New Video: Year 1 TIps & Review

Hi good people!!!

This is just a quick post to let you guys know that I have uploaded one of many videos for our year one celebration. You can view the video at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2VFUbTavVM

Enjoy!

Please subscribe and comment! Thanks a bunch!!!

#KinkyCoilyCool

Product Review: Infusium 23 Moisture Replenish

Welcome again and thanks for reading again!

This blog is to review a new product I tried this week.  I decided to get a cheaper bottle of conditioner.  I scrolled through Kroger's aisle and finally a deal caught my eye.

My mom used the shampoo, conditioner, and leave in conditioner in my hair when I was a little girl.  I wanted to see if it would have the same effect or really if I would like it.  

I used it first as a co-wash, and the first thing I noticed was that it was a very thick and creamy substance.  I had to use more of it than I would have had to use with my Tressemme Naturals.  I continued to co-wash (conditioner wash) my hair and the second thing I noticed was that it did not contain enough "slip."  "Slip" is the term used to describe how easy it is to run a comb or your fingers through your hair.  This product had some slip, but not as much as I was accustomed to.  As you know, I also use my regular conditioner as a leave in conditioner.  Because of the thickness of this conditioner, I would either have to dilute it heavily or barely use it.  Instead of trying to use the Infusium 23, I used the Hello Hydration as my leave in. 

This conditioner came in handy for the Deep Conditioner recipe I did this weekend.  You can click the link below to read about this week's wash session.

http://www.werockinksncoils.blogspot.com/2013/02/mixtress-in-kitchen-2232013-protein.html 

Conclusion: Stick with Tressemme Naturals conditioner! My hair has spoken again! :)

#KinkyCoilyCool

Mixtress in the Kitchen: 2/23/2013 PROTEIN TREATMENT

Hey again readers!!!

 

This post is an update about the DC I decided on this weekend for wash day.  I was totally burnt out this Friday and decided to do an overnight hot oil treatment.  I used the same oils as usual but sat under the dryer (with 3 plastic shower caps over it) for about 15 minutes.

 

I washed with my ACV, conditioner, and water mix.  (I think that this is a great clarifier by the way!)  I conditioned with a new product I decided to try: Infusium 23 Conditioner.  My mom used it on my hair when I was little.  I wanted to see how my hair would react to it in it's natural state again.  (I'll post another blog to review that product later.)

 

Now, here is, as always, the fun part -- the mixing! :)

 

I took the Infusium 23, Aloe Vera juice, grapeseed oil, mayonnaise, and tea tree oil and mixed it all together.  The mayonnaise was for protein.  I find the need to do a protein treatment at least once a month.  My scalp usually is more sore than irritated when I'm due for a protein treatment.  After today, my scalp is fine.  To be honest, I forget until my scalp gets so sore.  I probably need to set a reminder in my phone for a once a month protein treatment. 

 

Anyway....Back to the mix.  I didn't measure anything but I ended up with a very nice amount of mix left.  I've decided to use the rest on Pooh's hair.  I like the consistency of this mix; it really is as creamy as it looks. 

 

 

(The Aloe Vera Juice is inside of the Tressemme Naturals bottle that you see.  It's way easier to apply this way.)

 

 

I had no idea how amazing this was going to feel.  I let this concoction stay on my hair for approximately 45 minutes.   Before I rinsed it off, I saturated my hair more with Aloe Vera juice.  I rinsed with cool water (to close the follicles). 

 

For my leave in, I mixed some Hello Hydration Coconut Milk with a little water (just in my hands) and used that.  I then sealed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I "plopped" my hair with a white shirt.  I let it sit on my hair for about ten minutes to soak up the excess water.  I placed my scarf on and finally got a good look at my coils.  I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO pleased!!!!  Very, VERY excited!

 

Here's a look!

 

 

I have never seen my curls so defined after a wash.  Not to mention, my hair was super soft.  It seemed to me that I could pull my hair back further so I decided to do a comparison photo shoot.  It definitely seemed as if there were some growth.  See for yourself!

 

 

Needless to say, I was proud of the growth.  My puff is bigger or longer, however you'd describe it.  I still haven't figured out a protective style to put in my hair for the next month.  I'm thinking coils but we'll see.  Stay tuned! :) Thanks for reading!!!

 

#KINKYCOILYCOOL

 

February Length Check - Pooh 2/16

Hey guys!!

This blog is to update the length.  I am doing much better this year tracking our hair progress and I just hope that I can continue to do so.  That's one of the purposes of this blog.  First, here are the pictures of the length check.  The left is January, the right is February.

