Life as we know it....

As I've travelled on my natural journey, dryness has been my number one issue. Not matter what I used, my crown area  was always dry. I came close with Qhems BRBC/OHB/Pomade Shop combo but no dice.

Until this week...

After applying The Pomade Shop Ceramoist Leave in(SUPER LOVES), I applied a dab of Qhems Amla Heavy Cream and Olive Honey Hydrating Balm to my hair and sealed my ends with my Pomade Shop peppermint pomade. I then stretched my hair with African Threading method and went to bed. I woke up to soft, MOISTURIZED hair, esp in my crown area.

To say I'm thoroughly impressed is an understatement.

I think I've found the answers to my prayers*crosses fingers*

Man OH MAN.

Holy Crap...

I haven't updated my blog in like..FOREVER.
Things have changed DRASTICALLY.
I have so much to catch up on.

Hmmm like...

MY. Hair. Has. Grown....but not enough
I fell back in love with Qhemet's Biologics...I cheated...badly....
African threading is my bff....
I'm a henna head again....
I dyed my hair purple...Manic Panic ROCKS
I wore crotchet braids for most of 2015...but I'm giving those a much needed rest.....
I still can't wear braid outs and twists out.....
Flat twist bantu knot outs are a hit and miss for me....
My ends loves POMADES....well mostly The Pomade Shop
SheaMoisture Manuka Honey Deep Treatment is the BOMB( seriously, all the deep treatments in my stash are amazing.
and...I finished my FIRST SWEATER!

Pics coming soon!

Long time no see...

weekend was my little sister's graduation dinner and I wanted a big curly fro. While I was scared that using heat may cause breakage, it wasn't so bad. My hair always manages to amaze me. I never think my hair is growing until I let it out. My hair finally has bangs! Do you know how long I wanted a curly bang? Scorreeee

In other news, I'm giving my hair a break until my trip in June. My edges are snatched, so a break is in order.

Milestone!

Shrinkage is the devil ya'll. If you would have told me months ago that not only I could do a flat twists bantu knot out but have it look amazing??

I would've told you the devil is a lie.

I'm always amazed to see how far my hair has come. I always think that my hair is so thin in twists and such that I'm always struck at how full my hair looks when styled right.

I can't wait to wear this style again when the weather warms up.

In other news, I've found a new combo that works well to style my hair or when its in a protective style. For this particular do, I used Camilla Rose Leave-In and sealed with Beja Flora Buttercream. My hair was extremely moisturized and coily, especially my ends. Of course, my hair was a dirt bomb in these photos so I'm itching to try this style on clean hair. Maybe I'll do a roller set first to stretch my hair then style? Hmm, or even the African stretch method? Decisions, decisions....
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I lied.

I said I wouldn't go back to havana twists but for the past 3 weeks...I cheated. This time was different though, I was on top of my moisturizing game and made sure to massage castor oil onto my edges 3 times a week.

I'm currently taking a mini break and allowing my hair to breathe. I plan on doing a greek yogurt treatment this weekend and installing crotchet braids, so excited!
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Roller-set success story!

Hola!

The last time I roller-set my hair, it wasn't that much of a success. My roots were still puffy and my ends were more tangled than ever.

This time, I used my magic combo of Qhemet's BRBC and OHHB which I think made a world of difference. I also braided the roots close to the scalp and made sure to my ends were truly detangled before applying the curlers.

This morning when I took the curlers down, I was stunned to see how long my hair actually grown! Last night, I was saying that my hair should be longer than what it is, but the problem was, I wasn't stretching my hair properly.

The proof is in the pudding! I want to try to stretch my hair with the African Thread method. While roller sets are cool, sleeping with them is whoooooooleeee other story. It wasn't too bad but It was annoying. I'm going to try to do this once a month, I wonder how a bantu knot out or a flat twist out would look with super stretch hair?????

Till next time!

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On the Hunt....

