Winter Protective Hair Styles!

**DISCLAMER: Bear with me, I am currently in the process of deciding which weekday to publish my blog posts. I recently did a bit of research, and discovered that my posts can garner more engagement instead of Wednesday.

This article may just be the start of another series of blog posts(?) I realized that some people may not know what to do with their natural hair during the winter. I LOVED styling my hair during the winter months. LOVED. IT.  If it sounds like something you guys would be interested in, let me know in the comments below! Also let me know via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram <3**

 
Hey! I hope that your Thanksgiving was lovely <3. My Thanksgiving was nice: low key, and relaxing. I did not cook this year, but I will more than likely cook for Christmas. Needless to say, I am EXCITED. I will be the black INA GARTEN and you all will deal!!!! 

This blog post will be about protective hair styles during the winter.

Protective hair styles are amazing. It is defined as a style that conceals the ends of the hair protecting them from damage due to overexposure to the elements, friction, etc. They assist in hair retention, moisture (if properly moisturized), and different desired aesthetics. Fun fact: a lot of the hair styles that were mentioned in my previous blog post are considered to be protective hair styles! They are great for people who are striving to grow their hair, yet love a great haircut (ahem, me). They can be worn at any time of the year. A lot of naturalistas, however, wear them during the colder months, where natural hair is more prone to breakage.

Protective Hair Styles 

• Buns

I love this look! <3 :)



• Twists

I WILL be attempting this soon! So cute :)

• Braids

Gorgeous right?! This picture is perfect. <3

• Crochet

Faux Locs, Straight, Kinky, Wavy, Twists, etc. I LOVE crochet!!!

• Weaves

Baby, this is LAIIIDDDDDD

• Wigs



Chile y'all are doing witchcraft with these wigs; I didn't know that this was a wig! :0







The great thing about protective styles is that they can be worn for a period of time. This also helps if you are busy and do not have time to style your hair. It is STRONGLY recommended that you fully moisturize (treatments, deep conditioning, etc.) your hair (ESPECIALLY your ends!) prior to styling.  The key to protective styling is keeping your hair ends moisturized. I hope that this helps. <3<3<3

Talk to you soon.
Brie. 

K.I.S.S. Naturals: Natural Hair Resources

Good afternoon!

I hope that you guys are having a great week! We are getting closer to the weekend, thank goodness!

This is going to be a fairly quick post, mostly composed of links about natural hair. Most of them are blogs, and of course YouTube. Be careful with YouTube: it can be a rabbit hole. You start with one video, and it can turn into a few hours on YouTube LOL

Blogs:

http://www.afrobella.com/ (the OG of natural hair blogging!)
http://simonedigital.com/
https://www.naturallycurly.com/
http://www.4chairchick.com/
http://www.curlynikki.com/
http://blackgirllonghair.com/

YouTube (natural hair bloggers):

BeautifulBrwnBabyDol:  http://www.youtube.com/user/BeautifulBrwnBabyDol
MahoganyCurls : http://www.youtube.com/user/MahoganyCurls
Naptual85: http://www.youtube.com/user/Naptural85
Sporty Afros: http://www.youtube.com/user/SportyAfros
Nappy Headed JoJoba: https://www.youtube.com/user/nappyheadedjojoba
My Natural Sistas: http://www.youtube.com/user/MyNaturalSistas
Nikki Mae: http://www.youtube.com/user/Nikkimae2003
Chime (Hair Crush): http://www.youtube.com/user/HairCrush

For my Loc Sistas: 

Jasmine Rose: https://www.youtube.com/user/JazzyTe007
Keisha Charmaine: https://www.youtube.com/user/OverXposedKC91
Franchesca Ramsey: http://www.youtube.com/user/chescalocs

Of course there are many more people out there in the internet, but these are the people/sites that I check out from time to time. Also, a lot of the natural hair bloggers were starting their careers when I first went natural. It is pretty cool to see their careers and lives evolve. <3

I hope that this helps you start and feel more encouraged to become natural!

