its about time

Ok so I'd admit its been months of doing nothing to my head...I occasionally use the shea moisture and run out the door. But I figuare its deep condition and detangle this growing monster of hair good and I'm sick and tired of this puff. I've been puttin it off cause my hands still bother me. here's a recent pic with Redskins' Dangelo Hall taken just last weekend :)

 

for comparasion here's a pic from back in April woooo...

June '11 a lil closer so u can see the texture

Anywho...
So yes my hair is getting crazy big. Its always been thick which is why I started relaxing in the first place. Although I can't remember my hair looking quite like this. I think taking the multivitimin every day is a factor. I love the fact I can just get up and go but I've really lazy about detangeling. I would just tie it up and wake up and wash n go or just spritz with oil and water. Here lately its been the lader because Fall weather is finally starting to settle in. Since it is gettin chilly outside I figuared I need to put these twists back in or get someone else to do them. But that aint happening today. so imma do the best I can.
So Shea Moisture finally decided to add a gel (curling souffle) to my fav line so of course I had to pick it up lol. Its smells delicious lol. Its made from flax seed oil and agave nectar . I'm going to try it tonight/ tomorrow to put in my twist. I started a DC with Lustersilk Mango Shea Butter Cholesterol  (from Sally's smells wonderful) then wash out and put in my leave in Hawaiian Silky.  I still have my shea butter mix from this summer and I use that along with the gel. I'll take pics and show you guys in the morning. I'm starting late so I doubt I'll finish tonight Lata!

getting ready for fall/winter and protective styles

So I usually spend a good deal of money this time of year getting my hair braided I don't think I'll be repeating the process this year. So I'm just going to try to twist more consistently and keep them in longer. Usually I wear them Sun-Friday. Sometimes some of the twists come out but I just retwists and keep it movin lol. I'm twisting again this weekend its usually a weekend process because I take so long taking breaks running errands and what not and I'm still having the issue with my hands. Still working on one section.  This time I tried to concentration on parting. I usually suck at this my hair is getting so thick. I think I did a better job this time. You can actually see them lol. I used my shea mix which is a mix of  olive oil, shea, and johoba oil. I also brought Shea Moisture's Curl souffle. I use this on my ends. From the reviews I've learned you have to use this sparingly. It includes agave nectar, coconut oil,and flax seed oil. I've read and seen a lot of naturalistas use flax seed oil as a gel so this makes sense. I needed some new oil and didn't feel like spending money on oils right now but brought a bottle of Doo Grow from RightAid. Its a nice mix of oils and doesn't seem to have a lot bad stuff that prevalent in a lot of over the counter hair oils such as alcohol. Once the twists are done I usually pin the ends for work as my hair still isn't long enough to put into a ponytail or anything quite yet.  I hate pins though so I usually take em down as soon as I get home lol. I'm still working on doing flat twists and cornrows. Once I get better with parting I'll think I'll get better with these. My hands are still flaring acting up but I just try to push thru it since I have no choice, but I practice till I get tired. If you like to see more proctective styles check out my girl CharyJay http://www.youtube.com/user/160Days2Lose2
or my girl Brownbabedoll http://www.youtube.com/user/beautifulbrwnbabydol?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/22/_PBvb3lsVD4 I love em both. Lata!

miss me?

Ok I know I haven't posted a lot over the summer but there nothing really new to report. Well up until today. I do my usual weekend twist (Okay maybe I've been slacking). Instead this time I doing them after a blowdry! Its been months since a blowdryer has touched this head. So yeah I think my hair grown quite a bit since I hacked some off in frustration. Hopefully I will not be doing it again. My goal was to grow it out cause I was curious to see how long it could get. I was blowdrying to give it a different look but its added a lot of time to the whole ordeal. As of now I'm only half way through my head. Yeah I did stop to eat take breaks what eva. Sigh...I curious to see how it turn out. I got the idea from watching a fellow FBer doing a model shot. The stylist blew her hair before she flat twisted it. I'm not so good at cornrows or anything like that but I've been liking the twist. I also been keeping them in longer. At first I didn't know how twists were gonna work at work because I still can't get them in a ponytail quite yet but I played around and figured out I can pin them up in cute little dos anyway. So now I wear them till I get tired of them or they start to unravel. While I was transitioning I had to use all can of gel to get them to stay but even with the blow dry all I use is a lil oil and my shea butter mixture. Hopefully these will stay in as well as last time. Only time will tell.

