A Little Green Monster Lives in Your Fro

Do You Have Hair Envy?

I have.  Sometime I look at someone else’s hair and I think, “Why not me?  If only my hair was longer and my curls looser and bigger.” 

Hair envy can be good, if it is a motivating factor to properly caring for your hair.  By learning about the other persons hair, we may find new products that work for us, or we may begin to protective style to retain our length.  We may even be exposed to new practices that benefit our hair.  But, natural hair is an investment.  The pay off - be it healthy hair, full hair, or long hair - can take years!  (Why oh why didn’t I big chop after my daughter was born, when I had the chance?)  So, because our goals are so far away, we envy those who have already been there, done that.  But there is a dark side to hair envy.   Hair Hating.  It doesn’t have to be that you covet someone else’s hair.  It could be that you judge someone else’s hair.

“Why is her hair so dry looking?”

“Her fro is so uneven!”

“Why isn’t her hair growing?”

“Her twist out is a mess!”

“Why does she constantly protective style?”

Have you ever thought these words, or for our bolder readers, said them out loud?

Let’s be real, we have all Hair Hated before.  Its normal to compare ourselves to others, and as humans, we all want to come out on top.  But remember, as you are hating on others, they could be hating on you too (holds up mirror).  

Being natural is hard enough.  I expect women with straight hair to hate on me because I am going against the status quo (I am proudly wearing the hair that they make concerted efforts to eliminate).  But from other naturals, this type of behavior is self serving and destructive.  So instead of trying to tear our fellow naturalista’s down, let’s try to build them up.  Share your regimen.  Share your products.  Share your love of hair.  Let’s all attain our goals together. 

 --Seven

Spiking Products and Product Review on Suave Naturals Conditioner, Tropical Coconut

So, once again I am trying a new a conditioner.  Why am I looking for a conditioner when Tresemee Naturals has treated me so good?  I don't know.  Maybe I'm an undercover product junkie?  Maybe I keep seeing other conditioners for $1.50 and my cheap side comes out?  Maybe I don't know a good thing when I have it?  Who knows.  Anyway, I tried Suave Naturals Conditioner Tropical Coconut.

Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Fragrance (Parfum), Distearyldimonium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Glycerin, 2 Bromo 2 Nitropropane 3, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Propylene Glycol, Silk Amino Acid, Honey/Mel, Nettle (Urtica Dioica) Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Extract

So as you can see it is Silicone free which makes it CG Friendly.  It contains Glycerin, Silk Amino Acid, Honey, Nettle extract, Rosemary Extract and Coconut Extract.  These are not in the top 5 ingredients mind you, so who knows how much of these are actually present in the mix, but it gives me peace of mind.

Review

This will not replace my Tresemee Naturals.  However, i have to say that it gets an honorable mention.  When I first used it, my hair was slightly dry and didn't hang as much as the Tresemee made it hang.  But it was $1.50 and I didn't want to waste the bottle.  I was determined to make it work but I didn't know how.  Fast forward to that night when I am washing my daughters hair.  I am trying to not use sulfate shampoo or conditioners with silicone on her hair anymore (Even though Hello Hydration and Suave Professionals were working wonders on her hair).  So, I did one last sulfate shampoo to get out the residue from all of her silicone heavy conditioners.  I had the shampoo in my hand and I thought to myself, ADD OLIVE OIL SO IT DOESN'T STRIP HER HAIR.  And that's what I did.  I took a quarter sized amount of shampoo, added an equal amount of olive oil, and washed her hair.  Her hair felt clean, but not stripped.  Awesome!  I followed that up with the Suave Naturals.  I again thought to myself, IT WORKED FOR THE SHAMPOO, WHY NOT THE CONDITIONER.  So, I added an equal amount of olive oil, and it ended up working really well to soften and moisturize her hair.  Then I thought to myself, I CAN'T BRING OLIVE OIL INTO THE SHOWER.  I'D SLIP AND KILL MYSELF.  THEN HOW WOULD I UPDATE MY BLOG?  MAYBE I SHOULD JUST ADD OLIVE OIL TO THE BOTTLE.  And I did.  I added I don't know how much olive oil to the bottle of conditioner and shook until the contents of the bottle turned a light green.  The next day I decided to co-wash with Suave Naturals again and Lo and Behold, NO MORE DRYNESS.  Sure, my hang time wasn't the best, but at least my hair was moisturized.  So, I am faithfully rotating my Suave Naturals with my Tresemee Naturals.  Need less to say, both of the bottles are now slightly green.

In short, I really like this conditioner, when I spike it with olive oil that is. 

What are your thoughts on Suave Naturals Coconut Conditioner?  Have you ever Spiked your product with oil?

**Note - Spiking was not my idea.  I remember reading it somewhere, tho I don't remember where.  Anyway, it works**

                                                                                                                                             --Seven



                                                                                                                      --Seven

30 Day Protective Style Challenge for October

After doing the Curly Girl Method for 30 days, I gotta tell you, I need a break. Washing, detangling, styling, and air drying my hair every 2 to 3 days is getting tiresome.  I need a change.  Plus, its getting kinda cold out there.  So, with October only a week and a half away, I decided to make a new challenge for myself: Protective Style for 30 days.  Mind you, i'll still be following the CGM by co-washing with Silicone free Shampoos and Conditioners, LOCing and deep conditioning weekly.