If you notice the bottom pictures of you can see the length retention good.  I have to emphasize that I cut her damaged parts off as bangs when we first started transitioning.

 

Where my finger is on the right is where her hair was last month.  I remember because it was right at that shoulder bone.  So you can see the growth there was amazing. 

 

Now, the next thing I looked at was her heat damaged hair.  I decided in the beginning to give it a year and see how it turned out.  In these pictures you can see how her hair became much healthier.



So yes, these ends are coming off on our 1 year anniversary.  No doubt about it! Stay tuned...there's more to see!

#werockinksncoils

Wash Day This Week 2/16 - Update on Heat Damage & New DC recipe

Well, I decided not to get too fancy this week for wash day after last week's diaster.  And I actually ended up doing our hair Saturday.  I was so tired Friday.  On Friday night I took Pooh's yarn twist down, finally after 5 weeks and 4 days.  I length retention was amazing EXCEPT for on her damaged ends. 

For wash day, I did our usual routine.  Click below to read full details:
http://werockinksncoils.blogspot.com/2013/01/our-regimen-ending-2012.html

I used the black soap to wash, conditioned with Tressemme Naturals, and DC'd with the Shea Moisture African Black Soap Purification Mask.  After completing her completing her DC, I sealed as usual and used the SM Smoothie as well Curl Souffle.  I didn't really style it because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  Plus there were a few spots with residue that I didn't get quite good. I analyzed her fro as well and made the decision to just go ahead and cut off the heat damaged hair. 

Next week will officially be one year since my decision to go natural and reduce the heat on Pooh's hair.  Because cutting her hair at the time wasn't an option, I thought I would give it a year to transition out.  I wanted it to grow some more but I also wanted to learn how to take care of her hair without damaged ends.   As the year has passed, I have seen her curls thrive but the heat damaged areas have gotten thinner and thinner and I have noticed absolutely no length retention.   So next week I have decided to go ahead and cut off every heat damaged end she has. 

This definitely starts a whole new journey for her.  I will also do a blog of her hair in review over this year. 

As for my hair, I followed the same routine as well except for my DC I mixed Tressemme Naturals with EVOO and Aloe Vera Juice.  I sat under the dryer for 15 minutes and did a cool rinse.  I let my hair cool for 15 minutes.  I took a mixture of Hello Hydrations Coconut Milk conditioner and diluted it with Aloe Vera Juice.  I placed this on top of my hair and then rinsed it off with cool water.  Now why in the heck did I do all of this?  WELLLLLLL.... I am subscribed to all of my favorites newsletters (CurlyNikki, BlackHairInformation, EasyNaturalHairCare, etc.) and this week's article from Curly Nikki had a list of suggestions for keeping hair moisturized, starting with wash day.  Since it was wash day...I figured, why not!? :)

The article suggested diluting the conditioner with water but I added aloe vera juice because I much prefer aloe vera juice or gel.  Although I had planned to do a blog on the wonderful benefits of aloe vera I haven't so instead I will be awesome and just provide these links:

Benefits - http://www.blackhairinformation.com/hair-growth/the-benefits-of-aloe-vera-juice-for-natural-hair-growth/

Recipes to try - http://www.chocolatehairvanillacare.com/2012/07/8-amazing-homemade-aloe-vera-gel.html

I will be styling this weekend on Sunday night instead of Saturday.  I've had some other things going on so I had to kind of space time out.  Anyway...look forward to the length check blogs!  They are coming!

#werockinksncoils

Friday Night: Mixtress in the Kitchen :)

Well, I've taken down my twist.  They were frizzy and besides, I have a hot date this weekend and I needed a new "do."  I did decide that my next "kinky twist" would be shorter.  I didn't do alot of styles because they were too heavy on my hair; because of this my hair seem strained.  But anyhow...

I did my usual thing:

1) Hot oil treatment
2) "Shampoo" with Shea Moisture African Black Soap
     **I did notice that I used too much soap and my hair felt kind of stripped.  I made a mental note
      not to use as much of the soap now that it's just my hair.**
3) Conditioned and detangled with my Hello Hydrations (because my wonderful husband has totally taken my Tressemme Naturals)
4) And here is the fun part...While I was waiting on the hot oil treatment I mixed up the following for a deep conditioning treatment. 
    *Avocado
    *Banana
    *Garlic
    *Olive oil
    *Rosemary, Lavender, and Tea Tree Oil

There are so many different recipes out there that this part of the regimen may change a lot. Each of the following have great properties and benefits for natural hair.

