Late Night Hair(Trim)

Trim? Cut? You tell me...
I have been getting a little bored with my hair lately and have been wanting a hair cut of some sort.  While working in my hair last night I was feeling the frustration, lol, and had a party to go to last night. But I did not succumb to it, I put my hair in about ten plaits added a knitted cap and a flower and kept going.
On to my point.
I have mentioned before that the back patch of my hair is a 3 something and can literally hang with the best of them, the rest of my hair is 4B all the way(if your in to that). It is irritating to me cause when I do a style that section just stretches and makes its presence known, often I just wish that part was 4B like the rest. So today I had hubby cut that back section off, I have done this before and of course it just grew back as you can see in the pic below.

  

This is my hair good and wet Monday,

 the rest is shrunken up

and that back section is hanging around...

 

This is the small amount cut...

                                                       Before                              After

Can you see the difference? I like this shape better :)

This is the back view, I think this makes 

my hair look alot fuller.  We'll see what it 

looks like in the morning, if I need

to cut more I will.

By the way, the style today was a braid out using products that I make for myself, unfortunately Memphis' famous humidity got to it but that's ok, I was loving the fluffiness. I pre pooed with Vatika oil then shampooed with my African Black soap peppermint shampoo I make for me and my family.  For the braids I used my homemade moisturizing shea butter pomade and my homemade whipped mango butter, oh and a little bit of flaxseed gel. I loved this out style even more after the cut...Tonight I rebraided with Shea Moisture Smoothie and the mango butter.

I haven't used the As I Am yet cause like I said before that package came after all this was done, I don't plan on washing my hair soon since there is no need and I will be out of town this weekend, I hope to have some kind of review after the ffourth I really can't wait to try the Cowash condtioner.

Avocado Hair Treatment

I love avocados and guacamole is a definite go to with some chips but surely I never thought to put it in my hair, but as I type this I am sitting with avocado hair treatment under a shower cap, now, who knew.
Apparently, avocados are geat for hair growth, strengthens hari and adds shine...one serving of avocado mask for me please.  Avocados (oil) are full of Vitamin E which is important for healthy hair growth and reducing shedding hair, the oil is next on my shopping list. 
Let's not forget about the protein in avocados too, I'm not a protein fan especially after reading some scary failed attemps at protein treatments.  So why not give this one a try, it's not a chemical so surely no harm can be done.

Here is what I did:
2 Avocados
Olive Oil, I started with 2tbsp then added more as needed
jojoba oil, about 2tbsp
water
and blended in my mini food processor.
for storage I put it in my plastic containers, make sure you put the seed in there with the mixture to keep it from turning brown.  Freeze any extra.

My thoughts:  I didn't not have that hallelujah moment with this, but it was a nice treatment.  It was the same effect I get after doing a deep treatment after shampooing and sitting under the dryer, I definitely liked skipping that part.  My hair was shiney though.  Would I do it again, yep, just because...maybe in another 2 weeks to see if the effects are consistent.

Afterwards I used my KeraCare samples to finish washing and styling my hair, be back with that review soon.

amla again

These past few days have been good hair days, I did another Amla treatment on Saturday and my hair loves it.  The recipe is the same as I did here, and I let it sit for about the same amount of time.  Believe me when I say I am not having any hair shed at all or breakage when styling/retwisting my hair, I don't know if it is the Amla, black tea, or both but they are doing their job.  I wanted to do a Henna and Amla mixture but did not feel like going to the store to get it so I just did the other since I already had some.  I think this week I will do the two mixed.  One thing about the Amla though is it does not have the same slip as Henna but it rinses out better.
Sorry no pictures of my hair and the new necklace I made, for some reason my pictures are taking forever and a day to upload.  Later.

Amla Hair Treatment, Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo

I did an Amla treatment on my hair this past Saturday and the results actually turned out great.  I stopped by my local India Mart for Henna and gosh doggit they were out soooo I just said give me the Amla.
As you know I wore my hair straight and tucked into a bun for two weeks my hair was so moisturized that when I washed and DC it was super duper soft and I know it was from all the coconut/shea butter/castor oil mixture that I was using.

First things first, I shampooed with Shea Moistures Moisture Retention Shampoo and that stuff was amazing, it  didn't feel like it stripped my hair like some shampoos do.  I feel like it really "retained" moisture.  I then conditioned with Aussie Moist conditioner cause it is still the bomb and I even let it sit in my hair while I got soapy.  After that it was time to apply the Amla.  Here is the brand I used.

