1Blessed Natural Mag

1BlessedNatural: Finger coils in 3.5 Hours Happy Wednesday, my blessed naturals! Many of you know that it can take me anywhere from 3-8 hours to do finger coils , depending on the size. In the past, I finger parted my hair in small sections to keep it neat. This weekend, I parted my hair in bigger rows. I used EcoStyler Gel.   Altogether, it took me 3.5 hours to finish my hair. Some of them started to puff up at the roots, but I'm happy with my results! I did four rows on each side of my head, so next time, I will probably do four rows. 1BlessedNatural: side photo of my finger coils 1BlessedNatural: Here's my hair while doing the finger coils. I was amazed at how fast I was going by just parting and doing bigger sections. 1BlessedNatural: Flashback to 2011- This style took me like 4 hours, but my hair was shorter than it is now Do you plan on protective styling this fall? Related Articles: 1 Week Old Finger Coils  ...

Q: Dear 1BlessedNatural,  I wear protective styles, but my natural hair is still not growing. What could I be doing wrong?   A: It is a popular misconception that if you wear your hair in protective styles, it will automatically grow. While, part of that is true...It will grow, but you might not retain length if you don't take care of your hair. You have to care for it before, during, and after protective styling. Before you install a protective style, be sure your hair is in good condition . Ask yourself these questions: 1. Are my ends healthy? If they are damaged, you may need to trim them before installing a protective style. An exception to this rule would be if you trim your hair while it is in twists, like I do. 2. Is my hair dry? I like to wash, deep condition, moisturize, and seal (with an oil) my hair before installing any protective style.  3. How long will I keep my protective style? It is a good idea to take breaks between styles to let...

1BlessedNatural: Protective Stylng Plans for the Rest of the Summer Happy Saturday, my blessed naturals! As you all may know, I've been cornrows and twists for the past 3 1/2 months with small breaks in between. Last night, I took my last set out (for awhile). Tomorrow, I plan to install some mini twists and wear them for the rest of the summer. I will redo them every 1 1/2 weeks. The pic above is of my hair while I was taking out the cornrows last. My hair has grown a lot, but some of my edges came out.  I try not to make the cornrows to tight, but my edges are fragile and don't play that! LOL. So, the mini twists will help because they don't don't put any stress on them. I will keep you all updated! What natural hairstyle(s) do you plan to wear for the rest of the summer?   Related Articles: New Video: Rubber Band and Cornrow and Twist Updo                              After Protecti...

1BlessedNatural- C's twists Hey, my blessed naturals, Have you ever wondered what you should do to your natural hair after protective styling for a long period of time? Maybe you wore a wig for 1 year or braids off and on. Well, many of you know my sister "C" has been wearing wigs as protective styles for the past 6 months to give her hair a rest and chance to thicken up . Her main question for me was how should she care for it now that she's taken the wig off. The answer is to give it some TLC! Here's what we did to her hair: 1BlessedNatural: This is C's natural hair after it's been deep conditioned. Hair Treatment  1. Washed 2. Deep conditioned  3. Detangled Styling  Afterwards, her hair was parted in medium size sections and twisted. The following products were applied beforehand: 1. Aunt Jackie's "Knot On My Watch" detangler 2. Cantu Creamy Hair Lotion  3. 100% Coconut Oil   *Bonus...

Rain Day Twist-Out Happy Wednesday, my blessed naturals! Yesterday morning, my hair was in a defined twist-out, but when I cam home it was in a poofy one lol. I was thinking about getting extensions to give my hair a rest. Last week, I bought a few packs of 100% Kanekalon synthetic braiding hair to do single braid extensions. I've done extensions on other people's hair, but I've never done it on my own hair. So, I decided to practice doing a couple on my hair. My results are below. I plan to do my whole head when I have some time. I thought about going to a braid shop, but I'm not in the mood to have someone yanking and combing through my hair like they don't have any sense, lol. The last experience  was more than enough aggravation. I've noticed that my scalp is a bit more sensitive since I've gone natural. I guess it's because my process of combing and handling my hair is not painful, so my scalp has been in chill mode lol. I will...

natural hair puff and flat twists with accessory Hey my blessed naturals! The northeast is currently experiencing another snowstorm, lol. Some of us already have 2 or more feet of snow on the ground from Thursday's snowstorm. This one is approximately the 8th one we've had this winter. Thank God for making it through dangerous conditions, though! In hair related news,  I'm back to wearing my puff with flat twists style. Today, I wore one of the $1.00 discount hair accessories I bought a long time ago. I love the decorative silver and metallic, wire comb because the teeth are curved. This way, I don't have to worry about it causing breakage when I pull it out of my hair. Also, I have a few short hairs in the back of my head. When I pull my hair into a high puff or bun, they fall from the rest of the group lol. For the past couple of days, I have been wearing one horizontal flat twist across the back and pinning the end of the twist into the puff. Problem...

Example of partial protective styling: cornrows in the front (hair prepped for puff in back) Hi everyone, As many of you know, protective styling is a great way to protect your strands and give yourself a break from every day styling. However, many of us may get antsy and still want to style our hair after a short period of time. This is where partial protective styling comes in. Partial protective styling is when you put part of your hair into a protective style. I have been using this method often during the last 2+ years of me being natural. Many of you may know that I have been cornrowing the front of my hair and putting the back in a puff. Because my hair is fine, my edges are really fragile. Partial protective styling allows me to leave the front of my hair alone to grow. At night, I two-strand twist, pin curl the back or put it in a bun to be taken out the next morning for a puff. Do you use partial protective styling? Don't forget to enter the 1BlessedNa...

