Gel and Shea Butter: My New Favorite Combo

Ever find that perfect combo of products for a style that you just want to use again, and again......and again some more? (lol) Well that has been me recently with my twists. I always just used my shea butter mix, which is fire by itself, but my twists never seemed to last more than 2 days with out getting frizzy! And then if I just stuck to my guns and left them in anyways my twist outs were never super defined. Well, I absolutely love using ic fantasia polisher gel for my puffs and wash and go's and it never makes my hair super crunchy. So I decided to try adding it with the shea butter mix on my twists. I just moisturize each section with my whipped shea butter and then add a light coating of the gel. Now this isn't some new found technique. I'm pretty sure there are people who have actually tried this combo before. Matter of fact, I've talked to some of them on twitter (follow me! twitter.com/naturally_flyy). However, I LOVE this combo. As you can see in the pics my twists are tight and my twist outs are defined like no other. Try it! you'll like it!

Transitioning Styles I Tried and Highly Recommend

There are 3 styles I attempted (and succeeded) with during my transition. The first was twist outs. I don't have a pic but there is a link to my youtube video.

Another style is bantu knot outs. Bantu knots have about 50% success rate. It works for some, others they don't. For me it worked. Click here for my tutorial, but there are so many other vids in youtube land about bantu knots. Although in the video I used pantene pro v for women of color setting/wrap lotion. I do not recommend this b/c it contains chemicals that are drying for the hair. I was still experimenting w/ products then and didn't know any better. If the knots don't stay on their own, using ouchless hair ties are recommended. It is best to wait until your hair is fully dry before unraveling the knots.

Another style I frequently did was a braid out. This is the picture at the beginning of this post. This style is very good at blending the two textures.

These styles are very quick and easy to do. It is recommended to style when hair is wet after doing a wash and deep conditioning (best for transitioning hair). Always moisturize the hair everyday! Find a favorite moisturizer of your choice and do it everyday.

The purpose of these transitioning styles are to protect the hair from damage and breaking. combing and brushing the hair everyday can cause breakage. Another reason is to blend the two textures (relaxed and natural). And the main reason I suggest others to use these styles is because it prepares you for what is to come (waves, curls, etc.)

Other styles are straw sets, flexirod sets, roller sets, but I choose not to do these because they are very time consuming and I have a very limited schedule but these styles do look nice.

Two styles that I would have liked to try are 2 strand cornrow outs and 3 strand cornrow outs. Same thing as braid outs or twist outs but I feel they are better for longer new growth.