Review: Mongolian kinky curly 4a-4b hair/ protective style challenge

Greetings friends!

Finally coming to you guys to give an anticipated review on my current protective style. 

Let me start off by saying that I love to wear weaves occasionally. The most important thing to me when wearing a weave or sew in, is that your natural hair and the fake hair blend properly to give a NATURAL look. Whether you decide to wear curly hair, straight hair or wavy hair, make sure your hair blends properly! I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone wearing a weave, and you can tell where the weave hair meets up with the persons natural hair! :-( awful!

Anyways, I chose to purchase some hair that matched my hair texture exactly. The purpose of this protective style, was to keep heat off of my hair, and give my real hair a break from styling weekly. As I stated in a previous post, I will be protective styling until February 2014 as apart of my very own protective style challenge. In between styles I will be letting my hair breathe periodically,  trimming my ends and deep conditioning. 

I purchased this hair from a vendor I seem on Instgram. Her Instgram name is @vabk and she also has a business Instgram account which is @beautybyvabk . There are so many other vendors and companies that now produce Mongolian kinky curly hair like: heatfreehair , haute kinkyhair onyc hair and so on. I chose to purchase from this particular vendor because her prices were the more reasonable and at the time, she had a special that included free shipping. I purchased 2 bundles, a 16in and a 18in. Both totaled up to $200 with free shipping. 

I had my friend Alyssa install the hair for me. I got a full sew in with MINIMAL hair left out on the top, and a tiny bit of hair left out around the top perimeter of my hair. That way I don't have to worry about styling a lot of my real hair, which would defeat the purpose of this protective style.

When the hair was done being installed, let me just say it was HUGE! Like Diana Ross huge. Lol, I was a little intimidated by how big it was, but nonetheless owned it of course. Since I had to go to work the next day and didn't want to scare everyone off with my now massive curly fro, I wanted to tame the hair down a bit so I decided to do a two strand twist on the hair. 

This hair can be shampooed, co washed, dyed and blow dried. You can do roller sets, rod sets and anything else you can think of. It acts just like our hair and mimics our hair. It shrinks up when wet, and can be stretched out by various styling.

I spray the hair down with water almost daily; if not daily then every other day. I use miss Jessie's pillow soft curls and jelly soft curls on this hair, for twisting and to give some hold. I have not co washed the hair yet, but will do so before the weekend is over. I sometimes use Eden body works glaze/edge control on my edges when I want a sleek look.

Over all, this hair is the bomb.com. It blends with my type 4 hair PERFECTLY!!!! I am so in love with this hair and will definitely be repurchasing this hair for more protective styles to come. I will say that this hair is NOT low maintenance at all, it still requires that you style, wash, detangle and maintain it just like our real natural hair. 

Let me know if you guys have questions or concerns about this hair or any other protective style. I will be keeping this hair in until late October or early November. 

Thanks guys!

-Dani

Guest feature: Meet lovely natural & YouTuber, Brittany!!!

1. Please introduce yourself!

 

Hello Hello Hello!! My name is Brittany! I am current living in Northeastern Ohio. I'm a full time Mommy, a grad student and I work full time Monday through Friday.  Busybee best describes me =)

 

 I recently started a YouTube Channel. Still a work in progress... My main focus is time/cost efficiency and simplicity when it comes to hair care, specifically natural hair care =) 

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/brickleyy

 

2. Why did you decide to go natural/ become chemical free?

 

I attempted to go natural the summer of 2006. I wasn't really prepared, or educated on the process, to say the least. My hair was near platinum blonde, very short and very dry. After about 3 months, I went back to getting relaxers.

 

I decided to go natural for the second time in 2009.  This time by accident and during the last few months of my pregnancy. I was only going to the salon for "touch-ups" 2-3 times per year anyways, but when my hair dresser saw that I was expecting, she advised me that the chemicals, mainly the fumes, weren't the best for me and my unborn child. That was the perfect opportunity for me to give the natural hair process another try! Haven't looked back since.

 

I've been relaxer-free since July 2009. Chemical-free (hair dye) since August 2012.

 

3. How would you describe your natural hair texture?

My hair is a mixture of 3c and 4a. Looser curl pattern around front and sides.

 

4. Describe your most recent style regimen within the last month.

 

I like to keep things simplified by wearing mostly twist-outs and braid-outs. 10-12 large braids/twists. I always do my hair before bedtime and let it air dry over night.

 

5. What's your go to hairstyle(s)

TwoStrandTwistOuts and BraidOuts for sure!!

 

6. Do you have a specific wash regimen?

 

Absolutely! I wash my hair atleast 2 times per week. I've found that keeping my scalp clean causes my hair to grow faster.

 

1st wash is always cowashing (Suave Naturals Conditioner in Tropical Coconut)

2nd wash, usually midway through the week, is just a thorough rinsing...water only.

**I only shampoo/clarify my hair once per month**

 

7. What are some of your favorite hair products?

 

Suave Naturals, olive oil, and my homemade Shea Butter and Coconut Oil concoction.

 

8. So you have any natural hair goals?

 

Ultimately, my primary focus is to have healthy hair. Length retention means nothing if your hair is damaged. 

Goals:

1. Heat free for 6 months continuously.

2. Become more creative when it comes to styling.

 

9. Do you have any advice for other new naturals or those aspiring to be natural?

 

Like anything else, going natural and chemical free is a process that requires patience. Results are not apparent over night. What works for others, may not be benificial to you. You have to be willing to do a little experimenting to find out what works best for you and your hair. At the end of the day, it is just hair and you have to grow to love what the Lord blessed you with.

 

10. How can you be contacted?

 

brickleyy07@gmail.com  IG @brickleyy

Protective style challenge, starting August 2013

Good morning all! 

I will be starting a protective style challenge in a couple days. This challenge will be from August of 2013 and will end February 2014. So this will go on for approximately 5 months. 

This challenge will consist of protective styles only, that I will be wearing my hair in consistently. Mostly weaves and maybe braids. This Thursday I will be having a kinky curly weave installed and will be keeping it in for 8 weeks max. (2 months). In between the weaves, I will be giving my hair breaks periodically for 2 weeks at the most. During the breaks, I will be trimming my ends, deep conditioning, and making sure my hair is cared for, before braiding it back up for a sew in. So consistently; I will be protective styling, taking a break, protective styling,taking a break  and etc. until February of next year. My goal is to see not only how long my hair will get within that 5-6 month timeframe but to see how effective weave actually will be for my hair, and how effective not using heat is. Once I get my hair installed this weekend, I will post pictures and show & tell!  There will be a post to follow on "How to care for your natural hair under weaves". Let me know if you guys have any questions. Thanks for reading!

-Dani

Buns, protective styles and such...

Hey guys!

As of lately, I haven't been doing much with my hair. I've been wearing it in buns through the week and wearing braid outs on the weekends. The weather here in Cleveland has been kind of funky. Random rain showers, humidity and rainy mist have caused me to stop wearing my hair out so much. When any type of moisture comes in contact with my hair, it shrinks up like nobody's business. I'm used to it, but it's kind of annoying especially when I take the time to braid it so it can be in a stretched out style. Shrinkage comes with the natural territory and sometimes it can be a pain in the butt! 

Buns are my best protective style now days, especially when I use the dreadlock hair I purchase from my local BSS (beauty supply store) to add to it.  When adding the extra hair my ends are protected and I spray my hair with water daily. 

I will be doing a review on the Eden Bodyworks hair glaze I purchased about a month ago, and more guest features from fellow naturals will be coming soon! 

Stay tuned,

-Dani