I found out about this process/product from a helpful poster on on a hair forum. Its called Clairol Luminize and its said to be a gentle conditioning lightener. It lifts hair one level per use so its very gradual.
I really did thorough research on it and it really seems to be the real deal and not particularly harsh on the hair
Now that I’m wearing and enjoying this afro extension style with auburn and copper highlights on the crown and brown underneath….I think I’m ready for the real deal and ready to do this on my own natural hair. I need a change and its time for me to step out of my box.
It will be scary as I’m used to always being super conservative with my hair and not having to do much to/with it….but I really want a change and to challenge myself to step outside the box.
I’m gonna go for it….wish me luck everyone! I’m buying it today!
Tree Braids was a protective style I’d been looking forward to tackling for some time now. My mom didn’t want any straight hair or loose curls…she definitely wanted kinky or curly….so we decided to use Brazilian braid hair in Auburn and Brown and it came out absolutely spectacular.
One thing I love about the technique of tree braiding is that it provides a much smoother flatter finish then other techniques making the extension hair appear to be the persons own naturally growing hair that much more.
Let me know what you think of the look! Here are the pix
**If you’re interested in getting this style done, leave a comment below to be contacted with additional information**
Welcome to my bold, colorful Sabina Karlsson inspired look!
I absolutely adore it and will be returning to this look regularly. I blowdried my hair throughly on hot and high and braided my hair down in this pattern:
Fluffed each piece out and attached the hair and Voila!
I used Marley braid hair. On myself I simply did them as crochet braids….on someone else I would do a combination of tree braids along the hair line and crochet in the rest.
The maintenance is almost non-existent with this style, I clip it up when I’m going into the shower (no shower cap) and I just lift one side lay my head down and go to sleep at night (no scarf).
At first it was a bit of a shock because I didn’t expect it to come out so light. But I grew to appreciate it. When I went to the city on Monday all I got were rave reviews, men showering compliments and questions on just how I pulled this off.
I really feel like this may be “my color” and I will go for this color combo with my real hair in the near future.
Let me know what you think about the color, the shape the size….anything! Thanks for reading guys.
**If you’re interested in getting this protective style done, please leave a comment to be contacted with additional information.**
Hey everyone! Just wanted to share some of my latest work. This time we used freetress bohemian curl hair in 4/30. She wanted it shorter so I did this beautiful layered curly fro look for her which she loved. The copper highlights looked absolutely stunning on her we couldn’t be happier with the results.
Anywhoo here are the pix! lemme know what you think! I just ADORE the layers.
In the Process of attaching
All Done!
Side Profile
How it looks from the Back
Isn’t she lovely?
*Anyone in the NYC area interested in getting this style done please leave a comment below to be contacted with additional info*
As you all know, I love creating fresh new protective styles that let you stay fabulous while you protect your strands and retain length. I quickly fell head over heels in love with the idea of doing temporary dreadlock extensions that look 100% legit as a protective style.
After doing tons of research for tutorials on youtube I found most of them pretty lacking and more geared towards nubian twists; which are really nice looking, but look super shiny and pretty blatantly fake. So I took small tips from several tutorials but when I got down to it I found that I had to come up with my own techniques for this style and thats just what I did!
This was my first attempt at loc extensions and it was a raving success. I was really happy with the results and did them to be removable.
My friend Makini is having an absolute blast with them she washes almost every day. Her hair is completely protected and surrounded by the extension hair so she’s not concerned with her hair rubbing against anything and drying out. She even has the freedom to sleep with her hair fully loose if she likes. As for how I did them its way too involved to type so I promise I will explain all my styles in a video tutorial series coming up super soon. The pix are next followed by the FAQ’s and their answers enjoy!
Before
After
Here are some FAQ’s and my Responses
Are they permanent?
You can make this style either permanent or temporary
Do you use Glue?
For temporary loc extensions I definitely do not use glue but for permanent loc extensions I might have to. I’ve found that most want them temporary thus far anyhow.
Do I have to use Human hair?
You are not required to use human hair for this look. The set I did on Makini was done with synthetic afro kinky hair
Is this style okay if I have shorter hair/transitioning hair?
This style would work just as well for short/newly natural/transitioning hair….there are even relaxed ladies getting this done as a protective style.
Will it look real?
It looks 100% legit, you go from your current look to looking like you’ve had locs for a decade overnight….its pretty awesome
Can I wash my hair with them in?
Absolutely Makini washes almost every day with no issues
How long can this last?
You could keep this in for up to 4 months, it has the same staying power as a weave. Whats nice about it, is that your new-growth will blend flawlessly with the extension hair…as it is the same texture.
Can I go in the water at the beach with this?
Yes you can absolutely go to the beach and get in the water with this.
What Brand/How many packs of hair did it take to do?
It takes 3-4 packs of hair depending on length
How long does this style take to complete?
