Life After a Breakup

As many of you know, I recently ended a love-hate relationship with my Tangle Teezer. It was probably one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in my life...tear. It was so tempting at first that I had to hide it from myself so that I wouldn't use it to detangle. So for the past couple of weeks I have been using my "handleless" comb and my Goody Jojoba Infused Brush. Out of the two, I TOTALLY prefer the Goody Jojoba Infused Brush because it's kinda like the Tangle Teezer in the sense that it can define my curls while I'm detangling. I don't really like the "handleless" comb because it basically picks my hair out...which is why my hair was looking a hot mess when I got back from Vegas. But now I can proudly say that my hair is BAACCCKK !! Lately, I've been trying to get back into doing twistouts...sidenote: I really loved the way my hair looked with twistouts when it was shorter. Hopefully, I can stick with these twistouts and stop doing so many wash n gos and ponytails. 

Click Here to see the " Twistout on Wash n Go Hair" video

My Essentials for Vacationing with Natural Hair

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Sumthin' New

I just posted this pic on Twitter and had to share it with you all too. 

After wearing my hair straight for a whopping 5 days (shame) I'm back to curly with a little something extra.

 

Freetress.

Celtic Girl.

Color 2.

Video coming soon.

The Regimens...

I transitioned for nine months...

I Big CHOPPED on Dec. 13,2008

From 08-Feb. 09
My regimen from this time was pretty much not structured and because of that my hair stayed dry and I wasn't using the right products (even though I thought I was). I was in love with using products like Sunsilk Captivating Curls and Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship because of the way they smelled.


---I co-washed everyday...morning and right before bed.
---I was kinda against shampooing so I shampooed maybe once or twice a month....but I was constantly co-washing so that kinda cleaned my hair
---Whenever I did shampoo I made sure to deep condition and detangle
---I had a bald spot in the front of my head from transitioning so I made a mixture of rosemary oil, shea butter, castor oil, and jojoba oil and every night I massaged that oil mixture onto my scalp and mainly that bald spot. Within a couple of months I saw growth and now THERE'S NO BALD SPOT!!!

====Main products used====

 Sunsilk conditioner and leave in, my shea butter mixture, my hair growth mixture, and that's all I remember

From the end of Feb 09- May 09
By this point I started to see growth and with more growth came more tangles. I noticed that I needed to start detangling more and I needed to do something so that I didn't have to walk in the freeze'n cold in the morning with wet hair.So I started twistin.


---I co-washed no more than twice a week.
---Shampooed once or every other week.
---Deep conditioned everytime I shampooed
---I TWISTED MY HAIR UP EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT AND WORE A TWISTOUT UNTIL FRIDAY....Sat. and Sun. were my off days.
---I started back taking my vitamins and biotin supplements. 
====Main products used====
Cantu Shea butter used for twistouts, and my shea butter mixture

From May 09-Aug 09
During this time I was on summer vacation and didn't feel like twisting my hair up every Sunday night so I pretty much wore a puff or a wash and go.


---Co-washed a lot 
---Shampooed, DC, and detangled once a week or every other week
---Every now and then I wore a twist out.

====Main products used====

Cantu Shea Butter, shea butter mixture, Aussie Moist conditioner, Clean Eco styler Gel, and Giovanni Direct Leave in

From Aug 09-Dec 09

By the time I went back to school my hair grew a lot and I could finally say I had some type of regimen. Because of the amount of growth I had I was able to start doing way more styles. And in Oct I was finally able to get a PONYTAIL...YAY click here to watch the video. 

---Co-washing became more of a style so I didn't do it a lot only for certain styles 

---Shampooed, DC, and detangled once a week

---Every other night I would either castor oil or my Wild Growth oil from Sally's and massaged my scalp

---By Nov. I started wearing medium sized twist as a protective style

====Main products used====

Eco styler Gel, Organic Root Stimulator Lock and Twist gel, castor oil, Wild Growth oil, Giovanni Direct Leave in, and Bed Head Moisture Maniac

From Jan.10

I finally started to find my staple products and finished putting the final stages on my current regimen. There's nothing really major to talk about. 

My current regimen:

---Again I don't co-wash a lot only if my hair is dry, I am about to switch styles, or I just feel like it.

