Natural Hair Dilemma...Update

Eureka! I think I've found a solution.

The good ol' fashioned bobby pin!

Dampened my ends, added a teeny weeny bit of Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel. Rolled the bottom of my hair up and secured with a bobby pin.

I managed to get four days out of this style without having to use rollers at again (except for that stubborn piece in the front). I definitely need to find a better solution because I am really trying to protect my ends more...and manipulating/toying around with my ends probably won't help me too much!

Autumn Head Scarves and Animal Print

(thought I was putting the timer on my camera for 10 seconds. Somehow the camera ended up snapping 10 pictures back to back. Goofiness galore. Anywho, this was my frizzy hair before before the scarf up-do.)

The weather today did not agree with my braidout at all. Tossed it up into a messy bun, left the front section out, tied a scarf around my head into a bow, and I was out the door!

Maybe I will do my second YouTube video on this quick and easy style. Until next time, Later ladies!

My First YouTube Video!!

I have always said that I am better writing with my hands to express myself than speaking with my mouth. That's why I am a blogger rather than a vlogger. But I have been thinking of doing a couple of hair style and hair guide videos because sometimes the video visual is better than reading the description. It's like reading the book vs. going to see the movie. Some prefer one over the other!

Without further ado, here is my very first YouTube video. I was nervous. I hope I become less camera shy in my next video. And please excuse my appearance!  The video was very impromptu!

Work With What You've Got!

Monday's Hair 

Wednesday's Up-Do

Inspired by the chicas at: Around The Way Curls

Back to the Basics

Trim. Check.
Au Naturale. Check. Check.
Braidout. Check. Check. Check.

I'm back to the braidout after bunning for one week and doing a rollerset for the previous weekend. My length has taken me from BSL to right above the bra strap.

It's all good.

I'd rather healthy hair than damaged ends.

I'm thinking about cutting the front of my hair a little bit. I don't like the way it falls when I do my braidouts.


This part of my hair grows much quicker than the other areas, so taking it to the top of my lip shouldn't be a major issue.

In the meantime, here's some pictures of my braidout. Day 1 & Day 2.

P.S. I have a new camera. The Canon EOS Rebel T2i. I am in love. Period. The end.

Natural Hair and Green Smoothies

Natural Hair this week: The Braid Out vs. The Rollerset 

Health Kick!

For the new year, I am trying to (hint: trying to) change my diet. I am exchanging fried and breaded chicken for grilled chicken. White rice for whole grain rice. Regular Pasta for Multi Grain Pasta. And also trying to drink 36 oz. of water per day. I know this is half of the required amount. But I've come a long way. 0 oz. of water was the norm for me...

Another regular addition to my diet is vegetables. Previously, I would occasionally eat vegetables maybe two or three times a week. I'm bumping it up now. And when I can't steam them or boil them, I'm throwing them in my smoothie!

Currently I am using the Yoplait triple berry smoothie packs and blending in 10-15 leaves of fresh spinach. Yum!

Kimmaytube's Leave-In Conditioner

Eureka! I have found a new staple!

I don't quite know what inspired me to try the Kimmaytube Leave-In Mix but I tried it out about two weeks ago. My braidout results were amazing. Fluffy but not frizzy. Defined. Curly on the ends. I thought to myself "no, maybe that's not it"...but it was the only new addition to my hair routine. I tried it again this weekend and scored another great braidout. So I am attributing this success to the Kimmaytube Leave-In.

The thing that I love about this leave-in is that it includes one of my favorite leave-ins: Kinky Curly Knot Today. And the rest of the recipe is below:


Recipe:

2 tablespoons of Knot Today Leave-In


2 tablespoons of Aloe Vera Juice with (pH 4.0 or 4.5)


2 teaspoons of Castor Oil


2 teaspoons of Another Oil (I tried Hot 6 Oil with my first batch, Alma Lite Oil with my second batch...came out the same. Some people use Jojoba Oil.)


*I make sure to put the mix in the fridge when I am done using it. I have been reading that Aloe Vera can spoil at room temperature and I didn't want to take my chances....

Today's Braidout

I'm trying to avoid the wrath of Hurricane Irene, staying indoors. Hopefully all of the folks on the East Coast that are in the path of this storm are inside staying safe. 

And here is my braidout....a little curlier than normal, I think because I only braided half way down before setting my hair on the flexi-rods.

Red Hawt with a Fourth Day Braid Out

I have been pushing this braidout that I did on Monday...and I'm still loving the results! Each night I rebraid with 8 braids and seal the ends with my Hot 6 Oil. It just gets fuller and fuller each day.

So why is this post red hawt? 

It's my lips that are red hawt (or red hot...lol) of course!

I have been trying to dibble and dabble at makeup lately. I'm a plain jane girl. The most I will put on my face is eye shadow, my Lancome mascara, and some lipgloss. But I've been hearing rave reviews about Covergirl's Outlast Lip Stain. So I picked some up in Wild Berry Wink. It's a sorta bright red (but not lady of the night red). Once putting the lipstain on I put a little bit of lip gloss on my pouter and voila. 

I love the look. Especially for my introduction to makeup 101 phase. Maybe by next year I can step it up to MAC and NARS...we'll see!

How To: The Glam Braidout

Braidouts are my number one style. It's the butter to my bread, the water to my ocean. Ok, maybe that's a bit over-the-top, but I truly love braidouts! They help me to achieve the definition with waves and curls that I wish I could obtain with a wash-n-go. My braidout routine is extremely simple and lasts for a week. I could make it last longer if I decided to or turn it into a bun or other protective style...but I am committed to my weekly deep conditioning treatments.

Here are the steps that help me to achieve my braidout...

The Products: 

This is by far my absolute favorite conditioner.
My braidouts probably wouldn't be the
same without it. It truly gives me moisturized,
cotton-candy-textured hair. Love it! 

Kinky Curly Knot Today

Kinky Curly Curling Custard

Hot 6 Oil

The Process:

After washing my hair, I section it into four sections.
I apply Kinky Curly Knot Today to each section
and detangle it with my wide-toothed comb.

In order to help me keep each section detangled, I
twist the detangled sections of hair as I go along.

My hair dries slightly in the process of
detangling, so before I get ready to apply the
KCCC, I make sure that my hair is drenched.
This helps the product to work more
effectively. I find that if my hair is not
soaking wet when applying it, then
I'm left with a hard, crunchy braidout
the next day.

I apply a smidgen (no, I'm not even kidding...like a pin head sized amount) of
KCCC to my hair. Then I apply a dime sized amount of Hot 6 Oil. For this
braidout I did about 5-6 per section. I find that smaller braids give me
less frizz. 

Getting my sexy braiding on... 

All done...finally!

Ugh, my ends never curl! 

That's why flexi-rods were invented!
I love the small yellow colored flexis.
They give me a tighter, more realistic
coil/curl.

This just adds to my sexy nighttime look...yeah right.
I then cover my head with a satin bonnet. My hair
dries overnight and...

 The Results:

To maintain this style, I simply rebraid nightly.
I put eight braids in my hair and seal my ends
with oil.