Monday, June 16, 2014

Some days it just works

Some days the hair is so tight it's ridiculous!
Out yesterday with family, so glad to sun was shining.  You don't want to see the after pic. lol 



Keep it real, keep it natural

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Something on the inside

Working to make my inside as natural and healthy as my outside is easier said than done.
No heat in my hair...done
Protective styling...done
No chems in my hair or skin...done
No junk food....hold the presses
No chocolate, no chips...{lips start to quiver}
Why oh why does it have to be this?  I decided in 2006-2007 to go natural and never looked, even on my worst hair days, and trust me there was a lot of those. However, to go one week with healthy eating and exercise is the end of the world for me.  But I keep trying.
Tonight I marinated and baked tofu.  YUMMY!!
https://www.facebook.com/bernadette.vines/posts/10201893508208849
I posted it on Facebook.

Now on to my hair.  HELLO HYDRATION  my hair loves it.  I continue make quest to stick to affordable products instead of trying to keep up with the jones'.  Last time I looked my name was Vines baby!  HH has a very light fragrance and wonderful slip.  My hair was feeling so dry and brittle on the ends I thought it would just crumple like potato chips.  I mixed the HH, a detangler and coconut oil to baggy my ends the night before.  Then after washing with a black soap bar I applied more HH and could immediately feel how soft my hair was and how easily the comb ran through it.
Everyday as soon as I get home I spritz my ends and tuck them up for the night.  My twist will come out this weekend and I hope to feel maybe a slight deference in my ends.
A friend reminded me that store bought conditioners do have chemicals but I feel satisfied that I am at least limiting the chemicals by the choice of products I use.

Keep it real, keep it natural

Oops!

Well, I needed some motivation to get starting blogging on this post again and I think I found it!  I came across a video for a high bun and fell in love with it immediately.  Nicole does not use extra (fake) hair for enhancement or volume nor does she use any heat to apply this style. I don't need any other reasons to make this a winner for me.


If I do this on stretched out hair it will be huge!  Tomorrow is the day I am going to give it a try before I wash my hair.  Then the whole process of stretching it out after washing, it should be ready by Tuesday of next week. lol
I'm still sticking with my same cheapy products, I refuse to bill money for hair products when I can get the same results with cheaper products.  Why spend so much money to get my hair so pretty and then can't afford to go out and show it off. ROFL!!!!  That's just my opinion of course.
So what's in my arsenal of products?
My forever shelf:
Jamaican Castor's Oil
Organic Coconut Oil
Shea Butter
Coco Butter
Essential Oils
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Suave conditioners
Castile soap
Baking Soda
Apple Cider Vinegar
Black soap bars
Cantu Leave-in conditioners
My splurge shelf:
Taliah Waajid products
Africa's Best Organics products
Crème of Nature products
Pantene products
Mane & Tail Detangler


As you see, my essentials out way my splurge products




Keep it real, keep it natural

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

New style...naturally

So Sunday night I was looking for a new way to put my hair up. Hoping for something that will last a while I decided to try twisting my hair a different way and then pinning it up in the round. Did I explain that well? What I did was part it in circles or spirals around my head the way my mother use to part my sister way to braid it around her head. From there I twisted as usual and then just pinned everything wrapping the twist either left or right.


I'm wrapped my head lightly and was able to sleep on it last night and it still looks good this morning so we'll see if it holds all week


























Keep it real, keep it natural

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Product Reviews

Good morning bloggers!
It's probably about time for me to do another length check but I don't think my hair has retained much length pass bra strap so not in a big hurry. I've been battling with cutting a few inches just for manageability. I like wearing my hair loose and wild in the summer but the longer it gets the harder it is to manage/tame at the end of the day. If I'm tired and get lazy...trouble, trouble, trouble in the morning.
So anyway, my new product list:
-Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Cream
-Taliah Waajid Detangler
-Garnier Fructis Leave-In conditioning cream
-Organic Root Stimulator Tea Tree Oil
-Ultimate Organic Therapy Coconut Oil
-Cantu Shea Butter leave in conditioning repair cream