Talk to you soon.
Brie.

K.I.S.S. Naturals: Figuring out Which Hair Product to Use with Natural Hair

Hola (Hi)! Are you having a great week? Anything new? :)

I know someone that is currently transitioning into natural hair. She asked me the other day," Brie what do you use in your hair?" I told her some of the products that I used.

However, what may work for MY natural hair, may not work for YOUR natural hair. Please refer to the previous line. Wash, rinse, and repeat (pun intended).

Trying to figure out which products work for your hair is hard, okay? IT IS HARD! If I am to be honest, I am still figuring out the best leave in conditioner (as I type this). The reason why it can be difficult is because there are a lot of hair products that aren't well formulated for black hair. There are a handful of brands, but there aren't as many. Another reason would be that there is a TON  of information and opinions on hair products from social media influencers (usually sponsored by those companies-no shade). This makes it more difficult to sift through the information given and find unbiased, honest reviews. Lastly, the most important reason, is that we all have different hair types! Our hair can be compared to snowflakes: one is not like the other.

Alright. So you FINALLY chopped off your hair! YYYYAAAASSSS!!! ABOUT TIME BELOVED!

You did your research with hair ingredients. Now, what do you do?!

First!

• Try different products!
• Sample sizes are your friend. When I went natural, samples weren't as prevalent, so I had to buy the full jars/bottles. I started off with more affordable products that I saw at my local beauty supply, paid attention to how my hair reacted to those products and expanded/condensed my products from there.                         
• Example products of a 6 MONTH naturalista (10 years ago):

                          

Second!

• Pay attention to how your hair reacts!
• Is it fabulously frizzy? Is it dry? Are your curls popping? Is your hair hydrated and moisturized? Aesthetically, are you happy with how your hair looks? These are important questions when it comes to changing, updating, keeping, or tossing hair products!
• Depending on your hair, you may have to switch products that contain different oils, or have a different ratio of water and oil. Maybe your hair likes silicones, protein, or sulfates....who knows?!

     

Third!

• Do you like the results of your hair from using the products that you've bought?
• Yes? Continue using them! If you feel like you can do better, then try a different product that has similar qualities to the one that you have.
• No? Try using the product in a different way!
• If the product was meant for twistouts, try using it as a moisturizer, or applying it after washing your hair. If it was an oil, try using it as a hot oil treatment before/after your wash day. Find a way to repurpose the product and use it in an unconventional way; you get your money's worth, and once you finish, you don't have to use it again.
• You can always give the product to a family member, use it on your child and see if it works for them.
• You can also dispose of the product if it is THAT terrible.

The message that I really want to convey is that figuring out your collection of hair care products can be a learning curve. However, it can ultimately be achieved through trial and error.

I really hope that this helps!
If you guys have any other tips regarding how to figure out your personal hair product faves, comment below!



Talk to you soon.
Brie.

K.I.S.S. Naturals: Natural Hair Basics.

Hello!


I hope things are going great for you guys!

The next few blog posts will be directed towards the newly naturals (are there anymore "newbies"?). A lot of women who decide to become natural (removing relaxed hair, and starting anew w/o chemicals), become overwhelmed with the information given on how to tend to their hair.

It is for great reason too: 12 million YouTube gurus, 37k+ blog posts about hair styles, product reviews, etc., what's a person to do??????


Alright.

Stop! And start with the basics (I used this when I was a natural newbie).