Darcy's Botanticals Pumpkin Seed Conditioner
Thank God I'm Natural Honey Miracle Deep Conditioner
Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner.....

Time to try some new things!

Goodbye 2013...

Goodbye and get the fuck out.

I lost my rabbit
Lost my faith
Suffered severe depression and anxiety
Questioned my purpose in life
Doubted my future

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy I passed my boards, happy that my family and friends are still here, but 2013 was one of the worst.

So, I'm happy the bitch is gone.

I'm going to make 2014 my bitch.

Till next time!
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Yeah, I did that.

Finally learned to flat twist, go me!
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What is this? A revelation?

Sorry if I rambling but do you have any idea how long I've had Qhemets Olive and Honey Hydrating balm in my stash?

Do you?

About 3 years, guess how many times I've used it?

2 times.

Both times it left my hair hard as rocks and I've given it away so many times and got it back, it'll make your head spin. So what is this post about?

I found a great alternative to Beja Flor Naturals, that's what! Last week, I took my flat twists down and my hair was moisture deprived and since I've reach the bottom of my normal moisturizer, I closed my eyes and reached for OHHB and my hair was so happy the next day. I realized that I used too much the first time and that a small amount goes a long way. My hair was shiny and supple. So I have another winner on my hands!

In other news, I gave myself a much needed trim, my ends were ratchet.

Found a few wigs I liked, so I plan on getting one this week!

Till next time!
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It's been a long time......

Hola peeps!

I'm still here, rocking it with my hair. My new moisturizing combo is stil making my hair sing. During the fall, I wore havana twists until I got sick of them. My hair has grown but not at the rate I'm happy with. I feel my hair can be much further than where it is now.

With that said, I'm giving extensions a rest for a year and I'm going to use wigs as my go to for hair protection. One wig that I have my eye on is the FingerComber unit, its a natural wig created by naturals that are looking for wigs that match their hair texture. I plan on saving my pennies to invest in one. In the meantime I'm giving puffs a rest because I absolutely HATE re twisting my hair at night, so I'm trying flat-twists as another styling option.

Also, to combat the single strand knots and increase moisture retention, I've started doing oil rinses to give my hair the love it needs. I tried it last week using coconut oil and my hair loved it, I'm going to try avocado oil next. I plan on doing that every week since the weather is much colder. Yesterday, I tried a greek yogurt protein treatment and my hair was so damn happy, all I used was honey, coconut oil, and greek yogurt. My hair was easy to run my fingers through. I'm going to do that every month. I'm getting back to caring for my hair for optimal growth.

I would love to take multi-vitamins, but let's be real, I'll forget. I can count multiple times when I forgot to take my birth control for crying out loud. So I need to find something that'll work for me.

I'm up in the air about castor oil and my edges because it didn't work much, so I'm contemplating a trip to a dermatologist, I want my edges back!

Till next time....
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I think...I found it...

The magic combo...the 1-2 punch...the combo that makes my hair SINGS.

Yes...

I have found the combo that leaves my hair moisturized and soft.

And guess the best part? It was in the my pj stash the WHOLE time....

That's right...I didn't have to buy a thing!

I digged into my stash and used Qhemet's Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream as my leave-in

and....

 Beija Flor Naturals Creme Brulee for Kinks Curls and Coils. 

Holy. Macral. SOFTNESS????

Let's rewind this for a bit, as many of you know, my hair has suffered from chronic dryness for as long as I've been natural.

I've  tested so many products from Soultanicals to Sheamoisture with no such luck. I thought I found the perfect match with Soultanicals, but I noticed that when I applied the Knot Sauce, my hair would be soft but then dry hard before I even apply my moisturizer. Which kind of defeats the purpose.

