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Hair Tips!

Since the twist-out is now my go-to style, I thought I’d share a few tips on how I keep my style fresh: 1) Properly detangle your hair. I start with a wide toothed comb. I then detangle. Once I’m ready to begin twisting, I section with the end of a rat tail comb and then comb out each of the smaller sections. I find that this smooths my hair (especially the ends) and leads to a smoother style. Continue reading for more tips!

January 12, 2012
inBeauty, Grooming & Styling, Hair
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Since the twist-out is now my go-to style, I thought I’d share a few tips on how I keep my style fresh:

1) Properly detangle your hair. I start with a wide toothed comb. I then detangle. Once I’m ready to begin twisting, I section with the end of a rat tail comb and then comb out each of the smaller sections. I find that this smooths my hair (especially the ends) and leads to a smoother style.

2) If your hair texture is like mine, an oil-based rather than a water or gel-based product may work best to twist your hair. I’ve tried gels and custards…nothing works as well as a creamy oil (as I’ve said before I use Doris New York products almost exclusively on my hair). For me, I have found that gels may do a better job of “freezing” the curl in place. Big ups for curl definition. HOWEVER, my hair feels like hay and I can’t stand that. When I use the oil-based product my hair feels like satin and moisture is sealed in plus my scalp is conditioned. Of course, everyone has to go through trial and error but this is my experience.

3) Tie your hair up at night. I use a satin sleep bonnet.

4) Oil your scalp…I know some people disagree with this. For me, I find a light oil on my scalp keeps my hair and scalp happy.

5) You DON’T have to redo your entire head when your hair starts to lose curl definition. Instead, retwist the frizzy parts. This has saved me MUCH time.

6) Tie up your hair when you work out (I refuse to wear the satin bonnet in public but I have a scarf that I wear).

That’s all I can think of for now. Please share your tips as well!

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First Family Encounter with Longer Afro

As our RV rumbled to a stop in front of my parent’s beautifully landscaped yard, I wondered how my Mom would react to my several inch long twist-out (Dad cares but he’s not likely to verbalize his thoughts). I double-checked my hair and makeup and then bounded out of the vehicle. Some of you may not know that my Mom and I are very close. I call her at least once a day and we have grown to be friends. You know, girlfriends who can tell each other the truth in love. So, I knew that if she thought my hair looked jacked up she was going to let me know it.

January 9, 2012
inFamily, Grooming & Styling, Relationships
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As our RV rumbled to a stop in front of my parent’s beautifully landscaped yard, I wondered how my Mom would react to my several inch long twist-out (Dad cares but he’s not likely to verbalize his thoughts). I double-checked my hair and makeup and then bounded out of the vehicle. Some of you may not know that my Mom and I are very close. I call her at least once a day and we have grown to be friends. You know, girlfriends who can tell each other the truth in love. So, I knew that if she thought my hair looked jacked up she was going to let me know it.

My beautiful Mother stepped outside and, with open arms, gave me a long overdue hug. “T, you look beauuuuutttiiiiifullllll!”. What?! Is that it? It’s that easy? My Mom looked at my neat twist out and fawned over me. It was blissful. (I just realized that I didn’t take a single pic of my hair at my Mom’s house…I am the family photographer. However, today’s pic was from the RV trip and shows the twist-out). Even better? My Mom told me that my hair motivated her to think about going natural again. She’s not there yet, but I’m so grateful that my natural journey is having a positive influence on the woman I love the most in the whole world. Yeahhhh Team Natural! :)


Mommy was a fan of the twist out

P.S.: In contrast, my Mom was NOT a fan of my chunky twist-out. I emailed her the below pic. Her response, “T, I prefer the other style. That style better framed your face.” Spoken like a true friend. The thing is, I loved the style so I’m sure that I’ll wear it again BUT I will always value the input of my loved ones. It’s funny, I didn’t realize that one benefit of my natural journey would be enhanced courage to firmly stand on my own two independent feet and not buckle when others don’t like something I’m trying.


Mommy was not a fan of the CHUNKY twist out BUT I love it! :)

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DrTinaOpie.com about to launch! Stay tuned!

November 12, 2011
inUncategorized
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Hello everyone,
I wanted to share that I have been working on several things related to my research on hair and identity. I am excited to say that over the coming weeks I’ll be migrating from Blogger to my own website: DrTinaOpie.com. Whew-hew!!!! The website will house my blog, research, news relevant to hair and identity and other topics of interest. Please stay tuned. Thanks to all of you for making this blog such a success. I cannot wait to see what the future holds.
P.S.: A week later, I am still rocking my twist-outs that I styled with Doris New York (DNY) products. I am thrilled because my hair is soft, moisturized and pliant. Perhaps my old straw hair has gone bye-bye?! I do believe that my sisters and Mommy will be getting DNY products for Christmas! Ok, enough on my hair.
My twist-out a week later
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Twist it on out!

September 6, 2011
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Hello everyone,

After wearing my hair in double-strand twists from Friday to Monday, I did a twist out. Before I untwisted, I rubbed a small amount of castor oil on the twists. I then made sure that my fingertips were coated in the oil as I untwisted each twist.
Here are the results (the top pic is after sleeping on it for one night with a scarf; the bottom pic is how they looked right after I did the twist out). Next time, I will be sure to do smaller twists on the sides and in the back of my head to accommodate for the coilier hair on those sections of my head. All in all, I am thrilled and excited to be exploring my hair.
P.S.: Please check out my blog TOMORROW tropie7189.blogspot.com for links to a Washington Post video highlighting my journey from dreadlocks to TWA (teeny weeny afro). I also wrote an accompanying piece. Please repost, tweet, email, etc. and get the word out!
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