I am ready for....

....winter!

freshly braided

I've done my clothes/shoe shopping and am pretty ready for the snow, ice and wind! Can't say I'm looking forward to either of those three elements but it comes with the territory so no need to grumble, mumble or complain!

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Now my 'baby' i.e. my hair also needed to get ready for her first winter in this chemical-free state. When I completed my Undergrad in Minnesota from 2000-2002, I was relaxed and really didn't give two-hoots about my hair. My hair was healthy even though I did whatever I felt to it without rhyme or reason. Now, I'm older, wiser (so I'd like to think) and definitely want to take a more protective approach to my hair since I know the cold can sometimes be a challenge. Since starting this natural routine, I've been conscientious about moisturizers and using them regularly on my hair and of course that's even more important in the dry and cold temperatures.

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With wool, fleece and other materials that make up hats, scarves and the insides of hoods for warmth, it's going to be interesting how I keep these kinks all moisturized. I opted to start this winter journey with kinky twists as pictured above. I've had them in before and had an overall 'ok' experience with them. I don't get too excited cause there are some down sides--more annoying aspects of having them in and #1 on that list is I can't wash my hair as often. My hair has already started fuzzing through the braids and its only been one week and no water has even touched my hair yet...the more fuzzier, the more 'older' the braids look and that's not always necessarily cute. Not washing my hair as often also means tolerating an itchy scalp and that's one of my biggest pet peeves...

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This particular experience has started crappy because my sides were put in tighter than usual (even though it didn't feel that way when they were getting braided) and up to Wednesday of this week, I still couldn't pull the braids in certain directions without wincing in pain. Furthermore, I've got the little bumps around my hairline. NOT CUTE. I was THIS close to taking them out but I'm gonna hold out a bit. I paid $35 + cost of hair to get this style. Now that isn't anything to 'break the bank' but still enough to motivate me to keep this style until Thanksgiving- when I return home for a wedding. I had actually planned to just get the sides retouched for the wedding and keep the braids until December but our relationship hasn't gotten off to a good start so I'm not too sure about that original plan.

Here I am with them styled...

I'm all ready with Oyin's Greg Juice as a water-based moisturizer and my beloved Hairveda's Whipped Gelly moisturizer. I've got other stuff in the arsenal although not sure if and how those will be included. I've got to get me a color applicator bottle quickly! When I have braids, I usually use those bottles to get the water/conditioner to my scalp for cleansing purposes and that kinda helps to 'keep' the braids because I don't have to actually put water on the entire head of hair.

I'm gonna play around with styles in another couple days once the tightness wears off and I'll have more pics to show!

smooches!

Lessons learned...

Look at that fro! Never again will I underestimate the time, energy and skill it takes to sport a tight fro. Here is mine as I went to church last night.... and I thought it was a hot mess because everytime I looked in the mirror at the back, I saw that it wasn't.....well fixed. It wasn't even or clean all around.

Well this post isn't all about fros...its the lessons learned, the things I never realized about natural hair or caring for natural hair until recently. Its those things that probably makes most of our childhood experiences quite...hmmm unpleasurable when we think of our hair experiences 'before-relaxer' days!

What I learned:

• I should NEVER comb my hair dry....that is unless it was already detangled and not sitting for any long periods of time. i.e. even this morning as I attempted to braid up my hair, I had to part into sections and then using my spray bottle damp my hair before trying to comb through (and detangle again) before attempting the braids. Why is this? well first of all, despite popular belief my hair is curly..its just the curls are uber small and thus they get tangled very very easily. So its not a matter of hard vs. soft hair...(any hair can be soft if its properly moisturized), its just that us black women with 4b (coily/springy/cottony/kinky texture) has to be more careful about how and when we try to rake a comb especially a :gasp: fine-tooth comb through these tresses. So to create my fro style, I also damp my hair with a spray bottle before using the handy dandy afro-pik!


• I should NEVER try to run the comb through my hair from root to tip. Now this may sound like a given, but I can't tell you how many times, even when my hair was relaxed and I had new growth that I would try this method. Its just not the method of combing for anyone whose hair has texture. Its definitely better to begin at the tip and work backward to the root.


• I should NEVER try to comb my hair all at once. Another 'given' but I've done it and seen others attempt also. Now most times, we attempt with a wide tooth comb but even that can be detrimental i.e. pulling out hair unnecessarily. its best to divide and conquer. the smaller the better. The exception may be trying to create the aforementioned fro. But by the time, I'm creating the fro, my hair is already detangled and the divide and conquer session was already done.