My favorite natural sista youtubbers

Ok guys I know I haven't posted in a while...been lazy...really haven't changed or brought anything new just working with what I had. I have brought two funky scarfs from the dollar star one pink one blackn white in crazy prints. I also bought two knee highs in the hopes of turning them into another kind of headband. Eventually I will load pics of the accessories. I've also been trying to work on bringing in some other subjects besides hair into my blog. There are other things/hobbies of mine besides my hair lol. Rather then have several sparate blogs I decided to put them all together (maybe on separate pages). But in the meantime I'd like to check out some of my youtube sisters that inspire me and please subscribe  because they are way more knowlable about natural hair (and how to do youtubes) lol..now some of these sisters also do wigs but its another protective style so I don't hate on wigs or girl who wear them...I'm just not into it myself ...so check out these sisters and please let them know I (nikkied76 on youtube) sent you!

Areyya- 
CharJay
AfricanExport 
April
EmpressRi

you can also visit my channel there is a vid or two of me begining transitioning and a Shea moisture soap review (all of which I hated so I never posted it here)

my inspiration

don't really have a lot to blog on...being just lazy I haven't really bothered doing much to my hair think I might just get it braided/twisted or just cut it short for my bday next month...I beleive its tangling  because of split ends and damage dispite me cutting a lot off. So I'll have to get it taken care of. In the mean time check out this interview with Chrisette Michelle via Necole Bitchie its old but maybe its new to you http://necolebitchie.com/2010/04/13/chrisette-michelle-goes-natural/#more-68622

the current state

I know its been a minute since I last posted sorry bout that. But I'm loving the state my hair is in right now except it seems to get tangeled and knotted a lot. I sleep on a satin pillow and try to always wear my cap I admit sometmes I forget though but I always use a satin pillowcase it not terrible but slightly anoying. I been wearing the poof for a couple of weeks now I try to twist it aleast once a week but for the most its wash and go lol just being lazy bout it.  I either do a quick cowash with a lil conditionier in the shower or just wet it down and go thru my usual rotine of shea moisture, oil, and I add a lil gel (eiter curlz or eco styler). I want to change it up but  I'm torn between getting it cut at a salon or just putting in short braids for the summer...sigh

more stuff :)

becoming a product junkie as I am still on the search for what works and doesn't work. Made a nice shea moisture mix (used coconut oil, grapeseed oil, and ovil oil all brought at Giant!) I also added a lil of my essential oil mix I've been using for a while now which is a mix of oilve, sweet almond, and castor oil. In other news I got complimented on the afro puff which is crazy since a I haven't cowashed all week and my twist was from the weekend before. I love the definition I am getting now and sis is quite jellie lol.

quick update: Bantu knot experiment

tried bantu knots and used the mango cholesterol I brought from Sally's. First I washed with my aphogee then I sectioned my hair applied the cholesterol along with some oil and used it as de-tangeler. I used my fingers and my Tangle Teaser and detangled. Then I twisted the sections. After that I wrap the twist around my finger then secured with pins. After I was done wrapped it with a big scarf. This morning when I took my shower I just rinsed my hair (pins out of course). Then wrapped it back up in my mirotowel to air dry..I want to try this again as this is experiment especially using the cholesterol and the last part. I also rushed it cause it was supa late lol..if you want to try bantu knots just search on youtube, I watched Naptual85's tutorial (She's also on my blog roll.) or SimplyUnique (who's closer to my length). You can make these any size. I'll let you know how it comes out tomorrow.

