another great find

Since I have become an ex-natural I am discovering that hair is not an exact science. I'm still a work in progress. This new conditioner I found is one proof of that. For two years I was under the impression that I had found the holy grail of works in the Dollar Store. This bottle not only reminded me of my Suave Professionals, but the price just couldn't be beat. It has a list of natural ingredients and it does appear to be free of sulfates. Wow!

But that is not why I am sharing. My hair enjoys this. I untangle loose strands before going under water. My hair sheds far less and I'm thrilled. Keep it simple. Washing my hair is more of a ritual to open the cuticle and allow nourishment inside. It is not play time. I absolutely love it. For a $1 or less, it simply cannot be beat.

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!

my hair today…

It’s December 31, 2011 and it just happened to be my hair wash day. I am a traditionalist. Saturday was always the hair wash day in my household. Not only do I regularly wash my hair on Saturday, but I still use some of the same old hair care products and styling methods.

Instead of braided plats, I use two-strand twists.

One of my favorite old school traditions is Cholesterol Conditioner. Yesterday I purchased two 20 oz. jars (one with Olive Oil, one with Shea) at the beauty supply. I knew I had a trace amount left in an old container, but definitely not enough to do a deep heat pack conditioning.

I don’t do videos and I’m sorry for that. But I will do better at explaining exactly what I do to my hair. This morning I started my hair prep by spraying it with room temperature mixture of water and pure MSM. If you don’t have MSM, you should try it. I work the spray from roots to ends, loosening the twists before applying a generous amount of Olive Oil Cholesterol to each hair strand. I re-twist each section loosely and cover with a conditioning cap. I do own a hood dryer but I’d rather be doing something else besides sitting. And if I can avoid extreme heat on my hair, I do it.

Next, I rinse my hair in sections under warm water, finger detangling as I go before washing it with Whole Foods 365 Citrus Grapefruit Shampoo. I do not scratch my scalp. I reach through each section with my fingers and rub gently massaging. Pin the section and repeat to all sections. Rinse. Then apply its partner Conditioner. This is where the fun starts. I have been without a brush for about a month. And that is not recommended. I did decide, time to detangle. I used my Goody. It is strong and resilient to my hair. But I will make it point to purchase a brush for the next brush detangling scheduled for two weeks from today.

Detangle, ends first working up the hair shaft, gently. Do not rip through the hair. If you haven’t detangled in a while, expect to see a generous amount of strands. That’s ok. Hair sheds. And what doesn’t get brushed away daily will accumulate. The important thing is removing this so that it doesn’t tangle and cause undue breakage.

After, I resection my hair into seven parts, taking a wide tooth comb through each, and apply aloe vera gel, coating the hair root to tip. Next, apply Curly Kinks Coil Jam to smooth ends. I use Aloe Vera generously since I have a generous amount. Coil Jam is fabulous, but I only have a sample. Once I narrow down my go-to hair care product list, I will invest in more Curly Kinks products. Next, I take 10 pumps of Curly Kinks Satin Roots leave-in and smooth it over my hair. Then twist the section. Repeat.

two strand twist out & curl activator

This is a two-strand twist out using Hawaiian Silky Gel Activator that I did last night before bed.  I don't use a comb usually unless I'm conditioning/de-tangling, but I did massage the ends with activator in order to untangle any snarls.  After working out this morning (ran two miles and upper body workout) I styled, separating the twists into at least four to get a full look.  No additional product was needed.  My hair felt incredibly soft.  It's about 7 inches long all over since I recently cut about an inch all around.  I have 3b/4a hair.  Yes.  It shrinks!  But I love my natural hair.  It's so versatile and I never have to worry about bad hair days, i.e. rain water frizz-ups!