Style File #1 - dontuwishuknu

I don't know about you, but I'm always on the look out for amazing natural hair styles to inspire me and what I do with my hair. One of the best places to look has got to be You Tube. There are so many natural sistas on there rocking such amazing styles, it can be a little bit overwhelming. The Style File is going to be a new feature that I'm going to use to bring you all those amazing styles I find to inspire us all. Here's first entry to the Style File.

90 day Twist Challenge

I've been inspired by one of favourite YouTubers/Bloggers AGrlCanMac to go on a personal twist challenge. She's challenged herself to rock twists till 1st April and she's been on it since January. So go'head girl. She's also one of my favourite mixtresses so check her out.

Since according to my hubby, I suffer from chronic hand-in-hair disease and we all know that over-manipulation leads to breakage, I've decided that something needs to be done to break the cycle. Now, I haven't any major breakage but I know that if I don't ease up messing with my hair, I'll begin to suffer breakage. So there you have it - this is the reason for the 90-Day Twist Challenge.

I'm challenging myself to rock twist styles consistently for 90 days to minimise the manipulation and stop breakage in it's tracks!! I'm going to follow AGrlCanMac's challenge rules (with a little personalised twist). Here are the rules:

1.I will wear my twists for and re-do them every 2-3 weeks

2.I will condition and wash my hair every 2-3 weeks

3.Challenge will officially end on 1st June.
 
The only twist on the rules is that I'm going to try to stretch my twists to 3 weeks at a time and she's a regular user of Henna, which I'm not. Henna is on my list of things to try this year, so you never know, it could creep it's way into my challenge.
 
I'm going to twist my hair with Fantastia IC Gel Hair Polisher Styling Gel. I was going to use a new hair mixture but my hubby's put my on strict hair budget - LOL!! I'll moisturise daily with my glycerin,water,olive oil mist. It's not really cold here so I can still use glycerin - but if the temperture suddenly drops, I'll switch it up with aloe vera juice.
 
I'm going to be following AGrlCanMac's progress on her challenge and I hope I can stick it as well. I'll post starting pictures once I've finished my twists. I'll update you guys on progress monthly.
 
Till next time.
 
xxMwuahxx

Loving and DivafyingTWA (Teeny Weeny Afro)

Ok, so I've done my BC - yay! (pics coming soon I promise). Now, I've been giving some thoughts to the perception of the TWA - what we and other people think about them.

I did a coil-out this week and got lots of compliments from either natural haired sisters or sisters considering going natural. On the other hand, when I do a Twist'n'Curl, I get lots of compliments from relaxed haired sisters. My point is that the TWA is super versitile but it influences the way we're perceived. Did I mind that on one day, I got more compliments than others? I did at first but then I learned that as long as you 'own' the style, the confidence just flows out of you and that's what people are really complimenting.

As I was thinking about that, I came across an old video from one of my favourite YouTubers - BlackOnyx77 where she talks about loving your TWA that I wanted to share with you. Hope you enjoy it.



xxMwuahxx

Product Review #2 - NAKED Shine Conditioner

Okay yall so I'm still looking for products without any nasties so this is my 2nd product review. I've decided that I'm only going to try a new product every month, so I don't turned into a big ol' PJ!

I found the NAKED products thanks so to Sugarbabe01 on NaturallyCurly.com and this is my 1st review of one of the products of which I've used 3.

Product Type: Conditioner

Product Name: Naked Shine Hydrating Conditioner

Where From: Boots

Price: 3.91 each (Buy One Get One Free)

Size: 250ml

What does it say (on the www): To shine like a diamond, dry to normal hair needs to be smooth and moisturised - just perfect for fingers to run through....
Buttermilk is renowned for its amazing softening properties and Green Tea extract helps add sheen and elasticity to your hair cuticle. Topped up with Black Tea extract, this conditioner has a bit of a glossy reputation.
THIS PRODUCT IS VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY

Scent/Smell: Very lovely scent, very light and not at all perfumey. Very nice smell.

