Yarn Braid Do's & Don'ts

      When I was natural I was looking for another style. I was tired of twist outs, fros, mowhawks, all of that. I wanted something fun and different, One thing I did know is that I wanted to loc my hair. I wasn't quite ready to loc my hair so I searched for a style to imitate locs. I came across this photo of yarn locs. They were tiny and beautiful, There were so many of them and her hair was very full. I at the time wanted small locs so I thought this was perfect.

There was general information that I did discover in my search. One of the most important bits of information was... ACRYLIC YARN ONLY. Cotton and wool yarn were once alive, so it will crave moisture and the intricate fibers will loc to your hair.

    Ok, so don't used sheep back or tree poop, got it. I rushed to Micheal's and purchased two 1lb bundles of black yarn and for three days, I went to work. OMG! It was so worth it. 

       Yassss. I gave life in these braids. I felt like I lived through them in a sense. I had gotten a million compliments on the style and the older it got the better it looked. I was in love. So in love that I had these braids in for 6 months. In the six months I discovered several things:

Do Not Let A Style Go To Your Head- That is number one. I knew it looked really good but I should have taken them out. I advised others on how to properly take care of theirs, but I really had a yolo moment. 

IF You Go Swimming Rinse & Condition First- I was working out with this hair in and at times I had to get in the pool. Whether you have permed, natural, locs, weave, whatever, rinse your hair for 5 minutes with pure water first. Then if you can rub a little conditioner in your hair. Chlorine is very damaging. The molecules int he chemical will want to enter your hair shaft, but because your strands are now swollen with water and protected with conditioner, the chlorine will be less penetrating. You will notice a nice condtioning when you get out of the pool. The chlorine's ph would open your hair cuticle and the conditioner would adsorb nicely and before any chlorine. 

Do Not Wet Your Hair Frequently- When you wet your hair frequently the bonds in your hair break and your hair is limp and pliable. When your hair  dries the bonds reform. If you have in yarn braids, you will constantly be breaking and forming bonds around these very fibrous pieces of yarn making it easier for your hair to "loc" around the yarn.

Do Not Use Small Amounts of Hair- Do not install to many. They smaller the braid the less strands their are to support the weight of the yarn as well as the build up. Yarn can be rough to some hair types and can cause breaking over long time wear. 

Moisturize Your Hair Nicely as You Install- The acrylic yarn will not absorb the moisture and it also makes they yarn more slippery and less damaging to your hair, This will keep your hair moisturized for a good 3 weeks into your style. 

Moisturize with Spritz and Minimally- Due to build up at the root as well as they fact that you have a blanket on your head you do not want too much product in your hair it will cause the yarn to mush together with the build up at the base of the braid. 

AND THIS REALLY APPLIES IF YOU HAVE THIN OR WEAK HAIR. This style needs a good amount of strands per braid. I suggest if for people with average hair thickness. Thin hair takes more surface area per braid, so they style may come out thin, if the hair is not strong. You can have thin hair with very strong strand and this style will work for you, however if your hair is weak in anyway this style is not for you. 

Soooooo I have average hair with veeerryyy thin temples. They are my stress points and my father is some sort of caveman with that c thing going around his hairline. After keeping these braids in for 6 MONTHS a lot of them had loced together at the root. It was so tedious and tiring to take them out that in some areas that were the worst, I ripped them out. The ending result was horrifying as you can see. I completely ripped my head to shreads. So I ran to the salon and demanded locs. No more playing around in loose natural hair. It is very delicate and sensitive, quite frankly, I don't have time for that. This is the second time since I've went natural that I had to start over. All I want is long black hair. This was the tipping point for my journey. 

Natural Hair Style: Revisiting Kinky Curly

Quite some time ago I tried Kinky Curly Curling Custard. I liked this product a lot however when used with its companion the leave in I thought my hair was still dry and lacking moisture. I wanted to give this a try using my own first step moisturizer. The custard does not allow hair to dry in a timely manner either. None the less I tried the product again. To my surprise it was quite a sucess and I came up with two styles using the product.

