2nd Winter Protective Style: Crochet braids: Water wave hair

Soo i kept my twist in fora about a month before i took them out.. I liked them but decided to switch it up because individuals tend to cause alot of tension on your edges and hairline.. After weeeksss of researching crochet braids on youtube i finally decided to try them and i honestly think ive found my new go-to protective style!!!!!!!

Soo I used about 4 and 3/4 pack of hair and the type of hair i used was glance model model water wave. The hair was cut in half, and the person that does my hair doesnt separate the curls soo thats why we used soo many. I have about 12-15 cornrows in my head going straight back, the ones on the side  curved. I also used kankelon hair to do my cornrows because i wanted the style to last being that i have fine natural hair.I left some cornrows out for the half mohawk look because i was afraid it was going to look tooo wiggish lol but all in all i lovvedd the look! The back was the color 4b, while the front was 4/b-30. For the first two weeks i did NOT separate the curls on the hair, but as my hair started to grow out i did and Boy oh boyyyyy was this hair HUGE!  But i actually liked it, it gave me the big natural, Diana Ross look but it wasnt too much. I love how i can wear it in sooo many different ways, side out, middle part, side part..very versatile. I wrapped the hair EVERY night with a hair net and satin bonnet, never forgot and im on week 3 with the hair holding up fairly good. I go threw and cut the tangles out every couple of days since the hair is synthetic, i also Spritz it with a weave detangling spray so keep it soft, wash my scalp with shampoo diluted in a spray bottle and thats about it... Loveee the low easy maintenance

But i will most likely be doing crochet braids for the remainder of my winter protective style challenge, i will try the Bohemian braid next, loove that theres sooo many different curl patterns to choose from, my options are endless!!

The first two images are before separation so you can see the curl pattern and the rest are after i separted the hair, gets realllyyy biggg!

Msm & Biotin

Soo with this Protective hairstyle challenge, i decided to take some internal growth aids as well to help my hair. I was also experiencing alot of shedding and hearing my hair pop when detangling soo i figured this couldnt make me or break me. Soo right before i got my first protective style i trimmed about an inch off of my ends and it realllllly reallly made a difference. Then i began to take the Msm and Biotin. I took 1000mg of Msm a day and (2) 2500mg of Biotin a day. I made sure to drink tonsss of water to dissolve it as well.

The results are AMAZING! My protective styles dont last as long because my hair is growing out. And my nails, omgggg theyve improved soo much. The biotin definitely hardens them up so they dont break. I also feel as if biotin gives me a natural source of energy, im not as tired when i take them, especially in the morning. Im soo anxious to see the results after my winter protective styling is up! But for now i am definitely a believer!!

Talk On Winter Protective Styles& Current Protective Style

So my 2nd year being natural has definitely taught me that my hair DOESN'T work too well in the winter time. I guess it was ok when i first went natural because with a TWA all you really have to do is moisturize and seal then let it do its own thing. But once i got a lil bit of length i started to realize its not gonna work for these cold winter months. Soo around December in 2012 i got my first protective style which was cornrows in an updo which i LOOOVEDD! After that style i decided to get individual box braids aka Poetic Justice braids, which i again LOVE LOVE LOVEDD! Did soo many different styles with them ans the length was down to my butt which i adored as well. I kept those in from about February till April, by then it was warm so i wore my natural hair out.

Now  here it is October and getting cold at that, soo i decided to do some kinky twist! I like them alott, I used Model Model Marley braid with edge control to blend and hold the twist! I love how the marley hair actually resembled my natural hair! Got sooo many compliments, but,in,the beginning i kept them long, but now that my new growth is really getting out there i decided to cut them short, which i will show pics of. I plan on keeping these in for a about another week or so then im gonna try crochet braidssss for the first time #EXCITED!!!!

But all in all protective styling during the winter months is a greattt method for me. It allows me to give,my natural hair a rest as well as concentrate on the health and growth of my hair! Ive always got good results and will continue to use this method!

HHJ :)

Gon fora minute now im backk

Hello Naturalistas,

Ive been gon for a lil, really busy with alot of things but Im back nowww, very excited to share the new tips and knowledgr i have gained from taking care of my natural hair. My hair is growing pretty well, i am currently on a Protective Style Challenge until the spring which is like a Goddd send. But im excited to update you all on my journey! Stay tuneddd

Greek Yogurt...where have you been all my life?!!!