What I did
-whole box of Amla (100g)
-1 cup of warm black tea (2-3 bags)
-about half cup Aussie Moist conditioner
-about three tbs coconut oil
Mix, mix, mix and apply to hair just like Henna and let sit under a shower cap and towel.
I let it set for one and a half hours and rinsed out, I have to admit I liked it better than the Henna.  One good thing about the Amla is that it does not stain like Henna which is good because I was not trying to get any color just the conditioning benefits. My hair was like soft cotton, unlike Henna which leaves the hair dry afterwards and you have to do another DC, I did not have to do anything else after rinsing the Amla my hair was ready to be styled.  I can't wait to do this one again.  Amla also helps to tone down the red in Henna so next time I will be mixing these two together.

Benefits of Amla:
-promotes hair growth
-controls hair fall
-cures scalp infection
-controls premature graying of hair

Ho Hum Hair

For the past few days I have been thinking about doing another cut, nothing big but I am in need.  The other day I was looking at my ends and was just not feeling them.  I know it has something to do with the color I put in my hair, I am still doing deep conditionings but I don't feel like I am seeing great results like I use to.  So do I cut or don't I?  What I kind of decided was to cut   the ends of my twists slowly during this summer break only cutting off the colored parts of my ends.  I say slowly because I am not ready to cut as much off as I really need to, I am not ready for another big chop.  I will keep you posted.

The past few weeks since my last hair update have been wonderful, I have been in hair heaven with my new simple hair regimen. I am coming up to my one year anniversary of being natural and have finally figured out what my hair likes and doesn't like...yeah it took a year. So, I decided to keep it simple until the end of the year with no special hairstyles, ie my twists, but I am still using my shea butter, just can't live without it, I was on a protective style challenge with twists but the last time I took the twists out I just didn't have time to put them back in. So the rest of my challenge is consisting of this: co-washing every Saturday and a deep condition, throughout the week I apply shea butter/coconut oil to my hair every night and in the mornings I spray with warm water and apply some Hawaiian Silky Curl Activator. If you recall the last post was about the Activator that I am still using and loooove it! My hair is doing wonderful and stays moisturized and soft all day. I didn't shampoo my hair, I figured if I am only washing once a week I shouldn't need to shampoo but once a month, we'll see how that turns out. But on the other hand, if I am clarifying once a month do I really need a shampoo? What you think?

This past Thursday I also did a henna treatment, I decided to check out the India Mart here and see if they carried some "real" henna and they did, my product of choice was the Reshma brand just because a fellow blogger always uses and gives great reviews. I have to admit I loved it too, not to mention it was only $2.99, after mixing some EVOO with it I applied it and let set for almost two hours and rinsed it out it gave my hair a great shine and even brightened up my hair color some more.

Stay tuned for my next post, I will be cleaning out my bathroom cabinet and getting rid of the products I don't use, lets see what I find.

Hawaiian Silky

So Saturday was shampoo day and deep condition day and that is exactly what I did. But I bought two new products: Hawaiian Silky Gel Activator and Hawaiian Silky Dry Hair Conditioner. I must say that I loved the results of both, I use to use the conditioner when I was relaxed and decided to give it another try and I am glad I did, it worked great on my hair. Also the activator was plus, my hair usually gets crunchy when I use some products, that's 4a/b hair for ya, but this time it didn't, my hair is soft and I got great curl definition that you really can't tell from the video posted. For the next couple of weeks I decided to give my hair a rest from the twists and "let it do what it do", this activator is going to my number one product.

Wash-a-no no

Soooooo, I washed my hair with the twists in it and I have to say I will not be doing that again. I just spent the past two and a half days retwisting my hair. Yes I said retwisting. Don't get me wrong, my head surely felt better to get some water on it and I loved the new conditioner I bought, but after my hair dried it got a little frizzy. Not bad frizzy to my husband but to me it was not acceptable. I just finished the back of my hair and retwisted using my shea butter and coconut oil mixture now I feel much better. I am working on a video and hope to post by this weekend since I haven't posted a youtube video in a while.