---Shampoo and detangle once a week

---I don't deep condition any more only if it is a protein deep conditioner

---I have trimmed my hair multiple times since I've been natural.... so I guess I trim maybe every 4-6 months

====Current products being used====

Sheamoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Moisture Retention Shampoo, Eco Styler Argan and Olive oil gel, Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding, Pantene Curly Conditioner, and Tresemme Conditioners

Mom's Hair w/Eco Styler Argan Oil Gel

Here is my mom's hair with the Eco Styler Argan Oil Gel just applied. 

She BIG Chopped June 10'.

This is what it looked like after I diffused majority of it.

Nothin' Like A Good Hair Day

It seems like lately I've been having bad hair days like everyday. But today I must say I was really feelin' how my hair looked. I liked it because it was stretched but stringy and I was loving the definition (considering this was 4 day old hair). I switched it up an wore my hair pulled back with a leopard print headband. I originally pulled it up to so I could take a shower but then I started thinking of wearing it pulled up but didn't because I didn't like the back of it. Pulling it up helped to stretch the curls, so all I had to do was fix the top with some more gel and water. 

Will it Work?

Every time I have good hair days with twistouts or wash n gos (defined curls) I always tell myself that I'm gonna start wearing my hair like that more often...of course that usually doesn't last long. But in the last few months I have to say have been rockin' some successful twist n curls and wash n gos (defined curls) and I've wondered if I could really keep my hair healthy and in those styles. I have found that those styles are kinda like my protective style because I'll wear them for like a week. In addition there's less manipulation involved,it's versatile because I can always pull it back into a ponytail or something, and it's good for my edges because I don't have to brush them a lot.

Old Twist n Curl

Old Wash n Go

So what do you all think??? Will it work...I'm going to see and keep you all updated. 

Having Soft Hair Isn't All That Great...

Lately I have been defining my curls a lot (that's a whole other post) and using my two favorite product combinations, Sheamoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Eco Styler Olive Oil. Before I started using the Sheamoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie with the Eco Styler, my hair would have a little crunch to it but that hold would slowly go away after like three days. But now that I have found a product that will cut down on the amount of hold it seems like my hair is just too soft to get multiple days out of it and it frizzes up much easier. Now I'm torn between having soft-bouncy hair or stiff-crunchy hair. Take a look at these pics:

Giovanni/Eco Styler:

Sheamoisture/Eco Styler (2nd Day Hair):

What's a girl to do???

Stylin'

Here's another hairstyle for styling your mini twist and also the EZ Combs.

Also check out my latest video....

Itty Bitty Twistssss

Finally after two and a half days my mini twists are done. It was hard in the beginning but I got through it (had a little accident with the wii...lol) 

Products used:


*Yes to Cucumbers Leave-In (revisting and it seems to be great for these twists)
*Sweet Almond oil


Done on dry stretched out hair. I also didn't wash my hair before I did these because I had just shampooed my hair like 4 days before but I co-wash the day before twisting)

Look I what I got!!!

As I type this post I am extremely excited and overjoyed. I bought the Ez Combs today...and they actually work. At least the little style that I did worked. I finally decided to get them because 1. they are really cheap at Ross and Marshall's and 2. they seem like you can do a lot of styles with them in a few minutes. Since it has only been like 30 minutes since I got in the house and popped one of them in my hair I can't do a full review (plus I didn't want to mess up my hair) but please believe once I get some time with these bad boys I will definitely let ya'll know how they work. Oh and the price was $ 2.99 at Ross and $ 3.99 at Marshall's.

 
Right now I can tell you all that it felt very comfortable and secure on my hair and removing it wasn't bad at all. Stay tuned =)

Shrinkage.

The other day I did a video on the new technique I use to define my curls. As I watched the video over I noticed how much longer my hair was when I first applied the gel than when it dried (this is nothing new). But for some reason I am always shocked to see how much shrinkage there is when I do stuff to my hair. So looking at the amount of shrinkage in the picture above, that must mean that when my dry hair starts to touch my collar bone my wet hair is going to be way somewhere on my stomach =) Umm I'm a little excited about that.




I know that's random but I just thought I share that with ya'll...lol 

Wedding Hair...

The tutorial for this hairstyle will be uploading soon. Here's a sneak peek of what you'll see....

Oh and by the way I'm not engaged or even close to getting married as my boyfriend would say...lol

Review for Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Cream

Do the DO.

Here's another variation of one of my favorite hairstyles. 

