New Do

I pretty much have a set regimen for my hair....

Fridays- Wash, Deep Condition, Twist
Saturdays- Wear twists or wrap them up in a scarf or tam
Sundays- Twist Out
Mondays- 2nd day Twist Out
Tuesdays- Curly Afro on 3rd day Twist Out hair OR puff
Wednesdays- Co-Wash and wear a puff or wash and go
Thursdays- 2nd day puff or wash and go

If I'm wearing a twist out, I re-twist each night, and I do the baggy method every other night to keep my hair super moisturized.  To baggy, I very lightly spritz (2-3 sprays) my hair with my water, glycerin, leave in conditioner, and lavender oil mixture and then I place a plastic bag over my hair and I put my satin bonnet over the plastic bag.

This little routine works pretty well, except on the Fridays we host a small group at our home, I don't necessarily want people to see me looking like Aunt Jemima as I deep condition and dry wet twists.  I don't mind terrorizing the public at large, but I won't do that to people I know personally.  Also, my hair is getting longer and more of a chore to wear out.  I have to combat knots and very long detangling sessions...so not cool!  I'm also searching for more protective styles.

I don't really care to wear my hair in twists, and I don't know how my hair would look braided into a style.  I don't want to look like an oversized kid.  I really don't have enough hair for a pony tail, but for the second time, I've forced the little hair that I do have into one.  My hair in the front is much shorter than in the back, so at this point, I have to get really creative when trying to make a pony tail.  I find this quite funny, because I used to make lot's of laughs about people who would do such a thing.  It's funny how God brings things full circle.

Now the laughs on me!

Do you do anything different to prepare your hair for fall and winter?

12 Months In: I'm a Natural Veteran!

This past Saturday, I crossed over the ONE YEAR NATURAL point, and it was just a normal day.  I was shocked...JK!  I was supposed to get my hair french braided up into a ponytail, but my dear cousin had to go into the emergency room.  She's okay though, and I think it was a sign that I need to learn how to french braid, although I've been avoiding it for some time.  I just don't see how anyone can french braid their own hair and have it look nice, but people do it all the time.  We'll see...

Over the past 12 months, I've marked off quite a few things on my Natural Hair Bucket List:

• Henna
• Clipped my own ends (twice)
• Tried numerous products (Miss Jessie's, Jane Carter, SheaMoisture, etc)
• Made flaxseed gel
• Blow Out

Many natural haired ladies straighten their hair for their "month-a-versary" and anniversary milestones, but I can't help but feel as if that is so opposite as to why we go on this journey in the first place.  Every lady has her own reasons, but usually it ends with the point that she wanted to grow out her own hair the way God made it, which is why I chose not to straighten my hair.  Plus, heat does a number on my hair.  In spite of how well I take care of it, I still have straight pieces from a light blow out session.  Bummer!  There's also the urge to straighten to see how long the hair really is, because due to shrinkage, sometimes  it's hard to tell.  I'm saying all of this to say that, it's okay to straighten.  I probably will have my hair straightened some time this winter or fall, but be very careful when applying heat and do it for you!

Of course, there are still some things to do on my Natural Hair Buck List like:

• Go to a curly meet-up
• Host a curly meet-up (small or big)
• Have my hair straightened professionally and do it myself
• Learn how to french braid (I'm sure I'll have a daughter one day, and it would be nice to do protective styles on her hair)
• Buy a silk or satin pillowcase
• Buy a silk-lined winter hat to protect my hair in the winter
• Get a proper detangling method and be more gentle with my hair
• Much more, there's always something

I thought my hair would be a little longer by now, but I'm thankful for the growth and I'm proud of my hair; it's getting so big!  I'm still hoping to cut my hair and donate it to Locs of Love by this time next year or whenever it's long enough.  So, yes, I will once again, be bald, but I don't care because I'm not that tied to my hair.  I love it, but it's not my everything.

At least one person a day stops me to talk about my hair; people from all different paths are so intrigued by it, which makes me happy.  Although, even when I was relaxed, my white friends would always come to me with their black hair questions.  It's a shame that even I didn't know that there are some black people that wash their hair every day, and that's perfectly fine, but usually not necessary for most.  I tend to wash my hair every 3-7 days depending on how my workouts have been going and if I need the added moisture with a co-wash.