So this week I finally took my Havana Twists down and washed my hair. On a whim, I added Qhemet's BRBC as my leave in and when I say my hair was SINGING??? SINGING????
O. M. G. My hair was so soft and moisturized that I was afraid to use a moisturizer to seal because I thought my hair would be hard in the morning. Now, previously I stated that I tried Beija Flora Naturals Creme Brulee and from my first impression, I didn't like it. I can happily say that this is HANDS-DOWN my favorite moisturizer. I stretched my hair overnight and when I took my braids down, my ends were so soft, so lush, so PLUMP! This, in all my natural hair journey has never happened for me....EVER.

I can safely say that I'm done looking for that HG product that will make my hair happy...I've found it!

Hi.

My life has been an whirlwind of activities since my rabbit died. So instead of writing some long and drawn out post, why not express it in pictures?

Ready set go!

Attended the wedding of my good friend Danielle in September...

The Happy Couple....

Kiddie's Carnival 2013!!!!

West Indian Day Carnival 2013....First time in a costume

Me and my sisters!

Summer Streets 2013!!!! Walked for almost 3.5 hours!

Went to Coney Island for the first time since I was a little girl

Ohhhh I may have graduated and passed my New York State Rad Tech license exam..GO ME!

Goodbye My Love

Rest in Peace Coco Chanel Sephora
Mommy will miss you terribly.


June 10, 2005- August 6, 2013

A Havana Twists love story...

I don't know what took me so long to jump on the Havana Twists love train but my golly, I love them so. They're easy to install, light, and incredibly convenient to maintain. So far, I've been wearing them since Summer began and retwists every 6 weeks.

I took my twists down this weekend and was stunned at my hair growth. I make it a habit to wet my hair everyday with my leave in mix and oil my hair either in the morning or the evenings. What's even more amazing was the lack of split ends. With Havana twists, I don't have to worry about dirt clumps at the root of my scalp or tension on my scalp and edges. Speaking of edges....

Still shitty... Unfortunately.

With Fall fast approaching, I'm debating on whether to use this hairstyle as a protective style through the Fall and Winter. I'm seriously contemplating a 1 year protective style challenge to see how long can my hair grow. I'm almost 5 yrs to this natural game and my hair is still not MBL which doesn't make me happy at all. We shall see.

Till next time!
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Havana Twists...a breakup and the make-up......

Hola!

Man, what a crazy 3 days, so let's get right into it. As you know my hair has been a hot mess for a while. I've been dealing with disappearing edges, dryness and split ends. I felt it was time that my hair got a much needed break and Havana Twists was the way to go. The time finally came for the twists to be installed and I was EXCITED! I spent hours drooling over pictures of Havana twists, dreaming of the ways I was going to rock this style.....

Until...

I got them done and I hated them.

*stops the presses*

This was my hair after my cousin installed the twists. Initially it was kinda hard to get the invisible root method but afterwards my cousin was able to do it...or so I thought. Afterwards, once she was done, this is what my hair looked like. I...liked it? But it wasn't love. Why didn't I love it? 

The shit felt like a ton of bricks on my head. It was HEAVY. I couldn't fit my hair into a bun, I couldn't sleep because it was so long and difficult to manage. It was so long that I had to throw my hair over the pillow just to sleep comfortably. That morning, I decided to cut them but to no avail, it was too heavy. Not only was the hair was too heavy but my cousin wasn't able to do the invisible root method so my gut was telling me my edges were suffering.  So I decided to take the bulls by the horn and re-twist my own hair.

WHO. THE.  HELL. TOLD. ME. TO . DO . THAT. Long story short, it took my 4 hours to get the invisible twist method, and finally, I did it!

Now....I LOVE my hair!


It feels so light that I can't believe there's extensions in my hair. I feel so good about this style that I'm going to do my little sister's hair. I'm so happy!

More views of my hair.
See??? It blends perfectly with my natural hair. 

Till next time!

My. Hair.

This is what my hair looks like for the past 2 days.  I really like the style a lot, it's easy, simple and no fuss. 

I plan on starting KinkyCurlyCoilyMe Castor Oil Challenge June 1st, wish me luck!

Product List....

Since I've decided to embrace extensions again, I figured I needed to add some new products to my arsenal.

