I've Had Sew-Ins For 6 Months. This Brand Helped Me Embrace My Natural Hair.
Both my acrylics and my bundles are long gone. My mustache is growing back with a vengeance, and it's safe to say that the quarantine has humbled me.
For the first time in a long time, I've been forced to take a good, hard look at my natural self and the woman I see looking back at me is upsetting me and my homegirls.
The ability to book a pedicure, wax, or silk press pretty much put my beauty routine on cruise control and now that I've lost it—your good sis is struggling. I am your good sis. Although I'm able to paint my own toes and put my wrist to work with a razor, the task of taming my tresses has been another story entirely. Now that my third sew-in in a row has reached its expiration date, I've come to find that my twist-outs never quite twist out and my wash-and-go makes me happy to stay at home.
Heat damage and bleach have pretty much fried, dyed, and laid my curls to the side, but just when I was about to give up hope, I received a package from Mielle that got my tresses together expeditiously. Before playing around with the products, I tapped my stylist, owner of Denver hair salon, Booji Beauty for a virtual consult where she gave me five must-have tips when it comes to perfecting my twist-out:
- Make sure to deep condition and rinse thoroughly before any protective style.
- Detangle from roots to end.
- Make sure it's completely dry before untwisting.
- Separate coils with oil on your fingertips (avoid over-separating).
- Be patient.
After my virtual consult with Jasmine, I tried Mielle's Rosemary Mint Collection for a Flexi-rod twist out on my fussy, chemically damaged hair.
Here's what happened:
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Step One: Activate Hydration
Pretty Honore/xoNecole
After shampooing my hair thoroughly with Mielle's Rosemary Mint Strengthening Shampoo (Target, $10), I dove right into the deep conditioning process. I sectioned my hair into parts and applied Mielle's Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Masque (Target, $10) from root-to-end and began detangling. Then, I put on a shower cap and allowed this to sit for about three hours. I'd probably even sleep in this mask if I'm having a really bad hair week (which is pretty frequent for me).
Step Two: Rinse & Detangle
Next, I make sure I this masque is rinsed out completely (per Jasmine's instructions) and sectioned my hair to make sure it was completely detangled. Since where I live in Denver is EXTRA dry—and so is my hair––I applied Mielle's Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil (Target, $10) on my scalp and mildly split ends during this process.
Step Three: Get Twisted
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My least and favorite part of this process is getting twisted, which took me about two hours to get right. While my two-strand struggle was real, Mielle's Multivitamin Rosemary Mint Styling Cream (Target, $10) had enough slip for my grip to snap even the most unruly curls into shape. I then applied Flexi rods at the ends of my twists and went TF to bed. I allowed my twists to stay in for about two days, and no mom, I didn't go anywhere with these rollers in my head.
And then, it was judgment time.
The Final Results
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As a naturalista-in-training, I wasn't sure what results to expect from this experiment, but if all else failed, I could rest assured that my hair smelled good as f*ck.
After applying a generous amount of Mielle's Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil (Target, $10) to my finger tips, I unraveled my twists and discovered a curl pattern that I forgot existed. While I would suggest adding a leave-in conditioner to this routine to help curls stay fresh longer, and I still need some practice before perfecting my twist-out, this collection gave me the hydration and definition that I needed to say goodbye to my bundles for a while and finally embrace my natural hair.
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Featured image courtesy of Pretty Honore/xoNecole.com.
Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Rihanna Talks Shedding Expectations And Finding Balance As A Mother
Since becoming a mother in 2022, Rihanna has defined parenthood by her terms and hopes to pass that sense of autonomy on to her children.
For Vogue China’s April cover story, Rihanna shared her perspective on raising her two sons with A$AP Rocky, and how she hopes to preserve her children’s uniqueness, devoid of societal expectations.
"The most beautiful thing...is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity,” she told the publication. “Which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group."
The “Work” artist, known for her trendsetting style and captivating persona, expressed her desire to support children in fully embracing their individuality and encouraging them to be whoever they want to be. "It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be,” she says.
She continues, “They should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way."
From shattering music charts to shaking up the beauty industry, Rihanna has forged a path that has since created the “dream” life we see today. One that she says has made her parents proud of.
“I’m living my dream,” she continued. “My parents were very proud of that because they just wanted me to be happy and successful. So, I think the key thing is to find some kind of balance. Yes, balance is important. Do this and you get the best of both worlds. You can write your own life the way you want, and it will be beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everyone’s expectations and start living your own story.”
Rihanna, who shares sons, RZA, 23 months, and Riot, 8 months, with rapper A$AP Rocky, recently shared her vision for expanding her family in the future in Interview Magazine.
When stylist Mel Ottenberg asked about the number of additional children she hoped to have, Rihanna replied, "As many as God wants me to have.”
"I don't know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl,” she adds. “But of course, if it's another boy, it's another boy."
Featured image by Neil MockfordWireImage