Naturally Kinky

Natural Hair While Pregnant and On Bed Rest

2009-12-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

Since 11/09/09 I've been on strict bed rest. I will be on this bed rest until this child arrives in this world. My estimated due date is 03/22/2010. Yeah I'm going to be laying down a long time. I'm only allowed 5 minutes a day to shower. Hot oil treatments are out of the question at this point and time and washing my hair to my liking is not happening. So what does a sister do while on bed rest with her hair?

1. I've reduced the amount of washing of my hair significantly. I wash my hair every two weeks. I essentially use a shower day to saturate my hair with water, apply my shampoo and rinse it out. Usually when I do this, my hair has been detangled prior to getting in the shower.

2. How do I keep my hair detangled? I keep my hair in six huge braids. This serves multiple purposes. It is a good way to keep my hair detangled on a daily basis without actually doing my hair. Once I unbraid my hair, I have an automatic braid out style for when I get to go to the doctor, so I can look decent in public.

3. I keep my hair moisturized with Monoi de Tahiti oil and my shea butter/coconut oil concotion. I rub it into the braids daily or every other day.

4. To help keep my scalp clean between washing, after doing my braid outs and coming back to my cave of a bedroom, I scratch my scalp and rebraid my hair. I spray in water in my hair and apply my Monoi de Tahiti oil. That way I can reduce any build up on my scalp. I oil my scalp with the shea butter/coconut oil concoction so that it doesn't get dried out.

5. For daily protection I keep my hair covered with my L.B. Soc.

So far this has worked well, but it seems now I have more maintenance, and it is very hard to comb and detangle hair while laying down.

I Went Wild And Crazy And Flat Ironed My Hair

2009-11-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

So I went wild and flat ironed my hair. I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or what, but I did it. I have no regrets, OK I lie. I get nervous about putting heat on my hair. I only do it once or twice a year so it isn't a big deal, but still kind of scared about possible damage. Now I'm going to list the pros and cons of flat ironing my hair, and what I do to protect my hair from damage while flat ironing.

First I will talk about what I used and did to flat iron my hair:

I used a ceramic flat iron, using a medium setting, not the high setting to help prevent damage. I use a JRS Superstar Flat Iron. The Iron is literally 8 years old. I am embarrassed to say this, but I discovered it watching a Maury Povich make over show. It works well, but I really want a Maxiglide.

To protect my hair I used TRESemme Thermal Creations Straightening Gel. It is supposed to style and protect, and it seems to work ok. I used it on dry hair. I washed my hair the night before, braided it up into six sections, and in the morning I blow dried my hair with my Vidal Sassoon Ionizer on cool air a section at a time. Once the hair was dried, I applied the straightening gel to each section and combed it through with a big tooth comb.

Once I dried my hair and applied the heat protecting gel, I used my flat iron, combing small sections, then brushing them, then applying the flat iron. It took about two hours to flat iron my hair, which explains why I do it only once a year.

I have had the style for a week, and I have been conditioning it daily with Monoi de Tahiti oil, which is my new love. I've used my Jasmine and Ylang Ylang so far, and it is a great conditioner on dry hair. It is also great for your skin, and it smells really good. The Jasmine was a bit strong for me, but the Ylang Ylang was very nice. It's also good for hot oil treatments for your hair. It is essentially scented coconut oil, so if you don't want to spend the money on that, just go to the grocery store and get regular coconut oil, it works just as good.

The Pros:

I got a new hair style, something different.

I shows off my length. My hair now touches the top of my booty. I forget how long my hair is because I see it curly all the time.

My hair still feels soft.I attribute that to the Monoi de Tahiti oil.

The Cons:

It's time consuming to straighten your hair.

There is a possibility of damage.

My hair does not stay bone straight. After a day or two it will start to get a bit poofy and curl, as noted in the picture I took, four days post straightening. It takes away from the length of the 1st day.

You have to wrap your hair at night at my length, the silk pillowcase alone will not work. I use a L.B. Soc and my hair still peaks out the ends.

You have to comb your hair everyday, a quick fluff will not suffice.

With that said, it freaks me out when I comb I get a few strands of hair in it, probably from normal shedding, but it still freaks me out.

When you hair is straight, it isn't as even, because I normally cut it when it is curly and there are different lengths to different curls, so even though it looks all right curly, it isn't the blunt even cut on the ends I normally liked when I wore my hair straight.

To me, it is just more maintenance to maintain and care for straightened hair.

Overall:

If I ever get a maxiglide or some steam rollers, I might do this a bit more often than once a year, as long as there isn't much damage. I will probably continue to stay curly though, as my husband actually misses my curls and prefers them to the straight hair.

Product Review-Kakakiki KombBrush

2009-09-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased a Kakakiki KombBrush. People often rant and rave about the Denman brush, but as I have said before, it scares me.

I tried the KombBrush as a way to get really good detangle beyond finger combing. I used it when my hair was soaking wet. I wouldn't try to use it dry, except to help smooth down edges, but even then, I would use a regular brush for that.

It worked ok once I finger combed my hair, and I could see how it could benefit in clumping, but since I put product in my hair and rubbed my fingers all through it afterwards, it was a moot point. I might try it for clumping later, and post the results to see if I get bigger curls.

The product did not cause any damage to my hair, nor did I lose tons of hair. I do like that if you are running your brush too harsh by your brush bristles will break off, so to not break off your hair.

A good product at a decent price. You can get one here.

Curls By Sisters Smith

2009-09-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

As you guys may be aware, I am a huge fan of Curls By Sisters Smith. They make a good product, and it is reasonably priced. I am not going to talk about the products, but rather do a review on their customer service.

I placed an order a while ago for the Butter Me Up Hair Butter and Quick Fix Spritz. I received the order quickly as per usual, but it was missing a couple of my Butter Me Up Hair Butters. I was a little disappointed, and I emailed the company to inform them of the missing items. Within a day, they replied back, and shipped the items immediately, no questions asked. I was so impressed by this, and I was so happy that their customer service is so on point.

Many times the smaller companies don't have the man power or presence to attend to things so promptly, but they went out of their way to make sure I had a great shopping experience.

I am urging you product junkies out there, to not sleep on Curls By Sisters Smith, they have great products, great prices, and great customer service.

The Baking Soda Deep Conditioner Review

2009-08-29T08:20:00.001-07:00

This week I have been experimental. I decided to try the Baking Soda Deep Conditioning Treatment. This treatment supposedly leaves hair very soft, very moisturized, it is also said to be a nice alternative to texturizers, elongating the curls. It also is supposed to reduce frizz. I am interested in all except texturizing, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Baking soda has a ton of different uses, people often use it to wash and clarify their hair. So I figured it wasn't all that bad.

It is quite a simple recipe and can be altered to your tastes.

Baking Soda Deep Conditioner Treatment

1/2 cup Baking Soda
1 cup favorite Conditioner
1 tablespoon of oil (coconut, jojoba, olive, castor, whatever your favorite is). This ingredient is optional

You basically mix all the ingredients together and you are done. Well not really, you really have to keep mixing it because the baking soda will settle to the bottom of the bowl if left alone for a while.

This is what my mixture looked like.

To apply, first wash and detangle your hair. This is my hair detangled, towel dried, but still wet.

Then apply the mix as if you would a perm. I divided my hair into four sections and applied a little at a time to each section. I will say when I initially put it on, I felt a slight tingle, but it wasn't uncomfortable and went away after a few minutes.

Put your hair in a shower cap or plastic baggy for about an hour up to two hours, whatever you are comfortable with.Some folks have left this in all night, I am not that brave. I did an hour and twenty minutes. Some people keep this stuff in their hair for five hours at a time, apparently this relaxes the curl better, I don't want to relax my curls, I just want less frizz. Apparently to texturize, you should apply it dry. The directions can be found here.

Then I rinsed it out, doing another co-wash and then styled as usual.

I want to note when I applied the mixture to my hair, I did feel it made it easy to run my fingers through out, so I can see how it would be a good detangler. After washing out the mixture, my hair was much easier to detangle, and my curls look more elongated than usual while wet. While dry, my curls didn't look anymore elongated than usual, but my hair looked flat, less fluffy, I hope this is just 1st day hair and will fluff out when I sleep on it for awesome 2nd day hair. I will say I see less frizz.My hair doesn't feel softer, just feels like the norm. I also noticed my scalp was squeaky clean.

This is my hair dry.

Some people claim that the product smells like perm/relaxer, I did not find that to be the case, it smelled like my conditioner I used. I did notice right after I rinsed it out, my hair felt kind of reminiscent of hair after perm being rinsed out in terms of the "slick" feel, but that only lasted a minute in the shower, and once it was all rinsed out my hair felt normal.

This is 3rd day hair:

Brown Sugar Scrub

2009-08-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

I was getting a bad case of build-up on my scalp, due to less co-washing on my part, and decided I needed to do something to get rid of all that ickiness. I then went back to my tried and true Curly Girl
book, and of course there was a solution in there. The Brown Sugar Scrub. It is essentially mixing brown sugar and your favorite conditioner together to massage your scalp. I guess I will be more precise and tell you how I tweek this.

Brown Sugar Scrub:

2 tablespoons conditioner
1 tablespoon brown sugar

When hair is wet, mix together and massage your scalp with it. Rinse out with water.

I don't mix my conditioner together with the brown sugar, I find it dissolves the brown sugar too much. I apply the conditioner 1st, massage my scalp, and then add the brown sugar and massage that, and then rinse out.

It works wonders to get rid of buildup, and it is a fairly easy, cheap concoction to make.

Again Curly Girl To the rescue!!!!

Now I plan to try this Brown Sugar Vanilla Body Scrub recipe for my body.

Is Natural Hair Mainstreaming?

2009-08-19T18:38:00.001-07:00

The buzz of late is all about Tyra Banks. Tyra has decided to get rid of the weave and wigs. We've seen Tyra natural before. Anytime black or black natural hair is discussed, she breaks out the cornrows. It is the default natural style of Tyra. Now she didn't say she was going relaxer free, but weave free. Let's not get too ethnic!!!!! It has me thinking though, has embracing natural hair mainstreamed. Michelle Obama is supposedly perm free. Solange had people thinking she was crazy all because she did a big chop (which I thought was darling). Are celebrities embracing natural or weaveless hair now? Will people follow the celebrities in the realm of being wig and weave free? Or are folks like Tyra upset that they get talked about when they do shows on natural hair as they sit there with blonde weave in their hair telling folks to embrace themselves?

One post I STILL get comments on is this one. Now all I said, in my mind is it seems that black women beauty standards seem to embrace the European ideal. Why we feel the need to want blue or grey eyes, or blonde hair, or long flowing straight weave sometimes is questionable to me. People took that to mean I hate all people with weaves, weaves are the devil, and black women with long hair are now jealous and upset other black women can have long hair now.

I do wonder if these same people are the ones who used to ask me when I was going to get my "hair done" when I first went natural, or when I pressed it told me, someone must have "talked some sense into me"?

Why We All Need To Figure Out How To Do Natural Hair

2009-07-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

This mother has FAILED her child and she is teaching her that something is wrong with her hair and to hate her hair. Have black women really not figured out how to deal with natural hair? Seriously? This is so wrong on so many levels.

Do I Need To Quit Buying L'Oreal? Yeah I Do.

2009-06-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

Cross Posted @ Siditty

I thank my twitter friend, Froward1 for the link.

I can sit silent no longer with L'Oreal. I didn't act a fool when they lightened Beyonce's already light skin in the Feria ads so she could appear to be "less ethnic". I knew it was bad, but I don't really use many L'Oreal products anyway, so it was so sweat off my back. I know that to mainstream advertisers, the closer to white, the better, that is the norm.

What I am discussing now shouldn't be the norm, and proves that racism continues in the corporate world. L'Oreal was found guilty of racism. In France they purposely set out to hire all white salespeople to sell Garnier Fructis shampoo in French supermarkets. If you don't know L'Oreal is based in France, so I am sure they have a pretty strong presence there, like they do here. What makes it bad is that there was a fax sent in 2000 from an executive which said that "Garnier's hostesses should be aged 18 to 22, wear size 38 to 42 clothes and be "BBR"."

So in order to sell supermarket brand shampoo, you should be under 22, because anything older is gross and geriatric, you should be 4 to 8 in US sizes, because if you are too fat the effects of the shampoo are limited, and you need to be white. For those who don't know "BBR" "stands for "bleu, blanc, rouge" (blue, white, red) — the colours of the French flag — and is a well-known code for white people, La Cour de Cassation was told."

Asians, arabs, and blacks don't fall under the category of "BBR" and we all know that they couldn't possibly use Garnier Fructis shampoo. It is only made for "white hair". All other races need not apply.

This is what I worry about when I talk about racism. Not the KKK, or being called the n-word, or even folks telling insensitive jokes. I am concerned about how this racism directly impacts minorities. Being excluded because you are not considered presentable due to the color of your skin is an issue. Being denied a job because a company has an ideal image to uphold, and your color isn't considered an ideal, but rather unacceptable.

I say since L'Oreal can't get right, I can't get right. I will throw out the very few products I have that are owned by L'Oreal, and I will make sure I will no longer purchase anything from this company. They need to know minorities and people over the age of 22 buy their products, and that without minorities and "old people" buying from them, it affects their bottom line. No more of these products for me, as I am too black and old to use them.

