10 Quick and Easy Updos For Natural Hair

I LIVE and DIE for a quick and easy updo. Especially since I stopped relaxing my hair. I just don't have time for crazy complicated hair styles.

I'm guilty of hitting the snooze button one too many times. I often forget to set my hair the night before. And don't get me started on all of my failed wash and gos. Nonetheless, I refuse to walk out of the house looking a hot mess. So instead of giving you a boring #washdayexperience this week, I decided to share 10 of my favorite super  quick and easy updos: 

1/ SWIRLED CROWN BRAID (tutorial)

The perfect way to elevate a humble dutch braid. The key to this style is gently fluffing the sides of the braid to give it volume and make it look thicker.

2/ KNOTTED UPDO (tutorial)

Not a braid. Not a bun. All protective. Stupid simple. This Knotted Updo is perfect for any length hair. I used a technique called banding to stretch my curls.

RELATED: How to stretch natural (and transitioning) hair without heat! 

3/ TWO STRAND TWIST UPDO (tutorial)

The final chop of my texlaxed ends left my bangs super short which made styles other than a high bun difficult. After a little trial and error, I realized that two strand twisting my bangs first + a few well placed hair pins was all I needed to create a cute "not a boring bun" look. 

4/ FLAT TWIST BUN (tutorial)

I love using curlformers to stretch my hair then pulling the curls up into a protective style. And this Flat twist Bun is the perfect example of that. This style is chic but simple and the longer that you leave it in, the more voluminous it makes your hair look. So if you have hair on the finer side---this style is for you!


RELATED: How to use Curlformers on Natural Hair

5/ FISHTAIL BANANA CLIP (tutorial)

Banana clips are a fun way to put your hair into a quick updo. Then you can pin your ends up to turn the updo into a protective style.

6/ SWIRLED FLAT TWIST BUN (tutorial)

Make one large flat twist then two single twists then BOOM you gotta super cute hairstyle! Again, the length of your hair doesn't matter for this style.

7/ HIGH PUFF (tutorial)

Of course this list wouldn't be complete without my high puff. It's the style that I love to hate. It's the epitome of easy but it makes me soooo lazy with my hair. 

8/ FLUFFY TOP KNOT (tutorial)

As I got deeper in my relaxer stretch turned transition, pulling my hair into a high bun got harder and harder. That is until I worked my hair into this gorgeous fluffy top knot.

9/ HEAD WRAP SCARF BUN (tutorial)

This style has two steps: Bantu knot your bangs then wrap your hair in your favorite printed scarf. Easy peasy!

10/ CURLY UPSWEEP (tutorial)

Necessity is the mother of invention. All I had was a failed twist out, 5 minutes, and a stretched out hair tie; and it was all I needed to create this style. I pulled my hair into a high puff leaving down a large section to give myself a curly bang.

What's your favorite updo? Link it up below!

Besitos!
KLP

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[Hairstyle] Curly Upsweep for Natural Hair | The #WashDayExperience

I ditched my Curlformers this week to start testing out styles for our upcoming family photo shoot. Ay dios mio, our pics from last year were EVERYTHING and more to me---but I'm kinda thinking that I want to try something different this year. Give me a shout if you have suggestions!

Here's what I used during this #WashDayExperience:

Pre-shampoo/Strengthening Treatment- DIY Moisturizing Mist (tutorial here) + Aubrey Organics GPB Conditioner (review here)

Clay Rinse- Here's the dets on my recipe

Deep Condition- Jessicurl Deep Treatment Conditioner (review here)
Leave-Ins- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Why EVCO is AMAZING here) + Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner (why I love this stuff here) + Camille Rose Twisting Butter (shop it)

RELATED: My Minimalist Natural Hair Regimen

And here's how I did it:

This week's #WashDayExperience is all about deep conditioning hacks, so started with one of NEW favorite hacks: warming up the conditioner.