Rating: *****

Comments: Every time I have co-washed with this, the results have been soooo fantastic that I have already recommended it to a few people. My hair came out sooo soft and and really moisturized. This is a UK Only product but if anyone State-side wants to try it out, I'll happily ship it to you - it's that good. This is definitely a keeper!!!

Update

I've got a couple of reviews to come y'all, so please bear with me. I've got two product reviews and one style review to come.

Anyway, I've been wearing my hair in bantu knot outs for a couple of weeks now (style review coming soon) and it's just so easy except when I'm super super tired and lazy. I really like this style and I'm going to keep doing it for a while - till I get bored and what to try something else.

There are so many things I want to try you guys. I really want to try AGrlCanMac's moisturizing mist (see the blogs I'm following), which sounds absolutely fabulous. I don't know what the effect of glycerin will be on my hair but almost everyone recommends it so I really want to try this. I'm so going to try to be faithful to my 'one new product a month' rule otherwise I can so easily see me turning into a PJ.

Talking about AGrlCanMac, she's gotta be a huge inspiration right now because she's just celebrated her 1st anniversary of being a natural and that's so awesome! I read her post that day and I was like - I can't wait for that to be me. So a big SHOUT OUT to her - keep doing your thing girl!

I've just booked a vacation to the Costa Del Sol on the coast of Spain and for the first time, I'm not too worried about my hair because I won't have to take a whole bunch of paraphernalia with me, like straightening irons, clips, rollers etc and if I stick with the bantu knots, I should need a handful of products. What I am a little bit worried about is the heat only because it's a different kind of heat to that that's in England. It's just hot over here, with no breeze and hardly any humidity - my hair doesn't like it at all. This is why I really want to try AGrlCanMac's moisturizing mist becauseif I mix it into a small enough bottle, I should be able to carry it with me and remoisturize as necessary.

Ok, final thoughts. I'm going to a conference tomorrow and I was really stuck for what to do with my hair. Seeing as it's so short, the bantu knot outs which are fine for work, just aren't corporate, you know? Anyway, I posted the dillema on NaturallyCurly.com and a fellow curly suggested roller sets. Now that sounds like a great idea but you'll see from an earlier review that they take me a little while to do and they're not always fully dry in the morning. Tomorrow, I won't have time to mes around with hair that's not dry so I decided to exploit the veratility of natural hair and straighten it. In the middle of it right so will let you know how it turns out.

Till next time
xxMwuahxx

Guess who's back?

I'm back!!! Sorry I've been gone but my Spirit needed refreshing - btw, the Bible Conference was great. I even saw one of my sisters who's also starting here natural hair journey - whoop, whoop Claire!

You what I learned this week away? A woman of God - a confident and TRUE woman of God - is truly the apple of His eye. God wants us to be beautiful both on the inside and the out. A woman who has the Spirit of God in her is not timid or shy (shouldn't be) because God is not timid or shy - at the end of the day, He created the earth to showcase himself. A woman after God's own heart is sassy and confident while keeping humble.

This was going to be my struggle going natural because I'm very extroverted and really confident but when I started thinking about how people perceive natural hair as bad, as unhealthy, as gross - my confidence started to shrink. But last week, I came to a realization that God has created me and I'm gorgeous regardless of whether my hair is relaxed or natural. The Bible says that we are "wonderfully and fearfully made". God hand-crafted my body, my personality and my nappy hair, so I'm going to use this natural hair journey to give Him glory by rocking some slamming transitional styles and staying humble.

Going natural isn't just about hair, it's about going back to your natural state of being - which is to be the natural state that God intended for you - to be in fellowship with him. Sorry to go on but I'm just so filled with Joy!!

But now, I got sooo much to update you on. Where to start? I've got update you on:

• Twist n Curl
• Rollersets
• Products
• Bantu Knot Outs

I'll post separate updates for all of these otherwise this will be extremely long!

Till next time,
xxMuwahxx