My hair today

Hey yall,
I hope everyone had a good Friday. Ok so as yall know I had to re-twist my hair on Wednesday after my 2nd failed attempt with doing a twist out with the flax seed gel. So I twisted my hair again with my own handmade buttercream and left my hair twisted for 2 days. Below are the pics of my hair I just tried to upload as my background and 50 minutes later I still couldn't get it right so they are here enjoy!!!
XOXO
TMarie

This is a up close picture of my hair without the flash gotta love grapeseed oil!!!

2nd attempt at the flax seed gel twist out

Ok as yall know yesterday I decided to dry twist my hair again with the flax seed gel and...the results are definitely what I did not expect. My hair came out defined but the ends looked slightly thin to me, I of course rocked the style today and got asked in Walmart how I got my hair so curly (lol). In the end I think this gel is best for wash in goes, don't get me wrong it defined my hair but I didn't feel like it was my best twist out. I re -twisted tonight with my Handmade by TMarie buttercream(made by myself!) *pats myself on the back* and plan to show yall pics of my new twist out soon. Below is a pic of my hair before I re-twisted tonight
XOXO
TMarie

Dry twist outs vs. Wet twist outs

Ok I was just thinking about the perks of these two styles and am trying to decide which option is the best. I love defined but soft hair so I know that both yield great results but which one is the best???
             Wet Twist outs
-Allow me to use less products
- my sets are normally defined and moisturized

            Dry Twist outs
-Allow me to use on detangled hair
- require more use of products,but results in less frizzy twist after several hair

I just can't decide so I guess I will try to keep both of these methods in my hair routine.
XOXO
TwistedMarie

Not what I expected hair day...

Hey yall,
 Remember that Sunday was my wash day and I decided to two strand twist my hair with the flax seed gel that I made on Thursday, well it didn't turn out the way that I expected let me tell you what happened. Ok I twisted my hair and said that I planned on wearing the twist until Thursday, but just like the last twist out I couldn't wait and took the twist down this morning. To my surprise my hair was slightly curly and looked like beach hair which was fine because it was a rainy day in Georgia here. I left the headband on and decided to wear my hair down anyway and re-twist again tonight. Below are some pictures that I took of my hair before I dry twisted it back up. Stay tuned because I just can't give up on this gel so I did a dry twist tonight and plan to show yall how this second set turns out, this gel is just to good to only work for wash and gos.
XOXO
TwistedMarie

***Louie just had to be in this picture he was staring at me while I twisted my hair lol**

My nightime routine

Hey yall,
As promised I said that I would let you all know the routine that I used to achieve my 4th day hair from my previous twist out. On the first night that I had my hair twisted out I pulled my hair into a low, lose ponytail and placed my bonnet over it. When I woke the next day I took the bonnet of and did a quick shake. I repeated this routine every night until the 4th day.On the 4th day my ends started to look a bit stretched out so I scrunched them with KCSS (Kinky Curly Spiral Spritz) .
XOXO
TwistedMarie

What I did with my hair today

Hey yall,
Well today was wash day for me, since it is still cold in Atlanta I have been washing once a week still. So this morning I co-washed my hair with TJ's Spa Nourish Conditioner and I was in and out of the shower in about 25 minutes. My hair was not in tangles since I have been wearing it in a twist out since Thursday and I will in another post go over with I did to maintain my twist out for 4 days. Once out of the shower I left my hair in 4 big plaits from co-washing and let it semi-air dry. Once my hair was semi-dry I pulled it back with a headband and decided to two-strand twist on the rest. I used the flax seed gel that I made on Thursday and let me tell you the definition it amazing. Once I opened the jar it was like instant aromatherapy I love this stuff, and finished with about 20-25 twist which I plan to leave in until Thursday and then do a twist out until wash day again.
XOXO
TwistedMaire

 ***These two top pics are of my hair when I first took the twist down***

These two pics of me in the green sweater are of my 4th day hair, it would have looked good for a few more days I am sure but I didn't want to risk a tearful wash session in the end