This style takes allll day long to do lol you have to start in the morning and be finished by the night
This is one of many styles I’ve been doing this summer I have SO much more in store (including the redesign of my site!) and I plan to share them all with you! Let me know what you think!
*If you’re in the New York area and interested in getting this style done leave a comment below and I’ll promptly get in touch with you*
Hey everyone! So my brother has been rocking a low fro lately, he finally let me style it for him….I think I broke him down lol
I was inspired by a picture of an actor with beautiful comb coils and my brother agreed that it would be a good look I used a barber comb…..I did longer rectangular sections in the back and on the crown I did small individual coils.
It was really interesting styling his hair, realizing that he has coily hair on the sides and back curly hair on his crown.
I’d like to dedicate this song to my crochet braids…you been so good to me boo! lmao!
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This has been an absolutely wonderful month and the freetress water wave hair has aged like a fine wine. I’m actually going on 5 weeks and I’m still getting compliments (not to mention catcalls ) left right and center. I went to the beauty supply last week to get some more of the hair to redo them for my mom and the ladies at the beauty supply were in amazement, one of them stepped out from behind the counter and told me how gorgeous it looks, her eyes were gaping lol it was really nice.
I had an adorable moment with my brother after having them in for a week he turned to me and said I really like your hair….is that a protective style? I was grinning from ear to ear I was like “You really listen to me! Thats so sweet” and he was like “yea ok relax” lol that was sweet.
One day on the train this one girl got on and the second she did she said wow I love your hair and immediately asked to touch it lol not mention all the kind words and encouragement from my friends, family and all of you lovely readers its been a blast and I’m gonna just reinstall them.
Okay heres what I’ve learned about the hair over this month:
- You can definitely wash it the traditional way…with shampoo….just focus the shampoo on your scalp where all the buildup is and rise. Dont rub or tangle the hair just gently get your fingers between the braids and rub, not too vigorously but just enough.
- You can condition the hair too
- I wash weekly add a quarter size of conditioner to the hair a generous amount to my cornrows add a heaping handful of gel and let it air dry….its awesome
- I moisturize the cornrows themselves with something light like conditioner and a little extra virgin coconut oil…I’ll be using Organic Root Stimulators Olive Cream Moisturizer to moisturize after a wash for my next install.
- Daily you should shake the hair out in the morning and keep the curls separated from eachother….this part is hard to explain and thats why theres a video coming down the pike for this style.
- You must go on matt patrol weekly. Every week you should go thru the hair and search for small matts when you find them simply cut them out to keep the hair well defined and fresh
- If you have really short hair at your edges then you should add a tiny amount of hair to start off the cornrow and anchor the hair better, make sure its a very small undetectable amount.
- To make it last longer as a style it would be a good idea to cornrow the back in continuous circle and the front straight back….that way you can redo the front without having to redo the entirety, this is also helpful for those like me with longer hair to have more of their hair away and protected from the elements.
- You *must* sleep with a satin cap every night to keep it in the best condition. I grab both halves of my hair criss cross them across the back of my head…throw my satin cap over it at night and sleep however I please.
Well without further ado, here are the pix of my crochet braids over this past month:
Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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And there ya have it! Additional pix can be found in my Fotki. Hope you enjoyed sweeties! Cuz I sho am! lol
I promised additional pix including how I looked here they are! We were at a theatre in Chealsea seeing a play my brother directed, we were beaming with pride.
I was proud not only for the stunningly flawless end result, but because she told me this inspired her to use less heat and explore the versatility of her own texture more…..really made me feel wonderful.
The Second set I did on my mom who has shorter hair, she went for a fuller look…and she’s a 4a…by the way I am also a type 4a and my results with a straw set is on the top right of the banner…. ENJOY!
Todays featured reader of BlackMasterPiece is my classmate. Her hair is a puff that looks like cloud of lush loveliness. I remember the beginning of the semester when I entered the lecture hall for the course we were both taking I spotted her puff and just COULDNT stop staring.
Entranced after class I came up to her and gushed with compliments about her hair and we got to chatting I asked her if she encounters single strand knots as a result of wearing a puff so often she said she been natural for about a year and that a puff and pixie braids is mostly what she does with her hair and she doesnt know many styles to do with it.
I immediately offered to do her hair for her and she loved the idea. I started talking options and styles with her and we settled on Comb Coils: a great curl defining protective style for her hair type. After long ado here are the pics my gorgeous Masterpieces!
I used a fine toothed comb and eco styler gel, this style is actually quite gentle on kinky hair since you’re working with such tiny sections, detangling is usually quite easy.
IMAGINE you had *this* gorgeousness sitting right next to you in class…would you be able to focus? lol
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Heres how she started:
GORGEOUS!!!!!
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Getting Started about a third of the way done here
I found out about this process/product from a helpful poster on on a hair forum. Its called Clairol Luminize and its said to be a gentle conditioning lightener. It lifts hair one level per use so its very gradual.
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