This video shows my technique for a braid-out mid-wear re-braid. I sometimes wear my braid-outs for up to four weeks. However, there are times when I want to give my braid-outs a “fresh” look. That is when I do a re-braid.

Also, I have a big surprise at the end of the video…our new Natural-ness Knit Satin lined hats.

Below are pictures and an older video that I’m just now getting around to posting (forgive me ).  It’s a simple braid-out created using cornrows, which gives the hair a nice texture all the way to the roots (scroll down for video).

Before removing my braids for a braid-out, I also make sure to rub coconut oil on my braids.  This gives my braid-outs a nice shine.

I usually just do a regular braid when styling my hair for a braid-out.  In this case, I decided to try cornrows instead.

Using cornrows for a braid-out, creates texture all the way to the roots.  When I use regular braids, I notice that the roots of my hair is usually not textured.

In addition to the coconut oil, I also used products from Kinky Pride for this braid-out.

Below is a video of me removing the cornrows and styling my hair into this braid-out:

This video is long overdue, but here it is.  My daughter recently celebrated her 4th birthday and I wanted to come up with a cute style for this special occasion.  I decided to style her hair using Curlformers along with Kinky Pride’s Shea-Loe Butter and Twist and Loc gel, and the SNO Natural Herbal Hair & Scalp Therapy.  Here are the results (scroll down for video):

Even though I had 40 Curlformers to work with, it was not enough.  I decided to remedy the situation by styling the top of her hair into two pony tails and adding the Curlformers to the ends.

I borrowed this set of short and wide Curlformers from my sister Coco.  I ran into another problem, the Curlformers that I was using was designed for up to 9 inches of hair.  I quickly discovered that my daughter’s hair is way longer than that…

To solve that problem, I two stranded twisted the first few inches of hair (in some cases 3-4 inches) and added the Curlformers to the last 9 inches of her hair.

The Kinky Pride and SNO Naturals products gave my daughter’s hair a nice healthy sheen.  It’s hard to find products that do that because of her dry/cottony hair type.

Initially, I planned on untwisting the two strand twisted roots of her hair, but after removing the Curlformers, I decided not to.  I really liked the result.

All ready for her 4th birthday party!

Video Notes: This is my demonstration on using Curlformers on my 4-year-old daughter along with my review of Kinky Pride’s Shea-Loe Butter, Aloe Vera Lock & Twist Gel and SNO Herbal Hair & Scalp Therapy. These products were not purchased by me, but were sent to me after I contacted the co-owner and asked her if I could review her product. I fell in love with the Kinky Pride products after they were demonstrated on my hair at the Tennessee Natural Hair expo. You can see that video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iva8Wsy4NE

Kinky Pride products can be purchased here:http://snonatural.com/products/products.html

Be sure to check their site for a list of the product ingredients. I will also list the ingredients on our website: http://www.natural-ness.com

Music credits:

“The Natural Hair Song”, was written and performed by Anitra Jay (http://www.AnitraJay.com). You can download the song for free at: www.facebook.com/anitrajay

Instrumental “untitled” and created by Francis “mr. faia” Turner

Thanks Anitra & Francis for sharing your talents!

I have really thick hair and it’s difficult for me to get my puff as low as I like it. So, I developed a new technique to get my puff positioned exactly where I want it instead of directly on top of my hair all the time.

Products used in this video:
Goody Ouchless Hair Elastics – To tie off bottom half of hair
Scunci Headwrap Flat No Damage - To accessorize puff
Large Black Mum Hair Flower Clip - To accessorize puff
Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel - To smooth out the front of the hair in order for it to lie down
Deluxe Satin Tie Band Black  - To help hair in front to lie down. A second one of these scarves can also be used to tie back the puff.

For step-by-step instructions on how I created this puff, watch the video below:

Coco & I have been on a forced hiatus from the site for a week; we’ve been very busy.  Thanks for your patience!  I can’t promise that updates will come much faster, but please bear with us, we will continue to create new videos and posts as time allows.

