Hair Year Round Up

WOW, so another year has already gone by. It's been an eventful year to say the least, not much in the way of hair though. I'll explain.

To be honest, I've found it worked out better if I just left my hair alone this year. For the most part, I had twists, yarn twists (y'all know how those turned out ... itching n' itching some more. I'm still mad at that, but that's another thread altogether) or bunned. I can safely say that I've made it past BSL despite having cut off quite a bit around this time last year.

Despite regular haircare routines having been helpful in the past, I just don't see an absolute need for them anymore. My hair thrives without them. I'm not saying that it would not probably have thrived even more, it totally could've. But it's thrived never-the-less and I'm satisfied with that. Perhaps now that things have settled down, I may pick up a routine again. However, at the moment:

I hardly DC, maybe once every 3-4 months.
I now wash once every 2 weeks - 1 month.
Moisturizing maybe 1-2 times a month.

I pretty much just do whatever whenever. It's been largely due to the crazy number of work hours I've been doing. When I do have time off, hair is the last thing on my mind.

I'm still determined to grow longer and will continue to protective style. Since the yarn braids or yarn twists didn't work out for me,I think I may try the marley braids two strand twists. Here's to no itching in 2012!

Happy New Year everybody!!

The Yarn Braids and Itching Saga Continues

I HAD to take them out. My scalp was itching like there was no tomorrow. It was getting a bit ridiculous and I was also getting white bits in there ... most likely dandruff.

Since taking down the yarn braids, I've been bunning. I must say though, that the itching has reduced dramatically. Still itching, but not nearly as bad. Ok, so what gives? *puts problem solving had on*

What I've tried so far:

Changing shampoos - I've tried Cream of Nature, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration, Natural Look Clarifying Shampoo and Lacura Nourishing Shampoo (SLS free). Lacura has been the best so far, it really has helped and my scalp is not itching 2 mins after jumping out of the shower. While Lacura helped, the itching continued.

Oiling my scalp - I thought maybe my scalp was dry. Dry scalp can be itchy and dandruffy. That didn't work either.

Changing yarn brands - Nada.

Removed yarn twists - The itching seems to have subsided somewhat after taking out the twists ... So I'm assuming that since I tried the first 3 things before taking the braids out this time round, and they didn't work, it may be something to do with yarn, period. Let me know if my logic is flawed.

So now the question remains. What is it about the yarn that would make my scalp itch? I have often asked myself whether the dyes/chemicals used on the wool may cause problems. I know on the Crown and Glory website Robin suggests soaking hair extensions before use in a vinegar/ water mixture, to remove an alkaline base that coats the extension. To be honest, I don't know whether there is an alkaline base that coats extensions, but I know for a fact that most do have some sort of film that can be removed by that method. There are some who claim that removing this film makes a difference to scalp irritation.

While I don't know the mechanism behind it, I just wonder whether a similar principle could apply to yarn. I use acrylic yarn, which I know is most commonly dyed with basic (alkaline dyes). I have mentioned before that I would try soaking the yarn first before braiding, but I just never followed through. Hmmpf.

Although I've had a bit of a rough time with yarn twists recently, I really don't want to give up on them. They are so gentle on my hair and have made retaining length a breeze. They are excellent for my edges too.

So one more try, with this soaking method ... that will be the deciding factor as to whether I continue to use yarn or not. I'll make sure to take pics or make a video about the process.

Any suggests would be helpful ladies. Don't be shy to pitch in!

Yarn Braids or Yarn Twists and Itching

I really don't know what it is. But lately, when I have yarn anything in my hair, I get this insatiable itching. It's really getting on my nerves now.

Yes people, I do wash my hair. Even though, my scalp will begin to itch a few hours after the wash. I use shampoo and I've changed shampoos. I've tried apple cider vinegar rinses. Nothing doing.

The only thing that's worked so far is using a clarifying shampoo. The itching is quelled for approximately a week. I really don't want to wash my hair with clarifying shampoo weekly. No way, Jose.