L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, Softsheen Carson, CCB Paris, L'Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Redken, Matrix, Mizani, Shu Uemura Art of Hair, Lancôme, Biotherm, Helena Rubinstein, Kiehl's, Shu Uemura, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Cacharel, Viktor & Rolf, Diesel, YSL Beauté, Vichy, La Roche Posay, innéov, Skinceuticals, Sanoflore, and The Body Shop.

L'Oreal owns way more things than I ever thought they could.I have more stuff than I thought owned by them. No more Body Shop for me, I guess I will have to settle for Lush. L'Oreal seems to own a lot of well known brands. Brands I won't be buying, not that I bought much of the stuff anyway, but it is shocking to see how much L'Oreal actually owns.

If I am not good enough to work for L'Oreal on the basis of my age and color, I sure as hell am not good enough to buy the products, right?

I want to know how Beyonce or any celebrity is sitting up smiling as a spokesperson for L'Oreal while all this stuff is going on? What does that say about them and if these celebrities are promoting these products, do they promote racism and ageism? Are these minority and model celebrity endorsements L'Oreal pandering to the minority market, or are things changing in the L'Oreal workplace? It seems to me, they are pandering while maintaining the status quo.

Let's look at the celebrity spokespeople that themselves would be excluded from ever selling Garnier Fructis in French supermarkets:

Penelope Cruz, Andi McDowell, Milla Jovovich, Gong Li, you gals are all too old. Andi you haven't seen 22 in a while. Penelope, Milla, and Gong 22 is becoming a distant memory for you. Penelope isn't even white enough. Gong has the audacity to look Asian.

Diane Keaton, she is white, but she is WAY over the hill, she couldn't possibly sell shampoo.

Beyonce has the audacity to be black and old.

Linda Evangelista needs to go sit down, after all old women can't sell shampoo, not even old supermodels.

Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington, both of you know you are too dark and too old. Eva isn't white, Mexicans apparently don't use Garnier Fructis. Kerry, you are darker than Beyonce, you should know better than to think you have any selling power.

I mean if these women aren't even good enough to sell to French supermarkets, why the hell would you make them spokespeople L'Oreal?

Make Up Fun

2009-06-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

OK You guys, this is my rainbow bright look.This is not the look you want to wear to work, but since it is summer, I wanted to do something fun and use literally every color in the rainbow, sans red. I have on shimmery orange, yellow, green, purple, and a shimmer brown to tone it down a bit. This is a fun look for a CASUAL day wearing bright colors. Do not wear this to the office thinking this is cute. Please.

Make Up Review

2009-06-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

This palette was really inexpensive. I bought it so I could play with and experiment with colors fairly inexpensively. More videos to come.

Makeup

2009-06-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

I am so excited. I bought some pigments of ebay. I also bought an eye shadow and a lipstick palette. I should be set for life on eye makeup and lipstick colors. I thought it would be fun to play with them. I will be giving a review on all of these things as they arrive.

Makeup Review: Covergirl Lash Blast Vs. Rimmel London Glam'Eyes

2009-06-12T20:02:00.001-07:00

OK For all those who don't know. I have very fine, almost non-existent eyelashes. Fake lashes were made for folks like me. Unfortunately for me, I am horrible with fake eyelashes, so I rely heavily on mascara for daily makeup use. Now both of these mascaras were supposed to plump up my eyelashes, something I desperately needed, since without mascara, I look like I have no eyelashes.

The first product I tried was the Covergirl Lash Blast. I put it on, and it worked as a mascara, but I didn't notice any big difference between that and my regular mascara I use. Before purchasing Lash Blast, I was using E.L.F. Earth and Water duo mascara. It worked ok, but honestly, it was a $1, I don't expect much. Plus for some reason the mascara on the "water" side always seems to dry up. Of course, it is a $1, what do I expect? The problem with Covergirl Lash Blast is that I paid more than a dollar for it. I paid over $8 for it. Like I said, it worked ok, but considering it was supposed to give me long, lush, lashes, I expected more. One positive is that it is waterproof, but other than that, not really the best mascara I have ever used.

Next is Rimmel London Glam'Eyes. This stuff is truth. I swear it looked like I had some full thick lashes!! The best part about this is I spent less than $5 on this mascara and the tube is cute as all get out. It is pink and black with a little fishnet design. The only downside to this, it this mascara is not waterproof.

All in all Rimmel is the best of the two I tried, if you actually have lashes the Covergirl might suffice, but for those of us with invisible lashes, Rimmel is the way to go.

Natural Hair and Interracial Relationships

2009-06-03T07:29:00.001-07:00

Crossposted from Siditty

So over at The Coil Review(might have to scroll down or up to see part I or II), they have an interesting concept going on. They have a white guy writing about his experiences with his black girlfriend while she transitions from relaxed hair to natural hair. As you guys all know I am a natural head. Finding these articles were double gold for me.Interracial relationships and natural hair? You don't find stuff like this to blog about often. Most black women are still relaxing or wearing weave. Now over at the Coil Review, they are pretty strict about what they consider natural hair. Folks who flat iron on a regular basis, wear weave or wigs, or use texturizer per them are not truly natural heads (scroll down the page over at the Coil Review to see the article "A Natural Technicality" to get a full understanding of what I am talking about). So I think this guy is learning the whole, dirty, truth about natural hair.

My husband had some clue because I wasn't the first black girl he ever dated. He knew about the concept of weave and relaxers, although not completely. He once asked me why my hair never grew, and I had to explain to him it does and that I give it a good blunt cut every three or four months, about an inch or two each and every time, I just did it in the bathroom, instead of at the beauty shop. He truly just didn't know. Then he moved in with me (or should I say I moved in with him, it was his apartment before it was mine). Just to start it off, I can count on one hand how many times in my life I have been to the beauty shop. I grew up with a cheap momma who did at home relaxer kits, had the hot comb heated on the stove, and trims were done in front of a bathroom mirror. I continued to do that as I left the house. It was then he learned what a "perm" truly was as he saw me put my own Just For Me perm (yes I used kiddie perm, I hve a sensitive scalp). in the bathroom of his apartment. He then saw my chemical burns the next day where I didn't wash it out good. He then asked me why I permed my hair if it was all that trouble. I couldn't really give him an answer. That was my last relaxer, and then for years after that I became a flat iron queen. It was time consuming and damaging to me hair. Then a few years back I said to hell with flat irons and went for the gusto with rocking my curly hair. I've been a natural head ever since.

A lot of men, black, white, or the other really don't understand the relationship black women have with their hair. He didn't understand why I was scared of humidity or had to mentally prepare myself for swimming. He didn't understand why I swore that flat ironing my hair was an invitation for a rain storm and how I hated rainy days. Or why after doing my hair I didn't want him playing in my hair. It isn't his fault, he is a guy with relatively short hair, he goes to pro-cuts, he washes his hair daily in the shower and all he does when he gets out is comb it back and throw in some gel. His hair dries in 10 minutes tops. Most men don't think to do hot oil treatments. It isn't their fault, they don't have to deal with it.

Black women have a unique issue when it comes to our hair. We have pretty much been told it was a burden. It is a bit time consuming. You can spend all day or several hours putting a relaxer in your hair. You are told in order to look acceptable it must be straight. That people assume if you don't have straight hair, you are making a political statement. Or that you are just too lazy or cheap to get you hair "done". The concept of swimming can be frightening. So can the concept of rain. As you know after these activities are done you will be fighting with your hair to get it back to it's straightened state.

When a white guy has to see the transition, it can be a bit daunting, and like this guy learned, he can come off as insensitive. Yeah,the hair doesn't always look pretty when transitioning. My husband for years thought the only hair styles I could do is a bun or ponytail. I didn't know to do the big chop back in 1999. So I transitioned by way of trimming over time. I remember feeling my hair was ugly and him hounding me to take my hair out of a bun. It can also be frustrating because the concept of length is skewed.

My husband prefers longer hair. When my hair was straight it looked longer, but with curls you get shrinkage, taking way that length. Most people never truly realize how long my hair is until they see it flat ironed, with is rarely if ever. So that is another obstacle, to explain to people the concept of shrinkage, I wouldn't think I would have to, but I do. Not to mention the whole "you should wear your hair like that more often" comments. Don't you know straight always equals better? ::sarcasm:: I as per usual, digress.

One thing I did notice was with white people they didn't seem to be repulsed by my hair, they thought it was odd, but they didn't ask me when I was going to go get it "done". My husband actually likes it because I spend less time in the bathroom and I am less inclined to fear rain or humidity. That and he can actually touch my hair without fear of drawing back a nub. I think guys overall still prefer the straight look, but white guys who are open to dating black women seem to be more open to the concept of "natural hair".

Overall understanding and accepting black woman's hair is a big task for black women, it is nice to see a white man at least trying to understand black hair and the black woman's relationship with it.

The Coil Review Relaunch

2009-06-03T04:39:00.000-07:00

The Coil Review Re Launch from Tricia (T. Mezz) Messeroux on Vimeo.

This is genius!!!!! I get a monthly newsletter from The Coil Review, but I was emailed and asked to review this.I can only say it is awesome. I absolutely love it!!!!!! A win for us natural heads everywhere!!!!!! Surfing the site, it has a whole new look, and it could be a great resource for natural hair.

Wet Hair At Night?

2009-05-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

OK For some reason I have fears of sleeping with my wet hair down. Usually if I am sleeping with wet hair it is in a bun or in braids. So my question is this has anyone ever done a wash n go at night? If so what were the results? I would imagine that would be a tangling issue, as well as a frizz issue. Has anyone ever been brave enough to wash n go and then go to sleep?

Hair Secrets Revealed-I Am Scared To Death of Denman Brushes

2009-05-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

These things scare me. I know that for clumping and styling curly hair they are all the rage. People swear by them, but I look at them and think the goal is to rip out all my hair. My hair does well with finger combing or a wide tooth comb, I don't know how a brush can be good for detangling. Even as a permie I always was told to detangle with a comb, not a brush. Let me know folks do denman brushes work for you? I am a finger comber who follows up with a wide tooth comb and that gets my hair pretty detangled. Maybe my fear comes from the fact it deviates too much from the Curly Girl method?

$1 Conditioner Dare I?

2009-05-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

So today I went shopping and came across a bargain. Alberto V05 Moisture Milks Conditioner. $1. ONE DOLLAR!!!! I gotta check it out. I read the ingredient list making sure there are little to no cones. NO SILICONES. I promptly bought three. I will be giving you guys a co-wash update as a result. I am so excited. $3 for 3 bottle of conditioner, you can't beat that!!!!

Hot Oil Treatment-Jamaican Black Castor Oil

2009-04-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have just done a hot oil treatment using molasses, peppermint oil, a drop of palm kernel oil, and jamaican black castor oil. It is a modification of a previous hot oil treatment I did. I only had a dollop of palm kernal oil, so I basically substituted the castor oil. One complaint I have about jamaican black castor oil, is that at room temperature, it is pretty sticky, but heating it up, makes it much easier to handle. It still smells like an Andes Mint like the last hot oil treatment because of the molasses, and covers up the more "earthy" smell of the black castor oil, which is a mild complaint I have, it doesn't straight up stink, but it doesn't smell like roses either.

I wet my hair and applied the concoction. I put hair up in a plastic bag and let it sit in my hair for about an hour. I rinsed out the hot oil treatment in the shower and then to clarify I used vinegar and water to rinse and wash the hair. I co-washed and then rinsed out. Reapplied what was left of the vinegar and water mixture and used my tried and true Suave Naturals conditioner as leave in. Then I did my normal routine sans the spritz (I don't really spritz much anymore, and then I plopped my hair.

It worked out pretty well. My hair was it's usual soft self, it took a little longer than usual to dry, but we think that is because of te thickness of the castor oil. Great deep conditioning though.

The Hair Typing Debate

2009-03-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

I came across this video on hair typing. As you know, in the past I have discussed hair typing, and I know it is kind of controversial. I understand now. I on occasion get emails and comments from people who swear up and down we have the same hair type. Some we definitely do have the same hair type and I love trying to compare and contrast hair routines. Others I just don't say anything because their hair doesn't seem to be the same type, or many times folks will show my pics of a twist out or in twists and/or their hair in an altered state, so I can't really tell their hair type.

i consider myself a 3c with some 3b, depending on what part of my head you go to. I went here to type my hair initially. Overall consensus over at that site agreed with the typing. Some folks say 3b, some say 3c, some say 4a, but overall I get 3c with some 3b mixed in. Since hair typing is really kind of subjective and it varies slightly depending upon the source you use, I don't get mad if someone tells me a "coarser" texture than I assume. If anything I use that as an opportunity to make more product purchases so I can experiment with my hair even more.

On the flip side of hair typing, there is the notion it is a new way for people to reignite the "good hair" vs. "bad hair" debate. The video I posted has comments that show this. Now this woman indicates she is 3c, I don't think she is, and a few other people in the comments section indicated she was probably more of a 4a, than 3c. I think the criticism comes from the fact her video was to inform people on how to hair type, and the fact that those of us familiar already feel that she is quite correct on typing her own hair. She gets offended when people tell her that her hair might not be 3c. Yes, some are rude about it, but others seem to just be offering an FYI, and it still seems to upset her. Now I have seen her hair wet and dry, and it does seem she is incorrect. Being labeled a 3B/3C, it appears we don't have the same texture of hair. I do feel she does in many of her videos provide informative information, but this video it seems she is off the mark, that is just my opinion. I also will note that in my ten years of being nappy, I have only in the last few years been aware of the hair typing system. It helped me figure out how to define my curls, but it didn't really affect my life either or. I think "hair typing" in this context isn't very conducive to natural hair care.