First, I spritzed the ends of my hair with my DIY Moisturizing Mist (tutorial here). Then I slathered my hair in warmed Aubrey Organics GPB Conditioner (review here) as I detangled. I love this conditioner because it helps makes breakage disappear, defines my curls and it has a TON of slip. This is what my shed hair after detangling looked like:

Hopefully I can continue this breakage-free trend that I have going here! I let the conditioner sit for about 20 minutes before I hopped in the shower, rinsed the conditioner section by section then applied my Clay Rinse with a narrow tip applicator bottle. I'm still on a mission to get the curls in the front of my hair to clump as well as the curls in the back. Fingers crossed that consistency will do the trick!

Next, I deep conditioned with my all time fave conditioner Jessicurl Deep Treatment Conditioner (review here), coated my ends in Extra Virgin Coconut oil to seal in the conditioner (which is another deep conditioning hack!) and plopped under my hooded dryer for about 30 minutes.

Instead of curlformers, this week I attempted a flat twist out. Have you ever started styling your hair and then about half way into it you KNOW that you made a critical error? Yeah...that was me. I knew that my flat twist sections were too small but it was too late for me to turn back. I put a couple of perm rods on the ends and reminded myself that I could always rock a curly puff.

*le sigh*

Anywhos, the next morning, I unraveled my hair.

It wasn't soooooo bad---more texture than I wanted.

Not as voluminous as I was expecting.

Yerp. Up it went into this quick curly upsweep. At least my bangs looked marvelous dah-ling!

I'm definitely going to try again---with bigger sections and I'll probably ditch the perm rods. They had the ends of my curls looking all kinds of cray cray!

How was your #washdayexperience? Share your style this week and your favorite deep conditioning hacks with our healthy hair tribe!

Besitos!

KLP

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The Best of 2015: My Hair's Hits & Misses

2015 was a really great year for my hair. I wasn't concerned with length, I didn't use heat, and I lived for deep conditioning. I still made a TON of mistakes along the way. Here's a recap of the best things (and the worse things) that happened to my hair.

Hits: Protective Styling

If you haven't read about my LOVE AFFAIR with Kurly Klips---then---idk where you've been chile! It's all that I talked about for the last 6 months! So here's your chance to catch up on why I think that

KURLY KLIPS ARE THE WORLD'S MOST VERSATILE PROTECTIVE STYLE EVER!!!!

Hits: Trimming

I've trimmed and dusted my hair several times this year (Like here, here, here, and here). Way more than I ever have in my healthy hair journey. And while frequent trimming would have been a miss for me in past years---this year it was a hit. My hair is as healthy as it's ever been. My curls look fantastic when wet and my ends are perfectly blunt---and y'all know that I LIVE for healthy blunt ends!

Hits: Curlformers, Perm Rods, and Twist Outs
When my hair wasn't in a protective style---I styled using (most recently) curlformers, perm rods and twist outs. I can't say that I've masted any one of them, but I can say that y'all will definitely see more of them next year.

Hits: My New Staple Products Bentonite Clay Hair Mask Treatment
When I first chopped my hair, I cut it whilst it was straight---which was a total mistake because I was still left with some bits of straight hair on my bangs. It was nearly impossible to tell the difference between my texlaxed hair and my natural curl so I turned to Bentonite Clay! It's amazingness in a jar. It's moisturizing, detoxifying, a shine enhancer, frizz eliminator----just curl defining goodness. Here's how I mix it up and get my curls poppin!

Misses: Wash and Gos
I mean---wash and NOsss!  After about a month of experimenting with wash and gos---I realized that my hair behaves better when it's stretched. It's less tangled, it stays moisturized, my end are far less prone to breakage. Maybe one day, I'll revisit wash and gos, but for now---I'm staying far far away from them.

