What's in my Spray Bottle?

Curly and kinky hair requires more moisture than other hair types. The oils that the scalp naturally produces is not able to travel down the curly hair shaft as easily as straight hair. It is important to add more moisture to curly hair. The easiest and quickest to add moisture is a Spray Bottle. Fill a spray bottle half way with water and your favorite hair products.

So, what's in my hair spray bottle?

• Aloe Vera Gel
• Giovanni Direct Leave-in Conditioner
• Jojoba Oil
• Olive Oil
• Herbal Essence Helle Hydration Conditioner

I don't measure how much I put in the spray bottle- just eyeball it and keep rolling. I spray my hair lightly every morning before styling and every night before I wrap it up for bed. (Spray lightly, you don't want damp hair) It's a quick way to refresh your hair.

Use your own favorite items in a spray bottle and see how it works for you.

DIY- French Nail Tip

One of my biggest pet peeves are my nails. I will pick at them all day and nibble them to stubs. To keep myself from biting my nails I attempt to keep them "done". If I take the time and energy out of my day to do my nails I will not bite or pick at them allowing them to finally grow. French manicures are my favorite way to get my nails painted. However, I refuse to pay someone for a french manicure and it won't last. After much trial and error I have finally found the perfect combination of nail polish that is cheap and durable.

My favorite nail polish to use for a French Tip is only $1. It is the L.A. Art Deco nail polish that can be found at Dollar Tree/Family Dollar/Dollar General. It super cheap and doesn't chip as quickly as its name brand counterparts that I have tried.  The best thing about this nail polish is its super pointed/narrow brush.  In the past, I have tried tracers, stickers, and pencils. I found all these items time consuming and unnecessary. I would rather just free the french tip with this narrow brush. The more I practiced, the better I became.

After painting the french tip I always finish with a shiny top coat. Currently, I am using the Sally Hansen Complete Manicure. This was a gift from my little sister for Christmas. It is a good topcoat, but I probably won't be repurchasing the kit.

 I never worry about getting the nail polish on the skin around my fingers. Once it completely dries and you go about your everyday activities the nail polish will peel off in a couple of hours.

$1 French Manicure!

Curly Event Alert

Finally they are having a Natural Hair event in my hometown. I am so excited! Can you say samples, coupons, and discounts!!!

 Keenya Kelly Presents...

 Return of the Curls!

Curly Hair Expo & Fashion Show

At The Curly Hair Expo we will connect you will all of the local resources you’ll need to embrace your naturally curly hair. Stylists will be there to answer questions and give guidance on products to use and the hottest hairstyles. Workshops will be running for you to participate in to learn about such topics as:  Healthy Eating, Hair Science 101, Transitioning to natural 101, Make-Up Tutorials and much more. 

There will also be a fabulous fashion show called “Tame the Beast” featuring the latest curly hairstyles designed by local stylists.

The Details: 

Greater Richmond Convention Center403 North Third StreetRichmond, VA 23219

Saturday, July 28, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Tickets are $15
To buy tickets

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On top of the Natural Hair Expo and Fashion Show on Saturday, Shea Moisture is having a free (yes, free) event Friday night. (Did I mention that Shea Moisture is my FAVORITE hair brand!!)

Literally, the tickets for the Shea Moisture event were gone within hours. But, I   m                      managed to snag some for my mom, sister, and girlfriends. 

Who is excited for this weekend? 

**This Girl**

The Dreaded Twist

My hair twisted is thick. I never have to worry about creating straight parts in my hair or my scalp showing through my twist like some naturals. However, I always get the same, annoying question when wearing my twists in public:

"How long have you been growing your dreads?"

.....

...........

Stop the record player. 

               

While I try to disguise my frustration I politely explain that my hair is not dreaded just simple twisted. Their reaction is all the same. While this may not be such a negative, it's annoying that my hair looks like it is dreaded and that's not the look I was going for.

My twists are not dreaded they are just twisted.

3 Tips to Combat Hair + Water

Me and the other intern, Bryan, in the office

One benefit of being natural was that I no longer have to run from the water in fear of messing up my hair. However, I still want my hair to look presentable after it's dried and shrunken. Between the downpour rain I got caught in waiting to see the President and trips to the beach/river I now know how to prepare for the water.

Rain- Go Away!

1) Prepare your hair beforehand--- whether you wear your hair in twist to the beach or a twist out you need to prepare your hair. Because, I don't get into the water to swim laps, my entire head never gets wet resulting in unequal shrinkage. Best way to stop this is to where the hair pulled back. Whether that is in a puff, bun, high puff, etc.

2) Have hairpins and long scrunchies ready to improvise as the day goes on and your hair dries.

3) Be mindful of what you use to moisturize your hair the morning of. You don't want oils and heavy creams mixing with the rainwater and dripping into your eyes. No bueno!

