And the verdict is....

I think Henna is a keeper.

I will not be sure until I have had a couple of more applications....but the first one wasn't so bad. I will do another one in another week or so.

I just rinsed my DC out and my hair is in my lil lopsided puff. I will take a post henna pic when my hair dries. My curls seem to be in tact so that is what I was most concerned about...and the color is not too bad either.

So...for now...Henna gets a thumbs up.

I will update after my second application.

"Bake-ON" Head

So....I am sitting here with my first Henna Treatment on my head. My head feels really warm like it is baking. So...I am about to go and get a glass of wine and watch a little Nip Tuck. I will be back shortly with my results...

Oh and while I am waiting...today I wore a bun with tendrils on the sides...My coworkers were calling me "Penny" all day...from Good Times. LOL!

To Henna or Not...that is the question

So...I was reading a few blogs, cruising a few fotki albums, and browsing a few hair boards...and Henna has caught my attention. Nik from CurlyNikki.com was very helpful with her pictorial...and she was very helpful answering questions. I rushed out...and purchased some Henna...

Then I chickened out.

My only concerns are:
1. I do not want to drastically change my hair color.
2. I do not want to loosen my curl.

However...I DO want thicker, stronger and healthier hair! So...I think this weekend will be a "HennaMeBeautiful" Weekend.

Stay tuned for my results...

My fingers, toes and eyes are crossed.



In other news...I SO need a new style...this one is SO boring now. My hair is currently in flat twists...that are soft as heck...I hope they result in a pretty twist out....We shall see in an hour or so... But anyways...here I am yesterday in my boring puff...

Straight vs Curly

So I get questions about what I products I use on my hair. I decided it would be better to document them all here. I don't use the same products for everything that I do to my hair...
For one...when I wear my hair straight I use a different set of products.

When I am planning to straighten I shampoo with Creme of Nature (the one similar to the green label). This is the ONLY time that I use shampoo. I shampoo so that I can have that light flowy hair once I flat iron. I then condition with Mizani Moisturefuse. It leaves my hair super soft...yet it doesn't weigh my hair down.

I blow dry using Biosilk's Thermal Spray...just a little goes a long way.
Then I rub a dime sized amount of Chi Silk Infusion thru my hair....and I start flat ironing in tiny sections with my Chi Iron. Once I am done, I wrap my hair...and BAM! Silky straight weightless hair!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She's a Maniac!!!

So...this morning for my conditoner wash I used Bed Head's Moisture Maniac...

And the verdict is....
It is a KEEPER.

It smells GREAT and left my hair amazingly soft. It was also very easy to finger comb in the shower...which is important because I try to stray from combs. So...I will continue with this HUGE bottle and see if it continues to be moisturizing...as some conditioners start that way and end up drying you out over time. So for now...I will add this to my regime.

Calm, Cool and Conditioned...

So. I had a bad day. I was a little sad...so I went SHOPPING!

Retail therapy at it's best. I got LOTS of clothing.... I will post pics of that when I actually put them on...but until then...I got more CONDITIONER! I have been reading allot on naturally curly and I have read about Giovanni Tea Tree Invigorating Conditioner and Moisture Manic Conditioner....I will be back wit a review after I have used them.

OH...and I did my deep conditioning treatment last night with my Elucence (yes I went back...well I sent my friend and they teed her off as well...that's another blog.) and my Vatika Oil...My hair feels GREAT today. I also did a bentonite clay treatment last night...so my hair is nice, clean, moisturized and SOFT.

Here is a recent pic of how I am wearing my hair...and two of my many recent purchases...

Until Next time.....

Oh no they didn't!

So...I have been wearing my lil side puff for a few days straight now. I figure it must not be too bad on my ends because I coat them in shea butter AND they are not rubbing up against any material. However, I decided I was going to get some Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner and add it to my new arsenal of products. I have done WELL so far on my new quest to DC at least once a week to improve the moisture in my hair. (I will revisit that soon) So I decided to go and pick some conditioner up locally instead of paying shipping and waiting to receive it in the mail (yall know I have a shortage of patience...) So...I know of this ONE black owned BSS in the city that carries Elucence products..
So I leave work a few minutes early in the RAIN, drive all the way across town to pick up the midget...and then trek ALL the way to yet ANOTHER corner of town in an effort to pick up the conditioner so that I could DC last night. Well I am a BAD GIRL because I arrive at 5:50!! Whoo Hoo!!

