Sushi In My Hair/Castor Oil Challenge Update

It has now officially been 3 weeks since I started Hairlista’s Caster Oil Challenge Part 6. One September 1st I started the challenge and upon opening the Caster Oil I pours that transparent oil into a bottle and then into my DC mixture. So I went through my routine on my wash days. Pre-poo, poo, condition, avc rinse, then DC. Great!!!! I was glad to have started a great challenge and looking forward to seeing what results I will achieve on this 3 month journey. Boy oh Boy did I have a nice surprise once I began to add the oil to my scalp. I finally got a whiff of it. It threw me off because it smelled like something I smelled before. It was a distinctive smell to me. I continued to apply the oil in my scalp them massaging it in. Still I’m trying to figure out what the smell reminded me off. As I began to finish style my hair it hit me SUSHI!!!!!!! Yes Sushi out of all things Caster Oil smelled like sushi to me.  I love Sushi but ugh this was not what I had in mind.

They say that Castor Oil has an earthy smell well the oil I have has a fishy smell. I Don’t know maybe each brand of Castor Oil has its own smell, but im still trying to find the earthy part. Maybe I need to get the Jamaican Black Castor Oil to smell the earthy part lol

You may want to know how my hair been since I started the challenge, Well I have noticed a few things.

1. My edges are starting to fill in

2. My edges are starting to catch up with my hair, length wise

I was playing in my hair the other day and I began to pull and saw I was still pulling hair. I was surprised!! I got up and went straight to the bathroom mirror because I thought i  was losing it. To my surprise my hair was indeed long. WOW In all my life since relaxing my hair my edges were ALWAYS my trouble spots. It might not be much growth BUT its growth none the less. If this much growth can come rounding out month 1 I can’t wait to see what month 2 will bring.

I hope that each person taking the challenge has seen results so far because I am sure happy I am =)

Be on the look out for my review on Black Silk Products. Black Own, Black Made. First  African American Luxury Hair line. For information about this product  Please visit www.blacksilkproducts.com

Having some fun with eye shadow colors

Love Always,

Natural Luv

Protective Style: What DOO you DO?

Protective Style: What Doo you Do?
Having a protective style is a must. As my hair began to get longer I realized that I can't always do twist out and putting my hair in a head band. My

twist outs would only last about 2 days (Yea I know which is a bummer) so I began to look into what protective styles I can do without having to put a w

eave or braids in my hair. After much searching I found that putting my hair in two French twist worked for me. It was easy for me to get up in the morning and do (If needed) and also cute. There are many kinds of protective styles. Today we will

 

go in depth about why protective styles are need and the most common protective styles. We all know the Pros of protective styles so we will also review the Cons (If any)

Purpose of Protective styles:
The reason a protective style is needed is to keep your ends from sight and help retain your lengthy lock.........That is IT!! Nothing more, nothing less. Protective styles won't make your hair grow BUT it helps to minimizes breakage especially if your hair is breaking off at the same pace it is growing.
I found this to be true. I noticed more breakage when I was combing my hair each day pulling it up in an Afro puff. My ends were always exposed. Although my hair grew I still was experiencing breakage at the same rate that my hair was growing.

Once I found a protect style that I can do easily I noticed that my hair wasn't breaking as much AND I was able to retain more of my length.

Most Common Protective Styles:
Two Strand twist (more so for natural hair than relaxed)
Bun or Chigon
Braids
Weave
Flat Twist

Two Strand Twist
This style is most effective on natural hair. Relaxed hair is too straight to the hold the twist at the ends. Natural hair is kinky enough to hold the twist in place at the ends. You can wear a TST for a few days until it gets old and then do a twist out. This style is called a Two Strand Twist, Twist Out.

Pros:

Easy and versatile

Cons:

not time efficient depending on the size and length of hair.

Picture: Two Strand Twist, Twist out style

Buns or Chigon
Buns are an ideal protective style if your hair is long enough to be wrapped around the shaft of the pony tail. Buns can be worn in different ways, on the crown, to the back, on the side and more than one bun at a time. You can wrap your hair around the shaft of the ponytail. You can also do a damp bun which helps help your strands and ends hydrated/moisturized at all times.

Pros:

Easy, Fast and Versatile

Cons:

Breakage can occur if the bun is pulled too tight

So if you are going to do this style remember TIGHT is not always RIGHT! Loosen that ponytail up guh!!!!

