Independence Beach Day w/Bro

JULY 4, 2017

I love the beach! And what better day to spend Independence Day than chillin with family in the sand and sun of Cali beaches? 

My brother, Rahzizi, has been working on his photography skills and we decided to do a little photoshoot in my red, white, and blue. I got my hair straightened a couple weeks ago and it's time for a wash, so I didn't mind it getting all sandy and humidified. The wind was quite welcome!

We had a blast and I can't wait for next time!

Do you do themed hair for holidays? 

How do you style your hair when it's time for a wash?

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

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STYLE ALERT: Foam Roller Updo

I bought some rollers from the dollar store for....a dollar, lol, and I am SO happy with the results!

 

The foam rollers that I'd bought a couple months ago when I first did the big natural chop got a little bent out of shape after a while so I had to throw most of them away. As a result, I didn't have enough when I decided that I wanted to try out a new style. So I went to my local 99 cent store (or maybe it was Dollar Tree; I can't remember!) and bought 2 packs of yellow rollers.... They were EXTREMELY difficult to work with and I must admit that I quite abhor them, lol, BUT I am very happy with how my hair turned out for this style.

I sectioned the back off first and did several rows of horizontal flat twists that converged in the middle and up-braided the convergence vertically:

You've seen me utilize this method in the past when my hair was too short back there to actually form an updo without it. This time it was optional, not mandatory :) (It's GROWING!). After I finished the twists and secured the braid with a band, I took the remaining hair and used some of my old foam rollers and some of the new yellow rollers. The yellow rollers definitely accommodated a lot less hair that the other ones. Oh, and I put a couple more flat twists on the left side.

I left those in over night and took them down in the morning to some beautiful, bouncing curls! I took the curls and bobby pinned them to one side for a one-sided bang look and voila, issa hairstyle:

The style lasted probably about a week. <3

Have you ever tried using those terrible little yellow rollers?

Tag me in your favorite roller updo!

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

SUBSCRIBE to my mailing list at iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

STYLE ALERT: KnotOut Puff With Twistout Back Fro

Complicated title for a not so complicated hairdo. I loved this simple ponytail puff look so much and was surprised and the number of compliments I got on the simple style as well as the ease of maintenance and how long it lasted.

After wash day, I pulled the front part of my hair up into a regular ponytail puff, parting the back half of my hair where it starts to get shorter. I detangled the ends and two strand twisted the ponytail. I then put those twists into bantu knots.

For the back, I twisted the hair down into rows and secured the ends into mini bantu knots where the hair was long enough.

I left this prep up overnight and undid it in the morning as I got ready for my day.

It left my hair very soft and fluffy with a nice curl pattern.

The picture of the back is a little weird as it doesn't capture the essence of the style correctly because, bad lighting, but here it is anyway:

I can't wait until my hair gets a little longer so the back fro part can make more of a statement. But for now, it's a cute and simple style that I can rotate into my go to styles.

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

SUBSCRIBE to my mailing list at iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

Bantu KnotOut

This Thursday I'll be releasing a bantu knot out video on my vlog youtube.com/rahkuaaheadofmyhair. I just wanted to show the picture progression here of the knot out that I discuss in the video.

I love bantu knots. They're so versatile, unique, and such easy maintenance. It was always one of my go to styles when I had locks and I decided to try it out for the first time post-chop. I did what I called "love knots" for Valentine's Day and the result was great!

I two-strand twists each parted section of hair before twirling them up into mini bantu knots. The style held sturdy for about a week. It was the best get up and go hairstyle ever. When I was finally ready to take them down, I used my oils to moisturize my whole head and they just kind of came down naturally. However, when I saw how the style looked after just uncoiling, I decided to let them be rather than untwisting the two-stands also.

I left that alone for about a week too. Each day, the curls got a little looser so the hair looked a little longer each day.

Here's where I undid the two strand twists but didn't really pick it out just yet:

I was finally ready to take it all the way down as I prepped for the Lakers vs Hornets game. I loved the result even though it was a little frizzy on the sides since it was about 2 weeks old. The front was a little fresher because I re-coiled them the night before.

Unfortunately I kept forgetting to take a picture of the style without a hat, but I guess you can get the general idea from this :)

I can't wait to try the style again. I want to try it once where I take the knots down right away to see if I can achieve less frizz/longer lasting curls and once where I don't two-strand twist the knots first.

Tell me about your bantu knot out!
How do you prep your hair first?
How long do you leave your knots up?
Do you do anything special when you're taking them down?

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

SUBSCRIBE to my mailing list at iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

Bye Felicia!

I Love doing a braid out. It makes my hair look so healthy and lustrous and the crinkles are cool lol. I normally do a middle part and let the crinkle fro fly out to the sides as it wishes :)

The preparation process is pretty simple:

• I always wash and condition my hair first so that it can be clean and damp when I start the style. 
• Then I detangle (gosh I hate detangling!). I mostly let it air dry and pat out excess water with my towel. 
• After detangling I add in my products. Lately I've been using a combination of olive oil, coconut oil, Cantu leave-in conditioner, and Softee Indian Hemp grease. 
• Next, I part my hair into about 6-8 different sections, braiding those sections up as I go along. 
• Then, I let it air dry more so I won't wet up my pillow (I usually do my hair around bedtime) before tying it up with my purple scarf and just throwing my bonnet on over that for a little added protection. 

 These pics are hilarious to me because it makes me think of the infamous "Felicia" from the movie Friday who wore here hair in simple plaits all over her head.

In the morning I prep my fingers with coconut or olive oil and undo the braids carefully. I finger comb through the hair and fluff it in places where i want it to be bigger. The number and thickness of the braids also helps determine the shape. Here's the result:

I've tried this on my straightened hair as well and it comes out even more airy and lustrous. This is kind of a hassle when it's windy out though! I threw on a hat the first day and left it fro the next:

And that's it! Its a simple style and I think it's great for the growth process. If I don't have anywhere to be I'll leave the braids in a couple days (like over a weekend) and the crinkles last a lot longer. 

Tag @aheadofmyhair in YOUR favorite braid out pics!

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

SUBSCRIBE to my mailing list at iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

Updated Two-Strand Twists

If you follow my vlog (youtube.com/rahkuaaheadofmyhair), you've seen my 3 part two-strand twists video with updated length and styling. I love that I can actually see my hair growth and thank you guys for coming on the journey as I document it!

When I did the twists, I used a little different method than normal. Instead of putting the twists into bantu knots like usual, I used the banding method to stretch the twists so I would have stretched hanging twists this time around instead of the curls that the bantu knots would make.

I loved the outcome because it allowed me to rock a controlled "straight-esk" style without any heat and with very little need to re-do my hair for at least 2 weeks. And I think the bob look suits me.

 If I were to do things differently, I would change the configuration of my banded bunches so as to avoid the part down the middle/back of my head after taking it down. I was able to disguise the part by putting the twists into a ponytail for a couple days to re-direction the hair.

After that time it basically hung the way I needed it to.

How often do you do your hair in two-strand twists?

Do you ever wear them as a style or only to achieve a twist out?

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

SUBSCRIBE to my mailing list at iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com