KinkyCurlyHairExperience

Along with wigs, sew ins seem to be one of everyone’s favorite protective styles. The fact that its sewn in means it’ll last longer than a wig. The hairstyle that is shown in this GIF is a lace closure sew in. This particular sew in can last you from 6-8 weeks. This happens to be the healthiest sew in for your hair because none of your hair is left out. Now… even if you don’t know how to do hair this is probably one of the easiest DIY (do it yourself) styles to do.

How to do a closure sew in:

According to Wikihow, these are the tips to remember when dealing with lace closures:

• Make sure that your wefts/tracks and lace closure match in color and texture.
• Match the color of the weaving hair net and thread to your own hair color.
• Be very careful when sewing so that you don’t prick your scalp.
• Keep your stitches small and consistent. It will take longer, but your work will be sturdier.
• Brush your sewn-in hair starting from the ends and working your way up to the roots. Be gentle so that you don’t rip the vented hair out of the lace
• Lace closures are not permanent. Your hair will grow and they will start to come loose and look wig-like. Plan on taking them out after 8 weeks.

A lot of times, closures can break your hair off if not sewn in correctly, which is why it’s important to be careful when doing it yourself. Thread happens to be very hard on your hair so if pulled to tight, especially around the edges, it is bound to create breakage.

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Its not very hard to maintain a lace closure because anything that gives you a break from your natural hair is usually low maintenance. According to herhaircompany.com, With your real hair hidden away under the closure, you won’t have to do a lot of maintenance. Since your hair will be in braids most of the time, you won’t have to subject it to excessive brushing. You will still get to wash your hair and scalp every now and then so you can still feel fresh and clean underneath. At night, you can just wrap your hair or wear a bonnet to keep it intact while you sleep, and then take it off in the morning.

Follow me on twitter @erykahdiamond1 for weekly updates! Thanks for reading 🙂

I’ve talked enough about the specific products to use in your hair but lets talk about how to make your hair grow. Whether or not you’re using the products I have recommended, your hair still needs to be taken care of. With that being said, don’t depend on your products to take care of your hair for you. Six days ago there was a wonderful YouTube video uploaded by a woman named Halfrican Beaute:

This video is very interesting because she went through a natural hair journey of her own so she basically gives you the ends and outs of growing your hair to your desired length. I chose this video because I believe that it is helpful considering she is a black woman with natural hair of her own.

One of the points she made in her video is you should keep your hands out of your hair so much if you want to keep your hair healthy. According to her, touching your hair all of the time can cause split ends and unnecessary damage to your hair. Along with just playing in your hair, doing harsh hairstyles in it can also be harmful. Low manipulation hairstyles are very healthy for hair growth. Some low hair manipulation hairstyles include: low sleek buns, two strand twists, wigs, etc. Any hairstyle you can maintain for a week or more is considered low maintenance.

She definitely grabbed my attention with this video by including pictures as visuals for outstanding results. She even included the type of hair she has and her favorite go-to hairstyle which is wigs. Also, as stated, moisturizing is very important.

She states some of the natural hair tips I stated in one of my earlier blogs but includes personal experience to enhance her tips. i enjoyed this video because not only is it very informative for my viewers, but for me as well. I can not sit here and say that this video wasn’t VERY helpful to watch because that would be a lie. After I watched it I just knew it was perfect to share with you guys, especially if you have the 4c hair type like her.

 

As a black woman, our hair happens to be our crown no matter the hair type. This specific video was for the 4c hair type and if this wasn’t very helpful for then you can simply Youtube search your hair type and helpful videos will be available for you.

Check out my twitter account @erykahdiamond1 for updates on weekly blog post updates and interesting tweets on random things 🙂

There are a lot of things you will discover as you enter your natural hair journey. Everyone has their favorites when it comes to products but here I was able to narrow it down to two with the help of 7 twitter followers. What is the BEST brand of hair products for natural hair? AND THE WINNER IS……. SHEA MOISTURE!

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According to the Naturally Curly Blog, moisture is the key to getting your hair bounced back from chemical or heat damage. Cantu and Shea moisture happen to specialize in the same thing which is strengthening and moisturizing your hair.

