Master of Many Trades

I've gone from mastering curls to mastering the braid out.  Yes, I did say the braid out and no, I didn't look like Sho Nuff this time around.  I've saw this video quite a while ago on youtube, but I finally decided to give it a try since I have flexi-rods now. 

I went swimming on Thursday and afterward I did a quick co-wash with Long Term Relationship.  My hair has been freakishly soft and moisturized lately and I'm loving it!  I'll also comment that I have not missed one day of taking the Ultra Hair Plus supplements.  I can't say that I've noticed any significant growth yet, but with the less shedding and breakage, maybe I'll have thicker hair?  So after my co-wash I braided up my hair and used the flexi-rods to curl it up.  I let it air dry for a few hours and the results were fantastic!

Before

After

Even though I curled the entire braid, when I took it down only the ends were curled.  Next, I fluffed it out and applied a headband and called it a hairstyle.  It was super cute and got me through until I needed my next style. 

This Saturday, the Hubby and I attended the 100 Black Men of South Metro Atlanta's annual fundraiser.  It's a black tie event, so I found a super special dress to wear.  And yes, it was on sale @ Dillard's.  Due to a last minute mind change, I actually went out that morning and found it.  This was my first time ever being at the mall before the doors opened.  Thank goodness the sales lady helped me out, because I would have never picked it out on my own.  This dress had a lot of detail around the top half, so I knew I had to wear an up do.  I've never done one before, so I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do or how it was going to turn out.  I got a few ideas via youtube, but what I ultimately decided to do I didn't learn it through a video.   Not entirely, I think part came from memory of hair styles past...

Saturday afternoon

To prep, I co-washed my hair and blow dried it straight.  I made sure to use plenty of heat protectant.  Next, I went to my stash and started using a ton of hairspray and gel.  I've never used it like that before, but that's what was done in the videos and I figured why not give it a try?!  At first, I pulled my hair all the way up into a single ponytail at the top, but I didn't like it.  So I took it down and did a ponytail halfway - like how you wear your hair half down half in a pony tail, but reverse.  I made a super tight ponytail at the bottom.  With the top half I tried to make it fluffy and loose.  So I flat ironed it out a bit and used bobby pins to secure it back.  I also added a bang to the front that I styled by curling it.  I couldn't have been more pleased with how it turned out.  It was the perfect style for the dress!

 

Pictures do not serve the dress justice.  I haven't felt that cute since my wedding.  The dress was so perfect, I could have never imaged that it would all fall together like it did.  With my 5'' heels, I was the perfect height and it fit perfectly.   I cannot wait to play dress up again!  

I went swimming again the next day, so I made sure to get all of the product out.  I did a rinse before getting into the water and a quick shampoo with Aphogee afterward.  This morning I did a DC for a few hours and now I'm back to a braid out.  I love having so much versatility with my hair now.  I can't wait to continue to experiment.