I am sooooo excited to say I actually found a staple DC that isnt costly and works effectively, I recently used Greek Yogurt, honey, evoo, shea butter oil, and grapeseed oil as a DC and i felll in loove at first application. The minute I put it on my hair the elongation was immediate!! My curls were sooooooo stretched and defined! NO conditioner that ive used before has ever stretched my curls like greek yogurt did, i ACTUALLY had some hangtime!!  I was more than impressed!! This is the yogurt I used, same size container as well

Soo after applying it I left it on for about 45 minutes- an hour. Heres some pics of how it looked then:

I honestly wish I had a video camera to show you guys the definition! Literally evey single curl on my head was defineedd and stretched!!

The mixture was very easy to mix out as well and it didnt really leave too much of a smell, even if it did the smell of yogurt doesnt really bother me that much lol. But next time I think Im going to add some coconut milk to the mixture to upp the benefits a lil.

The best thing about this was that I could find majority of these ingredients in my grocery store, I dont have to spend tons of money or order offline and pay all that shipping that I dont have, Everything was local and cheap, which is what I like. It is true you DONT need to fall in that natural hair hype that you need $20 and up products to get good results, most of whats beneficial to your hair is right in your kitchen :-)

Anyone else use this or a similar DC recipe with good results?!

HHJ :-)

Definately putting grease, back into my regimen!

Soo I had my 1st successful twistout this weekend and i woulda never guessed that this product gave me excellent results.. Yess im talkin about the horrible, frowned upon GREASE! After pre-pooing,washing and Deep conditioning, i applied my leave in on soaking wet hair and let it dry, then I applied water then grease and twisted my hair and it was surprisingly soft! I got a lill scarred soo i applied some shea butter to my ends and twirled them just in case :-). When i went to take it down in the morning I had a realll nice shine.  This is the grease I used, goooood ole fashioned, mommas favorite lmaoo

I was a lil afraid to use this particular grease because it was horrible on my relaxed hair, but i wanted to experiment sooo bad that i juss took a chance. But my twist, OMMGGG they were AMAZINNGGG. When i attempted at doing twistouts before using shea butter and other all natural sealant, the curl didnt hold and the definition was not all that. But with greasy my curls were excellently defined and my curls bounced back, and lasted allllll day!! My hair wasnt greasy either like I thought it will be.

I know alot of naturals are gonna shake their heads at me, but honestly my hair showed no side effects what so ever. I think me putting my leave in prior to twisting helped alot with my moisture, soo alot wasn't being stripped using the grease, also the shea butter on my ends. And as far as my scalp goes, i will CONTINUE to use my oils, i noticed that grease does good for my hair, not my scalp. But this is the 1st twistout that i have EVER worn out in public out of my whole 11 months of being natural, yesss thats how good it turned out!!!

But i will be trying different brands of grease to see which ones work best for my hair, but for the most part im excitedd, im lookin forward to doing twistouts, i was tiredd of my fro after 11 months loll


HHJ!

Product Review: Silk Elements Mixed Silk

   I just bought these products last week after youtubeing them and seeing that other naturals having pretty good results. They are supposed to be of the generic version of the line "Mixed Chicks" which was also in my beauty supply store but wass a bit pricey. I was on a tight budget and these products seemed to give me alot of product for lesser prices. I purchased the shampoo and conditioner to start off.

    I used this shampoo after i washed my hair with black soap twice. Im not good with opening bottles with pumps so i just unscrewed it and put about 2 quarter size amounts in my hand and it lathered up reallyy good and it was smooth going on my hair. When I rinsed it out i had good slip and for the most part my hair was soft. A little goes a long way definitely. The scents not bad either

Rating: 4/5

  I used this conditioner on soaking wet hair, and the minute I put it on my hair drankkk it upppp,It was to the point where I kepy putting it in because It just kept soaking in sooo well, omg it was really good. I got immediate softnes &&& slipp!!! The conditioner is verrrryy moisturizing, my hair loved it alone but the minute I added honey the benefits intensifieddd!! It was amazingg :))!  I left it on for like an hour & a half then rinsed it out and my hair was softtt, fingers ran right through my hairr!! I love this stuff!! DEFINITELY A STAPLE!! The price is great too, this product changed my whole opinion of Silk Elements products, who my relaxed hair HATED in the past.

Rating: 5/5

I plan on stocking up on these products as well as trying the leave in conditioner very soon, but so far so good for these one, 2 thumbs up!!

HHJ!