Oh By the way the conditioner I bought is the Neutrogena Triple Moisture conditioner, I loved it, not to mention it smelled great, it is for dry and color treated hair so I thought I would use it to see how worked. It has olive, meadowfoam seed, and sweet almond oil in it.The consistency was nice and creamy but not so thick that it just sat on my hair, I bet it would work great as a leave in too. It still needs to pass the wash and go test to see if it makes the cut. So far I am up to three conditioners that Rock. Alright ya'll bedtime for me. Happy Nappy!

Another Big Chop

Okay guys, I have been thinking and I think I will be doing another chop, not a big one but definitely another cut, it won't even be an inch. I was looking at my hair the other day and I have noticed that I have alot of split ends, super bushy at the ends. Believe me, I don't want to do it but in the end it will be better for my hair. I know there are lots of stuff out there that says they" mend split ends" but my question is how can you do that. If the hair is splitting surely there is nothing that can help it. Right? I don't want to cut but I am looking at the health of my hair and don't want to have to relax it, I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions.

I already talked to my cousin who has been natural for several years and she is going to cut it for me on Wednesday, I am scared to go to a salon because they get plenty scissor happy and I don't want them wacking my hair off. Hopefully by my one year nappy-versary!! in December my hair will be more healthier and ready for another year of coily growth, that's if I don't back out of it.

I won't, I can't back out, I have to remember it is for the health of my hair, an d believe me I love my hair.

Anywho, I will make sure I update you. Until then check out this article from mynhgc.com

How To Trim Curly Hair

Perfectly shaped Afros and split-free ends have graced the pages of countless magazine pages. Maybe you have thought perfect looking hair is inaccessible on a budget. Flawless beauty without the expensive price is as close as your nearest pair of hair scissors.

Trimming your ends, especially those dry dull tips, will help to keep natural hair looking neat and healthy - especially when you want that nice wash-and-go look. You don’t need a stylist to maintain healthy ends. All you need to do is master the simple technique called ‘dusting’.

Dusting is by far the easiest and fastest way to trim your hair and is ideal for women who want to retain length. It’s called dusting because you snip just a little bit off the ends of the hair and the removed bits look just like a little dust. Here is an easy no-fail guide on how to trim your own hair using the dusting technique

Tools Needed

1. Large and small teeth combs for detangling.
2. Sharp, professional cutting scissors. (These can be found at your neighborhood beauty supply store and in some pharmacies.)
3. Mirror

What To Do

1. Thoroughly detangle your hair. (Optional - lightly blow-dry your hair for a more precise result)
2. Put your hair in medium sized plaits/twists. I suggest at least 18 plaits over your head. The more plaits you do the better result you will receive.
3. Feel for the little bulbs and dry bits of your hair ends and snip them off at angle using a sharp pair of scissors while looking in the mirror.
   
   Warning Cutting ends too bluntly will make twists and plaits unravel too easily causing your styles to loosen. Always clip at an angle.
4. Stop. Why? You’re finished!
   
   Bonus Leave the plaits or twists in overnight and you may just have a fabulous braid-out or twist-out the next day with beautiful healthy ends.

It’s that easy. Now if you did the job right, the hair that you cut off is very minimal and you still have lots of hair left on your head. Trim your hair regularly before major damage is done to your ends and you should be able to avoid an expensive trip to the salon for a big cut to get rid of inches of damaged hair. Happy trimming

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Diedre Callam is a freelance writer/designer with master's degree level training in Publications Design and Writing. Her writing interests include environmental, music, education and lifestyle topics. She also does press releases upon request. Visit her at http://dcallam.blogspot.com/ or email dcallam@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

It ain't easy....being natural

Yeah I am lovin it, but Good Lord, it is work. Sometimes I feel like I spend more time on my natural coils than I did on my relaxed hair. No I am not giving up haven't even thought about it, I loooooove my kinks. I have finally got my "rock solid regimen" (thx BGLH) and have gotten my cowashes down to twice a week, and a cabinet of my five main products that I use and love. Is it safe to say I am on my way? We will see, with the summer right around the corner hopefully I will not have to change what I am doing, it does get crazy hot here in Memphis and the humidity is hellacious, might have to start doing some research on good hair products for that problem. Oh and I am not a product junkie anymore now I just buy my regimen products when I run out, I am healed! Of course it is Saturday and yes I am doing a DC as usual, today I used my Black Earth Healing Oyl as a hot oil treatment, I think I will add that to my regimen weekly if it works out well. Time to rinse. toodles. Also I am still trying to get my videos uploaded for the three strand twists.



My goal!