What gives UHCers?? Anyone experiencing the same thing with yarn? Any suggestions?

Yarn Twists - Styling and Accessorizing Yarn Twists

In my last post I bemoaned my yarn twists "just not looking great." Well, a reader - KayTee- stopped by and encouraged me to try styling and accessorizing the yarn twists. Brilliant idea! Thanks KayTee!

Welp, here's what happened:

I bunned, I'm not ready to wear these babies down yet. I know what you're thinking. "Errmm, you were bunning in the last yarn twists post, Urban." But look guys, I put in a cute flower!! *proud face*


But wait, there's more!! I had a side-swoop, bang-type thing going on at the front:


I know it doesn't seem like much, but I'm a really 'low maintainance' type of girl. I don't wear makeup and usually just wear hairstyles that are convenient. I'm usually one to just tie back yarn braids. So I'm really stoked to be trying out different styles.

This style looked nice. It's simple, but still manages to add a little spice to my, generally smart but simplistic, everyday coporate look.

I've also just discovered an entire draw of styling bits and bobs, from years ago, that I had forgotten about. Let the yarn twist styling games begin!

Freshening up Yarn Braids

I've had yarn braids in since March. I left them in as long as I could because I was so overwhelmed at the prospect of having to take out an entire head of them AND redoing them. Life has been getting in the way, so I just haven't felt like I had that amount to time on my hands.

But not to worry, I came up with a solution. You want in? Ok, I'll tell you. The secret is to redo the braids bit by bit! While watching a movie, YT vids, reading your favourite blogs ; ).

I've found I start redoing maybe after 1.5 months. Every few days, I take out a handful (on weekends I can usually do a lot more) and redo those. At the 3 month mark or there abouts, I undid the top half or so (during a weekend) and redid all that. In the next 1 or 2 weeks I'll do the back half.


The front half undone.

It's not as overwhelming for me because I only spent a few hours on the process and still had a lot of my weekend to do other stuff.

Some people may be reading this and thinking, "I couldn't be bothered, Urban, I'd rather do it all in one go and get it over and done with it." More power to you. But for some reason, I don't have it in me to sit for so many hours doing my hair at the moment.

My edges on the other hand, are still redone every 3 weeks or so, by the way.

Yarn Braids - Yarn Braids/ Genie Locs Directory of Sorts

So in my last post, I promised to make a post that would serve as a type of yarn braids directory. Like a one stop shop of links, to save you from having to trawl through hundreds of websites for information. Some of these links I've used and revisited again and again. Some I think maybe to useful to others.

Please note that this is a work in progress and will be updated as I find more links. So bookmark this page and check back regularly. If you have links that you think may be helpful to others and want it added here, leave me a comment and I'd be happy to. Here goes!


Yarn Braids Videos

Vlog - Yarn on the Brain

My Yarn Braid Results

Yarn Braids

My Yarn Braids Experiences (Answers and Styles)

Yarn Braids

Yarn Braids - Results

My Genie Locs/ Yarn Braids



Yarn Braids - How To's

Yarn Braids - how to start and end a yarn braid (demonstration, not talking)

Yarn Braids Tutorial - how to start and end a yarn braid (talks you through)

Yarn Braids / Genie Locs - nice close up of how to start a yarn braid and how to end it, with great style pics at the end (demonstration, no talking).

Camouflaging Your Hair in the Braid or Yarn Braids - You know how you get those frizzies sticking out of the braid, especially if your hair is natural? Here's a potential solution. Haven't tried it. Let me know if it works for you! (talks you through).

Yarn Braid Tutorial - One of the best braiding tutorials I've ever seen. She does such a good job of explaining step by step. Not a fan of the color combination, but that's besides the point (talks you through).


A note for those who are new to braiding: A few of the tutorials will have a different way of starting the yarn braids, braiding and ending the braids. Watch a few of the videos and see which methods you're more comfortable with. You can combine techniques from different videos if that works. Don't get overwhelmed. There's no single way of doing this!


