My daughter has really curly hair--just this side of kinky. She says it's worth the money to go to a stylist who specializes in curly hair. I know there are stylists who specialize in natural/kinky black hair as well, and I assume you know which of those salons are best in your area. Does your current place also do natural styles?

There's definitely a method. She shampoos maybe once a week, but in between will just use conditioner. A wide-tooth comb or pick to sort of shape things, some type of gel, and then leave it alone. Don't towel it try, just pat it. She has an itty-bitty curling iron to help form the curls if she's feeling like she wants to look especially spiffy. (It takes a long time.) You can also just sort of wrap/twist them around your fingers as they dry.

It's the exact opposite of my hair. I've been absolutely zero help to her growing up in terms of how to manage her hair.

I like that style, too, Cindy. You will rock it, and (I assume) save a bunch of $$. You should take your saved hair money and give yourself a treat!

(wondering if I'm guilty of hairsplaining here.... )

Hairsplaining. *snort*

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
I love the hairstyle in the picture you posted, Cindy. I imagine it takes some work to keep the ringlets visible, you must have to dry like that with product, and then not it mess with it?

Perri, I had straight hair half way down my back and parted down the middle and I hated it. I wanted curls. I went through a phase in my life where I got a lot of perms. No more perks, but now I cover the gray.

I have no clue what it takes to have a natural hair style! There's probably a lot of de-tangling involved, but I'll cross that road when I get to it.

It's interesting that people with long straight hair want to get perms to be curly. Why is that?

I don’t know, think it had something to do with Farrah Fawcett. Then the 80’s happened. Funny thing is, now my old lady hair has some wave to it. And what kind of hairstyle do I have? One that looks sharpest/most modern/trendy if I use a straightening iron. Wtf.

Nina, I think you coined a new term: hair splaining!

Yeah, there are plenty of natural hair specialists out here. I ditched my old stylist. I'm sure she could handle natural hair, but she was super far away, and there are plenty of places closer to me.

Tonight I might try a roller set, but there are obstacles. I exercise in the morning, so how is that going to work? Wake up, style hair, run around for an hour?

I really need to suck it up and cut it completely off. Like this:


That would take real guts, though . . .

I have always loved the short hair+awesome lipstick combo on women, I think it looks amazing. I myself have short hair, but I hate lipstick and I wear glasses, so I just look boring...

Cindy, when you get to the point where you're ready to go for a serious chop haircut, talk to the stylist about what shape will look best for your face. In other words, should your hair profile be more of an oval (I think the woman in your pic here has an oval shaped cut, though it's hard to tell because she's turned sideways), or should you have sort of a heart shape where the hair is left a little longer in the area that lines up with your temples (if that makes sense). But notice how short the woman in your pic has her hair in the temple areas, if that doesn't work for you there are other ways to do the super short hair.

Also, hair doesn't have to be very long to do a little part, and then you could actually have a heart-shaped haircut even with very short hair. I am saying all this because I keep my hair super short but if I get a new stylist and forget to tell her and she gives me an oval-shaped cut, my face looks yucky.

/hairsplaining...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Nina, I think you coined a new term: hair splaining


I really need to suck it up and cut it completely off. Like this:


--- Yes, THAT is exactly what I was suggesting..

I was just going to say you could shave it. You'll have lots of options.

I was asked my race the other day (seriously). I'm guessing the person was confusing race and ethnicity. I actually think she thought I was Hispanic. I said black. She looked at me and said white. Sigh.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Nina, I think you coined a new term: hair splaining!

Yeah, there are plenty of natural hair specialists out here. I ditched my old stylist. I'm sure she could handle natural hair, but she was super far away, and there are plenty of places closer to me.

Tonight I might try a roller set, but there are obstacles. I exercise in the morning, so how is that going to work? Wake up, style hair, run around for an hour?

I really need to suck it up and cut it completely off. Like this:


That would take real guts, though . . .

That looks FANTASTIC! Do it !!!

Yes, well. Do I get the rest of her face too?

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
I love the hairstyle in the picture you posted, Cindy. I imagine it takes some work to keep the ringlets visible, you must have to dry like that with product, and then not it mess with it?

Perri, I had straight hair half way down my back and parted down the middle and I hated it. I wanted curls. I went through a phase in my life where I got a lot of perms. No more perks, but now I cover the gray.

I have no clue what it takes to have a natural hair style! There's probably a lot of de-tangling involved, but I'll cross that road when I get to it.

It's interesting that people with long straight hair want to get perms to be curly. Why is that?

I guarantee you it is a zillion times easier than what you are doing now.

Your hair is probably dry and fragile, so get keratin based shampoo and conditioner. After you dry your hair rub a dime sized dollop of a leave in conditioner through your hair, detangle with your fingers, and let dry. That's it!

Happy transition! That’s tough work.

It’s kind of like trying to figure out how to let hair go naturally gray after years of coloring, without a hard skunk stripe growing on one’s head. Maybe head shaving is the way to go for both of these issues! With killer lipstick and fabulous eye makeup.

I’ve recently heard a couple podcasts about kinky hair - before that I had no idea about the amount of time/effort/work/chemicals go into turning kinky hair into not-kinky hair. I’m glad so many are feeling confident about embracing their natural hair! I LOVE both styles that you posted! I also really love Pearl Mackie’s hair - particularly this look: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm49...aviewer/rm1209081088

quote:

Originally posted by AdagioM:
Happy transition! That’s tough work.

It’s kind of like trying to figure out how to let hair go naturally gray after years of coloring, without a hard skunk stripe growing on one’s head. Maybe head shaving is the way to go for both of these issues! With killer lipstick and fabulous eye makeup.

A friend of mine did it with a transition colour. She got her hair dyed grey trying to closely match her roots. It looked fabulous during the transition and now she is grey without dye and it looks fab! She has short hair (similar to ShiroKuro and I) so maybe that made it easier, but since grey is a very in colour right now a good colourist should be able to help!

Good for you, Cindy! Keep us posted!

I don't know who that is, but her hair is amazing!

As I said earlier, my hair is a confused mess right now. But it doesn't have to be that way. I looked into getting a weave and decided against it.

For those not versed in "weaves", it is possible to augment or cover your own hair with human hair that you buy. You have a stylist braid your own hair in cornrow braids close to the scalp. The stylist literally sews the purchased hair onto the braids. You then essentially have a wig that is secured to your hair.

A good weave is a very viable solution because your own hair keeps growing underneath, while you have a full head of human hair that is not a hot mess. You can exercise, swim, and abuse the purchased hair with heat and gels and sprays or whatever you like.

I priced this out. To buy enough human hair to have a 10" (short bob length), I would probably have to spend about $400. Installing it is another $250 plus tip. Then in 8 weeks your own hair has grown two inches, the braids are loose, and you go back to have the purchased hair carefully removed, have your hair re-braided, have the same purchased hair re-attached. That probably costs $300+. Over the course of 1-2 years, I would have spent enough to afford a trip to New Zealand.

I decided against it. It felt like a waste of money and a huge investment of time. And the point is to have my own natural hair, not hair harvested from a woman in Indonesia and sewn onto my head.

I also tried a wig. Just, no. To me, wigs feel insecure, like they are going to fly off on an escalator or something. And a well-made wig is $600, plus all of the fussing in the morning and customizing . . . Nah.