The Fro Hawk is Great Vacation Hair?

When you go on vacation, you want to look fly and enjoy yourself while not worrying if your hair looks crazy or not.  I was googling different hairstyles when I thought that I had settled on the best hairstyle for my natural hair. Cornrows in the front and fro out in the back. Ethnocentrism at its best. I though it would be low maintenance, cute, and easy to maintain when going in and out of water.  But my fiance had something else in mind. One day, he came home from work and told me that I had to get a cornrowed fro hawk. Apparently, he saw another woman rocking it and decided that I just had to rock it too.  I'm a simple woman who primarily wears her natural hair in a twist-out style.  I'm thinking, "Babe, do you know how big my head is and you want me to wear a fro hawk?" He insisted that it would look fly and I will do anything for my pooh bear so I did it.  Let me just say that it was not easy finding a salon that does this style and the salon I went to was very sloppy.  So my fiance's sister ended up redoing it and she did it ten times better than a professional.  There are pictures below on my Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas. Let me know if it was a hit or miss.

Right before we got into the jacuzzi.

At the hotel on the Wyndham Resort in the Bahamas

Jet skiing.

To get it to lay to the side, I did a twist-out with the unbraided hair. Here, I'm rocking the dress by Sara from Fashion Star. Loved it!

Overall, I had a blast. I felt cute and confident the entire time and I didn't waste any time in my room fixing my hair. I was able to get up and go when I wanted to. So I guess my fiance was right...

Review of the Tightly Curly Girl Method and Eco Styler Gel (Part 2)

Sorry for waiting so long to post. With moving, going on vacation, packing, and unpacking I just haven't had the time but I have many more posts coming. I probably tried to do too many things with my hair at once but after my henna treatment, I tried the the Tightly Curly Method, which I got from tightlycurly.com, along with Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel. 

The Tightly Curly Method is basically using a wash-out conditioner as a leave-in and using your finger to smooth it through every piece of hair. Initially, I had planned on using Tresemme's Naturals conditioner as a leave in but as I grabbed it, I realized that I had accidentally bought the shampoo instead of the conditioner. Oops.  So, instead I used Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Smoothie (8 oz)

$20

After application, I also smoothed Carol's Daughter Khoret Amen Hair Oil before and after I applied the Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel to make sure that my hair was moisturized. 

$3

It was too much work for a wash and go but here my hair is with everything applied but still wet.

Wet

Dry

I experienced major shrinkage as expected but my hair came out okay.  It looked ten times better with the Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel than with the much more expensive Kinky Curly hair products.  When it came down to it, this style lasted for about a day.  After the first day, I had to keep twisting and re-twisting and re-applying the Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel just get my hair to look even. That was definitely irritating because I'm not used to messing with my hair everyday.  I had major scalp buildup from using the Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Smoothie (8 oz) as a leave-in. If you're thinking of trying the Tightly Curly Method, then I would definitely recommend trying a different conditioner. The results weren't bad but the style didn't last long enough for the amount of work and product that I put into it. Tightly Curly Method isn't for me. I'll probably use the Eco Styler gel again whenever I need that extra hold.

If you want to read how I later modified this, then click here.

Henna Time! (Part 1)

I wanted to henna one more time so that I could have a fresh red tint before I go on vacation.  With each application, I seem to be getting better with what works best for me.

What did I use?
3 packs of green tea
2 tablespoons of 100% pure honey
gloves
2 plastic shower caps
3 grocery bags
2 old towels
1 box 100g BAQ Jamila Henna

 Most people like to let the henna sit over night before applying but I don't have that much time or patience.  I boiled 3 packs of green tea for approximately 3 hours.  I added the honey right before pouring in the green tea right off the stove. This allows for immediate dye release.  As a side note, I added the honey because I read on curlynikki.com that it naturally lightens the hair. I mixed the Jamila Henna Powder 3.5oz (100g) until I can get it as smooth as possible.

Then I covered it and let it set for about 20 mins.  During that time, I lay two towels on the floor of my bathroom (things can get pretty messy and place two grocery bags on my bathroom sink.)  Then, I hopped in the shower and shampooed my hair with Tui Moisturizing Sulfate-Free Shampoo.  I detangled my hair with my detangling brush with the shampoo still in my hair.

After shampooing, I stirred the henna one more time and noticed that there was dye release meaning that it was looking more orange-brown than green.  Then, I separated my hair into four sections and separated each of those sections into three for a total of 12 sections.  The henna was still very warm so I was able to easily smooth the henna from root to end.  I would say that it took about 30 minutes to apply it to my entire head while wearing gloves. The henna will stain your hands and nails.  After application, I covered my hair with a plastic shower that did not fit my entire head so I ended up covering that with a grocery bag.

