Play in the Mud: Pure Earth Hair Wash product review

One of my friends likes to try different hair products.  She often gives me the products that don't work out for her.  A few weeks ago I opened a bag from her and found a bottle of mud.  No.  But really.

As I am about trying new things, I was fairly skeptical, but decided to try and keep an open mind.  I mean, I didn't believe in co-washing a couple of years ago, but here I am a faithful co-washer.

So anyway, I tried the Terressentials Organic Pure Earth Hair Wash in the Cool Mint "flavor." (Yes, they are called flavors, not scents.)  This particular flavor REALLY defined my curls and helped me to rock a nice 'fro this week!  The only thing I did not like was that mud got over EVERYTHING!  Mud was dried up on my bathroom mirror, sink, and MY SHIRT!  Hopefully it will wash out easily from my shirt.  I plan to use it again...this time wearing an old shirt ;-)

Natural Living

The longer I wear my hair natural, the more I desire to develop a natural lifestyle.  By this, I mean that being natural is much more than about twisting my hair, following Curly Nikki, and attending natural hair meetings.  It is about making healthy choices for my body that ultimately lead to healthy hair.

Last year, I went to a Naturally Flyy meetup and had a chance to hear Ms. Gwen Jimmere of Naturalicious.net speak about paying attention to the labels of the products we use.  Many items have parabens, which are carcinogenic.

I thought I was all good because the hair products I use, Shea Moisture, are paraben-free.  However, once home, I started reading the labels of my lotion and makeup and realized that they were not.  So in one swift heap, I rid myself of ALL of my precious makeup and lotions.

It was easy to find lotion.  Shea Moisture has many lotions and creams, and I also relied on tubs of shea butter.  The harder part was finding makeup.  Below is the what I found out on my journey.

Burt's Bees Super Glossy Lip Shine -- 2 out of 5 stars
While this product gave me the shine I needed, it didn't really moisturize.  It felt like vaseline or chicken grease on my lips.

Korres Lip Butter and Lip Butter Glaze -- 5 out of 5 stars
I found these products at Sephora and LOVE them!  They are made out of shea butter and rice wax.  My lips feel SO GOOD and soft after application.  And, it looks like "real" makeup!

Gabriel Color Eyeshadow -- 4 out of 5 stars
I purchased this from Whole Foods in the color Navy because they do not make Black.  I actually use a tiny brush and apply it as an eyeliner because it was hard for me to find an actual eyeliner that worked for me.  I like it a lot, just wish it was a little bit darker.

Crown's Royalties. -- 5+ out of 5 stars
Ok y'all, I saved the best for last.  Last year, I had a student in one of my classes whose mom I would run into at natural hair meetings.  It wasn't until halfway through the year that I connected that this lady selling makeup and jewelry at the hair meetings was the mother of my student.  Anyway, all of Ms. Crown's products are handmade and made with LOVE, do you hear me?!?!?  She sells out of her home, vends at different events, and has a website, crownsroyalties.weebly.com  I purchased three eyeshadows from her and have thoroughly enjoyed them.  They last long and look GOOD!

 Getting ready to head out for the first time with my paraben-free makeup!

Confessions of a Product Junkie

Hi, my name is Kel, & I'm a product junkie.

***HI KEL!***

Y'all, I knew I had a problem, but I didn't think it would ever come to this.

My lease is up in a few months and I plan on purchasing either a house or condo.  I promised my mother that I would spend part of my spring break going through my closets & drawers to find items to purge so that I would have less to pack when I do move.

Getting rid of things is relatively easy for me.  I grew up in a house where if you left something unclaimed for a few days, it WOULD get thrown away because, as my mother STILL quotes to this day, "Material things don't get you to Heaven!"

Anyway, after going through my clothes & books twice (SEVEN bags worth of donations & a trash bag of discards), I decided to tackle the hair collection in my closet.  The last time I moved, I can't remember how many boxes/bags of hair goods I brought with me.  My friends thought it was hilarious.

I took what was in my closet & put it on my full-size bed.  I was embarrassed & appalled to see that my hair products almost filled up my entire bed!

Clearly, there were some painstaking decisions to make.

For instance, my homemade tracks & hair spray. I was the maid of honor in my cousin's wedding a few years ago.  She wanted everyone to wear their hair down, so I had some tracks added that clipped in.  Then I got nervous that the hair wouldn't match my color, so I bought some spray.  My cousin found out about the spray & wouldn't let me use it.

Or what to do about this electric hot comb?  I went to college in Oklahoma, where there was a shortage of Black people, Black hair salons, Black beauty supplies, etc.  I bought this my freshman year of college before I had a car to get off campus & travel to a decent beautician.  Obviously, this is before I decided to go natural.

How could I get rid of this stocking cap?  Don't judge me.  You all KNOW you have a stocking cap made out of one of your mama's (or your own) stockings.

And last but not least, HAIR!  I need to have my own side business slingin' hair!  I got everything!  Afro-kinky! Outre remy! Toyokalon! Brown, black & red!  What do you need?!?!?!?!  I gots it all!

Ok, so clearly it was time to let go of some things, especially since I have not had my hair pressed in over a year & have not had it regularly pressed in about 6 years.  So I said goodbye to my tracks, spray, hotcomb, and a myriad of other things.  Out of all the fake hair, I did keep the afro-kinky, because it matches my current texture & I never know when I am going to need a filler.  I am proud to say though, my collection shrunk significantly.  Woo-saaaahhhh! :-)

Hopefully my mama will be proud!

4 Hours Later...

ilovemyhair. ilovemyhair. ilovemyhair. ilovemyhair.

This is what you can hear me muttering to myself on days like today when I get frustrated trying to style all this thick, natural hair.  Sure it's a blessing to have healthy hair...but sometimes the amount of work it takes to upkeep it can be exasperating.

I woke up from my Sunday afternoon nap around 4pm.  I wanted to go to night service (started at 6pm), so I thought I had a good 2 hours to co-wash my hair, blow dry it & head to church.  I found this style up on youtube & thought it would be easy & a great protective style.

Well, I forgot how long it takes to blow-dry my hair.  Because it's so thick & curly, I have to do it in small sections & take my time to minimize breakage.  When doing this style, I had to be careful when twisting the front because I have really weak temples.  So I had to take my time to make sure the hair was secure, but that I wasn't pulling too tight.

Four hours later, here's the finished product.  Guess I won't be going to church tonight...

New Year, New Beginnings

My cousin called me a few weeks ago & was like, "I noticed you haven't posted on your blog in awhile...when you gonna write something again?"

Truth be told, November & December of 2011 were pretty much hell on Earth for me.  Each week progressively got worse & worse, pretty much up until New Year's Day.  So, with all the mayhem in my personal life, I haven't had time to post like I wanted to.

Thankfully, all storms come to an end.  I'm still recovering emotionally, spiritually, & mentally from those hectic weeks, but am in a much better place.

So, what a better way to start the year off than with some hairstyles!?!?!?  Here are some photos of recent styles I have rocked.

1. This is a style wear I two-strand twisted my whole head, then rolled up the front twists & made a bun in the back.

 2. This is a twist out after wearing the above style for some time.  I just want to say, I hate twist-outs...they are a last resort for me.  I always get compliments, but I just don't like them.

3. Last week I blowed-dried my hair for the first time in months.  I loved how soft & thick my hair is.  It also allowed me to see some new gray hairs (I blame Nov. & Dec.).  Anyway, I made a bun and then two-strand twisted the front/side & rolled that bad boy up!

Happy New Year, Happy New Beginnings!

Pomp-Pomp-Pomp It Up!

So about a week ago I attended the Kirk Franklin Fearless tour.  It was SO POWERFUL!  The concert started ON TIME (a pet peeve of mine...concerts starting late) and Kirk did a phenomenal job of meshing his old songs with the new.  He had about 4 opening acts, who also respected the time and did great jobs as well.

One of the opening acts was Amber Bullock, winner of this season's Sunday Best.  She's a natural, so I was definitely peeping out her hair during the show.  I loved the pomp in the front, the french roll in the back, & the braids on the sides.

I decided to put my own twist on the style...literally.  I did mostly twists in the back & front of my head, then flat twisted up the sides.  I took the front two-strand twists & made a pompadour, but was quite disappointed with how it seemed to lack volume.

Thankfully, one of the gals from the Naturally Flyy natural hair fashion show I was in, Doyonna, posted a tutorial on how to make a two-strand twist pompadour fuller.  Her suggestion is to use false hair as a filler...it really works!

I found a bag of "afro-kinky" in my closet (one day I need to vent/blog about being a product junkie/hair-monger).  Then I curled the back twists using those tiny, cheap, plastic blue rollers.  Here's the final result!

Pieces of Me

Last nite I went with a couple of friends to see Ledisi in concert.  I absolutely ADORE Ledisi; she's such an amazing singer & performer!  This was the first time I've seen her as a headliner.  Her opening act was Eric Roberson.  I had never heard of him before, but the boy KILT it!  That's right.  I said it.  He. KILT. it.

Anyway, the nice thing about going to a Ledisi concert is that you are sure to see the natural hair community come out and support.  I definitely felt at "home" as I scanned the theatre during intermission & saw locs, twists, twist-outs, knots & 'fros.  I saw a sister a few rows ahead of me sporting a style with her locs & decided to try my own version of it this afternoon.  Here's the results.

So, like the front corner of my head is just individual twists that I rolled up.  The other side is just the beginning of some two strand twists that wrap around my head.

Then I did some horizontal two strand twists in the back.  I can't cornrow, so I can only twist.

I am very pleased with the final product!

It's Meet-Up Time!

Today was another Naturally Flyy Detroit Meet-Up!  Every meet-up feels like Christmas to me; I love the anticipation, surprise, and comfort it brings.

This time, I had the honor of being a model in a mini hair & fashion show.  I have never modeled before, so I was a little nervous.  Since I'm a dancer, I tried to convince myself that it would be like dancing...only slower...yeah...

Anyway, this is what I had on.  I was demonstrating corporate attire.  The outfit included a brown & yellow pencil skirt, brown belt, & brown knee high boots.

As usual, I picked up some great finds.  I purchased two sets of earrings from Shionne Design and some hair jewels from Mo Williams.  I was especially geeked about the earrings b/c I have always wanted peacock earrings AND I now have some Tigers spirit wear the next time my school celebrates the Detroit Tigers!

I don't have much else to say, other than it's always a blessing to be in the company of like-minded people. I just want to share beautiful pix of the event & fantastic, unique styles that stood out to me. Thank God I'm Natural!!! :-)

Something New

So, I've been slacking on the hair-do's recently.  I think I did a bun for two weeks, and then this past week I did an afro simply because I did not feel like trying to conjure up something.

After perusing the Essence Hot Hair special issue & looking through some natural hair blogs, I still came up short...I knew that I wanted the back braided up and a low part on the side, but couldn't figure out the front.  Then I saw one of my friend's new profile pix on facebook, & knew that I wanted to roll the front. (Thx Jay!)

I've never done this before, but I came up with this:

In other news, I won a Roots Only comb from Her Best Hair!  I'm very grateful.  My plan is to use it to oil my scalp.  We'll see how that goes.

3 Month Check In

I think about 3 months ago I started the Kim Coles' Grow Out Challenge.  I know heat is a "no-no" during this 6 month challenge, but this weekend, time & curiosity got the best of me, so I blow-dried my hair for the first time in forever.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the length of my ponytail!  My hair has not been this healthy since I was in middle school.

Even though I have fallen off a couple of times, I am still trying to conquer the 64oz. of water a day thing.  I have been pretty faithful in keeping up with my vitamin intake (a women's vitamin & a cod liver oil pill) every day.  I have also been making sure that I eat my "5 a day" fruits & veggies, especially green veggies. Supposedly, I'm anemic, so the green veggies are rich in iron & keep me from dragging.

I can honestly say, if anything, this is the most energetic I've felt at the beginning of a school year during my whole stint as a teacher (4 years)!  Perhaps part of it is finally getting the swing of things, but I have been less stressed, more active, and overall just feeling plain good.  This challenge has yielded some EXCELLENT results!

Cuts Grease...AND Oil!

I don't know about the rest of you naturalistas, but I can sometimes get a little carried away when applying castor oil or EVOO.  And when I say carried away, I mean to the point where I have oil spots on my clothes.

A couple of weeks ago, I was styling my hair right after work...I shoulda changed out of my work clothes...smh.  When I finished with my hair, I looked down at my clothes and saw this:

Notice the castor oil stains on the bottom of my sweater & near the crotch area of the shorts.

Thankfully, a while back I learned (from a source I honestly can't remember) that dish soap gets out oil stains in clothes.  Remember, dish soap is used to cut grease, so it makes sense for it to work with oil stains.  I applied some Palmolive to the spots on my clothes & let it sit for some time, then put them in the wash.  Here's the result:

The stains are GONE!  YAY!

Celebrations!!!

I'm currently in a state of euphoria because I just found out I am a recipient of a $1200 grant for my classroom in the fall! WOW! :-D Thank God!

Anyway, while I'm in this upbeat mood, I have a couple other things that I'd like to take the time to celebrate.

1. Many thanks to Dominique on All Things O'Natural!  Last week, she featured my story on her blog.  You can read about it by clicking here.  Thank you to those who have come over or joined this blog after reading my story there.

2. I have been finding only a little amount of hair in the hair catcher when I have been washing my hair lately!  This is exciting to me because I really wanted to work on length retention this summer.  I attribute a lot of my success to sealing my ends with castor oil after I cowash.

