Great article!

Ready to go Au natural? That is the title of a nice article on the HIP Magazine website. Shadine Ménard explains in the article that "In the past few years, although natural hairstyles are still not the first choice for most in our community, it has become a choice for many." I could not agree more! At first, I used to ask myself "am I just noticing all the beautiful afrobellas now because I am part of this elite group?" but it is more than the encounters with other "napturals" for me....Five years ago when I started my journey there were a few blogs and a couple of forums; a handful of products only available online; and a video blog (aka "vlogs") here and there on Youtube. Today, I can certainly order some favorites online but I have several choices right at my fingertips from my local stores. When in doubt (or just frustrated) I can go to my favorite blogs (and my favorites folder is full of choices) or just log on my favorite forum for and by naturals like myself and ask questions.
Call it a trend, call it a revolution or whatever else you want! It has made this journey of understanding my hair and treating it the way I should have been long ago so much better. This is really an exciting time to be natural and I am loving every single minute!
Please go on the HIP Magazine site and enjoy the article and all the other goodies on the site, there is something for everyone and it frequently updated with more insightful and thought-provoking pieces. Enjoy <3

Satin vs. Silk

I have always struggled with my satin wraps, caps, bonnets...you name it they come right off my head when I go to sleep, granted I am a "wild" sleeping beauty lol (the kind noone really wanted to share beds with growing up lol it's like a karate session lol) Lately, I've had better luck because I am guessing my hair is less "slippery" because the perm is all gone, yep that's my theory. Every once in awhile my satin cap is found on the floor when I wake up.
After reading enough on the subject I found out that I would be better off with a satin pillowcase which I started looking into, only to find really high prices at all the online stores I checked out. Finally, last week I grabbed my coupon and headed to my closest Bed Bath and Beyond store (which by the way is like a mini Target now! Wow!!!). First, the salesperson directed me to the only 4 selection of moderately expensive pillowcases (brown, green, dark red, beige) and when she asked which color I would prefer I told her it did not matter "I just want to protect my hair at night"......Well good answer because she showed me something better!!! Pillow protectors (less than $5) that were made of satin!!! Don't you love when that happens?
I grabbed a couple and put it to the test by sleeping on one with my satin cap on (you know just in case it comes off lol) and then last night I just went to sleep with no protective head gear on :-) A few spritz of water, EVOO fingers and I was good to go!
Now I am reading more and more about using Silk instead of Satin because it is even better......I'm telling you it does not stop lol but for now I am happy with my "satin".

Kiss My Face Gel

I have been using the Kiss My Face Mandarin Shower Gel for a while now and I love it. On my recent trip to WholeFoods (over a month ago-long drive!) I was happy to find their all natural hair gel which I actually read about from a couple of people on the NC forum. I picked it up and am so happy I did. This is so far my favorite styling product because of two major reasons: 1) it defines my curls instantly and 2) provides great hold (although it is medium consistency!) but also does not give that crunchy look/feel. I am running low and need to go back and get more (can't wait for the new Wholefoods that will be down the street from my house!)
Plus it really does not leave your hair with a lot of build up like some other gels. I love the fact that I don't have to stand for hours to do a twist or braid-out to get this look.....a few minutes (my EVOO of course!) and voila! I would most definitely recommend this product!

Calling all Miss Jessie's gals!

You can now get your favorite Miss Jessie's products and get FREE SHIPPING! Now most of us hate paying shipping from online stores, I know I do lol Run and get your favorites. I already ordered mine <3 Baby buttercreme (check), Curly Buttercreme (check), Stretch Silkening Creme (double check lol).

Naturally Curly's Best of the Best! 2010

Naturally Curly's (one of my favorite sites and forum to go to for help) Best of the Best 2010 was released and I am really happy that several of the products I use and actually voted for amongst 100s of thousands other readers made the list! Actually, 8 out of the 15 products I use regularly made it, yay!
Check out the site for a quick review and a direct link to each product here: http://www.naturallycurly.com/pages/best-of-the-best?utm_source=NCBob_Homepage&utm_medium=Headerbutton&utm_term=NCbob&utm_content=Homepage&utm_campaign=NC

Accesory princess

I love accessories and how they help to add a little funky twist to any outfit! However, when it comes to hair accesories I guess you could say I was on the "shy" side....that is until I started this journey of loving my natural hair! I absolutely love to play with different hair accessories now and like the sometimes bold, soemtimes sweet, bohemian, or chic look they add to my hairstyles. goody have launched a new line which is available at Target and Wal-Mart (I believe it's called "global Trends") and I love so many of the styles available. What are your favorite hair accessories?

