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!

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. 

 

When Things Just Don't Go Your Way

...Rock out with a bun. An easy go-to hair style!

Natural Hair Survival

You're stranded on a deserted island. What three natural hair products would you need for survival?

The Swoop Up-Do

This up-do was done on an old frizzy braid out. I simply parted my hair into a U-Shape, did an old school french roll in the back, and "swooped" the front part that was left out to the side and pinned it up. Fairly simple. I was having an "arrrgghhhh" hair day and found this style to be my saving grace!

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!

Natural Hair Dilemma...

Why does my hair have three different textures???

The top of my hair has a very loose curl pattern. The front-left side of my hair is little loose and always looks damn near straight on the ends. And the front-right and back of my hair is coily. I prefer the latter. But blending it all in makes it a styling nightmare. 

It's not heat damage. This loose texture is from root to tip. It's just the way my hair grows. It's so bad that I have to put a rod on the braid in the front of my hair because it barely curls on the end.

I haven't been rodding the left side because the right side curls with no problem and I have a dilemma in my head where I have to do for the right side of my body whatever I do for the left and vice versa. 

Kind of like how you can't wash one hand without washing the other. 

I've done some research but Youtube videos and forums suggest curly gals to twist the hair around your fingers. Let me tell you, that doesn't work! It only makes it worse! 

I was thinking about cutting the left side so that appears to be the same length as the right side.  But when my hair is stretched they are the same exact length.

I know I can't be the only one out there with a variety of hair textures!! 

Left side - look at those straight ends!

Right side - hair love!

Back of my hair - *drool* (if only all my hair looked like this!)

Written by Danielle Elle

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