Wash/Dye day! :)

Hi everyone. Well it's that time again. I literally just dyed my hair but here come them old stubborn greys. Grey's be gone! lol so Im going to use this hair dye. It gives me great full coverage for those pesky greys. Then I'm going to throw my hair in twists. I'm going to attempt to stretch my twists this time around. I have never stretched them out before.

I'll show you my finished twists and subsequent twist out after I'm done

Ok this is me as I am conditioning. My curls are popping! One day I think I can get away with a wash n go

I'm back & 2 years natural already! PHOTO BOMB!

I'm about to update the graphics, background and all of that on my blog. 

Just wanted to give you all an update on my natural hair. I am 2 years natural on 1.27.2016.

I went from a boy cut..to full shoulder length. I have pics galore below for you with dates

I've been doing Inversion once a month and sometimes I slacked. I wear my hair mostly in twist outs. I have only straightened my hair once in the entire 2 years (Holy crap!!!)

I can't tell if this is fast hair growth or not, but I'm pleased. I have a decent sized bun now :D

This is 4 months after BC (Big chop)

***Below are all January 2016 pics***

Freshly flat ironed hair

fresh flat ironed hair

5 day old flat Ironed hair 

wild ponytail

Neat high bun

My bun from the side

Damp hair is a high bun

same damp hair different angle

blown out hair

How I've been wearing my hair almost the entire year in addition to inversion for hair growth

2 strand twists

and twist out

I think there's been some decent progress :) I'm going to color and re-straighten my hair. I didn't think I did such a great job straightening it after a year. I did give myself a fresh trim. I also want to make sure I didn't incur any heat damage and washing it and coloring it with the black dye will help me be able to see if I did (not the dye, the washing really).

Thanks for being so supportive. So many views even after I had a 2 yr hiatus and I am truly grateful :) I will be updating regularly now.

Long time no see :D Hair update: May 2014

January 27th, 2014

This was my Big chop. Unfortunately I had relaxed the front of my hair prior, because I didn't plan to big chop. I'm slowly transitioning the straight hair out, but it's almost all gone now :D

May 25th, 2014

I just posted my 4 month natural hair journey with full pics included. Please go view, subscribe, and comment. I'd like to thank all of you for your support. I've gotten so much scrutiny regarding my hair. Apparently it affects lots of lives :D 

Here's the link to my hair journey video. Thanks again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b2XKRkB8fM&feature=youtu.be

I am natural!

Hi ladies, I know it's been a while. I realized a long time ago that I am tired of relaxing so one day 1.27, I got my handy dandy scissors and got rid of the relaxed hair. I am not yet comfortable posting pics. I'm just getting used to it. I appreciate all the love and support I've gotten on this blog. I am not yet sure If I'll continue with a natural hair blog. I have to figure out this natural "thang" first :D I hope everyone is doing well and continue to pray for me and my family. I will do the same for you. Thanks for following my blog. I am not sure how often I will be posting entries here now.

My hair is done! Length check pics!

Well part of the back of my hair is still not APL *pout pout* but I do notice some length retention. I stopped taking my MSM a couple months ago and I use the sulfur oil maybe 1x or more monthly. I do like my progress with minimal growth aids. I thought I'd be full APL by now but I guess naturally my hair doesn't grow that fast. I'm just happy I do see progress :) so on to another 6 month relaxer stretch but for now I'm going to enjoy my straight, swanging herr :P I may go back hardcore with the Sulfur oil and MSM starting back March. I'm not sure yet. It depends on how hectic my real life gets from now until then. 

Progress Pics February 15th, 2013

*note: if I didn't like how my face looked in the pic, I blurred/edited it out*

I would've taken more pics and I did, I didn't like how majority of them came out and it was hard as I don't know what trying to take pics of with my Kindle. Hopefully you're able to tell the length my these pics. It looks like 1 in to APL to me, but I could be wrong. Ugh, I wish it would hurry up but I know i'll get there in time. Atleast I'm retaining length now.

Relaxer day pics & length check coming 

Hi everyone! :D My hair update so far & Relaxer day!!

I've pretty much been doing low maintenance. I don't have the time to "worship" my hair and honestly I don't care to do that anymore. I wash 1x weekly, sometimes I forget and it ends up being 10 days. I haven't used heat on my hair since August. I did however attempt to flat iron a couple days ago, I only did a couple strands in the back and then decided it would be too much work. 