I made flax seed gel...again

In an earlier post I told yall that I had made flax seed gel about a year ago and on twitter and the blogs that I follow this gel has been mentioned alot lately. So on Thursday I decided to make a new batch of flax seed gel I used half a cup of flax seeds to one cup of water and I boiled them. While I stirred the seeds after about 10 minutes they started to produce a gel, I used a metal strainer (some use a pair of pantyhose) and then added my grapefruit and rosemary essential oils and a bit of aloe vera gelly and then placed in the fridge. Like I said before yall this products is good for about 2 weeks in the fridge it made alot and I planned on giving some to my mother and sister (with two jars,but I used alot when I did my twist on today!)
XOXO
TwistedMarie

This is the gel, the jar was full before I used it and now it has about half left in it. I guess I have more hair then I had from last year! (lol)

4th day hair(Natural hair is amazing)

I know this pic is in my other post but I was so amazed at the definiton after 4days I had to take this shot and give it its own post! Natural hair is amazing!!!

Coming Soon!!!

Hey yall,
Just wanted to let yall know that I have been tinkering around with making my own hair products and they will be available for sale 3/1/11. So far I have a hair butter and a moisturizer. Keep following here and on twitter for updates. I am so excited!
XOXO
TwistedMarie

Happy Friday!!!

Hey yall,
The weekend is finally in sight have a safe and fun weekend !!!
Stay Curly,
TwistedMarie
P.S. This is my dog Louie( I wonder what he was thinking lol!)

Sorry

I know my post may seem a bit out of order I have been typing for the past few hours and managed to mix a few up so it may seem odd that I have a twist out in one and then am saying I adore my twist, but it is all there I just posted them out of order, the tabs maybe easier to follow ( this is what happens when you are up blogging and watching tv @ 2:30 am lol!)
Night yall
TM

My Twists

Yall,
Let me tell you how much in love I am with these twists, they took me about and hour and a half to put them in (while watching Real Housewives of Atlanta! ) I allowed my hair to air dry a bit and then I twisted the hair with my homemade Hair Buttercream and left the ends curly similar to the tiny twists that I use as a protective style. I would say it is about 25-30 of them in my hair I plan to leave them in for two weeks, unravel and then wear a twist out for a few days. For some odd reason we have had a kind of winter here in ATL and I just can't wear my hair in a wet bun for a few days like I had the previous years ago (oh well change is good!)
XOXO
TwistedMarie

Kinky Curly Spiral Spritz

Hey Curlies,
Ok now I know yall have heard about my love affair with KCCC and now I also use the spiral spritz.
My thoughts on KCSS :
It smells amazing and it is good for refreshing 2nd,3rd, and 4th day hair. It is perfect when you don't want to wet your hair with just plain H20, it also prevents your hair from frizzing up! At 11.99 a bottle it does last a while depending on how often you refresh your style.
XOXO
T.Marie

Ever tried flax seed hair gel?

Ok yall,
This is a new one I have been trying to step away from products that are bad for my hair so I have started making my own natural hair products so that way I know exactly what is in them. Which brings me to something I tried this time last year and have been hearing a lot about lately, so I wanted to tell yall my thoughts on it! What I did to make it was boil water and then add flax seeds (which can be found in your local market, ex: Whole Foods, Trader Joe's) bring them to a boil and then strain them into a bowl. I used half a cup of flax seeds to a whole cup of boiling water. I let the gel sit for about 10 minutes to cool off and then added a few drops of essential oil.
My thoughts on Flax seed hair gel :
the consistency is similar to that of KCCC and it provides a good hold for twist (dry or wet) but for wash and gos I would not recommend, it may yield hard to tame hair (unless that is what your heart desires lol) but in all it does give a good hold, that doesn't flake and does allow for 2nd day or more hair. I did give up on it because it needs to be kept in the fridge to prevent it from going bad and can only last for about two weeks after that it needs to be trashed! (Good thing a bag of Flax Seeds isn't expensive!) Don't believe me? Try for yourself and tell me how you like it! P.S. I don't have any pics of the product but check out google and youtube.
XOXO
T.Marie

