Naturally Obsessed

The title says it all...I wore my twists for 3 weeks and the twist out cam out fabulous!! But before I get into that I want to go over my last few days wearing the twists...

First of it was hot...no more like HOT everyday last week and the HUMIDITY was ridiculous! Although the weather cause me a lot of frizz, the humidity actually helped to keep my twists plumped and soft. For the last week or so my regime has been super simple...almost nonexistent lol! I massaged my scalp using Bee Mine Scalp Serum, spray my ends with water and that's it. I did that process every other day, except for the day I took these photos. I applied a little Avocado Shea Butter to seal the moisture in after spritzing with water.
The next day I decided go ahead and take down. I had initially planned to wash my hair immediately after the take down, but after seeing the first couple twists unraveled decided to rock a twist out instead. The definition was CRAZY and felt so soft. And you would think that because the SMCES (Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie) is such a thick product that my hair would feel weighed down and greasy, but it didn't feel that way at all. Here's a couple of the take down and twistout...

I've mentioned my twists maintenance a couple times before but I still get lots of comments and messages asking how I do it. So I figured I'd explain with pictures this time lol! Note...These steps are usually done at night, so the pics are of my hair the next morning after all these steps were taken the night before.

Carrot & Castor Conditioning Oil
Product Description: Perfect for the dry winter months! Carrot & Castor Conditioning Hair Oil keeps your hair moisturized between washings. Great when used moderately as a daily hair oil. Carrot oil is rich in beta carotene, vitamins A (for a healthy scalp) and E (helping to stimulate hair growth) and pro vitamin A. Castor Oil is a natural humectant that draws moisture out of the air bringing it directly to the hair shaft. The hue of the oil comes from Carotene (deriving from the the carrot root extract) giving it it's golden orange glow.

Ingredients: Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil,Daucus carota sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Cocos nucifera (Virgin Coconut) Oil, Ricinus communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Brassica oleracea italica (Broccoli) Seed Oil, Oryza sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Olea europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Prunus dulcis var. amara (Bitter Almond), Litsea cubeba (Litsea), Tocopherol (Vitamin E).

Cost: 4 oz bottle / $17.99 @ www.LGBN.com

Ginger Juice & Berries Hairdress
Product Description: This product was created out of desire for the total package. Nothing too thick, too oily or too heavy but I wanted something that would coat and protect my hair (specifically thick natural, highly textured coils) when wearing a plaited style longer than a few weeks - all while nourishing and strengthening my hair. After 2 years of formulating Ginger Juice & Berries, I finally came up with the perfect recipe that meets all of those hair demands. Another bonus that was discovered is the lack of heavy product build after wearing a style for an extended period of time.

Ingredients: Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Arnica montana (Flower) Extract, Sesamum indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Emblica Officinalis (Amla) Extract, Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) Extract, Jatamansi Nardostachys (Spikenard) Extract, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Oryza sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Elaeis guineensis (Palm) Kernel Oil, Daucus carota sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Lecithin, Candelilla (Euphorbia cerifera) Wax, Glycine Soja (Soybean)Wax, Green Tea Extract, Zingiber officinale (Ginger) Root Powder, Eleuthrococcus senticocus (Ginseng) Powder, Olea europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Alkanna tinctoria (Alkanet) Root Powder, Artemisia pallens (Davana) Oil, Zingiber officinale (Ginger) Oil, Citrus sinensis (Sweet Orange) Oil, Tocopherol

Cost: 4 oz jar / $16.99 @ www.LGBN.com

My Thoughts: Lavida reached out to me weeks ago to try some of her hair goodies, but once they arrived I couldn't figure out to use them lol! There was no directions on the label. So after contacting Lavida I was ready to give them a try with her usage recommendations. I start off by shampooing my hair and once cleaned I applied the Carrot & Castor Conditioning Oil in 4 sections. I could definitely feel the softness immediately. The color, just like the GJB Hairdress, is very...orange, but I didn't think too much of it. The 4 sections were then braided and air dried until 80-90% dry. I then divided my hair into smaller sections and applied the Ginger Juice & Berries Hairdress to create medium sized, stretched 2 strand twists. The look of this product reminds me of carrot baby food lol! I was like ehhhh...but I went with anyway. I used just a little for each twists, because I didn't want my hair to be too greasy. Once finished my hair looked and felt great! It was soft, the twists were smooth and the shine was incredible.

