One year since big chop !!

After I transitioned for six months I got a chop in June 2011 and then a big chop in September 2011 to get rid of all my permed ends.

My hair has grown so well in the past year for someone doing their own hair!! My last salon visit was in September 2011 for my big chop & a semi permanent rinse. I pre-poo, wash & deep condition weekly and I trim my hair (dust my ends) while in twists every 2-3 months.

My hair has grown faster being a natural. It would take 2 years after a cut for my hair to grow to a bob length when I had a perm. My hair is now longer then bob length (collar bone length) and all in one year !! I don’t take any special supplements just a Multi vitamin. I protective style my hair in the winter with roll tuck & pins, buns, etc (I don’t wear braids, wigs or weaves to protective style).

Here’s a pic of my growth: the top left is after the 1st chop, the bottom left is the next day after my big chop. The two pics on the right are around September 2012.

Black Strap Molasses for hair

The benefits of black strap molasses (BSM) are not only good for your body but also your hair. BSM helps with hair growth & graying hair !!

You can read here for more info http://spiritfoods.net/hair-benefits-of-blackstrap-molasses/

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5905054_blackstrap-molasses-hair-growth.html

So I decided to mix 2 teaspoons daily in my hot tea to fight off gray hair. I’ll follow up this post in 3 to 6 months which is the time needed to see the effects. In addition to that I pre-poo bi-weekly with an oil mix in my scalp and molasses rubbed throughout my hair. I leave it in my hair for an hour then wash my hair as usual.

The best BSM to use is the organic kind. I purchased mine from Whole Foods.

Afros…I want revenge & Natural Hair Inspirations

Everytime I think of an afro my mind automatically goes to the movie Hollywood Shuffle when Robert Townsend/Jimmy says “afros I want revenge”.http://youtu.be/5pK9ZJpsQL4

So anyway last year I saw that there was a woman who made it into the Guiness World Records for having the world’s biggest afro. I felt so inspired !!

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2011/9/record-holder-profile-aevin-dugas-%E2%80%93-world%E2%80%99s-largest-natural-afro/

Angela Davis

See I grew up in an era where afros were cool & ‘black is beautiful’ was IN. My earliest inspirations for being a natural happened in childhood.

Jackson 5 (RIP Michael)

Pam Grier

Don Cornelius(RIP)

So I decided that I might not get a Guiness World Records afro, but I’m sure gonna try LOL. My first time seeing my hair in an afro since going natural was in January 2012. I blew out my hair with a blow dryer on a cool setting.

I’m one of those naturals who doesn’t like heat so I use it sparingly. So anyway I’m on YouTube one day (well who am I kidding, I’m on the tube everyday). One of the vloggers I started following this year is ToyaBoo Tresses. Well she did this afro using no heat. I was like ‘I’m gonna try this’.

http://youtu.be/dPcbQvwIkmo

And here’s my results…

washed hair & put in twists on Friday..this is pic of hair on Sunday

after taking out twists

all made up

next day at work (high puff)

Thank you ToyaBoo I have never worn my afro outside. After seeing my fro this time around I’m like ‘it’s time’ ( it’s gotten bigger–yay). So stay tuned for me sportin my afro outdoors LOL

DIY Accessory Holder

So if you’re anything like me since you have gone natural you started buying a whole bunch of hair accessories & earrings. But then after you start accumulating all of this stuff…where to put it right ?? Well I went to a Natural Hair Expo not to long ago & I bought an earring holder

cute right

I was thinking about ordering another one of these but bigger. The thing is I paid $20 for the size I have so imagine how much the bigger ones are… a lot !! Anyway I recently bought some frames on the clearance rack planning to put some pics in them & then bing the light bulb went off (or did it come on ?? lol) The earring holder I have is only held together by a wire mesh & glue. How hard could it be to recreate this ?!? Not hard at all All you need is your creativity & a few items and off you go.

