Protective styles

So, I've been reading about protective styles and wanted to try out a few for myselft. I decided that Christmas would be a good day to give it a try.

I kinda liked the way the back came out with the two layers of rolls, really cute. The front needs some work. I wasn't crazy about the part in the middle and I knew my hair would become more puffy along the sides so I took it down and did my two-stranded twist. I'll keep working on my protective syling, I already have some ideas in my head.

Keep it real, keep it natural YY

Annie's Rubber Cushion Brush

I have been reading a lot of information about the Denman brushes. I have not seen one at the beauty supply store that I frequent. However, there is a brush called the Rubber Cushion Brush by Annie.




















I love this brush. I discovered this brush more than ten years ago when I was still relaxing. I wanted a brush that would give me a good massage as I brush my hair. When I felt this brush through the plastic I knew it was just what I was looking for and I have been hooked ever since.

I stopped using Annie's brush when I went natural because of the pulling. Then, because of all the great websites like blackhairplanet, the coil review and even youtube, I learned how to brush my hair to detangle it. I am so happy seeing that my $1.99 brush works as well as the Denman. I've never priced a Denman but I don't think I get it for $1.99. Maybe one day I'll make more of an effort to find and purchase a Denman for the purpose of comparison. But for now...if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Pros: price $1.99

7 rows of bristles

fantastic curl pattern

excellent for detangling

removable head for easy cleaning

rounded hard plastic/rubber bristles for great scalp massage

Cons: The rubber bed seems to wear away easily (this is pre natural hair. Now I'll get to see if it last a bit longer)

This is the only con I have for the brush but considering a price tag of $1.99, it's not that important to me.

While I was there I also bought a satin pillowcase $3.99 and terry turban $4.99. I haven't used either of them yet but I'm looking forward to it.

Keep it real, keep it natural YY

The Me I Am Becoming

There is so much commercialism available to girls of all ages. What the TV and maggies don't drill into their heads, friends and family certainly will. Am I excluded, of course not, not one of us is untouched by this form of socialism literally thrown on us before we can define ourselves.

In 2008 I decided to do something for me, just to see what it would be like. I thought to myself, 'It's way past time for another relaxer. My hair is so thick you could lose a small child in it.' But I realized I missed my 6-8 week regimen of: pretreated/greasing my scalp, applying and combing (while crying) the relaxer, rinsing over and over, sitting under the dryer or blow drying (another long process) and then still not done because I have to curl and then roll up my hair. But wait, there's more...Don't let it rain. Oh crap! all that curling and now my hair has to go in a ponytail because of the humidity! So throw the hot curlers in my bag and curl it again when I get to work.

Enough of all that! I happen to be blessed with a length of hair that lays on my shoulders but I was so caught up in trying to make my look as sleek, shiny and bouncy as females who were wearing fake hair! No offense sistas It was so bad I couldn't tell if I was looking at real hair or not, even on the baby girls. Not only could I not tell but I once had a female curse me because she assumed my hair was fake.

So now my hair anniversary is coming. I was thinking, 2007 is probably my anniversary but since I can't remember the month of my last relaxer I'm fine using the month I decided to fore go the crack. That right Whitney! crack is whack, even in your hair. Oh in my hair. This posting is strictly about my hair and my journey, I would never be so lofty as to knock someone for their choices.

So, hmm, I do tend to ramble; anywho! THE ME I AM BECOMING, born out of mere freedom to choose, is finding herself and I think I like her. I love knowing that I am not defined by makeup, which I never wore anyway; nor my clothing, which have never been designer labels; nor my bank account, which is quite sparse. I am defined by who I want to be. I choose to never put that creamy crack in my again, I choose to never put heating elements in my hair again, I choose never to add manufactured hair to head again or anyone else's hair for that matter. I choose to not wear makeup, I choose gray naturally and hope it to be gracefully. I choose to continue to strive to a woman of character, grace and virtue. So as I travel my path to a positive napptitude, I am falling in love with YY THE ME I AM BECOMING. YY

I love Moeshealoe

My shea butter recipe came out so good, thanks to moe moe's recipe. The grapefruit essential oil was great choice. I enjoyed it so much in my shea butter mix that I added to water for a refreshing spritz in the afternoon. It's an invigorating spritz when your eyes start to get a bit heavy. I have to find something for evenings now that will be relaxing but it wont be lavender, I really don't like that smell. Anyway, I think I had a pretty good combo of ingredients, not too oily, not at all sticky/tacky, not too dry and not too wet. Only thing, with no measurements it will never be actually the same. But hey, it's the results that matter.