 Today is Relaxer day. I haven't had a relaxer since August 18th, 2012. Crazy right? I didn't even realize it was that long ago but now is the time. I'm not even going to bother with Flat ironing. So after my relaxer I'm going to blow it out, flat iron it and do a length check & trim. Of course not in that order. You've waited long enough! I pretty much have simplified my regimen even more. Right now as of February 2013 here is what I've been doing:

 My updated Regimen 

 Every 1 week or so

 wash DC 1x weekly

 Protein treatment 1x monthly or light protein bi-weekly 

 Moisturize every 3 days or more

 Trims only for fresh relaxers

 Relaxer stretches 6months+ but no less than 18 weeks

 and this is pretty much it. I told you I simplified it. Sometimes less is more and I haven't even started relaxing and just carefully am combing out my hair and goodness, it's long! I can't imagine how it's going to look once I've flat ironed it. Have I reached APL? If I haven't, I'm going to assume I am a slow grower. How dog gone long does it take? LOL anyhow, let me get to work and pics are coming soon! Hope all you ladies are doing well and thanks for sticking with me and my bi to tri-monthly entries on this blog. Sometimes life gets in the way :) Oh..new reviews are coming too! I have some awesome new products I've discovered. 

 Happy Valentine's day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi ladies. I have to tell you I am hating the new set up for Blogger. Blah. I mean, I really hate it. I know I've been gone a while but I was mourning (and still am) a loss of a family member. I'm much better now and ready to come back and post a little more regularly. I haven't been using my MSM at all, or oils or pretty much anything over this month. I just managed to keep my Hair moisturized and protected my ends. I decided to straighten my Hair yesterday because I was curious at the length and needed to trim my ends. I admit, hair has been the last thing on my mind so I slacked but I wouldn't say big time. I couldn't let my ends turn into big crunchy messes. No. No way. So I do have some current length check pics dated 10/17. I literally just took them 5 minutes ago. Before I post those though, do you know some person had the nerve to report my blog post? LOL all the way back from February about cowashing no less. I hate cowashing anyway so I just deleted the post. I'm not here for drama. I never claimed the article was mine, or written by me so whatever. Imagine how hard I rolled my eyes when I saw the complaint. I wonder what they're going to complain about next. Anyway back to hair news: My current hair length as of October 17th, 2012:

I don't have too many pics because I slammed my Ipod Touch on the concrete and well, it takes funky pics now. I still look like I'm about 1 1/2 inches from APL. It may take longer because I can't deal with funny,fuzzy, thin looking ends. If you notice I got my hair way too straight yet again. I don't like it this straight at all. Blah. But what's done is done. I even had the temperature on 250 (the lowest setting) 1 1/2 passes and this is what I got. Ok ladies, I'll be writing you next month. I still have pretty much the same regimen as I always have had. I'll just try to be a bit more consistent now as much as I can. Ciao ladies :) Product reviews coming soon

My current Sulfur mix for Sulfur challenge 9/1-2/28

My mix consists of :

1 TSP (heaping) of Sublimed Sulfur
4 oz JBCO
4 oz EVOO
2-3 drops of Lavendar oil
2-3 drops of Tea Tree oil
2-3 drops of Sweet Almond Oil
2-3 drops of Peppermint Oil

Hoping for more great results this next round of applications :)

:D Hi ladies! I had to get one good entry in before September!

Well you ladies pretty much know that I've been using sulfur oil since May. I've been getting great results and so far my hair is about 1 1/2 inches to APL. APL where you at! I've been waiting for over a year now, crap. Well, surely the Winter will be the time when I hit it. Now whether that's November or December, only time will tell. The good thing is it seems I'm retaining length so the goal isn't too far away. September 1st starts the NJOY concoction challenge on Long hair care forum. Here: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=16737781&posted=1#post16737781

We're going to use Njoy's mix that led to her tremendous growth. You can view this growth my typing NJOY in the search on LHCF,or googling NJOY or even going to her site Mydivaspot.com on her blog

so just a recap so far

This is my current length

I notice that blow drying yields my regular thick hair than flat ironing so I may do that instead when I want straighter hair. I am only about 1 week and a half post relaxer and since my hair is never bone straight, i swear it looks like Im already 8 weeks post or something. OH well. I dont use heat regularly and never will. My hair just can't take it. I won't chance it. Hope you ladies have a great Labor day weekend and HHJ to you all!