Hair Update: Not much of one

2009-03-27T01:27:00.001-07:00

I know I have severely neglected this blog, but hey, I got other things to be worried about right now LOL. I am currently rocking a bun. I have used my jamaican castor oil, but it isn't the miracle product I thought it would be. It works well as a daily moisturizer, but when applying it to wet hair, it makes my hair hard to comb through, even after detangling. It does deep condition well. I use it mostly as a skin moisturizer after a shower and a way to moisturize the ends before I put my hair into my bun. I need to try it as a hot oil treatment, as I think it would be beneficial, as it is very heavy, would probably be better in penetrating my hair.

The Herbal Essences conditioner, I am going back to Suave Naturals, it just works better, more slip.

Coconut Milk Hair Soak Update/New Product Purchase

2009-02-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would update you on my coconut milk hair soak. It actually has kept my hair soft all week. In matter of fact, I haven't washed my hair in a week again. Pregnancy has made me hair lazy. I will have to go ahead and start wearing some protective styles as well, instead of trying to wear my hair down, as it causes tangles if I don't wash it for a week.

I also bought some stuff, but have yet to use it or in today's case receive it. First I bought some Herbal Essences Totally Twisted as a result of reading this information over at Tightly Curly. She says this makes a great combing conditioner/leave in, better than the suave naturals I have been using. So I decided to try it, I purchased it for about $3.00 at Target. I'm kind of scared, as it is a cone, but hey, it can't hurt to try it right? I can go back to my tried and trusty Suave Naturals later on.

My second purchase is Jamaican Black Castor Oil. It apparently is great for your hair, can induce labor if ingested in large enough amounts, and also makes a great laxative. Since this is a hair blog, I decided to buy it for my hair. I purchased it from Sam's Caribbean. It is about $10.00 for an 8 oz. bottle, but shipping is $10. So I decided to buy a couple of bottles to justify shipping. The reason I bought Jamaican black castor oil was to see if it makes my hair thicker, softer, and stronger. Thickness isn't an issue, but softness and strength is important, so I figure it can't hurt to try, and like most things I use in my hair, it is multi purpose, I can also use it on my skin as a moisturizer.

So hopefully I will give you updates on my product purchases at a later time.

Coconut Milk Hair Soak

2009-02-01T05:31:00.001-08:00

It has been a while since I washed my hair. Almost a week, which is like an eternity to me, and I figured my hair could use some TLC, especially since it had not literally been detangled in a week. This time I decided to try coconut milk as my deep conditioner. I got this from of course, Mixed Up by Ayesha Fleary aka Najahface. I also found some additional information here, here, and here.

The first thing I do is open up a can of coconut milk. I used Goya coconut milk. I used this milk because it is inexpensive. Looking at most places on the web, most women did not use the whole can, since I have so much hair, I decided to use the whole entire can of coconut milk. I applied it to my dry and dirty hair. I then put a plastic baggy on my head (you can use a cheapo shower cap, but again so much hair doesn't fit into one, which is why I use my TOPAZ shower cap). I then sat around for a few hours. Once thing I noticed is almost immediately that my hair soaked up the milk, not much dripping going on, even using the whole can, my hair must have been really dry. It smells wonderful, if you like the smell of coconut, this will be a pleasant experience, if you do not, be warned, you will smell like a coconut. The application was a little messy, as I worked straight from the can, but not so much so that I couldn't cope. Be sure to put a towel around you when you apply the milk to your head for less of a mess. The plastic baggy is to keep the milk from dripping all over the place when you let it sit for a while on your head. Apparently some folks mix their coconut milk with honey or olive oil or even lime juice. Apparently coconut milk mixed with lime juice can "relax" the curl. I am not sure as that is not my interest, but I will say the coconut milk was great in helping to detangled my neglected hair. So I kept the coconut milk in for three hours to make sure it was able to penetrate my hair. Kind of time consuming, you can do other things around the house, but because of the plastic baggy, you might want to stay at home instead of going out and about.

My hair with coconut milk in it:

My hair after washing out the coconut milk:

My hair dry:

Overall results. It is an ok deep conditioner, but I think I prefer my other deep conditioners. Less time consuming, and they left my hair feeling softer. I also didn't see the relaxing of my curls as reported. I would say this is a great inexpensive way to deep condition, but not the best for my hair. It might work wonders for your hair, everyone is different.

Good Hair

2009-01-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

Chris Rock just produced a documentary that was an entry at the Sundance Festival about black people and the black hair care industry. I can't wait to see it. Here is the story:

Rock's `Good Hair' documentary is film fest entry
By DAVID GERMAIN – 2 days ago

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Chris Rock was having a good hair day at the Sundance Film Festival.

Hours after President Barack Obama's inauguration, Rock sat down to talk about his Sundance entry, "Good Hair," a hilarious examination of the cultural pressures that prod blacks into costly, often painful methods to care for their hair.
The idea first hit Rock in the mid-1990s on a standup tour through Atlanta, where he came across the Bronner brothers hair show, a glitzy convention for black stylists.

"I thought, wow, this would make a great movie, but that was like 15 years ago, and no one was making funny documentaries 15 years ago," Rock said in an interview Tuesday alongside Nia Long, one of many actresses and other celebrities Rock interviews in the film.

"So you cut to now, and I have daughters, and I'm really dealing with them and their hair a lot, and my friends have daughters, and we talk about our daughters' hair issues. I kind of saw where to go at it, and now people are making funny documentaries," he said.

"Good Hair," one of 16 films in Sundance's U.S. documentary competition, follows Rock from the Bronner brothers show to neighborhood salons, businesses dealing in hair-care products and the streets of India, where human hair is a huge export industry for hair weaves.

"I was kind of scared to come to Sundance in a sense, because I think this is the blackest movie ever made," said Rock, a producer and co-writer on the film. "So I was kind of scared to come to Utah, because it's so white."
But Rock said Sundance crowds have given "Good Hair" an enthusiastic reception, bolstering his hopes that it can find a broad audience. Produced by HBO, "Good Hair" eventually will air on the cable channel, but Rock and his collaborators are considering a theatrical release first.

While loaded with the 43-year-old actor-comedian's wisecracking humor, "Good Hair" also raises serious questions about identity and equality among black women who feel they need long, straight, silky hair to fit into white society.
"It's this whole thing about approval. That approval is not simply, `I want white people to love me.' It's like, `I need a job. I want to move forward, and if I have a hairstyle that is somewhat intimidating, that's going to stop me from moving forward,'" said Nelson George, executive producer of "Good Hair."

Rock interviews women who undergo hair-relaxing treatments with chemicals that burn their scalps and others who pay thousands of dollars for hair weaves. Along the way, he trades witty, insightful observations with such figures as Maya Angelou, the Rev. Al Sharpton, actresses Raven-Symone and Tracie Thoms, and singers Eve and Ice-T.
Long talks candidly in the film about her own perms and weaves, but in the interview with Rock, she also speaks hopefully about how Obama, his wife and their two daughters can help blacks overcome the cultural inferiority complex that prompts them to change their hair.

"Just seeing that family photo and seeing the daughters with their hair in cornrows sometimes, it resonates for me in such a huge way," Long said. "I just feel finally we have an image that's the most powerful image in our country that actually is a part of who I am."

Rock also reveled in Obama's inauguration, but he joked about another hurdle still facing blacks.

"Excellent black people have always been compensated for excellence. Always," Rock said. "The real equality is when we can have a black president as dumb as George Bush. That's when we're really equal. That's when the dream has come true."
HBO is owned by Time Warner Inc.

Hot Oil Treatment

2009-01-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

I decided to make my own hot oil treatment for my hair using my peppermint oil. I mixed some molasses, the last of my palm kernel oil, and a few drops of peppermint, and heated it up. I used molasses due to the nutrients in it like copper, magnesium, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, phosphorous, Pantothenic acid, vitamin E and Inositol. It is also good for keeping dark hair dark and supposedly makes gray hair dark as well. It also has sulphur in it, which is great for growing hair. The palm kernel oil is great because of the moisturizing properties, and the peppermint oil is great for stimulating the scalp and promoting hair growth.

I mixed equal parts molasses and palm kernel oil, heated that up, added a few drops of peppermint. Added it to freshly washed, but not detangled hair and wrapped a warm towel around it for about 45 minutes. RInsed it out in the shower using my Dr. Bronner's soap, and then did my usual routine of co-washing and my products afterwards.

My hair feels unnaturally soft, looks shiny, and overall I am impressed with my own homemade concoction. My husband loved the smell of the molasses and peppermint oil together, saying I smelled like an Andes Mint when I had the treatment in my head. Of course he thinks it is crazy I put food in my hair, he always asks me if I am making cookies when I make some of my homemade concoctions.

I posted a pic of my hair. It is second day, unstyled hair aka bed head, so please forgive me.

Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile Soap

2009-01-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

So the other day, while looking for some stuff at the Sprout's they just built by my house, I found some Dr. Bronner's Castille soap. I have heard many people rave about this product as it has a gazillion uses. You can use it as shampoo, body soap, toothpaste (yeah toothpaste), for cleaning your tile and floors, to a million other uses. I tried it as a body wash and shampoo. Now usually I go shampoo-less, and use black soap for my body. I love black soap, and I am a true convert to the black soap love, but I decided to use a shampoo since I was doing a hot oil treatment that I will post about later. I love this stuff as a shampoo, usually shampoo leaves my hair feeling completely stripped and feeling hard, but this soap left my hair really soft, and it felt really clean. I also enjoyed the tingle it left in my hair from the peppermint. If you don't like the idea of tingle, there are other fragrances such as almond, rose, citrus, tea tree, eucalyptus, lavendar, etc.

All in all as a body wash and shampoo it is a great product. It isn't too harsh on the hair, it is cone free, and it is fair trade. The best part of all is it is relatively inexpensive. A little goes a long way and a 16 oz. bottle should last a long time, and it is less than $10 for the 16 oz. bottle.

Peppermint Oil Fun

2009-01-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

I made some of my whipped coconut oil and shea butter and thought to add some of my peppermint oil. It smells and looks heavenly. I usually do half coconut oil/half shea, but this batch is slightly more coconut oil than shea, which gives it a more white color. My usual coconut oil/shea has more of a yellow color due to the unrefined shea butter I use:

Probably not a good picture to show contrast, but trust me it is more yellow than the first pic.

I added just a few drops of peppermint, and it makes it smell heavenly. I think it might be wonderful for my scalp, and it is supposedly great for stimulating hair growth. It can also be used on the skin for circulation, but considering my situation (I'm pregnant) I was a bit nervous about slathering it all over my body, even though smelling peppermint oil is supposed to suppress nausea, which would be a life saver right now. It also is supposed to eliminate dandruff and can be used to get rid of lice. Peppermint oil might go great in a hot oil treatment as well. I think I will try a hot oil treatment of palm kernel oil and peppermint. The sweet smell of the palm kernel oil and peppermint oil should be heavenly.

The shea butter and coconut oil make for a great daily hair conditioner, as well as a body moisturizer. It is supposedly a great way to help limit and prevent stretch marks too. I have been using it for a year with great results skin wise and hair wise. I just use an egg beater to blend the shea butter and coconut oil that has been heated in a double boiler to give it a whipped texture.

Anyway I will be using peppermint oil in other ways and I plan to update you soon on some other product purchases :)

Split Ends Part II

2008-12-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

I did another search and destroy mission, with very nice results. This winter has been harsh on my hair, it feels so dry, so I have resigned myself to doing hot oil treatments weekly and wearing protective styles, i.e. the bun, my husband's favorite hairstyle :)

Here is a good video on how to do a bun:

Part 1

Part 2

Peppermint Oil

2008-12-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am contemplating buying some essential oils. The first on my list is peppermint oil, as the idea of peppermint at this time of year is overwhelming :) Not to mention I hear it stimulates hair growth and is great for skin. I also want to buy lavender oil and others. I am wanting to change up some of my hair concoctions and try new things. I am buying some off of Amazon. When I receive the products, I will give you a review.

Olive Oil/Honey Deep Conditioning Results

2008-10-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

The results of my hair after the honey and olive oil deep conditioning treatment.

Wet

Dry

Notice I am showing you the results where you can see I have two different textures of hair. You can see how it works on 3b/c hair and 3c/4a ish hair.

Natural Hair Care In A Recession

2008-10-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Over the past year I have attempted to put my product junkism aside and focus on being cost effective, while still maintaining my natural locks. So for those of us who don't want to devote a mortgage payment to products, what do we use. Well here are my suggestions for those on a budget:

Shampoo:

Try a vinegar or apply cider vinegar rinse. It is really awesome for your hair. It gives it shine, it also works as a great detangler. One tablespoon per one cup of water. Here is a recipe for vinegar and baking soda shampoo. You can also try Castille soap. You can get a gallon for $32.99 at Amazon. That should last a while considering you can water it down so it can last longer. You can also use black soap. Both castille soap and black soap can be used on your hair and body.

Conditioner:

This isn't natural, but it is uber cheap. Suave Naturals. It costs about $3 or $4 a bottle, and then if you catch a sale, less than $2. If that is not an option a great natural conditioner is olive oil. It is great to help in detangling. I personally have never tried this, but people claim it is the best thing ever. You can also do honey and olive oil. It also makes for a great hot oil or deep conditioning treatment. Coconut milk is known for it's conditioning properties as well.