What's next? Well, since I read you can also use shea butter on your skin, lotion is next. Since my hair is natural and I'm trying to stick to natural products, why not stop butting all that junk on my skin as well. I'm kinda working backwards but I figure if I can develop a discipline with my hair and skin (on the outside) then maybe I will be able to develop a discipline on the inside and eat better. Gotta start somewhere.

Shealoe with a splash of grapefruit

So I bought my shea butter yesterday in preparation for making shealoe. Today I bought George Aloe Gel, Aura Cacia Grapefruit essential oil, EGem vitamin E and some Castor Oil that I may use for blackhairplanet castor oil challenge 2010. I was able to easily mash up the shea butter with a funky curved fork that I have had forever. It’s very strong and heavy and the curving allowed it to fit the shape of the bowl making stirring and mashing easy so absolutely no heating/melting was necessary. This added to the fact that I was chilly; I try to keep my heat set at 62-65 unless it’s really cold; so I was sitting near the space heater. Holding the glass bowl in my hand while I stirred allowed the natural body heat, as well as the heat from the space heater, to warm and soften the butter just a bit more.

Then it was time to pull out the hand mixer; so glad I already had one of these in the house. I remembered reading to only use one blade. Actually, I thought I would have to but once I started I realized that one blade was not a smart choice. I felt like I was in a rodeo trying to hold the bowl and hold the mixer! Butter started to fly around the room even though I truly know how to mix with a hand mixer. Once I added the second blade, which to my surprise did fit the bowl, it was much easier to hold on…I was able to stay on the horse!!! LOL.

Oh yes!!! After about 10-15 mins of adding ingredients (aloe gel and a bit of evoo) I finally got a good consistency. After this I added the grapefruit eo, it took more of this then I expected. But now, it definitely looks like whipped cake frosting and smells oh, so good! I really had to resist the urge to taste the frosting…uh butter a few times when I got some on my fingers. Instead I just rubbed in. By the time I finished not only did I have a great smelling, luxurious feeling, whipped butter, I also very soft hands. Oh, I was able to finally use just one blade of the mixer once I had a softer consistency of the butter.

I bought these cheapie containers with twist top, something you don’t see much of anymore, at the dollar to put the shea butter in. Is this a good idea or should I be using a glass container? I hope somebody reads this and responds. I guess this is a good use for these containers since it says not for microwave or dishwasher, wow!


Guess I could have made a bit more uh? I only used half of the shea butter because I was afraid of messing up. Maybe next week I’ll go ahead and make the rest and just put it all together.

So, wrapping up, next time:
*Mash the shea butter with my special fork, though I think any fork will do.
*Start off with both blades of mixer and add aloe vera gel a little at a time.
*Once the consistency is nice and creamy it’s ok to remove one blade, if you want.
*Add drops of vitamin E, I added about 10 drops and mixed a bit more.
*Add some evoo, or oil of choice to smooth out more. By now it should be looking good and whipped so stop or keep going until you find the consistency you want.
*Lastly, add essential oil of choice, though not necessary, for fragrant goodness. I used grapefruit oil, hmmm smells soooooo good!













I can’t wait to do my hair in the morning! I am so excited to see how my hair likes this mix.

The Nappy Language

I am so in love with being natural even on the day when my hair doesn't do what I want it to do. I have become quite a pj if I say so myself.

One of the things I really love about being natural is the winks and nods. When I'm walking down the street, head held high, and see fellow nappy head. We don't even have to speak, we just kind of nod and smile at each other. . I love it when I talk with a complete stranger and speak the secret nappy langage using words like: ACV, TWA, condish, co wash, no poo, ORS, TW and cones.

As the new year approaches and people being to make resolutions, I don't make resolutions I make life changes, I look forward to moving further in this journey of nappiest. I hope to reach a point where I wont hate to co-wash because my hair is soooo coily. Instead I can just look forward to learning new styles that will aw my family and friends. Maybe I will be able to bring a few over to coily side!!

Oils for my hair - Yes!

