Monday 26th July 2010

The new transitional style:

Hi folks! So it's now time to make the choice for the next transitional style.  In my last post, I said that I would do a “fluff week” then restyle. Well, that week was more like 3. I had to be sensible guys. It was coming up to the busy season and also we are still in a recession. So, it was important that whatever style I chose would be able to last for the season. The three weeks of fluff week were spent trying to decide what I would next do with my hair. I had a very specific criteria that this style needed to meet.

Firstly, whatever it was, it needed to be versatile. I get bored of my hair quite quickly. So, in order to maintain interest, it needed to be something I could change up depending on my mood.

Secondly, it needed to be “party wearable”. With the run up to summer parties imminent, I knew that I would be attending a lot more media related soirees as well as personal celebrations themselves!

Thirdly, whatever the style I chose, it would have to encourage maximum hair growth potential as well as allow me to maintain my regular hair regime.

This presented a conundrum: what style could possibly fulfill all of these requirements?

I had been pondering on the idea of purchasing some Indian Remi Hair for a while now, so I decided now was as good a time as any to investigate. This in itself caused its own dilemmas. I didn’t wish to pay extortionate amounts of my hard earned cash for a substandard product or a product which would have the same fate as any other weave I have ever had “installed”.

After much searching I found a brand within price range and one which appeared to fulfill my requirements. The Velvet Remi Indian hair by Outre (click the image below to explore) was a pleasant surprise in its box and tissue paper wrapping with its claim to form nice lustrous waves when contact with water is made.

I took it to the hairdressers the following day and had it stitched in, in this simple style- basically long on one side with braids on the front quarter of my head in a very simple pattern.

I must say, ladies, despite one or two questionable reviews, this hair is holding up well. I have had it in for nearly a month now with minimal shedding. When wet, the waves are nicely formed and there is minimal tangling. I would imagine the minimal shedding has something to do with the way the hair was stitched in. Rather than cutting the weft every time a track was laid, my hairdresser just folded the weft over and continued stitching. Only a few cuts were made in the weft once we got nearer the crown in order to create a shape for the style.

I have washed the weave every other week, with a cheap high street brand of shampoo, namely the L'oreal Damage Care Shampoo and the L'oreal Reconstructive Conditioner with Royal Jelly. (You can shop for this and other hair products in the Mane Store- banner above on the right)

This has helped  to keep the hair soft and pliable. I don’t like washing my own hair when it's weaved in. I find it doesn’t prolong the life of my weave, and because I can't detangle my hair, it makes it more difficult to manage once the weave is taken down. So instead I have used products which don’t need to be rinsed out, or oils with antiseptic qualities on my scalp, then, I keep my scalp oiled with my own blend of natural oils.

 Each time, I have washed the weave I unraveled the side braids and had them rebraided into a different pattern to keep the style fresh and interesting (to me more than  anyone else) so it went from this:

 To this:

I really like the simplicity of the straight chunky plaits, it really works well with the style! In fact i actually prefer them!!

 I'm hoping this style will last another 2 weeks max (6 weeks total); I won’t expect to keep it in much longer than that.