Misses: High Puffs
My staple natural hair style! Omgosh---how I love this style. It's effortless. And that's the problem. It's so effortless that I'll rock this style for days without moisturizing or sealing my hair. My ends dry out and the curls tangle. Whilst, I'm not vowing to never wear a high puff again, I am going to wear them less and make sure that I moisturize my hair better. Plus, my hair is long enough now, that I can rock a high bun instead! Which is far more kind to my ends!

What were the best (and not so wonderful) moments of your #washdayexperience this year? Share the dets below!

Besitos!
KLP

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[Hairstyle] Twist Out With Perm Rods | The #WashDayExperience

I would have really enjoyed with my wash-and-go last week, if it wasn't for the yucky gobs of white fuzz that was left on my curls. I scrunched them once it dried completely---a tip that usually gets rid of the cast from gel but that still didn't really get rid of the flakes.

On the bright side, my hair was crazy moisturized and I really like the way that my curls were defined. The style (flakes and all) lasted about 3 days before I co-washed and threw my hair up into a puff. I'm obviously addicted to that puff life. (Hmmm...that sounded less weird in my head...Ha-ha!)

This week, I went for a twist out with a few perm rods on the ends. Here's what I used:

Deep Condition: Jessicurl Deep Treatment
Leave-Ins: Almond Oil + Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner + DIY Hair Butter + My DIY Whipped Butter + Shea Moisture Curl Enchancing Smoothie

And here's how I did it:

I skipped shampooing because my scalp felt pretty clean and went straight into deep conditioning on my dry unwashed hair. I detangled in about 6 sections, applied the conditioner then the oil, and twisted the hair to keep each section separated. Then I covered with a plastic cap + scarf and let it sit (without heat) for about an hour,

As I started to rinse the conditioner + oil mix from my hair in the shower, my curls felt AHHH-MMMAAZZZIIINNNGGGG. Since I chopped, I feel like my hair is much better moisturized than it was when it was relaxed. I'm not sure if my products are working better or if the moisture is a result of me washing more frequently. Either way---I'm loving it!

I let my hair dry wrapped in a t-shirt for about 20 minutes before adding my Almond Oil + Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner + My DIY Whipped Butter + Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie cocktail and two strand twisting my hair. I wrapped the ends around a pink (5/16") perm rods. I let them dry overnight.

The results:

Oh gosh, I love me some BIG HAIR! I removed the perm rods then unraveled the twists. Next, I took each twist and separated it into two more sections to give my hair more volume. I wanted it to be bigger and a little softer so next time I'll probably stretch my hair first then twist it. I added a couple of hair pins at my roots to give my fro some shape and viola All done!

I wish that I could tell you that I rocked this fro for days. But I didn't---by that afternoon it went up into a puff so that I could go jogging. I gotta save these good hair days for when I really have something important to do. Ha-ha!

How was your #washdayexperience?

Besitos!
KLP

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[Hairstyle] Braided Fringe Twistout | The #WashDayExperience

I got pretty lazy after last week's #washdayexperience. I wore my hair knotted for a day or two, then co-washed and left it in a high curly bun.

I just knew that I was cute! And my wash and go bun was huge BUT... I didn't touch it for several days. I didn't moisturize. I didn't seal. I didn't even cover my hair at night (thank goodness for silk pillowcases tho!) By the time that today's #washdayexperience rolled around---my hair was a tangled mess. Hmm...now I see why folks with tight curls like mine complain.... *hangs head*

Obviously co-washing + no leave-ins + not touching my hair for several days = dry knotted tangled hair. Fingers crossed that I've actually learned my lesson and won't pull that stunt again...fingers crossed...

