How I Overcame My Setback...

So as I was reading one of my favorite blog's Longing4Length (Heyyyy  EbonyCPrincess!!!) and I stumbled upon her post about her setback and how upset she was at the time and it brought back not so old memories about how I felt about my own setback. It took me a very long time to accept my setback and figure out what to do in order to move forward. I've narrowed it down to these following things:

• I had to come to grips with the fact that I'd had a setback. I was in denial for the longest, but every time I  looked in the mirror the truth was looking right back at me. *sigh*

• I figured out exactly what caused my setback. In my case this was a bad attempt at self relaxing and removing braids and not detangling properly. The water hit my hair and it was a hot matted mess. I had breakage everywhere. 

• The next thing that I did was let go of the damage. At first I tried to cut away at my damaged hair every relaxer, but after 6 months of cutting and still not seeing the health and thickness that I wanted I got fed up, found a stylist (that I love by the way) and got a professional cut (about 4" total). I cringe every time I think about the amount of hair that was cut, but it was absolutely necessary.

• I set new realistic goals for my hair. My first goal is to reach full APL, hopefully by August 2013 *crosses fingers* By setting realistic goals it gives me something to work towards without putting so much focus on my ultimate goal of having BSL-MBL hair. 

• I revamped my regimen and cut out all of the experimenting with different products and methods that I know for a fact hadn't worked for my hair in the past. I developed a very simple regimen that was easy to follow and fit into my schedule nicely. Now don't get me wrong I've experimented and adjusted along the way, but for the most part my hair has been experiencing consistency and is really enjoying it. 

• I decided to stop having length checks so often. I've currently narrowed my length checks down to every other relaxer or twice a year. As tempted as I am to look at length comparisons I know it will drive me crazy. I'm more focused on maintaining the health of my hair. If I can do that then I know length will come! 

I think the most important thing that my setback taught me was to enjoy my hair at all stages. Before I was so concerned with making it to BSL as quickly as possible that I forgot to appreciate the little things like being able to make a bun, or having full thick ends, or enjoying a fabulous caruso steam rollerset. I'm enjoying the health of my hair. I know that if I stay focused my goal length will come and when it does as Kanye says "You can't tell me NOTHIN!" Until next time...

Please Pray For the Victims of the Sandy Hook School Shooting

Hi guys. I'm coming to you all today on an extremely serious and sad topic, which is the recent shooting that happened in Connecticut, which took the lives of so many beautiful children and adults. My prayers are with all who were and will forever be affected by this tragedy. Please pray that God lifts them up in this time of despair. Until next time guys...

Mineral Oil: The Black Hair Industry's Evil Sidekick

So yesterday I stopped by my local beauty supply store on the way home. I was looking for a thicker moisturizer for the winter months, but I also just wanted to look around because well I'm hair obsessed and it's just what I do! As I roamed from isle to isle picking up moisturizers that peaked my interest for the most part they all had one thing in common. MINERAL OIL! *insert scream here* What really bothered me about this was that the products that I picked up were from some of the top lines that supposedly cater to African American Hair (Optimum Care, Motions, Creme of Nature, etc) yet mineral oil was one of the top three ingredients. As I looked at each product and shook my head in frustration I couldn't help but think that it's no wonder I had trouble retaining length for years. Before I learned about healthy hair care practices I was one naive gal. I was that customer that always bought a product based on the promises written on the front and the pictures of the gorgeous black women with healthy shiny hair and actually expected it to work and yet I would always end up disappointed. If only I'd known then that so many of those products that are marketed towards African American women don't necessarily contain ingredients that are good for our hair. Now I'm not saying that products that contain mineral oil can't work for some, but I know for me personally they do NOTHING for my hair. Ultimately the point of this whole babble is to point out why mineral oil is not the best ingredient choice for hair products, in particularly moisturizers. Here are some fun facts about mineral oil:

• Mineral oil is derived from crude oil
• It coats the hair shaft instead of penetrating it, which allows the hair to appear shiny and moisturized
• Eventually the hair will dry out potentially causing more breakage and damage. 

I am so glad that so many hair care lines are starting to eliminate this ingredient from their products and that more importantly I've learned to read the ingredients list on any product before it touches my hair! 

Source: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5709026_petroleum-products-bad-black-hair_.html

Weekly Find: Elf Eyebrow Kit!!!

So a few weeks ago I was in Dollar Tree (1 of my favorite stores..can't ya tell!) and I ran across this Elf eyebrow kit. I've always had rather thin eyebrows and lately I've been wanting to learn how to fill them in and make them appear thicker. At $1 I figured it wouldn't hurt to give this kit a try. Apparently this same eyebrow kit is normally sold for $3 at Target. A $2 savings? I'll take it!

KeraPro Sale at Sally's Beauty Supply!!!

So thanks to Ebony C. Princess and Jenni from Just Grow Already I have been itching to get my hands on the Kerapro product line at Sally's for the longest, however I refused to pay $10.99 for each product! I've also been on the hunt for a nice light protein conditioner to put in rotation into my almost cemented regimen (post coming soon on that!). Finally Sally's heard my cry and decided to have a fabulous 2 for $10 sale on kerapro along with some other great products. Check out the ad here. I absolutely cannot wait to try these two products! So to all of ladies out there who are kerapro fanatics this sale will be going on all throughout the month of December!