Search Results: Evelyn Alfred
It’s wash day again and time to stretch your kinks into a defined braid-out, or maybe this is the week you have the patience to try mini-twists to protect your hair from the winter weather.
Whichever style you decide to rock, you first need to have these five necessary hair tools to take your hair to ultimate fabulosity. Having these tools in your hair arsenal will keep your hair tangle-free and allow it to retain length during the cold.
Your Go-To Kinky Hair Tools
- Wide Tooth Comb. While you are inside of the shower and conditioning your hair, it’s easy to guide a wide tooth comb through your kinks to detangle. Start from the bottom of your hair and work your way up to the roots. A seamless comb prevents snagging, which you can find at any beauty supply store for under five dollars. If you have more money to spend, try Ouidad’s Double Detangler.
- Plastic Hair Cap. Deep conditioning is a kinky girl’s best friend when dealing with the dryness of winter, and a plastic hair cap (or “baggie””> is a simple solution to pampering your hair. Fifteen minutes under a hair dryer and the knots will melt away. For those who want to avoid sitting under a dryer, you can wrap a towel on top of the baggie and use your body heat to soften your tangles instead.
- Butterfly Clips. Once your hair has passed the TWA stage, detangling your hair all at one time can be overwhelming. Butterfly clips help section your hair into manageable chunks. These can be used in the shower as an extra step while detangling if your hair is dense and you want to make sure not even one strand escapes the detangle process. I also use the clips before I start styling, so the rest of my hair is out of my way and it doesn’t find a way to re-tangle itself as it begins to gradually dry.
- Spray Bottle. Speaking of drying, a spray bottle is excellent at keeping your hair moisturized while you are setting your hairdo and it’s much more convenient than rewetting your whole head in the shower. For a boost, you can add Carol’s Daughter Lisa’s Hair Elixir inside the spray bottle to give your hair added shine and assist with sealing.
- Hands. And the most important and completely free tool to have is your hands! Your hands can detangle, section, massage and fluff. Without them, it’s impossible to use the other four hair tools.
Want More?
Watch Natural Reality use butterfly clips and finger tips to coil her hair.
Final thoughts
It is tempting during this time of the year to let your inner product junkie out to play in the hair tool section of the beauty supply store, but keep it simple and it will save your bank account in the long run. If you’re a savvy shopper, you can get everything on this list for less than twenty bucks and use the rest of your money on a funky outfit for New Years Eve.
What hair tools do you use on your kinky tresses when the temperature drops?
It is day four of your twist-out and your co-worker has convinced you to attend the company’s holiday party. Problem is, it’s not exactly a jeans and t-shirt affair. You are going to have to dress up and put on a cute pair of heels, that purple lipstick you just bought, but there’s not enough time to retwist your kinks into a cute holiday hair style. What are you going to do?
MORE: Wavy Holiday Updos or Curly Holiday Updos
Clearly, you can’t put on a crochet beanie like you might during a less fancy occasion and pulling it back in a puff simply won’t do. No problem. Inside your basket of hair accessories you have a handful of hair combs that can whip your hair up into a festive updo in thirty minutes or less.
How to Hair Comb in a Hurry
- Left or right? Figure out which side of your hair you want to add the first hair comb. It’s best to pick the side that is the least defined so it’s easier to slide the comb in.
- Add a moisturizer. In an upwards motion, smooth the side you selected with Oyin Handmade Hair Dew (or another moisturizer of your choice”> to almost the top of your head, and then slide the comb straight down.
- Repeat! Once you have the first comb tucked securely, you repeat the process all the way around your head. The last hair comb should be inserted considerably lower than the first one so your hair will lean to one direction. You can decide how much volume you want on top by how high you place the combs.
- Spot check. Sometimes in the process of adding the hair combs, a few over your coils will escape. If that happens, just take a bobby pin and tuck it back in. You can also use bobby pins if you want to create a bang area.
To take it up a notch, add a touch of hair bling by using a decorative hair comb for a sparkling holiday hair style. Choose a spot where the hair comb is easily visible to have the most impact.
Want More?
Want more updo how-tos? Watch how Senora gets her twisted updo, and how you can too!
Final Thoughts
Now that you have added a new holiday hair style to your arsenal, you can modify as you please and spend more time selecting the perfect outfit for the party. What styles have you tried with hair combs?
Happy Nappy Day is a summer celebration of kinky and curly hair. Imagine a carnival complete with funnel cakes, funky jewelry, cold lemonade, and spoken word poets all aimed at celebrating curly hair.
This event is in its eighth year and was created by Malaika Tamu-Cooper, the owner of the natural hair salon, Dreadz-n-Headz in Baltimore. Happy Nappy Day is held in Woodland Memorial Park and although the number of attendees seemed small at the start, once the sun began to dip behind the trees, it quickly became a collective of Afros, flat twists, and even a woman with twenty foot long locks!
The festival is held in conjunction with Poets in the Park, so much of the entertainment focused on performance poetry; however there were singers, belly dancers and even hip-hop artists.
Overall, it’s a chance to relax with your family and friends surrounded by like-minded individuals who share a kinship through naturally curly hair.
Shea Butter, Silver, Sweets, and Sounds
Product junkies beware: Happy Nappy Day will make your shopping fingers itch.
I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t buy any new hair or skincare products until I finished a few bottles first, but I almost broke my promise visiting the Zuresh tent. It was so hard to walk away from their Lemon Cake Full Body Cleanser – the smell was delicious.
The majority of the vendors catered to kinky curly hair, but the jewelry, hair accessory and food vendors were also in attendance and just as tempting. I was unable to resist buying lemonade, not only because of the 90-degree weather, but also because I’ve never seen anyone add spinach and mint to it before. I wanted a second one as soon as I slurped down to the bottom.
Later, I settled down in the performance area and listened to local, and not so local (New York, Philadelphia, Virginia, etc”> poets. Watoto from the Nile, who are clearly fed up with negative messages promoted in hip-hop. They gave a scathing lyrical critique in their song “Letter to Lil Wayne” using the beat to his own song “I’m Single.”
Be Happy and Nappy Next Year
A little preparation for Happy Nappy Day will ensure your celebration goes well. First, you’ll want to arrive early because parking is limited. This will also allow you to circulate through the vendors before the crowd arrives, and potentially snag that cute pair of silver earrings you wanted.
Next, you’ll want to bring a large blanket (or lawn chair”> so you‘ll have a comfortable place to sit for the performances. Ants, mosquitoes, and their buggy friends attend Happy Nappy Day too, so slather your skin with insect repellant. While you are focused on protecting yourself from bug invasions, don’t forget to protect your skin from the sun, with sunscreen, that adorable hat you bought last week or even an umbrella.
Finally, bring cash because there aren’t any ATMs at the park and many of the vendors don’t accept plastic.
If you do attend next year, I’ll see you there. This curly-headed girl will definitely be heading back, cash in hand!