Fresh relax pics! :D

More pics of how my hair currently looks as of today. I ended up flat ironing it again this morning (1 pass) and it will be a long time before I flat iron it again. Atleast 6 weeks- 2 months.

News Alert! I caved, I am....Relaxed again :)

I know you joined this blog to see relaxed hair retain length right? I flipped on you guys and you know what? I ended up ending my 6 month stretch (no longer transition) because I realized a couple things.

1. I don't love myself any less because I prefer to make my hair manageable with chemicals.

2. My hair is thick, but my strands are fine and cannot take too much heat. "Heat training" (which I think is baloney anyway (spelled wrong on purpose) wouldn't work for my Hair.

3. I don't have the time to invest doing twists, I can't braid and I don't really like "big" hair on me.

4. I prefer my Hair straight 60% of the time (even though I do NOT use heat often on my hair)

I decided to go back to relaxers and there's no shame in my game. At any time I can choose to start transitioning if I wish. So this, once again, is a relaxed hair blog! My goal is still WL. I've made up my mind and this is what's best for me right now. Sorry for the yo-yoing, but you know how indecisive us ladies can be sometimes :) I actually feel relieved and know that I can stretch 6 months if I have to again. I don't think I'll stretch longer than 4 or 5 mths this time around. I relaxed 5/18/12 and I just joined the NJOY Concoction challenge 2012 on LHCF. You ladies should join this challenge. Most of us have seen what sublimed Sulfur has done for her hair. You ladies know I've been using it since May and you've seen my pics on here so it does work. Anyhow, I actually was procrastinating post this LOL feeling shame? LOL the nerve of me. I am confident in my decision and everyone should be happy and confident no matter how they choose to wear their Hair. I have a product review on Giovanni Direct Leave In Conditioner and you ladies do not want to miss it! Ciao Bellas!

My hurrr (yes hurr) is done! :D

Ok I was playing around and today while I was washing and DC'ing I took some texture shots of my hair

and these are pics of my hair after straightening today. My goal is still WL even though I'm transitioning. I figure when my entire hair is WL, my Natural hair will be atleast APL or longer and then I can chop away the relaxed ends. I will not be bald (no offense to bald people). I did something a little different this time when flat ironing. I only did 1 pass and maybe 1/2 on the root because I'm 26 weeks post almost and well, the roots are resistant. I think it came out the thickest I've ever seen. I hate when I straighten my hair too straight. Small sections and 2 passes left it way too straight. I use the Kiss Red Flat irons 3/4 & 1/2 on a setting of 280-300 degrees. I will not go any hotter than that.

Here are my current hair pics and length check. I did a trim as well and only took off a tiny bit not even half an inch to even the ends out.

and my ponytail currently:

Ok and one more thing. Last night I took a section in the middle left area of my head and cut it to natural haha :) I was curious to see my natural texture. This next pic is all natural (the strand I'm holding anyway. I'm assuming majority of the hairs on my head are about this length

It's looks like approximately 3 in or 3 1/2 inches of new growth natural hair by me just looking at it. This is growth from February-Present.

whew! I think that's all the pics I wanted to show you all today. But one more. A comparison pic from February- the length now. I started the Sulfur oil in May of this year

sorry bombarded you folks with pics but you know how I am. I am constantly taking pics of my hair haha. Not sure how long this will last but just wanted to get some pics in.

