Secret Life of the Bobby Pin

Secret Life of the Bobby Pin

As, we all know, bobby pins are a natural’s best friend. They are basically the cornerstone for every hairstyle that we create.

Not so very long ago, a friend of mine tagged me in a picture on Facebook that displayed the proper way to use a bobby pin. (displayed on the left.)

I immediately went into denial and/or conspiracy theory mode. I even thought someone made the picture to see how many people would fall for it and change the way they use their bobby pins. I know; crazy!

Anyway, I finally left my state of denial after buying a pack of curved bobby pins and finding that the curve was facing the side that I usually placed outward (displayed on the right) confirmed that my theories were all incorrect.

It turns out that the grooved side is supposed to be facing your scalp. The grooves were made to grasp the hair and secure it into place. While the flat side of it actually helps to move the hair into the grooves of the bobby pin.

Also, did you know why there are called bobby pins? In the 20’s women use to wear their hair in a style referred to as “bobbed” which basically looks like French waves but hanging, and the bobby pins were used to hold this style in place.

Here are a few other tips for your future bobby pin use:

·         Bobby pins are fairly inexpensive but still; do not skim on cost when picking your bobby pins.

·         Try your best to pick bobby pins that compliment your hair color, unless of course you are using them as an accessory.

·         Crossing the bobby pins can create a stronger hold.

·         They say that using your teeth to open the bobby pin compromises the integrity of the bobby pin, opening the bobby pin causes it to become loose. They are meant to just sliiiide into your hair. (I don’t know if I can get with this rule lol)

Well, this has been the secret life of the bobby pin exposed, I hope I wasn’t the only one still doing this wrong.

Genie Locs

Genie Locs

      I recently made the decision to test out Genie Locs aka Yarn Plaits as a protective style for my trip to New Orleans for Southern Fried 2013. I must say that I loved them but they are no easy feat.

      I watched several Youtube videos before I decided which method would be best to use when embarking upon this journey. According to my research I learned the following:

·         On average it takes about 17-22 hours to install

·         You must keep your hair oiled during the process because the yarn will dry it out

·         They can be a bit heavy

·         You must both knot and burn the ends

·         Do not burn the ends too long or it may cause discoloration of the yarn

Things I learned from my own experience:

·         They are extremely heavy when wet

·         It takes almost the same amount of time to take them out as it takes to put them in

·         It is a very cheap hairdo (one ball of yarn typically can cover the whole head)

·         You will need a nice strong gel to keep the ends of your hair contained (yuck)

Now let’s get to the how to’s.

      Things you will need

·         A ball of yarn of your color choice. (it is best to use acrylic yarn)

·         Scissors

·         A lighter

·         An oil of your choice (I used grapeseed and olive)

·         Gel of your choice (I used Gorilla Snot and Gummy)

·         Lots of patience

*You will most likely want to do a deep conditioning before placing this style in your head, whichever deep conditioning you would typically use before installing a protective style or weave. *

1.)  Decide how big and how long you want your genie locs. I did shorter 2 strands on my edges so that I would not weigh them down too much and longer 3 strands on the rest of my hair.

2.)  Cut the yarn into the length that you would like. (I found that it was easiest to cut up as much yarn as possible in one sitting so that the cutting process wouldn’t slow you down later.)

3.)  Oil the strands of yarn that you plan to use for your plait. This will help keep the yarn from drying out your hair as it is wrapped around it.

4.)  Decide the method that you would like to use. A lot of people use the crisscross method to start their plaits, I prefer to just loop it around my hair and start the plait.

5.)  Continue to plait your hair as normal using your real hair as the third strand until you have reached almost the bottom of your real hair.

a.  If you decided on using the 2 strand method then you will want to take one of the strand of yarn and place it with your real hair. (You will want to use gel to smooth down your ends with the yarn.) Then continue plaiting as normal and knot the end of the plait.

b.  If you decided on using the 3 strand method then you will want to take two strands of the yarn and place it with your real hair. (You will want to use gel to smooth down your ends with the yarn.) Then continue plaiting as normal and knot the end of the plait.

6.)  Repeat until whole head is finished.

