braids give me a more defined wave. I can get some definition from twisting, but only when I start with wet hair, and even then it falls more quickly than it does with braids.
Regular Braid out w/ wet hairI hope this helps someone!!
Peace & Blessings,
GG
14 comments:
I have been doing this for like 2 months now! I am in my 8th month of transition and my hair absolutely DOES NOT respond to twists... This hairstyle has protected my hair and kept it very protected during this critical transitioning period.
Glad someone else does this. You ladies should try it. It leaves your hair looking GREAT!
prettty!!! i will definitely be trying that soon. i'm not very good at cornrows so the practice will help. what kind of setting lotion did you use?
Yes, this helps a lot! I just did this style after I flat-ironed my hair and It didn't really get straight. But I didn't get a lot of wave definition. I'll definitely be checking out the herbal essences leave-in!
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thanks gg - the detailed steps and pics were great - i'm going to try it this weekend!
SIMPLY GORGEOUS!!
beautiful hair :)
Lovely hair! What setting lotion did you use?
wow! her hair is beautiful! does she have a fotki?
I do this technique with large flat twists when I want very big, very wavy hair and it's a hot style! I don't like to get into the habit of blowdrying so I do it for special occasions. Very pretty though!
Thanks Ladies! I think I used dark and lovely setting lotion, but i'm not loyal to it. Just a light spray over each braid is enough. I don't have a fotki, but there are other pics of my hair on my blog, http://thewritecurldiary.blogspot.com
beautiful hair!!!
That's really cute! I'm going to have to try that one day. Thanks for sharing : )
Wow..I thought I was the only one that had issues with getting a pattern with twists! Braids work for me also, however lately they have not been coming out like they used to. I am in my 11 month of transitioning, so now I have more 3c/4a natural hair than relaxed hair. So I think I need to change my products. I've tried Ms. Jessie's not enough hold! any other suggestions? I do appreciate it!
you have beautiful hair! And I have to agree, braidouts work better for me as well.
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