ACV rinse

Hello all!

So yes it has been a very very very very long time since we all posted on this blog....so I thought it was time to break the silence. :-) So I tried to do the Apple Cider Vinegar rinse that I kept hearing about. I found a couple of videos on youtube and I followed the directions. One of the videos was saying that you also have to do the baking soda rinse as well and that you can't just do the ACV by itself. So I first did the baking soda co-wash after doing a quick shampoo. Then I did the ACV and I didn't rinse this out (because you can leave the ACV in for more conditioning if you want to. most people wash it out because of the smell but the smell goes away after your hair drys). Well I found that my hair was cleaner and that all the buildup did get cleared up. The only thing is that my hair was super tangled...after I had towel dried my hair it was difficult parting and combing. This could be because I had not combed my hair before I had washed it and I had it in a twist out....so yeah. I have to try this again soon to see if it had anything to do with the way I washed my hair of it was simply the lack of combing before washing my hair. In any case I would encourage you to read up on this and try it yourself. Below are the sources I used, both the youtube videos and the article on the website. Happy washing! And enjoy your journey with your hair...every day. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wBK51nVuzs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSOmu9pSNU (this lady talks a lot so you can fast forward her video a bit but she talks about the reason why you should not just do a ACV by itself but do it along side a baking soda wash)

http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/natural-hair-care-product.html
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/apple-cider-vinegar-kitchen-cupboard.html (this has two pages of info on how apple cider vinegar can be used for skin care as well!)

okay....so tell me what you think. :-)

Saron

Hair Update

Hello Ladies,

I see no one has posted in a bit and because I'm ecstatic about the current health of my hair, I wanted to do a brief post. Soooo I'm full SL! Yes! It's been awhile coming, I don't know exactly how many months but enough months. I relaxed with Dark & Lovely. My mom put in the relaxer as I only trust her to do it and I did the rest (washing, blow-drying, flat-ironing) etc. I had never used this relaxer before, only Precise, Soft & Beautiful and Elasta Qp. I loved the results! My hair is a bit flat but all relaxers do that when you relax bone straight. I stretched 18 weeks with braids for 7 weeks and will definitely be doing it again after my birthday. I dislike braids because I love doing my hair and braids restrict me but hey it paid off. I'm aiming for APL next so hopefully by June next year I'll be there!

Be well,

Lexi

I Haven't Forgotten About You Guys

Greetings!

So I haven't forgotten about you guys! I've just been busy. I must admit that I'm not taking care of my hair as I should be. This is mainly because if I'm not busy, I'm just lazy.

I remember I set some goal of reaching APL by July. HAHA! After remember that I'm not Rapunzel I believe I changed that to December 2010. This should give me all summer to work on my length. I'm not sure if it's a reasonable goal but we shall see. How long is my hair right now? Good question. I have no idea. I'm constantly manipulating my hair into these...these "creations" and it's rarely straight. I'm due for a re-touch soon so...we'll see. I have a lot aggressive new growth so that chemical shall help it relax. See, that's why they call it a relaxer.

I'm going to post pictures sometime. Maybe after I get that re-touch. I would do it now but I look like a bush woman lowkey and my hair is knotted up anyway.

'Tis all

Cheers!

My Hair Journey

Hello all. I'm very excited to join this blog because I'm trying to get my hair back to the way it used to be. Although my hair is growing now, I want it to grow faster and I want it to be longer and healthier than it used to be.

This is my hair two years into getting a perm, when I was about sixteen. It was still growing and was quite healthy.

Two summers later, I decided to try the wet and wild look and unfortunately this destroyed my hair. I had split ends all throughout it and it had to be cut off. At the time I didn't realize how much of my hair had been lost but when I compare pictures, it's heartbreaking :c


As you can see, I have the dreaded soccer mom looking bob thing on my head. Thus began the long process of trying to get my hair back to my original length. Lucky for me, it is growing.



However I want to learn more about what I can do to take care of my hair and how I can enhance this growth at a faster rate. I absolutely hate doing my hair because for me, the process is always a pain. It wasn't until recently that I looked at taking care of my hair as essential as taking care of the rest of my body.

I'm starting my hair journey and I'm excited to get started! What do I do first?

Darcy's Botanical

I decided to try DB's Natural Coils Curling Jelly($12) after I saw alohakiwi's youtube video on it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/alohakiwi#p/u/19/iwK723edl4I

I love it.Now my curls are more volumous.

The consistency of the gel is like applesauce and it has a nice.light scent to it.

I only use a little bit when I section my hair in 4 parts.

I make sure that before I use it I put some Kinky Curly Knot Today.(KCKT)

I have to buy some more,cause KCKT is amazing.

BTW KCKT can be used as a conditioner and as a leave-in

It has amazing slip and I can easily detangle my hair.

Its a part of my holy grail!