A couple of these move to my permanent list while others will never grace my shelves again.
Top of my list is ORS tea tree oil! Love this stuff!!!
Not to crazy about the smell but I think it's growing on me, sorta like Jamaican Black Castor Oil has to grow on some of us. I actually used the ORS as a hot oil treatment yesterday. I damped my hair, applied my usual conditioner (anything cheap but usually a Suave product), then instead of putting on a plastic cap I put heaps of the ORS on my hair. I put my hair in four big twists and put my cap on for probably four hours as I cleaned the house, did some knitting and even dozed in front of the tv. I used a black soap to shampoo because I knew there would be lots of oil build up to wash away. The oil made my very, very soft, I could still feel the oil clinging to my ends after a good soaping and rinsing. My hair looks great and smells 'sexy'...his words, not mine :) So two thumbs up to ORS, a new keeper on my stable shelf.

Another keeper is the Ultimate Organic Therapy Coconut Oil. One reason I love this is that I tried a coconut oil before, a solid one, and it irritated my scalp. The UOT oil does not irritate my scalp and is wonderful for my face after showering. I'm able to apply it directly to my scalp because of the application tip so that's a plus. I also add this to my shea aloe and to my homemade leave in conditioners.

The other keeper is Cantu Shea Butter leave in conditioning repair cream. This is a light weight cream that does a great job of helping me retain moisture. In the middle of the afternoon if my ends are starting to fly a bit around my crown I can mist my hair and apply some Cantu. It goes right to work helping those strays go back to sleep!

So those are my Do's, the other three are my Don't's

TW Detangler is a don't for me. It's not so much that it didn't work, it's more the fact that my hair requires a lot of product and it's just not economical for my hair length. TW's scent is very pleasant of course. I didn't notice any build up and it doubles as a leave in so you get a good bang for your buck.

TW Curly Curl Cream I didn't like at all. For my hair this product dulls my hair and leaves it feeling kinda 'tacky'. Of course because it's TW it has a wonderfully refreshing scent. I still have plenty left in the jar so I may try it again to see if my hair was maybe having a bad day. Then I'd happily retrack my review and maybe consider moving it to my stable list.

My ultimate never, ever again product is Garnier's leave in conditioning cream. Can you spell yuck, phew, nasty!!! All of this refers to the smell. I don't think there's anything else to say about it, just NO, NO, NO. It's not for me with hair being so close to the nose and all.

Keep it real, keep it natural

Saturday, February 19, 2011

My perfect bun

I found an awesome video on youtube called Bun Tutorial that shows how to make a bun. Believe me, my previous buns were quite dreadful, kinda flat and sloppy. But it still did the job of protecting my ends as it should.
After finding the tut I realized the problem with my buns was the lack of a donut at all. Nobody told me I needed a donut!!! So, since I don't any black tube/sweat socks I pulled out my yarn and crocheted one. I had to use a different color to start the tube to ensure that I didn't run out of black.
















My donut came out great and my buns are perfections. One of my co-workers actually told me she thought it was a store bought piece!













Keep it real, keep it natural

Saturday, January 29, 2011

I'm still here!

Yes, I'm still here. I am, after all, very faithful to the things and the people I love. I absolutely love being natural and don't see chems anywhere in my future. I've been keeping busy with my knit and crochet projects on my other blog.
Since today is my spa day I figured I pull out the cam and get a couple shots for a lenght check. I put a bra on over my shirt in order to get a good bra strap check. I'm still using the same products since they're not giving me any troubles. Since I've definitely reached bsl I guess I need to shot for mid back now!





























As usual on spa day my hair is looking so great I wish I had somewhere to go. But, as usual, I have absoulutely nowhere to go. But since I love me I'll do my hair, my feet, fix a nice dinner, maybe dress my table real pretty and just enjoy being me.

Keep it real, keep it natural YY