Kinky Curly Curling Custard

Hey yall,
Alright so I know I talk about KCCC alot but have yall tried it? KCCC is the best I can't get enough of it but I must say the price is a little hard on my wallet, but the good news is that they do sell it @ Target for 17.99 a buck cheaper than Whole Foods.
My thoughts on KCCC :
Yall it gets rid of the bulk in my hair I love it, my curls are really defined and it doesn't look like a giant frizz ball when I style my hair and let it air dry. But do keep in mind it does take a long time for KCCC to dry and your hair (depending on thickness ) could be dry about 12 hours later. But hey KCCC is worth it and one thing that I can say that I love about it is you can re-wet the hair and get 3rd or 4th day hair after its first application( you can pineapple your hair at night as well for 3rd and 4th day hair) Also KCCC works great on dry twist for me as well. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself and see let me know how it works for you!
XOXO
TwistedMarie

Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Conditioner

Ok yall,
This is too crazy I had another PJ moment this week, let me explain what happened. So on Friday while trying to kill time before meeting my family for my Mom's bday I decided to pop into Trader Joe's . I walked around with just a basket almost empty until I saw the personal care section( there is no sign that calls it this but, I do!) Well I saw this conditioner and also a citrus one that they have and smelled both( they smelled amazing) and decided on the Nourish Spa( for some reason it looked bigger despite that they are the same size! lol) Anyhoo, I waited a whole day until my mad PJ started raging and I decided to go back to Trader Joe's( even though I had not used the condish yet!) and fast forward 20 minutes later I am in the check out grabbing my receipt and the additional two bottles that I just purchased and am in my car praying that I fall in love with this new conditioner and...well I did!!! Yall let me tell you this condish has the best slip in the world as soon as I put it on my hair it soaked it up like a sponge and melted away all the knots and tangles that I had in my hair. Also the scent is wonderful, I am actually still sitting her writing this post and I can smell it on my hair (mixed with the smell from my homemade Hair Buttercream!) So I know that this will be a keeper in my rotation don't believe me? Try it yourself @ Trader Joe's for 2.99
XOXO
TwistedMarie

Grapeseed Oil have you tried it?

Hey yall,
I have to tell yall about this new amazing oil that I was introduced to on twitter. Grapeseed oil it is great at taming my hair from becoming frizzy when I take out my twist for a twist out and my ends as well, I recommend trying it as soon as possible.
XOXO
TwistedMarie
P.S. I also heard that it can be used when straighting hair since it is a high heat oil it would be good as a heat protector(even though I don't plan to straighten my hair at all!)

I just couldn't wait!!!

Hey yall,
I was at home today wondering if the twist that I have in my hair would be frizz free, defined and hold up for a fab twist out...and I just couldn't keep my hair in those twist for another minute, I felt like a kid on  Christmas morning! So I carefully unraveled the twist and rocked a fab twist out today. I used of course my homemade Hair Buttercream and left a bit of the TJ's Nourish Spa Conditioner on my hair after I rinsed it from my deep condish treatment,and I am in  love. My hair is defined and frizz free which is important for me I am hoping to get 3 day hair or more( crossing my fingers!!!)
XOXO
TwistedMarie
P.S. I am amazed at the items that I have been able to make so far I have Nothin But Butters(A Bit of Sunshine), Hair Buttercream and something that I doubt I would sell but have revisited Flax seed Hair Gel. Oh and by the way tomorrow I will be returning my 30.00 jar of KCCC!!!( I believe that Flax seed Hair Gel works just the same maybe better and at about 2.00 a pound for the seeds...I am in love!!!) *Grinning from ear to ear about my hair and my creations!*

These are just a few pics of my twist out, oh and in the first pic my hair hasn't been dyed it turns red every summer from the sun and then fades during the winter in the summer it is extreme, I while show more pics of it when it heats up here in Atlanta!