I do believe I will get the hair butter from Darcy's botanical,cause I notice that my hair is frizzy esp at the crown.Also i want some more moisture.

Much love ladies.

Photo Diary

August 2009 Flat fried/press & curl from the salon

December 2009 Flat Ironed hair on low heat (after air drying in twists)

February 2010 New growth

MAY 2010

After co-washing with Herbal Essences Totally Twisted & Trader Joe's Balanced Moisturizing Nourish Spa conditioners

Moisturizing with Giovanni Direct Leave-In conditioner/Herbal Essences Hello Hydration mix, Aloe Vera Gel & Coconut Oil

Straight ends :(

New growth emerging!!!

Finished two-strand twists done with Karen's Body Beautiful's Hair Cream (Egyptian Musk) & Hair Butter (Chamomile Sage)

Abie's Hair Journey

Greetings ladies!

As you all know, I have a HUGE amount of heat damage--the consequence of my over-zealous preoccupation with the salon last summer :/. Any who, I have schooled myself in the art of BLACK HAIR & now that I'm up on game, I've been growing it out and cannot wait to cut off these stringy ends!! Since I stopped pressing I've cut about 2.5-3 inches off. I still have about 65-ish% left to get rid of but my primary focus now is obtaining length so I've definitely eased off of the shears (the last time I cut it was around February, I think).

Bee Mine Product Review

Hey Ladies,
So it's about to be Week 7 and I don't know about y'all but I'm ready for summer! Anyways on to hair of course...I love BEE Mine Moisturizer. I'm about to try out more products but I just bought the daily spritz, the curly butter, and hair and scalp moisturizer. What I love most about the moisturizer is that you don't have to use much of it for it to work. In fact when I first used it, I got too excited and used too much and my hair felt heavy. Also, this products are 100% natural and smell so good!!! yay! Check out the video on Miss Traycee's review. --Lexi

Taking care of your hair while you sleep

Hello Ladies....

So I followed in the footsteps of Miss Tekeyia and decided to make my own hair oils. I had brought back some shay butter from Ghana but it was raw so it was kind of hard to put into my hair. So I got some olive oil, castor oil, some essential oils (they were on sale at Whole foods) I got some Lemon and Sweet Orange and then melted everything in a pot (over very low heat!) and put the shay butter in last. At first all the shay butter melted and it looked like just oil. But after leaving it out for a day it hardened up a little bit. So now I just take some and rub it in my palms (it melts really quickly) and I apply it to my scalp and then my hair. (It's more important to get the oils and the treatment to the root of your hair cause that's where your hair absorbs the oils and nutrients so that it can grow healthy and strong).

So even if you don't have shay butter around you can still make hair oils (look at the blog Tekeyia wrote (Hair Oils) for more about that. Once you have your oils you can start your nightly hair treatment. It is important to wrap your hair and moisturize it every night. If nothing else moisturize because this keeps your hair from becoming dry and brittle (which reduces the likelihood of falling out or breaking) and just keeps your hair well fed. You wouldn't drink water (or liquids) once a week would you? Now just like your body your hair needs to stay moisturized. But if your hair is already oily you might want to moisturize less often and just wrap your hair. Also the wrapping up of your hair is VERY important because it keeps your hair from being abused as you sleep. It is not only to maintain your hair style but to protect your hair. This will also allow your hair to absorb the oils and really get a chance to retain the oils you put in it. You will notice a change in the way your hair feels and this can be noted after a few weeks of putting up your hair. This works for both natural hair and for pressed hair. Even if you keep your hair in a natural style it is important to wrap it. You will have less breakage and less tendency for your hair to get really tangled up. This will also make life easier when you wake up in the morning to get ready. Less time spend de-tangling or recovering your hair from a nights sleep and more time styling and getting breakfast before class. Lol. But seriously yall get a good scarf and start puttin up your hair at night.

And after a few weeks tell me what you notice about your hair. Happy Hair time! lol.

These are the essential oils used. This is what was produced at the end (two containers of this stuff)
This is what it looks like. Its really soft. Take a small amount and rub it in the palm of my hands and....

apply to scalp.

also check out this video it talks about taking care of your hair in the evenings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw2r_jT6jnY

Enjoy Ladies!

March 2008 to March 2010

I was just checking the blog to see if anyone had posted any tips or tricks when I realized that it has been 2 years since my last perm.  I just wanted to show everyone what a difference 2 year makes.  Whether your natural, relaxed, straightened, braided, etc. it's really important to realize that no one can tell you what to do with your hair.  As long as you're proud of it, keep doing what you think is best and that's all that matters.

 March 2008 - Last relaxer

 March 2009 - 6 months natural

 March 2010 - 19 months natural (1 yr-7mos)

 March 2008 - Last relaxer

 March 2010 - 19 months natural (1 yr-7mos)

<3 TeKeyia