Tina Simone

As a travel girlie, I’m always on the lookout for the perfect hairstyle. I’ve done braids, braids, braids, and once I even twisted my hair, lol. But this time around, I told myself, no matter what, “the next trip I go on, I want a sew-in.” So when Ty told me to start preparing, I went for it. But that didn’t prepare me for the schedule/appointment Olympics.

I searched and found a few people through TikTok who could install a beautiful sew-in. I was lucky that for one of them, her books opened up around the time Ty told me. I was able to book the hair and install with her. She was friendly and responsive. Understood that this was my first sew-in and I would need some tips and pointers. When my appointment came, the vibes were still nice.

I got a 2×6 closure with three bundles. I have a small head, so that was a good amount of hair to feel full and nice. With the install came a wash and blow-dry, and she braided me down. I didn’t know the difference, but she used a net and explained why it’s beneficial to use a net. That net made my head feel soooo tight. So for my next one, I want to try without the net. Plus, I realized I could not wash or itch my scalp because of it. If it wasn’t for my rat tail comb, I would have snatched that off my hair day one.

After the install, it hit me. Why does no one talk about how painful sew-ins are??! It looks beautiful, but it hurts so bad. Plus, it made me like 10 degrees hotter. I was underprepared. Speaking of being unprepared, during the trip, I realized that the small part glued down was starting to show as the glue mixed with my sweat and makeup. It looked terrifying. I tried my best to course correct, but what I didn’t know was that at this point, I would need to fully clean and lift it so it could be glued back down.

Now, dear reader, this was my proposal trip. I did not know this, hence the surprised trip. But omg to be at all these beautiful places and the front of my head looks crazy, I was shook. I’m soo thankful that Ty proposed on the first day of the trip. When everything was still fresh and good lol. To all the people who read this, propose within the first two days!

I walked around Venice, Lake Como, and Lake Lugano, trying to figure out who had done it and why. But I learned.