Braids
We ALL have had these......well majority of black women has had braids in one point or another. Braids are a great protective style to have. It is easy (once you have spent nearly countless hours getting them in) and you can style your braids any kind of way. Braids are a great alternative for those who can’t put up with the everyday hum drum of maintaining their hair.

I have always had weak edges. I love getting my hair braided because it eliminated the time I had to spend doing my hair BUT after I took them out……….can you say I looked like I had a receding hair line. I never knew why it was happening. I took care of my braids or so I thought, made sure my scalp was moisturized and I made sure I put it in a bonnet at night, SO WHATS THE PROBLEM!!!!!

Reminders:

Tie your edges down to help minimize movement at night so that there is not added stress on your edges.

Don’t put have a tight pony tail. Again I say TIGHT aint always RIGHT

Pros:

Versatile, easy and fast

Cons:

Damaged edges if not taken care of properly

Remember: Not because you have braids mean that you don’t have to take care of them.

Weaves

As we moved into the 2000’s you noticed a new hair trend had hit the market. WEAVE!!!!! (well it was new to me) This hair product was a God send to most African American women if not all. You can get short, long, black, pink, and blonde without having to cut our hair or put harsh chemicals to get it the color we wanted it to be. I am victim of the weave-a-palosa!!! I had a weave ponytail ALL the time. Once I was old enough my mom allowed me to get glue ins and sew ins. If you watched the Good Hair movie you know how much a woman take pride in her weave. A woman will get her hair weaved before paying her bills ( now that’s just crazy) Weave is the Holy Grail of all Grails for the average or not so average African American woman.

Although weaves are a great protective style you still have to be careful in maintaining it just as if it was your own. Hell you paid money for it so you better take care of it!!!!! With glue ins the weave is incorporated with your hair giving a more natural look. With sew ins you can get a full (all of your hair is braided) or a partial weave (some of your hair is left out to blend with the weave)

Glue ins or “quick weave”

Pros:

Inexpensive, Easy to do (like anyone) and you can get a good glue-in style done in less than an hour (not including styling)

Con:

Can cause broken roots, stressed scalp, and loss of hair if not taken out properly Picture: Quick Weave style

Sew ins

Pros:

Last longer than glue ins

Your hair can rest from heat and chemicals

Retain length easier because ALL of your hair is braided.

Cons:

Hair damage can occur If you hair is braided too tight, Damage can occur if hair is left out around the perimeter of head and the crown

Picture: Sew-in style

Flat Twist

Flat twist are like two strand twist but they twist are twisted to the scalp like corn rows. This is an easy style to do and once the twist gets old you can twist them out and do a cute style.

Pro:

Easy, Fast, works well with both natural and relaxed hair

Cons:

None that I can think of, can you lol

 

So as you can see there are many styles that you can do the help protect your hair. The styles that were spoken about are what I saw as the most common protective style. Of course you can always refer to Youtube, Hairlista and many other hair care forum to find other ways to protect your hair and look good doing it. 

I hope this post helped you gain some insight on these protective styles. Till Next time

Natural Luv

Hairlista Castor Oil Challenge part 6

If you are a Hairlista you know what I’m speaking of. The Castor Oil Challenge begins tomorrow. I have decided to jump on board with the rest of the Listas and do this challenge. Last year I tried to do the Ultimate Growth Challenge and that posed a challenge for me. I became "Lazy" and didn't make it two weeks. Yea that's bad isn't it lol Now that I am on my new revelation and I have jumped back on the natural hair horse I decided to try my fate at this one.

On Wednesday I went to Whole Foods to pick up my bottle of Castor Oil. You might want to know a little bit more on what this challenge is Well, Here's the scoop

The Castor Oil Challenge

Start Date: September 2nd, 2011

End Date: December 2nd, 2011

(total of 3 months!)

There are different levels that you can choose from

Basic: Apply Castor oil to scalp twice a week.

Intermediate: Apply Castor oil to scalp twice a week followed by a scalp massage (2-5mins focusing on damaged areas). Add 1 tsp to your weekly deep conditioner.

Advance: Apply Castor oil to scalp three times a week followed by scalp massage (2-5mins focusing on damaged areas). Add 1-2 tsps to weekly deep conditioner.

I have decided to try the Intermediate level of this challenge. Of course you can do which one you feel most comfortable doing. This is an inexpensive challenge to do. A bottle of Castor Oil is about $10 for the 16fl. oz. Remember this is a 3 month challenge so getting a good size would be most cost efficient.

What I have done was getting a small bottle with a tip (.99-$1.59) and added some of the Castor Oil in it so that it can be easier to apply to my scalp. It’s less messy that way.