• Find a hair crush! 
• It gives you a visible hair goal. It doesn't have to be EXACTLY the same, but use it as a starting point (MsKrisNew and MahoganyCurls were my hair crush).
• What goal are you looking to achieve with your hair BESIDES hair length?
• It could be the best twist out, more softer hair, etc (My goal was and still is to have moisturized hair). 
• What product do you need to achieve your hair goal? 
• If your goal was for the best twist out, find a product that aids in styling; if the goal was for moisture, find the appropriate products. This is where you can incorporate social media knowledge/reviews, or even your local professional hair stylist. 
• TRY OUT SAMPLE SIZES FIRST! I cannot stress this enough! You're still experimenting, and figuring out your hair so you try to save some money in doing so. Plus many companies are starting to make sample sizes if you're still unsure about their product. Use this to your advantage!!
• Take pictures! 
• It's pretty neat to see the progression of your hair. It will feel like you hair is not growing, but trust me. It is. 
• Be patient and....GO FOR IT! 
• As a person who decided to chop off all of her hair instead of transitioning to becoming natural....I am going to tell you to CUUUUUTTTTTT ITTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!
• There's really no explanation except to strive to meet your hair goal...PATIENTLY! lol  

Hopefully this helps you guys!

Talk to you soon,

Brie.

Natural Hair Misconceptions.

Let me set the record straight on natural hair b: 

•We all don't like [insert any neo-soul artist you can think of] only.

•We all don't lead a holistic lifestyle.

•Many aren't looking for their "Nubian kings". This is not Common's video "The Light" featuring Erykah Badu. STAHP IT! 

•We all don't burn incense in the evening.

•We all don't spend time arguing who has the most "natural" hair. We're "splitting hairs" at that point. Pun intended!

•Majority of us believe in good hygiene, including hair care. 

•Having natural hair takes effort. And time. 

•It doesn't feel like a Brillo pad. 

•Some feel strongly about shaving and not growing additional fros...Ok? 

•We're all not shoving natural hair lifestyle down other people's throats. 

•Men LOVE natural hair. LOVE.

The amazing MahoganyCurls. Check out her YouTube!

•We're not all on YouTube making hair tutorials. 

•We are not the official spokesperson for black hair.

•We don't all play an acoustic guitar.

•Some of us like wearing wigs and weaves! Why? Because it's fun! And convenient sometimes. :)

•Natural hair is VERSATILE VERSATILE VERSATILE!! OMG! From braids to twists, knots, straight, and back to curly again! Your hair COULD NEVAAAA! lol. 

I had to stan for a moment for natural hair. I'm back. 

Now simmer down with the ignorance and chill. Lol. 

Talk to you soon. 

Brie. 

Straightened Hair!

Hey guys! I am back again with another hair post! So I recently wanted to try something new with my hair and one thing led to another...which led to me straightening my hair! Surprisingly, the process was simple and easy...just time consuming. What was even more surprising was that I kept the style for over a week. I would've kept it longer but I became bored with my hair. Here's what I do to achieve my straight hair. Now..results may vary depending on your grade of hair and how it reacts to moisture as well as environmental factors so proceed with caution!!

1. Wash Hair: Self Explanatory

2. Blow Dry Hair: Before I blew dried my hair, I applied Argan oil, John Freda Frizz-Ease 3 Days  Straight Semi Permanent Styling Spray (that was a mouthful lol), Ion Straightening Solutions Healing Jojoba Flat Iron Cream and Ion Straightening Solutions Straightener, respectively. I was taking NO chances with reversion of my hair. Lol

3. REST(OPTIONAL): Because blow drying natural hair can take a lot out of a person physically. 

4. Straighten hair: I  used the FHI straightener, a fine tooth comb and Argan oil. Separate the hair into enough sections so that way you straighten your hair effectively. Also when I straightened my hair I combed the section 1st, applied the oil, and used the comb straightener method.

5. Clip split/dead ends: As needed of course. I unfortunately, became scissor happy and ended up with shorter hair than I expected....Y'all pray for me.

My hair was "flickin" low key. The Argan oil helped to make my hair look and feel healthy. I also received compliments on my hair. Some people thought that I went to a salon, which made me feel even better with my DIY straightening technique. 

I had pictures...But they were accidentally deleted! And I was going to use stock photos to compensate for my deleted pictures but they all look WHACK so don't scold me. Lol

**UPDATE**
I found pictures of my straightened hair!

Talk to you soon. 

Brie.