Twist Hairstyles

Thursday, April 3, 2014

ABC - Another BAD Creation by @LovingYourHair

Can you say pretty? I can and it is pronounced Teyonah Parris. Last night at the Mad Men Season 7 premier party, Teyonah Parris looked gorgeous from head to toe. Her hair was in a fabulous updo by Felicia Leatherwood, aka @lovingyourhair on Instagram. Felicia described it as combination of "puff twist meets curls with a kriss cross Updo in the back." Whatever it was, it looked fabulous. Here are some photos:


Image via Instagram/@lovingyourhair

And the whole look was beautiful:


Image via Instagram/@teyonahparris
And:



Image via Instagram/@teyonahparris
 I am a huge fan of the show, and I'm glad to see that Teyonah is taking part in Season 7. I wonder if her character will rock an Afro this year, or stick with the wigs/press-n-curls that she's worn for the past year or two. I'm hoping that she has a new look, and a larger part this season, but we'll see on April 13th when the show premiers on AMC!
Unknown celebrities, hairstyle, natural beauty, natural hair, Naturals on TV, teamnatural, updo

Today's Hair - 4/3

This is me pretty much in real time...




My hair is in two wet flat-twists right now. I washed and conditioned my hair, oiled it, use various leave-ins and am trying Karen's Body Beautiful as my sealant. But I'm trying to decide what to do next. 

Should I let my hair dry like this and do a big twist-out for tomorrow, or think of this as a style to stretch my hair, and twist it tonight? I can't decide - but I will keep you posted.
Unknown flat twists, hairstyle, newdaynewdo, Twistout, twists

Fitness Post: Abtastic April!

I'm in a monthly workout challenge group. Last month the challenge was push-ups. I started with 21 on March 1st and ended up doing 51 on March 31st. I didn't skip any days, and I didn't cheat. It felt great, and the best feeling was the day that I did 40 push-ups in a row without stopping. ME! I did that....

This month's challenge, if you couldn't tell from the title, is all about building our abdominal muscles. We've been tasked with adding some sort of abdominal exercise to our usual routine. One of the favorite routines of the people in my group is this one, known as "Abs on Fire". Now I've tried it, but I've never done the recommended 3 sets of 20. In fact, I've just gotten to the point where I might actually be able to do the "Cycling Russian Twists" - but I'm not at the point where I can do 60 of them.


I'm going to incorporate these into my month, but I'm also trying to add ab work into my current morning routine for my glutes. Instead of just doing sumo squats, now I'm doing sumo squats into steam engines (or a standing Russian twist). I've also added an ab pulse to one of my other favorite exercises, the mule kick and fire hydrant. In that way I can get in 100 ab exercises without much extra time or effort.

I'm not really focusing on getting a six-pack (Rectus Abdominis), or my obliques (internal or external) because we do a lot of ab work at the boxing gym, and it is generally focused on those parts of the abdominals. Call it vanity, but I am much more interested in making my waist look as slim as possible. The Transverse Abdominis, the muscles that act as a corset around our mid-sections, are the key to looking like a slimmy trimmy. 

To that end I'm going to make the plank, and it's many variations, the focus of my routine at least four (4) days a week. I've been doing timed planks and Spider-Man planks, where you lift your leg  and bend it at the knee (like a dog to a fire hydrant) and try to touch the bent knee to the elbow. I'm trying to build up to doing 25 on each side. Planks with leg lifts, planks with step outs to each side, and planks with knees to the opposite elbow are also making their way into the rotation.

For a well rounded ab workout check out the following Instagram video by @_getfitbysmith_ - follow him for amazing videos and photos:


And don't forget that food intake impacts the ability to see abs as much as, if not more than, targeted ab exercises. 
Unknown challenge, exercise, fitness, health
Tuesday, April 1, 2014

My Hair Last Week - Somewhat Inspired

So I posted this pic early last week and called it hair inspiration:


I was inspired. Not to try the exact style because I knew that I wouldn't wear it out, so I made modifications. I actually pulled out my rollers twice over the past week. The first iteration included me putting my hair in a ponytail then rolling the ends for an imagined curly bun. It turned into a 70's bouffant/prom hair, but I liked it. I allowed the drop curls to be kind of stacked into my bun. Here are some photos:




Again, not photogenic, but you get the idea. 

