Mixed Feelings About Havana Twists

There's nothing quite like building up your expectations for months only to have them dashed to the ground. 

For months, I've been wanting Havana Twists. And to add salt to my wounds, I've been wanting Havana Twists with hair from Fingercomber. Like you, when I saw that "image," I fell in love.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

So, biting the bullet, I followed Fingercomber's suggestion and bought six packs of hair to achieve the look above. Since I've never worn extensions before, I practiced with some much cheaper Marley hair for a month until I deemed I was ready to use the Fingercomber hair.

First and foremost, DO NOT purchase this hair if your own hair is armpit length or longer. Mine is so I had to fold my hair in half so the Fingercomber hair covered my ends. After all, I'm doing this as part of my winter protection regimen so I can't leave the ends of my hair out!

Other complaints are that this hair is super rough and dry, sheds a lot and is incredibly stiff. The first time I used it, I didn't put anything in it so I could get a feel for how it was going to behave. Big mistake as quite a few of the ends of my twists kept unraveling. I'm on week two of using this hair so this time I used Organic Root Stimulator's Carrot Oil in an attempt to soften it up. I know Fingercomber says the hair will soften after a few days, so let's hope that's true.

My other complaint is Fingercomber suggests buying 5-7 packs of the hair at $12.99 each to achieve the look in the picture. Well...I did that, but I think it was overkill, at least for me. I'm very conscious about weight and tension on my roots, so I can't fathom using more than two packs on my head. While my hair was wet/damp, I sectioned it into two-inch sections and added two pieces of Fingercomber hair per section. My twists don't fall into a nice neat bob like the model's. I'm guessing the stylist cut the Fingercomber hair, but I can't do that for fear of cutting the ends of my own hair since my hair is longer than the Fingercomber hair.

Sorry, long weekend sans makeup!

In my third and last attempt to work with this hair, I'll add one weft of Fingercomber to a one-inch section of my hair. If that doesn't work, I'm done with this hair and will go back to my Marley hair which I LOVE!

Overall, I am deeply disappointed with the end results. The only thing I like about this hair is it gives me much thicker twists than what I'd have without it. This product gets two coils down. Seeing how I have four extra packs of hair, if you want to buy them for just $10 instead of $12.99 plus S&H, let me know. This product gets two coils down. It just didn't perform the way I'd hoped it would.

Winterized My Hair

It's that time of year again...time to prep your hair for winter! The concept is simple-protect your hair from harsh winter elements. I never really paid attention to winter hair, but when I experienced frozen hair for the first time, I knew it was time to give it some serious thought. So last year, I bought my very first wig.

I got mine in a 1B.

I loved La Jay and wore her every single day. She was such a close match to my bantu knot-outs, no one knew I was wearing a wig unless I told them. And I loved the ease of wearing a wig. Every weekend, I'd wash my hair as usual and twist it up. In the mornings, I just plopped on my wig and went to work.

This year, I wanted to find another wig, but my hair has grown quite a bit and I couldn't find a wig similar to this that was longer in length. So, I decided to go with a different protective style this winter-Havana Twists!

This was love at first sight!

I've never worn extensions or weaves, let alone had my hair braided so this is a first for me. So, I ordered 5 packs of hair from Finger Comber to give this a try. But first, I got 5 packs of Marley hair to give this a test drive, and....I am ecstatic with my results! Ironicaly, I needed 1 pack of hair plus three strands from a second pack to complete this look.

So proud of myself!

Close up side view.

After watching a few YT vids, thanks Alex and Black Onyx, I decided to try this myself and it was so easy! It took me 6 hours and I used some hair gel I had laying around with Organic Root Stimulator Carrot Oil. When I was done, I pineappled and went to sleep, praying I wouldn't lose any and I didn't! So, I think this is going to work for me this and subsequent winters! In a month, I'm going to install the Havana twist hair. I also plan on getting their wefted Coily Comber hair to make a wig.

What are your plans for winter hair?

Flexirods Can Be Fun!

For the past week, I've been on all the social sites, researching Flexirods. So, before we plummet into winter temps, I decided to try my hand at them , too! Armed with 6 6-packs of 5/8-inch rods in two different lengths, this is how I did my own Flexi set.

After my weekly protein steam deep treatment, and washing and conditioning, I finger parted my hair from ear to ear, split those sections in two and clipped them all out of the way. To keep my hair damp, I spritzed with aloe vera gel mixed with distilled water and began applying Giovanni Direct Leave-In Weightless Moisture Conditioner to the first section followed by an old favorite, Organic Root Stimulator's Carrot Oil.

I've always loved the smell, and how soft and shiny it makes my hair.

All of my research revealed a cream "moisturizer" is one of two ingredients needed to get bouncy spiral curls from a Flexirod set. A lot of people use Miss Jessie's Quick Curls or Curly Pudding, but I've never used the first and the latter doesn't agree with me. So, I used what I knew worked for me!

After applying the Carrot Oil cream, I then applied a little bit of As I Am Naturally's Curling Jelly. I still had two sample packs they'd sent me, but only needed one pack for my whole head. I'm not a fan of gel, but I only used enough to give my hair a little bit of slip.

Then, I brushed the section with my Denman until it was as smooth as possible before applying an end paper to the end of my hair. Last step was rolling the hair in a vertical direction from bottom to top and fold over the ends of the rods to secure. It's very important to maintain tension while rolling.

My research also revealed that some people sleep in these things overnight or sit under a hooded hair dryer. I know I didn't roll the rods that tight, but after a few hours, they started hurting my head so I knew sleeping in them wasn't an option. I also don't own a hooded hairdryer, so this is what I did:

I grabbed a plastic grocery bag, stretched it out a little, put it over my head and stuck my hair dryer inside on the low/hot setting. In a few seconds, hot air was circulated all over my head and my hair was dry in about 30 minutes!

I was a little nervous to remove the rods because the hair has to be absolutely dry before you remove them, but I was excited about the shine and how smooth my hair was. A few spots didn't have enough tension, but for a first try with rollers of any type, I was pretty pleased with the anticipated results.

Just look at that silky shine!

With the Flexirods removed, I see a few trouble spots, but I think the effort is definitely worth it. I just need to get more rods and maybe some smaller sizes, and to maintain tension on every single section of hair. It's obvious I took more care with the Flexirods on the lower half of my hair and less on the upper half, so next time around, I know what to do and my Flexirod set will be perfect. I left the hair like this overnight, but will post a pic of my hair tomorrow after I've separated the curls and fluffed my hair!

I am so digging these curls!

Tune in tomorrow for the final results! I'm praying I don't turn out looking like Little Orphan Annie, so...

The final results!

I think I'd like to try this again, but I definitely need more rods as I put too much hair on a some so my hair wasn't smooth in a few spots. The true test is how long this look will last! Stay tuned, though! I just got a package from Finger Comber today! I'm using two of their styles for my winter hair and I'll be placing another order for a third winter hair style!