I think I may have a problem

LOL..I think I'm becoming a real product junky...but I am using the stuff I buy. I brought my mist and the mango choloesterol everyone was raving about from Sally's. I think I'm going to try that this w/e. The Aussie just wasn't cutting it for me :(. I'm still trying out stuff and seeing what works but storage has started to be a problem. my closet and bedroom is pretty small so I'm going out to buy another container/roller dresser this w/e. Sigh I have 2 already. In other news I chopped off most of my relaxed ends. I was bored at home so I decided to chop em off myself. Now I'm rockin a mid sized afro/afropuff..bigger then it should be I think. So I still might go ahead and get it professionally done at the end of the month. I also think its still uneven although it does feel betta then that lopsided tangeled mess of whatever it was before. I read somewhere that you don't have to wash your hair every week? I used to do that when I was relaxed but I don't know by the end of the week my head is itching with or without using gels. I feel betta when I wash but I use my Shea Moisture one week and Kinky curly the next. I still use Apoghee too every now and then (trying to use that up) but besides that I don't usually use normal shampoos. It works for me so I'mma stick with it. I don't know how my head would look a week or two without putting some sorta suds on it. Just water aint gonna do the trick. My sis asked me to try a Black n Sassy product. I tried it on my hair dry and idk if I'm feeling it but it does remind me of Miss Jessie's amazingly enough so maybe I'll give it another try doing it the way she suggested.
Speaking of my lil sis she has been natural for over a year now, and was my inspiration. So I want to do a feature/interview with her when she has the time. I'm also hoping we can do some product reviews together or/ and have her write on the blog as well. Thinking about calling it the Twisted Sistas segment lol. Or maybe I'll just change the name of the blog. Depending on how dedicated she wants to be to it. I'll keep you guys posted. Oh pics of the new hair will be posted either today or tomorrow. Lata XOXO

Aussie leave in up date

So I tried the leave in conditioner and I wasn't crazy about it. Its five bucks cheaper but it didn't mix with my other products well...started dripping white residue.I already miss my Shea Moisture mist. Oh well I tried it. At sister's suggestion and watching a few youtubes I decided to give the old container of lekair cholesterol a try as a deep treatment. Its the old school orange/pink version with jojoba and castor oil. I had this for months just chilling in the back of my closet I think I used it once while relaxed. I don't think I was much a fan of the smell. I give it a try and see how it does on my hair.

Aussie and natural hair and my nappy anniversary and why I don't do youtubes..yet

Ok so I was at CVS picking up a few things and I noticed they keep amping up on their hair products. They seem to have more products normally carried at salons and beauty supplies, and other larger stores. I watched a coupled of the naturalistas youtubes' and a few of them have mentioned using Aussie in their hair arsenal. Didn't know CVS carried it but looking for curly products I came across the big purple bottles. I know I was looking for an replacement for my shea moisture curling mist and I decided to pick the up the hair insurance leave in conditioner. It was about 7.00 for 8 fl oz. (vs $10 for the curl styling mist) I used it last night and it smells nice and doesn't seem to have a lot of bad stuff in it atleast no alchol like a lot of the other sprays seem to contain. Leave Ins contain Alchol I guess as a preservative but its drying so it actually helps it do the opposite of what it supposed to do. Aussie's leave in is ok as far as leaving my hair moisturized. I'm not crazy way the bottle sprays in just one area of the head so I might put it in another bottle. Alteast as for now I'll use it but I can't see it being a replacement for my mist. I'll probably try to see if I can find it at Walgreens since Shea Moisture is now carried their as well and I rather go there for a quick pickup then troll around in Target.