7.)  Burn the ends of each plait and roll the ends in your fingertips while still warm to help seal them closed.

This is a very long tiresome process, but I did enjoy the look of it and it is a style that can last for quite a while. You will need to make sure that you keep the hair moisturized while in this style. I hope you enjoy!

And…if you do choose to give it a try, don’t forget to share pics by sending them to spokenheart_mf@aol.com.

Southern Fried Top 25

    Southern Fried Top 25
Everything after #1 is in no particular order.
1) Sharing final stage with The Misfits, after losing 2 members and deciding
that we would leave it to fate, then fate gave us Ben B. and it was just like
home again. I never expected us to make it to final stage, but I am so proud
that we did and honored to have done it with you guys!
2) Those crab cakes at Hobnobbers, beignets from Café Du Monde and Po’ Boys &
daiquiris at Gene’s.
3) The random skateboarders that latched on to the truck we were riding back
to the hotel in. 
4) Gypsee Yo’s poem on final stage, ugh!
5) Sania’s daily commentary on my wardrobe choices. 
6) Walking down the street singing random songs with Brittany, Jessica, Nia
and Tasha to help the time pass. 
7) Seeing Lizz and Sania perform some of my favorite poems by them.
8) Watching Giddy and Made Son try to out love each other in the compliment
battle before the cypher at The Healing Center. 
9) The random facebook shout outs and text messages from back home with love
and support. 
10) The live band that we ran into after abandoning our trip to Armstrong Park
to watch live jazz because it looked like the sky was about to fall on us. 
11) The Thursday parade.
12) Watching Brittany perform her poem for her mother in the cypher, then
crying with her afterwards and hearing about Jessica singing for the SoFri
video.
13) Watching all the poets dance their hearts out at the after party.
14) The goodbye with Tank.
15) My “I Am Spoken” earrings made by Janelle.
16) Ha Sizzle giving us a taste of his bounce music hits while we were waiting
for our daiquiris. 
17) Deep’s poem about her daughter.
18) Denise’s poem about her grandmother. 
19) Hannah’s poem about the little girl victimized in Ohio.
20) Aleasha Harris’ pussy poem.
21) Sharing this experience with two people I have known nearly my whole life,
and one who will hopefully be around for the rest of it and having them
finally fully understand my love not only for poetry but for the family that I
have found through poetry. 
22) The beautiful undisturbed look of the city. 
23) Friday night’s bout against 215th which included two poets that I was so
intimidated and in awe of when I first showed up on the poetry scene, and
receiving so much love and support from them. 
24) All the gratitude that Wally B showed us, although if it wasn’t for him
and what he created in Tampa there would most likely be no Misfits and knowing
that he was proud of us was one of the greatest things that I left Southern
Fried with.
25) Not feeling like I wasted one moment sleeping that could’ve been spent
roaming the city or with the poets.
*bonus moment* Getting my first Southern Fried 30!

Protective Style

Protective Style

Lately, I have been finding my hair to be a most burdensome task. I have no energy to do it every day or twist it up every night and I know that is the reason that my ends had become so split last time. So I have been trying to twist it up and do something to it often, but I usually only make it through a quarter of my hair each night before I give up.

I was considering either locking up or doing another big chop since Havana twist hair costs so much (13.99 per pack) and it was the only thing that seemed easy enough to do on my own.

Then I decided to get puffy twist. The only problem with this was that I didn’t really want to pay 50.00-150.00 just to get a hairstyle that won’t last me nearly long enough o justify it aannnddd, all the stylists that I reached out that would’ve been within a desirable price range did not know what puffy twists were.

Finally one of the stylists responded that she wasn’t aware what puffy twists were but she would Youtube them, then I thought, well hell I can Youtube them myself. So, I went and bought the hair and turned on my YET (Youtube Educational Television) and taught myself to do puffy twists.

I must say that I am very proud of myself and how they turned out and even more excited about the fact that I will not have to do my hair for at least a month, that is usually how long it takes my hair to get tired of these types of hairstyles.

Directions

1. To begin with, I bought 4 packs of hair.

2. I already had my hair in comb curls, so I just used those parts and split some in half that may have been too big. I didn’t want them very small though.