I'll have to share my hair story with you guys at some point, but I think that's enough rambling for now.  

Have you ever tried anything completely out of the box with your hair?  Do you think society's view of afro-textured hair is changing?

Henna Results

A few weeks ago, I tried hennaing my hair for the first time, and I want to give you guys an update.

Henna is a plant or bush typically grown in Middle Eastern countries, that is known to make the hair shiny, soft, strong, define curl patterns, and can even temporarily dye the hair.  Who wouldn't want this for their hair?  So after hearing some of the top hair bloggers write about it, I had to try it out.

My expectations were in the middle, because it is a process that builds up the more you do it, and you get better results the more you do it, however, I was disappointed after my first application.

I wanted to use CurlyNikki's method of mixing henna, but I didn't have any green tea!  Don't you hate when people leave empty boxes in the pantry?  Any ways....  I ended up using Mop Top Maven's henna mix, because I had those ingredients on my shelf.  In the end, I was glad that I used her formula, because my hair wasn't as crunchy as some people say their hair is after a henna application.

I purchased my Jamila henna from Mehndi Skin Art, and it took about 8 days to be shipped to my house, and that weekend, I went to town on my hair.

First, I wet and detangled my hair.

This is what the henna looks like all mixed together with the water, conditioners, honey, EVOO, and apple cider vinegar.

I've applied the henna to my entire head after sectioning my hair into four parts.  Please make sure to put on plastic gloves because the henna can stain your hands; you might also want to lay out newspaper over your floor and counters.  Lastly, do not try to finger detangle your hair as you apply the henna; that could actually break your hair off.  As you can see, once mixed, henna is a heavy mud texture.

Here are my results after thoroughly shampooing and conditioning my hair; in my opinion, it didn't come out any shinier, softer, or looser than using any other technique.  After applying the henna, I did put a plastic cap on, then I placed a headband over the cap to secure it overnight, and then I also put a satin bonnet over it all.  I finished my night time routine and slept with it in for about 11 hours.  I also took my son to school with it in.  Don't judge me, however, I would have judged you if I saw you looking how I was looking!  I don't have to get out the car to drop him off.  LOL!  

So, there it is!  What are your thoughts about henna?  Have you ever or would you ever try it for your hair?  What is the craziest thing you've done to your hair?

11 Months-In: Twist-Outs, Kool-Aid Dye, Henna, and Other Shenanigans

"The Assymetric"

Today, my hair is 11 months!!!  Ya'll know how it goes, I celebrate my hair and all its curly puffiness!  Each month, I try to knock something off of my natural hair bucket list by doing a different style, using a new product, or trying a new technique.

I purchased henna for the first time after seeing Love & Tangles' results.  I am looking to achieve soft fluffy defined stretched out curls, and I've been hearing that henna is the all natural way to do that.  If you would like to learn more, please check out Curly Nikki, who is a self-proclaimed "henna head".

Here's some pictures of my month of hair growth and adventures!

This is what happens to your hands when you apply Kool-Aid to your hair in an attempt to dye it.  I had to go to the City Market, my son's school, and church like this!!!

First day twist out results!  Check out the red scalp from Kool-Aid that wasn't completely washed out.

The hubster's loves to call this style "The Assymetric".  This picture is the back of the same hairstyle of the very first one above.  This style was done on first day twist out hair, however, my hair frizzes once you start to try and style it.  I like it though!

I was SO tired in this picture!  Second day twist out hair with a flat twist in the front.

Second day twist out hair.  I re-twist in about 11 twists using EVOO each night.  I don't mind a frizzy half defined afro, but I know some people might not like this style.  

I will show you guys my henna results some time next week!  

What wacky DIY treatments do you like to do to your hair?

The Fiercest Twist-Out

Wow!  My head is still spinning from my weekend...in my defense it is my last weekend of summer.  I'm talking hairstyling, work, passing out school supplies to kids, wedding, last minute school shopping, church, signing people up for small group, zoo, and MacArthur's Soul Food Restaurant!!!  That's right, this morning the hubsters and I will be dropping our only child off to third grade this morning.

Back to the topic at hand.  I did something a little different for my hair and the results were amazing.  Friday morning I washed my hair and used Shea Moisture's deep conditioner that can also be used as a leave-in.  Afterwards, I just grabbed sections of hair and braided them into Miss Ceilly braids just so they could dry.  But I couldn't go out the house like that, so I did a head wrap style that I saw on HairGurl.  The hubsters said I looked like a cancer patient, which I take as a compliment.  LOL!  Everyone else kind of ignored my head wrap and chalked it up as another of my eccentric expressions.

TrentMan behind me being silly!

Friday night, I took the braids down and they were completely dry and my hair was the most stretched out it has ever been.  Not even light blow drying has gotten my hair this stretched out.  I used the Creme Brulee by Beija FlorNaturals, which I wrote a review on a few weeks ago.

Saturday afternoon I untwisted my hair and it was so soft, fluffy, stretched out, yet defined.  This was the first time I did a completely dry twist-out.  Typically my hair would at least be damp or I would spray a little water on it.  All this time I thought I was doing a dry twist out because I was using very little water.  I had a serious Ah-Ha moment that shouldn't have taken me this long to figure out, but whatever!  LOL!

Here's the back view.  The front view is the first picture.

I just pinned it up for the wedding that we attended.  I wasn't feeling the pin-up style, but it was ok.  I definitely need more practice with pin-up styles.

I re-twisted in about 10 huge twists Saturday night and untwisted Sunday morning.  Here's what I came up with.  I just put a two-strand flat twist headband in the front.  I'm not quite sure how to style a twist-out, but I got a lot of compliments on my hair.

The red flower is definitely a signature look for me

I'm sure this isn't the fiercest twist-out you've ever seen, but it's the fiercest I've been able to produce.  My hair confidence has been restored.

What are your favorite hairstyles?

Hair Styles Lead to Personality Indicators

No, this is not an empirical study (Ha Ha!), but I have found some connections between personality and hairstyles.  Here's what I've found out....

People who are meticulous, go above and beyond, and have a high attention to details love my hair in VERY defined hairstyles like a first day wash and go OR a highly defined (non-frizzy) twist-out.  They believe that every hair has its place!  The hubsters and Glenda, my friend from church fall into this category.

Those people who are all about fun, carefree, and total sweethearts love my hair big, fluffy, and all over the place.  I achieve this look by thoroughly detangling on dampened hair and doing chunky twists in no particular fashion all over my head.  In the morning (or a few hours later) I take the twists down and fluff my hair up at the roots with a wide tooth comb.  Cara, my friend from church, and Vonnie, my little cousin from Socialite Dreams fall into this category.

Some people are just laid back and kind of go with the flow.  For some reason, a lot of men fall into this category....giggles!  They love a nice blow out, maybe with some type of accessory.  My friends from church, Jason and Joel, definitely fall into this category.

Next, there are people who have a few personality traits from each category above.  They enjoy being wild, fun, and crazy, but not overboard, and they also enjoy a classic put together look, which for me is a puff.  The hubsters also falls into this category, as well as, my mom; my cousin, Shanteele; and ME!!!

 

Lately, I've been wearing my hair in a shrunken afro.  I'm kind of in a hair rut, and I'm trying not to fret so much over it.  I spritz a little of my water mixture, seal with extra virgin olive oil, and I fluff a tiny bit with my wide tooth comb.  Occasionally, I'll put some extra make up on, or a side part, or flower, to jazz up my look.  At night, I don't even bother twisting or braiding my hair to stretch it out, I just throw on a satin bonnet, let it shrink up, and be done!

Do you wear your hair in a certain way to please others?  What reactions do you get to certain hairstyles?

