Hair inspiration 10.1.2012 - Elle Varner!

I am totally digging chick's natural hair. It's so big, wild, and free! And just so curly! I love it! Here's a couple pics of her cute self and awesome hair! Btw, if you haven't heard her album, Perfectly Imperfect, you are definitely missing out!

I miss my fro...

It's been 2 months since I relaxed my hair and today (all of a sudden) I completely miss my natural hair. I just braided it up yesterday, and now I miss my luscious, cotton soft big ass afro. With all the new growth I have, I may just grow it out again..

I haven't decided yet, but I know I want my fro back as of today.

Moisturizing & Sealing Your Hair.

Since I'm newly relaxed & a previous natural hair wearer, I recently just found out about moisturizing and sealing your hair. The process is very simple. First you need something that is a moisturizer like Wave Nouveou Moisturizing Lotion, Care Free Curl Gold Activator Lotion (Both are made of glycerine & water mostly), SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter moisturizer. Next you need some type of oil to seal your ends. Most people use some type of Essential Oil (natural oils) like extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, safflower oil.

First you apply the moisturizer to your hair working from your ends up to your scalp. Then you follow that with the oil. Make sure you apply to your edges & nape area since that is where you get the most breakage. I found a couple Youtube vids that I liked which show you how to do this on your relaxed or natural hair. ENJOY!

I've decided......

To relax my hair. It took me a couple days & some serious consideration, but I'm doing it this weekend. My mother isn't too happy about it because she loves & would "kill for hair like yours".
I've been natural for about 9 years off & on and it's definitely time for a change. I haven't came up with a real regime for my relaxed hair but I know deep conditioning, roller sets, and low heat are going to be my top 3 on that list. I'm thinking about recording it, just so a virgin relaxer can be seen on Youtube. (After searching several times, there are none! Just hella touch-ups). But if I don't record it (with the help of my sister), I'll just do some before & after shots.
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Kinky Twists Update.

After re-doing my edges for the last time about 3 days ago, I decided to take my twists out(5/8). I was tired of rebraiding my edges. I have seen a significant amount of new growth.
Now I'm trying to decide on what to do with my hair. I'm thinking about relaxing my hair or doing a sew in weave or another set of braids (cornrows or box braids). I've been natural for the past 4 yrs and I kind of want to give the relaxed look a try again. I'll update once I decide on what I want to do.



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Kinky Twists

I absolutely love this protective hairstyle. They are light weight, versatile, & very cute (as pictured below).
I installed them on 4/16, took about 6hrs (no breaks), and I plan on keeping them in for about 4 weeks. Well I'm praying to keep them in for 4 weeks only because I never keep anything in for that long & it's only been a week and my new growth is visible.
I have been keeping them moisturized with a mixture of braid spray, glycerine, & distilled water. I spritz my hair with the mixture at least twice a day, once in the morning & before bed. I plan to continue this, also to redo the braids when they are becoming too loose. I'll be updating when I take them out.
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Product Review: SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

I can't remember exactly who suggested this line of products to me but I finally went out & got some because Walgreens was having a 'Buy 1, Get 1 free' sale.
This price is $9.99 & up to $12.99 for the products in the line. I was kind of like "I'm not paying that much for something that may not work for my hair" but that Walgreens sale changed my mind.
I love the smell & texture of the CES. Its silky yet thick like a custard. My hair loved it too. I washed my hair like normal & did a twist out using only this product on my wet hair. I let it air dry and my hair came out moisturized and well defined curls/twists.
I told my sister how much I liked it & she wanted me to pick her up some since the prices for it start at $12.99 in NY.. After going to two different Walgreens, I couldn't find any. So I'm letting her use my jar on my trip to NY.
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Flat Twists

I love wearing my hair like this.. So I found a video of someone doing their flat twists on freshly washed hair. (I only picked it because I love her hair length & the song she tagged to it)

Then I found another video of another woman who was taking out & styling her hair after the flat twists. And I love how her hair came out.. I wish my hair would look the same but my ends are atrocious! 

My Hair Regime

It would only make sense if I posted how I'm taking care of my hair these days.. I will say that NOW (as of 1/1/11), I decided that I would take super good care of my hair & come up with a hair schedule/regime.

Currently, I have been washing my hair with shampoo & conditioner (I use to be a co-wash girl, but some skin issues have changed that for me.) I've been using Suave Professionals Damage Care Shampoo & Suave Professionals Humectant Conditioner. I added some olive oil into the conditioner to give it a little more ump. Also, I detangle my  hair with the conditioner in using my Denman brush & a wide tooth comb.

While my hair is dripping wet, I apply either Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter moisturizer or B&B Mayonnaise & Honey. I just like how both of those products smell and how they add just enough shine & moisture to my hair. (I'll be doing product reviews soon!)

To protect my ends, I gently detangle my hair using a wide tooth comb. Recently, I've been loving the big curl look, so I do about 6 or 8 flat twists around my head (I'll post pics later!). Depending on what time I wash my hair, I'll sit under the dryer. If I'm tired I'll just put my satin bonnet on & go to bed.

The next day, I make sure my hair is 100% dry before I take the twists out. Fluffing my hair up to look fuller gives me the exact look I'm going for. To keep the style up, I re-twist my hair up every night using a mixture of conditioner & water in a spray bottle & shea butter to seal the ends. Here's a pic of my hair tonight.. Tomorrow is my wash day.






I try to wash my hair once a week, but since its been so cold I've been trying to push it to once every 2 weeks. I'm also trying to decide if I want to "hide" my hair for a while, using a sew in weave or braids.

Research. Research. Research!

To make this blog great, I'm researching ways to help my followers find their best hair way. Google is a great way to search for new hairstyles, stylists, or even video help of how to do your own hair. I'm just going to give you some great SEARCH words/phrases  & some websites you can visit to possibly help you find exactly what you're looking for.

If you're in search of a website where you can interact with others going thru the same thing as you, search HAIR FORUMS.

You could get more specific and search for HAIR WEAVES, BLACK HAIRSTYLES, BLACK HAIR, NATURAL HAIRSTYLES, HAIR WEAVES FOR BLACK WOMEN.

Here's a list of sights I visit at times:
BlackHairMedia Forum
Nappturality.com
MopTopMaven
LongHairCare Forum

Youtube Channels I love!:
PrettyDimples01 (She does some of the cutest natural hairstyles)
Reniecedotcom (She's a great stylist & her website is just magical, full of weave wonderment)
MsChanda (Great weave tutorials)
ThomasAdrianna (She does weaves & braids on her own hair. Great tutorials)