Update

So!! What have i been up to? How is my hair going? What is the latest!!

I have no idea where to start, but i'm so excited to share so....... I guess I must start somewhere!!

I am, OFFICIALLY.........10 months natural! *yayz* almost a year and well, what can i say? I don't regret one bit of it! From my b.c in January to now, I would so go over the natural hair journey again. Mind you, there were some ups and downs and I still haven't reached the appropriate hair length that i'm aiming for but atleast I can say that I am better off than I was when my hair was relaxed. My hair is now healthier and i'm having lots of fun with it while watching it grow.

Regimen:

Currently, my hair is 6 inches long when i stretch it out. It is more difficult to manage compared to when it was newly cut to half an inch in January but i'm sort of trying to adjust to this change.

I remember going to sleep with it by easily putting on a satin cap, wake up in the morning and just brush and put it in a band but now, I have to make that I comb it out and mosturize it before I go to bed and still comb it out when I get up in the morning to ensure that it stays soft and manageable ( thats for when I have it in a puff) and when it's in a twist, I have to spend hours trying to twist it neatly. Therefore, my hair is now more time consuming than it used to be.

Products that I use:

My products have now boiled down to a few.For conditioning, I use Suave coconut conditioner. I also use raw shea butter, miss carol's daughter hair mimosa honey, olive oil, long term relationship and eco styler jel. For deep conditioning, I use a mixture of avocado, honey, egg, hair mayonaise and olive oil. Blend that up in a blender and leave it in my hair for about half of an hour after which I wash out with warm water. ( I do this weekly).

Changes:

It seems as though my hair has become more dry than it used to be. I have also realised that whenever it is dry, I notice a sort of brownish colour at the end. I know this is definitely not the most wise decision to make but as a result, I have decided to dye my hair in a colour, most likey a honey brown or sort of red to give it a more rich look. On the contrary, my hair actually feels soft but just looks really dry. ( don't know if that makes sense).

So thats my next step, dyeing. Below is a picture of my 10 months of hair and styles that i've been putting in my hair. When I do dye it however, I will post a pic of how it looks and then do a review.










Naturelle <3

My webcam is straight tripping

So i think i should atleast apologise for the messed up volume in the videos and also my brothers who were watching football in part two.

Basically, in part one i was just explaining the process of curling your kinky twist braid.

1) Using embroidery thread i first took a section of braid and tied it around three times
2) I then proceeded to loosely coil the thread around the section of briad
3) I pulled on the string and in so doing the braid tightened and sort of bundled up together
4) I then tied a knot at the end to secure the braids.

In part two i left out a section to show the process of putting the braids in hot water and then cutting the string to obtain your curl.

NB

the hotter the water the tighter the curls

Curling your kinky twist part 2

Curling your kinky twist part 1

Product review

I have been so busy lately that i have more or less neglected my blog for the past few weeks and i'm sorry for that. Never the less, i'm gonna do a product review on some of the new products that i talked about in an earlier blog. They are :


Shea butter and two of "Miss Carol's Daughter's" products that i ordered.








Shea butter

This creaminess worked wonders on my hair . I realised that the minute i started using it that my hair looked so much better and i Was loving every minute of it. My hair transformed from dry and brittle to soft and defined and i loved it. In addition, the shea butter that i purchased contained no petroleum or mineral oil so that was a plus. However, i had to put tons of it to get the results that i wanted which resulted in my hair feeling extra oily and saturated. I think this was due to the fact that it was refined shea butter rather that the raw one. It leaves me hopeful though, becasue i know when i lay hands on the raw one i would not be disappointed.


Go shea butter!!

Miss Carol's Daughter :

Personally, i love the miss carol's daughter's line. The fact that it's ALL completely natural gives me a safe feeling whenever i use it because i know when i do it nourishes my hair every time and poses no threat what so ever.

The mimosa hair honey controls frizz and adds shine to natural hair. It contains infusion of red roses, marigolds, red clover, bright orange amatto seeds and essential oil of sweet orange. It is also petroleum free and mineral oil free and has no artificial colour. It also has a GREAT addictive smell that i even use it as a sort of hair perfume because the smell is so heavenly.

The hair milk is a light solution of essential oil of lemmongrass, sweet almond oil and apricot kernel oil and is also mineral oil free and petroleum free and adds frizz-free definition to natural curls. The only problem i have with this product is that it has a sort of concentrated smell that isn't really plesant. Other than that, it does what it says and defines my curls well. If u're not all up on the smell of your products i think you would like this one as well.

Fro-Hawk!!!

I recently tried the Fro hawk on my 5 months of hair and it actually came out pretty well.

This is wat I did:

First, i defined my curls using shea butter and olive oil eco styler gel. Secondly, i did corn rows on the front part of my head. I then put hair pins to hold them in and.......

WALA : Fro- hawk=successful

TWISTS -MAKE SENSE

:D

So remember when i was talking about my hair being excessively dry??
and me having to buy more products??

Well this is just an update about that

Soo i did get me some shea buttter and was i really pumped up about that .......it worked incredibly!!!!

i bought it at gittens drug mart and i also got some eco styler gel. i found some @ the bargin house for a pretty reasonable price ( $6.95 for 8oz).

I am thinking of using the eco styler instead of the IC Fantasia Gel for the mean time to see how it works out. Probably later on down the line i'd do a comparative product review on the two.


In addition to all this good stuff, i realised, since i took out the kinky twists in my hair, that my hair got way thicker and that my old method of definig my curls had to change since my hair got longer. ( its a whole longer process ....i'd talk about tht later). This meant that i could no longer wear my hair out all the time as before and i will also have to start putting twists in my hair to retain moisture and what not.