Daily Conditioner or moisturizing:

Olive oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, if pretty broke I have heard of people using regular vegetable oil and even vegetable shortening. Shea butter is kind of pricey. Coconut oil, is very inexpensive and most of these thing you can use on your hair and skin, as well as cook with them. Truly multupurpose.

Hot Oil Treatments:

Look at daily conditioners above. Warm it up, put it on wet hair wrap it in a towel, and sit for 30 minutes. Deep conditioning. For deep conditioning try honey, molasses, yogurt, mayonnaise, egg, banana, and avocado.

For curl definition:

Aloe Vera Gel works wonders. For a great natural product is Curls By Sister Smith, Wet Set Hair Pudding .
A 16 oz jar will last you months and is only $11.05.

You can have awesome hair, use great products and not break the bank.

2008-10-19T07:38:00.001-07:00

TOPAZ Shower Cap and other updates

2008-10-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

You know how I know I have too much hair. I use two shower caps to cover my hair in the shower between wash days. At least I did, now I have the TOPAZ shower cap. I am very happy with this creation as it completely protects ALL of my hair. I am contemplating buying a couple of more, as I am so excited I did not have to create my own super duper shower cap, that always falls off in the shower and gets my hair wet, not that it is a big deal, but it extends out my hair prep from two minutes to almost five :)

It is a bit pricey in terms of the shower cap market, the ones I usually get are only around a dollar and this one is $10, $15.95 with shipping, but the quality of this shower cap is much nicer. It is machine washable. You can't beat that. It is ideal for locs, and people with a ton of curly hair like me :) A definite buy. Also the Loc Soc is a great product too, I used it back in the day when I was pressing my hair, I used it to wrap my head at night before the purchase of silk pillowcases to keep it off my neck at night to ensure my hair stayed relatively straight. I bought that product about four or five years ago, and it is still in pretty decent shape after several wears and washes.

*****Deodorant update*****

I need to research this "natural" Arm & Hammer deodorant, it works almost too well considering it claims to be paraben and aluminum free.

*****Honey and Olive Oil Hair Treatment with Vinegar Wash Update*******

My hair has stayed well moisturized, shiny, and very soft these last few days. Definitely will try again.

Split Ends Yuck!!!!!

2008-10-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

So I hadn't trimmed my hair in a long while, I usually flat iron it to trim it, but I wanted to see if it was possible to trim without straightening, not because I am scared of heat, but because I am too lazy to spend three hours doing it, plus whenever I straighten my hair, it summons the rain gods to ensure it will only stay straight for 30 minutes.

So I did a split end search. I grabbed each curl and inspected for split ends, if I saw some I trimmed them, just a bit, if I didn't I still trimmed just a bit so my hair wouldn't be too uneven, of course it is hard to tell when your hair is curly how even or uneven it actually is. As a safety precaution, I decided after my trimming the other day to do a split end repair recipe I got out of my favorite natural hair care book, Mixed Up by Ayesha Fleary aka Najahface. Note, there is no way to fix split ends other than trimming them off, but this is good for deep conditioning the hair. Of course I didn't follow the instructions to a tee, but hey, I don't think my alterations really mattered.

I used some regular clover honey (yeah I know not vegan), some olive oil, and palm kernel oil (this was not in the recipe, it called for Rosemary Oil, I didn't have any, so I figured this palm kernel oil couldn't hurt to add for extra moisture) and heated it up.

I then went into the shower to saturate my hair with water and applied the mix and then wrapped my head in a warm towel for 30 minutes. I washed my hair as usual, then conditioned and detangled, rinsed out my conditioner and did a vinegar rinse.

For the vinegar rinse: It called for apple cider vinegar, but all I had was plain old white vinegar, and upon searching the internet I learned it could be used in my hair, even though apple cider vinegar is preferred. I mixed a tablespoon of vinegar with a cup or cup and a half of cold water and after rinsing the conditioner out of my hair, I applied and massaged my scalp as well as ran it through my hair. I then rinsed again.

I then applied my conditioner again (as I use it as my leave in) and styled as usual (aka the wash and go).

I will give you the results of this when this dries, but my hair looks great wet.

Even if it doesn't cure split ends, this mix will make a great deep conditioner I could use monthly in lieu of a hot oil treatment.

Deodorant Update

2008-10-15T08:49:00.001-07:00

OK I need to update you on my deodorant experiment. The homemade deodorant was too harsh on my underarm skin. It stung to put it on. It also literally burned off a layer of skin. Not pretty. I will be putting a warning at the original post to protect folks.

However, I did find a cheaper alternative to Tom's of Maine. Apparently Arm and Hammer makes an aluminum and paraben free deodorant, and it is significantly less than Tom's of Maine. I tested it's effectiveness the other day when I took my brother and sister to the fair. It held up pretty well, considering is was over 90 degrees outside and we were in full sun the majority of the day, but by the end of the day, it's effectiveness waned, but to be fair, on a day like that, Tom's of Maine would have waned as well. It doesn't burn off my arm pits, so I would say it is a good deal. I was able to get it at my local grocery, so it is something that should be easy to find. The only downside is it claims to be natural deodorant, but the first three or four ingredients I can't even pronounce, so I don't know exactly how natural it truly is, I just know it works well and doesn't have the things that caused me to consider natural deodorant to begin with.

I might try this deodorant next. You know I got lots of love for coconut oil, so this might be right up my alley.

The Plopping or Plunking Experiment

2008-10-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

So as you guys know, I have a lot of hair. I can take DAYS to dry. I usually walk around with a wet head. With winter coming up, I decided to try plopping or plunking. Plopping is a method to enhance curls and shorten drying time of your hair.

You plop or plunk your hair by: Spreading an old t-shirt or micro-fiber towel onto a flat surface (such as the toilet with seat down). Bend over at the waist and position your hair in the middle of the cloth. With your head touching the cloth, drape the back section of cloth over your head. Twist the sides until they form "sausage rolls" and clip or tie them at the base of your neck. After 15-30 minutes remove the cloth.[1] If your hair is frizzy after plopping lightly graze the hair with gel.

You can get these instructions, here or here. Here is a video on how to plop:

I will say it did shorten my drying time a bit, but not as quick as putting heat on my hair. In terms of curl definition, I didn't notice much difference, but it didn't make my hair frizzy or horrible looking either.

This is a nice method to keep your hair from dripping on your clothes on the days you wash in the morning and are in a hurry to get to work, but it didn't make my curls "pop" anymore than usual.

This is so cute!!!!!!

2008-10-11T10:13:00.001-07:00

Hair Rules, the product that I cannot say I know about, but this video I can so relate to.

Hair Types

2008-09-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

There has been a debate on hair types on my other blog, and I thought I would bring it over here, since this is the hair blog :)

The discussion is about hair typing has thrown people off. I will say this, most people don't really know their hair type. Black Hair Media has a great post on this. Number one, if you relax, you never really see it, and if you are transitioning, you really don't see it until you get 3 to 4 inches of new growth. If you type your hair when wet, it isn't very helpful either. Also note many times, you won't just have one type. I have at least two on me. I have been relaxer free since 1999, so I think it is safe for me to assume my hair type. I just learned my hair type maybe a year and a half ago. I did it to determine how I could style my hair outside of a bun or ponytail afro puff. For almost nine years, I never once thought to wear my hair down unless it was flat ironed.

It is hard to describe hair types, but I am going to try. I will start with 3b hair:

Per Naturally Curly

"Type 3B, on the other hand, is hair with a medium amount of curl, ranging from bouncy ringlets – think of Shirley Temple – to tight corkscrews"

In my interpretation of this, 3b would be something like this:

Then you have 3c hair, which we be described per Naturally Curly is:

"Type 3C, is hair with tight curls in corkscrews. The curls can be either kinky, or very tightly curled, with lots and lots of strands densely packed together. Some people refer to this as "big hair." Getting this type of hair to blowdry straight is more challenging than for 3A or 3B, but it usually can be done. This includes those with very tight curls but finer hair, as well as coarser hair. 3C has really really tight curls, like pencil or straw circumference. 3B is like sidewalk chalk or salt shaker circumference, and 4A is like coffee stirrer circumference."

My interpretation of 3c hair:

It is just more tightly coiled and less wave.

4a hair is:

"Type 4A, tightly coiled hair that, when stretched, has an "S" pattern, much like curly hair"

My interpretation of 4a hair is:

definitive coils are detected, if stretched it would look like an "S"

4b hair is

" Type 4B, which has a "Z" pattern, less of a defined curl pattern (instead of curling or coiling, the hair bends in sharp angles like the letter "Z")."

Again my interpretation.

Now in regards to the hair typing system. Some feel it is a new version of "good hair" vs. "bad hair", and I definitely can see that happening. I have met those who swear up and down they got naturally wavy hair from their great grandmother who was Apache. Or folks who like to talk about people's "kitchens", but I understand why there might be a system in place, and it has everything to do with how to care for your hair and what products might be better for your hair. I can't do my hair the same way that someone with type 1 hair (i.e. bone straight) does their hair, nor can I use the all of the products they use and vice versa. Twists don' work well for my hair like I see on some folks with 4b hair. Their twists are beautiful, mine unravel and just make my hair frizzy. Glycerin works well for some people and shea butter is the devil, but I haven't had a positive experience with glycerin, and me and shea butter are BFFs. I say use it as a guideline, rather than a lifestyle and it could be beneficial.

E.L.F. Review

2008-09-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

As you know, I like using E.L.F. cosmetics, but I never once have shown you what they look like and what exactly I like about them or what I don't like about them.

Let's start with what I love:

The E.L.F. Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15 is awesome. I really like the colors and how it goes on. It is very moisturizing.

Ditto for the Luscious Liquid Lipstick

The brush kit is awesome. It is just as nice as the brushes at MAC, at least in my opinion, of course my MAC brushes are over 5 years old, but they work as great replacements.

The nail polish is really great and lasts a long time for me, and I am pretty rough on nail polish. It doesn't chip on me too easily like some others.

The eyeliner and mascara are great. Actually just one side of the Earth and Water Mascara duo is great. I wasn't a fan of the waterproof side, but the regular side was wonderful.

The Duo Eye Shadow Cream is my favorite of E.L.F. eyeshadows. I like the colors and they shimmer so nicely.

Now for the products I could take or leave:

The regular eyeshadows aren't bad, but they aren't the best, but for a $1, I can work with these. I do like the idea of custom eyes though and creating your own compact, so that is a bonus.

The lip liner although in nice colors is kind of hard to put on, as in it is hardened, and not real soft, I have only tried them once, which is why they are in the OK section, they might soften over time. The custom lip color is ok, but again a bonus is being able to create your own compacts is really nice. It isn't the best, it isn't the worst, but for a $1, again I can work with these.

Now on to what I just didn't like at all:

The All Over Color Stick is supposedly for your eyes, lips, and face, but none of the colors suit me for my eyes, lips, or face. I am thinking these are better suited for non black women.

The mineral makeup. I bought two kits, one dark, one deep. Neither shade was for me. The dark was too light, the deep was too dark, and it made my skin look rather ashy. I say stick with MAC until they can come up with better options for foundation. The brushes that came with it were very nice though.

The Natural Radiance Blusher was a product that looks ashy on my face, I have only bought two, but these were the ones recommended for darker skin tones. I am not a fan.

Overall I think E.L.F. is awesome, but some products are lacking. The good thing is that the products are so inexpensive, you can afford to be a bit experimental and not feel too cheated.

In regards to the customer service and company, I will say that I think it is great, they have some great coupon codes and great deals on a regular basis, but there are some drawbacks. They always seem to be out of stuff. Always It is like they can't keep up with demand. Sometimes they are not able to fulfill your order because they ran out of a product the site said was in stock. Another is shipping is not speedy, expect to wait a week, longer if something you have is on backorder and they feel the can fulfill the order in a reasonable amount of time. Overall, the products and prices outweigh the customer service issues. I haven't had any adverse issues with their customer service yet, but I will keep you updated.

2008-09-21T18:27:00.001-07:00

Fox News Kills Me

2008-09-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

Apparently eating a vegan diet shrinks your brain. Seriously. What kills me is this doctor's definition of vegan and vegetarian. It is downright crazy. Could Fox News not find a proper dietician. Vegans do not eat fish or chicken, neither do vegetarians.

Here is a story that Faux News is talking about.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Vitamin B12 Key to Aging Brain
Deficiency led to more brain shrinkage, study shows
Posted September 8, 2008

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Sept. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Older individuals with low levels of vitamin B12 seem to be at increased risk of having brain atrophy or shrinkage, new research suggests.

Brain atrophy is associated with Alzheimer's disease and impaired cognitive function.

Although the study, published in the Sept. 8 issue of Neurology, can't confirm that lower levels of B12 actually cause brain atrophy, they do suggest that "we ought to be more aware of our B12 status, especially people who are vulnerable to B12 deficiency [elderly, vegetarians, pregnant and lactating women, infants], and take steps to maintain it by eating a balanced and varied diet," said study co-author Anna Vogiatzoglou, a registered dietician and doctoral candidate in the department of physiology, anatomy and genetics at the University of Oxford, in England.

