Happy New Year, y'all! Did you ring in the new year alone? With family? At church? Intoxicated? However you did it, I hope you said "Goodbye 2011/Hello 2012" with positivity and blessings.
I had a great night out with some friends who hosted a "Chicken & Waffles" get-together at their place. I found out my #1 homieloverfriend is an undercover YouTube DJ - whatchu know about mixing Aaliyah's "4 Page Letter" with Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun"? Needless to say, the night was filled with laughter, kisses, catching up with old friends, making new ones, and grinning so hard my cheeks burned. If that's what 2012 has in store for me, I'll take it!
Ever since I did research for my Holiday Hair post, I was determined to try something new with my mop top. However, being short of time, I decided to try an old style that I haven't done in a while, but with new products. Allow me to introduce you to my dry Bantu knot-out w/ Oyin Handmade's Burnt Sugar Pomade (purchased at HoneyFig) and Beautiful Curls' Shea Butter Curl Reviving Tonic (won at I ♥ My Hair's event)!
- As of Saturday morning, my hair was in a week-old twist out. It was still pretty cute, but after my early morning power yoga class, it turned into a frizzy, puffy mess.
- I proceeded to section my hair, and one-by-one, detangled each section with my wide-tooth comb and a few sprays of Beautiful Curls.
- Once I detangled and sprayed each section, I smoothed a tiny bit of Burnt Sugar Pomade down the length of the section.
- I made my Bantu knot by two-strand twisting the section, then continuing to twist until the hair coiled into a tight knot. My knots usually stay put on their own, but I sometimes have to use a bobbypin or elastic to hold them in place.
- I whipped through my head in about 40 minutes and ended up making about 18 Bantu knots:
I tied my hair down with a satin scarf, and went about my day.
About 7 hours later:
I started to undo the Bantu knots - I was left with a ginormous curly/wavy 'fro...
...and I remembered some annoyances I have with the dry Bantu knot-out. For one, the hair at my nape is very loosely curled and doesn't hold a style well. In order to define that part of my hair to blend in with the rest, I should have done smaller, tighter knots - what I was left with was a very loose section of hair that just ended up frizzing. I always have to remember that same rule with the middle of my head, which is very kinky and tightly curled - 2 different textures, but both end up frizzing if I don't do tight enough twists, braids, or knots. I also didn't realize how big my hair would be once unraveled - the Burnt Sugar Pomade didn't really define my dry hair, but made it very soft and airy. Eventually I started to like the halo/lioness mane I had going on, and figured big hair = a big year - so I rolled with it!
I ended up pinning back the front, so when I was finished I was left with this:
The style held up well throughout the night and made it to the next day, when I slicked back the front with more Burnt Sugar Pomade + water, pulled my hair up into a huge puff, and tied a satin scarf down on my edges to smooth them out. I think that's as far as I'll be able to stretch this dry style, but it served its purpose!
This style showcased my new earrings, so I need to put y'all up on game and let you know about Absynia, one of my favourite shops on Etsy.com! On NYE I rocked the Adeng earrings - beautifully hand-crafted asymmetrical earrings made of silver chain and black & white beads:
Check Absynia's site for more gorgeous jewelry and vintage pieces at AMAZING prices! I'm loving Etsy for the opportunity to buy unique pieces and to support creative entrepreneurs who are doing their thing, and plan to support more of that movement in 2012.
First post of 2012! Again, I hope you had a beautifully blessed New Year celebration, no matter how you did it. Any questions about my dry Bantu-knot out or any of the products I used? Want to know more about Absynia? Leave me a comment or hit me up via the Contact page!