Friday, January 28, 2011

My mullet's demise

I gave in... which really is no surprise given that I'm such a fan of a great haircut.  This morning I went to my favorite natural stylist and had my mullet excised.  Sure, I could have kept doing my temporary mullet solution, but I just didn't feel like doing that on a regular basis.  It was time for more drastic measures.

Krika washed and conditioned my hair with her own product line (the scents of her products are *amazing* to me), then she did a blow-out.  Even she remarked that my hair in the back at my nape was much longer than the rest.  Anyone else had experience with hair growing faster on some parts of the head than others?  I've always thought that perhaps my hair just seemed longer because of a different curl pattern (3b/c?).  Anyway, here are the results:




J'adore this shape!  It's not the first time I've had this cut.  This was the same cut, but in its curly state (rather than blown-out) from a couple years ago.  Notice it's much shorter at the nape:


I am looking forward to rockin' my new cut at worship dance practice tonight.  :-D


Saturday, January 22, 2011

My mullet solution

Issue:  My hair looks like a mullet because (a) I have a looser curl patter at the back and sides than the top, and (b) I tried to "trim" my own hair a few months ago... fail!

Lately I've been feeling like cutting my hair again. During times like this, when I start to get frustrated with the length, I know I have to change it up.  Really, I just want a more definitive shape.

Solution:  Before I visit one of my fave stylists again, I'm going to try to style it into a shape using a method I saw it on YouTube via a CurlyNikki post.  By the way, if anyone can think of which vlogger first posted this, please tell me so I can give her credit.  In her video, she basically used gel on the portion of her hair she wanted to look shorter, stretched the part she wanted to look longer, and then blended so it wouldn't look obvious.  I did this when my hair was about 4-6 inches long and it works splendidly well.  This will be my first time trying it on longer hair (about 8-9 inches).

1) Because I've been experiencing breakage lately, I decided to do a light protein treatment by co-washing with Organix Coconut Milk conditioner.  You can get a big bottle of this at BJ's for around $6, I think.  I also detangled with this and rinsed it all out.
2) I caught most of the water in a microfiber turban, so I could work damp hair.
3) I sealed with coconut oil, lightly finger combing it through, then I parted my hair from ear to ear horizontally.
4) I raked Kinky-Curly Curling Custard (KCCC) through the lower half with my fingers.  I did medium-sized two-strand twists on the top part of my hair.  Then I tied it down with a scarf for a few hours until it was dry.

When I took my hair down, I blended the top and bottom section by fluffing with a wide tooth comb at the root.  The result:


Ta-da!  OK, it's probably hard to see it in the pics, but the result is sort of a shruken, but very well defined, curly section at the nape blended with a looser curl/twist-out at the top, which I like it... very much.


As for second day hair, I wasn't expecting to keep much of that shape.  I'm actually OK with frizz. I slept on a satin pillowcase, without a scarf or bonnet.  In the morning, I spritzed with DevaCurl Set It Free -- which by the way smells fantastic in the morning, fluffed with my fingers coated with a bit of coconut oil, and voila:


There are a few flat pieces, which I tried to twirl a bit, but for the most part, it's a fluffier, frizzier version of the previous day.