Hair Ramblings...

I'm having a I feel like I'm not making any progress moment even though my progress pictures clearly show otherwise! I want my hair to be long right now! To help soothe some of these crazy thoughts I've decided to rock a set of box braids towards the end of September (or maybe earlier)! I'm really excited because I've always been a braids wearer, but when I moved I didn't have my trusted braider and I did not have good experiences with the braiders in my area. Finally my coworker found a lovely older lady who braids gently without using gel and moisturizes each section of hair before installing the braids. I swear the heavens opened up when my coworker told me this! I was still reluctant to get braids until I saw how her hair did after she removed her set. Her grew beautifully and that was all the convincing I needed! Plus I need a break! I know that keeping your hair healthy while rocking braids requires some maintenance, but not nearly as much as I normally have to do. I've come up with a plan to prevent a setback like I experienced before (my nightmare detangling session...). I will get my box braids installed once I am 3 weeks post and will only keep them in for a total of 8 weeks. I will keep my scalp clean and moisturized along with the length of my hair. When I remove the braids I will detangle each section of hair thoroughly and deep condition my hair in 4 sections. I will NOT even attempt to detangle my hair while it is wet! I'm looking forward to blogging and vlogging about braid maintenance, etc once I get my install.

I know you guys are probably like it's June...why is she worried about something that's not happening until September?! I believe in planning early :)

Let's Talk: How To Find A Great Hair Stylist!

So not too long ago I went to my hair stylist to get a wash and set and while driving home I started thinking about the personal journey that I experienced while looking for a hair stylist and was inspired to do a vlog type video.  I hope that you guys find this video to be helpful! Until next time :)

Why I'm Loving the T-shirt Method!

So for the longest time I've been avoiding the t-shirt method like nobody's business simply because I really had zero faith that it would even work! I know that silly considering I've read countless stories of success with the T-shirt method, but for whatever reason I just wasn't interested in giving it a try until now. Randomly during my last 2 wash day sessions I decided to give this method a whirl. After coating my hair with my oil mixture and deep conditioning with my Silk Elements Kera Mineral Deep Conditioner and the last bit of my Vanilla Silk Dreams conditioner (Yay for me for finishing up another product!) I squeezed the excess water from my hair and wrapped the T-shirt around my hair. Since I normally leave my turbie twist on my hair for about 20-30 minutes I decided to do the same with the t-shirt. After this I applied my leave ins (Kimmaytube Leave in w/ a twist and GVP Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum). I then tied a satin scarf around my neck in a cape like fashion (I got this idea from PrettyWitty77) and allowed my hair to air dry. I swear my hair air dried so soft and fluffy without turning into a big frizz ball. Each time I've used the t-shirt method I've noticed that once my hair dries it seems to be more soft and supple and even stays moisturized better and longer. I never would've thought that something as simple as a t-shirt could do all of that! Have you guys tried the t-shirt method? If so please let me know how it worked for you!

My Summer Beauty Wishlist!

So as usual I've got my eye on a couple of things that I'm patiently (not so much!) waiting to purchase at some point this summer and/or maybe fall!

White Lightening Pens - I was initially introduced to this product by Nitraab (one of my favorite makeup gurus on YouTube). These pens contain a special teeth whitening formula that whitens your teeth while you sleep without causing sensitivity!

Baby Foot - This product is basically a deep skin exfoliant that removes dead skin, callouses, etc.

PMD Personal Microderm - This product enables you to get professional microdermabrasion treatments at home that minimize wringkles, fine lines, enlarged pores, and acne blemishes. Being an acne sufferer who's finally getting it under control I do have some scarring on my face that I would love to make goa away! This product gives me hope :) I initally heard about this product from EbonyCPrincess as well as Traycee from Kiss. You can check out their reviews here and here.

Tressemme Naturals Conditioner- I've had my eye on this conditioner for about a year now, but somehow other hair purchases got in the way! I think this will make a great cowashing conditioner.The thing that excites me the most about this conditioner is that it is silicone free and promises to not only moisturize, but make the hair 10X stronger with just one use! And at only about $6 for 25 fl oz how could I resist!

MAC lipglasses- Lately I've been dabbling in lipsticks, however my first true love in the world of lippies is lipgloss! I've only purchased one MAC lipglass before, but that one lipglass gave me shine like no other! In particular I have my eye on the Nicki Minaj Viva Glam 2 lipglass and maybe a nice coral color of some sort. At this point I've determined that it is necessary for me to add a couple to my stash!

Julie G nail polishes- Julie G is a youtuber who has her own nail polish brand that is sold at rite aid. I tried her nail polish line out after seeing a few pictures of some of the color options. I love that she has a wide variety of colors that are long lasting and the best part is...they're only $3.99! Her brand reminds me of Essie, but at a much cheaper price! They can be found at your local riteaid!