Wash and go!

Several times I tried to do a "wash-n-go" and looked simply crazy lol So on the night of a very important event (CUC Education Foundation's Fundraising Gala-see my sidebar for a link to help) I had no idea what to do with my hair and had been too busy to try any new styles....I jumped in the shower co-washed my hair with my Hello Hydration, detangled while in the shower, put my FAVORITE leave-in-conditioner (Kinky Curly's Knot Today) and prayed for the best.....Well, wouldn't you know it that's all I needed because for the very first time in years I had a "wash-n-go" that worked and stayed nice all night! The following pictures were taken after getting home from the gala (several hours after doing my hair). I love my "Knot Today" !

A new deep conditioning fave :-)

I love braiding my hair, hate taking them down and most of all hate how dry my hair usually feels right after. This time I moisturized daily by spraying with my homemade (EVOO-KCKT-H2O) and although I saw a slight difference my hair was still dry. After washing my hair I did a deep conditioning treatment with my TIGI Bed Head Moisture Maniac Moisturizing Conditioner and boy what a difference! I have been using the product and like it but this was my first time using it for deep conditioning. Right away you can see how my hair soaked up all the moisture and how defined my curls ended up being.

Immediately after removing braids-dry hair :-(
Hair with product right before rinsing it out:

Right after washing "Bead Head" out:
Hair in a puff after 3 days :-) Still shiny, and soft :-)

Finally!

I love having braids but I truly hate removing them! Your arms hurt, your neck hurts, your back.....everywhere! And when it seems there is only a little bit left.....you are just getting started. I started unbraiding my hair last weekend and because I did not have enough time ended up concealing the unbraided portion with the top that was still braided into a tight ponytail all week for work. I started again Saturday and spent most of the day at only to finish right now 1:44 AM Monday morning....so much for my long weekend!
The only thing is that I am actually really happy with how healthy and strong my hair feels and a major plus is that I see some growth, yay!
I think I am too tired to try washing it now......good night <3

Live, Shine, Beauty, Culture

I have been enjoying a new blog with different spotlights on beauty, culture and more lately and thought I would share the link with everyone: http://live.shinebeautyculture.com
I especially truly enjoyed reading the piece by contributor Shadine Menard on inner beauty as the author puts it: "There's not one day that passes by that I do not think of Haiti, its people, especially the beautiful, strong Haitian women that inpire me to be all that I can be. Whether you're Haitian or not, read this piece and think "what inspires my inner beauty?": http://live.shinebeautyculture.com
Don't walk, run over to read more including a review of the THE ORIGINAL MOROCCANOIL OIL TREATMENT which my local hair supply store owner tried to talk me into buying a few months ago. Now I'm itching to try it.....

The EVOO difference!

I am falling more and more in love with my EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)! Of course I love to cook with the stuff lol but what it does for my hair is just great. I have been using the EVOO religiously and can see a marked difference in how moisturized, healthy, and shiny my hair looks and feels. And you don't have to use much at all when I'm doing my twists I just rub a small amount on my fingers, spritz the hair strands with water and KK Knot Today leave in conditioner and then twist away :-)
Here is a comparison of a twist-out with and without EVOO:


Twist-out without EVOO
Not sure if you can tell but the pics above without the EVOO my hair looks a bit dry and felt totally different then I used the EVOO see pictures below:

Close-up after using EVOO-hair is shiny, feels strong and healthy but is soft tot he touch (and stays that way all day!)


Thanks for stopping by today <3

Gone for a while.....

I know I know....I have been neglecting my blog but I promise you I had good reasons for the lack of posts :-) First and most importantly I was able to finally go home to Haiti which I was itching to do since the devastating earthquake back in January. With the preparations for the trip and the trip itself I had my hands full. Upon returning I had to make sure I plan a very special event: my son's 3rd birthday Yo Gabba Gabba style, YAY!!

