Super Sized Bun

Last night I was playing with my hair and finally put it up into a bun. It was hard at first when i got it done because the braids were tight. But my hair is a lot looser now so I'm not ripping out my edges. I think this will be my new everyday look.

Thinking About Going Natural....

Today is March 3, 2012 and I'm currently 5 months and 6 days post relaxer. I'm doing great so far with my stretch....no major problems yet. My hair has been cooperating with me pretty well lately. Right now I'm wearing my favorite protective style of the moment..box braids! I think the protective styling will get me through my transition if I decide to go natural.

When I have a relaxer, I feel like I don't really get to enjoy my hair as much because I'm always hiding it either in a bun, a wig, or a weave just so that it can grow more. Then my stylist ends up trimming half of my hard work off. Then it's right back at square 1. I figured, why even relax in the first place when I can just blow dry and flat iron to get the same results? I read a very scary article about relaxers and how they're linked to all sorts of health risks. It really opened up my eyes on the types of products that we should be aware of before using it on ourselves.

I've been relaxing my hair since I was 5! I'm 23 now and I think I deserve to know how my natural hair looks now. My hair is very resistant so I really don't know what steps I will take next. I plan on just continuing to get protective styles until I reach a length I'm comfortable with, then chopping the remainder of my relaxed ends off. Hopefully I am able to transition for 2 years, but then again I don't know! My hair has a mind of its own at times. Follow me on my journey!

1st Hair Update For 2012!

Hey guys!

So I took out my box braids completely on February 6th after having them in since December 4th. I was exactly 4 months and 1 week post relaxer.

This is my new growth with my braids the day before I started un-braiding my hair.

Here's my hair right after removing my braids. I looked so tired and drained because it was a very longgg process that took days...*sigh*

I was feening to wash my hair so bad. I know my braids could've lasted me a couple more weeks, but I just couldn't wait to feel my own hair, and wash it and care for it. I just had to take the braids out asap...plus my scalp was itching like crazy and my head started to smell. I was relieved when they were all out and my hair was washed and detangled.

For the next couple of days, I wore my Sensationel HZ 7004 wig. It was a disaster! But I had no choice because i didn't know what else to do with my hair with out too much manipulation. My texture and the texture of the wig were very obvious. But i didn't care..lol. *no pics*

The following week when I washed my hair again, I took my time to blow dry my roots out. It was a success with not much hair loss. I was so shocked when I was able to put my hair into a top knot bun at 4 months post relaxer! I did a very good blow dry which left my roots pretty smooth. Btw, I didn't use a heat protectant and my hair did just fine! I feel that heat protectants leave a sticky residue to my hair...ick!! If your hair is properly conditioned, then heat protectants are just an option. As long as you use a low-medium heat setting with the blow dryer, and pass the flat iron once through the hair, you should be safe :)

I got my hair rebraided on February 19th! I have too much new growth and the only way for me to deal with the problem is to either relax my hair or get protective styles. I really want to give the natural thing a try so I got my hair braided so I wouldn't be tempted to relax. My hair was well conditioned to be back in braids.


These braids are the same Solange inspired braids I got back in December. They're waist length. I love this set of braids because they're less dense than my old braids which makes it easier for me to put it up into a high bun. The other braids I had were too heavy to be put into a bun...I had to wear it down all the time :(

I will leave these braids in until April 19th or so. After I take them down, I plan on wearing a curly wig for 1 month and then getting a sew-in for my birthday in May...hopefully!
Thanks for reading!

Eating Right For 2012

Happy New Year everyone!

I seriously want to start eating right starting now! It's a brand new year, fresh start, new beginnings. I know you hear this every year and think "that's what everyone says"....But to me, I love to stick to my word. I'm also on a mission to lose a couple pounds so eating right would be very beneficial.