I am still debating on what to do as a protective style.  I would love to do mini twist, but I always look at the end game... how long is this going to take me to take down?  I do not want to spend 3 hours taking down a style.  Mini braids would be even more time to take down but they would be more durable.  At this point, I don't even feel like sitting for 4 hours to put in mini twist.  The lazy part of my brain is telling me to go to a shop and have them put them in without adding hair.  The frugal side of my brain is saying to call in a few favors.  The realistic side of my brain is telling me to get off my butt, go get a trim, and take an afternoon and put my twist in.   Only time will tell.

Who wants to join me for a 30 day protective style challenge!!!!!

                                                                                                                                           -- Seven

PhotoShoot Madness!

We recently did a photo shoot in the park.  Check it out.

This post is photo heavy so please allow time for them to load.

Enjoy!

Change your Regimen, Change your Life

So, the thing about switching regimen's, is that YOUR WHOLE LIFE CHANGES.  Before using the Curly Girl Method (from here on known as CGM), I washed my hair once, maybe twice a week.  The first wash I clarified, did a deep conditioner, washed out w/ a conditioner, applied leave in, coconut oil, Curl Enhancing Smoothie or Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugary Pomade, and styled in twist, bantu knots, braids or a fro.  I did not stray from this regimen.  If I had to do a mid week wash, I co-washed only or did a deep conditioner overnight and co-washed in the morning.  

Now, with CGM, I am washing my hair almost every other or every third day, or whenever my curls start to look... Blah.  It isn't really a regimen, I just co-wash my hair when it's looking rough, add some leave in conditioner, coconut oil, gel and go.  So what is the problem?  Because I am washing my hair so often, I forget to deep condition.  I have not deep conditioned in two weeks, and it feels like my hair is missing something.  I usually deep condition with My Shea Butter Whip + Tresemee Naturals Conditioner (a dollup) + EVOO + EVCO + Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque.  Sometimes I add melted honey too.  From here on out, I will be DC'ing twice a week, overnight Tuesday and overnight Saturday. I am wondering if I need a protein in there somewhere, so I am considering adding coconut milk to my DC.  I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, I did an overnight deep condition last night and man oh man.  I was definitely missing something... the baby softness.  My hair is like butter!  It is so soft that I couldn't bring myself to gel it this morning, so I just put some coconut oil in it, put a head band on and went about my business.  My curls are there, they just aren't as defined.  Any guess what?  My hair is dry.  I washed it at 730, its now noon and my hair is dry already!  I'm loving life.  I'll get back on my gel grind... eventually.  But for now, I'm really enjoying touching my hair.

On the bright side, my hair is starting to curl.  Like... curl.  Can you see the curls??  I am kinda giddy right now.  Don't mind me.

Do you do CGM?  When do you deep condition?

                                                                                                                                             -- Seven

The 30 Day Curly Girl Challenge - Week One

So I have been using the Curly Girl Method for about a week now.

The curly girl method was pioneered by Lorraine Massey in her book, THE CURLY GIRL HANDBOOK.  In a nutshell, you are co-washing frequently with sulfate and silicone free conditioners. Only finger detangling is allowed (no combs or brushes).  Your styler is normally gel.  You must allow your hair it air dry and keep your fingers out of it until it is dry in order to keep the hair super hydrated, and keep your curls frizz free and springy.

My thoughts so far?  I like it.  I enjoy washing my hair.  I find finger detangling very easy and I am losing much less hair now then I lost combing.  After just seven days I find that my curls are becoming more defined and they are clumping together better.  My hair is less fro-y and more curly.  My hair feels moisturized and touchable.  I am able to squeeze an extra day out of my washes by doing a twist out on day 3 and washing my hair on day 4.  Can I just say that my twist outs are coming out amazing because I still have eco styler gel in my hair and the hold is awesome!

There are some cons though.  My hair takes a full 24 hours to dry, and not touching my hair is driving me a little nuts.  I don't like how the gel makes my hair crunchy (though oil and a little more conditioner takes care of most of that on my second day).  I am used to my hair being super soft and in bantu knot outs, so this is a change.  Speaking of gel, I am using a lot of it.  Sure, its alcohol free, but it's still a lot of gel.  Its not adversely effecting my hair in any way, I just am not used to using that much gel personally.  And i think that because gel is getting on my face from shaking my hair, its making my face break out.

All in all, I am using a lot less products using this method and my hair is really changing.  

Catch up with me on week 2 for more results!

                                                                                                                                       -- Seven 

30 Day Curly Girl Challenge - Wash Day Routine

Here is my entire wash day routine.  

I start off with a hair mask made up of Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Mask and coconut oil (Hot Tip From Curly Nikki).  I let that sit for 15 minutes under a shower cap.  After that, I hopped in the shower and co-washed and detangled with Tresemee Naturals Conditioner.  I squeezed out the excess water with an old T-Shirt and applied a small amount of Tresemee Naturals as a leave in.  I know that I said that I didn't like to leave regular conditioner in my hair, but I thought that this would weigh down my hair and give me more hang time (IT DID!)  I then coated my hair with coconut oil.  I roughly sectioned my hair and shingled with Eco Styler Gel.  I set my curls by shaking and fluffing vigorously.

Enjoy the video!   

                                                                                                                                            -- Seven