"It's worth looking at B12 levels. It's a simple blood test," affirmed Dr. Shari Midoneck, an internist at the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center in New York City. "It doesn't hurt to take B12."

Good sources of the vitamin include meat, fish, milk and fortified cereals.

According to the study authors, vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among older people.

This study involved 107 volunteers aged 61 to 87 who were cognitively normal at the beginning of the study. All participants underwent annual clinical exams, MRI scans and cognitive tests and had blood samples taken.

Individuals with lower vitamin B12 levels at the start of the study had a greater decrease in brain volume. Those with the lowest B12 levels had a sixfold greater rate of brain volume loss compared with those who had the highest levels of the vitamin.

Interestingly, none of the participants were deficient in vitamin B12, they just had low levels within a normal range.

"They all had normal B12 levels, yet there was a difference between the higher levels and the lower levels in terms of brain shrinkage, which is new information which could potentially change what we recommend to people in terms of diet," said Dr. Jonathan Friedman, an associate professor of surgery and neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and associate dean of the College of Medicine, Bryan-College Station campus.

Other risk factors for brain atrophy include high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Not only might B12 levels be a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline, it might also be a clue to help clinicians assess cognitive problems earlier on.

Right now, it's not clear what the biological mechanisms behind the link might be, nor is it clear whether added B12 would avert brain atrophy.

"We are doing a clinical trial in Oxford in which we are giving B vitamins [including B12] to elderly people with memory impairment," Vogiatzoglou said. "In this trial, we are doing MRI scans at the start and the end, and so, we will be able to find out if taking B vitamins really does slow down the shrinking of the brain. The trial will be completed in 2009."

More information

Learn more about vitamin B-12 at the National Institutes of Health.

More from U.S. News

Dare I Make My Own Deodorant?

2008-09-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

*********OK FOLKS PLEASE READ THIS UPDATE BEFORE TRYING THIS RECIPE********

*********OK FOLKS PLEASE READ THIS UPDATE BEFORE TRYING THIS RECIPE********

OK so I found a recipe for deodorant here, and I have all the ingredients at the house. Am I becoming too hippy, or is this genius. I am going to make a small batch and hopefully find out.

For those too lazy to go to the site I found the recipe, here it is:

"3 Tablespoons shea butter
3 Tablespoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons cocoa butter
2 vitamin E oil gel caps (puncture and squeeze out the oil)
Essential Oil (I used ylang yang and orange)

I melted all the ingredients (except the oils) and gave it a good stir. This only took about 30 seconds in the microwave. Then added the oils, stirred again, and poured it in a jar, then placed it in the fridge to set. This recipe filled the jar in my hand, which is a 1/2 pint.

I bought the cocoa butter and shea butter here. I'm on week 3 and it works so well, I am stunned. When it's cold in the bathroom, it's not as smooth, but the warmth from my fingers softens it up enough to spread on. On hot days the texture is perfect. I can scoop a little bit out of the jar, roll it into a pea-sized ball, and rub it in. I am very very happy with it. I found other recipes online for cream deodorants that have beeswax, vegetable glycerin—all kinds of combos.
It smells wonderful. I had to add a bit more essential oil than you think—shea butter smells strong, not bad, just shea butter-y. If you try this I would highly recommend splitting ingredients with a friend and having a I'm Not A Dirty Hippie party, otherwise you'll end up with a lot of ingredients that could spoil in a year or so. In the next batch I think I will add a little vegetable glycerin to make it softer."

Per here, I think I can change out the cocoa butter with my favorite thing, COCONUT OIL. I am so doing this. I am such a damn hippie.

Coconut Oil By The Gallon and other Beauty Supply Shopping.

2008-08-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

I just got on Ebay and bought some coconut oil. A whole gallon. I couldn't help it. It was organic, and it was cheap,only$5 more than what I was buying before, which was at a much smaller quantity. Coconut oil is great for your skin, hair, and for cooking. Yeah, I cook with it too. On other fronts........

I just bought some black soap from here. I bought from here because they have great shea butter, and they are fair trade. I previously bought soap from here, and here, but I wanted to try different soaps. Next, I want to try Dudu Osun.

I've decided to go raw. Ok, not completely, but I am transitioning to vegan instead of lacto-ovo vegetarian. I've decided to get rid of soy and diet soda, and just drink water and tea. I am going to be miserable. I am ok with that, I will have a banging body as a result.

Marathon Dare I?

2008-07-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

So lately I been revitalized with pilates. I can attest that my doberman prefers to me to pet him than to actually do pilates as every time I lay down my mat he decides to lay on the mat and then as I exercise hint at a petting by putting his head under my hand. Considering that pilates is awesome, I want to expand my exercise. My friend, Ms. Marathon has contemplated that I run with her. It is for cancer research, so it would be for a good cause, but can I really run 26 miles? I don't like to run, but maybe I can learn to like it? I am really attracted to the travel aspect of it.

Maybe I am crazy as I currently have no endurance?

Maybe I should start with a 5k first?

Braid Outs And Make Up

2008-06-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

This is my brand new braid out along with my green eye look with the E.L.F. make up. I like the braid outs and I like the eye make up, but I think I will lay off of braid offs for the most part. Braid outs are awesome the 1st couple of days, but by day 3, it is looking frizzy and not as neat as my curly hair au natural. I think if I wanted to wash my hair every two days and then go for wearing a head wrap every 3rd day, this would work, but of course I don't like wearing head wraps out in public, so I think for now I will stick with buns, pony tails, and the natural curly look I normally rock. I do like the larger curl pattern the braid out causes, and how it lengthens my curly hair from the natural look though. This is a great weekend look maybe?

Ghettofied Vegetarian Zuppa Toscana

2008-06-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

I remember in mymeat eating days my favorite soup of all time was Zuppa Toscana. It is a cream based soup with sausage, bacon, potato, and kale. I was craving some, so I am deciding to attempt to make vegetarian Zuppa Toscana. It was ghettofied Zuppa Toscana, but very tasty. My recipe was made with what I had on hand at the house.

I used a partially used bag of soy crumbles (used morningstar farms brand)*
2 cups of chopped fresh spinach (instead of kale or chard)
4 medium sized russet potatoes (cleaned, scrubbed, and diced)
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder (or extra for taste)
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder (or extra for taste)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or extra for taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup heavy whipping cream*
1 1/2 quarts of water
2 large vegetable bullion cubes

In a large pot put together water, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, bullion cubes, and potatoes. Cook on medium heat and let simmer until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Add spinach and soy crumbles; let simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Finally add heavy whipping cream and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Then you are ready to serve!!!!! It came out pretty tasty considering it was thrown together. Not to mention it will last me a few days.

Here is a picture of the soup in my big old black pot. This is not a serving size LOL. For those interested, I calculated the calories for the whole pot it was about 2000 calories. That should make about 6 to 8 regular bowls, and 5 BIG bowls of soup. Note almost half the calories come from the cream.

*If you want to make this vegan you can use Rich Whip or Gefen nondairy whipping cream, or you can whip up some coconut milk with an electric mixer and use that instead. You could probably make this without cream as well.
*Soy crumbles are optional if you are avoiding soy

Make Up Fun Part 2

2008-06-23T07:13:00.001-07:00

So today I decided to play with some more of my E.L.F. eye makeup. Today I used the Luxe eye color. I used three of the colors. I used the chocolate, the tannish/brownish (lighter brown), and the reddish color. Don' you just love those technical terms for the colors I used. I thought I would look like a clown using the red, as it is really bright, but I made it subtle. I used the red as my eye liner and did my eyelids with the dark brown and in my crease used the lighter brown color. I topped it off with some basic black mascara. It came out really subtle, not clown like at all. Here are some pics. I got full face shots for this one. I am not wearing anything but eye make up and clear gloss. I look mad in the pics, but that is just how I look when I am not smiling LOL. My husband says I always look angry :) I also for the full face shots just used my webcam instead of my regular camera, I did it as an afterthought.

Make Up Fun

2008-06-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

I was so excited you guys. I bought a bunch of make up from Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.). Everything is a dollar. At first I was scared it would be cheap stuff that would break me out. I bought a bunch of eye shadow and lip color. I don't do much in way of my make up, but since I had all this new eye shadow, I thought I would have fun and be able to do a review.

The make up is great!!! I like it, it works way better than I thought dollar make up should work. I am still rocking my MAC for foundation, when I where foundation (trying to ween myself off of it), but it seems to be great products for the price.

I bought a couple of these. In the pics I am wearing the Ivy. I used the dark green as eye liner and used the light green and light tan on my lids. I also used some E.L.F. mascara. It isn't the best mascara, but it works ok. For $1, I don't have high expectations.

I want to note that the eye make up by the time the pics were taken had been worn for five hours, so it doesn't have it's full effect. But it holds up well :)

I also bought some great brushes. They were really nice for the price.

Is E.L.F. better than MAC. Probably not, but for the price, it can't be beat, and it is a great place to buy stuff so you can experiment with colors you like, as if you don't end up liking a particular color, you only lost out on a few dollars worth of make up.

Mr. Rays

2008-06-15T10:12:00.001-07:00

OMG, I am dying. This commercial is AWESOME!!!!

Vegetarian Dirty Rice

2008-06-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

I know what you are thinking. Vegetarian Dirty Rice? Yeah Baby. I have been craving some red beans and rice, jambalaya, and dirty rice. Just anything kind of creole or cajun. For those who don't know, dirty rice is a rice and meat mixture, a Louisiana thing. Very spicy, very good, very meaty. Red beans and rice, the name says it all, but it forgets about the ham hock, hog maw, hog jowls, or ground beef some folks put into it for flavor, and it does add flavor!!!! Meaty Flavor. Nothing says tasty like pig stomach, cheeks, and legs. It sounds gross, but the flavor added is awesome!!!!

So I did some searching on the internet for some vegetarian recipes, and luckily, I found some!!!! I found gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and dirty rice!!!!

I quickly tried the dirty rice recipe first, and it came out GREAT!!!!!!!

I was so proud of my dirty rice, I took pics:

I found the dirty rice recipe here, but I improvised a little. I will highlight where I improvised. Note also how country I am, as I am eating a piece of cornbread with my dirty rice.

Ingredients
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil (I did three tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of butter (so much for being vegan)
1 lb soy crumbles (like the Boca crumbles) Actually equiv. to 1 lb ground beef (I used morningstar farms brand)
1 red onion, diced (I used a white onion instead of red)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp. dark chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 c. Jasmin rice or any long grain rice (I just used the plain white rice you find in the generic bags)
1- 16 oz.can Swanson Vegetarian broth (I used the 14 oz can. Swansons does not have a 16 oz can of vegetable broth)
1 c. cold water
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat a 2 qt. sauce pan to high.
Place olive oil and butter in pan.
Saute onion, garlic until caramelized.
Add basil, oregano, chili powder, paparika, red pepper and rice.
Saute rice for three minutes, stirring ocassionally.
Add broth and water, stir.
Bring to a boil for five minutes.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20- 25 minutes or until liquid has evaporated.
Then add morningstar farms crumbles, stir until completely heated through.

Zenni Optical Review

2008-05-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

My husband needed glasses, as the last pair of glasses he purchased was in 1992. No Lie. There were twisty ties holding them together, rust, and scratched lenses galore. Needless to say it was time for new glasses, but alas neither he or I have vision insurance. This is where Zenni Optical enters the picture.

You can get a pair of prescription eyeglasses for $8. Yeah EIGHT DOLLARS!!!!!! So we went to the Target Optical so my husband could get an eye exam. The optometrist wrote out a prescription, and we with a quickness picked out some frames, and placed an order. My husband purchased two pairs of glasses. One pair was $15.95, his back up pair was $8.00. The site had a lot of different styles, but no brand names, I personally am not too much into brand names, so this isn't a big deal for me, even though I am still rocking my Donna Karan glasses from 1996. Yeah I rock. It takes two weeks on average to receive your order. Shipping is really cheap, it was $4.95. The glasses arrived and they were nice. Oh, I forgot to add, being all siditty like I am, I purchased two pairs as well, each pair $8.00 for myself.

Overall the glasses were good quality, and if they break or lose a screw, you won't be as upset as you can always order more online. My suggestion is to order two pairs, your everyday pair and your back up pair for your accidents. I also plan to buy a pair of prescription sunglasses for me and the hubby there as well to keep in the car while we drive. I was really impressed with the pricing and quality. I know even with insurance after you pay your co-pay for exams, I never get or even see glasses this cheap. What I usually end up spending with exam is close to $250 minimum. The glasses are always so expensive. You gotta pay out the wazoo for lenses and frames. But here, the most expensive pair of glasses seem to only run around $40.

L.B. Soc and TOPAZ Showercap

2008-05-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

I have always had a lot of hair, and I always needed something to wrap or protect my hair before I purchased my silk pillowcases. To wrap my hair, I used an L.B. Soc. I used this because it covered almost all of my hair when it was straight, and it was comfortable, and it was great for thicker hair, I even use it now as a head wrap on the days I am cleaning around the house to keep my hair out of my face. For a while I put it on when I would shower between hair washing and then put on a shower cap on top of that. I have so much hair, it doesn't fit under a standard large shower cap anymore.

Thankfully, now we have the TOPAZ shower cap. It is from the same folks who make the L.B. Soc.

Both these products are made for those with dread locs, so that can handle a lot of bulk for those with longer locs. I plan to buy the shower cap so I can shower without having fear of my hair getting wet, which always happens because I always have hair sticking out from the shower cap I currently use.