NOW .....i hate twists, especially with hair length like mine. i think it gives my hair a scarcey kind of look and i hate how it just sticks down to my head.

Fact is i have to start liking it and doing it more often so i found some creative ways to spice up my twists just a little ;)

TAKE A LOOK! :

These were some some simple looks. I realised that accessorising and makeup can really help spice up your look especially when you don't feel comfortable with it as in my case :)

Here are some other pics with some accessories i used to use on my relaxed hair :

Kinky Twist Twist out

So it was time to take out the kinky twists in my hair and while doing so i realised that it actually looked pretty cute as a twist out. so i decided to make a video after that discovery to share some styles i came up with. :)



Sorry but i cudn't do any tlking because the volume on the web cam was messing up however i hope this was helpful.

Something New

So presently i have kinky twists in my hair as a protective style. Its been about a month now and i'm pretty much tired of it. I want to take them out so bad but i think its best to wait until exams are over, that way i can pay more attention to my hair.

So instead of taking them all out i took out one or two strands of braid just to see how my natural hair was doing ( i can't seem to keep my hands out).
To my suprise it grew about half an inch, which now makes it 3 inches and a half!!

I'm pretty much pumped up about that. Basically i'm thinking at the ending of may it should reach 4 inches hopefully.

Anyway, I took the braid out and started to apply oil to that section of my hair ( carrot, tea tree and coconut. I then proceeded to add the hair milk. By now I could see my curls defining a bit. Afterward, I decided to add some hair mayonaise to mosturize but to my suprise, in addition to mosturizing it defined my curls sooooooo beautifully. I didn't even have to add my ic fanatisa gel or any other products. That was really something new.





This is when i added the oils and hair mayonaise






Seee how much my curls are defined?









when i take out the kinky twists i'm definitely going to try this new method on my entire head of hair and see how it looks.

LENGTH CHECK:

WHO SAY SUMMER!!>>> "To do list"

WHO SAY SUMMER>????

So SUmmer is approaching and can someone say super excited!!!!
yayz!!
But that also means heat and sun............. i'm talking HAIR TALK PEOPLE.....
Yes, i'm anticipating a season of successive drying of my already dry hair.

So whether or not i'm gonna put a protective style in, i've decided to make a "to do list" nevertheless to make things a little bit easier

(For those of you who don't know What a protective style is, it's a means through which growth is promoted and where your hair is protected from heat and the sun's rays. Protective styles such as braids and weave require little or no handling or interference with hair which is sometimes needed)

Here goes:

So lately I have been experiencing serious dryness in my hair and since greenz has limited products for natural divas like myself, I did some researh on products and came up with a few of them that would hopefully help me............who knowz i might find myself doing some homemade inventions :D

so first things first:

OILS!!! ( $5.75 each- hair store @ bruce street)
olive oil
joba joba oil
coconut oil
tea tree oil

this will especially be needed since i'm planning on putting a dye in.(black maybe..haven't decided as yet) Incase you don't know, they usually tend to make your hair dry. So hopefully these oils will help to eliminate that.

Secondly, i plan to invest in some cream based conditioners and mosturizers:

Long term relationship ( herbal essences- that i found @ real value supermarket)
Herbal essences leave in conditioner ( i found some in Gittens drug mart)
Raw shea butter

( i have read about how good raw shea butter is but could never find it anywhere!! ...i'd have to go shea butter hunting..i remembered seeing in grenville long before i decided to go natural)

"Shea butter, which is a product of Africa, is known as a multi-functional moisturizer. When applied to natural hair it will not only moisturize your hair but it will condition and soften it as well. Shea butter can be used for many different areas of your natural hair care regimen. From a pre-conditioning treatment, to setting, to sealing your ends when braiding, Shea butter is a multifunctional product which will become your natural hairs best friend.

Because Shea Butter is a natural conditioner, when used regularly your hair will begin to soften and shine in a way that only natural hair that is fully nourished can. Shea butter will add sheen, vibrancy and life to your natural hair. Those tight curls and kinks will get the moisture they need to be more manageable.

Shea Butter is also known for protecting natural hair from the harmful rays of the sun and from other harsh weather conditions. So not only will your natural hair receive its much needed moisture and conditioning properties, it will also be protected from inclement weather. From the moment you apply Shea Butter to your natural hair, it will reap the benefits that will undoubtedly make you hair sing its praises.

Pure, raw, unrefined Shea butter that is yellow is the best Shea Butter to use on natural hair. In this raw and unaltered state the Shea butter will be chock full of moisturizing, conditioning and protective properties."

In addition, i'm also thinking of trying KCCC ( kinky curly curling custard) but unfortunately i'd have to oder it......so i'm not depending too much on that. According to research, it's good for defining your natural curls and helps in giving your hair that curly look. Those of you who haven't heard of it should check it out

http://kinky-curly.com/tips.php


And ofcourse i'd continue using the products that have treated me oh so well. i have had great results with them:

IC Fantasia Gel Great for curl definition

Miss Carol's Daughter Hair Milk

(also for curl definition, i odered this btw , they don't sell it here in greenz......sigh!! i know!!)

suave coconut conditioner ( leaves hair feeling soft and defined)

Africa's Best leave in conditioner

Hair mayonaise

Sunsilk captivating curls shampoo

Herbal essences curling shampoo


Hopefully my newly added list would help make my hair more mosturized
:)

From Relaxed to Natural

Some of the pics are from when got my relaxed hair cut into a style......they're jumbled and not really in order