Later I disturbed the curls a little and despite sweating it out I wore it like this:


I then decided to roll it all, although I used far fewer rollers than Ms. Dugas. I put it up in another bun. Here are the photos:








After the rollers, I had one more wave of inspiration - actually I just knew it was going to be another couple of bun days, so I changed it up a little by twisting all of the my ends into 5 large double-strand twists. I tucked them under and pinned them down. Here were the results:


The next day I undid the twists, pinned down the hair a little and did a little flat-twist bang.





Let me know what you think, and please forgive me for these photos. I'm going to start setting up my "real" camera, so I can put up decent photos on this blog....and if you would like to find a collection of easy (and cute) hairstyles, find my book, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways, on Amazon.com. 

Unknown bun, curls, flat twist, hair inspiration, hairstyle, hairstyles, New Day. New 'do., newdaynewdo, rollers, twists
Thursday, March 27, 2014

What's the SPF of Your Favorite Oils and Butters? Plus Recipe

Image via babble.com


Considering the weather conditions around the country, this post may be a little too optimistic for most, but I figure it will give us enough time to be prepared for the upcoming warm weather or learn that we should start applying sunscreen now! Besides, the American Melanoma Founfation suggests that people wear sunscreen of at least (sun protection factor) SPF 15 every day if you are exposed to more than 20 minutes of sunshine a day. That would be most of us, since the commute to and from work usually includes some sun and plenty of time... Anyway, SPF is, as I wrote above the sun protection factor of the product, and the number attached means how much more time one can spend in the sun with the product as opposed to wearing nothing at all. So if you have on a product with SPF 2, you can stay in the sun twice as long with the product as you could/should have without the product. For more information on SPF, sunscreens, UVA and UVB exposure please go to http://www.melanomafoundation.org/prevention/facts.htm. 

You know that most of the recipes for skin and beauty products are based on the belief that the products, oils, gels and butters that are purchased to make hair products can be used to make other natural health and beauty aids. In this instance, upon doing some research, I've also learned that traditional sunscreens can also be harmful to our health because they often block the vital Vitamin D from being absorbed into our skin. Vitamin D is important in that its presence assists in the prevention of certain cancers. 

I got a little off topic, but I've included some of the most popular oils and butters below, then shared some of the real SPF powerhouses, so you can work them into your hair and skin routines, or use them as part of the sunscreen recipe I've included below.

Coconut Oil:  SPF 2-8

Olive Oil:  SPF 2-8

Shea butter:  SPF 3-6

Jojoba Oil:  SPF 4

Sweet almond Oil:  SPF 5

Avocado Oil:  SPF 4-15

Powerhouses of Natural SPF!

Carrot Seed Oil: SPF 38-40

Raspberry Seed Oil: SPF 28-50

Wheatgerm Oil: SPF 20

Source - livelovefruit.com
=============================

Powerhouse Sunscreen - as an oil or a body butter

Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup shea butter (optional)
1/4 cup aloe vera gel (optional)
1/8 cup sesame or jojoba oil
2 tbsp. beeswax granules (optional)
1 tsp. red raspberry seed oil
20-30 drops carrot seed essential oil
Essential oils of your choice (but don't use citrus because it may cause a bad reaction when exposed to the sun)
Instructions for body butter
1. Using a double boiler (or your microwave), melt your coconut oil, sesame or jojoba oil, beeswax, and shea butter together. The beeswax will be the last to melt.
2. When the beeswax is melted, remove the mixture from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Move the mixture to the fridge for 15-30 minutes. You want it to start to set up, but still be soft enough to whip.
4. Take the mixture out of the fridge and using a stand mixer or hand mixer, start to whip it. Drizzle in the red raspberry seed oil, the carrot seed oil, and any essential oils of your choice, and continue whipping until the mixture is light and fluffy.
6. Use as you would any regular sunscreen. Application rates will depend on your activity and exposure to water. Store in a glass container in the fridge between uses.
As an oil (do not use shea butter or beeswax)
1. Simply whip together all ingredients. Note that in warmer weather, this mix will likely liquefy. 
Recipe modified from healthimpactnews.com