Challenge Goal

So far I am at EL (Ear length) I plan on achieving NL (Neck Length) by the end of this challenge!!! My hair is not damaged but I will focus most of my massaging on my temples and the nape of my neck since that's where my hair seems to not grow as fast as the rest of my hair.

Benefits of Castor Oil in Hair

Increase hair growth

Thicken hair that is starting to thin out

Reduce and prevent hair damage

Eliminate dry hair

Make the hair fuller and shinier

Deeply condition and moisturize hair and scalp

Prevents dry scalp

Boost your hair’s overall health

Other Benefits of Castor Oil
Softens thick calluses and removes corns

Cures skin infections like athlete’s foot and ringworm

Prevents stretch marks

Removes moles and warts

Removes age spots (liver spots)

Cures acne

Keeps the skin looking smooth, youthful and unlined

Breaks up external and internal scar tissue, and prevents new scars from forming

Soothes shingles

Jamaican Black Castor Oil

There is also another more famous Castor Oil made famous by Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil. It is said that Black Castor Oil is more potent than the regular Castor Oil and that you see more results when used. The difference in the two is that Jamaican Black castor Oil seeds are roasted then boils to remove100% of the oil. The longer the seed is roasted the more ash is produced which ultimately make the Castor Oil more potent. High ash content = high potency of the Castor Oil. Jamaican Black Castor Oil distinguished by the earthy smell it gives off. That is a distinctive feature to know that you have the real deal.

I am excited to stat this challenge. I have decided to start this challenge today since it was my day off and I wouldn’t have another one for another week and I want to get this thing moving. One day will not hurt and I don’t see it as cheating lol

Follow along as I update you on this 3 Month Journey.

Till we meet again,

Natural Luv

4C Natural hair straightened

Below: Castor Oil from Whole Foods, tipped bottle for application and DC mixture that I made

Resurrection of Natural Luv

So its been a while since I have shared my thought on my Natural Hair Journey. I figured it was time to get back on the saddle and start back writing about natural hair.

So here is a re-cap:

As you recall I began my Natural Hair journey on December 19th, 2009 (Yes its been that long) A month later I went away to Antigua and Barbuda for almost 6 months. While I was there I realized that my hair was not growing and I didn't know why. I noticed excessive hair shedding. After returning to the states my hair began to shoot out of my scalp! This was an odd surprise. It wasn't until one day I was speaking with a mother and daughter who are also natural. They talked about their trip to Antigua as well and they too realize excessive shedding while on vacation. We came to the conclusion that it HAD to be the water. Not only it was the water but also there we resources that we didn't have to our disposal or they were far too expensive. Yes I know it sound weird but that was the only explanation (water). I thought it was something that I was doing. I came back to the states and my hair began to rapidly grow. Now remember I still was doing the same thing I was doing in Antigua here in Georgia. So I let it go and move forward.

After my hair debacle in Antigua with my hair I began to look more deeper into my hair. While in Antigua I found the Holy Grail of hair knowledge Hairlista.com WOW can you say that this site blew my mind!!! I'm not going to lie it WAS overwhelming with information that was on the site. Women around the world talking about HAIR. The hard part was sifting through all non-relevant post. Each day I would go into the chat and talk with other Listas (members) about hair. What I noticed was I was giving all the great advise BUT I wasn't really doing them myself. You might want to know what advise I was giving that I was not using myself. Well here we go:
1. Regiments
2. Deep Conditioning
3. Vitamins
4. Products
5. Treatment, just to name a few.

I thought to my self.....SELF why do you have all the knowledge but don't do it. Frankly the only thing that could explain that was being lazy!!! Yes people LAZINESS was my down fall for my hair not doing so well. Well let me re-phrase that laziness was my downfall PERIOD!!! Now I can admit my hair was very healthy and still is. However my hair can be a lot more longer than it should be. Especially going into two year natural.

Now we are in the present day August 27th, 2011!! After dropping off the radar I am back to fill you in on some great information that I have discovered on the web and through trial and error.

Here's some backdrop on who I am:
Natural Luv
Natural since December 19th, 2009
Hair type: 4b/c
I am currently Ear Length ( EL) Sidenote: I have had my hair cut down twice
I want to be Bra Strap Length (BSL)
I am looking forward to start my new regiment from the NEW knowledge that I have obtained.


Well that's it for now stay tuned for updates on my NEW hair journey.

Love Always,
Natural Luv