2012 - Elle's Year In Review

As the last hours of 2012 are winding down, I leave you with a final post of the year: Elle's Year In Review.

This year has been a year of struggles and successes when it came to my natural hair. I have stepped outside of my comfort zone and tried new hair styles. Some I liked. Some I absolutely hated and will never try again. Some of the hair styles that I have tried have become staples for me. Some I have perfected and others I am still working on. Hairstyles like buns have become a go-to hair style on my bad hair days. I have gone through trial, error, (error, error...lol) and finally success with my wash n' gos.

I have tried new products and found several that I love! (Tresemme Naturals, Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls, and Shea Butter Miracle Bouncy Curls Pudding.) I have ditched my eco-styler gel (which used to be a staple for me).

I have even started to post Natural Hair videos on YouTube. (Say Whaaat?)

And last but not least: I have finally become more comfortable than ever with my natural hair. I have reached goals that I never thought were possible. And I'm truly and utterly excited about what 2013 will bring!

I want to thank all of my followers and visitors for coming to my blog! You are all truly an inspiration and motivation for me to continue to share my hair journey with you all! I hope that you enjoyed my posts this year and I also hope that you will continue to stick around for my natural hair journey of 2013.

Finally, I leave you with my end of the year length check (Pictures ranging from June 2012-December 2012). I seem to be gaining about 1.5-2 inches of hair every three months. I predict that I will be 12" by the end of January, finally at the bottom of bsl and approaching mid-back-length.

Cheers to the end of 2012 and an even more successful 2013!

Natural Hair Styles Video - Remixing the Wash n' Go

Hey loves, I posted my newest Natural Hair Video where I show you how to achieve the following hair styles:

1) The Side Swoop

2) The Twist-n-Curl

3)  The Fro-Hawk

Thanks!!

Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls Review

Ok, this is the last product I will be reviewing for the month of December (wellllllll...I guess that would make it the last product review for the year of 2012!)

I think I am using my blog as a justification for my product junkieness.

The latest product of my obsession is Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls. I kept eyeing this product everytime I went to Target. I didn't have such a great result with the Curly Meringue in the beginning of my hair journey so it didn't leave me too thrilled to try another product from this line. I had no reason to eye the product other than the cotton candy and hot pink colors on the outside.

I came across a couple of reviews of the product last week and my interest turned into gotta-have-it-now-or-else. So on Friday I strolled into Target and grabbed two bottles. I'm glad my interest in this product came at the right time because Miss Jessie's BOGO Free sale was still going on (and it's not over until December 15).

I tried this product on my hair naked (meaning no other product underneath it.) You know when you try a product and you already know from the start that it's not going to work on your hair. Well it was like that.

Then I had the idea to wash the product out and start all over again...yeah yeah, an utter waste of product but I was determined to make this work! I had seen too many good reviews to not reap the benefits myself. I hate feeling like I'm missing out on something good!

My (somewhat) New Product Combination!

Once I co-washed the product out of my hair, I applied the Tresemme Naturals Conditioner as my leave-in. Then I applied the Miss Jessie's PSC ontop of it. It went on with so much slip! Even in its wet state, my hair felt pillow soft already.

I've been using it since. I really love that the product lives up to its claims:

"A fluffy soft curl; pillow soft curls; for people who don't want ramen noodle definition and instead want a larger expanded curl."

I definitely get the softness, fluffiness, and my curls are a bit larger than they were with products I have used in the past. I will continue using this product until I find my next product obsession. :-)

Embracing Obnoxious Hair

My second day hair is rather big, large, well...it's actually kind of obnoxious.

The best part about it is that I don't care.

Ladies, embrace your hair. Whether you are permed, natural, transitioning. Whatever. It's your hair.

Cantu Shea Butter Coconut Curling Cream Review

Last week I picked up a jar of Cantu Shea Butter's Coconut Curling Cream. I was impressed by Melshary's results with the product on YouTube and couldn't wait to try it out on my own hair.

You know the saying: "Everything is not for everyone"...?

That saying rang true with this product.

I tried this product three days in a row, here's what I have to say about it:

The good: Extremely soft hair, even when dry. 

The bad: Dry and dull looking hair when dry.

The ugly: Couldn't get second day hair to save my life. And it left white residue when mixed with EcoStyler Gel. Big no-no!

The results below are when my hair was dried. 

It took a lot to get rid of the white residue just for these pictures alone.