ANNM Challenge 2, Bridal

I’ve always loved weddings and brides…the wedding cakes mostly! Hahah. No, but I have never really done much thinking about my own wedding and the styles I might wear, so I had to sit down and do some serious thinking.

 After A LOT of thinking, I decided that I am a simple girl who’s kind of quirky so I tried to be true to myself. I did 4 different “do’s” using the two-strand twist as a starting point- here, I focused on the bride. Shots A-C (1-3) – I decided to two-strand twist my hair and then coil into flattened pin-wheels. I washed and conditioned my hair…I really liked the going-natural’s Detoxing Deep Conditioner..it felt lovely. It tingled and softened at the same time. The smell was minty yet natural. I dug it. 🙂 It took about 25 minutes to two-strand twist my hair. I used the Silky Shea Hair Butter to hydrate all of my hair, and then used the Curly Twist Out Hair Milk (and I LOVE IT! My hair felt soft and it was manageable to part and twist.)! I then twisted two, two-strand twists together and slept with a silky scarf around my twists. The next morning, I “spun” each twist like a mini-cinnamon roll on my head. I used bobby pins to secure each pin-wheel making sure to hide each pin. It took about 30 minutes to complete this style. I used the going-natural Herbal Gel to help get rid of the fly-aways and then put a silky scarf over my dome to make the look a bit more manicured. I pulled and coiled a bit of hair by my ears to try to make the style look “effortless.” I could see this style being worn down the isle with a lovely vail or at a reception with a nice shiny headband which I choose to rock. Hopefully, you can see a few different angles of the “do.”

Shots D- E (4-6) After I took out the pin-wheels, I used my fingers to comb through my hair to loosen it up to allow me to do style 2. For these shots, I did a simple side-twist-bang and a side bun. To do this, I parted my hair in 3-parts (2-sections at the front and one larger at the back). I put the back in a clip while I styled the bang. I used my fingers to comb my hair out towards my forehead and used a bit more Silky Shea Hair Butter. I then started twisting at the ends of my hair along the frame of my face, I continued this loose twist until it passed on-top of my ear. I used bobby-pins to secure the hair… I then took the quarter piece of hair on the opposite side of my head and swooped it down towards the other ear loosely twisting it as well. Lastly, I wore a silk scarf for a few minutes to help flatten and smooth out the bangs. After I took the scarf off, I then took the last section and used my fingers to keep loosening out the twists and pulled the hair to the side. I used two “ouch-less” pony-tails to create a simple bun look. I used the provided flower clips to help pin the hair in place. It made the style a bit more polished.

Shot F-H, (7-9) For the next style, I did a french roll in the back and then a did what I like to call a “free-style” in the front. I guess that’s why I LOVE about natural hair, you are able to be creative with braids and hair bumps and twists etc. I tried this style with a braid, but wasn’t feeling it, so I simply re-did the front and just twisted and styled as I liked. To create an awesome french roll, I learned a trick. Divide your hair in 3-4 sections horizontally. I did 4-sections for this shoot. Use clips to divide each section. Take the second section from the last (From the bottom of your head) use going-natural.com gel and a brush of your choice to smooth out the sides. Then use a ponytail holder to secure your hair to make for a smooth look on the sides. Once done with that, unclip the bottom and smooth out (you could use a moisturizer here, but I didn’ t need to..my hair felt great!). Start at the end of your neck and make a french roll covering the hair from the pony-tail as you create your french roll- make sure to allow the extra hair at the top to lay free. After your french roll is secured with bobby-pins, you are now ready to work on the front of your hair. I eventually, decided to do a bump on the crown of my head pinning any extra hair down with bobby pins. I thought this up-do went great with funky earrings and the mid-western look I was trying to exaggerate. I had to represent, as I lived in Kansas and Illinois for most of my life…yay mid-west!

Shot 10 (I) -My last shot, is a tribute to moms. 🙂 I’m wearing the wedding dress she wore in her wedding in the 70’s! Not only did she wear it, she MADE it! She is amazing, and I thought it would be meaningful to include this shot, even though I wanted to focus on hair! It just meant a lot to me, to be able to wear this dress. I tried to summons my 70’s flower power – by rocking bigger hair and and old’ school vail. I think it’s easy to see, that natural hair can stand its own at any wedding.

 

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