Here’s what you need…

I paid $8.99 for the wire mesh at A.C. Moore. I used about three & 1/2 glue sticks

The wire mesh I used was 16×20 and the frame was 14×18
So let’s begin…

lift the place holders then…

remove the backing & glass out of the frame
 The place holdings need to be pushed up & bent over the frame

Unfold the wire mesh & use your thumb to smooth out the creases (as best as you can)

while you’re smoothing out the wire let your glue gun heat up (or you can use any type of craft glue you choose)

 

Once the glue gun is heated apply glue to the center of each side of the frame & press the wire mess over the glue

press the wire mesh over the edge of each end of the frame so as to even it out

 

Glue the frame on each corner & push the wire mesh over it then glue over the mesh to ensure that it stays on

Then allow to dry

After drying cut off the excess wire hanging over the edges with extra sharp scissors

Next step is to apply the hooks. I’m using paper clips but you can use what you want

Hold the back of the mesh while you apply the paper clips (stick in the hole 1st then turn upside down

unbend the paper clip before putting on the holder (easy as 1, 2, 3)

Apply a larger paper clip to hang the holder & secure with glue

Allow to dry. As I was saying at the beginning of this post, I have accumulated a lot of hair accessories (a recent haul/raid of my $ store below =)

I love these bows because you have 3 options on how you can wear them & yes they were $1 each !! I’m going to use the clip on the back of the bow to attach to…yes you guessed it the paper clip

 

You can use your holder for whatever you like (mix & match hair accessories with earrings, etc) You can also display your holder wherever you want. I put mine on a corner wall in my bedroom : ) Happy DIYing !!

Hot & humid oh my !!

So I started off my summer doing my usual routine from the Spring..alternating between hair styles (twist out, wash & go). However this weather had the nerve to get all humid & jack up my twist out

Notice the puffiness of my twists. No bueno. So me being the natural hair researcher I am decided to learn what I could about how humidity affects hair. In my search I learned about dew point. I’m not gonna explain because naturallycurly.com does all the splainin you need

Anyway what I have discovered is that on days where the dew point is high (above 60) my hair will get poofy/frizzy. I have decided to become a serious weather tracker & avoid products with humectants. This seems like a humid/high dew point kind of summer which means there’s a lot of moisture in the air. Moisture in the air combined with a humectant spells trouble for my thin hair !!!

My best style option so far has been a wash & go but I have also tried updo’s (didnt like–hair not long enough) and a bun for the first time

So anyway my hair pattern is coily & I have always wondered if I could do a wash & go using only conditioner (no gel). So on my day off (July 4th) I decided to experiment : ) I deep conditioned with Beautiful Curls (my 1st time using it) & co-washed with Dessert Essence

I decided to use a modified version of Kimmaytube recipe (aloe Vera juice, dessert essence conditioner & extra virgin olive oil) as my styler. I stayed in the shower after co-washing & smoothed and raked the KT recipe in my hair. I then quickly dipped my head under water bent over & shook my head, stood up shook my head & let my hair fall into place.

After gettin out the shower I let my hair drip dry. My hair came out nice & coily like I had used gel !!! So I did my experiment again this past weekend : )

To refresh my hair I spritz with water in the morning & claw my my hair to get the water in. I then bend over & shake. I slightly lift with a pick at the roots. At night I spritz with an oil spray & claw as a scalp massage & for shine.

A picture of my hair (Bantu knots in the front)

2nd Henna

So this time around I used a 50/50 ratio of henna & indigo. I used my leftover indigo from my last henna with my new Rajasthani–both from hennasooq.com

I did a one step process

I noticed my hair looks a little darker, not as red as last time. I kept in the henna for 3 1/2 hours.

Hennasooq said this was a finely sifted henna & I could tell because it rinsed from hair with ease & no twigs. Yay !!

I love the difference in color this time with the brown low lights & red highlights BUT….since I have gray hair the henna makes those strands bright orange…ugh !!

What is a henna head to do ?!? So back to the drawing board with my indigo/henna ratios. For the next go round I’ll probably do very little henna & more indigo to see if I can do away with the orange glo lol

Curl Junkie Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in my 1st giveaway !! I enjoyed reading the responses & can definitely relate to a lot of the stories. I love the natural hair community because we have a place to share about our journey !!

So without further delay, the winners are….

Congrats Ladies !!!