Growing Mane

How I Conceal the New Growth of My Braids

box braids May 12, 2015

Hi Ladies!

I realized that I have not made a post in a very long time so this post is long over due. I have been wearing braids for the past few months and sometimes I don't have the time to rebraid my hair when it starts looking really bad. That's when I start to get creative! I have really only used 3 methods to conceal my new growth.

1. The use of gel or some form of edge control

As a demonstrated in this post I tend to put some gel on my edges to make the front of my hair look like it was freshly done. Here are the results.

2. The scarf

I haven't done this in a while, but using a scarf is a great way to conceal new growth and it is very easy and hassle free to do.

3. The "swoop"

I definitely used this a lot this time around. It was effortless to do and still looks a bit fancy. I thought I took better pictures but this is the best one I could find haha.

Do you have any tricks that you use to conceal your new growth?

Thanks for reading!

- Sarah

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Kinky Twists vs. Box Braids

box braids April 16, 2015

Hello Ladies!

So a few weeks ago I did kinky twists for the first time. I really like them and I'm gonna compare kinky twists to box braids in this post. Keep in mind that I braid my hair myself so some of my pros and cons are more beneficial for someone who braids their own hair.

Kinky Twists

I forgot to mention the hair I used for my kinky twists (I ended up using 2 brands)

Equal Jamaican Twist Braid for a few
Batik Reggae Hair for most of my hair

Pros

Takes a lot less time to do than box braids
The hair I used is a little cheaper than the hair I used for box braids
No need to cut the hair in half (I wear my kinky twists long)

Cons

When I twist the hair, the twists tend to twist my roots so it hurts more than doing box braids

Box Braids

Pros

Painless to install
Does not get loose easily

Cons

Have to trim each braid so that they style looks neat
Takes a long time to plait
Takes time for me to separate the hair

Overall

Both styles are great! They both last just as long and I would do both again. Those points are just my experiences.

Do you prefer box braids or kinky twists?

Thanks for reading!

- Sarah

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I Tried Kinky Twists for the First Time!

Braids April 01, 2015

Hi Ladies,

If you read my post about Shine 'n Jam you would have seen that I wasn't wearing my usual box braids. I went home to Toronto (I go away for school) a couple weeks ago and I decided that I wanted to try kinky twists. I really love how kinky twists look and I just wanted to change it up a little bit. I think it turned out well and I really love it!

I like braiding my hair because braids are a great, low maintenance protective style. This is 4th time I braided my own hair and I definitely see an improvement. The saying "practice makes perfect" is definitely true, although mine is far from perfect you get the idea. This style didn't take very long to install at all. You can compare this to the first time I braided my hair myself here.

Have you ever worn kinky twists? Did you like it?

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Move over EcoStlyer. Hello Shine 'n Jam?

Braids March 16, 2015

Hi Ladies,

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while but school has been keeping me very busy. I had a little break this weekend and I decided to rebraid my hair. I came home for the weekend I didn't think to bring my ecostyler with me. So I went to the beauty supply store and I didn't want to buy another tub of ecostyler since I already have one. I was looking for something cheap and that smelled good and stumbled upon Shine 'n Jam.

It was cheap, smelled really fresh and had a good hold without me having to tie my hair down. Usually when I use ecostyler, tying my hair down is a must. To see my ecostyler results click here. After I started using Shine 'n Jam, I realized that my hair really liked it. My hair felt soft and the hold was simply amazing and this product was "regular hold." It also didn't flake.

I read the back of the container and found out that the product was free of alcohol, parabens, wax, petroleum, and silicones. Basically, it doesn't have a lot of the bad stuff hair products usually have. Also, a little of this product goes a long way. Overall, all I really like it so far.

Front of the container

Inside the container

Back of the container

Results

(Click this picture to make it a bit bigger)

Have you ever used this gel before? What is your experience with it?

Thank you for reading!

- Sarah

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How I Keep My Edges Laid While Wearing Braids

box braids February 09, 2015

Hi Ladies!

I have been wearing my hair in braids for the past 5 weeks and my edges are really starting to grow out. Also, when I braid my hair, I try not to do the front very tight so sometimes I end up leaving some of my edges out.

I've tried doing the whole headband/scarf thing but sometimes it just doesn't look right and I don't have the perfect plain black scarf that would go with every outfit I choose to wear.

Here is a picture of what my edges look like at 5 weeks in braids, usually right after I wash my hair. Yea I know I have to take my braids out soon lol.

Here are the tools and products I use. I use a scarf, a toothbrush, and my trusty ecostyler gel. I find using a toothbrush makes it a lot easier for me to put the gel on in a precise place.

I put the gel on every separate section of hair, making sure that the parts are visible. I then use the toothbrush to brush the hair towards the plait and use my finger to smooth my hair down. Once I have done this to all the sections, I put my scarf on and slide it back a bit so that it will further flatten my hair. I usually wear the scarf overnight but if I get lazy, I do this process when I wake up in the mornings and wear the scarf until I need to leave the house.

Here is the finished product! Such a big difference from the first picture and it makes my edges look really fresh.

Do you have any tricks for extending how long you wear your braids for?

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah

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I've Joined the Shea Butter Bandwagon!

Hair January 30, 2015

Hello Everyone!

I have been hearing a lot of people talk about how wonderful shea butter is and how they have incorporated it into their hair regimen. I've always seen it in the beauty supplies store but I didn't decide to buy it until late in December. It did not look anything like what I had expected and it has a bit of a strange smell. I got used to the smell quickly and once I applied it to my hair, I fell in love. The butter consistency coats each strand of my hair and moisturizes it so effortlessly.

I bought the smallest amount of unrefined shea butter the beauty supplies store sells ( 5 oz.) but it is highly likely that I will be buying more once what I have is done.

The benefits of shea butter are numerous so you don't have to only use it on your hair. Other benefits of shea butter include relief/treatment of:

Dry or itchy skin
Eczema
Insect bites
Stretchmarks
Blemishes

A simple google search will show you all the benefits shea butter has to offer. These are pictures of the one I bought.

What are your experiences with shea butter?

Thank you for reading!

-Sarah

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Faux Naturale

box braids January 10, 2015

Hello Ladies!

I know I am a bit late but I hope you have a great new year! I especially hope that this will be a great year for your hair!

About 3 weeks ago I did my own box braids for the first time and really loved it! You can read that post here. I decided to take out my braids because I did it big and it was starting to look untidy. Once I was done taking out my braids, I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. To me, my hair looked like blow dried natural hair. It definitely had me thinking about going natural. It felt like natural hair and was very full like natural hair. It didn't feel or look like the traditional braid-out at all.

I was also happy that my hair still appeared to be even since my trim in October. That means that my hair hasn't really been breaking and I may be retaining length. When I took my braids out I had a lot of shed hair but my hair was relatively moisturized. When I took each braid out, I applied some shea butter and combed through each section to get out all the shed hair.

Here are some of the pictures I took after I took my braids out. Sorry about my messy mirror!