Easter Hair

Hey guys!!
I know Ive been mia ...life just gets crazy sometimes! But I am alive and well. Happy 2015 and Happy Easter!! Celebrate the risen King!

This is just a quick show-and-tell of my Easter look. My hair is in a very undefined, puffy twist out, semi unintentionally. Yesterday I finally put time aside to comb it-(it was a hot, tangled mess due to my busy schedule/gym schedule) and wash it. So I needed a product with great slip to handle my unruly hair...so I turned to good ole fashioned "S "curl " curl activator spray. Its less than 5 bucks at your beauty supply, drug store,Wal Mart , Family Dollar.... stores like that. It worked extremely well and as I detangled each section, I put my hair in twists. I had about 12 chunky twists all together.

I ended up running out of time and not getting a chance to wash my hair. So I just left the twists
in and took them out in the morning. Here are my final results:

S-curl is a very glycerine heavy product, and glycerine is a humectant. So basically ,  the glycerine pulls moisture out of the air...and into my hair, which causes it to be more fluffy and undefined than a normal twist out. But I love it! My hair turned out super soft and pillow-y. Perfect for a  carefree Easter with the family.

I hope you all had a great Easter and I'll talk to you in the next post!!

P.S. Just in case anyone is wondering, my floral print dress is from Target. A lot of people from church asked, so I thought I'd share the info. ;)

My Paul Mitchell Salon/School Experience: Straightened Natural Hair

Hello Lovelies!
 I hope you all are doing fantastic today. The last couple of weeks have been crazy here at our home! My children and I were involved in a car accident last week, and its just been an overwhelming experience. Thank God everyone is all right. But now comes the legal mumbo jumbo, attorneys, chiropractor appointments weekly, our smashed up vehicle. Oy. Its a lot. But I wont complain because we are alive and the accident couldve been a whole lot worse. But God is GREAT!
 I digress. You came here to read about my hair, not my life. So. My hair is..STRAIGHT!

 Comparison Shot:

( photo cred goes to My wonderful stylist, Nish! @just_hair1 on Instagram)

 Back View (Please ignore my face here lol)

Car Selfie!!

The Process:
 I came to the Paul Mitchell School at noon and waited a couple minutes for my stylist, Nish in a beautiful professional waiting area. When she came and got me, we discussed pricing (12 dollars for everything: Wash, Condition, Blow Out, Thermal Straightening, and Trim!!!!) and then proceeded to go to the Wash House, a separate room in the salon just for hair washing!
 The Wash House was so ambient and relaxing. The room is dimly lit and aromatherapy candles were burning to create and soothing environment for the clients. It was so relaxing. I love getting my hair washed anyway, but the lighting and candles just completely set off the whole salon experience for me. Nish washed my hair with warm water, and used a Paul Mitchell shampoo from their Awapuhi line called Moisturizing Lather Shampoo:

This shampoo is sulfate free and smells amazing! Not too heavy, and not too light. She then conditioned my hair with a product that is known in the natural hair community, Paul Mitchells "The Conditioner" :

After conditioning, Nish said my hair didnt feel as soft and as silky as it could be for easier detangling, so she pullled another product out of her magic Paul Mitchell stash:  Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture

This treatment is technically a leave in conditioner, but Nish used it as a rinse out. She left it in my hair for  about 5 minutes before rinsing it out. Let me tell you, my hair was so SOFT after she rinsed it out. Detangling my hair with a wide tooth comb was so easy for her after that. I will definately have to think about investing in that product.

 After detangling, we went back to the beauty chair for further detangling and  adding a leave in and serum (not sure of the kind she used exactly, but I know they were from the Awapuhi line). Then she sectioned off my hair for blow drying.
 After drying, Nish straightned my hair. She used the chase method, which involes flat ironing the root of the hair first, and then "chasing" the flat iron down the hair strand with a fine tooth comb. The result of using this method is a straighter, smoother flat iron. The heat setting was set at 375 degrees. She also gave me a trim, because my ends were a little shabby.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the heat protectant that Nish used. Of course, it another Paul Mitchell product :-)

Its called Hot Off the Press. Its a spray, and for the record, all heat protectant sprays are the same in my eyes. As long as they contain some type of silicone to create a barrier between the flatiron and the hair, then I'm good!

So, I arrived at the salon at noon, and left around 4:30 pm. Not bad! I remember being at salons for 8 hour sometime back
when my hair was relaxed !!

