Protective style season is upon us, and in the past two years, I’ve fallen in love with wigs as an easy way to change up the look of your hair without worrying about stress to your edges. KinkyCurlyYaki, my absolute favorite black-female owned hair extension company, has expanded beyond clip ons and wefted hair to create full and u-part lace wigs in their six textures – Light Yaki, Coarse Yaki, Kinky Blow Out, Kinky Curly, Afro Kinky Curly, and Afro Coily. The wigs are available in 12, 16, and 20 inches but can be customized by length or cap size and are now available for pre-order.

KinkyCurlyYaki sent me the Afro Coily in a 16 inch u-part wig, and here’s how I customized it to my liking! Here’s how the wig looks straight out of the box:

Coloring my KinkyCurlyYaki U-Part Wig

My color vision for the hair was an ombre (of course, right!) but instead of black to brown to blonde like I currently have in my hair, I did black to burgundy to blonde. I first applied Creme of Nature’s Moisture-Rich Hair Color in Honey Blonde on the tips of the front of my hair, and then colored the mid shaft of the front and the whole back back using L’Oreal HiColor HiLights in Magenta. I did make the mistake of bringing the magenta a bit too far down, so it does overpower the blonde – which is more of a honey brown – a bit.

Washing/Styling my KinkyCurlyYaki U-Part Wig

Rinsing and washing out all of the dye actually took a while – the magenta was stubborn! I first shampooed twice with Creme of Nature Acai Berry & Keratin Strengthening Shampoo, and then brought out a clarifying shampoo, Madam CJ Walker Beauty Culture Pure Clarifying Shampoo with ACV to try and finish the job. Luckily the three shampoos didn’t dry or overly tangle the hair, which is when I knew it was top-notch quality. To condition, I applied Creme of Nature Coconut Milk Detangling Conditioning Conditioner, which I brushed through then let sit for a few minutes while I cleaned up the tub.

After rinsing out the conditioner, I put the wig back on my mannequin head, sprayed Creme of Nature Coconut Milk Detangling & Conditioning Leave-In Conditioner all over. I then applied Creme of Nature 100% Pure Argan Oil to seal and shine, and then went through the hair with some Creme of Nature Argan Oil Pudding Perfection Curl Enhancing Creme. I knew from working with the Afro Coily clip ins that the hair needs to be combed or brushed out to become kinky, so I really went at it with a wide toothed comb, a pick, and my fingers.

Blending my KinkyCurlyYaki U-Part Wig

After letting the hair dry for two days, I cut out the lace and began to work on the process that is blending my hair. If my hair was black and I didn’t color the hair, blending would have been much easier, but the color didn’t exactly match so I had to do one of two things to make it look more natural. The first method I used was actually gathering my leave out with some of the hair and pinning it slightly back.

This is the lazy way out of the blend, but the following week, I actually used the twist and tuck method, where I took a strand of my own hair and twisted it loosely underneath a strand of the KinkyCurlyYaki. I’ll make an updated video in the next few weeks showing the process, but until then, just take my word for it! I also trimmed down the back of the hair a bit so it would be all one length.

Start to Finish: My KinkyCurlyYaki U-Part Wig

Here’s the full video of myself unboxing, coloring, styling, and blending my Afro Coily wig! Please let me know what you think, and as always, feel free to share any suggestions you have for how to make it even better!

This post is in partnership with KinkyCurlyYaki. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support IjeomaKola.com!