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..."