Products I Used:
Water: I cannot stress this enough. If you have a very tightly coiled curl pattern you need lots of water. Your hair must be soaking wet to achieve the best results... In my opinion.
Cantu Shea Butter Coconut Curling Cream: OMG! I'll tell you about this bad boy in a lovely review.
Kinky Curly Curling Custard

Step 1: Wash Then Section & Condition
This is my hair washed with conditioner on it. This photo is like a slight update as to what my hair looks like and the length that I have gotten. You can see how I can put it in chunky medium plats around my head.

Step 2: Apply Curling Cream & Curling Custard & BRUSH!

In each of my chunky sections I only used about a quarter sized amount of the Curling Cream. That mixed with the water in my hair will provide a nice coat of moisture. After the quarter sized amount of the custard is added add copious amounts of that Curling Custard. The more kinky, curly, and coarse your hair is the more you need. BUT WAIT! If you are trying to do a wet curly jeri curl type thing then yes continue... BUT if not then use the regular amount that you would use with any other product for a twist out. The trick is brushing this product through your hair as about twenty times from root to tip. You want this product to cover your hair.

This pic is also another slight update of my hair growth this far!

And Walah! My Two Styles!

First Day Hair

This was the final product and first day hair. It came out really cute and kind of the way I wanted it. This style still took for ever to dry tho. I thoroughly brushed my hair in the direction I wanted it to go and and I let it dry.

Second Day & Beyond

That night I twisted my hair up for bed. I did about 12 plaits over my entire head. In the morning my hair was dry and the twists had set. I really didn't like what my hair became in the morning so I tucked and rolled my hair in to a back roll. The front I simply plucked out and pulled to the side.

Curly Two Strand Twists

Check It Out! 

How To Achieve This Look

Items Used: 

   - Spray Bottle

   - Shea Butter Whip

   - Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade

   - Small Flexi Rods

*** Note: This hair style was done on wet washed hair.*** 

Steps: 

   - I parted my hair in medium sized twists. 

   - Before twisting each twist I de-tangled it and put the shea whip then the pomade on the hair. 

   - I made sure my hair stayed wet as I twisted my head. 

   - After the twist were done I rolled my wet hair. 

   - I slept with the rods in overnight and in the morning I had this awesome style!

The Video! 

Curl Define Medium 4c Hair

Ain't It Cute? My Fro That Is! 

This style took me less than 20 minutes and it is gorgeous! I mean look at my hair glow and those curls pop! Wah-Lah! Man am I starting 2012 off right?! 

How To Achieve This Look

You Will Need:

   - Gel

   - Spray Bottle Of Water

   - Styling Brush or Comb 

   - Conditioner (only if your hair is not pre-moisturized) 

***NOTE: This style was done on DRY , MOISTURIZED , & PRE-STRETCHED HAIR***

Steps: 

1. Part your hair in small workable sections. 
2. Clip the sections up and work on your hair one section at a time. 
3. Take one section and spray it with lots of water. 
4. (optional if your hair has not been pre-moisturized---my hair was pre-moisturized with Shea Moisture Curl Enchanting Smoothie and a shea butter whip)                          Take the conditioner and rub it in your hair smoothing it down.
5. Take a copious amount of gel and smooth is down your hair. 
6. Take a styling brush or comb and comb the gel through your hair. 
7. Shake your hair when you are finished. 

These instructions were merely a crash course, but below is the HOW TO VIDEO! 

4c Style: Party Hair Updo

As you all know, I love a good updo... So...

To achieve this hair style:

1. I parted the front of my hair that I was going to leave out. 
2. I then put conditioner first and then gel on the hair in the back. The hair in the was wet.
3. I then french rolled my hair up and pinned as I went along. USE AS MANY PINS AS NECESSARY. 
4. After I finished the french roll I braided the top of my hair and sat under the dryer. 
5. After about 30 grueling hot minutes I said... Forget this hot dryer... I let the rest air dry...
6. I then plucked out the front right before I went out and WAH-LAH! 

Quick Updo

French Roll in the Back, 
Puff in the Front:

Fro hawk on 4c Hair

                
This hairstyle was achieved with:

• gel
• haircombs
• a product to twist with 

I simply gelled and slicked the sides. i then put hair combs in the sides to keep the hair up. i then twisted the middle and took it out. Here is the video:

During the night I simply twist the hair and tie it up:



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