Revlon Lipsticks- I love Revlon lipsticks because they are so moisturizing and pair great with a simple lipgloss! The four lippies that I have my eye on right now are Blushing Nude, Just Enough Buff, Candy Pink, and Pink sugar. I'll wait until walgreens or CVS has a sale on stock up!

I'm thinking each month I will purchase 1 or 2 items off of my wishlist not to exceed $25. For more expensive items such as my PMD I will probably hold off on for a while

Lazy Wash Day

So Tuesday evening my hair was desperately in need of a wash, but I swear for the life of me I just didn't feel like going through my normal steps (hot oil treatment, detangling, tea spritz, deep conditioning, hair one, towel dry, blah blah blah!). I seriously sat there and contemplated just skipping the wash day all together, but I did not like the way my hair was feeling and I knew ignoring it would do more harm than good. Instead I sucked it up and decided to cut my wash day process in half by skipping most of the steps. Here's what I did.

1. I parted my hair in 2 sections in stead of my normal 4 and oiled my scalp with my (EVOO and grapseed oil mixture).
2. Next I coated each of my two sections of hair with my oil mixture.
3. After that I spritzed each section of my hair with water and then applied my moisturizing conditioner (a mixture of my Silk Elements Kera Minerals DC and the Silk Dreams Vanilla silk DC).
4. I sat under my heated conditioning cap for about 10 minutes and then hopped in the shower and rinsed my hair.
5. I wrapped my hair in my turbie twist for about 15 minutes and then let my hair air dry for about an hour.
6. It was still damp, but I went ahead and lightly detangled each section and moisturized and sealed with my Giovanni Direct Leave and coconut oil.

When I woke up the next morning my hair was fully dry and felt so soft and moisturized. I've been rocking a bun just like this since then!

This Weekend's Washday & Random Rollerset!

This past Saturday I went about my normal wash day routine, which included a hot oil treatment, deep conditioning, and cleansing my scalp with my beloved hair one. While washing my hair I kept pondering exactly how I was going to style it for the evening. My honey bunny had a function that I was attending with him and I just didn't want to rock an air dried bun. I kept going back and forth on if I was going to bother doing a rollerset because quite frankly I was being lazy and didn't feel like dedicating hours to setting my hair! However, with a little creativity I was able to rollerset my hair in a little under 45 minutes! Here's what I did to speed up the process:

1. I normally part my hair into 4 sections and detangle prior to washing my hair. I used these sections to rollerset my hair which cut down on the amount of time and manipulation. Using the 2 front parts of my hair and created my mohawk part and then freestyled the other parts to my liking.
2. I then gently detangled each section and applied my rollerset leave ins which consist of my Kimmaytube leave in, GVP Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum, and a few pumps of my Keracare foam wrap lotion. 
3. Before applying my rollers I spritzed water on both the section of hair and the roller. 

All in all doing these 3 simple things really cut down on my rollersetting time significantly! Here are some pictures of my results...

My Current Staple Products!

I started to make this a blog post, but honestly that's wayyyyy too much typing to describe all of my staple products and what I use them for! So instead I recorded a video! Check it out and stay tuned. I will post part 2 where I discuss my Hair Regimen in great detail in about 2 weeks.

April's Hair, Health, & Beauty Goals Review and June's Goals!

I swear the months just fly by! Perhaps if I'd had just a few more days added to the month of May maybe I would've been more successful, but there's always June right? 

1. Wash/Cowash hair at least once a week (possibly twice) if my hair needs it. I did a great job with washing my hair twice a week. It's apart of my weekly routine now so I'm used to it! 
2. Continue doing tea rinses at least once a week. Yet again I've added this as apart of my weekly wash day routine so this wasn't hard for me to do. 
3. Maintain my No Buy hair product challenge. Well...I think it's safe to say I FAILED! I technically only bought 1 hair product (a growth serum, which I will review at a later date). I also  repurchased my olive oil as well as some grapeseed oil, but these items were purchased using a gift card so I'm not counting them! 
4. Continue to nurture my Crown Still on track! 
5. Use up at least 1 hair product. Unfortunately I did not meet this goal :/
6. Use up at least half of my bottle of random oils. Well I kinda met this goal, but not because I actually used up some of the oil. I threw the oils away because they weren't working for my hair and I got tired of trying to force a product on my hair that it didn't like! 
7. Maintain my protein/Moisture balance (Moisture tues/wed & Protein Sat). Still on track! 
8. Exercise atleast 4 days a week. Well I was doing good with this goal until I caught a lovely little summer cold that came along with a 102 fever. It kinda knocked the wind out of my sail so I didn't get to exercise as regularly as I would've liked :/
9. Lose 5 lbs. *Sigh* It didn't happen. :(

Here are my goals for June!

1. Lose 5 lbs and get back to my goal weight
2. Apply my growth aid of choice to my scalp daily
3. Exercise 4-5 days a week
4. Do a flexi rod set
5. Do a rollerset