Washed 2x today. Yes two times. Darn Ecostyler gel

Ok so I did an overnight DC w the Silicon mix, woke up this morning and washed it out, shampooed and DC'd again. I stupidly applied Ecostyler (the clear one) to my hair. Why? Why oh why did I do that? I hate having a plastic/plaster head. So my hair got hard and looked awful so I ended up washing it again. I need my hair free from products unless it's moisturizer. Gel is only when I'm about to wash my hair. I will never use it after a fresh wash again. So I have a function to attend this Weekend and I'm going sleek. So I'm flat ironing right now. I try not to abuse heat and I think I've done pretty good so far regarding that. I think the last time I used it was a month ago. Once a month isn't so bad but I am trying not to get addicted to it like I used to be. That's the only concern I have about going natural. Not knowing if I will want that sleek look more often later on down the line and not wanting to singe up my ends with the Heat. Oh well, I'm still doing it. I will let today worry about itself. I'm only doing 1 pass with my Kiss red silicon irons. I'm no where near being done but these irons are so good, you can't even tell I only did 1 pass. I am using the 3/4 in (small) for my roots, and the 1/2 in for bigger sections. I just realized for the bigger one I need it up to 300 degrees because it wasn't getting the job done and right now the 3/4 one is at 280. I don't want to go above 300 degrees on either. I have no idea how ladies flat iron their hair on 425 and up. I'd be paranoid I was going to get damage. Anyway, let me finish. As usual, pics are to come

:D Hello all, hair update

Well, I got restless and cut a small piece of the hair from the left middle section. No one can see it but wow! I think I've gotten about 3 1/2 in. from May to now when I started using the Sulfur. This piece is fully natural so I will be monitoring it as the days go on. I've never seen my real texture since I was a child. This is a whole new world for me and I'm pressing forward! :D

I'm still using my sulfur oil about 2x weekly. Still washing 2x weekly (sometime more) and I think i'm due for a trim if not a search & destroy. I am considering straightening my Hair this weekend, I'm not sure about that yet. It depends on how cool the weather is.

Yay it's finally August! First wash day of the month!

I just applied my sulfur and now the bottle is empty. Time to make a new batch. I originally use Amla oil along w the other oils I mix,but I ran out and since Amla did nothing for me I won't be buying it again. I probably will just do a mix of JBCO (8 oz) couple drops of Lavendar, Peppermint & Tea tree oil this time. After applying the oil, I massaged for about 5 min, then applied Silicon Mix Bambu that looks like this:

I heard great things about this product ladies and so I'm excited to see what it does to my hair. As of now, I really haven't revamped my hair regimen much. I'm still moisturizing regularly, I have incorporated mandatory light protein treatments that I did before and had success with, but I've just been to lazy to do it. Hope you all are doing well on your journeys and if I haven't followed your blog back, please let me know! Sometimes with real life I get flustered and forget. Ciao Bellas!

Big news about my Hair Journey ladies! I'm transitioning to Natural! :D

Well I've thought long and hard about this for about a year now and now I have realized that it's inevitable. Right now I've been stretching 6 months after my Relaxer and I no longer want to continue to relax my Hair. I never thought in a million years that I would ever say that. I have never seen my Hair texture as an Adult. I don't remember what it looks or feels like. I know it isn't going to be easy,but maintaining Relaxed hair is too much for me so it can't be any worse than just rocking my natural hair. That being said I will NOT be BC'ing my hair any time soon. Length is extremely important to me. I feel and look better with longer hair. My attitude about it being sleek and straight all the time has completely changed. I look good with my naturally curly hair. This is who I am. This is who God intended me to be. Now I plan on Long-term transitioning and I will not cut any relaxed hair until my Natural hair is atleast SL or APL. This if I'm counting right, should take approximately 18-24+ months. I'm willing to wait. I just took a picture of my approximately 2 inches of NG (new growth) and this is my natural hair texture in this pic below:

I'm excited to see how it looks in full.

What made me decide to go natural

Well it was a bunch of things but the major turning point for me was watching Chime aka Hair Crush's video on "Why I went natural"
HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVotrFMm5T4 and it really made me think long and hard about why I relaxed my hair. Why was I whipping my strands into submission with those Chemicals every 12 weeks? Did I not feel that my kinky,curly,coarse hair was beautiful? I honestly feel that I (like many ladies) didn't feel like I could rock my natural hair like ever. Sleek and silky was the way to go. I've viewed this video 2 or 3x and on the 3rd time, I realized what I had to do. I want to embrace the texture God gave me. I don't need to match up with the European/Caucasian idea of what beauty is. Now, I will NEVER be a natural (I won't use the 4 letter n words as that's offensive) militant. I have been relaxed over 20 yrs. It would be hypocritical of me to bark the woes of Relaxers. I will never do that. I will respect everyone else's decision to do what they want to their Hair. It doesn't affect me directly what someone else choose's to do with their hair anyway.