Below is my demonstration on creating a rope twist-out along with my review of Kinky Pride’s Shea-Loe Butter and Aloe Vera Lock & Twist Gel. These products were not purchased by me, but were sent to me after I contacted the co-owner and asked her if I could review her product. I fell in love with the Kinky Pride products after they were demonstrated on my hair at the Tennessee Natural Hair expo. You can see that video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iva8Wsy4NE

Kinky Pride products can be purchased here:http://snonatural.com/products/products.html  (see ingredient list below the video)

Ingredients List:

Kinky Pride Shea-Loe Butter – Shea butter, aloe butter, soy butter, avocado butter, almond butter, grapeseed oils, rosemary oils, ylang ylang oils, peppermint oils, olive oils, jojoba oils, wheat protein, nf wax , vitamin E, fragrance

Kinky Pride Lock & Twist Gel – Aloe leaf extract, wheat protein, nettle, horsetail, apple cider, lavender, ylang ylang, castor oil, vegetable glycerin, vitamin E, potassium sorbate, fragrance.

Today is the start of week 4 for my yarn twists and I have been noticing a lot of flakes since week 2. I’ve been managing it by spraying it with water and adding oil to the scalp but at this point that isn’t helping anymore. However, since it took me so long to do my hair I refuse to take it down so soon. Therefore, I decided I would just take down the twists that are in visible areas (the front and along the part) and just cleanse my scalp in those areas then reinstall the yarn.

Here are before and after pictures:
  

Here are the products I used in this process:

Spray bottle with nothing but water in it.

Denman Cushion Brush Nylon Bristles to detangle the hair.

 Scalp Cleanser spray, I used Creme of Nature Scalp Cleanser for twists, locks and naturals.

Shampoo Brush to brush away to dead skin.

Indian Hemp Hair & Scalp Conditioning Treatment , I used Softee brand.

Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, I like to do mine in black.

For step-by-step instructions watch my how-to video below:

In this video, I show how I shampoo and detangle my 3 year old daughter’s hair.  Shampooing my daughter’s hair in the past was a battle and I was losing.  I finally found an effective way to get the job done without struggles and tears.  I hope this helps!

I created this video in celebration of my 6 year nappiversary!  I first chopped the relaxer out of my hair on July 26, 2005.  Now six years later, I’m still “keeping it nappy”.  If you are interested in seeing more pictures of the styles shown in this video, please check out the following links:

Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Years 5 & 6

By the way, the song used in this video, “The Natural Hair Song”, was written and performed by Anitra Jay (http://www.AnitraJay.com). You can download the song for free at: http://www.facebook.com/anitrajay

I was thinking of doing my hair in bantu knots for some time now. Then my cousin started asking questions about them which prompted me to put together a video on how I do them.

Here is the top view:

Side views:

If you are interesting in trying this style, click on the video to view:

Warning: Lots of puff pictures coming up.  Why? Because, 1) I like the way my hair looks in a puff, 2) I like the way my hair looks in a puff, and 3) I REALLY like the way my hair looks in a puff   Kidding aside, I think a puff is a cute go-to style on those days when your hair is not “working” for you.  It’s also a viable option when your braid-outs or twist-outs have seen “better” days.  However, if you are not using caution when making a puff, you may find yourself facing broken off hair.  Below, I will explain a few different methods for wearing a puff while protecting the edges of your hair and your puff itself.  As you read, remember that I am not a hair expert.  The info below is the results of trial and error.

First of all, when I decide to style my hair in a puff, my goal is to avoid using brushes as much as possible.  The more you use a brush on your hair, the more likely you are to damage the edges of your hair or cause breakage to the fronts, sides and back of your hair.

This is what I call a shrunken puff.  I call it “shrunken” because this is the same puff that I wore during my vacation.  It was once a “stretched” puff, but overtime, it shrunk down (you’ll see what a stretched puff looks like in a moment).