Yarn Braid Photo Albums

Yarn Braids/ Genie Locs - by Kellum (she has lots of styles here too!)

tjk25's album - tjk25 was my inspiration for yarn braids, he's made a lot of progress with the, lots more albums on his fotki.

My Yarn Braids - by Kaleela1


To be continued ...

Yarn Braids - Yarn Braids/ Genie Locs Photos Finally

Drum roll please!! I know I promised to post pictures of my yarn braids forever and a day ago. Better late than never. Here they are:

This set of yarn braids has been in for about 6 weeks. I re-did my edges after about 3 weeks, so they are due to be re-done again soon.

I'm really enjoying these braids. But I'm still yet to improve on the styling front.

This has been my only attempt at a real style. I'm going to go through BlackOnyx's Youtube channel again and look for quick yarn braid styles. Another trick I found is to also looked at styling videos from ladies with proper locs. The end result with yarn braids is very similar. Clearly, I haven't really been putting effort into trying all the beautiful styles I've found. lol. That's about to change the! In one of my next posts, I'll make a yarn braid video directory of sorts so that you won't have to dig around too much.

Anyway, so far here are the pros and cons of yarn braids:

Pros

• Easy to maitain
• Light
• Gentle on my edges
• My hair was soft and moisturized when I look out my edges

Cons

• Take ages to dry when washed
• Laborious to take down

Clearly the pros are outweighing the cons. I'm really happy with the way my hair is coming along. I've also had good growth:

The red line is at about 1.5 cm (around 0.6 inches). So give or take, I'd say I'm hair has been consistently growing at the normal average hair growth rate of 0.5 inches per month.

A maintainance/ washing/ conditioning/ regimen post will be coming up soon. Stay tuned!

Yarn Braids - I Did yarn braids/ genie locs!

These yarn braids took forever and a day to do but I'm so happy I did them. It's been about 2 weeks since I put them in. I know, I need a smack for not updating sooner. Better late than never, right?

Ok, I'll go straight to the point as to why I'm absolutely loving these yarn braids/ genie locs:

• They are extremely light. So they don't pull on my hair at all, especially my edges. This was the whole reason I'd given up on extensions ever since April 2009. But these babies are extra gentle on my hair. There are quite a lot of them, but they're not heavy at all.
  

• The yarn is soft and I'm guessing this limits breakage as it doesn't cut into my hair.

• I've just undone my hairline today (since it's been two weeks) and my hair is well moisturized, as opposed to being dry and breaking when I use normal extensions.

• I'm loving the 'locs' look!
  

What I don't like?

• They take FOREVER to dry when they are washed. Well what did I expect, really? It's like trying to dry a thick cardigan on the washing line. Of course it's going to take a while. Duh, Urban! lol. But I haven't been going anywhere special lately so it doesn't bother me too much. Even then, once they've dried out for a 2-3 hours, you can pretty much leave the house, without dripping water everywhere.

• That I had to burn the ends. I hate burning braid ends because they stick to and pull on clothes. I tried the knotting the end method, but that started unraveling after a couple of days. Maybe I should've sealed them in hot water?

• If you have xray vision like I do, and look very very closely ... umm... i think the yarn is kinda turning blue??? : o But it's a very dark blue which I don't think you can notice unless you're very... very close to my head ... and well, I don't plan on having anyone that close to my head so I think I'm good.

Yeh, I see you tapping your foot impatiently, "Urban, you're not posting about a new hair do without pictures are you?" Well yes and no. I am, but only till the next post (in a couple of days), I promise I'll have pictures of my yarn braids in that. I'll also be doing posts on:

How to do yarn braids
How to maintain yarn braids (moisturizing, a few styles, products, tips, etc)

For now have a look at my yarn braid inspirations:

TJK25's fotki
Blackonyx's YouTube

Talk to you soon ladies (and gents?!).