Oh so I thought. WHY were the lights out? The sign on the door blatantly read..." Hours of Operation Monday _ to 6pm"
Ok So WHY are you completely shut down at 5:50?!? Then I see a lady walking to the door. I am like ok SURELY she is going to let me in to get this one product. No maam. She was letting another lady OUT and told me by shouting... "WE CLOSED"
And people wonder why I am hesitant to support black businesses?!?!
I hate to generalize because I know that there are a number of black businesses that provide good service. However, my experiences with them are FAR more negative than positive. When I go to the Asian BSS...I am greeted...by name. Even if it IS ten minutes before closing time (which is later than 6 pm let me add) they are still courteous. Now...I no longer am followed thru the store...maybe because I go in there SO much...they know me by name now...but I can say that I have had FAR more positive experiences there than with my own. Not to say that ALL Asian BSS provide great service because I have walked out of a few of those also when I am not acknowledged or asked if I need any assistance...

So the question is....will I give this salon/store another shot today and do all of this ALL over again just in an effort to get my beloved Elucence...
Those of you that have ever used this product already know my answer...

HECK YEA! But I must say...if I didn't need this product SO badly I wouldn't.

Now..that I have gotten that off my chest...let's talk about why I am making an effort to deep condition more. One of the first things I noticed when I chopped...was how extremely DRY my hair was.No matter what I did...my hair STAYED dry. I tried all types of products and nothing seemed to help. I will say that my daily conditioner washes helped SOME but overall...my hair was still very dry and dull. Well I decided to up my supply of moisturizing conditioners (leave in and regular) and start a weekly deep conditioning treatments. Lately I have been using either Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose and Olive Oil...or Pantene's Breakage Defense Mask and Vatika Oil. My hair LOVES the pantene mask. Makes my hair like butter. The Vatika Oil is no joke either...the first treatment yielded amazing results. Once I have it in my hair, I sit under my heat cap for 30 to 40 minutes...then I sleep in it. I recently read that the pantene mask is discontinued...I am really hoping that this is a terrible LIE and I am going to try to reup today...So hopefully tonight when I do my deep treatment while watching Nip Tuck and sipping wine...I will be using ELUCENCE...LOL Thou I must admit...I am really tempted to just stick with my ole faithful Pantene and Vatika Oil.
Here is the pantene mask.

Here is the Vatika Oil (doesn't smell good...but AWESOME results)

As far as pics...I have a few...but my batteries died. They are pretty boring anyway. No length pics yet...and no new styles. Right now my puff is my boo but I must say...my hair is STILL transforming and is looking different each and everyday. I promise to have some pics soon.

Well for now...in the words of Frankie......
HOOOLLLAA! (ROTFLMAO!)

Soooo

I bought more conditioner today....I will have reviews soon.

I tried a twist out. It came out ok this time. I did learn that one side of my head is tighter than the other. My left side is tighter than my right.

I am sitting here with my Pantene Hair Mask on....I did a CW was Hello Hydration...then coated my hair with the mask and some olive oil...put on a plastic cap...and my scarf. My hair feels warm....so it should be working....about to head to sleep and see what style I use tomorrow.

I am eager to see what my progress is come March. I compared tonight and Sept to the end of Dec I did pretty good. I will attach a pic.

Pantene Mask is definately a HG of mine...has my hair feeling like butter....and I have to take care of those ends....

Tata!

So I have been trying products...

Ok...so I am 8 months post my BC now...and I am LOVING my hair more and more everyday. I am trying more and more products and I have identified that what works for some...don't work for all.

One thing I tried was Shea Butter. All natural...and unfortunately...I don't think my hair likes it. It makes my hair feel hard and not soft. So we are going to go back to Olive Oil and see what I got.

After reading rave reviews about Shea Moisture Shea butter leave in...I tried it...My hair gave it a thumbs DOWN. So...I still use it...but I have to mix it with another leave in.

I revisied cantu Shea Butter Leave in...and my hair LOVES it. I did read that it was drying to some other people's hair...but it leaves my hair very moisturized.

Long Aid Curl Activator gel....jury is still out on this one...

I have a few more products to try...and I need to update with some pics...

Oh...Ovation WORKS! I am using it with MN and I think I am getting results. I am going to straighten again and we can compare pics. I said initially that I was not going to reup when I am out...I think that is a lie. :-)

Happy hair growing...

I HAVE to do a better job....

Updating this thing! LOL

OK where am I now? Still natural and loving it, still learning my hair, still in protective styles and still stalking fashion.

Hair:
So I have tried a few new products and revisted some old ones. I am back using Hello Hydration for my conditioner washes. I use that and my trusty Tressemee conditioner. I have been doing a DC once a week. Lately my DC conditioners are Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose and Pantene's Hair Mask.
I am also still using MN and OCT as topical agents.
On the styling side..I have found my HG....KCCC. My hair LOVES this stuff.

Fashion:
Can I please stop shopping? Today my guilty pleasures were nighties from Vickie's Semi Annual Sale (the Mr's request) and a sweater from the Gap. I ended up buying more items at the Gap but they were ALL for my son. He is SO spoiled.

Well that's all for now. I promise to check in more often and include more pics. Until later....