On New Years day, my first meal was the traditional Haitian Squash soup that Haitians eat to celebrate our Independence. New Years is also Haiti's Independence day :)

Today January 2nd, my first meal of the day was a bowl of oatmeal and raisins garnished with strawberries. I had a small cup of orange juice on the side. I am trying to stay far away from eating animal products or dairy. I used soy milk when I cooked the oatmeal. It was delicious! My favorite dish for breakfast :)

I Love My Braids...

15 day old braids...taken this past Monday [12.19.11]

I think I'll definitely get them again :)

My Braids...A Closer Look.

Just giving you guys a better look at my braids...These pictures are not perfect but I think they'll do. I took these pictures today which means my braids are 10 days old.

Excuse the background...
My braids are pretty much "Butt length" lol

My straight ends

The size of my braids and the partings...they are medium/large. These are 10 day old braids.
Another view

Length from the front...
(I'm wearing sunglasses because I have a cold and I look very tired)

Side view

My Winter Protective Style: Box Braids!!

Oh gosh...I haven't had braids for 3 years! I stopped getting them in the first place because my hair started growing past my "braid length limit". Back then, my braid length limit was armpit length. But as soon as my real hair grew to armpit length, I felt like I graduated from braids and had to find new protective styles to wear. I dreaded the idea of mid back/waist length braids for some reason, so I decided to just never get braids again until......the box braids trend started for 2011!

I love Solange for bringing the trend back! It seems like a lot of women wanted to get box braids for so long but they were afraid to because they probably thought box braids were "played out" or something. But as soon as Solange bought the trend out, everybody came out of the wood works getting braids lol...I'm guilty of this too...LOL. One of the first reasons why I got these braids was because they're long! I used to be afraid of waist length braids because I thought they would be too much of a hassle. But after seeing a lot of pictures and videos of girls with long braids and the different styles you could do with them, I thought they were actually kind of.....cool! My braids are 2 inches past my waist, almost hitting my upper thighs. So I know for sure my real hair is protected to the maximum level, which makes me happy :) Another reason for these braids is because of the endless styles I could do with them. I bought so many hair accessories, which I will blog about soon (I promise!). The style I want to do the most with my braids is a high bun! So chic!

I got my hair braided last Sunday (December 4th) in Harlem, NY. Unfortunately, my braiding lady went on vacation to her home in Africa, so she left me in her sister's hands. Long story short, I had 2 women braiding my hair, one on each side pulling in different directions! I started at 11AM and finished at 3PM...4 hours of pain!

The braids were TIGHT! I'm super tender-headed! I always flinched when somebody tried to touch my braids after I first got them done. Also, the weight of the braids made my neck stiff for 3-4 days...I felt like I had an invisible neck brace on. On top of that, I caught a cold...so yea my week was pretty bad. Tight & heavy braids, stiff neck, sore throat, runny nose, all at the same time...imagine that! I had to see my doctor for my cold and for my stiff neck...he prescribed me some medicine and I feel about 90% better now (My nose is still runny). I'm not trying to scare you guys or anything, but I'm just not used to carrying all that weight on my head, plus the cold wasn't making it any easier. Around the 4th day of having the braids, they were loosening up pretty nicely..and now today is day 6 and I feel like my head is as light as a feather!

I used 8 packs of Zury's Kanekelon hair in the color 1b. My braids kind of have a old school flavor with a twist....old school because of the medium-large sized braids, and the twist is because of the long length (almost hitting my thighs). The ends of my braids are straight because I got them dipped in hot water. The hot water actually acts as a locking technique so that your braids wont unravel. I used to be scared that my braids would unravel, but they stay locked up to the point where the braid stops. I paid $80 for these braids and I think I just might get them again next year for the Spring...we'll see. I will be leaving these braids in for 2 months (December 4- February 4). Btw, I am currently almost 11 weeks post relaxer and don't plan on relaxing anytime soon.

I will have a separate post with more pictures of my braids. I wasn't able to take a lot because I'm still kind of recovering from my cold and not really in a picture taking mood...sorry ladies :/

Excuse my face lol..I still wasn't feeling well when this pic was taken.