So guess what guys its March. I got my last relaxer around in March so its not my nappiversary  yet. I'm guessing it was around June of last year I decided to stop relaxing and then a few months later after I realized it was so damaging I stopped flat ironing it as well. I cut off a lot of the relaxed hair and now I believe I am pretty much all naturale. Here a fun unknown fact.. I did a few youtubes with crazy looking hair lol. I just started transitioning here and still experimenting and had no idea what I was doing. I'm embarased to post this but what the hell...here is one of my first you tubes after going natural. . I brought my styling mist in this haul I showed off in this vid. Again I apologize for my hair geesh lol. Also take note of the damage as in this vid done in 2009 my hair looked longer and healthier..sigh

I haven't bothered doing any vlogs not that I haven't tried I've been have diffculty with the audio and the video cam quality. I haven't felt the need to splurge anoter 150 or so on another cam either. So I don't know if or when I'll be doing anymore unless I learn how to edit youtube videos better. I don't know how to do that either. Maybe once I feel like I'm more comfortable with editing and shooting the vids I'll post some.

cheapie products that I used now or in the past

Ok here are a quick list of stuff I use that I use that are pretty cheap...under 10 dollars

Eco Styler gel... 32 oz 4.99 Right now I'm using the new Argan Oil gel decided to try it since sis has the Olive Oil everyone raves about. One of my newest purchases. It looks a lot like the Olive oil just a different color and scent but its still very light. I like it. Not much Argan Oil as is its the last on the list. Works just as well as my old ampro gel with less flaking.

Hawaiian  Silky miracle worker - $ 5.00 16oz(may have been on sale @Sally's)  good to detangle adds shine

Mango and Lime firm wax and gel- ?price I believe it was under 10. I stopped using these because of the buildup from the wax but I love the smell maybe I'm too heavy handed with them :(. Maybe there's a more organic version of this scent? I would love to know.

Motions Marula Natural therapy hail and scalp oil. 7.00? I used this while my hair was relaxed and I loved the smell. I think they may have changed the formula cause before it had a stronger scent to me. The amount of actual Marula oil is small of course but its one of the few products in the Motions line I can find without a lot of the bad stuff in it.

Hello Hydration 5.00? brought at CVS on sale I believe its normally $8 for a 23oz bottle but that a lot.I brought this months ago I belive with the line was still new. I love this stuff its not expensive, and is extra thick and creamy as conditioner should be. I love the clean light smell.  Seems to work well with my hair is great for dangling/combing.

Acelite 3 $2.00. Found this at CVS . In a random section along with other foreign companies skin care products. Anywho its a little 4 oz bottle of olive, almond, and castor oil. I guess it was a little expensive for such a small amount but a little of the oil seems to do the trick. These oils are light so it doesn't seem to be greasy on my hair and as far as I know its just the oils according to the ingredients in the back.

Sorry....

I know its been a minute since I've posted and I'm behind on my reviews :(...In other news I really am going to get serious on the being more healthy portion of my hair regimen by eating better and trying to exercise. I've just been lazy bout it cause its still cold lol.

update

Ok tried the the greg juice and the burnt sugar from my Oyin haul last night and they smell great and they seem to do as advertised, but I needs to do a full wash and do a real trial with some other products cause I've been told you need to strip your hair to do a real experiment. That will happen this w/e as usual lol. In the mean time check out Oyin's youtube channel. I say one thing I wish I worked there cause they have too much fun in these podcasts. Lata XOXO

Oyin Handmade

Ordered Oyin Handmade over the weekend and got it already! I'm so anxious to play I love getting packages. Sorry guys I've already open opened it but I'll be sure to post up pics when I give it a try this weekend.

Oyin Handmade review

(orginally posted 2/2/11)Ok so I really did a good test of the giftpack and little extras I brought from Oyin  last weekend. The giftpack came in a little plastic baggie and contained goodies! It included a welcome letter with tips and suggestions, and 3 hard candies (how sweet). In the gift pack were trial sizes of "Greg Juice" "Honey Hemp Conditioner" "Shine and Define" and  "Whipped pudding". I also got trail sizes of the Honey Wash and burnt sugar pomade to complete the line. I couldn't wait to test the products so I immediately  tried the Greg Juice. It's definied on Oyin's site as a "refersher and can be used to moisterise and soften the hair. It does as described and has a citrus  scent. It also contains no oils so my hair didn't feel wieghed down or greasy as with most sprays. The smell while not overpowering seemed to last all day while I was a work. My only con is that my hair seemed a lil sticky but I once after I used it but I may have sprayed too much. I decided to wait a few days to try everything else. I first washed my hair with Aphogee (as a clarifier) then continue to wash and style my hair with the Oyin products. Honeywash lathered well and is very pleasent smelling. Oyin likes to use lavender and honey in a lot of their products which is good with me because not only are they plesent smelling they have benfitial properties for your hair. Although this might be bad if your allergic to these products so you may want to do a skin test first. After that I used the HoneyHemp conditioner. This conditioner gets raves reviews all over youtube so I had to give it a try. Like most of the products it smells delicious. It was rich and thick and is a good detangler. It left my hair nice and moisturized I washed it out but I'm sure you can leave a lil in maybe with some olive oil and do a prepo deep condtioner whateva you like. After that I rinse it out and started twistin my hair. Even though I cut off a lot of the relaxed ends it still takes me a good 2-3 hours to do nice sized twists. I will be doing my BC in a few weeks since I've found a salon that's gotten good reviews. Its just the matter of putting down the cash lol.

Sally's haul update

Ok so I got a small sally's haul for you guys:

Ecostyler with Aragon Oil 2.49

Tangle Teezer (yay! they only had 3 left) 9.49

Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 mircle worker 4.99

I only went in there to pick up the tangle teazer but decided to get the other products since there was a sale and I don't just walk into Sally's everyday. I'm hoping I can use these as a replacement for the Kinky Culry Custard since I'm almost out at least for now. I spent $18 and was not about to spend another $30 bucks lol. Plus I have other products coming I don't wanna get to cluttered up with stuff. I had to pick up the Tangle Teezer because of all the problems I was having with de-tangling. I'm hoping it would help it has two sizes of bristles on the brush and that suppose to help loosen up the curls as they pass thru (I'm hoping you can tell from the pic my camphone does not do well in low light). Anywho I'll be using these later today so I'll be posting up a review lata. XOXO

random post up

Ok just letting you guys know I got the Kinky Curly review comin up. There's the Bmore Natural hair care Expo coming up in March. I went last year before with lil sis before I decided to go natural, so naturally I want to go back. My  Shea moisture I brought last summer  is about gone or done(expect the shampoo which I didn't use every wash and the DT I brought recently) so I decided to try a new line(yes product junkie in the house). Just brought  Oyin's sample gift pack. Once I use it I'll be doing a review on that as well. Their products get glowing reviews on youtube and the blogs. Their shop is located right in Bmore so imma have to pay them a visit. Another hot thing I keep hearing about is the Tangle Teezer. My hair for whatever reason is tangeling bad right now despite my cutting. I'm hoping the Tangle teezer will work where my brush/fingers have failed lol. It is an investment but it might be worth it if I can save some hair and stop all this breakage shedding.

My products and reviews (so far)

Shea Moisture

In case you guys didn't know I love the Shea Moisture line. All of there products are totally organic and contain certified Organic ingredients.  I feel in love with there soaps(check vid here)   So you know as soon I could I ran over to Target brought the entire Coconut & Hibiscus hair care line and later the Deep Treatment Masque(not shown below Shampoo and Hold and Style Mist which is gone now lol) . If you can not find the line in the stores( I had trouble myself) you can buy the products online