Let me know what you guys think!  xoxo

Happy 2014! Hair Update

Hellloooo Everyone!
Wow. I havent had a blog post in a year!! How shameful. Life is just crazy with its ups downs and everything in between.  But I have no complaints and I am so blessed :) Happy 2014 everyone!
 So. My hair. To the best of my knowledge, my hair is now completely 100 percent fully natural. I trimmed the last of my relaxed ends off.....I believe it was late summer/ early fall of 2013. I will have to reference my Instagram page for an exact date lol. I have not been to a professional stylist in a couple of years but I do plan on going to one once I hit my 1 year natural - versary this year for a trim and possibly flat ironing. The journey so far has been pretty good. Im glad (SO glad) that I am completely chemical free, and my hair seems to be thriving. I dont know how long it is, I dont really use heat on it, and plus my hair is pretty uneven. Thats how it has always been, and I think that is true for most people. My hair is shorter in the front and longer in the back. When I get it styled this year I will post some pictures here so that you can see the progress that I have made. :)
 A couple things I struggle with as a natural are split ends and single-strand knots. I find the "Search and Destroy" method of clipping the little knots at the ends of my strands extremely tedious.  I have so much hair and it feels like I cannot get every single knot! Maybe I cant. However, I try my best. As far as split ends go, I trim them as I see them and try my best to keep my hair moisturized.
 Here are a few hair pictures of my current hair. I hope you all have a blessed day and I will be back with an updated regimen post!

S/O to my girl, Star for unintentionally reminding me that I have a blog. Lol. Check out her blog...shes doing a Vegan Challenge! 
  

Beautiful Textures Rapid Repair Deep Condition Review

Hey All,
 I know its been a minute since I posted. Life just gets crazy , you know?
Alas, I am here with a product review!  I recently purchased a product from a company called Beautiful Textures. Its their Rapid Repaid Deep Conditioner. I just loooove deep conditioners you guys. I was in need of a new one, and , since I am 14 months into my transition, Im always on the lookout for a good one to help me to detangle my 2 textures. Heres the packaging  :

Its 15 oz , so you get a good amount. The package reads:  "Achieve amazing manageability and styling versatility for Curly, Wavy, Kinky-Coily or Frizzy hair. Get soft defined curls, bodacious bouncy spirals, and smooth silky tresses with this Intensive Moisture-Rich Formula for mixed textured hair.
Benefits:

• Restore Hair’s Natural Moisture Balance
• Control Damage from Transitioning, Heat, and Color Treated Hair
• Restore Elasticity to Prevent Breakage

Dryness and breakage prevent healthy looking hair growth. To help ensure your hair has a fighting chance against daily styling stresses use Rapid Repair Deep Conditioner to help strengthen, rebuild, protect and hydrate.

Rapid Repair Deep Conditioner allows you to embrace more versatile styling options, while protecting your hair from the inside out. To achieve softer, more defined curls, healthier looking elongated coils and simply silky smooth hydrated hair use this feather lite deep penetrating conditioner."
    This  is a nice creamy conditoner and it smells great! It has a mango-y tropical scent. Its nice and thick, which is great, because it really coated my hair strands.

I applied the conditoner to my hair from root to tip, on dry hair. I sectioned my hair into 6 or 7 big twists  all over my head and let the conditioner sit on my head for about and hour with a plastic bag on my head

After an hour I rinsed the conditioner out with warm water  and shampooed my hair with the Shea Moisture Moisture Retention shampoo and conditioned and detangled my hair with the V05 moisture milks condtioner in Strawberries and cream. My hair was sooo incredibly soft. I had so much slip and my new growth was soft and very easy to detangle. And this conditioner was a nice price. I think it retails for about $6.99 and I got it from Sallys Beauty, so I was able to get it even cheaper because I used my Sallys card. I will definately be adding this deep condtioner to my regimen.

 

 

 

 

Product Review/RAVE!!! ORS Olive Oil Hair Masque Intense Treatment for Heat and Color Damaged hair

Hey Ladies,
So I was at Rite Aid yesterday with my kids looking for a deep conditioner because I am out of my staple one, haven't  been to Whole Foods in a while. But I needed to find something because my hair has been super dry as of lately. I went in hopes of finding the Curl Unleashed No Restrictions Moisturizing Conditioner which people on YouTube have been raving about.  But my rite aide only carried the Curls Unleashed styling products and shampoo. I was a little dissapointed , but then I noticed all these conditioners and products for kinky hair at 50% off! I have never seen a sale like this , let alone at a drugstore ever. They even had Jane Carter products !!! On Sale!! I wish I had more money..I wouldve snagged all that stuff up so quick.
 Anyway, I found a a hair masque that looked intriguing.. so I picked it up. And the orginal price on it was like 11.64 or something and paid 5.00 and some change for it. Its by Organic Root Stimulator and its their new  Olive Oil Hair Masque Intense Treatment for Heat and Color Damaged hair and it looks like this : 

Product Details: "The perfect intense treatment for heat and color damaged hair. The Olive Oil Hair Masque Leaves hair detangled, shiny and smooth after each use.

Key Ingredients:

Olive Oil: Rich in essential fatty acids, it infuses moisture directly into the cuticle.

Coconut Oil: Moisturize and condition the hair and scalp leaving the hair soft and radiant.

Hydrolyzed Keratin: Helps to strengthen and reconstruct the hair shaft"

Soo.... I deep conditioned yesterday with this stuff on dry hair. First of all, it is so unbelievably thick...almost like a relaxer. And  it smells so good. Perfumey,but not so much to give you a headache. The product does contain sillicones, just fyi, if you are trying to stay away from those. I was trying to do all organic  hair products, but I am 34 weeks post relax/texlax  and some of those products are too expensive for me to buy all the time, and I have to use what works dealing with my 2 textures. I have a great shampoo to get then  cones' out.