To style my hair into this puff, I sprayed my hair with water mixed with leave-in conditioner.  I then applied Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel.  After applying the gel, I used my hand to smooth my hair back.  If I do use a brush, I avoid using a boar bristle brush.  Instead I use my Denman Cushion Brush Nylon Bristles, 9-Row.  From my experience, the Denman puts less stress on my hair.

If I decide not to use a brush, I take a “silk wrapping scarf”, the type of scarf that you would use to “wrap” relaxed hair, like this one Stay On Satin Natural Style Wrapping Scarf #1170 and I tie it tightly around the edges of my hair (close to my forehead and the nape of my neck).  Then I begin to push it backward, making sure to keep it tight.  If I do this correctly, my hair becomes slick around the front, sides and edges without the use of a brush.  Note: The hair around the front, sides and edges has to either be very moist or has to have gel for this to work properly if you want a smoother finish. I then wrap the wrapping scarf around my puff and tie it so that it is not seen (although you can see it in the pictures above).

Sometimes when I use gel on my hair, I can wear the same puff for multiple days without redoing it.  If I decide to do that, I take my regular large satin scarf (like this one Satin Nites Large Satin Scarf #779) and fold it and tie it so that it covers only the front, sides and back of my hair – leaving the puff out.  I go to sleep and when I wake up the next day, I just have to re-fluff my puff and remove the scarf.  This picture shows the same puff two days later.

Now onto the “stretched puff”.  The puff in the next few pictures was created after removing my last set of Ghana Plaits.  My hair was nice and stretched, so I used the same method above to create this puff.

When creating a puff on stretched hair, most likely you can get away with not using a brush.  Gel and/or water is usually enough to get a somewhat slick look.  Please note that this does however depend on your hair type.  If you have a spongy hair type, like my daughter and sister Co, your hair may not look slick no matter what you use.  With my daughter’s hair, I have to tie her hair down with a satin scarf (or a wrapping scarf – Stay On Satin Natural Style Wrapping Scarf #1170) for 30 minutes or more AFTER forming her puff to get it anywhere near slick.

Can you now see the big difference between my “stretched” puff and my “shrunken” puff?

My stretched puff is a lot fluffier and bigger.  If I leave it like this long enough (two days or so) however, it becomes shrunken.

So what happens when you want to wear a puff, but you do not have any gel or you just don’t like the slick look?  When I was on vacation and I removed my Ghana Plait bun, I did not have many options for my hair.  I decided to wear it in a puff, but I did not bring any gel. In this case, I once again made sure the front, sides and back of my hair was moist and used coconut oil (not a lot).  I gently brushed my hair, once again using the Denman brush, and used my satin wrapping scarf to secure my puff.  Here is hubby and I standing in line at Legoland in Carlsbad California.

Don’t get me wrong, even when I am at home and I have access to gel, I do not always use it.  I find that once you apply gel to your hair, the only way to get rid of the “hard” feeling is to shampoo it.  That is, unless you use Aloe Vera gel or make your own.  I no longer use Aloe Vera gel, because it does not hold my hair.  It acts more like a moisturizer than a gel for me.

I love to accessorize my hair when I wear puffs.  Here I am at the Viejas Outlets in Alpine California wearing a flower accessory that I made myself.

Now I wanted to add a few additional notes about my method of making a puff.  I do not always use my satin wrapping scarf to make my puffs.  I sometimes use Goody Bands to hold my puffs.  When I do use Goody Bands, I cut the band so that I am able to tie it as tight as I need to.  I never use rubber bands!  Please keep in mind that long term use of Goody Bands may dry your hair out and could possibly cause breakage.  I prefer my Satin wrapping scarf.

Below is an old video that I put together on making puffs (it is about 5 years old now). I do not use this method of creating a puff anymore, but I thought it might be useful in giving some of you ideas on other ways to create a puff without stressing your hair line.  Also, note that in this video, I am using a boar bristled brush.  I avoid using boar bristled brushes now, because they tend to be rough on your hair.  I prefer my Denman.

You are watching: Making A Puff (Length: 3:36)

Stills By: Diego 2 Memphis (LV Burns)

Music By: Erykah Badu from her Worldwide Underground album