Okay…after three years of no heat, I finally allowed my sister to flat iron my hair. I could not believe how long my hair had grown.  It’s amazing what lack of heat does for your hair.  My hair has never, I repeat never been this long before in my life.I debated on whether to include these pictures on this site, because I do not want to encourage anyone to apply a flat iron, pressing comb or curling iron to their hair, unless they are willing to cut off any damage caused by these direct heat methods.  I have been toying with the idea of going back to a TWA, so I was willing to take the risk of heat damage to my hair.  If you are not willing to cut your hair in case of damage…DO NOT USE DIRECT HEAT ON YOUR HAIR!! Why do I say this, just check out this link http://www.nappturality.com/forum/index.php?showforum=53 (I have not been on nappturality in while, and I forgot my log-in info, so I’m not sure if this link still works).

It took hours to get my kinks to flatten.  This process was a huge reminder on why I stopped straightening my hair in the first place.  I absolutely hate flat irons and pressing combs. I allowed my hair to stay like this for a few weeks, because was not willing to go through this again any time soon. I was lucky that my hair was not damaged in the process (although I don’t think my ends liked it much), but I still would not recommend using direct heat on your beautiful natural hair.

These pictures are from the first few months of my4th year being natural.  Please click continue reading to see all of the styles!

This is a simple low puff style. This is a style that could be dressed up and accessorized for dressier occasions.

Here is a side view of my egg shaped head…I mean my low puff

Another view of the low puff.

Here’s a more casual look. The top is just a pony while the very back is allowed to hang loose.

Here’s the back view. The texture is achieved using a large braid out.

One last view.  I used a clip to hold the pony together.

Here is day 2 & 3 of my Fourth of July twist-out that I posted last week.  The twist-out is one of my favorite styles because it lasts so long and you can do so many different things with it.  When it begins to look flat, then the twist-out also makes a great looking puff.  It takes a lot of time to actually two-strand twist the hair, but I think the end result is worth it!

Okay, I took down the twists and here’s the result.  The twistout continues to be my favorite style.  I just love the texture that two-strand twists create.  If you have the patience to sit down and twist your hair, the resulting twist-out is well worth the time and effort.  The best thing is, I can wear it like this for about a week and it’s easy to care for.  I just go to bed and fluff it out the next day.

My hair was in need of a trim, so I opted for the easiest way to take care of my ends – a twist and clip.  A twist and clip is just what it sounds like, you two-strand twist your hair, then clip the ends of each twist as you complete it.  The nice thing about it is that with natural hair, it does not matter if the trim is not exactly even, because the hairs curls anyway.  This method prevents the need of resorting to a pressing comb just to trim the ends, plus you can do it yourself.  Need more info on this method? I’ll be uploading an updated video on the twist and clip method as soon as I am finished editing the video.  There is an old version of this video in the archived section of the website, but trust me – the lightening will be much better in the newer version.  Keep checking back!

So what am I doing with my hair lately?  I am still stuck on the large braid out style that I introduced on the website a while ago.  This is a very simple style to create after a shampoo and condition.  I just braid my hair into 6-8 large braids, let it dry, take the braids down, separate the strands of hair and go.

This style can also be brushed out into a nice textured puff.  I go with the puff when I do not have time to braid my hair up at night.  Oh, and after braiding the hair at night, I always spritz with a water and oil mix to keep it moist.  Sometimes I use a leave-in conditioner on my hair before I braid it for the night.