So, I stopped being wack and went back to my usual regimen.  Here's what I used:

Pre-Shampoo- Joico K-Pak Revitalisant Conditioner (strengthening treatment)
Shampoo- Joico K-Pak Shampoo
Clay Mask: Aztec Healing Bentonite Clay (+ Apple Cider Vinegar & Aloe Vera Juice)
Deep Condition: Jessicurl Deep Treatment + Almond Oil
Leave ins: Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner + DIY Hair Butter + Camille Rose Curl Maker
 
The Results:
I started with a protein pre-poo using Joico K-Pak Revitalisant Conditioner. For my hair, I consider this conditioner to be a medium to light protein treatment. I love the way that my curls absorb the conditioner and instantly behave! I left the pre-poo in for about an hour or so. Then I hopped in the shower, rinsed the conditioner and shampooed with the accompanying Joico K-Pak Shampoo in sections. I don't love this shampoo. Real talk, I don't love many shampoos. But it's great for getting my hair squeaky clean and I know that I needed that fresh start.

I let a cotton t-shit absorb most of the water then I applied my bentonite clay mask. (You can check out my step by step application process here). I covered my hair with a plastic cap and knit beanie then let the treatment sit for about an hour.

As I rinsed the clay, my curls much much better. But I felt like I still needed moisture, so I applied Jessicurl Deep Treatment and a little almond oil to seal, then pulled my hair into a giant high puff. I didn't cover it---I just kinda let the conditioner absorb into my strands. After about 2 hours---the conditioner completely disappeared and my cute springy curls came back!

Once my hair was slightly damp (I used a cotton t-shirt to absorb most of the water from rinsing the deep conditioner), I applied a few drops of Almond Oil. Then I applied my leave-ins (Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner and my DIY Hair Butter in sections. Next, I installed a bunch of medium sized two strand twists and added a dab of Camille Rose Curl Maker to the ends.

It's 99 degrees here at the beach so there was no way that I was gonna have all my hair in my face. So I quickly braided my bangs aka fringe, used a few hair pins to secure it and went on my way!

Back into a puff it goes tomorrow, but until then I'm whippin my hair all around!

How was your #washdayexperience chica?

Besitos!
KLP

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[Hairstyle] My Fluffy Twistout Fro | The #WashDayExperience

Most naturals despise humidity. All that moisture in the air causes frizz, shrinkage, and will turn a beastmode twistout into---well just a beast. I really thought that I was going to have the same issue. I live about 10 minutes away from the beach and as the temperature rises---as does the humidity.

But surprisingly, the twist out in my Flirty Tuck and Roll from last week lasted for 3 days! I ran, I went to cardio kickboxing, I even did a bootcamp session and believe it or each day it got better and better! With my new-found confidence, I went for a full twist out this week. Here's how I got started:

Pre-Shampoo- Herbal Essence Hello Hydration
Clay Mask: Aztec Healing Bentonite Clay (+ Apple Cider Vinegar & Aloe Vera Juice)
Co-wash: OGX Argan Oil of Morocco
Leave ins: Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner + DIY Hair Butter + Camille Rose Curl Maker

The Results:

I started by finger detangling and slathering my hair in Herbal Essence Hello Hydration. So many people complain that coily kinky hair like mine gets tangled and matted really easily. I guess that I'm the outlier because I actually have less tangles now that my hair is completely unprocessed than I had when it was bone straight relaxed and texlaxed!

I hopped in the shower, rinsed the conditioner out section by section and scrubbed my scalp. Because my hair is so dense at the roots, I have to use the pads of my fingers to scrub my scalp and get all of the product out. I let a cotton t-shit absorb most of the water then I applied my bentonite clay mask. (You can check out my step by step application process here). I covered my hair with a plastic cap and knit beanie then let the treatment sit for about an hour.

As I rinsed the clay, my curls felt crazy smooth, elongated, and springy. The kinks in the front of my hair are beginning to clump very nicely but they are still a lot looser than the back of my hair. My hair felt sooooo moisturized. Like---I don't think y'all understand---my hair was so moisturized that I was afraid that if I deep conditioned then I'd have over-moisturized mushy curls! But I needed to do something to minimize the AWFUL scent of apple cider vinegar from the clay mask. So, I grabbed my bottle of OGX Argan Oil of Morocco (which has a little protein) to quickly co-wash.