• I don't need to comb my hair. Now this is not me being nasty or any other derrogatory term we use for people who don't comb their hair. Becuase my hair is still under 10 inches long, my fingers are excellent detanglers. Furthermore, now that I'm natural, not every style I need a comb for. I remember the first 3-4 months after I cut, my hair never met a comb unless I was experimenting with a style at home.


• Water is my friend! I was the queen of washing my hair ONCE per month. If it was a good month, maybe twice...but never more than that. Somehow I became to believe that washing my hair was of the devil. Well, its not the washing or the water that could be bad- its the ingredients in certain shampoos. So now I wash my hair whenever I please (once, twice or every day per week) but very rarely do I use shampoo and if I do use shampoo, its a sulfate-free product and I alwasy follow up with a conditioner. When I wash without shampoo, I use conditioner (any old cheap one I can find) and I use that to lather/scrub my scalp. who knew huh?


• Water is my friend! no, this is not a mistake, I meant typing that twice. not only is water helpful for cleansing purposes but water is moisture. Moisture = happy, healthy and soft manageable hair. I also prefer how my hair looks when its moisturized. It has more definition (i.e. curl pattern), more sheen (cause my hair doesn't shine naturally) and like I said...I just like how it looks.


• Everything that claims to be a moisturizer -isn't. Now there are some technical parts of this explanation that I don't feel quite fit to explain but let me say this. Stuff like grease, pink oil moisturizer that contains either mineral oil or petroleum only sits on the top of the hair shaft and makes it feel greasy. But this isn't beneficial to the actual hair. :shrugs shoulders: I've chosen to just avoid these ingredients whenever possible and try to use products that are water-based and ingredients like shea butter, aloe vera gel and some natural oils (coconut, safflower, olive, tea tree etc...) in attempts at moisturizing in my hair.

That's all I can think of right now! and besides, I have to go get ready. I just got offered a FREE ticket to the Miss Universe Pageant being held in t-4 hours. As I mentioned, I actually braided my hair because we (hubby and I) were supposed to go to the beach, now I have to find a dress, hope that the braids make a cute, well-defined braid out and just get all purty for this event! woohooo

smooches!

Good Hair, bad hair debate

I’ve been a product of the brainwashing regarding what constitutes as good and bad hair. And with this, came me not liking my natural hair because its curl pattern is very tight (more coily than curly) and thus I’ve rejected my hair for a lot of my life. About a year ago, despite me having “bad hair” as my husband reminded me every opportunity he got – I decided I wanted to be natural and it was my final answer. With this decision, came a lot of research and ‘studying’ and it was at this point that I was enlightened. How blasphemous of us to call something bad; especially when this “thing” is apart of our body…a body that God created. A creation that was deemed “good” by God from the beginning of time. Of course this stems from slavery and pop culture moreso than a rejection of God’s creation but it’s wrong nonetheless!

Now that may be a lil deep for the average person, but this did leaps and bounds for my self-esteem and the way I looked at myself, my hair and ultimately what I see as beautiful! Yes, my hair may take longer to comb and thus be more difficult to manage. Yes, its prone to dryness and doesn’t naturally shine. Yes, it grows big (fro) rather than hanging down, thus looking “short” even when there may be some length. But its mine...long or short, curly or straight. I was born with it and I cannot deny that it’s beautiful, because it’s apart of me and I’m beautiful. I have the right to choose to include chemicals (relaxer, permanent colors) to my hair when I want to but I know that this does not make me beautiful. What it does do is give me a different look and possibly enhance various aspects of my facial features but that’s pretty much the extent of it.

My goal was to then learn the correct product and styles that will compliment my coily, dry, thick hair. And that’s what I’ve been doing…obsessively!!!

So to my surprise and annoyance, I’ve been getting comments about having “good hair” since I cut my hair. Why? Because my hair looks good. And it looks good, because I’ve invested in learning about proper hair care techniques, various styles, and complimentary products that will moisturize my hair and on rare occasion, give it lil bit of sheen (cause it will NEVER shine)

I don’t ‘correct’ the individuals because it’s a moot point and unless they are open to it, will only hear me but probably won’t “get” what I’m saying. So I just give a tense smile and keep it moving (K.I.M.).

I do proselytize anyone who listens though only when they bring up the topic, sincerely, I try to share a bit of what I learned so that others can be enlightened as I was.

Ok..i’m off my soapbox. Although I do hope that people would lay off of this debate…(in my dreams!)

my growing fro last month

smooches!

my fave 5

We don't have T-mobile services here but our cable/satellite are all primarily US programming (+ some Canadian stations + british news) and I remember watching the commercials a couple years ago [was it really that long ago?] and thinking how cool the idea of having unlimited access to 5 phone numbers...anyway this isn't a T-mobile commercial but as it relates to hair, I have 5 favorite things that I can't do without...

