My favorite Fall hairstyle...bangs!

I really love bangs for the Fall season. I cut them bluntly for the Spring, but the hair on my forehead just made me sweat more. I didn't give myself a chance to wear them often because of the weather issues. Since then, they have grown about 1.5 inches past my eyes. I decided that for the upcoming Fall season, I'm gonna rock side swept bangs. I feel that having bangs for the Fall is very fashionable and also has a way of keeping me warm in a sense lol...Since my blunt bangs grew out, what i will do is sweep them to the side and create side swept bangs. I plan on wearing those beret French hats a lot for the Fall and side swept bangs look great with them. Fall..."hair" i come!

Since the time i flat ironed my hair in July, my hair was basically the same length as Beyonce's weave here. I will wear my hair like this when i relax it soon ;)

If i have to trim my hair, then i believe i will end up at Lauren's length down here. This is also cute =]

R.I.P Aaliyah...(My hair idol)

She was so beautiful, so young, and so talented. When she was alive, she was my favorite artist and she still is. Back then, I didn't care what i would be doing at the moment, but every time one of her videos came up on TV, i dropped everything and ran to go watch the video. Her beauty was so contagious, my eyes would literally get glued to the screen lol.. I really envied that long thick beautiful black hair that she always kept down her back with that swoop thingy over her left eye lol..She was so pretty and flawless! She's truly the one who motivated me to start my hair journey and she's still pushing me to keep going. My ultimate goal is to reach what she had, which i believe was mid-back to waist length hair. I love you baby girl, and you are truly missed. I cant believe you've been gone for 8 whole years. I know you're in Heaven smiling down at all your fans. You truly were an angel on Earth. ♥ Aaliyah...the highest most exalted one..♥

My First Braidout!

I did a braid out for the first time ever since starting my journey almost 3 years ago! I felt that i had enough length to do a braid out, so i decided it was time to do one.

Here's what i did:
♥ Pre-poo'd with Coconut oil
♥ Shampoo'd with NTM Cream lather shampoo
♥ Deep conditioned for 45 minutes with ORS Replenishing conditioner
♥ Parted my hair into 8 sections and detangled each section well
♥ Applied Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave-in to each section
♥ Applied a little bit of EVOO [Extra virgin olive oil] to each section focusing on ends
♥ Braided each section not too tight, but not too loose to have a wavy textured look
♥ Rolled the ends up with end wrap papers and perm rods

I airdried, then went to bed. When i woke up, my hair was still a little damp, so i had to sit under the dryer for 30 minutes. Unraveled, then voila! Nice curly, moisturized braid out. My hair was moisturized for days, i literally did not have to moisturize and seal my hair for like 3 days after that. I love this style! Especially for summer. To keep the style in for the whole week, make sure you re-braid each section and put satin rollers at the ends before going to bed. And of course tying your hair down with a satin silk scarf, and satin bonnet over it =) I did this last weekend.

New Regimen *Updated 8/11/09*

I bought some new products, so I thought, why not make a new regimen? There is nothing wrong with my old regimen, but I'm always up for change. So here goes:

[Every other week] *I wash once a week*
1. Pre-poo for 30 minutes with Silk Elements Intense conditioning Mayonaisse [protein]
2. Shampoo with NTM Cream Lather shampoo
3 Deep condition with Keracare Humecto for 1 hour [moisture]
4. Spray Infusium 23 leave-in strengthener throughout hair
5. Moisturize wet hair with a quarter size of S-curl
6. Airdry
7. Oil scalp with Jamaican Black Castor Oil mixed with MN [Only on wash days]

[Alternating week] *I wash once a week*
1. Pre-poo overnight with Coconut Oil
2. Shampoo with NTM Cream Lather shampoo
3. Deep condition with ORS Replenishing conditioner for 45 minutes [protein & moisture ♥]
4. Spray Infusium 23 leave-in strengthener throughout hair
5. Moisturize with a quarter size of S-curl
6. Airdry
7. Oil scalp with Jamaican Black Castor Oil mixed with MN [Only on wash days]

Things i do to my hair:
1. After im done washing, depending on how many weeks post i am, i do a rollerset (up to 4 weeks post), or bun (5 + weeks post), or braid out (5 + weeks post)
2. I moisturize and seal with JBCO every morning and night
3. I baggy my ends nightly with my moisturizer, sealed with JBCO
4. I dust my ends every time i relax now [i used to do it once a year]
5. I relax up to 3-4 months now [used to do them every 6 months]
6. I comb my hair mainly on wash day, but if i have to fix up my bun, i "rake" very gently through my hair w/ a wide tooth comb
7. I keep my hair tied up w/ a satin scarf every single time im inside my house (5 + weeks post)
8. I airdry 90% of the time
9. I never use direct heat, unless i have too, which is not too often
10. I only co-wash when i want to wash a hairstyle out of my hair long before my wash day is due