Unknown beauty, DIY, essential oils, Oils, recipe, skin
Monday, March 24, 2014

Hair Inspiration - Flexirod Set by Aevin Dugas

 

I love drop curls whether you use flexirods, rollers or curl formers. I just  rarely think to do them because in my head they take a long time and I don't think they hold on loose natural hair (but I did feature them as a style in my book, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways available on Amazon.com)...and the photo above proves me at least 1/2 wrong. And I need to remember that in my past attempts I did not try to set the hair with anything but water, and I think it needed more holding power than that - especially if done without heat.

I came across this photo of Ms. Aevin Dugas, Guiness Book of Records record holder for the world's largest Afro, saw that world of curls and am inspired to throw some rollers in my hair and see what happens. I know that I will likely end up with a curly puff, and not a whole head of flexirods.

I'll start with the steps I believe she used to create her look:

1. Dampen hair lightly with a leave-in conditioner and oil of your choice.

2. Section the hair into fairly small sections as you go - probably ending up with between 20 - 30 rollers (depending on the length and thickness of your hair).

3. For each section of lightly dampened hair, coat the strands with a gel or thick cream of your choice.

4. Roll each section of hair from root to tip in an upward motion - attempting to get continuous movement of the hair, so the layers of hair don't overlap on the rod.

5. Let the hair set until dry, or speed the process along by sitting under a dryer.

6. Dampen hands with oil to release the rods.

7. Remove the rods in the opposite direction from the way they were installed in order to maintain the curl. 

8. Gently split the curls until they reach the desired fullness. 
 
Remember you can do this style on loose natural hair, twists, locs, or braids. Try it out let me know how you like it, and if the steps are clear. And please check back to see my interpretation of the style.

 


Unknown beauty, bighairdon'tcare, hairstyle, newdaynewdo
Sunday, March 23, 2014

Smoothie Love: Springtime Strawberry

I make smoothies almost every day, and I've forced some of my co-workers into being a tasting committee. Actually I don't have to force them because we now have a game where they try to guess the ingredients for each smoothie - and they get free, albeit tiny, smoothies almost every day. Lately I've been having them give me grades, so that if I ever do a smoothie recipe book or start a smoothie blog, I'll have some idea of which of my smoothies actually taste good to other people!

Strawberry, Spinach and Lemon...as a salad!
Image via neighborfoodblog.com
My basic ground rules for my smoothies are that each one has at least 2 veggies, that they have no sweeteners other than fruit, and that they be dairy-free. I haven't tried any protein-focused smoothies or any veggie only smoothies - mostly because I don't find the idea of veggie smoothies appealing and because I haven't purchased any plant-based protein powders...but that may change. Who knows?

This smoothie received very high praise....I'm calling it Springtime Strawberry. Try it at home. The ingredients are as follows:



6-7 strawberries (I froze some that I purchased during the week and used those)
1/3 of a green apple
Springtime Strawberry Smoothie
Image via thymebombe.com 
7-8 baby carrots
6 red globe grapes, although 10-12 small red grapes will also do
a pinch of parsley (optional)
a handful of baby spinach
about a teaspoon of chia seeds (optional)
juice from 1 lemon

Put in spinach, then carrots, then strawberries, grapes, apple, parsley, chia seeds and lemon juice. Add about 1/2 cup of water, then blend.

It was DELICIOUS! Let me know if you agree.

Unknown food, recipe, Smoothie
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