2 strand twists (without extensions)

My staple style now. Its perfect because it serves as a protective style because my ends are not all open and exposed to the elements and its easy to go. as my hair continues to grow, I can do more and more with my hair actually in the twists...eg I can wear pony's, updo's or with pins/hair clips create anything. here is an example of how they look freshly completed, you can see a more accurate length of my hair here (6 months after the cut)

and then the same style but after my hair drys and shrinkage kicks in (excuse how I look..)

Hairveda's whipped gelly

:blissful sigh: I lurv this stuff. Literally stumbled over it with no recommendation from anyone or any blog but hairveda had a sale and this was what was being offered. I, being a frugal product junkie (PJ) that I am, jumped on this and tried it once, twice, thrice...and won't turn back.ever! [disclaimer: I have seriously only used it with my twists...I have yet to see how it works with overall definition or for laying down hair...its marketed as a gel substitute/moisturizer].

Oyin Handmade Juices'n'Berries

what can I say about my beloved spritzer/moisturizer/refresher...everything. This water-based, oil free product is marketed as a moisturizer and it is perfect for me! I've learned in my 7 short months in this natural world, that my hair does better with water-based moisturizers over heavier creams. for example, as wonderful as shea butter is and as thick as my hair is, it doesn't 'like' shea butter, especially not raw. when its mixed with other natural products, preferably whipped, I can tolerate it...however if its a pomade or butter...nope. side note: if your hair loves shea butter, Hairveda http://hairveda.com/cleansing.aspx has an awesome Whipped Clouds that's light but still uber moisturizing because of the shea butter and aloe vera components; but if you prefer the butters/pomades, then try Oyin Handmade's http://oyinhandmade.com/oyin/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3 whipped pudding. I tried it but ended up passing on to my aunt because of its heaviness.

Giovanni Direct Leave-in Conditioner

I use this after every wash. The only exception to this, if I'm using another leave-in which I have been trying out..but that particular leave-in is thicker, takes longer to dry and doesn't do well with other products. I never have a problem with Giovanni Leave-in...its not watery like some, it has some hold (nothing to write home about) but its an all around reliable product. I have about 3 bottles of it! :)

this can be purchased at Target or online through a couple websites...

and finally....well honestly, picking a 5th one was difficult. I have a lot of great products, hairstyles, hair accessories. So I asked myself...if I didn't have access to what other thing-what would I proverbially "die" for?

headband

I don't ever hide the simple fact: my head is huge. and from since I cut my hair in January of this year, I have leaned on various styles of headbands and/or scarves...my husband feels they make my head look bigger, but in my delusioned mind, it somehow looks...smaller? I love them and I don't care who doesn't...I rocked the headband when I only had about 3 inches of hair on my head! was i laughed at- yes? did I care- no! LOL

So the one I chose as a part of my favorite 5 is the Goody ouchless classic elastic headband. now with a growing fro, this band helps to keep my twists away from my face in a 'style' and also is a quick fix for bad hair days. ;) simple but does the trick...everytime!

and that's me! my top 5 hair related items/styles.... remember, no two heads of hair are exactly alike so what works wonders for me, may be an 'ehhh' for you! take advantage of sales, freebies, sample sizes and trading with other people who may not like what they purchased.

btw: hairveda has a moisturizer sale on now, as i just learned visiting their sight. I haven't tried either of the two products advertised and honestly do not feel inclined to, at least not right now! I've got goals: vehicle, mac laptop and stationary bike. (and according to sweets, those are secondary to books and tuition deposits) ;)

smooches

Hair accessories

The one thing you will learn about me is that I’m obsessive. Like seriously, if I get an idea, I don’t sleep until I go as far as I can with what I have…

On Friday, I stumbled upon this…

from CurlyNikki and decided that I want this. Of course, the chances I find it (or anything similar) here in the Bahamas is slim and if I do find, I’ll probably pay in excess of $20 (US currency). The other option would be to purchase online and pay shipping and additional charges -customs duty- once its shipped here in the Bahamas. Of course, both options are unacceptable since I want a stationary exercise bike, vehicle and a MAC laptop in September once I move for school (in no particular order).

So on to the point, I decided to try and make my own. STOP. That’s a lie. I went out and got the supplies to drop to my mother for her to make..but since it was a Friday and traffic was ridiculous, I sat home and tapped my feet, literally near trembling because I HAD to see the results before I went to sleep. My husband only shakes his head when I get like this because its now Monday and I have yet to find an opportunity to wear either of the pieces I made but I swear I would have died if it wasn’t done on Friday.

So to abort a crisis- I got my sewing kit, which my mom bought for me a month before the wedding…and got to stitching.

Here are the results: