bye bye raw shea butter

It’s a little over a year that I’m a tex-lax sub. 

What is tex-lax? 

A tex-lax is simply a weakened relaxer to loosen the curl pattern, not completely flatten it. This is achieved by reducing the processing time for a normal relaxing application, or mixing the base with conditioner, oil, and Aloe Vera gel. I use the latter.

It's a learning curve!

I have no regrets with moving to tex-laxing. It wasn't the processing that caused me to resent the change, but the product: raw Shea Butter. It left my hair matted, tangled, and hard to clean. The shed hairs were hard to remove, causing a mangled mess of tangles. I suffered quite a lost of years of hair growth as a result.

The discovery was truly a labor of love. I'm sticking with a small haul of products:

• Suave Almond and Shea Shampoo and Conditioner
• Suave 2 in 1 plus (shampoo and conditioner)
• Carol's Daughter: Mimosa Hair Honey, Healthy Hair Butter
• My very own Black Tea Castor Oil 

This is not an easy product to remove from hair when washing. My hair tangles. Now that my hair appears to be more manageable, I’m comfortable washing it once a week and plan to invest in some new hair brushes. 

I am so blessed and pleased to have discovered what has been troubling my tresses. I was so very close to just leaving the tangles and starting a loc journey. My focus remains on healthy hair, manageability, and style lastly. 

Buns are the best style for me due to my workout schedule. They also keep me from touching my hair. They are great protective styles. I alternate weekly, two side by side buns with one bun. 

hair growth update

I know I promised myself that the summer months were ridiculous times to straighten my hair, but I caved. You see, I have been on a new hair regimen as you know of applying lots of water, leave-in conditioning, and Shea Butter to seal. I wanted to see how those results panned.

I am amazed! My hair appears fuller, maybe even grew an inch or so since the last check in March/April. I see the greatest results at the crown and the top. 

Now that I know that what I’ve been doing brings the results, I must say that this blow, press, and iron were especially made possible due to Olive Heat Protection Spray by Silk Elements and Mimosa Hair Honey.

My hair even looks blacker! It does not have that look of dullness. I am so happy with the results. I will continue this process of co-washing, leave-in, water, and Shea Butter sealant for the duration.

It doesn't matter much to me to have long hair if the hair is not healthy.

Yes!

top ten...for the new fitness and natural health year

Welcome to July...so it seems that I am now one year officially...a non meat eater. This anniversary was actually on the 28th of June, but I thought 'what a nice way to kick off July...with a post of what this year shall bring'.

Here it is. I no longer season my food with pork! I know. I will not even eat food prepared by others seasoned with meat. My new go-to for seasoning is natural seasons of course and vegetable broth.

If it's organic Chicken Broth I'll do it...because only then do I know that the chicken's weren't fed GMO's.

Second order, which I've already started doing since last month...is drinking more water, like doubling what I usually consume...and oh boy what a difference it has made already in my body! my hair...my skin...oh!

Third order...walk more...yes! This has already commenced as well. I only will drive the car maybe two times a week. These are the days that I go to LAFIT for classes. The walk to Briarwood is a little over 10 miles round trip. If I include the workout...this could be a little taxing, time lamenting, and dangerous if I'm out too early or too late trying to get there or get home.

Fourth order, continue to toss away products that are not being used from my shelf. Now, I have invested a lot of money into Carol's Daughter and Jason Naturals, so those product lines I will be using until they expire.

I love Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter...all around, I cannot see parting from this. However, Shea Butter has become an inexpensive sealant I just can't deny!

Fifth Order...Continue to cook more and prepare more meals at home. I already do this, but I want to do it more. Things like Salsa, I will make at home! yeah!

Sixth Order...organization. I'm slow on this one because workouts, nutrition, rest, and my hair have consumed my time. Once I get organized...I intend to maintain by possessing a designated time to do...a, b, c...

Seventh order...start my natural hair care accessories page on Espy and begin promoting it on FACEBOOK.

Eighth order...add yoga...to my week. I have already commenced this as well. Tough as it can be, the results are undeniable. Love it!

Ninth order...start school and commit to finishing early!

Tenth order...pray and meditate daily. Let it flow. That means deep yoga stretchs daily, centering, thanking the higher power in the universe for the blessing of the day's gift.

water is my bff!

As a natural, we often say water is our friend. Water is the ISH! Washing your hair with it is one way, not fearing it ruining your natural coif is another. The big daddy of them all is how a tiny bottle with a little hot water, spritzed lightly over your twists, helps to keep them butter soft.

I am still learning. This is a journey with me through the natural world, as my health and wellness journey is filled with new discoveries. On this journey I found things that served me very little purpose.

I love Carol’s Daughter products. I have not tried them all and I probably will not need to. However, the best thing in the fray is the Healthy Hair Butter, hands down. This is like hair crack. Seriously, I could retire my journey with this. Unfortunately, it is expensive. Now I can budget for it, but it is best that I use it sparingly, once a week maybe to lock down the twists following my co-wash in Shea/Almond by Suave. After about 2 days, it is Now Shea Butter to the rescue along with my secret leave-ins. Instead of coating my hair with Shea and over piling on the goodness, I simply learned to do this on day 2 or 3 and then follow each morning or night with a light spray of water, tie my hair down, and let the moisture of the water and creamy oil texture of the butters get reacquainted.

By the last day of my workout stints before the day off reprieve, I wash it. Oh how I have the best times in the shower washing my hair with conditioners. I mentioned that I am moving gradually away from shampoos. My hair does not suffer with dandruff anymore. Therefore, the shampoos I purchased with dandruff in mind are sitting in the cupboard, virtually unusable.

It’s a slow process, but I am discarding a lot of this stuff. I refuse to use them on my hair just to be rid of them, so to the trash they will go. I will keep Cream of Nature, Jason’s (of course), Carol’s Daughter Vanilla poo/con, and perhaps even try other Suave or VO5 clarifying conditioners.

I am very satisfied with Suave Almond/Shea conditioner as my mainstay. Some of the products are great for when I go straight, like the Cream of Nature conditioning shampoo. However, in the meantime, the once per week washes will consist of three wash cycles…clarifying shampoo, clarifying conditioner, then the love of my life “almond/shea” co-wash.

Daily sprays with my bff…and I am all good. No, I have not forgotten about my hair grease…it’s still a love of mine. We shall see how my bff enjoys grease. Stay tuned!