Defined Curls and Caribbean Cool
You may notice a difference in the quality of my photos this week. Unfortunately, the photographer I was scheduled to work with this week cancelled last minute. This week was the first time I’ve wanted to give up in this competition, but I persevered and did my best to be creative in delivering the three themes while taking my own photos. I hope to have better luck next week if I’m selected to continue in this competition!
Defined Curls
Given the choice between creating a defined curl or twist out style, I chose to do my favorite. However, I had never heard of the shingling method which Mireille recommended we use with the Going Natural product – Curl Keeper Light. This made the challenge interesting for me as I wondered how a different product and process would affect my favorite look. After washing my hair, I finger-combed a generous amount of the Silky Shea Hair Butter Light throughout my hair and I divided it into three sections – two in the front, one in the back. Starting in the back and working my way towards the front, I used a rat-tail comb and my fingers to divide and smooth small layers of my curls, like shingles on a roof. For perfect definition you would probably need to sit under a hair dryer, but to avoid heat damage I prefer to let my hair air-dry. I was pleased to find that even though the Curl Keeper Light looks and feels like a gel, it did not dry stiff and crunchy like a gel. As you can see, my curls were defined with plenty of movement. In short, the Curl Keeper Light lives up to its name.
The Suriname Head Wrap
I was stunned to open this week’s package and pull out such a beautiful and versatile fabric. This week I read up on Suriname, a unique Caribbean country that’s part of mainland South America. It was interesting to learn that their population is mainly composed of Asian and African diaspora and were once colonized by the Dutch. This head wrap’s cheerful colors, which work well with a variety of skin tones, lead me to imagine that Suriname must have a vivid, joyful, and diverse culture. In creating my wrap style, I wanted to feature the gorgeous scalloped edges and my natural hair in a way that others could easily replicate. To do that, I first placed my hair in a loose pony tail at the crown of my head. I then prepared the head wrap by folded the cloth in half length-wise. I did this twice so that it was one quarter of its original width. Placing the middle of the cloth at the base of my head I wrapped it up above the top of my forehead and around to the back again. I then made a loose knot and tucked it into one of the folds creating by the wrapping. I loved that the cloth was pliable and could easily made into a number of head wrap styles. I also use beautiful fabrics like these as wrap skirts and tops or beach cover ups.
The Ponytail Holder
Like the Suriname head wrap, I loved the versatility and vibrant colors of the pony tail holder. When I first took it out of the package, I actually thought it was a cuff-bracelet! But the bead work also stretches to wrap around voluminous natural hair. It’s so elastic that I would even use it to wrap around a large bun or an up-do. I chose to pair an understated style with this product, doing two simple flat twists on either side of my center-part and pulling everything up into a ponytail. This is a great accessory to add sophistication to your style when you’re on the go. As someone who is already enthusiastically using this pony tail holder, I would encourage the maker of this product line to develop a line of stretchy beaded headband lengths as well!
Suzu’s Photos
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To give you voters a chance to create your own perfect curl definition, the Silky Shea Hair Butter or the Herbal Styling Gel are on sale and so is the Ponytail Holder. So check the Nappshop now!
