Saturday, April 30, 2011

Spring Cut!

NOTE: For those of you who care about my 'fro, it's not gone! This is just a blow-out. I'll explain more below the photos.

Before (look how long!!):



After (ahhh, feeling much lighter):



Confession: I am extremely lazy about cutting my hair. I like it big and I don't really care very much about frizz and fuzz, so I just don't spend that much time fretting about keeping my ends clean and my layers neat. I just let it do it's own thing despite pleas from my mom to get it cut (she's not a big fan of wild hair). Before last weekend it had been a year since a pair of scissors touched my head!! But I do know when I've hit my limit. As the weather's gotten warmer, my hair was starting to feel extremely heavy and I was getting downright uncomfortable, so I booked a hair appointment.

Now, about the straightness in the above photos. To save time and money at the salon, I don't even bother walking in with my thick, tangled curls. I just blow it out myself and get a dry cut on straight hair. My stylist is the queen of layers, so I never worry about the shape looking good when the curls are back. Usually, though, when I get my hair cut the blow-out is just a means to an end and I bring back the 'fro as soon after my cut as I can (straight hair on me just doesn't feel right anymore), but my stylist played around with a curling iron this time and gave me big bouncy curls (bottom photo). I loved it! So I decided to take a week-long break from the 'fro. Here's how it went:

Day 2 (Sunday) : Style still looks good, but it's starting to expand outward.
Day 3 (Monday): Eeep! Puff central! Put it back in a slick bun for most of the day, then I got sick of the bun and took it down, then it started to puff even more, so I put it in a low ponytail. 3 styles in one day! Exhausting! After that very long and frustrating day, I decided to try a bantu knot-out using the method from this video (with slightly smaller sections)
Day 4 (Tuesday): The bantu knot-out turned out great! Bouncy, full, shiny curls! I left the front right twist and knot in place as done in the video, and I loved it.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Same style as Day 4. Slept in a satin bonnet the night before and just shook out the curls.
Day 6 (Thursday): Return of the 'fro! Slept in the satin bonnet again, but I worked out in the morning and it was rainy, so the 'fro came back on it's own, but only in the back. The roots and front were still straight, so I just pulled it up into a slick puff. Still cute, but more like my usual styles.
Day 7 (Friday): Same as Day 6

I really wish I had pics to show you of the other styles, but it was a crazy week at work, so no time for that. Today I'll be bringing back the 'fro, but it was fun to play around with different styles for the week. Natural hair is so versatile! You don't have to wear it in a 'fro if that's not your thing. Look how sleek my hair looks above with no relaxer! I'm sure a roller-set, which is much kinder to the hair, could give similar and longer lasting results. As for me, the 'fro is my thing, and I'll be happy to see it again. :)

6 comments:

Shay said...

Looks good, but the fro is my favorite!

nellboogie said...

You are gorgeous either way...

Yaz said...

Loved your post! I recently went natural & my hair & I have a love/hate relationship;) I think I'm going to try a blow out.

http://sweetorleans70117.blogspot.com/

belle said...

Yaz - If you try a blow out, be careful (use a heat protectant!) and try not to make a habit out of it. Heat damage can mess up the natural curl pattern, so I try to avoid it as much as possible (I only blow it out for hair cuts, once or twice a year). Part of the reason I tried so many different styles in the week that followed my blowout is that I was trying not to use heat. I absolutely refused to use a flat iron or curling iron after the initial style was done. A less risky option for this style would be a roller set.

Suzanne said...

you look fabulous!

Ashley Turchin said...

It's cute! I love it!