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:
Pretty Honore/xoNecole
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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
Pretty Honore/xoNecole
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.
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On The Pre-Game, which launched earlier this year, she has positioned herself as listeners “homegirl.” “There’s definitely a delicate dance between being genuine and oversharing, and I’ve had to learn that the hard way. Now I share from a place of reflection, not reaction,” she says. “If it can help someone feel seen or less alone, I’ll talk about it within reason. But I’ve certainly learned to protect parts of my life that I cherish most. I share what serves connection but doesn’t cost me peace.
"I refuse to let the internet consume me. It’s supposed to be a resource and tool for connection, so if it becomes anything beyond that I will log out."
Credit: Malcolm Roberson
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Tap into the full It Girl 100 Class of 2025 and meet all the women changing game this year and beyond. See the full list here.
Featured image by Malcolm Roberson