My decision is NOT solely based on a Youtube video. After all, that would be silly right? It's been in me lately to attempt to love all of me. Not just my face, my nails or my body but my Hair as well. I also started researching transitioning blogs and I'm getting so much information. For the longest time I've been a member of Naturally curly or Curly Nikki as some of you may know it and didn't/wouldn't tell them that I'm relaxed. Now I actually belong there, heehee.

I also last week came across Fusionofcultures on Youtube. Her hair is gorgeous. The first video I encountered was her mini chop to completely natural. I was floored at how beautiful her hair was. Now I am aware that my curl pattern won't be the same as hers. I am aware that I'm a 4B and proud :D I can't claim 4a or 3c nope. But my curls are not in a zig-zag pattern whatsoever so I'm pretty sure it's a 4B. Anyway, you can still follow my journey. I'm still meeting all of the previous goals I have had set for length. The only difference is once I hit those goals, the goals for my Natural hair will change. I'm excited, apprehensive and I don't plan on announcing it to family and making a huge deal about it. Everyone isn't going to necessarily react the way you want them to. I even considered a BC but I know I don't like short short hair on me. My hair has never been shorter than a Halle Berry cut. Anyway :) thanks for listening to me babble. Thanks for following my blog and more awesome products, info, length check pics to come.

Cowash today blah :P

I loathe cowashing but darn it, I ran out of shampoo. My hair has just been feeling heavy so I figured earlier today I might as well put my Sulfur oil on and let it sit for a few hours. I baggied my hair after oiling/moisturizing and left it baggied for about 3 or 4 hrs. I cowashed with HE Hydralicious Conditioner. DC'd w Grapeseed Oil, JBCO, a couple drops of Peppermint Oil and a couple drops of Rosemary Oil & sat under the dryer for about 5-7 minutes. I can't wait to see how soft my Hair ends up. My hair was so silky and smooth while washing. I don't even believe it. I swear it's the Sulfur as I told you ladies before that has my hair so manageable while washing and all around handling. I think I may either air dry, or blow dry my hair on cool. I'm being lazy today. I know, this is the 3 time I'm washing my Hair this week but I cannot walk around with sweaty,dirty hair. I don't care if I end up washing it 5x a week. There is no way I will keep that stuff in my Hair. Clean hair is the key to length retention. I'm a witness.

DC in prep for wash day!

Tonight I applied my Sulfur Oil, VO5 Conditioner,Argan Oil, Lavendar JBCO and bagging overnight. Giving myself a good wash and then wet twist out tomorrow. I am at the point wear I really love Twist Outs.

Product Review: Fantasia IC Olive Anti-Breakage Treatment & KeraCare Twist & Define Cream

Fantasia IC Olive Anti-Breakage Treatment

This would be considered a Medium Protein treatment. For protein sensitive this may be considered a hard treatment. My hair is a 4B and for me it's medium. First off, this stuff smells so good..oh yes. I can't describe how good it smells. I use this every 2 weeks- 1 month. I probably could get away with using it weekly but I don't use it that often. This contains Hydrolized Silk & Keratin. These ingredients are listed in the middle. The further down on the Ingredient list, the less amount is in there so this is definitely a medium protein.

My hair felt so silky and smooth after using this. I love it. I mean love it. I would definitely recommend if you need a good protein treatment, between this and ORS Hair Mayo I don't know which one is better. On a scale from 1-10, this is a definite 10 for me. I paid approximately $7.49 plus tax for this. Hopefully it's cheaper where you off. NYC ripping folks off haha

Keracare Twist and Design Cream

Ok so at the beginning of my journey, I could never ever see myself wanting texture, wave or curl in my hair. Well thankfully my attitude has changed and I've started doing braidouts and twistouts. I did a twist out with this Cream and well, it was so nice! I love this stuff. The consistency is similar to Let's Jam..so I'm not too fond of that, but the smell is great and as far as holding my waves it did a good job. The cost, whew..this little container costed me $11.99 plus tax. I will be buying it again though and stocking up. It worked very well on my Hair and I really like this product. I think you ladies should try it. It worked better than Ecostyler Gel for me. My rating again, is a solid 10. Worth all my money.