Shrinkage 101

Hey everyone! Welcome to Shrinkage 101 class. Today’s lesson will teach you about what shrinkage is and how to manage it.

1) What is shrinkage?

When your wet hair starts to decrease in length as you hair dries. Your curls/kinks get tighter and usually more defined.

Dry hair

Wet hair

2) Is shrinkage good or bad?

Shrinkage shows how elastic and bouncy your hair is and shows how tough your hair is against breakage. So it’s a good thing!

3) How do i control shrinkage?

There are 2 main ways to control shrinkage: straigthening and stretching. The straightening method is when you use a blowdryer or flat iron to straighten your curls, which adds length to you hair. This usually requires heat to be applied to the hair, which I try to avoid.

That’s why I prefer the stretching method; which is elongating your hair by using a specific hairstyle or hair tool. Hair tools you can use are curlformers, rollersets, and flexirods which are all items that curls your kinky hair.

Hairstyles you can do include the pineapple method, which is similar to a ponytail and the twistout/braidout method in which you twist or braid you hair, when wet, to help elongate your curls. My twistout is shown below.

4) Enjoy your hair!

Do what works best for you and your hair. What works for one 4c chica may not work for you. Also, drink a lot of water to keep your body and hair nourished!

Hope this mini hair lesson was fun and informative. Have a great rest of your week lovelies!

California Crop Top

Can you believe that September is almost over and in a few days it will be the first day of fall!? It’s crazy because in LA it still feels like summertime.

It’s been consistently in the 80’s or high 70’s these days. That’s why the outfit shown below is perfect for a sunny, September day.

I wore a blue crop top with the word California on it, adorbly decorated with flowers and butterflies. I paired my crop top with denim cut-off shorts and yellow Vans to accent the flowers in my top.

My top is $15 from Topshop, my shorts were $20 from Forever 21 and my Vans were a gift!

I recently realized that I don’t smile often in my pictures, so I made the decision to smile during every photosession from now on. I can have more serious photos taken as well, but I want to make sure I get a few smiling shots in the mix since it is outside of my comfort zone.

I love my smile, but for some reason I just don’t feel like I photograph well when I’m smiling, so I want to break down that wall I have on myself and challenge myself to embrace my smile more in pictures.

I posted the pictures featured in this post on IG @coralbuttons, so if you follow me you saw my caption saying: “Smile more, #lifeisgood” and it’s true so smile and make the most out of your day everybody!

Is there something you want to improve on when it comes to your style or your photos? Let me know in the comments below!

Janelle Monae concert at The Greek Theatre!

Happy humpday lovely people!

I realized I never posted my outfit from the Janelle Monae concert I went to a few weeks ago so here it is!

It was amazing seeing Janelle Monae in person because she is a great performer and her new album, Dirty Computer, is so empowering.

It touches on topics such as love, racism, sexuality, America, and so much more. It was my first time going to the Greek Theatre, here in Los Angeles.

It’s an outdoor venue set up where the stage is in the middle of the venue. Below is a sunset above the theatre.

My outfit for the concert was definitely fun and colorful since I know Janelle Monae loves unique and outside-of-the-box looks.

I wore a baby blue, Free People bralette, paired with FashionNova black jeans and yellow Birkenstocks. For my accessories, I wore blue and gold hoop earrings. To complete the look I wore a rainbow cardigan, also from FashionNova, over the bralette.

I also tried out blue-gray lipstick which was a big step outside of my comfort zone, but I think it was a perfect addition to my look.

I was dancing and singing all night and even ending up losing my voice, that’s how you know it was a lot of fun 🙂

Next time your favorite musician is performing at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, definitely try to go. It’s a great concert hall!

Who is your favorite musician/artist right now? What do you think of my outfit? Leave a comment below!

Acknowledge your Glow Up!

Happy Thursday lovelies, I hope your week has been great so far.

It’s Day 29 of Motivational March and if you follow me on Instagram at Coralbuttons, you already know what the goal for today is, but if not here it is: Acknowledge your Glow Up! (Hence the title 😄)

If you don’t know what I mean by that, no worries, I’ll explain!