Afrobella has given a great review on Shea moisture products. Her blog includes multimedia convergence because she typed a written review along with a verbal one on youtube. What people tend to love about Shea Moisture products is the fact that they include organic products which is EXTREMELY good for your hair.

With each product you can experience some disadvantages. Some products weigh your hair down while others leave your hair as light as a feather. Not all affordable products are considered good products.

So there are different types of the Shea Moisture Products that are different colors.

The Olive brown label is made with organic yucca and baobab & specializes in thickening your hair. The Pinkish colored label has Organic Coconut and Hibiscus which specializes in enhancing your curls. Especially great for thick and curly hair (LIKE MINE).

The Black Label is made with organic African black soap meant for balancing and cleansing itchy or dry scalps. The last one I am familiar with is the Yellow label which has ORGANIC Raw Shea Butter is great for treating dry and damaged hair.

By now if you started to do a search for these items you’ve realized that it costs a little more than Cantu. Sometimes you have to sacrifice what your pockets like for what your hair likes. People don’t say being a natural is expensive for no reason!

 

If it’s not clear by now I am totally on the side of Shea Moisture at this point. I know what I said about how I love Cantu soooo much but hey things change. So my transition from Cantu to Shea Moisture occurred when I went home for a week from college and left ALL of my hair products at school. IF YOU’RE A NATURAL THEN YOU KNOW THIS WAS A MAJOR CRISIS FOR ME. Well my mom, who’s also a natural, uses Shea Moisture so I figured “hey why not try something new?”. Something is better than nothing right?

I wouldn’t lie because no one is paying me to lie about it. This product had my hair feeling so soft and moisturized. Iv’e never seen my hair this happy like ever! NO I have not purchased this hair product on my own yet because I am a broke college student. I am still racked up on Cantu products right now. If you have the money I recommend this product to anyone.

If you’re looking for quality I would go definitely go for Shea Moisture but if you’re looking for something on the affordable side then Cantu is perfect for that. If you’re looking for a hands on video of both products being used in someone’s hair check out a youtuber named Levan. By clicking the thumbnail you will view his video on the Coconut Curling Cream vs. the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing smoothie.

Thanks for reading my blog today about which hair products are the best according to my twitter followers and I. Check out my twitter account (@erykahdiamond1) for weekly updates on upcoming blogs and a daily dose of me lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You can’t really go wrong with protective hairstyles but everyone has their favorites. I asked my fellow classmates of #ShawClass to vote with their faves. With 17 votes, wigs won with a 35%. WOW! This leaves us with twist/braid outs coming in second, box braids coming in third, and sew-ins coming in last! Check out my latest twitter poll to see the results!

If you have natural hair, then you know that trying to keep it moisturized and healthy is a very complicated task. Winter is the most dangerous season especially because most natural hair doesn’t retain moisture so easily. Protective styles are typically the way to go if you want your hair to grow. Here are 6 of the best styles that will help you protect your hair and looking cute at the same time.

According to Morgan C. Mullings, box braids, faux locs, and wigs are the way to go.

1. Box Braids– Braids are great for natural hair growth even though it will grow whether it is braided or not. This hairstyle can completely fit your schedule because it is not high maintenance at all. With your hair in braids, this gives you 2-3 months of protectiveness from chemicals and heat damage, which reduces breakage.
2. Faux locs– Faux locs, similar to box braids is a hairstyle that requires little to no effort (once installed). Faux locs are created with synthetic hair to create locs that look just like natural locs. This style lasts for almost two months and is spectacular as a protective style.
3. Wigs– Everyone knows what a wig is, but did you know that they are actually great for protecting your hair, especially in cold weather? Most protective styles are good for your hair but they put more stress on your hair than wigs do. Simply slapping a wig on your head requires way less work than box braids and faux locs. The only downfall is that you STILL have to protect your hair under the wig in order for the wig to protect your hair.

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   The Summer and Winter are both harsh seasons for your natural hair. While one has very cold weather, the other has very hot weather. Fall and Spring are fairly in between hot and cold so protecting your hair through these seasons is not hard at all. Okay so I promised you six protective hairstyles to keep your hair safe regardless of the season. According to another article called The Maria Antoinette, corn rows, twists, & sew ins, along with other similar hairstyles, are great for protecting your natural hair.

