Weekend Hair

I went to two parties this weekend. I wanted to move out of my Twist Out comfort zone and do something different with my hair for both parties. On Friday night I opted for the Afro Puff as it is a quick and easy style. My Hair had great curl definition due to being in flat twists all week. 

On Saturday I was more adventurous. After looking at a few tutorials I decided to try out the Twisted Side Fro Hawk. Although my hair is shorter and has less volume than the one on the video, the style worked equally well for me. I liked it and will certainly do it again. Here is a tutorial on how to achieve it. 



Marisa X

Protective Style Learning Curve

Simphiwe Dona

Autumn is beautiful season. It is a time to enjoy long country walks and observe wonderful changes in nature. But it also means that winter is on its way. As the weather gets progressively cooler I feel as though my hair could do with a rest. I noticed that I am less enthusiastic about styling my hair in the morning, as it is dark, raining and cold outside. Therefore I decided to challenge myself to learn a variety of style that will protect may hair during autumn and winter. I will be aiming for protective styles that can last between 5 to 7 days.

Hopefully this protective style learning curve will help me expand my repertoire of hair styles. The challenge will be to find and or adapt styles to suit my hair characteristics (fine and lacking in volume).

So I started the challenge with a 6 flat twists updo. I did not manage to get a good enough picture for the blog L. Basically the six flat twists met at the grown of my head. I then used an elastic band to keep them together and folded the ends of the hair around the elastic band and held it together with cute hair pins. I decided on this style for the week because I will attend two parties over the weekend, Friday & Saturday, so the multiple flat twists will then make a nice twist out as a base for styling my hair for the parties. 

Marisa x

Avocado & Banana Deep Conditioning

I love to nurture my hair with natural ingredients. There is no better way of doing so than by using ingredients readily available in the kitchen. Today I made a deep conditioner for my hair with a banana and an avocado that needed using.

DIY Recipe

      One ripe avocado

      One ripe banana

      3 table spoons of coconut cream

      Two table spoons of honey 

      Two tea spoons of a avocado oil (or any other oil of your choice)

Blend the ingredients for 3 minutes or so until all ingredients are well mixed together. This mix has a thick consistency which means that it does not run down my face or neck.  Apply it to dry hair and leave it for 45 minutes. Then wash as usual.

I love this deep conditioning recipe. It leaves my hair soft and shiny for a few days. There was no need to detangle it further after the wash.  There you have it, a healthy 100% natural treatment that is easy to make and inexpensive. 

Keep loving your Afro.

Marisa. 

Bobby Pins

Hair pins are useful tools for the natural hair girl. I rarely used them prior to going natural.  However, since I discovered the roll and tuck hair styles, bobby pins became my best friends.  This increased use of hair pins has lead me to notice that my bobby pins do not last very long. I am disappointed by how quickly they become ineffective and need to be replaced. The top problems I encountered include:

1. How frequently and quickly the tips come off. This then leads to the metal ripping through the hair. 
2. They get stretched out of shape after a few uses.
3. Too much or not enough grip.

A couple of weeks ago I run out of bobby pins. I remembered this whilst shopping and bought some at Sainsbury's. They turned out to be too small and did not hold my hair in place. Yesterday, I bought Goody Colour Collection pack at Boots. Although I wanted that particular size they did not have a pack with black pins only. So I ended up with a combination of black and brown bobby pins. Goody's pins are advertised as having great grip. I used it today and indeed the pins have good grip. However, they already started to lose their shape. I wonder how long their tips will last...

Is it just me having this problem?

A quick search lead me to MetaGrip apparently a great brand of Bobby pins. Unfortunately it does not look like they are available in the UK...

Can anyone recommend a good brand of Bobby pins that will last and can be found in the UK?

Marisa. X