Faux Locs

Hello hello hello!!! So, over the past few months I realized my hair hasn't been growing like it used to. It may have just reached the max length it will grow. If that's the case, that's fine. I'm APL (Arm Pit Length) so no real big. But, if it can grow more then great. My hypothesis though, is that I have been too rough on my hair and stressing out the last few months causing excess breakage. So, what I've decided to do is really get into protective styling. This time around instead of sew-ins and wigs I opted to go a more fun route and try faux locs!! Honey chile-boo let me tell ya this is no hair style to do by yourself if you want it done quick. I did it by myself for the most part and had a few hours of help from a friend of mine. Honestly, it took around 20 hours to complete. I broke the work up over five days. Granted it wouldn't have taken nearly as long had I done them as big as I had seen people do them on YouTube, but I wanted the to look thin and natural. I succeeded, but my hands were feeling it for another week.  Also, what no one tells you is this mess is heavy. It is really two hairstyles in one (box braids which are then wrapped in marley hair). All in all I used about two packs of braiding hair and eight packs of Marley hair. I used two different kinds of Marely hair because I went to different beauty supply stores to get them. You cant tell the difference though they both look the same. I used the method from Mariaantoinettetv's YouTube channel only I did burn the hair at the ends because it began to unraveled at the ends and I couldn't commit to redoing this ish all over again. I have had these twists in about 3 weeks no and they look good still, a lot of people believe they are my real hair.  I do love them I just think I should have waited until the weather cooled down. This Georgia heat is relentless. I will probably keep them in another two weeks. Hopefully this is the break my hair needs, but its killing me not to touch my fro.. It will be worth it, I hope. Here is a couple of styles I've worn while I've had them in.

Shea Moisture Color System Review

So I've been growing my hair out a lot since the last time I colored it. I realized I don't like my natural hair color. So I thought about it and I decided to go back to being a red head. My favorite color system has been the Shea Moisture line. I tried the soft black color back in January. It looked great but my hair felt icky. like there was just this coating that would never wash off. The Bright Auburn however is great. This time it took so much better than the first time I tried it. I started with dry and somewhat dirty ( my hair had been in mini twists for a week) . I split my hair into four sections and applied the color all over from root to tip. I then sat with the color on my hair for 45 minutes under a hooded dryer. The system requires you to wash your hair with the moisture retention shampoo then condition with the provided conditioner. I let the conditioner sit for another 30 minutes, rinsed then styled. Annnnddddd Voila!!

I like it. Its brighter than before I think its because I used the dryer this time. My hair feels soft like usual, not dried out and brittle. My curl pattern remained the same also. So all in all I am still pleased with this color system and will probably use it the next time I color my hair. If only I could get the blonde color would show up in my hair without me having to bleach my hair first. Then we would be in business.

Camille Rose Almond Jai Butter Review

So its been a while since I did a product review so today I will be reviewing Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Butter. Ill start off by saying this stuff is great! I had been seeing the line in Target for a few months, but I didn't buy it for a while, one reason being the price ( its $17). I didn't want to spend that much on a styling butter that I may or may not like. A few months later I decided to do mini twists as a protective style and I realized I didn't have a moisturizer to twist with. I remembered seeing the Almond Jai Butter in Target and started watching reviews. Everyone seemed to have positive things to say so I figured " what the hay, I'll splurge a bit". So i blew my hair out and the twisting began. So my first impression of the butter? It was really thick but still light. The smell was a little sweet but very subtle. The container is pretty big and it is packed to the brim with product. which I appreciate.. Also, a little goes a very long way with this. I did mini twits around my whole head and you cant even tell that I  used any when you look in the jar. When I was done my twists were super soft and very shiny. I loved it. Now its about a week later and my twists are still super soft and they still have a sheen to them without any more product being reapplied. All in all this product gets 5 stars from me. After seeing how well this product works I'm fine with spending the money on it. I like it more than my old staple Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie so I'm willing to spend a few more dollars.        

All good things come to an end

This entry isn't about hair or food, its about getting over a break up and finding yourself again. Me and my boyfriend recently split after a two and a half year long relationship. I know you're probably saying two and a half years ain't nothing to bat an eye at, but its significant to me. It's hard getting over a break up, especially when things ended at your own hand. The blame and self loathing are a lot to get over but I am making due. I've had time to think about things. The first day I didn't want to get out of bed or eat, but over the last few weeks I have learned a few things that help out a lot when getting over a break up.

1. Stop blaming yourself
  Sure things may have been different had you done this or that differently. You cant live in the "shoulda coulda woulda", because things are the way they are and you can't change them. Accept the situation for what it is. You may get back together one day but you have to get over things first.