So now I am back and we need to catch up! I have been wearing my hair in a protective style this entire time: micro-braids! I must admit for the first time since I started transitioning 4 years ago I was actually sad because I was enjoying playing and learning about my natural hair. Every night I use my little "moisturizing concoction" (EVOO, water, and Knot today) to keep my roots and hair moisturized something I didn't do often in the past while I have my hair braided. I hope to see a difference in the health of my hair once I unbraid it (fingers and toes crossed lol).

Curly Girl

After reading all about the famous book I finally bought a copy myself at Barnes and Noble today! I am armed with sticky notes, highlighters in my favorites colors lol I will let you know my thoughts when I finish reading :-)
Now on my wish list is another book "Thank God I'm Natural"by Chris-Tia Donaldson.

A new favorite hairstyle.....

Drumroll please.......I have found my new fave style: a single afro puff/ponytail. My main issue with wearing my hair out is always how the back sticks out because it is much longer than the sides and the middle of my hair. With this look I am able to bring my hair up so I can't tell about the irregularities in the length anymore. I love it!
I used my regular hair band (scuncii I think is the brand)and Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding. The only thing I am not too crazy about is having to brush the hair so it can't be something I do all the time.

My beautiful mother and her first twist-out

Although she has been natural for a very long time (and several times in her life lol) I recently shared the twist-out technique with my mommy and she absolutely loves it. Here are some pictures of her first twist-out. She kept her 2-strand twists for 3 days and then did the twist-out. She used castor oil in her spray water bottle and KKCC on each strand. I love her hair and can't wait to achieve such fullness <3

Old Friend :-)

I am talking about none other than "Ms." WATER :-) Yes, an old friend that I have been getting reacquainted with since I started my natural black hair journey! The relationship between water and my hair during my relaxed days is totally different now that my hair is completely natural. Now my hair craves water and it seems to be good for my strands. So I keep my little spray filled with that good H2O with a bit of Kinky Curly Knot Today and it has done wonders for how moisturized and overall strong my hair feels. Before, it was a bad idea to detangle my hair while wet now it is the opposite because I only detangle my hair while it's wet and most time I just use my fingers.
Watch out for "hard water" which is basically water that is "high in dissolved minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium." Luckily we don't have hard water as I test it every year during a water testing lab with my science students and bring my own sample from home as well. You don't have to be a science teacher or work in a lab to test your water there are several inexpensive kits you can purchase to determine if you have hard water (check your local Home Depot or Lowe's or online at Amazon for the strips).
Hard water is bad for our hair because of mineral buildup which causes the conditioner not to penetrate the hair properly.

Inspiration

I have been lucky to have some friends and family members that made the journey to love their natural black hair long before I started mine and they have been an inspiration to me. I will start a series of mini-interviews with each one of them to share with you so stay posted, we all need inspirations! What/Who are some of your inspirations? Please share by posting your comments under this post.

Oil Party!

I have been testing a variety of oils and so far my favorites are:
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil (also referred to as EVOO)
I love the way the EVOO leaves my hair, it makes it feel almost immediately stronger yet soft and manageable. This past weekend I used it on each strand before the ECCO styler gel to do my two-strand twist (I'll share how they turned out in anohter post)

-Almond Oil
Great for my ends and smells so yummy :-)

-Coconut Oil
I am an island girl so I looooooove coconut lol this is just pure goodness for my hair, I apply it before going to bed and then put on my satin cap. My hair stays so soft and the moisture is retained even with my wigcap and half wig on for the day.

I've always used Castor Oil because it is a staple of every Haitian household for all sorts of remedy and of course hair care. My favorite thing is to mix a few tablespoon of castor oil with some avocado slices and I mash them using my "Magic bullet" and put it all over my hair and keep it on for 30 minutes or more (depending on what I am doing at the time lol) then rinse it out and proceed with your normal hair washing routine. Let me tell you your hair will feel so good: strong and soft as silk!

I purchased some Avocado Oil as well because several people have recommended it so I'll let you know how it worked for me.

Thanks for stopping by today <3

Twisting.....

Wow! What a labor of love!!! It took me almost 6 hours (yes I know that is a lot lol) to finish my twists but without exaggerating let's take into account the fact that I have to stop and entertain my 2 yr-old while doing my hair lol maybe it would have taken half the time. I am proud of myself for actually finishing because I am famous for starting with the twists and then giving up with more than half my head left lol
I used water in my little "spray bottle" (an old su

ave detangler spray bottle that I used on my son's hair) and some of Miss Jessie's curly pudding on each strand. I was really pleased with the end product because my hair felt really soft and light. Thanks for looking <3

This is a shot after I did the twist out the next day, again I really liked the curl definition and how soft my hair felt.

