Hair, Protective Styles

Braids 2021: April Ombre

I recently let you know that I’ve been living my best life in chunky twists but there’s nothing better than when you get into a funk than to change your hair. And as someone who wears box braids fairly regularly, it’s a great non-damaging-ish way to quickly change up your look. And if it’s purple…even better!

I’ve been absolutely loving twists recently but I needed a rest from the grind of weekly washdays. I’m sure there are people who wash their hair everyday currently giving me πŸ‘€. But please consider though that it can take my hair over 24 hours to completely air dry, wash day is a whole thing!

So here’s the rundown on how I got my most recent style and gave myself a bit of a break!

Wash Day Prep

As I wouldn’t be washing my hair for a few weeks (I planned on having the hair in for 4 weeks), I thought it’d be a good idea to give my hair the VIP cleansing treatment and for me, that means A Clay Wash.

  1. Mix = Bentonite Clay, Rosewater, Apple Cider Vinegar and my Nap85 Oil.
  2. Twist out on week old hair.
  3. I love how my hair looks and feels when it’s wet and this is essential before adding the clay.
  4. You can see my hair is quite thoroughly covered in the clay…
  5. I roughly section into four.
  6. Then I cover my head in a plastic cap, I do use disposable ones as I bought like 150 a few years ago but I do reuse them until they split. Once they’re all gone (and I’m almost there), I’m going to invest in a high quality, super durable shower cap. The reusable ones for my kids are falling apart after less than 18 months.
  7. This weird pink concoction is actually the Earth Elixir Botanical Hydration Ayurvedic Deep Conditioner. This is a real one…review is on the way!
  8. I follow that up with an ACV rinse – it’s quite a weak solution compared to some that I’ve found recipes for but I almost damaged my hair with ACV early on in my journey. I do 1 part ACV to 5 or 6 parts water with a few drops of Essential Oils. This time Tea Tree and Rosemary and this supposedly helps balance my hair’s pH and close the cuticles.
  9. And finally my doo doo/ du du/ Felicia/ Chunky braids to stretch my hair overnight.

 

 

Moisturise & Section

  1. I moisturised my chunky braids with some more Earth Elixir products after using my DIY Rosewater Leave In (Rosewater, Glycerin, Water, Jojoba Oil). I followed this with the Earth Elixir Ayurvedic Shea, Mango & Chebe Whip and sealed my ends with the Ayurvedic Hair Growth Oil. When I tell you my hair was feeling gooooooood! Like I said above a full review is on the way but if you want to find out more in the meantime, check out their website.
  2. Because I was planning on doing split hair again I needed to get a fairly decent centre parting. Looking at it, it could be better. However, it’s a massive step up from just a few years ago when I used to take random sized sections with zero thought to it.
  3. I then sectioned each half into 10 separate chunky twists which would then become the sections for my chunky braids and for further heatless stretching too.
  4. And the final picture is how I styled it from Sunday to Wednesday – a high pony/ bun with the natural hair equivalent of curtain bangs/ fringe? I was feeling myself all week because I found and love a new style for my twists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hair

Β I had a few options in terms of ombre hair as you can see. In the end I went for black to purple options.

Left side – Black to bright purple to dark purple (4 packs)

Right side – Black to purple to lilac (3.5 packs)

I’ve found it really hard to photograph the vibrancy of the colours. But I can assure you I’m looking like a pure purple dream, if I do say so myself.

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I used the Rubber Band Method to keep my sections neater and to hep with gripping the hair as it gets a lot harder with bigger sections. If you’ve never tried it before I definitely recommend for chunky styles. But remember to not do them too tight and be super careful when taking them down as the bands may cause some breakage. I have seen some people use hair bobbles soaked in oil instead but that seems a bit too bulky. Or you can soak the rubber bands in oil, which I might try next time, but I believe this can degrade the rubber πŸ€·πŸΎβ€β™€οΈ

I did my daughter’s hair at the same time with the same sort of sectioning but whew the frizz! Whew the looseness of those braids days later! Should have used the bands onΒ  her too! I avoided them because she’s tender headed but I think that was a mistake…

Shout Out To My Definition

I know there is frizz there too but that twist out is solid. And that is without any styling or hold products. I’m happy with that! When this is brushed out, it looks a bit like a blowout so heatless stretching was a success!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping It Sleek

My main concern with gel is it drying out my hair. Luckily, Eco Styler seems to work okay for me. I’m writing this 2 weeks into this style and the hair I can feel definitely still feels moisturised, has a sheen to it and my sections are still looking good.

I tried the ORS first but I just cannot make edge control work for me. Is it technique? Is it this product? Or is that styled edges are a lie on my kind of hair? We’ll never know as I plan to put it in the bin!

To add a little extra moisture to my hair, I used the EDEN Bodyworks Coconut Shea All Natural Hair Balm which is basically just Coconut Oil and I don’t like Coconut Oil. To be fair, my hair still feels okay but I honestly didn’t think it added anything special. I put off using this product because I wasn’t really sure what to do with it and when to use it and it’s still a bit of a mystery as to how I’ll incorporate it into my routine.

The Finer Details

The reason I love big chunky braids is because it doesn’t take long to install. All done in an evening in front of the TV. A little bit of EastEnders, Netflix and Crunchyroll to get me through.

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I’ve watched countless YouTube Videos, TikToks Facebook vids of people using mousse on their finished braids so I thought I’d give it a go. My hair is still looking neat, I’m not sure if it’s the mousse or my “superior” braiding skills….we’ll never know!

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The jug of blue-ish water is what the water looked like when I dipped the ends to seal them. That’s slightly concerning but I’m lazy and usually don’t clean my synthetic hair before I install it but I might just start doing that now! 😬

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Finished Product

I am loving this style so much, the colours, the split look, the length. I’m so glad I finally got off my arse and braided my hair. There have been a few teething issues with this round. I’ve forgotten how heavy it can feel in the first few days but that’s settled now and I’m all good. It was hard to sleep on because of how thick it is. So I think next time I’ll see if I can get the same look with 6 packs. Maybe I should weigh them? I actually used less of the lilac hair but that side is thicker and heavier. Not all packs of hair are created equal.

And finally on the negative side, my scalp has been itching like crazy, a little flaky and irritated!!! The bands aren’t too tight but perhaps the weight of the hair is causing an issue or maybe I tried too many new products in one go – the Hair Balm, the Mousse, the Gel or perhaps it’s all three. I’m not sure if I’ll last the whole month of April like I planned, but itchy issues aside I’m loving being back in touch with my purple roots…I mean ends! πŸ˜‰

πŸ’œπŸŸ£πŸŸͺπŸŸ£πŸ’œ

Let’s keep braiding together!

xx Lee xx


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Down in the comments:⬇️ Would you rock ombre braids?
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