I was soooo close to loving these products, but then I noticed the collar of my tee that I wore while doing my hair was was stained yellow :( I was like WTH! I didn't even use that much product and I followed the owner's direction. I love me some white tees, in fact I just brought a natural hair tee that I can't wear until I wash my hair...BUMMER! I don't think I'll use the GJB Hairdress again, unless I find away to avoid not staining my clothes. However, it's a great product for twists, braids and I'm sure it could be use for locs as well. I loved how my hair felt after using the C & C Conditioning, but I'll be using it for pre-poo purposes only. Both products are PACKED full of goodness for your hair...I just wish the color didn't stain :(


Take a look at a couple styles I've done throughout the week...

I've heard a lot great things about Shea Moisture products, but I had no intention of actually trying them out. that is until I found that not only are SM products being sold at Walgreens now, but that they were buy one get one free!! That deal changed my mind real quick lol! Before heading to Walgreens, which is actually Happy Harry's in my area, I got some suggestions for my Twitter tweeps. Almost everyone suggested I pick of the Coconut & Hibiscus collection and a few mentioned the Yucca & Baobab collection. After looking up the benefits of those, as well as the other collections SM offers, I made up my mind on what I was going to get. I wanted pick up a few of the Coconut & Hibiscus and African Black Soap items, but when I got to the store all they had was the C&H and the Organic Shea Butter :( I wasn't to excited about the Shea Butter so I only picked up the masque, but I grabbed it anyway since it was bogo.

The Shea Butter masque has a nutty, yet light and fresh scent. It's ingredients include Shea Butter (of course), Sea Kelp and Argan Oil. It can also double as a leave in. The Coconut & Hibiscus is smells sweet and coconutty...yummm! All 3 from that collection contain Coconut Oil, Neem Oil and Silk Protein. Both collections are packed with great ingredients, I'll keep you posted on how my hair responds to them. The BOGO promotion ends tomorrow April 2nd so if your thinking of trying this brand or your already a fan visit your local Walgreens/Happy Harry's or Walgreens.com to get some goodies!!

 ....just slightly bigger!

Last week after washing my kinks back to life, I decided to twist my hair back up. It wasn't my first choice though. I had planned to do small braids, but once I started braiding I got tired immediately. Then I tried to do some small twists, but after a few rows I ended up taking those down as well. Frustrated and after many hours wasted I decided to do medium sized twists instead.

Now whenever I do small braids or twists, I always do so on blow dried hair. This time I let my hair air dry in about 5 big braids that had been generously slathered with Grape Seed Oil the night before. Then once fully dried the next morning I unraveled each one and stretched the roots with my blow dryer on low heat.This my hair before and after stretching the roots...

                                                                   Unstretched - Stretched

Once I decided to do medium sized twists I grabbed some Curl Clouds (by SafiHairCare) and began twisting. It took me from 4pm to maybe 12-1 o'clock in the morning to finish. That may seem like a long time to ya'll, but I'm a slow twister/braider lol! It usually takes me between 3 to 5 days to do my micro twists! This is what they looked like halfway finished...



Here's the completed look...

These pics were snapped last Friday, a few hours before I actually took them down. My hair was a hot dirty mess, especially at the roots so a simple bun was my only way to disguise the mess lol!

Note: This is the last time I'll be wearing my twists for longer than 4 weeks. My hair was sooo dry at the 6th week compared to previous sets of twists. Going forward I'll keep my twists in for 4 or 4.5 weeks and I'll try my best to not slack on keep them moisturized....lesson learned for me!

My twists officially became 4 weeks old on Saturday (12/04) and they are still looking good. This is usually around the time that I begin to miss my loose hair and can't wait to get the twists out, but suprisingly I still enjoying them. My regime has been simple...Spritz my ends with water and seal the ends with Shea Butter or Bee Mine's Curly Butter every few days. Sometimes, not often, I oil and massage my scalp with a little Vatika Oil. This past weekend I went in on some pesky single strand knots that were bugging me and to keep it fresh looking I re-twisted some at the top and along the sides. Tonight I plan on setting my twists on perm rods, for a cute curly look...I'll be sure to take pics :)




What do you guys think of the new layout??

Natural hair is the Bomb.com...Go tell a friend lol!!