How it's done:
----Either stretch your hair or wet it up so that you can flat twist. (NOTE: if you don't know how to flat twist you can do the tuck and roll)
-----Then part your hair down the middle.
-----Next start to flat twist your hair going down on one side your hair until you reach the nape of your neck and STOP. Don't twist all the hair. 
-----Repeat the same steps on the other side.
-----Next grab the two twists and the loose hair left out in the middle and put into a ponytail.
-----Then start to roll the the ponytail upwards into a bun. Hold the bun in place and pin that sucka down :)

And there you have a quick and super cute protective style.

I Don't Know What I Want...

Seriously you  guys she makes me wanna loc my hair!!!!

How to get waves....

Hopefully I can make a video showing you guys how I get my waves in more detail.  It's pretty easy. 

I always start start with dripping wet hair.
Then I apply a leave-in/moisturizer followed by oil.
Then I brush my hair back a little before applying the gel with a soft bristle brush.
Next I apply a generous amount of gel (I love using the clear Eco Styler for a more wavier  look).
Then I brush the hair back.
Next I put my scarf on for a few minutes. 
And that's pretty much it !!




Be sure to look out for a quick tutorial on this =)

New Wash Regimen

Since I've been natural I have gone through soooo many wash day regimens. So I come to y'all with a new and hopefully final wash day regimen. Okay so you guys who have seen my recent videos on Youtube, click here if you haven't, you know I've been in Myrtle Beach for the past week. And if there's one thing that I've learned this summer, is that my hair doesn't particularly like the ocean water if it's not twisted up (even though it gives amazing curl definition, out of this world). Halfway through the week, I had become sooo frustrated with my hair being tangled at the ends that I just decided to detangle my hair while I was there (which I NEVER do while vacationing ANYWHERE). So that helped a little but obviously not a lot, when I got back home I decided to try something different. Usually when I wash my hair it tangles up a lot more than when I first start but this time I decided to detangle FIRST with conditioner, then rinse that out a little, then I apply shampoo and rinse that out COMPLETELY, then co-wash. When I was done with everything my hair was not tangled AT ALL. It was amazing!!! So I'll give it another try and update y'all if it works out the same. 

The Regimen:

           1.  Start with dry hair

           2.  Section the hair off into medium sections and spray with water and apply conditioner

           3.  Smooth the conditioner into the and start to detangle
           4.  Braid the section up (every important: twist will slowly come out while washing)
           5.  Rinse 90% of the conditioner  out
           6.  Apply shampoo
           7.  Rinse out completely
           8.  Co-wash
           9.  Deep condition if you want!

By the end of all that my braided sections were still in.

First Set of Mini Twists

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After 6-7 hours of twisting my hair, I am EXTREMELY overjoyed!!!!! Lately I have been tired of going through the process of co-washing and then trying to style to my hair, all for it not turn out how I wanted it. So I started watching a lot of videos on Youtube and became really inspired to do my own. I started Sunday night and watched The Wiz and Boomerang and listened to some music then I went to bed at 4 am and woke up early Monday morning to finish the rest. Excuse the first picture, I had just taken out all the big twists and some were still a little wet...but it was okay=)

Products used:

Giovanni Smooth as Silk Shampoo

Tresemme Flawless Curls Conditioner

Chi Silk Infusion

Shea Butter Mixture (shea butter, vegetable glycerin, sweet almond oil, coconut oil)

What I did:

Shampooed

Co-Washed

Detangled with a little bit of conditioner still in the hair/ Twisted hair into big sections

Washed out all the conditioner

Put Silk Infusion on each section

Blow dried all sections on medium/hi heat then twisted each section back up (hair was still a little wet)

Took out all twists and sectioned the hair off into three sections

Started from the back and twisted all night long =)

And I was done!!!

I'm sooo Proud....(tear)

I just finished my first FULL set of flat twist....hand clap!!! Earlier this week I wore a flat twist headband, which gave me the courage to flat twist my whole head. Plus I loved the gorgeous wavy look it gave me =) I think this would be the perfect hair setting thingy for days when you're just bumming around the house not going anywhere. These pictures were taken right after I finished them, so you can still see the product and water.

Products used:

Cantu shea butter

And here are some pictures of that twisted headband =)

Products used:

Afroveda Curl define 

Cantu Shea Butter
Hair was done on twist out