Over 40 Crochet Hairstyles You’ll Love

Welcome back to my Christian Lifestyle Blog about two things I love talking about right now: my over 40 crochet braids styles and my current over 40 weight loss journey on Weight Watchers. Most of this pandemic, my hairstyles have not been about anything but utility. Just survival, Girl.  I’ve been like “there is hair on my head, now let’s do something with it so I don’t look like a candidate for a lengthy mental health stay.” Yeah, it’s been nowhere, man.

No creativity at all.  

But since the world is returning to some form of normal, so is my desire to get my natural hair back “on point.”

Have you noticed how many people are taking some lifestyle risks during and since the pandemic?

Folks want to try new things, change jobs, change relationships—you name it—they are doing it!

Well, I’m no different. It feels like a new season, and I want to thrive in every part of it!  

Everything is new in Jesus – it’s time to get my life together, too!

My spiritual walk has been similar … it needed a reboot. 

Thankfully, I got one. I needed it desperately.

It’s been so wonderfully different than it ever was before. Just as the world has turned on its ear, so has my approach to Bible study, prayer, and interacting with the Lord.  

My prayer life began to explode as a super fresh grape would explode in one’s mouth.  

It has become a flavorful, different, and super juicy time with my heavenly Father.  

Bible study has also matured.  

My notes are clearer and help me remember what I’ve read in ways they never have before. My job now is to maximize this “newness” and stay consistent.  

I love my time with the Lord. I need it these days. 

Without that time, my life would have become easily overwhelmed and burdensome.  

Time with the Lord adds perspective.  

It’s like it gets me on track.  

If you’re old enough to remember what vinyl records are, it’s like my time with the Lord puts my spiritual “needle” on the right song perfectly – not before it or too much after it has started – but, on the perfect groove. 

Also another area I am striving to improve is my eating.  

I don’t know about you, but the pandemic was like a license to eat, and my hips are proof I took full advantage.  I’m still doing WW, but it’s a struggle.  

Some days are better than others, but I’ve determined this is a journey, not a quick fix.

The plan changed and that means many of my past posts are now trash and useless. Oh well. Slow and steady will win the race, I’m sure.

I just have to continue doing what I know to do, and eventually, I will see results – even if I have several slips along the way. 

In addition to WW, I’m tracking what I eat in the My Fitness Pal app. It gives me more calories than WW gives points. Wild, right? 

Now, I feel you’re somewhat caught up.  

Let’s talk natural hair and food – a dubious combination.  If you’re another race, you can still check out my pics, right? 

For me, hair is fun to talk about because I can show you which styles I sport. 

Food is another topic on which we can connect. Being healthy is something everyone can relate to, right?

Who doesn’t want to eat healthier?  

We all do, right? Ok. That is settled, and I’ll stop saying, “Right?” :D

I’ll begin with my over forty crochet braids.

Hope you like the pics!

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Please make sure you do your due diligence, Sis.

“Change the hair…undo the hair” is
the theme of my over 40 Crochet Hairstyles…this week, anyway!

Let me begin at the beginning. Girl!

Christian woman, it has been a rough time in my life. My new job – although amazing – is challenging.

I have so much to learn, and it was stressful for me.

Then the worst part happened. My mommy was struggling with her health.

She suffered some serious health issues and challenges.

As she was hurting and struggling, EVERYTHING became a burden.

Not her, but seeing her have such a hard time devastated me. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, my Christian Sister, I had little time to care for myself.

As a result, I opted for one of my over 40 crochet braid styles to keep it protected and minimize my load a bit.  

The hair I used was Fulcrum Pre-Twisted Passion Twist from Amazon.  

I love it because it looks very natural.

It looks as though I just twisted my natural hair.  

The color was a bit too dark, so I went to my local beauty supply store (BSS) and got some Sensationnel Crochet braids Lulutress 3X Pre-Looped 3D Passion Twist 12 inch in a lighter color to blend in with the dark. It worked well.  

Note: I no longer buy Sensationnel products. I did not like their reply to carcinogenic compounds in the hair they produce. See what I mean here.

The problem is I’ll never be able to recreate it because I did everything so ‘off the cuff’.

Another consideration, I now work in a more conservative corporate environment (again, it’s a new season!) I want my over 40 crochet hairstyles to express my identity while not becoming a distraction.

To be clear, I have a right to be a distraction, but it is not my personality to do so.

I wore this style for only about two weeks because of the braid pattern I created before the installation.

After installing the hair, it wasn’t long before it began to look raggedy.  What I used was the rubber band method in the video below. 

Have you seen it?

I’ll bet I didn’t have them tight enough.  

But, rubber bands and natural hair seem to be arch enemies. I wasn’t going to make them any tighter. 

So I did the same style, but without the rubber bands. I also used lots more gel.
This is it after two weeks.

These are Fulcrum fashion twists from Amazon. You can see them here.

I used to use Crochet braids Lulutress 3X Pre-Looped 3D Passion Twist 12.  

It made for a “harsher” presentation because that hair is literally rough to the touch, and the curves of the twist are severe and have harder edges.  