I'm telling you that henna treatments are very relaxing. It feels good on your scalp and I guess there's something about taking out time for yourself when you spent the entire week doing everything for everybody else.

The henna was left on my hair for 4 hours. Henna has left my hair pretty dry in the past so I thought that leaving it on for a shorter period of time may rectify this.  And it did.  This is only my 3rd time doing a henna treatment but, last time, I left it in overnight.  Leaving it in for only 4 hours, made it much easier to wash out.  It reduced my rinsing time from 1 hour to 20 minutes.  On top of that, my hair felt soft and conditioned. Once rinsed out, I applied Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Smoothie (8 oz) and smoothed it through with my detangling brush.  Then, I placed another plastic shower cap on my head and left that in for 1 hour.

What I did next will be described in part 2 of this series.  Watch out for my review of the curly girl method and Eco Styler gel! Pictures of the henna with the Eco Styler gel are coming soon!

Review of Taliah Waajid Kinky, Wavy, Natural for Children

My mother actually bought this for my daughter at a local beauty supply store for $5.69.  It's a creme that basically has the same consistency as a hair lotion and smells like Laffy Taffy. I was excited to us this product from a mother (Taliah Waajid)who is a Natural Hair Care Specialist, Licensed Cosmetologist, and Natural Hair Educator.

I'm still searching for a product that will adequately moisturize my daughter's hair.  Just like mommy, my daughter's hair tends to get very dry.

From experience, it's better to apply product to damp hair. So, first, I sprayed my daughter's hair with Suave for Kids detangler. Then I proceeded to add four big globs to my daughter's hair.  The instructions say to separate hair into sections but my 21 month old's hair is only a few inches long.  After application, I brushed my daughter's hair with my detangling brush.

Here are the results.

It looked nice and conditioned for about three hours.  After that, it became frizzy.  But, I don't know if it's the product or simply because kids play and run around alot.  Also, the product is neon yellow and will stain. I think she uses a great deal of dye in this product. As I look at the ingredients, it does contain mineral oil which is very cheap.  Ultimately, I do not recommend this product which is a little disappointing because Taliah Waajid has a whole line of products that I wanted to try. Oh, well...

Does Apple Cider Vinegar Cure Dandruff?

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I developed a really bad dandruff problem.  I tried several anti-dandruff shampoos on the shelf (Garnier Fructis, Head and Shoulders, etc).  I even tried this really strong anti-dandruff shampoo that I bought from a hair salon. It burned my scalp but didn't cure my dandruff.  Every time I used a different product, the dandruff had returned by the third time I washed my hair.  It was as if I became immune to each product with continued use.  My sister, who is also natural, suggested that I try apple cider vinegar so I did.

I decided that I was going to just take a week and wash my hair every other day to try to cure my dandruff problem once for all.  It was a risk considering that my hair has a tendency to get really dry. Normally, I only wash my hair every two weeks.  I figured that was something that I would have to risk if I wanted to get rid of this irritatingly stubborn dandruff.

So I took a 16 oz bottle of water, poured out 4oz of water, and replaced it with 4oz of apple cider.  I got the organic kind.  I was told that it was best to get the kind that looked smoky because it is much more concentrated than the clear kind.  Instead of shampooing, I poured the apple cider onto my scalp and let it sit for 5 minutes before conditioning. After applying a leave-in conditioner, I let my hair air dry. My hair had extreme shrinkage to the point that people asked me if I got a hair cut.  On top of that, it was very dry and lumpy.  There was no shaping or styling.  I couldn't even use a pick in my hair. It was that dry.

I put up with it because I thought that's what I needed to cure my dandruff. So, two days later, I used the apple cider again. Big mistake. My hair felt horribly dry and hard; the worst it has ever felt. It was just done and it looked like it as well.  That became the last time I used the apple cider.  Did it work? Well, the dandruff had returned by my next wash two weeks later. Boo.  I thought that maybe it's just what my grandmother used to call "growing dandruff."  You know, dandruff caused by rapid hair growth if there is a such a thing.   I ended up giving up on trying to cure my dandruff problem and came to grips with it just being something that I would have to put up with.


That was...until I discovered henna.  Unbeknownst to me, henna treats dandruff and after 2 uses, I noticed that my dandruff problem has been drastically reduced.  In fact, I think that with one more henna treatment, I will be completely cured.  Finally. So does apple cider cure dandruff? Maybe with continued use.  Maybe it would be better to add it to a conditioner in order to prevent excessive dryness.

Kinky Curly On My Daughter's Hair?

In my lame attempt to not waste $30 or more, I tried Kinky Curly on my daughter's hair.  She's only 21 months old and I'd figured, since she has softer hair than me, that it may work.  What were the results?

A hot dirty mess! The Knot Today and Curling Custard did nothing for her hair. And I had the toughest time washing it out of her hair. Looks like I'm just going to have to toss it...