First up,

Stay On Satin night cap. I think the number one culprit is my silk headtie. I don't know about anyone else, but my scarf never ends up where I left it. Even though I sleep on a satin pillowcase,  I wake up every morning with my headscarf about 2-3 inches off my head. I'm on the hunt for this product

I know this may sound nuts, but I haven't changed the water bottle I use for my DIY mixes since I went natural, almost 4 years ago. I know, bad, bad, T. However, I plan on buying 2 bottles, one for my water mix and one for my oil mix. 

I LOVE this shampoo to cleanse my scalp. I work out at least 3-4 days a week and nothing cleans my scalp like this. I plan on diluting this with water and washing my SCALP only with this shampoo. 

I found this oil for $1.97 in Target. Nuff said. It does have filler oils, but I'm thinking of cutting it with some coconut oil/grapeseed oil. This will be used to seal in moisture instead of my Castor Oil mix. I will leave that particular mix for my scalp and edges only at night. 

Giving my hair a break.

I wish I had better news about my edges, but after taking down my last set of cornrows, my edges look dreadful. You can CLEARLY see where my hairline is receding. To say I'm disheartened is an understatement, with that said, I've decided that for the remainder of the summer, I will wear Havana Twists. My goal is to wear the twists for one month, 2 month max with a week break in-between reinstallation. The difference between Havana Twists and regular Kinky Twist extensions is the lack of tension on your scalp. The twists are bigger and can easily blend into your natural hair. I'm getting them installed next Friday and I'm excited. I've been extensions free for almost a full year and frankly...my hair needs a break.

To keep my hair moisturized, I decided to make a moisturizing mix with water, a light conditioner, tree tea oil(since I work out a lot and a funky scalp is NOT the business), and vitamin E oil. I plan on wetting and sealing my hair DAILY. So that means, I have to stick to washing my scalp once a week and being on top of daily upkeep, even if I have to put a daily reminder in my phone to wet and seal my hair. On top of that, I'm going to up my castor oil regime to at least 4 times a week.

Also, I've decided to buy at least 2 wigs for the Fall/Winter season. Yes, I will be wearing WIGS for the Fall/ Winter. I need to give my hair rest from constant manipulation and I plan on using that time to concentrate on my edges as well. I plan on keeping track of my growth process.

I will get my edges back!

Not so good news on the edges front....

Yep, my edges are definitely going. What's going on? I tried the sleeping without the scarf experiment and apparently that's not working out so well for me. I think I'm going to up my castor oil treatments to 5 days instead of 3. Something has to give at this point.

In much happier news, I've finally found my HOLY GRAIL leave-in conditioner!!!!!!!!! Do you have any idea how long I've been searching for one?!?

Soultanicals knot sauce(pics to come soon) is wonder in a bottle. My hair is soft, tangle free and supple. I love it as a leave in but holy crap, its a wonderful detangler!!!!

Since it was birthday last week and I had a lot of celebrating planned, I let my hair loose for the festivities. What you must know about my hair is that it tangles VERY easy and is prone to knots and splits hence why I rarely wear my hair out. Well, after applying a pea size amount on my hair(in sections of course), I was amazing at how my hair untangled itself. It was like the knots disappeared. I wanted to cry tears of joy. Thank goodness I purchased the 16 oz bottle *whew*. I also order another goodie that might be my Spring/Summer moisturizer, woohooo!

In more PJ news. I FINALLY received my order from Beja Flor Naturals after escalating my issue to Paypal and Etsy. I've used the buttercream maybe once? And wasn't too impressed with it. It's very thick and my hair didn't feel so great the next day. I want to test it with other leave ins in my stash, so I can get an idea on what works best with it.


And lastly, my hair was a hit these past few days. My male classmate said he didn't realize how long my hair was because I keep it braided or twisted. I've been wearing a bantu knot out since Friday and everyday my puff gets bigger and bigger, I LOVE IT!

That's all now folks!
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