3. Before twisting each section I applied a leave in conditioner and sealed my ends with Shea Butter.

4. I secured the strands of hair and took a portion of the weave and wrapped it around the root of my hair.

5. I then criss crossed it under the root and began to plait it using the 2 strands of the weave wrapped around my hair and the third strand being my hair.

6. After plaiting for about 3 rotations, I split my hair in half and began twisting it with the other two pieces of hair like you would a regular 3 strand twist.

7. I then sealed the end of the twist with Shea Butter.

8. Repeat this process until the whole head is complete.

Are you trying anything new with your hair?

Summer Hair

Summer Hair

As well all know, it has been predicted that winter is coming to an end and spring is rapidly approaching. For most people that leaves time to prepare, but in Florida we only have two seasons, summer and something like winter. So, I will be discussing tips for keeping our hair healthy while battling this Florida heat.

     The most important thing for both your hair health and your physical health is to stay hydrated! The one plus to living in Florida is that we have so many beaches, but a note for all naturals is that sea water and salt spray are both beneficial to our curls. They help our curls become springier and tighter, there are sea sprays that can be purchased and also recipes for salt water for your hair.

     There are also tips for those curlies that prefer the pool to the beach. We must make sure that we take precautions to help protect our hair from the chlorine. You can do this by wetting your hair prior to getting in the pool with regular tap water and applying a little oil (not so much that you create a oil ring in the pool, lol) to seal your hair and help keep the chlorine from overly saturating the hair. Or for a simpler fix, you can simply wear a swim cap ;)

     Of course it is very important to drink water on a regular basis, 64 ounces a day, but it is even more important to stay hydrated in the summer heat. So, simply put, drink!!!!

     Equally important as taking the initiative to hydrate your hair is taking the time to make sure that the moisture can stay in your hair. This can be done by either using a moisturizing product or applying oils regularly. It is also a great idea to concoct a mixture of your favorite oils in a little spray bottle with some water so that you can spritz your hair on the go.

     Also keep in mind that the sun is an indirect heat, so we must take caution to keep our hair from being burned. Shea butter and Sesame Oil can be used to as a UV protectant on the hair. It is also a good idea to use protective styles whenever possible to defend our vulnerable ends from further damage.

     The heat may cause us to feel like we need to wash our hair more, just be sure to not over wash. Remember that shampoo strips or hair of the oils that we need. We can still co-wash during the summer and sometimes we can even just rinse out hair to refresh our scalp to get that clean feeling and it will provide some nice hydration. Rinsing with cold water after a co-wash can assist with sealing in the moisture and providing a nice cool down. Then just let the sun and wind air dry. This will prevent breakage and splint ends from letting our hair dry while in pony tails and allow your scalp to breath. This will also allow us to avoid too much manipulation.

What do you do to protect your curls from the summer heat?

Quick Protective Style

Quick Protective Style

I am a twist out junkie. Since I colored my hair recently, I realized that I need to start doing more protective styles. I also need to do more protective styles because I have so much hair and am unable to commit to twisting or plaiting my hair every night and I am not ready for another split ends big chop, I’d probably just cut it all off again (which I am considering). But, since I must protect my tresses until their demise, I decided to try a new protective style. It was really simple and quick, I did it in about 15-20 minutes.

What you will need: wide tooth comb or afro pic, rat-tail comb, brush, gel(optional), bobby pin, hairband, marley hair (optional)

Step 1

Part hair into 3 sections, two sections in the front half of your head and 1 section in the back and secure each section separately.

Step 2

Twist each of the sections into a flat twists and secure with bobby pins (or rubber bands, but I prefer not to use rubber bands).

Step 3

Pull all of the hair together into a single ponytail in the middle of the three flat twists.

Step 4

This step is optional, depending on the length of your hair and the desired fullness of your bun. I personally don’t have quite enough hair yet to make a nice full bun, so I used Marley hair. I took a pack of Marley hair and separated it into 2 sections. I twisted each section of the hair and secured the middle of the twist to my ponytail. I then wrapped it around my ponytail and secured it with bobby pins and repeated it with the other half of the hair.

For "Giants & Elephants" I added another twist of hair for a fuller more elegant look.

What is your go to protective style?