What I did with my hair yesterday

Hey yall,
Ok so yesterday I decided that I had to had to wash,deep condish and style(protective style) my hair. Since Saturday was my first day back to work after this snow storm I was extremely sleeply when I woke up yesterday morning, but I knew my hair had to be done. Well I decided to wash my hair with the usual castle soap( which I am almost out of!) once I finished I did a deep condish with a rahassoul clay mix I made and then twisted my hair in medium sized twist. I had been wanting to do a dry twist out so I let my hair air dry and then used my own homemade Hair Buttercream and twisted my hair. This Hair Buttercream is a new mix for me and I plan to give out samples later on so keep an eye out for the post. Below is a  pic of my hair from a dry twist out ( half up and the rest down) that I did on Friday for my Mommy's Bday.
XOXO
TwistedMaire

P.S. OMG I forgot I also used Trader Joe's Spa Conditioner I will do a review on this soon and also post pics of my medium twists.

Thank you!!!

Hey yall,
I just wanted to take the time and give a big thanks to everybody that follows and reads my blog. I am happy to know that I have yall on this journey with me called "Being Natural" I hope that we can all continue to learn from each other. Also if any of you have a blog, I would love to read it and keep up with you as well if I am not currently following your blog(give me info)...I adore reading blogs and natural hair!!!
- TwistedMarie

Hair Pictures

Hey yall,
We have been stuck in the house now for four days here in Atlanta, so I decided to post a few pictures of my hair through the years!
Enjoy
TwistedMarie

 This pic was taken about a week after my BC circa June 09

 This picture was actually while I was transitioning circa Dec 08

 Ok excuse the conditioner in the hair in this pic circa Sept 09

 Another conditioner in hair pic but I just loved my ponytail Sept 09

Dry twist out with Kinky Curly Dec 10

My Hair

Hey yall,
I am currently testing my own batches of hair products anybody interested in a free sample of my Nothin but Butters(A Bit of Sunshine)? It contains unrefined shea, avocado,almond,Brazilian,palm butter and grapefruit essential oil (yummy!) let me know either here or on twitter!
- TwistedMarie

Anita Grant

Hey yall,
I forgot to mention this in my last post Anita Grant is now being sold by a US supplier on hairogant.com but trust me it is a bit pricey which is part of the reason I am on a quest to make and possibly sell my own hair products I know that Anita Grant is great but the price in this economy... well decide for yourself I just wanted to let yall know.
XOXO
P.S I am trying to come up with products that work well with my hair and the hair of other naturals that I know in the mean time I am making up small batches. So far I have a hair butter and am working on a deep conditioning bar let me know if yall would like to try some samples. Thanks

Products

Hey Yall,
Omg! I made a mad pj dash to Whole Foods the other day and really needed to get some Kinky Curly since I took my mini twist out last week. While in there I noticed this gel Kiss My Face Upper Management Hair Gel and that it was 8.99 versus Kinky Curly 18.99( in my head I could hear my Mother saying sometimes you just can't substitute!) But, I decided what the hey I can give it a try and if not either bring it back to return or use it for something else. So I get home and decided to do a dry braid-out, I never do braid outs because they normally don't give me defined hair (although it does stretch my hair the most especially if I previously had my hair banded.) So I threww a few braids in my hair and then the next day I toke it down the KMF left my hair defined which I normally don't get with KCCC, but I noticed that my hair looked hard and had some flakes. So I thought well I can't go out like this so I pull half of my hair up and wore the rest down. By the end of the day I make it home and my hair looks kind of big I decided to pineapple it and go to sleep. The next day it was completely flat, which led me back to Whole Foods and 30.00 later( I had to buy the big jar, they were all out of the small!) I was at home doing my twist out.
In all KMF was ok besides the flakes it did define my hair and the grapefruit smell was to die for, so I will not give up on the KMF but keep it in my closet for the summer wash and gos!
XOXO

Contact Me

Curlies Need To Contact Me???
I am just a natural hair lover and don't claim to know everything but I do know a thing or two most I have learned either by experience or from other fellow bloggers( see the blogs I follow) but if you do have any questions see below.