Skin Care Regimen

2008-05-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Soila wanted to know if I could post my skin care regimen ove r here, so I figured, great idea. My skin has been rocking lately, and I praise the use of coconut oil and shea butter. As you can see I put a pic of my ugly mug up sans make up to show you my skin, I am at my ugly time of the month, where I always break out, and I have minimum acne right now. Most of my dark spots have faded and I attribute it to my skin care regimen.

My magic potion is shea butter and coconut oil. I make it myself. I got the recipe from Najahface's book, Mixed Up (do you notice I plug this book often, there is a reason for that, the stuff in that book works so well!!!! Yall need to go get it for real. Because of her, I make pretty much all my hair and skin care stuff.) I mix about half shea butter and half coconut oil. I put a little bit more shea butter than coconut oil. I put it in a container, nuke it, so that is mixes easier and then I put it in the fridge to harden up. Sometimes I add scent to it, but I not only put this stuff on my face, but also on my body and hair.

To put oil and shea butter on your face you would think is a recipe for skank nasty skin, but it works well. The reason it works so well:

Shea butter fades dark spots, and is a great moisturizer. Coconut oil is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, which acne is basically bacteria under the skin acting a damn fool. For a more scientific and more legitimate explanation go here for shea butter, and here for coconut oil.

Now for my skin care regimen after all that talk:

In the morning I use my black soap to wash my face. If I am not wearing make up I put on my shea butter/coconut oil mix afterwards, just a little dab will do ya. A little goes a long way, unless you like looking greasy. If I DO WEAR MAKE UP (foundation, eye make up, etc>) I DON'T USE the shea butter/coconut oil mixture on. It will make you look extra shiny, greasy, and your make up is prone to easily wipe off. Coconut oil makes a great make up remover.

At night I do the same thing (black soap and shea butter/coconut oil mixture). If I wore make up that day, I use coconut oil as a make up remover with a cotton ball.

Once a week I will put on a mask to draw out impurities.

That is it. If I have a pimple I put a little extra of the coconut oil/shea butter on it at night and it seems to go down or disappear the next day.

Arm Pit Update-Sexy

2008-05-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

So I have been using Tom's of Maine for the past week or so. It has not burned off my arm pits, it can last a pretty long time, and it doesn't leave the residue regular deodorant leaves on my pits. Downside is, when I "glisten" a bit too much, I need to re-apply with a quickness. I put some on last night after my shower, slept all night, and about mid day today, I noticed I didn't smell the lovely smell of apricots, but rather the start of something different. The lesson, if I shower at night, reapply in the morning. It can only work so well.

Just Because This Girl Is So Cute!!!!! I HATE CROCS

2008-05-16T04:34:00.001-07:00

Pits Don't Fail Me Now!!!!

2008-05-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have officially switched to aluminum free natural deodorant, at least I think it is natural. I am using Tom's Long Lasting apricot. A lot of the natural deodorants have a reputation for not being strong and if they do work burning the hell out of your arm pits. I have had my deodorant on for the last couple of hours, so far so good, but I need to give it a few days, before I say anything positive or negative.

The reasons I decided to use natural deodorant:

Aluminum has been tied to breast cancer
I am turning into a hippy
Regular deodorant leaves a residue under my arms that seems to be water proof, I usually have to scrub my armpits off in the shower to get rid of that icky feeling.

Needless to say I am scared to death my deodorant will burn off my armpits and/or make me stinky as hell.

Glycerin Hates Me

2008-05-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

So I got excited I found some glycerin in my medicine cabinet and promptly made some hair products. I made my normal spritz, adding glycerin. I made a hair pomade with red palm kernel oil, glycerine, and coconut oil. I was steady putting both these products in my hair, and they made my hair feel skank. It felt kind of dry and sticky. My hair was not soft, and the lesson is learned. Glycerin hates my hair. The pomade has turned into a body moisturizer. The spritz is useless. Hey you live and learn and it goes to show you that different things work for different people in this natural hair journey. You never know what works until you try it.

Nappy to Happy

2008-04-27T02:14:00.000-07:00

As I was surfing youtube. I found a couple of videos. This guy has found a way for men to straighten their hair without perm. The titles of his videos are "Nappy No More". He has disabled embedding to these videos, but click here and here.

He basically just wets down his hair and puts a lot of product in it. He wets it, puts in gel, then some hair grease, then some hair spray, and then uses a small tooth comb to slick it down and create a part. He tells us he is providing this for free, so that we can hear his signed artist Truth on Shattering Records (don't laugh at the site, ok you can laugh, here is another link, since whoever decided to make the site, make the hyperlink hop around and disappear). I thought a music video might be more beneficial, as he is talking over the song and you can't really appreciate it, but hey, who am I to judge? He is hustling and trying to push his artist, I can't hate. He feels his hair technique might take over the world. Black men everywhere will be vying for this secret. I didn't know the Nat King Cole look was coming back.

But why can't we be happy nappy? Why must we be "Nappy No More"?

I will point out something that made the videos funny, the fact this man says in his profile on youtube that he is 28,when obviously he is someone's granddaddy. That and you can't tell this man he ain't fine, he is super smooth, super classy, and he rolls in a 2008 Navigator, something he felt the need to point out in this video. CLASSY.

More Homemade Products

2008-04-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to a candle and soap making supply store and bought some scented oils. This lead me to make some products, I made a coconut oil/shea butter moisturizer that smells like pomegranate and I made an hot oil.after wash oil conditioner out of sweet almond, coconut oil, vegetable oil, and olive oil that smells like heaven. Not really heaven, but vanilla almond. The vanilla almond is really strong and smells really good. I think I will go back to this place and buy more oils. They were very inexpensive. I am thinking essential oils might be more natural and better quality, but these oils work in a pinch.

I also made some more spritz, I go through that like water with conditioner, sweet almond oil, olive oil, honey, and water.

My hair was really feeling dry, so today I did a deep conditioner with the oil I made, I wet my hair, added the oil(heated), stuck a shower cap on and left it in for 30 minutes. Then I washed it with Burt's Bees shampoo. Then detangled with Suave Naturals conditioner. Left the conditioner in, added my other homemade product of red palm kernel oil and coconut oil, then added more of the heated oil, spritzed, and added aloe vera gel. Gently towel dried the ends so I wouldn't drip. My hair is well moisturized now.

The almond vanilla smells really good :)

On a side note. The vegetarian diet is going ok, but I am thinking of incorporating raw into my diet and going 50/50, I think this is healthier and will make weight loss a bit easier. I also need to work out something fierce, it has been over a week!!!!!

Random-Baby Hair, Similar Hair Types

2008-04-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

I have a "baby hair" around my temples. It is the soft wispy hair that little babies have, that becomes a bit more coarse and thick as a child ages. I have always had it, I just never thought to slick it down like Ms. Chili from TLC:

Chili has always embraced that baby hair and will never let it go.

My mother has a slight obsession with this, she loves to try to comb down my baby hair, she is excited that at age 32, the edges of my hair never developed properly like the rest of my hair. I don't understand the love of baby hair. I also don't understand the need to slick it down to show everyone, or better yet, create baby hair with gel and relaxer?

This blog is about hair, and I often go to black hair care sites and post pics of my hair. Many times you find hair twins. I have found quite a few. Los Angelista, for example has hair similar to mine, hers actually might be slightly different,as she is bi-racial and my hair may be thicker and coarser, it is hard to tell in pics, but we have the same curl pattern.I have found hair twins on myspace and every where in between. I will say that on occasion I get hair twins, that are more like fraternal twins than identical.

Me and goddess glory are fraternal hair twins in which we wear our hair natural. But our hair is different in pattern and texture. Her hair is awesome by the way, I want her to grow a big afro really bad. Sometimes women tell me I am their hair twin, and I can't see it, and then I often wonder why? How do you respond to the hair twins that really aren't your hair twins?

Shea Butter To Last Me A Lifetime!!!

2008-04-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

I just bought my fair trade shea butter here. I love this stuff, I bought 5 pounds, that should last me a long while LOL. Shea Butter and coconut oil are so awesome for my body, hair, and face. I don't know how I ever lived without the stuff to be honest.

The Downside To Being Vegetarian

2008-04-11T03:20:00.000-07:00

I have no one to go out to eat with when I want to try vegetarian restaurants. It totally sucks. My husband hates vegetables and the thought of taking me to a vegetarian restaurant gives him the heebie jeebies. My friends are all meat eaters too. I gotta go out to eat by myself? :(

I can so relate to this

2008-04-08T02:53:00.000-07:00

I have attempted to go veg many times, but I found that many have this holier than thou attitude about things and it gets overwhelming. This article is funny, yet true.

DISH
Five things Vegetarians do That Piss Everyone off, from a fellow vegetarian

DAVID BERRY / david@vueweekly.com

Sure, omnivores have their annoying habits, but they’re hardly the only ones making life worse for everyone. Here are five things vegetarians need to stop doing to help make the world a better place for us all.
Complaining about a lack of vegetarian options on a menu

Yes, it would be wonderful to live in a world where every restaurant had the option of substituting (well-done) tofu, but them’s the breaks. Absolutely no one is going to enjoy a meal after somebody spends the whole menu-perusal time bitching about what they can’t eat, and unless you’re actually willing to storm out of a restaurant, complaining isn’t going to do anything anyway. Just do the considerate thing: ask them to take the chicken out of their penne, and make a mental note to never come back.

Complaining about paying the same as meat-eaters

Splitting the bill is one thing—hey, everyone should pay their fair share, no more, no less—but vegetarians who insist on paying less in general just because they’re not eating meat need to give their heads a shake. (This happens an awful lot at Indian buffets, which is especially annoying considering Indian food is one of the most vegetarian-friendly cuisines there is.) We’re the ones who’ve decided to cut meat out of our diet: anyone willing to charge us less should be regarded as a saint, but by no means should this be an expectation. If paying the extra $2.99 for chicken you’re not getting on your caesar bothers you that much, stay home: the world does not revolve around your lifestyle choices.

Making non-vegetarians feel guilty about eating meat

It’s fantastic that you’ve decided to make what is no doubt a high-minded, moral choice about your eating habits that makes the world a better place, environmentally, ethically and spiritually. There’s something to be said for quiet dignity, though: give the unwashed, carnivorous masses time to come around. Besides, being a prick never won anyone to your side: save the overt moral superiority for those wild, incredible, vegetarian-catered moral-superiority orgies we’re always having.

Eating heavily processed faux-meats

Most of the stuff you can pick up at the supermarket (including, especially, non-organic tofu) is about as bad as eating meat in every way except for the fact that they don’t have to kill animals to get it. It also perpetuates the stereotype that we’re all a bunch of secretly repressed carnivores trying to bury our insatiable urges with a stew of delusion and carrots. There are plenty of other ways to get your protein, including milk, eggs, organic tofu and a wide variety of beans. If you want faux-meat, there are a variety of terrific wheat gluten recipes on the internet, and if you’re not much of a cook, Padmanadi is open, and the Truc Lam Monastery puts together a fabulous spread of take-home options every Sunday.

All that said, exceptions to this fact can be made for the Tofurky, because no one is an island, especially on Thanksgiving.

Being useless in the kitchen

Some leeway can be granted to new vegetarians here, but the rest of you better know how to cook at least one fairly delicious vegetarian meal. Partly it’s to help destroy the popular conception of vegetarians as people who spend a lot of meals crying into salads, but mostly it’s because this is a lifestyle based on eating, and therefore should encourage some kind of knowledge about food. People who participated in Earth Hour bought candles, because even though they wanted to save energy, no one likes sitting in the dark: the least you can do is get a cookbook. V

Vegetarian Update

2008-04-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ok the past few weeks I have gone veg. It has worked out pretty good. I sleep better, feel better, and I think I am losing weight without having to track. I decided in my transition to veg I would not write down everything and just focus on going veg. It seems like a good thing, it is kind of expensive for me right now, but working well.

My downfalls still are soda, coffee, dairy, and eggs, but a positive is that is has helped me eliminated fried foods all together.

Only time will tell. I hope to get off of soda, and get rid of my dependence on dairy and eggs.

Let's stick with the lacto-ovo though first and get through that LOL.

The Curl Is Back

2008-04-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Oh how I missed the curly hair!!!!!!!!!

To get back to curly, I tried to give my hair extra moisture. My hair felt so dry straight. I made a hot oil treatment out of palm kernel and sweet almond oil. I wet my hair, applied and did my normal washing in the shower. I then rinsed that out and used Burts Bee's shampoo to get all the hot oil treatment and whatever residual chemicals in the hair. I had a bunch of silicone in it as protection when I flat ironed it. I then did the suave naturals cowash and detangled. Rinsed that out and reapplied as a leave in. Then I did my regular hair routine. I think it will take a couple of more washings to get it really moisturized really well. I might also rock a bun for a while as a protective style to get my hair back in awesome natural curly girl shape.

Don't Panic!!!!

2008-03-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

OK I hot ironed my hair. I did it to see if my hair grew any and to see if I had an damaged ends. It is hard to tell when it was curly. I did do a trim just in case though. I will back curly in no time.

Some things to note about being a straight haired girl:

It is too much work, I have to comb though it often.

Humidity is way too much for my hair, it gets bigger and bigger as the days go on and it is really too hard to resist getting that ceramic hot iron on a every few days basis to keep that slick look.

it just feels like it is dry all the time compared to when I am au natural.

