Hair inspiration OTW: Chescalocs

Chescalocs, as you've probably figured from her name, has had locs for the past 6 years. She has the cutest styles and a sweetest personality to match. I've embedded two of her Q&A videos. Check out the other videos on her page and subscribe to her channel. ~B

Going natural makes the news

One of the youtubers that I follow (Africanexport) posted a link to an NBC news report on natural hair. The video actually made me tear up a bit, especially the mother and daughter (ok, yeah i'm a little sensitive!!! lol). It's great that the natural movement is getting more attention in the media.

Link

http://www.newdressaday.com/

Weather you've thought about sewing, are an expert seamstress, or could care less about sewing and are just another girl who likes to shop, this woman on newdressaday.com will give you a new appreciation of the art of sewing and shopping. Choosing to forgo all retail shopping and armed with a sewing machine and a $1 a day budget for the year, this blogger has set out to give her thrift store finds a new identity. From taking ugly mumus to lovely sun dresses, to converting silk nighties to lovely blouses, her work will impress you. I absolutely admire her! She definitely makes me want to start sewing again and try doing something like this (I don't know about every day for a year though; more like 1 outfit a week lol). Click on the link above & visit her page!

Hair Inspiration OTW: Longhairdontcare2011

I've decided that once a week, I will feature a hair inspiration of the day. Hopefully in doing this, you will be motivated and encouraged to continue on your healthy hair journey, whether as a natural or relaxed head. I'll try to feature various textures, lengths, and include both natural (both free & loc'ed) and relaxed heads. Today's inspiration is Longhairdontcare2011. She has been natural for almost 7 years, I believe, and has reached waist length.

Studentrate.com

Studentrate.com

For all of my fellow broke students who live for sales, coupons, and student discounts, check out studentrate.com. It's free to register and provides you access to tons and tons of student discounts and deals that you may have otherwise not known about. All you need is your school email address to confirm that you are a student. So, click on the link above and start saving. Enjoy!! ~B

Welcome to the Blog!

This video is long overdue. It's just me explaining why I started blogging and what I hope to achieve in doing so. Excuse the pauses, constant movement, and tripping over words. It's kind of weird free-styling to a camera lol. I made it a couple of months ago but never got to upload it because I couldn't figure out how to work Windows Movie Maker. I decided to play around with the software a little bit again and used this video as an initial test. Once I know that this works, I'll finally be able to edit and upload the other videos that I've made over the past couple of months. Welcome!! ~B

Noisy, Inconsiderate Neighbors

Don't you just HATE it when you have to deal with noisy neighbors? It frustrates me to no end. As a neighbor, I really try to be considerate. I don't put radios and TVs against shared walls, I keep my music down or play it away from adjacent areas, I give warnings for events that may take place, & I'm quiet for the most part. YET, somehow, I always get stuck with neighbors who don't seem to want to be as considerate. The neighbor who shares a wall in my bedroom always blasts music as early as 6 am, finds it amusing to make beats against my bedroom wall at all hours of the day, including at 2 am in the morning, jolting me out of my sound sleep, and then finds it even more amusing to knock back against the wall when I give a tap to suggest lowering. It's beyond annoying and I'm fed up with the loss of sleep because of their selfishness. I'm going to write them a letter and see if it makes a difference. For some reason, I highly doubt it. Don't be THAT neighbor.

Conair Paddle Brush Review

 

I've been using a paddle brush for the last 3-4 weeks. As I mentioned before, I was finding the Denman brush to be taxing on my delicate strands. I was getting much more breakage than I liked so I finally decided to give it up and explore alternatives. I decided to try a Conair paddle brush to compare. Each time, I have detangled my hair after deep conditioning while in the shower. My hair a) gets thoroughly detangled b) breaks less c) takes less time to detangle d) and does all of this with much more ease. I am very happy that I tried the paddle brush and recommend you consider it if you have been struggling with detangling. Things to consider when selecting a paddle brush is the size (there are more rounded paddle brushes in a addition to the typical square) and the smoothness of the bristles. I made sure to run my fingers along the bristles to ensure that there was a continuous smoothness leading to the ball tips. Otherwise, it would more than likely snag my hair which I wanted to avoid. There are also oil infused brushes and some with tourmaline and ion technology. Figure out what might work for you. I went with a basic one, and I'm content with it.

Kimmaytube's leave in-Follow up Part 1

Like I told you guys a few posts ago, I have been testing out Kimmaytube's leave in. The first week that I used it my hair was soooo soft and moisturized. I have NEVER felt my hair that soft and maintain moisture for such an extended period of time without doing anything to it. I occassionally sprayed distilled water on it to moisturize and that was it. It was great. However, the second week that I tried it, I didn't get those same exact results although my ends were still much smoother. The reason for this could be due to me wearing my hair in a looser state vs twisted up the following week or maybe not prepooing the next week. I'm not exactly sure. But, I will keep tweeking until I get the perfect combo and those original results. If anything, this mixture was helpful in decreasing the amount of knotting on my ends. For that alone, I think it's worth continuing to use.

I'm also doing a little experiement.  I decided to try using the Kimmaytube leave in with Giovanni Direct Leave in, Food grade Aloe vera gel, Castor oil, & Jojoba oil. On one strand I put the other mixture using Herbal essences LTR and on one strand I put nothing at all (post deep condition on dry hair with AO White Camelia, shampooed with Cream of nature, Quick conditioned with Giovanni 50:50). We'll see how it plays out. I realize that it's not exactly the same and will minimize all of the variables the next time I do my hair. So that I know.....plan for next testing on 4 quadrants of my hair:

1) Originally attempted mix of HE LTR

2) Giovanni direct w/ Castor and Olive oil

3) Yes to cucumbers w/ Castor and olive oil

4) nothing

Will keep you updated!