3. The Naturally Flyy Meetup group had their one year anniversary last week, with appx. 500 in attendance!  How cool is that?

The theme of this meeting was "Faces, Fro's & Funk," so I decided to switch it up from my usual twist styles to an asymmetrical 'fro.

My ace-boon Michelle & I at the end of the meetup

I love going to the meetups because there is so much positive energy.  Everyone is celebrating each other's hair & just showing love.  It's beautiful.

Since it's warmer & the weather is nice, we got to use all of Artist Village.

See, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!  Natural sistahs showin' love! BEAUTIFUL!

I was approached by Satincurls2011 & LamonicaD and asked to take a picture of my hair!  I was delighted.  Make sure y'all go & check out their youtube pages.

And for more of a close up...

Looking forward to more celebrations in the last days of summer to come! :-)

Operation: Length Retention -- GIGO

When I was a teenager, there was a saying floating around Evangelical youth groups of America, "Garbage In; Garbage Out."  The thought was that if you put negative/bad things in your life, you'd be adversely affected, whereas if you input good things, you'd become more like Christ.

Regardless, I have been trying to apply this concept in terms of taking care of my hair by putting good things into my body.  I stumbled upon the Kim Coles' Grow-Out Challenge at the end of June.  It's too late to enter the contest, but I still want to do the project because I want to grow healthier hair.  Part of the challenge is to drink 64 ounces of water a day.  What could be a better thing to put into the body?

I'm not the greatest at picturing measurements and sizes in my head (omg, ikr...what kind of science teacher am I????), so at first I thought 64 ounces would be no problem.  I thought I already drank a lot of water.  When I measured it out, it turned out to be enough water to fill an entire pitcher.

I love this pitcher...I got it at a garage sale a few years ago.

Anyway, as it turns out, drinking a whole pitcher of water every day is not as easy as it seems.  I started at the beginning of this month, which was the hardest.  It has become easier with each day passing.  I will say, even though I now have to pee like a madman, my skin seems clearer.  Also, my body seems to tolerate the multi-vitamin I take every day.  Before drinking all of this water, my body didn't seem to like the vitamin so much.  I am looking forward to seeing the long-term effects of this process!

Famous Last Words

Soooo...yeah.  I saw this picture in the July 2011 edition of Essence (p. 56) & thought to myself, "Hey, that looks easy!  I should try it..."

***sigh*** Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought.  After listening to a Church on the Move podcast once & then Israel & New Breed's Live From Another Level [disc 2] three times, here is the final outcome.  I'm not really pleased with the results (I'm a perfectionist) but it's gonna have to do for the week...

Product Review: SheaMoisture

Soooo...I'm thinking about renaming my blog "Natural Hair Tips from My Cousin."

My cousin kept raving about SheaMoisture products for months.  She was even leaving cryptic voice messages on my cellular phone about it.  "Oh my hair is so soft now that I'm using SheaMoisture, blah, blah..."

I for one, am a creature of habit and slow to change.  I've been natural for 5 years and kind of had my products & regimen in-tact.  I had a styling product (that I think I may have mentioned in an earlier post) that I'd been using and loving for years and wasn't really looking for anything new.  On top of that, I'm quite frugal...my personal motto for most things in life is "5 dollars or less."  So, when I went to Walgreens to take a look at the SheaMoisture products, I was not thrilled about the price ($9.99 for everything that I saw).  I reluctantly purchased the Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie...mainly because I thought it smelled good.

Let me tell you, that purchase was WELL WORTH the $10 spent!  I have done away with my old styling product and am now hooked on the Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie for several reasons:

1. It smells SO GOOD!  Seriously, it smells like something you want to eat...even days after being applied.
2. It is organic & doesn't have weird, man-made ingredients.  When I look at the label, I can pretty much pronounce all of the ingredients & identify what they are.  I can't remember if I've talked about this before, but a lot of my family has had cancer (either survived it or died from it), so I'm very cautious about chemicals, ingredients, radiation, etc.
3. My hair has been SO SOFT and SO SILKY because of it!  I think part of the manageable texture might be because I have been cowashing, but I think the SheaMoisture product has something to do with it too.
4. The product is not at all sticky, but rather naturally oily.  My old styling creme always left my hands and hair feeling so sticky, that I was self-conscious about anyone touching it because of the sticky residue.  This product is not sticky at all and when I touch my twists, my hands still feel clean.

All in all, another great recommendation from my cousin!  Now, she's leaving msgs on my phone about a black tea rinse...yeah, I'm still skeptical about that one... ;-)