4. Corn rows– Women mostly use cornrows to promote healthy hair growth. Most of them assume that cornrows is the ONLY hairstyle they can do on their hair. Quite frankly I disagree because natural hair is very versatile. Like with mostly all hair styles, cornrows come with challenges. If they are done too tightly this can lead to hair breakage, especially on your edges because they are very thin. Cornrows, just like braids, are a traditional African style of hair grooming. You can do these by braiding your hair very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to produce a continuous, raised row.
5. Twists– You can do twists on your real hair as well as with braiding hair.. either way its protective! These are so many ways to twist your hair, whether it’s kinky twists, flat twists, Havana twists, etc. Today I will be focusing on a twisted hairstyle that I am more familiar with which is called Marley twists. With proper care they can last up to 8 weeks. This hairstyle is perfect for recuperation from the damage that you may have done to your hair over the years.
6. Sew ins– Think of sew ins as the more complicated way to slap your wig on with 10x the protection. With sew ins you typically have your hair braided down in a “beehive” type of style. There is no way a sew in can damage your hair UNLESS YOU BRAID TOO TIGHT. This can seriously break your edges off if you braid your hair too tight on them along with sewing too tight. That is way too much tension on your hair so if you do this hairstyle you should get it done by someone you trust or simply do it on your own! With the right hairstylist, this hairstyle will last you and protect your hair so effortlessly.

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   I totally recommend these hairstyles to anyone who is trying to grow their hair or at least make it healthier. Want to be updated when I post new blogs? Follow me on twitter @erykahdiamond1.

Hey natural hair beauts, it’s me Erykah back again with another update about what to use to make your hair happy. I am being completely honest here by telling you that everyone’s hair is different. If you haven’t heard this before then you’ve heard it here first. With that being said, don’t fault me if some of the products I use in my hair don’t have the same affect on yours.

Back to the topic at hand. In my hair I choose to use products from “Cantu”. Cantu is popular for its high performing conditioning formulas that always work so well. The most popular products are the Cleansing shampoo and the Cantu Shea Butter Leave in Conditioning Repair Cream. This spectacular cream has long been a favorite of many curly haired women for its ability to transform even the driest hair into moisturized, luxurious hair. It comes in a 16 oz jar that sells for about $7.

According to WillonAWhim, who tried the Cantu products called “coconut curling cream” and “define and shine custard”, these products moisturize your hair. There is no sulfate, silicon, or mineral oils in these products which means in totally strengthens your hair. This is great for the cold weather in order to avoid buildup. These products, similar to all Cantu products, are 100% affordable which makes the product even better. The curling cream is great for doing hairstyles like twist outs and braid outs, but the define and shine custard is great for holding your curls all day. At some point Cantu wasn’t a great product to use considering it was said that were using things like alcohol. But at the same time, your hair won’t cooperate if you don’t use the products correctly.

The coconut curling cream is great for hairstyles such as twist outs and braid outs. If you don’t know what those are you will fins out as you continue to explore my blog. Anyways, it defines and conditions your hair by giving you soft, shiny, and deeply moisturized curls. Great for dry/damaged hair!The define and shine custard was something I like to call, an experimental purchase. Meaning, I purchased this without a clue about what the product does for my hair. This product, unlike the coconut curling cream, actually SPECIALIZES in defining your curls. Let me just say, I do not regret purchasing this at all because it does it’s job. No I’m not getting paid to say this, but I highly recommend this product. Without this, I wouldn’t have seen a successful wash and go in my hair. With this 3C/4A hair that I have, this was pretty complicated, considering I am at the awkward length with my hair.

Check out my next blog in order to get familiar with the hairstyles that were mentioned, along with others. There are other products, not only by Cantu, that have the same affects as the products mentioned. Just find your match when it comes to these products! That is all for this post folks, I hope everyone enjoyed reading.

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @erykahdiamond1 where I will be posting weekly tweets about what to expect in my upcoming blog posts.

 

 

 

 

xx