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. It's time to debunk another natural hair myth! Myth #1: Because I'm natural, I don't need to trim my ends.  1BN: Although you are natural, you still need to trim or clip your ends. You may not need to trim your natural hair as frequently as permed hair, but you will still need to do so. Hair (in general) is prone to split, damaged, and/or weathered ends. Because your ends are the oldest part of your hair, they are exposed to the elements the most. Hair manipulation due to styling also adds more strain to your hair, especially your ends. Keeping your hair moisturized and conditioned may lessen the number of times you need to trim your ends. Protective styling may also keep your ends healthy for a longer period of time, but you will still need to trim them eventually. There is still much debate in the natural hair community about when and how much hair you should trim. I suggest trimming your hair as needed. I kn...

  Hi everyone, I removed my twists the middle of last week, then I styled my hair in the " Linked Cornrows with Puff " style for about 4 days. Saturday, I installed more twists (see pic above). This fall, (God willing) I plan to continue to do more protective styling. I'm going to see how much length I can retain by December. We'll see! Banding (stretching) my hair for mini twists. What protective style(s) will you be wearing for the fall? Related Articles: Mini Two Strand Twists Photos and Video                         Current Trim Regimen: In Twists                         Mini Two Strand Twist and Wash 'N' Go                    ...

Happy Monday everyone, I have heard many women say they don't want to go natural because it's too much work. They do not want to buy a lot products. They do not want to style their hair a lot. I'm here to say that you do not have to do those things if you do not desire. I am a person that likes to try different products and hairstyles. However, I have found a simple hair regimen that works for me: Daily: Moisturize my hair and seal with oil morning and night             Current Style of choice - Twist outs - twist hair nightly                                                                                     ...

Happy Monday everyone, Yesterday, I two-strand twisted my hair. I wanted to share the preparation and products for my mini twists. I pre-pooed with Tea Tree Oil (scalp) and Castor Oil on my hair, especially the ends. I covered my head with a plastic cap and sat under the dryer. Then I shampooed my hair. Afterwards, I deep conditioned with both the Organic Root Stimulator and Organics Mayonnaise because I had a little bit of each left lol. Then, I sectioned my hair off and applied the following to each section: Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Leave-In Cantu Coconut Curling Cream Cococare Castor Oil  ( I especially love Castor Oil because it is thick) The method above is an example of the LCO method which stands for Liquid, Cream, and Oil moisturizing method. The oil seals the moisturizers so that your hair doesn't dry out. Afterwards, I banded my hair. I used the Conair Ionshine 1875 blow dryer on the low/cool settings. I started at the back sections blow drying the...

My sister C and I have both been natural for almost two years. I transitioned for 4 months and then did the Big Chop. But, she transitioned slowly with the help of wigs. C clipped her hair gradually until she was completely natural. Although her hair was long, she was not happy with it being thin. So, she wore wigs. Two weeks ago, she sent me pics of her hair (without the wig) and I was too excited lol. Since I experienced heat damage after flat ironing, she told me the way in which she prepared her hair for flat ironing.   The first thing she did was apply the Repair Conditioner by Doo Gro to her hair and put a plastic cap on. She kept the product in her hair for 2 hours. Then she applied the Cholesterol Plus Conditioner by LeKair and slept with it in her hair overnight. This was definitely something I should have done before flat ironing. In the morning, C washed the products out of her hair and blow dried it. Then she oiled her scalp with the Do Grow Hair R...

Good afternoon my naturals! Today, I finger coiled my hair. They took about 4 1/2 hours to complete, which is a lot less than my normal 6-7 hours lol. When I create the coils, I usually do them by parting the sections with my finger. This time, I parted my hair from ear to ear. Then I parted the sections of my hair in small rows. This technique cut down the time. I also stood in the mirror the whole time instead of sitting on the couch lol. I applied water, leave in conditioner, Shea Butter mixed with Olive Oil, and Eco Styler Gel and twisted the hair between my thumb and index finger. The last time that I've created these was the beginning of August. My hair has grown a lot. I had a bit of difficulty twisting my ends because I have not adjusted to doing finger coils with my current length.I may keep the finger coils in for a week and a half. All Done! Thank God!

I've been wanting braids for a while now. Today, I had the patience to sit down and get them done. Today was the first time that I have been to a salon since I've gone natural (5 months) I am happy the results. When I first made my appointment, I said I wanted braids a little bit bigger than micro braids. But, the stylist ended up doing them any way, which was not a problem.  I used the Wet and Wavy Human Hair by Janet. My stylist braided my hair about two inches, and then put a knot at the end of the section of hair to keep it from coming a loose. One of my friends had just suggested that I should not get micro braids because of the stress that they place on the hairline. Check out the braids in the front at the top (TIGHT) lol. But, I'm not worried . I shampooed,deep conditioned and detangled my hair the night before. In the morning, I applied Organics Olive Oil Leave-In Conditioner  by Africa's BEST and Coconut Oil. I had a feeling that my stylist was...

It's been 4 months since my Big Chop. Hey everyone,          We now have a wealth of natural hair information (Thank God) on the internet. You can view blogs, videos, and other websites. But, one must be able to sift through all of the information given and use the methods/products that work for your hair. I remember when I was ten years ago, and I got my first perm. My grandmother warned that my hair would be more fragile with a perm. She said that less hair manipulation was the best. Otherwise, my hair would break off. Now that I am a natural, I have heard many people say that protective styling and low manipulation is best. So, I guess both are fragile??? permed and natural hair.        These mixed signals have become a bit of a nuisance for me lol because I love to try new styles for my hair. I do not want to wake up and be afraid of styling my hair because it might fall out. But, this is all in moderatio...