So, I applied the masque, in sections to my dry hair and I detangled. It was marvelous for detangling. I twisted each section and put a plastic shower cap on my head and deep conditoned over night. 

  When I got into the shower the next morning to rinse it out, my hair was soo slippery and soft!!! I detangled again in the shower with my wide tooth comb and I only lost a few hairs!! This is HUGE for me because I have been having problems with breakaage for months. I know this is supposed to be expected, but its just annoying when I have to clean all this broken hair out of my shower.

So after I rinsed I washed my hair in sections with Kinky Curlys come clean to clarify. I rinsed with  cool water and washed up.  When I got out of the shower , my hair was still so so soft. I applied Kinky Curly Knot Today as my leave in, sealed in my moisture  with jojoba oil, and pinned up my hair up and put eco syler gel in to smoothe my hair down. I wanted to blowdry it, but I was running late for work and didnt have time.

So, this product if is definately amazing for transtioners, Im sure it would be great for naturals  and relaxed ladies as well. Great slip, great moisture, great scent, great price!

28 weeks post texlaxer

Wowwee. I havent  posted a blog in quite some time. Sheesh.
Well, I am posting right now. lol.  I am currently 28 weeks aka 6 months and 2 weeks post texlaxer/relaxer. Yay!! 18 months to go in my long term tranistion to natural hair (in theory). I have been watching a lot of videos on Youtube and reading a lot of blogs about girls who transitioned  and they keep saying we may be in the mood to do our big chop soooner rather than later in our transition. I don't know about that. My hair has to be a certain  length before I cut the relaxed ends off. A 2 year transition  seems like it will be the right amount of time for my hair to be a decent length. If not , I have no problem transitioning for 3 years , 4 years, whatver. At this point, I have  pretty much gotten past the pain of dealing with the 2 textures of hair. It takes a lot a lot more time and effort and patience too deal with my hair, but I cant tun back or just chop it of. Its just not for me. I haven't been tempted to rerelax, either. When I section  my hair to braid it , or   shampoo it, I hate hate HATE my relaxed ends. They are so thin and fried. My hubby is always complimenting my natural hair thats growing in, going on and on about how thick and dark it is. And then he looks at my relaxed ends...and he is always going on and on about how thin and light they are( my hair was color treated a couple years ago and there are small bits of reddish brown still left in my hair only at the ends). I hate them, but I am holding onto them to my hair gets to a length that I am comfortable with. *shrug*
So it hasnt been to bad. Thank the Lord I have made it this far.  And that God for the awesome transitioners  on Youtube (kikicouture and mstiaradean just to name of few) and fully natural ladies (spicyeve,melizabethwill, myinvisablecrysallis to name a few) who are rocking there gorgeous hair! So inspirational!

Winter Hair Regimine

Basics:
I moisturize 2wice daily (morning and night) with Bee Mine Lucious cream moisturizer in Island Mango. So farr, So good. I've only been using it for about a month now, but , thanks to my husband, I am going to try and use as many natural products on my transitioning hair as possible. I seal in my moisture with a little extra virgin  coconut oil , which I have been using since before I decided to transition to natural and I love it!!!
  During the day, I wear my hair in a bun and I wear various wigs to proteact my hair from the harsh winter tempertures, and also so that I am not tempted to put any heat on my hair!!! At night, I wear it in a bun, and cover it with a satin scarf, or when I'm too tired to tye my hair up, I just throw it in a bun and sleep on my sation pillow case :)

Wash Day(every wednesday) 


I wash my hair with Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo and I am so in love with it. It makes my hair so soft and smell so good. After I wash it, I do an oil rinse on my hair with a blend of olive, coconut, shea, and jojoba oils. I let the oil sit on my hair for 45 minutes with a plastic cap / bag on my head , using my body heat to activate the oils in my hair. Then I rinse with warm warm water. I then apply my deep conditioner...Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention deep treatment mask with a mix of my oil rinsinng oils, a little of Carols Daughter Black Vanilla Deep Treatment Hair Smoothie, and ORS deep conditioner. I put a plastic cap on my head, and deep condtion (while my kids are sleeping) under blow dryer cap for 30 minutes.
After that, I rinse my hair with cool water to seal the cuticle , and then I apply my leave in. For the last ....4-5 months I have been using a mix of Cantu shea butter, a lil coconut oil, and Aphogee's Green tea reconstructerizer. But recently , I have been checking out Kimmaytube on Youtube, and I may try using her homade leave -in recipe.

 I have been doing lots of research about transitiong, and hair care, and I must say, I am really excited to let this old relaxed hair go. My new growth is so thick and has a definate  curl pattern, ( that I don't think I paid much attention to when I was little). My relaxed hair is so limp and its so easily broken, and it just doesnt look healthy in comparison with the hair that God gave me. I am super excited for this new adventure!!