Once my hair was slightly damp (I used a cotton tshirt to absorb most of the water), I applied a few drops of Almond Oil. Then I applied my leave-ins (Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner and my DIY Hair Butter in sections. Next, I installed a bunch of medium sized two strand twists and added a dab of Camille Rose Curl Maker to the ends. My first impression of Curl Maker was fantastic! I picked it up from Target with the intentions of trying another wash and go high puff. I just got anxious to use it. LOL!

My day 1 hair was very well defined--a little piecey but I liked it. I only separate each strand of the twist once so that it doesn't turn completely into an afro. That night I just covered with my bonnet and passed out. Surprisingly in the morning---it looked better! Fluffy....sooooooo friggin fluffy! Y'all know that I love me some fluffy hair! Day 2 was DEFINITELY better than day 1. Day 2 was my FAVOOORRRIIITTTEEE. Then on Day 3, it still looked fantastic but I was over wearing it out. Back into my usual high puff it all went! Does anyone have tips for preserving a twist out? I'm convinced that this was just a fluke! No way that I'll get results like this again!

How was your #washdayexperience?

Besitos!

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[Hairstyle] Fancy Floral Top Knot | The #WashDayExperience

Overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling right now. My hair has totally taken a back seat to my life and there really isn't an end in sight. The high bun is my one and only friend. I wore my Caruso Steam curls out for about 6 hours then I pulled it into a high bun; Where it stayed until today's wash day. I only took it down occasionally to do a quickie detangle, moisturize and seal---then put it back up. Do you ever have that moment when you hate being an adult? LOL. Anywhos, here's how my wash day went:

1. Pre-shampoo- I lightly detangled and slathered my hair in extra virgin coconut oil.
2. Shampoo- Next, I hopped into the shower for 5 minutes to rinse the oil completely. I combined about 1/2 oz of Matrix Biolage Hydrasource Shampoo with 4 oz of water in a narrow tip applicator bottle and applied to my roots only twice because my hair felt super dirty. I let the runoff cleanse my ends.
3. Extreme Deep Condition- I applied Matrix Ultra Hydrasource Conditioner to my hair root to tip, then I massaged my stands with extra virgin coconut oil, covered with a plastic cap and left it in overnight.
4. Tea Rinse- using 2 Bamboo tea bags steeped in 2 cups of water + 2 tbsp of glycerin.
5. Air Dry- with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil applied to wet hair then wrapped in a satin scarf.
6. Leave ins- I used Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner to moisturize, my kitchenista Tangerine Vanilla Whipped Hair Butter to seal and then two strand twisted my hair in about 10 sections and secured with a satin roller.

The Results:
Because I've been swamped with real life, I've ditched co-washing for about two weeks. Which wouldn't be all that bad, but I also haven't shampooed my hair in 3 weeks. Needless to day, my hair felt icky. It wouldn't absorb any moisturizer, it felt tacky, and my scalp was kinda itchy. I love Matrix Hydrasource Shampoo because one wash leaves my scalp feeling clean but not stripped. I did a second lather to make sure that I got all of the gunk off my strands. 

Can we give Matrix Hydrasource conditioner I high five fist bump?!? Whilst, my hair was realllly dirty---it definitely wasn't dry. The only conditioner that comes close to all of this awesomeness is Jessicurl Deep Treatment. Hello staple status for sure! If you want to see what I'm raving about enter to win your own Matrix Hydrasource collection!

Umm...so what's a word that means worse than fail? Well whatever that word is times it by 300 and you'll get how terrrribbbllleee my twist out was. I'm obviously a glutton for punishment because I keep trying and instead of getting closer to big curly waves I'm regressing into hot friggin mess territory. I didn't even attempt to save it and pulled it into a high bun. The good news is that all of the texture gave my bun some serious life, my roots were very well stretched, and my hair was super moisturized. I added a orchid headband and called it a day. Hooray for little miracles! Now...back to all this chaos!

How was your #washdayexperience? 
Besitos!
KLP

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