I posted the picture above on IG to show how I changed over the last four years and to acknowledge my glow up. Urban dictionary defines the term “glow up” as: “To go from the bottom to the top to the point of disbelief. An incredible transformation.”

Not saying I was at rock bottom in 2014, but I wasn’t as healthy or confident then. I just big chopped and that was the shortest my hair had ever been so I was adjusting to that and I was in college stressed about everything.

My style was still evolving and changing and my eating habits weren’t the best. This year, I’m happier, more positive and healthier.

My confidence is boosted because I practice self-love and self-care a lot more. “Positive” is a word that comes out of my mouth on the regular because I surround myself around positive people, do things beneficial for my life, relationship, and career, and make sure to take time to just sit and be happy.

In four years, I graduated college, continued my relationship with my highschool sweetheart and moved across the country from Baltimore to Los Angeles. It’s not about bragging about your accomplishments, it’s about recognizing how much you’ve grown!

Take time to acknowledge your glow up today. You are amazing!

Be Happy!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Today is Day 4 of Motivational March and my goals for today were simply be happy and smile often.

Somtimes we get too caught up in the negative or superficial aspects of our lives and we don’t appreciate the simple things.

I recently purchased this Topshop shirt that has rainbow stripes and the words “Be Happy” on it.

This was a great investment for me because it’s a reminder that everything is going to be ok and that I need to take things one day at a time.

I paired my shirt with simple black leggings and teal Vince Camuto chunky heels.

Let my #ootd be an inspiration to you this week. Be Happy!

Stay tuned for more Motivational March posts and let me know in the comments below if you are down to take the challenge as well.

Hair Spotlight: Lemonade Braids

Happy Hump Day lovelies!!!

Today, I am showcasing a new protective style perfect for when your natural hair needs a break!

Side braids, also know as lemonade braids (thanks to Queen Bey), are a simple, but fierce style. Lemonade braids add a touch of sophistication and edge to any look.

Depending on whichever side is your “good side” or how you are use to wearing your hair, let that determine which side is slicked back and which side the braids will fall on. I am right handed and consider my right side my “good side,” so that’s the way I wanted my braids to fall.

Upkeep for the braids are simple; wrap them up in a scarf or bonnet at night and unwrap in the morning. Piece of cake!..Which I kind of want a piece of now after mentioning it 🙂

I unfortunately felt stuck with my natural hair so to get out of my hair funk, I tried this look and loved it!

It is okay to not be in love with your hair every moment, just make sure you take care of it and it will flourish. Sometimes all you need is a new look to make you appreciate the hair God blessed you with.

Having natural hair requires a lot of trial and error. Some products may work for your mom and best friend, but does absolutely nothing for your hair and that’s okay because you will find something that definitely works for you.

My “hair funks” or feeling stuck and powerless because I am not sure what to do with my hair usually goes away pretty quickly. I’ve been natural for going on 4 years and it is still a learning process.

But do I regret going natural or want to go back to the creamy crack, never!! Being natural is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. So love your short fro, long curly hair, kinky bush, or long lemonade braids. Embrace it baby ❤

P.S. This is my favorite picture out of the group…super dramatic super edgy

Talk to you all again soon!!!

Love,

Tati

Playful Puffballs

I went to the hairdresser recently to get my ends trimmed and to make sure my hair was healthy overall…which it is! Yay! ^-^

I was looking for something fun and different to do with my hair and I really looovveeeddd the idea of puffballs and luckily my hairdresser made that happen for me.

My new look for a bit is 2 mini puffs with a part straight down the middle and then have the rest of my hair out and curly in the back.

It’s a super easy style to maintain and I think it is super adorable. My ultimate goal is to have 2 huge puffballs, but for now I am rocking my mini puffs.

The picture included in this post to the bottom right is of Shawn and I after our hairdresser date. Fresh from the hairdresser, with our ends trimmed and feeling beautiful 🙂

The other photo pictured top left is from a photo shoot I did recently for my fashion show that will take place Saturday, as mentioned before in my previous post.

In that picture I am also rocking a little bit of pink blush and purple lipstick, which is a new look for me.

So far I am loving my cute mini puffballs and look forward to more growth!!! ❤