2. Don't live on the hope that you are going to get back together
Like I said this could very well happen in the future. The both of you have to make sure you are ready, and not just staying with whats familiar vs what is really best for you. If you keep basing your life round this person who is no longer there you might miss out on opportunities that could put you in a better situation.You may always love you ex but don't let that stop you from finding love again. Your "Prince Charming" could be right in front of you and you will miss it because you are still looking behind you.

3. Surround yourself with great friends and family
This by far has been the most beneficial. Don't sit at home by yourself and dwell on things all day. The sadness will consume you. By surrounding yourself with awesome people that make you laugh, you wont have a chance to be sad. By doing things with them you won't have time to think about what you had, only what you have. You begin to realize that life isn't over and there are people that will always love you, and that's a great feeling.

4. Find a passion
If you are like me then you put your heart and soul into your relationship and you lost site of the things you once loved. Now that you have the time go revisit these things. I am getting back into a healthy lifestyle and reading. I am also getting into new things like Yoga. Finding something you love will make you feel better over all as a person.

5. Learn to be content by yourself.
The one thing we all get hooked on in a relationship is the companionship. Having someone to wake up to, go to sleep with, and talk to all day whenever you want, its great. Getting over not having this is hard and honestly I have no fix for this. Over time you have to get used to not having someone there all the time. You can only hang out with friends and do little activities for so long. You are going to be alone sometimes with no one to talk to and nothing to do. Don't slip into sadness though just think about all of the good things in your life and keep the positive vibes going. Limit the idle time and find something good  to focus on.

Everyone has there way of finding happiness after a break up these are just a few things worth trying. They have worked for me and a few others I know in the same situation. Overall just give things time, they will get better. You wont be sad forever. Now put on your favorite dress, make yourself pretty and go hit the town. You might just meet someone new.

Color Coded Curls

A pop of color for the spring, I said. A little red and blonde will be good, I said. Well I guess orange is good its in the middle. Earlier this year I decided that it would be a cool idea to dye my hair. I did it myself because I just don't trust other people with my oh so delicate curls. After some research I decided to use dark and lovely red hot rhythm and the golden blonde. My hair only took the red and my hair came out an orangey color. Not bad for my first try though, although it wasn't what I expected, I liked it. Then sadly about two months later it began to fade.So I decided I would try this red thing again. I think I might be obsessed with the color red, but I decided to give the shea moisture line a try. Once I got over the initial shock of the price (double the price of any other brand) I decided on bright auburn I also tried to throw in a couple of blonde pieces, I got the dark n lovely go intense blonde color. The blonde still did not take, I am going to try that one more time and see what happens. The auburn took pretty well previously colored parts of my hair and even the virgin parts of my hair there was a color different. it wasn't super bright but subtle. I will probably redo it in a couple of weeks just because I want it brighter and bolder . Gotta turn heads when I walk by you know.

Whole Foods?

No not the store. I love Whole Foods the store. I am talking about whole intact foods. For example, an orange vs. orange juice.  The entire fruit or vegetable skin and seeds included all contain vitamins and nutrients that are good for the body. By breaking cutting the skin off or trying to simply extract the juice we are missing out on those extra goodies held in the skin and the seeds. Remember when you were young and had a baked potato, the adults would tell you to eat the skin because it was good for you? Well they weren’t just trying to make you clean your plate, the skin actually contains half of the fiber and lots of nutrients. By cutting it off you are missing out on the benefits. Whole foods are better for you because they have not been processed. Processing foods removes most of the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs. To replace the lost nutrients businesses must “enrich” and “fortify” the foods after they have been processed. Although these things sound fancy and good for you they aren’t as good as the natural vitamins the food started with. The process adds back the lost vitamins but the debate wages on about whether these added vitamins and nutrients are just as beneficial as the natural ones. I would rather have the natural vitamins just because I don’t always trust man made imitations. You can decide what you like however. In addition to fortifying and enriching processed foods are generally heavy in added salts. Being at risk for hypertension, I try to cut down on my salt intake. Canned food often has a lot of salt added to preserve the food. Look at a can of canned vegetables and see how much salt is in it, even in the low sodium versions. If we get fresh fruits and vegetables or even frozen ones we are cutting out the added salt factor. If you must get canned versions of fruits get those in 100% juice instead of heavy syrup that way you cut out the extra sugar. Also instead of falling into the trap of “enriched/fortified with blah blah blah ….” just go for natural or whole i.e. whole grain rice and fresh bread. No bleaching process no salt added, simple. It’s always better to go for home made things but I understand we don’t all have the time to make homemade sauces and breads so it is easier to just buy them. But, try to take a few hours a week and just make a dish or two from scratch and see how much better it tastes. You might want to do it more often. If not, at least read the labels and ingredients thoroughly, your body will thank you. If you don’t know what some of the ingredients are, just take a few minutes to google it. We all have smart phones now so it’s easy.