I still liked it better than the hair Model Model hair. Nevertheless, I’ll likely take some of my passion twists out and add in some more of the softer Fulcrum twists later. 

Combining 3D Passion Twists with the softer Fulcrum twists was a perfect approach. It gave dimension and looked very natural.  

They even dressed up nicely for a deacon ordination I attended.

Unable to leave well enough alone, I did go ahead and add some of the Fulcrum twists in with my 3D twist. See below. I love it!

Eating Healthier and Looking Good Too!

Well, with my hair in check, I had to work on getting rid of this extra weight next, and I have to start NOW!  

Struggling with plantar fasciitis means my diet is going to be very important since I cannot exercise vigorously at the moment. My feet cannot do it.

A Mayo Clinic article says walking without arch support can cause various foot problems.

I think that is what happened to me and my poor feet.

Most of us have been walking without shoes—heck, I did that before the pandemic—but not for so long a period.

Damage done. Physical therapy in my future. *sigh* 

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Get thee behind me carbs! Ha!
Seriously, I must keep the carbs and sugar to a minimum. 

The key to keeping track of it all is just that…tracking!  

I log every single bite into my handy dandy apps – WW and MFP.  

The weeks I did that logging and tracking, the weight was melting off.  I was looking and feeling great.  

Using both apps creates a “foolproof” approach to my weight loss. I figure where WW is weak, MFP will be strong. I dunno…it just works for me.

Then, I got a little cocky. Just a “widdle”.

Assuming I had this whole healthy eating thing under control, I stopped logging so religiously.

I eased back into my diet those higher-carb foods I know I should avoid.

You know, I do this every single time.

I lose weight and then figure I can have a little of the bad foods that work against my weight loss.  

The problem is when those things come to my house, I don’t eat a little…I eat A LOT! Can you relate to that?

Stupidity. 

That’s as stupid as an alcoholic saying, “I’m all good now,” and beginning to frequent bars again.  It’s just not logical.

I am not addicted to food, but I am sure that analogy fits. 

Another analogy is feeling like you’re doing okay on your own and not spending regular time reading your Bible and praying.

But, I digress.

The new WW plan gives you points for eating veggies (non-starchy ones).  So, I’m eating more vegetables than I have in my life.  I’m feeling fuller with them in my daily intake so that’s ok. I’ll bet that’s the strategy. 

Water is also a big win on the new WW plan. You get a point back for every 64 ounces you drink.  

This is why I purchased this cute cup
to help me earn at least one water point a day. 

God is good and always at work

With my hair in a low-maintenance protective style, I can free up my time to deal with some other demands in my life – and right now there are a lot of them.  

But, again, God is incredibly faithful. He always finds a way to bring peace when we lean into Him and follow His lead. 

Perfect example: recently, I attended a church service to observe a deaf ministry.

It was for a school paper, or so I thought.  

The truth is, God gave me such a wonderful time of fellowship and electrifying worship. It was fantastic!!!!

He used that little excursion (one I thought was linked to my graduate studies) to give me my own mini-revival.  

Praise God!

Another high point is I didn’t have to fuss with my hair as I was getting ready, and another “win” was I didn’t get any sweets from the Westside Family Church coffee shop!

I just walked by. #smallvictory.

All in all, a good Sunday, I would say! Ha!

Maybe bye-bye online store…

With all the recent strain I am under, I closed my e-store.

There is only so much stress we can all take. That’s why I’m keeping my over 40 crochet hairstyles simple and trying to get my weight in order.

I want to stay healthy so badly, but stress works against that desire. 

I pray you find a way to simplify your life, too.

I pray you “lean in” to Jesus and spend time with Him so He can lighten your burden. If not, try to listen to some praise and worship and connect with Him throughout your day. 

Stress Facts…

First of all, you have to know what you are dealing with. 

Is it stress, anxiety, a spiritual attack, or all three? Stress is episodic and usually caused by something outside your life creeping in and wreaking havoc.

Like in my case, graduate school, a new job, a teenager (yes, Lord!), church, a side business, and my mom’s health.

According to this post by the National Institute of Mental Health, I’m likely stressed.

Stressed to the MAX! Read the article here to learn more: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/so-stressed-out-fact-sheet.

Anxiety is different. It’s more about inner turmoil, as the article says.

My reaction to external stress can often manifest as anxiety. Go figure. Be sure to check out that table in the article (link above). 

A spiritual attack, in my opinion, is the catalyst for both above-mentioned.

They are tools the enemy uses to steal your peace. Don’t let him. 

While you simplify your life, eat better, and take good care of yourself, please spend time with the Lord.

Stop the world.

Set aside time and focus on Him. Don’t do it when you’re driving or doing dishes. No, stop the world. 

There is so much fullness of joy in His presence.

Sometimes, the Lord just has me exhale in His presence. No talking, no asking, no worship…just lying there and experiencing rest. It works, but only if you make time for it.

Thou wilt shew me the PATH of life: in thy PRESENCE is fulness of joy, at thy right hand there are PLEASURES forevermore.

Psalm 16:11 

I love you for reading!