I really like this. I gave the Tropical Coconut condish another as a co-wash and used the VO5 Tea Therapy as my leave-in. This was followed by using the TW oyl and wow! My responded so well to this oil it is truly unbelievable. I still had tangles but after combing through I was able to pull my hair back into a afro puff instead of twisting as I usually do. Combing through that night to sleep was really bear but the next day, again I was able to easily put my hair in a fro. The fro was easier to comb down that second night.







I can see that my hair is getting thicker, which I really don't need.
It's also growing like crazy. I really don't have a goal for hair length I just want healthy hair and skin with minimal breakage. I hair has always been shoulder length, maybe an inch longer, so if it never grows any longer I'm ok it's more than enough to deal with. But here's a thought, if growing my longer so women that you can have natural hair with length and volume without using chemicals and without any heat than I am up to showing the world.


What did I learn this time?
Wash n go - Never. I think my hair is way to coily for that.
Taliah Waajid African Healing Oyl - Yes to oil even if it's not TW.
VO5 Tea Therapy - Yes, as co-wash or leave-in works great for me.
Suave Tropical Coconut - Yes, great for co-washing. Might work as a leave-in if I add oil.
What's next? I need hair bling! Now that I am able to wear my hair up occasionally I need pretty flowers, butterflies and all kinds of shiny, dangling, glittery stuff for my hair.

VO5 Tea Therapy Conditioner

Well needing to try a different leave-in conditioner, on Friday I went back to my Family Dollar to see what else they had. Well new supplies were in and with them was VO5 Tea Therapy Conditioner. Wow, I think my hair really likes this one. I could immediately see and feel the difference in my hair. It became softer right away and was so easy to manage as I flat twisted for the evening. This morning when I took my twist out I definitely was able to smile! I give this products two thumbs up for sure!!!
I don't know, I actually got this conditioner as a leave-in but I'm thinking it will work very well as a co-wash for me. Oh and the smell, because it's tea it's very pleasant, not perfumey or overpowering at all. If you are familiar and love the smell of Roots of Nature Shea Butter Green Tea stimulating scalp oil (I know it's a mouthful) then you will love the smell of VO5 Tea Therapy.
Today I was able to get Taliah Waajid products for $4.99 each! Now this was not back at the dollar store. I was in town and found this little store called Mini Mart & Beauty Supply on Maryland Ave about one blk above North Ave. If you live in or near Baltimore and know the area pop in. There's a couple of really cool guys who were very eager to help me find what I was looking for and get anything for future visits. I was hoping to get some castor or olive oil when I saw the TW. I couldn't believe the price and they had the entire line. Not being able to find the olive or castor oil I bought the African Healing Oyl and Lock it Up for my twist. I can't wait to use the Lock it Up tomorrow when I twist my hair. Its smell is delicious, like sweet coconut. The oil, or rather oyl, really doesn't have much of a smell at all. Wait, if I take a reeeeally deep drag I get a faint whiff of fragrance but it doesn't matter because I'm about to pass out from working so hard to smell something. LMBO
So what now? Even though I have the oyl I still have to get castor oil because I plan on joining a castor oil challege on blackhairplanet.com and I don't think I can use a different oil.

Five days later

Ok, comments about my spa day. I loved the clarifying treatment with baking soda. Immediately after pouring in I could feel the softness, the hair seemed to stretch as after a long slumber. I love the smell of the Suave Tropical conditioner though I can't say that I was very pleased with it in my hair. The Elastra for deep conditioning felt really good and was happy that it doesn't seem to have much of a smell so I was able to retain the light coconut smell. I'm not even a fan of coconut eaten or smelled but I like this. I think I followed the directions well but my hair seemed to have more tangles at the end and is frizzier than usually. I tried one of the homemade leave-in conditioners (Suave, water and oil). I spritzed to death and twisted my hair. I was able to see that my hair definitely looked different, I guess this is the sheen that I have read about because I certainly don't have much shine. When I took my twist out on Tuesday night I was not very happy, I didn’t see the look I usually get. So I think maybe I need to get a store bought leave-in and make sure I didn't miss a step in there somewhere. Oh, did I mention I think I'm allergic to the oil I bought. Yeah, thought I had picked up olive oil but I didn't. I looked at some many different things I ended buying the wrong one, Super Grow or something like that.
All in all since I am still in the tweaking phase I can chalk this up as growth.