The lesson learned: Curly is the way to go!!!

Coconut and Palm Kernel Oil Addiction

2008-03-08T00:46:00.001-08:00

Najahface and her talking about coconut oil :)

OK I ordered some coconut oil, shea butter, and palm kernel oil from here. The stuff is awesome. I made some pomade with the shea, coconut and palm kernel oil. The palm kernel oil gives it a kind of smokey/coffee smell. Not bad. I also continue to make my coconut/shea butter mixture. That stuff is great!!! Great for the hair, the skin, even my face, you would think oil would be bad for the face, but it minimized my monthly debacle into acne significantly. I swear to god my acne is worse now than in high school. Maybe if I ate better on a consistent basis I wouldn't have this problem. I will say my pomades all though wonderful can be very oily, less is more.

On a side note. I have become a coconut oil hoochie. I found a 54 oz jar of organic virgin coconut oil that is fair trade for $23 bucks at amazon. The brand is Nutiva and it came with the option of free shipping. I also bought this book called "The Coconut Oil Miracle". Apparently this stuff is great for weight loss, improving health, as well as your skin and hair. I will let you know how it turns out.

In terms of diet I am seriously thinking of going vegetarian, going organic, and banning processed foods. Seriously, that would make my diet issues nonexistent if I did all that. Of course, if I did all that, I would have nothing to eat. I live off of lean cuisines. I have gone so far a whole week without one and it is a miracle. But they are so easy, you know what calories and fat you are putting in your mouth and it comes in a serving size that there is no way you can overeat one. Sometimes I think those things are snacks, not actual meals.

New Homemade Products!!!

2008-02-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

OK I made my first spritz. Jojoba oil, Sweet Almond Oil, with my Suave Naturals Conditioner, mixed with water and a drop of honey as preservative. It seems to work pretty well. I have only used it once though so only time will tell. It is a recipe from Najahface's book, Mixed Up.

I made a hair dressing and body moisturizer with coconut oil and shea butter. It is still cooling. I nuked it in the microwave to blend it together really good. Another recipe from Mixed Up.

I think both products will be awesome. Now if I can make some homemade Anita Grant, I will be in business LOL

I just ordered some more shea butter and coconut oil from this place. I am hoping the shea butter is a little bit better than from the last place. The last place I bought shea butter from, I think it is more for mixing in products not using stand alone, as it was very gritty. It melted well and it worked well, it just had a different consistency than the shea butter I purchased from before. I also ordered some virgin palm kernel oil. This place is inexpensive like the last place. It is from a coop and again fair trade, which is a very important aspect of any product I buy. I don't want to knowingly exploit people.

I do plan on buying some scented oils though so I can make things smell pretty.

I made my first hot oil treatment

2008-02-05T05:06:00.000-08:00

I made my first hot oil treatment you guys. With coconut, sweet almond, and jojoba oil. It ended up working pretty well. I think now I am going to work on making my first spritz for daily use with these oils. I think the sweet almond and jojoba oils would be good for this.

New Purchases

2008-02-02T07:32:00.001-08:00

OK I ordered some shea butter, black soap, jojoba oil, coconut oil, and almond oil from here. The only downside is I think I ordered a pound of coconut oil and only received a half a pound, they also overcharged me on some things, and took forever to ship my stuff. I probably wont order from them again. The coconut oil is my favorite thing right now, I just don't know what the hell to do with it. It feels great on the skin, and smells wonderful in my hair, but I don't know if it is really effective for my hair. It does make my skin soft and my hair soft, but I want to mix it with the jojoba for a hot oil treatment. I also want to make a spritz with the almond oil and jojoba for daily use. One thing that was a concern that is a relief to know: The shea butter is fair trade, so I am not exploiting people, at least knowingly exploiting people anyway. I also like the black soap, it seems more like authentic black soap than the other stuff I have received, which was awesome, but seemed more like cookie cutter soap. The black soap here is in chunks, I bought a pound of it and plan to just cut off what I need. I still have some other black soap left though from my initial purchase from Afrikan Republic. So I will be shelving this black soap for a while. I am looking at my recipe book from Najahface for hair concoctions I can make, but I haven't committed to anything yet. I am so chicken!!!! I do plan on ordering some stuff from From Nature With Love soon, once I figure out what I want to buy, I will do a review on them soon.

My Attempt At A Braid Out

2008-01-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

Pilates is kicking my ass

2008-01-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

I am actually on week three of diet and I am working on the exercise thing. I have been doing pilates when I think about it. I did it once the first week. Twice the second week, and once so far this week, and I can not do the damn seal. The clapping of feet while rolling up and down is not working for me. I look like a person having a damn seizure when I do it. Maybe with time I will improve.

In terms of diet. I am doing pretty good. During the week I count calories, during the weekend, I have decided to let myself eat whatever I want. I did notice though that all my free eating in the last few weeks has had me feeling like crap. My body does not like me eating freely. For about two days after the weekend my stomach hurts. Maybe it is telling me that eating deep fried twinkies on a regular basis is bad. I don't really eat deep fried twinkies, I did once, but it was at the State Fair.

Why does it always go back to the afro?

2008-01-09T18:30:00.001-08:00

An argument I always hear from people who don't want to go natural is that they don't look good with an afro.

I am going to show you guys my afro:

Now dammit, it isn't an afro, it is a wash and go. I can't do an afro, I have tried, my hair falls in defeat. There are other styles that fall into the natural category that aren't afros such as:

Twists (two and three strand)
Twist Outs
Braid Outs
Bantu Knots
Braids

None of these are afros, many can be done on shorter hair, why is it assumed to go natural you must have an auto afro?

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme: Works well and dogs love it!!!!

2008-01-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

Winter is here and my feet look as if I have been kicking flour. Thankfully, I have Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme. It works wonders on my dry feet, using this t night and a pumice stone in the shower makes for nice feet. It is so awesome even my dog loves it, every time I put it on, she licks the floor or area where I have applied the creme to my feet. TMI huh?

Anita Grant and I are Breaking Up

2008-01-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

I love creamy cafe latte. I really do. It is my favorite product. The smell is awesome it makes my hair so soft, but sadly the Pound is tearing up the dollar in the market. Two jars of creamy cafe latte, 3.5 oz. with shipping is like $42!!!!!!! That is $20 a jar. A bit too pricey. I love curls by sister smith, but honestly, the creamy cafe latte is just so awesome. Bye Creamy Cafe Latte. I love you. Don't take it personal, but you are just too expensive.

Ok I did just order two jars, but I had too!!!!!!! I can't quit cold turkey.

Winter Hair Blues

2008-01-01T06:59:00.001-08:00

My hair is not soft like it was in the summer and fall. It has gotten kind of dry. I think winter is trying to hurt my hair!!!! I am going to try to up the hot oil treatments and maybe wear some buns ::yuck:: I need to protect my precious hair. I also need to find a good heat protectant. I am going to need to straighten my hair so I can give myself a trim. I will research. Stay tuned for my review of heat protectant when I finally get around to trimming my hair.

Kui Is Here!!!!!

2008-01-01T06:53:00.000-08:00

As you know I ordered some hair ties from Brunsli. Well the USPS held one of them hostage, and Brunsli and Co. being all nice and stuff, sent me a new one.

Here it is!!!! I really love it!!!!

Just FYI, I think Brunsli hair ties bring good luck. I was wearing one the day I interviewed for my new job. I ain't saying for sure it brings luck, but I am just saying.

Have things even changed since this?

2007-12-31T04:06:00.000-08:00

RIO Hair

2007-12-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

My experience with RIO is here.

FLASH BACK TO RIO HAIR

FDA Consumer; 3/1/1996; Kurtzweil, Paula

Hair relaxers sold by World Rio Corp were destroyed after the Food and Drug Administration received more than 3,000 complaints that the products made their hair fall out and their scalps burn. World Rio continued to sell the products knowning about the complaints and mislabeling of the product.

Two types of hair relaxers, valued at almost $2 million, were destroyed last fall after thousands of consumers reported problems with them. It was the largest number of complaints FDA had ever received about a cosmetic product.

The destruction was one of several measures the hair products' distributor, World Rio Corp. of Los Angeles, agreed to take in a consent decree entered in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Sept. 1, 1995. The company also agreed not to sell another product like the two destroyed and to use FDA's Cosmetic Product Experience Report to report to the agency and adverse reactions from any hair straighteners it markets.

In 1994 and early 1995, more than 3,000 people reported to FDA that their scalp itched or burned and that their hair broke off or fell out--and, in some cases, turned green--after using the hair relaxers Rio Hair Naturalizer System and Rio Hair Naturalizer System with Color Enhancer.

Based on the complaints and an FDA investigation, the agency alleged that the hair products were being illegally sold in the United States because:

* Adverse effects experienced by consumers were consistent with those seen with harmful substances.

* Their labeling was false. The products' labeling listed an acid pH level of 3.4, but FDA analysis revealed that the pH was significantly less than 3.0. In addition, FDA alleged the labeling falsely described the products as "chemical free," even though the ingredient labels listed substances commonly recognized as chemicals.

* Ingredients, such as mineral salts, were not listed by their common or usual name, as required.

The products were destroyed in Nevada in June 1995 and in California in October 1995.

FDA and state government offices around the country began receiving complaints about the Rio hair products in mid-1994. Many complainants said they had bought the hair relaxers by mail after viewing a 30-minute TV infomercial targeted to African Americans.

Some complainants reported that their hair began falling out immediately after applying the products, while others said they had problems after multiple applications. Some said they had seen doctors for treatment of scalp irritation. Many women said they had to cut their hair short to deal with bald spots.

FDA collected samples of the hair relaxers on Nov. 6 and 8, 1994, at a Los Angeles-based affiliate, Pantron I Corp., of World Rio. Most of the products, which were imported from Brazil, were in the possession of Product Packaging West, also known as Pic 'N' Pac West, of North Hollywood, Calif.

On Nov. 23, the California Department of Health embargoed the products held in Los Angeles and North Hollywood, essentially blocking their sale in the United States. On Dec. 21, FDA advised against use of the products after laboratory findings identified the low pH and the number of consumer complaints indicated that the hair relaxers were causing adverse reactions.

About the same time, World Rio stated it would stop all sales of the products. But, FDA received reports from consumers that the company may still have been taking orders and billing customers through a mail-order company, Addressing and Mailing Inc., in North Las Vegas, Nev.

On Jan. 23, 1995, at FDA's request, U.S. marshals seized the entire lot of products at Product Packaging West in California.

On Jan. 24, an investigator with FDA's San Francisco district office went to Addressing and Mailing to inspect the firm and found more than 8,000 cases of the Rio hair relaxers, worth about $500,000 in retail value. FDA notified the State of Nevada Division of Health, which, in turn, embargoed the products, thus preventing their sale.

On June 14, World Rio voluntarily destroyed the 8,000 cases of Rio hair relaxers held at Addressing and Mailing in Nevada.

Under the terms of the consent decree between the United States and World Rio, the company agreed to destroy the product kits seized at Product Packaging West, although it was allowed to retain some of the kits for use in product liability litigation and for laboratory analysis. These kits must be held by a custodian and be destroyed at the end of the litigation. The company faces about 200 individual lawsuits.

Under the consent decree, World Rio agreed, among other things, not to sell a reformulated hair relaxer or similar product unit the product is tested for safety, the results of those tests are shared with FDA, and World Rio notifies FDA of the date on which it will begin marketing the new product.

COPYRIGHT 1996 U.S. Government Printing Office

This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.

......more on Rio Hair

RIO HAIR PART II

The infomercial for the Rio Hair Naturalizer ran frequently during 1993 and 1994, and resulted in huge sales of the product line. In this infomercial, "good" hair is equivalent to "white" hair: straightened, bouncy, touchable, manageable. Mary, the cheerleader-like woman who, together with Andre the hairdresser, is the MC for this text, continuously shakes her hair throughout the thirty-minute program, and the audience responds with awe. "Bad" hair, on the other hand, is African-American hair: kinky, curly, unshakable, and not soft to the touch. The infomercial repeatedly announces to viewers that they can be "liberated from the bondage of chemically treated hair," stereotypically African-American hair--"smelly, damaged, and greasy," as characterized by this text.

This text appeals to the African American woman's internalized oppression on two levels. First, it appeals to her internalized classism, reflecting the liberal ideology that liberation from racial oppression is equivalent to upward mobility. Second, it appeals to her internalized racism, by visually and verbally reinforcing "white" standards of beauty. The more "white" a black woman's hair appears, the more prestige she brings to the race, the logic goes. In this way, the African-American spokeswoman, Mary, who shakes her head continually throughout the Rio Hair infomercial, hair moving from side to side, becomes a symbol, a metaphor for the "freedom" sought by black people in America.

While the infomercial claimed its product was natural, it turned out that Rio Hair Naturalizer contained harsh chemicals and was highly acidic. Tens of thousands of African American women who used the product had adverse effects, including hair loss, green hair, and burns, blisters, and sores on their scalps.