                              

**Originally, my puff were twists that I pinned into a pompadour. After the rain the twists were sticking out everywhere. So I took them a loose, repined them with my one hairpin (I don't know why I had only had one hair pin), and readjusted the scrunchy around my hair pulling it back farther. Now I have a new, finish, presentable hair style.**

Is that the President?! + Goodwill Purse

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to get a VIP ticket to see President Barack Obama speak. I had an amazing spot standing second row. I even shook his hand!

The Golden Ticket

I am in the second row, check me out!

More Pictures...

                            

And what I wore....

Shorts: Espree  Shirt: JcPenny $6

I picked the purse up from Goodwill for $4. I love the tassel on the zipper, it really dresses the purse up. The gold chain/strap is really thick so I don't feel like it will tear or fall apart. 

**My new favorite item.**

OOTD: Pink Patterns + Initial Product Review

                   

This past week was the first week of my internship.  I only managed to get a couple of pictures from the first day. 

Blouse: New York & Company (Don't remember the exact price, but under $10)

Skirt: MNG (Mango) from JcPenny- $6

              

I picked the ring up from New York and Company for $2.99 along with the blouse. This was during there summer Big Red Sale when everything was 80 percent off. The Fossil watch is a gift from last Christmas. This is my favorite watch and I wear it almost everyday.  

Picked the earrings up from Claire's for only a dollar. 

I love their 10 for 10! (10 items for only $10)

I retwisted my dry hair using the Everyday Coconut Super Hydrating Conditioner that I picked up from Whole Foods for $9.99. While it got the job done holding the style for the full week, I still wasn't impressed. The ends of my hair still felt dry the next day even though I didn't change any other part of my regimen. Also, the conditioner is rather thin and I used a lot. The thicker the product the more my hair likes it. Since I am not feeling it as a leave-in, I will try it this evening as a rinse-out conditioner.

Still on the quest for a cheaper product to twist my hair with.

**Update** on Sasha Fierce

After doing Sasha's hair she sent me a couple of pics on how her hair held up during the week. Not the best quality pictures, but she still looks fierce!

Sasha said the twist lasted about a week and the twist-out 4 days. Almost a week and a half from one hairstyle, can't be beat!

Check out the original post and Sasha's initial hairstyle here!

Whole Foods Haul

It seemed like once I ran out of conditioner, I ran out of every hair product that I own. So I took a trip over to Whole Foods to stock up on some of my favorite items and try new ones as well!

Luckily for me the GIovanni products had a coupon attached to the bottle. Save $1 instantly on all of the Giovanni products. Score! Only $6 a bottle. I bought their Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner and Direct Leave-in Weightless Moisture Conditioner.

Giovanni Products- $6 each

While I do love Giovanni's shampoos I still have shampoo left. Since I don't use a lot of shampoo I decided to buy it another time.

Jason Aloe Vera Gel- $8

I also bought some more Aloe Vera Gel. I did not realize how often I use it and how much my hair loves aloe vera gel--slick down my edges,  moisturize my twist, or mix-in with my spritzer.

Everyday Coconut Super Hydrating Conditioner
for Normal to Dry Hair- $10

While in Whole Foods I came across a new conditioner part of Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value. Their products do not contain sulfates, synthetic fragrances, parabens, glutens, refined oils, and is not tested on animals. Plus, it's certified fair trade. What really caught my attention were the ingredients. Coconut water, African ginger, and virgin coconut were the conditioners first three ingredients. The best part was the price--$10 for 32 o.z. You can't beat that! While I love Shea Moisture I run through them like nothing. I need a cheeper alternative. Hopefully, I found a new hit and am curious to try the rest of their products.

Advice to Transitioners

I have three words of advice to ladies who are transitioning or considering transitioning-- 

“stop applying heat”. 

If the reason why you want to go natural is to learn your natural hair texture and want to have healthy natural hair then limiting heat is important. A couple of ladies I talked to planned on transitioning their entire time by blow drying and flat ironing their hair every two weeks. Not only is this a lot of heat, but transitioning hair is weaker than both relaxed and natural hair.

When transitioning the point where the natural hair meets the relaxed hair is called the line of demarcation. The line of demarcation is extremely weak and may cause your hair to break here. (It’s the same reason of why your hair dresser may say not to go too long without a relaxer or your hair will break).

Continually applying heat to your hair while transitioning will not only increases your chances of hair breakage, but will also damage your natural hair. Applying heat at high temperatures can create heat damage altering your curl pattern. There are natural who suffered from heat damage and ended up doing a second Big Chop.

A picture from when I first started transitioning

If you want to transition or are currently transitioning I would suggest not to fight your natural hair texture by straightening. Instead, embrace your natural hair by curling your relaxed hair. Roller sets, perm rods, curlformer, bantu knot-outs, twist-outs….anything to make your hair curly.  If you don’t like any of these hairstyles braids or other protective hairstyles are a great alternative as well. Once you decide to transition start treating your hair like you are already natural.