curl and style milk

First thing I love the smell of the coconut line. Second the products as for as organic products go are affordable. Every item is  10.00. As far as the smell Coconut really doesn't have a smell to me so to me it smelled more like cake batter. Like Miss Jessie's the smell is strong(especially the smoothie and mist) but only in the container. It fades after you apply it. The Shampoo is sulphate free but lathers and cleanses well. The Smoothie has the consistency of whipped shea butter and Shea Butter is one of the main ingredient along with Coconut Oil and Neem Oil. I use the smoothie to moisterize my hair at night or while twisting my hair. It leaves my hair nice and moisterised. The Curl and style Milk however is more like a lotion and not as thick as the smoothie. I used the curl and style milk and the hold and shine mist for my daily styling routine after I took out my twists. The hold and style mist while not a gel does give a light hold and made my hair sheen without being too greasy. I used this as a refresher and my last step before I run out the door. 

Pro VS Cons

Pros

Smells great

Organic

moisturizing

inexpensive for organic care about 10 bucks each

Cons 

no clarifying shampoo or  slippy conditioner ( I guess you can use the shampoo or Styling Milk to detangle many say they do)

Not much curl definition 

no gel or anything for a true hold in the line

Only sold @ Target  and sometimes hard to find in stores (more Target's fault then the company's)

Now I have to give the Deep Treatment mask its own review since its not really part of that line. Its under the Raw Shea Butter line (there's also a Black Soap line, and a Yucca and Bobab line neither of which I've tried yet). Because of that  this DT has different ingredients added such as Sea Kelp and Argan Oil. It smells more herbal-like but it is very light. It seemed to have a slight tingling feeling and felt as if it was penetrating into my hair. I usually use this about every 1 or 2 weeks before I wash. I wet my hair part it in big sections or twists,  put this in then cover with a plastic cap and let it sit for about a hour...Then I a quick rinse and wash and condition as usual. I believe this made my hair soft and shiny, and more manageable. So in a nutshell I love Shea moisture because for the most part the products do what they say and are organic and safe for natural and transitioning sistas (although I don't see why releaxed sistas or anyone else can't use them either) but their products do very little to define curls in my  natural newbie opinion. That's it in a nutshell diva if I stop being lazy and forgetting my batteries I do a vlog to accompany this lol but for now enjoy this. Next up KC also known as Kinky Curly and the Curlz line for Taget. Lata guys. XOXO!

oh boy

Since I was too afraid to go to the salon yesterday (still had the upset stomach)...I cut off a few of my relaxed ends with a straight edge(just cause I couldn't find the scissors) so my hair a little shorter but just in the front. I still need to do it cause I couldn't see the back. From what I can tell my back is still straight? So many textures in my hair right now its crazy but for now I'm try to deal with it cause I want a few more inches on my head when I do the BC lol.

Another note I did venture out yesterday ( just got sick of sitting in the house) and went to target to reup on the KCCC(Kinky Curly Curling Custard) and of course it wasn't there :(. So I picked up some Curls Goddess Curls Gel instead. Its cheaper then the KCCC ($7.99 for 8 zo vs $16.99 for 8 oz ). So I thought why not. Brought it along with the Knot Today Detangler. Although now researching I heard some not so great reviews about the Target Curls line. This is a different line then the one they sell online @ Curls.biz. From what I understand it is a line made specially to sell in the Target stores so maybe that why cause I've heard  good things about the products sold online.

In what seems to be my constant search for good products I was going thru hair tutorials on youtube and came across this line Oyin handmade. Also heard rave reviews on this product line. First thing I found out that I loved is that it located in Bmore. Shipping should take no time or I can travel to the store. Second they have trial sizes! So I will be ordering a few and if I like em I'll take a little trip to the store. 

I want to get the trial because I just have way too many products right now. I have Kinky Curly products which I still havent gone thru nor the Shea Mositure line. I'll have to post up review of each ( just so much work). I'm still new at this natural thing. IF you girls (or guys) have any suggestions please let me know. Lata XOXO

sooooo

well my plan was to get the BC tomorrow but I'm not feelin so hot :(. If I feel betta in the morning I'll do otherwise I'll have to postpone it a few weeks.