The plaintiffs included some women who had been physically hurt by Rio Hair, including one woman and her 11-year-old daughter. They "suffered hair loss, baldness, hair discoloration and breakage, and burns to their scalps" (Rosen, "Opinion and Order. . ."). Ironically, then, the very painful experiences of African American women using hair care products that the Rio Hair infomercial mentioned and claimed their product redressed, were actually results of using this product. Rio Hair claimed their product was "natural" and they told the FDA that the naturalizer had only a 3.4 Ph level. Yet the product was found to be much more acidic ("California - World Rio Corporation"), using "cupric chloride acid basic with ascorbic acid to act as a stabilizer" as the "key ingredients" ("Overdue Anticipation"). As the Cosmetic Insiders' Report notes, "the first ingredient is more acidic than is wise even in a heavy industrial product." So African American women were attracted to the idea that they could straighten and "manage" their hair with--finally--a natural product, when in reality the product was one of the most severely unnatural and harsh products on the market.

Many women were affected by Rio; its reach was deep. The court decision states that "approximately 340,000 persons purchased the products." 52,436 of these people filed complaints with the court. These women were convinced to purchase this product by the infomercial's persuasive techniques that relied upon progressive ideas and at the same time upon racist, sexist, and classist notions of "beauty" and "success." Thus, black women's hurts were played upon to entice them to buy and try the products, only to add additional hurts to this same group.

Black Hair Care Industry In America

2007-12-23T12:02:00.001-08:00

This documentary is really, really depressing. It shows how the African American hair care market has been pretty much monopolized by Korea. It is really quite sad. I wonder should I be angry at the Koreans who seized the opportunity to capitalize on this market, or should I be mad at the Black community for letting it happen. What can we as blacks do to capitalize on this market?

My Ratings

2007-12-10T04:14:00.003-08:00

My Brunsli Hair Ties

2007-12-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

OK So a month ago I ordered some Brunsli Hair Ties. They never came. I ordered them, got a fairly quick response from Brunsli and Co. with a nice USPS tracking number to go along with it. USPS held my Brunsli Hair Ties hostage!!!!!!! I contacted Brunsli and Co. around Thanksgiving wondering what happened to my hair ties. I promptly got an apology from them, even though it really wasn't their fault at all, but rather USPS (ggggrrrrr). In exchange for my long wait they sent one of my hair ties, the other one wasn't available, and as a consolation gift sent me another hair tie. Such great service, and such cute accessories!!!!! They work well in natural hair!!!!!!!

When a new job comes and I have income coming in, watch out Brunsli!!!! I am getting more hair ties!!!!!

Yoga just kicked my ass

2007-12-03T04:29:00.000-08:00

I just finished doing some yoga. Since I am not working I am devising a plan where I will not be crying and surfing the internet all day. I plan to keep busy with chores, bills, and job searching. I plan to do yoga or pilates videos every day, but after getting my ass kicked this morning, I don't know. I hope to get motivated and not eat everything in site. Hopefully the exercise will help get me out of my funk and motivate me to eat better, which is hard during this time of the year. Which for the past few months all eating good has gone out the window, I quit taking all diet pills, and I am just eating as if every meal is my last. Well I am not doing that any more, I have to get control, and if I don't I might have to join Overeaters Anonymous.

Positives about my job interview today

2007-11-26T12:40:00.000-08:00

I went in for testing for a job today and I saw a girl interviewing like me with some really nice twists. I did my bun today, and I have an interview tomorrow in which I will also wear my bun. It gave me hope I could still be corporate, but still keep my hair natural.

Skin Care Regimen

2007-11-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

OK to get my mind off of more important things (i.e. being unemployed during the Holidays). I have decided to focus on my skin. It is in a sad state right now. My acne has gone wild, it seems worse now, than when I was a teenager. I need to get this in control. I am going to try to stick to a regimen. I am not good at that, but my skin needs all the help it is going to get. Twice a day, I will use my Oyin Handmade Black Soap and Honey Cleansing Foam. At night I will use the St. Ives Apricot Scrub, gentle cleanser, and for moisturizer I will use aloe vera gel. I will see how this works by trying to stick with this for a month. I will use body scrub one a week for my body and use my Afrikan Republic black soap for every day showering, and use shea butter instead of regular lotion for moisturizer. I will also be using the time old tradition of preventing ash, baby oil in the shower. I will be able to slide downa slip n slide with ease I will be so moisturized.

Job Interviewing with Natural Hair

2007-11-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

If you read my other blogs, you would know that I am currently looking for another job.

My decision now is how I will wear my hair on an interview. Can I do a wash and go? Or should I do the safe bun or ponytail? Should I go and flat iron it for interviews and slowly transition to natural once I get a new job? The last interview I was on, I did a wash and go. It was very neat, no one seemed to care, but could my natural hair cause me to not get a job? Do I want to work there anyway if it did?

Creating my own concoctions and other things about my hair

2007-11-14T17:38:00.001-08:00

A couple of weekends ago, I made my first skin product, I melted shea butter with after bath oil, Palmers vitamin e scar serum, and some scented oil. It is kind of awesome, but heavy on the scent though and it makes the shea butter real smooth and much easier to melt. In terms of my hair I did a wash and go Sunday, just a regular co-wash, my hair dried and was extra dry and extra frizzy, turns out I needed to get rid of build up. I used Burts Bee's shampoo. It is silicone and sulfate laurate free. It worked, great. It is also good because my husband can use it. Another plus is I can get it at Walgreens for only $8. I think I will start using this product once a month to get rid of build up. It didn't feel like it stripped my hair of moisture like the Ojon shampoo did.

Product junkie-Found a New Site

2007-11-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

If it is cheap, then it is like getting it for free right? I have been using shea butter, and it is kinda costly, except if I get it here. It is only like $8/pound!!!! How cheap is that. The site also sells oils and other things.

GGGGGGGRRRRRRR

2007-11-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

Laying in bed watching TV with my baby. I ask him how he felt about me doing a big chop. His reply:

"Yeah baby go for it. There is always WEAVE"

::sigh::

Skin Care Woes

2007-11-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

OK, I have found some great products for my hair, but I need to find some great products for my face. I have been wearing my hair down and as a result the sides of my face are breaking out from all the moisturizer and products in my hair. I need to do something about that. I have been using Oyin Handmade Black Soap & Honey Gentle Cleansing Foam. It works very well, but I need more to ensure no more break outs. Per Brunsli she uses Origins Clear Improvement® Active charcoal mask and Japanese Blotting Paper.

New Purchase-Brunsli Hair Ties

2007-11-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

I found a blog of a woman who wears Sisterlocks. She also has a store that sells hair ties. I bought two last night, I can't wait to get them. They look awesome. I posted the pics of the two I bought, they look absolutely darling.

Day Two Curls By Sisters Smith Hair

2007-10-27T08:12:00.001-07:00

I used the Quick Fix Spritz and the Butter Me Up Hair Butter.

I am just now starting to sleep on a silk pillowcase to protect my hair. Before that it was cotton or the wrap or bonnet that would fall off my head. I got it for $20 at Feeling Pampered. It came quickly and was really nice and I don't have to worry about it slipping off my head at night, or seducing my husband with a bonnet on my head.

Curls By Sisters Smith Review and Pics

2007-10-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

I used my samples from Curls by Sisters Smith. I used the Wet Set Hair Pudding, Quick Fix Spritz, and the Butter Me Up Hair Butter. The Wet Set Hair Pudding seems really nice. A plus is when my hair dries it doesn't feel crispy like when I use Kinky Curly Curling Custard. The smell was ok, it was florally, but that can come in the brown sugar scent like my Butter me Up Hair Butter which I reviewed in my last post. The Quick Fix Spritz seemed to work like a standard refresher spray to lock in moisture, it has a great price point, and that would be my selling point with it. There are other products that work just as good, it wasn't outstanding, but it wasn't bad either. All in all for the price Curls by Sister Smith has great products and great prices, I just strongly suggest using the brown sugar scent, as it is heavenly!!!!!!

My Hair Routine:

Co-wash and detangle with Suave Naturals. Rinse out, reapply same conditioner as leave in.
Apply butter me up hair butter to hair
Then apply Oyin after bath oil
Then the wet set hair butter
Spritz with Quick Fix Spritz
Leave hair alone and go on with life :)

P.S. The wet picture is bad, it was due to time constraints, used the phone camera, not such a good idea, but it works in a pinch

Product Review: Curls By Sister Smith Butter Me Up Hair Butter

2007-10-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

This is the first sample out of my Curls By Sisters Smith sampler. The Butter Me Up Hair Butter is a very nice day to day conditioner. The plus side of this product is very inexpensive, only $5 for a 4 oz jar. Not bad at all to be honest. The best part of this product is the smell. I am guessing it is the Brown Sugar scent, and it smells DELICIOUS. I want to eat my hair, like all the time. It makes my hair soft. Also a little goes a long way, so my 2 oz. jar will last me a while. I have been using the 2 oz. jar with my Oyin Handmade Juice and Berries leave in. It is a good combo. It works well for day to day. I will say that it is an overall great product. The hair butter is nice, melts in your hands easily, doesn't feel too greasy. I would definitely buy more. The biggest seller to me though is the smell and price point. I will say other products out there do seem to make my hair feel a bit softer than this product, but as well all know with natural hair, what works wonders for one, does not work wonders for all. A definite worth a try product though.

My New Product Purchase

2007-10-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

I just purchased a sample pack from Curls By Sisters Smith!!! I am so excited, and I got this pack with shipping for only $16 bucks. I will let you know the results when I receive my product. In the meantime.......

I am so excited about being natural today!!!!! You wanna know why? BECAUSE IT RAINED and I didn't give a damn, I just took my hair put it in a ponytail and went on about my day, and then when I got home, I fluffed it and styled it and it was looking awesome!!!! Yay for worry free hair. No having to run from the rain, now I can enjoy it!!!!

Diet and Colon Cleanse

2007-09-29T05:21:00.001-07:00

The diet has gone to hell, but I am resuming. I am going to do a colon cleanse, continue with Ally (I quit taking it), and start taking diet pill you take at night to alter blood sugar. I will also exercise, and try to eat non processed foods, and quit drinking soda (this is so going to suck). I will try this for one week and see what happens. I will also continue calorie counting. Wish me luck!!!!!!

Things I want-Hair Products

2007-09-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

Curl-ease Towel. It is suppossed to dry hair quicker and define curl better, for $20.00 I would like that. You can get it at Honey Fig or Sistasplace, both links are to the right.

Curls By Sisters Smith products. Looking at the web site, their stuff is Uber cheap, I am definitely trying them out when I get out of financial lockdown.

I had a come to Jesus with the husband, he thinks the hair product addiction should overflow to my allowance account and not the main account. So until build up some allowance account reserves I am broke hair product wise. I will use the hundreds of dollars worht of product I currently have under my bathroom sink I guess until then. Dang it!!!!!

E.L.F. Cosmetics

2007-09-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

I just recently purchased E.L.F. cosmetics, so I could experiment with some make up colors. The make up is VERY inexpensive, a $1!!!!!!!! I am still using my MAC for foundation purposes, but the eye make up, lip stuff, and blusher are awesome, and at such a cheap price, I can try all kinds of new colors and be very experimental. I definitely recommend, it isn't MAC quality, but honestly is there anything else that can compare to MAC and for a dollar, I can lower expectations. I have sensitive skin, and this doesn't cause me to break out at all, so a good deal to me overall.

New Headband and Laziness

2007-09-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

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OK I haven't washed my hair since the deep conditioning. I need to go on and do that huh? I guess that is what happens when you are lazy. But today I did use my new headband, I did the infamous ponytail with a headband for extra cuteness. This ponytail is in bad need of a washing, but here it is ponytail w/headband.

On a side note, on another blog, a commenter mentioned that natural hair is for lazy people who don't want to do their hair. I was so floored by that comment. Relaxed women are lazy too, and natural hair can be just as labor intensive, if not more than those with relaxed hair. When I had relaxed hair I would sometimes go two weeks without a washing to keep the perm "fresh". I also would just comb out my hair, wrap it or roll at night and be done with it. Both types have their pros and cons, and I have seen many ugly relaxed heads in my lifetime, it goes both ways.

"Not everyone can step out of the shower like that"

2007-09-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

So yesterday afternoon, I went to visit the parents, my dad did some grilling and my uncle and aunt were in town, as my cousin had a baby yesterday!!!!! (Congrats brandykins!!!) Of course Brandykins (not her real name, just a take on her real name, guess what it is, and it isn't kins) was not there as she was in the hospital, but the aunt and uncle came over. My aunt had not seen me in a long time and is used to my hot combed hair or my ponytail/bun look which I rocked literally 100% of the time for years. She was like "what did you do to your hair, it is so pretty!!! People pay for hair like that!!!" I told her my routine of washing or cowashing my hair and adding stuff and then just letting it air dry. She was like, I couldn't do that, and I was like sure you could, you just have to know what to do with your hair. She was like "did you texturize it?" I answered promptly NO of course, and then we had the subject of my cousin/soon to be little sister's hair (oh yeah I need to post in my non hair blog about my parents adopting my cousin's children), and my mom said her hair was natural, and I begged her to let me do it. I love my mom, but she was the one running to put a perm in my head at age nine. Not to a salon, but to the drug store with the Revlon Super Strength Super Lye relaxer, and I will not tell you of my Rio tragedy. My mom said fine and I told her I would show her how to do her hair natural and not be high maintenance, and my aunt was adamant the child needed a perm, I hope to god my aunt never gets a hold of that child's head. I sure as hell won't let me mother without proper instruction. I still have flashbacks from the pain of getting my hair combed with a rat tail, small toothed comb, sitting under dryers for roller sets, and getting burned by hot combs.