I made them as pretty small as you see below: (Yay! new growth in the back)

This is a shot of my head when I was done with the twists: (sorry about the quality of the pics they are from my phone)

Products to try.....

There are a few products that I have on my list to try because there is a lot of "buzz" about how effective they are for natural hair care. I am actually really excited that lately we are able to find more and more products available at our local retailers as opposed to a few years ago when everything that was good could only be found online and was really expensive. I like having the choice of picking up my hair products while I shop for the week's groceries too, the convenience is always welcomed and it's easy on the pockets.I picked up the products in this picture at Walmart with the exception of the Ecco-styler gel which I was able to get at Sallys for $2.99 (usualy $4.79) that's great for 32 oz. Yippee!!!

From Walmart:
-Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioner
-Garnier Fructis "Sleek and Shine" Leave-in Conditioning cream
-TIGI Bed Head Moisture Maniac Moisturizing Conditioner
-Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Curls and Waves Conditioner

I will be reviewing the products as I try them and will let you know which one worked for me :-)

Some of my favorite sites (blogs, youtube, forums. fotki,etc.) part 1

When I first started my extremely long lol transitioning journey there were very few sites with information on natural black hair care but as the time went on I was fortunate enough to find several good sites and especially wonderful members that did not shy away from sharing their experience which is what prompted me to start this blog now that I am soooooooooo ready to love my hair and take good care of it. So I want to share a few of my favorite places to go on the web for advice, tips, product reviews, support, inspiration, a good laugh....you name it!

Favorite sites with forums:
lonhaircareforum.com
nappturality.com
naturallycurly.com

Bloggers:
curlynikki.com
naturalhairhealthybod.blogspot.com
curlscoilsandkinks.com
homegrownhair.blogspot.com
kinkyrhonnie.blogspot.com
kinnks.com/blog/


YouYube I absolutely love MahoganyCurls her videos of her TWA are the best!!

"Knot today"

I must say I absolutely love my "Knot today" conditioner from Kinky Curly (available at Wholefoods). I use it for my CO and also at night to keep my hair moisturized and it keeps them so soft and manageable. I need to experiment with a few other products that I've been hearing raves about for natural black hair care so that I can have a regimen that works for my hair......right now I have to fight this stomach virus which sucks BIG time! Good night everyone

"NEW" MISS JESSIE'S SUPER SWEETBACK TREATMENT DEBUTS VALENTINE'S DAY FEBRUARY 14, 2010!

So far, I've really enjoyed every single Miss Jessie's product that I have tried on my natural hair. Today they have announced the latest of their products and I quote them on what to expect :"WANT LONG CURLY HAIR? MISS JESSIE’S SUPER SWEETBACK TREATMENT IS THE ESSENTIAL TREATMENT FOR GROWING OUT NATURALLY CURLY, KINKY, AND WAVY HAIR. HEALTHY GROWTH AND LENGTH IS WHAT MOST CURLIES COVET. MISS JESSIE’S CANT ASSIST YOU IN THIS PROCESS. AN ELONGATED CURL HAS MORE BOUNCE, IS MORE MANAGEABLE, AND IS LESS PRONE TO... FRIZZ. BE SUPER SWEET TO YOUR CURLS* MISS JESSIE'S SUPER SWEETBACK TREATMENT IS A DECADENT SOFTENING TREATMENT WHICH ENSURES THAT YOUR CURLS REACH LONG LUXURIOUS LENGHTS. THIS RICH TREATMENT FULL OF SHEA BUTTER AND CENTELLA EXTRACT IS A GROWTH STIMULANT THAT PROMOTES LONG HEALTHY CURLS..."

Miss Jessie's Coming to a Target near you! YAY!

So this week the ladies behind the Miss Jessie brand announced on their facebook page that starting March 28, 2010 the products will be available at locations nationwide and I am doing a dance as I type this and crossing my fingers (and toes lol) that at least one of them is close to where I live. I love their products and dread the shipping fees and the wait to receive them from online stores. Yay! Let the countdown begin!

UPDATED TO ADD: the ladies posted the stores and unfortunately the Targets near me are not yet on the list :-( I guess I have to find a way