Still hanging in there

It's getting close to my anniversary, or should I say my hairiversary. Getting through the first year and beyond was very difficult. So many times I wanted to throw in the towel and go back to the chems. I am so happy I didn't do that.
So often my hair becomes a conversation piece. Total strangers have walked up to me and boldly asked questions about my hair. I have to admit, I haven't gotten any really stupid questions or comments other than when a sista told me my hair needed to be raked and it looked like grass that needed to be mowed. Funny, I'd forgotten these comments until I started this posting. Anyway, I wasn't offended at all, instead I looked her square in the eye and said, "Yeah but this is my real hair not store bought so whatever I do with it, it's all good. That ended the whole conversation becuase, eh she wears wigs. LMBO
I still have so much to learn about doing my own hair and it's so much fun. I have been noticing that my looks really dull and I was not pleased with this at all. On recent visits to hair care sites such as the coil review and motowngirl I discovered that I need to clarify my hair to remove chemical build up. There is great information about homemade, chem-free recipes for your hair, video links about hair styles, product reviews and all kinds of yummy information on these sites. I discovered that pretty much all the products I have been using on my hair are the wrong products for natural hair. I'll find some place to donate these product. There are places where people need help and the products are not really harmful, just not good for natural hair.
So for me, today is my spa day. I'll be at She' Bejai getting the works!!
*Baking soda and water to clarify my hair thus removing all the nasty chemical build up.
*Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner for co washing
*Elastra Conditioner for deep conditioning
*Olive Oil to moisturize my ends.
*Double strand twist for styling.
*Air dry
The fun doesn't stop there folks!! After all this I need a facial scrub and a foot soak & scrub. I should have some things around the house I can use for this as well. When I went shopping for my hair products I also bought eggs, apple cider vinegar, honey, and brown sugar. I know there's a home recipe in there somewhere. It seems the only thing missing is a massage to round out my day but seeing as how I can't do that myself...maybe a nice hot bubble bath will do. Of course this means I'll be home all day and probably night too but no one said beauty was easy. LOL. Anyway, when I go to work Monday there will definitely be a noticeable glow to my skin after so much self-pampering.

The natural way

I am liking natural more and more as the days go by. Who knew I would be someone with chemical-free hair! If someone had told me three years ago that I would go natural I would have laughed myself silly.

Ok, here it goes. This first picture I'm not sure of the date, probably sometime in April 2009, is a braid out day. This was probably my third day so things had gone a bit crazy and you see that there is still quite a bit of relaxed hair on the ends.

This is a better picture of a fresh braid out, probably day one in August 2008. I always roll it up for a neater look. During this period I was still at the 'You must be crazy to go natural' stage. Combing my hair after washing was a beast!

But now!!! I hear music! The hair gods have smiled on me and transformed my hair. I read so much about the 'Big Chop' and decided to go for it. I put my hair in small braids and cut diagonally at the puff. Then I followed the advise on the Nappaturality site that says not to shampoo so much. Instead, I spritzed my hair with water and used organic hair mayonaise. I twisted in small sections and then rolled my hair that night.

I am loving this! I have gotten so many compliments, who can I think about chemical fires again.

NEVER

Ok, so today I took the twist out after 5 days and this is my result. I didn't roll last night so it's not curly but the twist out should last at least three to four days! The hair mayonaise helped give me nice tight twist so I am expecting a nice twist out. Chopping off about 3" of my hair wasn't such a bad idea after all but I still need to do another chop, at least one to two more inches. Then even if I don't roll my hair the twist out will look so much better.

Keeping it real

In February 2008 I decided to go natural. My thick head of hair was out of control, I wish I had some pictures! I used to tell people that you could hide a small child in the back of my hair between touch-up. Combing my hair after a good shampoo took me back to age 6 when I would get brushes broken over my shoulder for not putting my head down. Hey, that kitchen was a mess! During this transition it easily took up to two hours just to comb through my hair and then another couple to braid it up to air dry. It's been about 15 months now and I couldn't be happier with the way my hair has turned out. I can comb my hair and braid it to air dry in about one hour, maybe two depending on the syle.
I was turned on to a site called nappturality and found out that a lot of the things I was doing to my hair was the right thing to do. I decided on my own that natural meant no hot combs, hot curling or flat ironing. I decided that I would go a step further and not blow dry either. It seems that these are the things this site promotes! Who knew?
Pictures will be added later