New Product: Creme Brulee by Beija Flor Naturals

I am not a product junkie, but I occasionally like to try new things.  What can I say, I'm supporting my economy.  When I buy new products, I'm more than likely using my blow money, so no harm no foul.  A few weeks ago Natural Chica wrote a review and posted pictures of the Creme Brulee by Beija Flor Naturals.  She described it as her twisting creme for life.  At that point, I had to try it because she and I have similar hair textures and who doesn't want a curl creme they can use for life!???!!!  I'm just sayin!  To top it all off, the company was hosting a 10% off sale and the regular purchase price is only $12.95, which is definitely in my budget, and a price I don't mind being hooked to.

Here are the list of all natural ingredients.

Creme Brulee Ingredients List

Herbal Complex (Nettle, Burdock, Rosemary, Marshmellow Root)

Organic Shea Butter

Aloe Butter

Murumuru Butter

Organic Aloe Vera Extract

Grapeseed Oil

Coconut Oil

Vegetable Emulsifier

Stearic Acid

Xanthum

Vitamin E

Paraben free Preservative

Fragrance

My order took about a week to come, and I immediately smelled the Creme Brulee.  The smell is amazing, and definitely has a sweet coffee scent to it.  Although, once I was done twisting my hair, I couldn't smell it and no one else said anything about the scent either, so it's not overpowering.

Double click to enlarge.  I apologize that this is not really a hair picture.  
I promise to take better ones this weekend.

The website describes the Creme Brulee as an everyday moisturizer.  I will say it didn't give me any more moisture than any other product I've used, but it did give me way better definition and I had no frizz after untwisting my twist-out.  I'm one of those kind of curlies that untwists her twist-out completely the first day too, and I still had no frizz, and my hair was so shiny and healthy looking.

I'll definitely take better pictures when I re-style this weekend.

I used the Creme Brulee on my hair to do two-strand twists that would later be unraveled for a twist-out. I slightly dampened my hair with good ole H20 in a spray bottle, and I began twisting.  I untwisted the next day for an all white boat party with the hubsters' classmates.  No, it was not just for white people, they wanted us to wear white.  I know, I got confused the first time I was invited to a white party.  Needless to say, after being up for 20 hours straight, I was exhausted after we got back from the festivities.  I just threw a bonnet on, and went to bed without re-twisting, and the next morning, my hair was still half way decent.  After, all the humidity, untwisting my hair completely, and not re-twisting at night, my hair still had definition, of course more frizz though.  I would definitely recommend this product.  The Creme Brulee is the best moisturizer and curl creme I've tried thus far.

I'm trying to decide if I should do a post on my regimen and/or products that I use.

Would you be interested in seeing my regimen or current products that I use?

Please let me know in the comments section below.

10 Months In- I Thought That....

Pre-Trim

Well, ladies and gentlemen....the Mac is back as you can see....and so am I!  The hubsters made an appointment at the Apple store over the weekend so that he could get a new battery and they checked my computer for any damage from the old battery.  Now, I'm up and running and good to go.

Two days away from the blogging world feels like a whole week!  I feel like I need to reconnect with this craft called blogging....on the other hand, I feel like I should scale back my blogging schedule.  What do you guys think I should do?  If you are a blogger, do you have a set blogging schedule or do you go with the flow?

Anywho....let's get to what I came here to do today.  Today is my hair's 10 month-a-versary, and ya'll know each month I have to do something special and different for/to my hair to celebrate.  This month I decided to get my ends trimmed...dun dun duunnnnn!  I know to most people getting your hair trimmed is  no biggie, but when you're a highly textured curly girl, black on top of that, it can be a huge deal.

I wanted to get my hair trimmed because, out of this ten month period, I haven't had my hair "professionally" trimmed as of yet, which is not abnormal for a curly girl, however, I think trimming my hair jump starts the growth process and keeps my ends in check before they get scraggly and raggedy.  You don't want to know how many times I've had to have upwards of six inches cut off, just due to raggedy ends.  I decided to go back to Beverly at Hair Studio 2000 who did my BC ten months ago, and she was surprised to see me...really my hair.  On a side note, tell me why I was greeted at the door by the barber who cuts hair at the shop.  This man had the nerves to say, "You must be coming to get that cut off!"  Seriously, wow!!!  I told him absolutely not and kept it moving.  Any ways...Beverly did a great job and she only cut off about 1/4"- 1/2" inches.  You can't tell that it's been cut....but I can!  I need all the length I can get, so hopefully this gives me the boost that I've been looking for.