Email: twistedmarieblog@gmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Twisted_Marie
Or you can comment on any of the post with questions or concerns and I will get back to yall.

Staple Styles

Curlies,

I almost forgot another style I love and can't get enough of. Recently I have been alternating between tiny twist keeping them in for about a month and then wearing my hair in other Staple Styles for a month before returning to the twist. These twist normally take me about two days to put in I simply two-strand twist with my unrefined shea butter and then leave the ends loose.

Staple Styles

Hey Curlies,
I wanted to give yall(yes I did say yall, I grew up in the South remember lol!)a list of my go to styles:
-Banded Ponytail
This one is pretty self-explanatory what I do is after co-washing I place my hair in a low ponytail and then proceed to place several goody's ouchless black bands down the length of the ponytail to stretch my hair. I normally will leave the bands on for a few days and then di a dry twistout on the stretched hair, or wear the ponytail alone(this is about as close as I come to straight hair)
-Dry Twistout
I am the opposite of my big sis who adores big hair I perfer that my hair looks and feels more calm so when I do a dry twistout my hair seems more tamed.I will normally seperate the two strand twist and don't seperate the pieces or toss (flip my head upside down) to create more volume. This look is achieved by either using Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie or Kinky Curly Curling Custard(I know KCCC sounds strange many curlies only use it on wgos, I will do a review on it later.)
-Simple Bun
I normally do this on wet hair during the summer and during the cooler months I will bun my hair at night to air dry and either wear it low,middle or high bun
-Wash and Gos
I will only wear a wash n go when it is hot outside and typically because I don't like big hair I will wear half of my hair up and then half down

***Above is a pic of a dry twistout using KCCC***

Routines

Hey Curlies,
It is fairly cold here in Atlanta so I try to make sure that I have a well followed regimine for the season.
Winter 2010
-I co-wash my hair once a week using one of the three conditioners Hello Hydration, Tresemme or Garnier Fructis. About twice a month instead of co-washing alone I will also shampoo with Dr.Bronners just to make sure that I getting all of the products out and working with a clean slate.
-After cowashing I split my hair into four sections and detangle each section with lots of conditioner and then end up with about four big plaits.
-Once I am finish I then wait about 20 minutes to allow some of the water and conditioner to dry up a bit I then add my oils EVCO or EVOO.
-After I apply my oil I will then apply some of the Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum and finally either Unrefined Shea or Mango Butter.
-I then place my hair back into these big four plaits wait another 15 minutes and then style. ***See Post under Staple Styles***

My Products

Hello Curlies,
I was just thinking of how important it is to have a clear list of the products that are in my current routine, they are as follows:
Shampoo
-Dr.Bronner's Castle Soap(Citrus Orange Scent)
Conditioners
-Herbal Essences Hello Hydration
-Garnier Fructis Triple Nuttrition
-Tresemme Moisture Rich
-V05 Moisture Milks
*I don't use all of these conditioners together but try to rotate between each of them depending on how my hair feels.
-Deep Conditioners
Garnier Fructis 3 minute undo I normally place a shower cap and leave on for about 20 minutes
Oils
-Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sealants
-Shea butter Unrefined (Butters-n-bars.com)
-Mango Butter Unrefined (Butters-n-bars.com)
Gels
-Kinky Curly Curling Custard
-EcoStyler Olive Oil gel(the green one)
Stylers
-Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
-Bee Mine Curly Butter Cream
Leave- ins
-Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum

Happy New Year's

Hello Curlies,
I am wishing you and your families a safe, happy and successful New Year's!