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Review of SheaMoisture's Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner.

Below is my review of SheaMoisture's Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner as a leave-in:




Contains de-ionized water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea butter)*, Argan oil, coconut oil*, Behentrimonium chloride, essential oil blend, vegetable glycerin, emulsifying wax, sea kelp extract, Panthenol (vitamin B-5), avocado oil, Lonicera Caprifolium (honeysuckle) flower and Lonicera Japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) flower extract, Tocopherol (vitamin E) and Daucus Carota Sativa (carrot) seed oil. *Denotes certified organic ingredients.

I give this product two thumbs up.The scent is very light.  It's comparable to Carol's Daughter Hair Milk but I think that it is 10 times better.  I think that I should note that I didn't use any tools. I just smoothed the product on with my fingers and detangled with my fingers. One thing I noticed was that my hair was easier to detangle after I let the product sit on my hair after a couple of minutes.  This will definitely be one of staple products when doing a wash and go.  I got it on sale at Walgreens for $8. The normal price is $9.99 and you can also purchase the line at Target if you're thinking about trying it.  Hope I've helped someone today and thanks for reading. Have a nice day!

Happy Hair Day +Review of Tresemme's 24 Hour Body Conditioner as a Co-Wash

So, I've been trying to use shampoo less and decided to do my first co-wash since my TWA days to prevent dryness with my hair.  With my workout regimen, I'm finding that I'm having to wash my hair more often and, doing so, I do not want to dry out my hair. That's why I'm making the move to co-washes.  I actually wanted to use Tresemme Naturals but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. I don't know if they discontinued it or what so I got the Tresemme 24 Hour Body instead. My hair sucks this stuff up but if it works, then it works.  Here's my review below:




I also had a Happy Hair Day with the family after I took out my twists after my co-wash. I actually had one of the best twist-outs that I've ever had. I think I'm going to keep doing it. Say bye bye to shampoo...except for when I'm about to do a henna treatment.

We have a winner here!

My hair story 2012(video)

Hey, guys! This is my very first video blog post.  Here, I'm just giving my reasons for deciding to go natural.  My special guest is my daughter who shared her story as well, lol. Who's that loud kid? Oh, that's my daughter...Those who have kids will understand... I hope, anyway, but enjoy!

The Results Are In!

This girl ran 3.1 miles in... *drum roll please"... 37:20! I was 1176th out 2153 people and 127th out of 234 in my age group. Ya! Hey, you're talking about a girl who came from barely being able to run half a mile so that is a big accomplishment for me.  Its' official. Call me a runner. It's my new favorite hobby for 2012.  If you knew me before, then you'd know I used to hate running; now I love it.  It's funny how you evolve and change over the years.  Whenever I'm stressed, instead of having that glass of wine, I go for a run. It's a lovely lifestyle change.  There were people of all levels of fitness running the 5k with me. Shoot, I was being passed up by people with jogging strollers.  My whole point of this is to say to never be afraid to do anything out of your comfort zone.  I never thought that I would run a 5k but I've ran two and will run even more. 

I had tried p90x, TurboFire, Insanity, and my weight kept fluctuating after I had my daughter.  I got into running because I wanted to be in shape and decided to do the one thing that I despised and it worked! So if you hate crunches, squats, or whatever it may be, then that is most likely the one thing that will get you in shape.  And that is because it challenges you the most. I can say for the first time after having my daughter that I am happy with my size. I definitely wouldn't mind being a little bit more toned but I am satisfied.  Believe me, it's worth it.  It is the best feeling running across that finish line and addictive.  I can't wait until my next race.  Anyway, that's just wants been on my mind.  Happy living!

Henna Time Again!

So, I just had to wash my hair after running a 5k marathon due to the sweat.  I was also overdue for a much needed henna treatment.  So I boiled 3 bags of green tea in a pot for about an hour. I mixed that with 2 tablespoons of honey and Jamila Henna Powder 3.5oz (100g) let it sit covered for 30 minutes (next time I think that I going to let it sit longer) while I shampooed with Carol's Daughter Tui Herbal Shampoo 8-oz.  I also finger detangled as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair.  Then, I separated hair into six sections and separated each of those sections into twos as I applied the henna. I smoothed it generously from root to tip.  Once finished, I wrapped my hair around my head; it stays put due to the thickness of the henna.  I placed two shower caps on my head to contain my big hair.  For the first, 15 minutes, I sat with a warm towel wrapped around my head.  I left the henna in for a total of 6 hours.  Henna treatments are so relaxing.  It had this awesome cooling effect and it tingles on my scalp.  I guess that's why it's best to probably henna overnight. 

 After rinsing, I usually apply Carol's Daughter Tui Hair Smoothie for an hour but I was so sleepy that I just threw on a shower cap, bonnet, put a towel on my pillow, and went to sleep.  I did put my hair in four two-strand twists as well.  By morning, my hair felt so conditioned.  My hair felt awesome as I did a braid-out.  I applied the usual Motions At Home Foaming Wrap Lotion with Nubian Heritage's Shea Butter with Goat's Milk and Chai. This is only the second time I've ever done a braid-out because I've concluded that twist-outs last longer than braid-outs. Braid-outs are good for elongating my hair so I decided to try it not that my hair is longer. I also gave myself a trim.  My hair felt really conditioned. That is...until it dried. My scalp and hair was very dry. I had to oil my scalp with Carol's Daughter's Khoret Amen Hair oil which was the first time since I had my daughter almost 2 years ago. I had stopped due to acquiring a dandruff problem and having scalp build up issues during pregnancy.  It's something that I may have to go back to considering that my scalp sucked up the oil after the henna treatment. I may have to try co-washing again which I haven't done since m TWA days.  That's what I'm going to have to do now that's it warm and I'm going to be sweating from all the running I'm going to do. I m doing another marathon in three weeks.