Post-Trim

I also tried Natural Chica's side pony puff, and I kind of liked it on me.  Mind you, I LOVED it on her.  The hubsters wasn't feeling it though, but he was still complimentary, which is why I love him.  He understands that my hair doesn't make me...most of the time.

Anywho, I want to cap this post off with what I thought about natural hair before my BC last year.  Enjoy!

1.  I thought that my hair would be a little longer by now, but oh well, I'm still enjoying the journey.

2.  I thought that I wouldn't mind working out because my hair is natural.  Um no!  I don't want to have to wash the sweat out and deal with MAJOR shrinkage from all the heat and perspiration.  I haven't been to the gym all summer, but I'm really using my hair as a scapegoat.

3.  I thought that going natural would keep my men out of my hair.  Nope!  They love patting it, pulling it, twirling it....I have to make them stop or else I'll be bald.  So not a good look!

4.  I thought that since my hair is natural, I wouldn't mind walking in the raining.  Nada!  Let's keep it real, rain is cold and I don't like the feeling of it slapping me all over the place.

Weigh in!  What are some thoughts you've had about natural hair?

Four Reasons Why I HATE Dislike My Hair

So, I'm 19 lbs. over my goal weight, I don't have any cute summer clothes that fit, and a whole laundry list of other things.  Every 2-3 months, I seem to hit a very high emotional wall....and I'm at that point now. Everything just seems to be out of order and not right, but when I go to figure out what's bothering me, I come up with nothing at all or nothing that amounts to more than a hill of beans.

This is supposed to be a bantu knot out, but it looks more like a fluffy afro, which is not the look I was going for.  Here's what a bantu knot out really looks like.  As you can see, I really really missed the mark.

ChrsLvsBks

Since I'm on the rampage already, I'll tell you what I hate about my hair.  Momma always told me to never say you "hate" something, but it's one of those days.

1.  Shrinkage!  This is supposed to be stretched-out hair, but as you can see, it's still not completely stretched out.  When I wet my hair, it shrinks up to about 40% of it's actual length.  I never get a feel for how long my hair really is or how much it's grown.

2.  Easily damaged.  Tell me why after 9.5 months of taking the best possible care of my hair, my ends feel crunchy.  This leads me to only one solution, they need to be trimmed, and of course it's a process trying to find a competent stylist that knows how to trim kinky curly hair without chopping it off.

3.  No guarantees!  Sure, I've been using the same products, same techniques, and same styles, but due to hair growth and weather, there's no guarantee that my hair will turn out the same way each time.  Now that my hair is longer, my wash-n-go's look like a crunchy chia pet.  Can you say ch-ch-ch-CHIA!

4.  Getting the side-eye.  All my life I had to fight!  LOL!  JK!  But seriously, I'm tired of getting the "She think she cute!" side-eye from women.  I think it's because my hair makes me stand out now, but I digress.  I'm also sick of the look that says, "She shouldn't have cut her hair!  She looks crazy!"

Anywho, I'm going to get off my soapbox and get some where and go pray for a better mood and a better hair day tomorrow.

Do you have a love hate relationship with your hair?  How do you fix a bad hair day?

Nine Months In: You No Longer Have a TWA If...

Double click on the pictures to enlarge

For all of you who are not in the know, TWA stands for Teeny Weeny Afro, which is what I have...had.  Whatever!  Today I am nine months natural (no chemicals), and I'm so glad I decided to take this journey...again.  I tried a new hairstyle to celebrate my naturalversary...dun, dun, dun...the faux fro-hawk.  LOL!  And guess what...I discovered that I'm NOT too old for this hairstyle, it's actually been my best hairstyle thus far.  

I used about 24 straight bobby pins and gathered my hair to the center.  My hair was previously in a twist-out, so by the time I put it in a fro-hawk, my hair was nice and fluffy and stretched out.  I added a flower clip on the side, that I failed to take a picture of....sorry (I photoshopped one in for you guys).  However, I'm sure I'll be revisiting this style a lot.