My products:
Oils: Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Virgin Coconut oil, Virgin Olive oil
Shampoo: NTM cream lather shampoo, Henna Queen Garlic shampoo (for shedding)
Light protein conditioners: Silk Elements Intense conditioning Mayo, ORS replenishing pak
Moisture conditioner: Keracare Humecto creme conditioner
Cheap conditioner [co-wash]: V05 moisture milks in any scent
Leave-in's: Infusium 23,
Cream leave-in/moisturizers: Herbal Essence LTR leave in, NTM silk touch leave in
Moisturizers: Wave Nouveau, S-curl, Elasta QP mango butter

Vitamin Regimen *Newbie*
Hair, Skin, Nails by Orgin for Women [ 3 capsules per day]
Fish oil vitamins [2 capsules a day]
Iron supplements [1 capsule a day]

Relaxer Schedule 2009
April 4th, 2009 [APL again..lol]......6 months post
June 26, 2009 [Grazing APL..i had to trim..arrgh]......12 weeks post
October 3, 2009......14 weeks post...September 18, 2009 @ 12 weeks post

Hair Regimen For Swimming

It's Summer time, and i know that's when a lot of people love going swimming at the beach and/or pool. If you're a relaxed head like me, you should take some precautions to protect your hair from all that harsh water. After reading up on some things and researching on what to use on relaxed hair while going swimming, i have formulated a pretty good regimen to help keep my tresses healthy and strong after coming out of the water.

This is some information i got from LHCF:

Before swimming:

Before you enter the swimming pool, just stand under the shower and wet your hair thoroughly. Doing this will help your hair to absorb the normal water, and when you get into the pool the hair shafts will absorb less of the chlorinated water. Also, you can apply a little bit of natural hair conditioner into your wet hair, give it time to get absorbed by the hair shafts and then you’re ready to get into the pool.

The conditioner will moisturize your hair and at the same time will offer protection against chlorinated water. And your last option is to wear a swimming cap, although that isn’t very attractive an option, but it is one which offers maximum protection, especially when you’re planning to spend long hours in the pool.

After swimming:

When you step out of the pool, rush back to the shower and thoroughly rinse off your hair with normal water. If you’re swimming at the club, you can always order for a bottle of soda and just pour it over your hair to remove all traces of chlorine. Or else just shampoo them properly to remove chlorine from your hair.

Look for a shampoo which contains sodium thiosulfate, as this chemical will not only help to remove chlorine from the hair, but also the traces of hard metals which stick to your hair and turn your hair somewhat greenish. And lastly, if the damage is excessive then you’d better walk into a hair saloon to get to a proper treatment done.

Small Summer Product Haul!

I'm a very routine person, and have found that the products that i have been using have never let me down, which is why i stick to them. But as of lately, i have been very curious to see how other products would work for me. I'm not saying I'm not gonna use the old products that i have in my "stash", but i would like to try new things, and trying new things wont hurt. All of these products were purchased throughout the summer [June-August], but i was waiting for a good time to update you all on them. Here goes in no particular order! :

1. Neutrenga Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-In: I blogged about this already a few weeks ago. Its really good, but i find that my hair likes it the most when i use it after a roller set and also when I'm wrapping my hair into a "doobie" at night. In the morning, when i unwrap my hair, it looks so shiny, moist, and fluffy...gotta love it! I bought it for $7.99 @ CVS

2. ORS Replenishing Pak: I remember using this only on my relaxer day when i used to relax with ORS Olive Oil No Lye relaxer. I never thought of using this as a regular weekly protein conditioner until recently. From what i can remember, my hair always looked beautiful and bouncy after relaxing with ORS, so i think i will give Lekair a break and start using this. Just in case my hair doesn't like it, i bought the the pak instead of the big bottle, just as a test sample. I bought it at Pathmart for $1.49.

3. Jamaican Black Castor Oil: I also blogged about this a few weeks ago. I have been using it ever since the day it showed up on my door step, and I'm very proud to say i have enough new growth to make it seem like i need a touch up. This stuff is great! I use it as a sealant and also on my clean scalp on my wash days. I bought it for $19.12 at Sams247.com

4. Ion Swimmers Shampoo: I'm going to the beach next week, and just to be on the safe side, i needed a shampoo that would get rid of all the minerals and chlorine from the water out of my hair. I have not been swimming ever since starting my healthy hair journey nearly 3 years ago, and i do not know how my healthy hair will react to that kind of water. So just to be safe, i bought this to immediately wash my hair out when i get out of the water. I bought it at Sally's for $5.49, it was on sale!

5. Silk Elements Megasilk Intensive Conditioning Mayonaisse: I have been hearing such good things about this mayo that the product junkie in me just HAD to have it lol..I think i will be using it in rotation with my ORS conditioner and my Lekair. I will be deep conditioning with it. I bought it at Sally's for $7.00.