Avocados - Contain vitamin B and E which help to make hair strong and promote hair growth.  Vitamin E is good for damaged scalps as it aids in repairing.  Avocados are also good for conditioning because it makes the hair soft and moisturized, therefore less prone to breakage.

Bananas - This fruit adds moisture, nourishes, lusterizes, softens, and controls dandruff. 

Garlic - Among other things, garlic helps to prevent hair loss.  Other benefits of garlic can be found here : http://www.livestrong.com/article/68956-garlic-hair-growth/

The acutally mixture on my scalp was nice.  I placed two shower caps over my hair.  I could feel a few tingles here and there.  I let the mixture stay on for about an hour.

5) Rinsed out the concotion.  ONLY to find I DID NOT rinse it out all the way! Lol major fail...it took me COMBING through my hair (which I NEVER do) AND another wash to get 95% out. :-/
The next time I will be SURE to purée both banana and avocado.

My hair felt so soft but because I had to literally jump BACK in the shower and do another wash, it pretty much stripped all of the moisture I'd put in with the DC. Total bummer! :-(

6) Anyway, after that.....I added my Tressemme Naturals as a leave in that I had to grab back from my husband! :-/

7) Sealed with olive oil, rubbed coconut oil on my scalp

8) Used Eco - Styler for set my style of the week: Perm rods! :) ONLY...that didn't really work out. I guess I needed more time and patience. And I should have googled using perm rods on 4a type hair. Nevertheless I did try a new style. I flat twisted my entire head. I took my time for lines as even as I could get them. It was 4:30am before I finished.

I also did my length check for February and there was length retained. About 1/2 an inch. I believe more because I could actually pull the top part into a ponytail. I was too tired to really experiment.

Anyway...that's my Friday night....

#werockinksncoils

My Black History Month

Well, don't shoot me down, but I'm not the biggest fan of black history month. There are numerous reasons why but I will not dwell on that. However I will tell you about the first black history month that made a difference in my adult life.

Black history month of 2012.

You see, my Pastor, is an unusual pastor in the Delta but I LOVE his teachings. He usually brings them very much down to Earth and they (his teachings) are extremely enlightening. So when I saw that he was actually teaching black history during black history month, I became excited. However-- as expected-- it wasn't the usual Rosa Parks, MLK, Jr. teachings that I've heard YEAR after YEAR.

No, he brought this thing home to "Black Presence in the Bible." I rarely miss Sundays but I DEFINITELY didn't miss any this month. I learned ALOT about my history and why I look the way I look; that I'm not black, yet Hebrew but the MOST influential was the very LAST Sunday-- February 26, 2012--when I made my decision to stop using relaxers.

The message was on characteristics of black people and how can you recognize them by their presence. (I think this was a 2 Sunday message.). One of the characteristics was, you guessed it, HAIR!

THEN, he hit me with the science of black hair!!! Remember, I'm a science person, so when he started talking science I leaned forward and was EXTRA attentive. He went on to explain that our hair grows kinky and coily and is strong. So imagine what a chemical, or how harsh a chemical had to be, had to do to break that bond to straighten our hair. He said the magic words, "relaxers kill the protein in your hair to make it straight" and I went WEIRD SCIENCE. In my mind, I thought, "BUT i thought, DNA WAS MADE UP OF PROTEINS. If that's the case, it's killing my hair." I wrote the notes and continued listening.

Then he hit us with, "...at least if you don't go natural look for products with less chemicals in it."

And he moved on to something else. That was it. Honestly, I don't know what he moved on to. But from that moment, life as I knew it was about to change. All that night I was researching natural hair, products, etc. I went into information overload! How could I, of all people, have NOT known this! I was a lover of SCIENCE!

After researching, I decided no more heat for Pooh because I found out I'd damaged her hair. I also decided that I was going to slowly cut my relaxed ends off and simply flat iron my own hair once a month. I was good and excited. We created a regimen and the first time I DC'd her hair, so much GUNK was on her scalp it LITERALLY scared me!!!! She had had really HORRIBLE dandruff and goodness.........WHEW! SMH...but GUESS WHAT...almost a year later and she is completely DANDRUFF FREE!!!!! :)

There was only ONE downfall; my last relaxer was Dec 22, 2011. In January, since I didn't have a lot of new growth, I decided to get color. 2 weeks after that...I decided to go natural. My hair was already thin and balding in the middle so the color made it weaker and my edges began to thin BADLY! So...almost 2 months into transitioning I did my BC. (Big chop)

I haven't looked back since. I LOVE my hair; it's healthier, stronger, and has created a bolder brand new kind of me!! :)

That's my story...the black history month I will never forget! My Pastor is THE GREATEST EVER!