Also, to celebrate my hair growth I've put together some ways you can tell if YOUR hair has grown from a TWA into a BOA...Big Old Afro!  Enjoy.

October 2010

June 2011

                                        

You no longer have a TWA if...

le coil

1.  It takes you more than 15 minutes to do a wng (wash and go).  

2.  You have to put your hair in sections to detangle and wash.     

3.  You have more than a couple styling options.

4.  Random strangers start to call you, "Soul Sista," "Angie Davis," or "Foxy Brown"

5.  You no longer hear your friends and family say, "I don't know why you cut your hair!"

6.  You can actually comb your hair starting at the ends and work up to the roots.

7.  You don't get as much use out of a bottle of conditioner as you used to

8.  You can't rub your fingertips in a circular motion through your hair to get your curl pattern to form

How do you measure hair growth?  Is anyone rocking an afro for the 4th?  I want to see pictures!

Eight-Months In

Today, I am 8-months completely natural...and to take this hair journey to a new level: I...DID...A...BLOWOUT!!!!  This is my first time using any type of heat on my hair, and so far it's been a good experience.  For some reason, I was so nervous as I sectioned my hair off and applied the grapeseed oil.  Here's what was going through my mind: what if the heat damages my hair, what if LaMar hates it (the hubsters), what if I hate it, then I've wasted all this time, what if my friends don't like it.  In the end, I was very pleased with my results.


I used the same technique as Natural Chica, because she has a similar hair texture to mine, her videos are easy to follow, and she is a Christian (what a great surprise bonus).  Here is her video tutorial that I followed.


The detangle, apply grapeseed oil, and blow dry process only took 37 minutes!  I was expecting it to take way longer since my hair is very thick, and I wasn't for sure how well the blow dryer comb attachment would glide through my hair.

Before now, I did not own a hand-held blow dryer.  So, I did a little bit of online research between Ulta and Sally's.  These two stores are close to my house, usually have great prices, and a great selection.  My budget for a blow dryer was $20-$40; I don't plan to use it often, and besides, I'm VERY frugal.  I decided on the Hot Tools Ionic Dryer, because Hot Tools is a reliable brand, and the Ionic was well within my budget.  This dryer is normally $39.99, but it was on sale for $31.99 and I had a 20% off coupon.  So, I only paid $27.70, including tax.  So far, I am very happy with my purchase.  My only qualms are that the dryer is kind of heavy and bulky as I try to guide it through my hair and my fingers did accidentally press the buttons to different speeds and on and off.  I'll deal with it though!


Ladies, if you use shampoo...please sign up for Ulta's rewards program.  I enjoy their marketing plan; I always have a 20% off or $5 off coupon.  Their gift sets are nice too!  I enjoy going there around Christmas time to get things that are on sale and with a coupon, you can get some very nice items for not a lot of money.


So, what do you think of my new do?  Have you ever been hesitant to debut a new hairstyle?

My FIRST YouTube Video

Six Months In

Wash and Go 6 Months AFTER my BC

Wash and Go after my BC

I'm happy with my growth.

I trim my own ends every 8 weeks.  My hair seems to thrive right after a good trim, and I only take off about 1/4 inch.

I've been wearing stretched out styles more and more, which I love!  So does everyone else.  I like the way you can really see the length of my hair.

Lately, when I do my wash and gos, I've been doing the shingling method, which takes a lot longer, but my curls are super defined and just beautiful.

I'm loving this journey!

I'll probably get it straightened in the fall to change things up a bit.

Oh yeah, a few people have been asking me what I am going to do with my hair.  I guess it can get a little wild and unruly and they're just concerned...IDK.  Here's my plan: grow it out for about 2 years until it's obnoxiously big and long and then cut it all of and donate it to Locs of Love!!!!  Anybody have any experience with this organization??  Tips??  

Lastly, I still haven't found a hairstyle to sport for this formal event which is in, 8 days.  Wait a minute....I haven't even found a dress!  My to-do list is off the chain!

Let me hop to it.

Ciao!