Maybe it's time to just protect my hair by keeping it in twists for most of the summer and only letting it out for special occasions so that I can keep my hair moisturized and my scalp healthy. Luckily, henna has cured my dandruff problem.

Anyway, my hair is so dry right. I've oiled my hair and the ends with Khoret Amen hair oil and I'll probably do that everyday until the moisture returns. I'm going to try co-washing in the next couple of days and go back to twists.  On the other hand, my hair does feel strong and there is less hair in my detangling brush.  I love that my gray hairs have turned red but I just want to try to find a higher quality henna.

Thanks for reading. I hope this post has helped someone :).

Ran my second 5k today.

Ran my second 5k marathon and I think I'm addicted... It felt awesome running across that finish line.  I shredded four minutes off my time and ran up four out of five hills. Hey, that's an accomplishment for me. In fact, when I got home, my fiance asked why I was home so early. He couldn't believe that I completed it that quickly but I did!  As for the hair, I just threw on a headband and let it fly. Today marks one step closer to a better me.

My Favorite Homemade Smoothie!

When I went natural, I not only started to pay attention to what I was doing to my hair but I also started to pay attention to what I was putting into my body.  After all, part of having healthy hair is having healthy eating habits.  This is my favorite homemade smoothie that I like to make typically after a workout, in substitute for breakfast, or whenever I get a craving for something sweet.  It's quick and easy.  What you'll need:

8oz of skim milk
1 banana
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
I scoop of 100% whey protein
6 cubes of ice

Just throw all the ingredients into a blender for 60 seconds and you have a wonderfully tasty smoothie.  This is perfect for satisfying my cravings for something sweet.

Nubian Heritage Product Review!

Just tried a lovely new product from Nubian Heritage, Shea Butter infused with goat's milk and chai.  I got it from an African store in downtown Atlanta for $10 but you purchase it at select Vitamin Shoppe and Whole Food stores as well as on vitaminshoppe.com  This product was designed to be used on your skin but, one day, I left it in my car on a sunny day and it melted taking on the consistency of oil.  I thought, "I should try putting this in my hair." and I did.  I used it on my twists with the usual Motions At Home Foaming Wrap Lotion to re-wet my hair and then I applied the Shea butter from Nubian Heritage instead of the Carol's Daughter Hair Balm (4 oz)   It made my hair soft and silky and even elongated my twists.

Twisted

Untwisted

I love the results. My fiance was even asking me what I did to my hair.  I think I even like this better than the Carol's Daughter Hair Balm (4 oz).  I want to try all of the other products that they have. Well, there you have it.  Nubian Heritage Shea butter infused with goat's milk and chai is my new favorite product!

Why I Can't Stand Black Hair Salons?

I don't know if it's the lack of customer service, the sudden inflation of price once they take one look at my hair, the inconsistency of feeling like doing hair right one day and just being lazy the next, or the lack of experience with your own type of hair. I just don't get it. I should never come out with hair looking worse than when I do it myself.  Believe me, I am far from a professional.  So when my fiance stated that he wanted me to style my hair in fro hawk, I was given the task of locating a trustworthy hair salon that wouldn't have me out here looking stupid.

I called black hair salons that specialized in natural hair that didn't answer and didn't return my message. I understand if you already have the clientele and you're busy but don't tell me that you'll have the stylist give me a callback when she comes back in and she never gives me a callback.  I called three days in a row and that same stylist was never there and never gave me a callback.  I was able to schedule an appointment with the one hair salon that answered. 

I showed up to get my hair braided into a fro hawk and explained that I wanted my unbraided hair to be twisted.  There were only two stylists there and they both kept trying to talk me out of getting the unbraided hair twisted by telling how my own hair was already beautiful and didn't need to be twisted. I even explained to them that I was going on vacation and needed the style to last a week.  It was clear to me that didn't even want to be doing hair at that particular time and wanted to go home. The second stylist who was waiting for her last client to show up even stated that she hopes that she doesn't.  That's really sucks for someone like me who wants to be fly on vacation. The stylist who did my hair said very randomly, "I'm not no lazy hair dresser."  I ended up walking out of the salon with dripping wet hair but maybe it was my fault for scheduling an appointment at 3:00pm on a Saturday.

My 22 month old daughter  and my mother came with me. My daughter sat there quietly with my mother for an hour and a half while I got my hair done. She was so quiet, I thought that she had went to sleep but she was awake the entire time. As soon as I paid my $55 for the sloppy hairdo, the second stylist says to me, "We have a no-kid policy but since it was just us; it was ok just this time." Seriously. Somebody's kid kept running back and forth but I think that they were a family member of one of the stylists so it was ok.  But really.  You're going to say that to me when my child was quiet and didn't get up and mess with anything the entire time. That was it for me. No more black hair salons.  My fiance's sister ended up redoing my hair and it was ten times better than what I originally paid for.

Done by a salon professional.

Not done by a salon professional.