Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings

These are a few of my favorite things!  

I'm starting a new series based on my current and all time favorite natural hair-care related things. 

Coming out of today's brown paper bag are my absolute basic necessities to keeping my hair happy and healthy:

Aloe Vera Gel/Jelly

I absolutely love, love, love aloe vera gel. I started using aloe vera gel about a month ago and I feel like my curls have been more moisturized and defined with slightly less shrinakge. I squeeze a glob into my hand (sometimes with a dab of glycerin) rub it through my hair and give a good shake to moisturize and give great definition. I also use it to refresh my hair for effortless day two hair.

Coconut Oil

I've been a long time lover of coconut oil.  Yes, I keep a spoon in the jar for easy access-- it's that good. It moisturizes, it seals, it leaves your hair smelling delicious and tropical. Get some.

My Satin Hair Bonnet

Yes, that's a picture of me ready for bed with my head covered. Please note the total lack of shame in my game. Protecting your hair is the most important step your can take to ensure its health. Aloe vera gel and coconut oil are major components in my nighttime hair regimen (details coming shortly) but my hair bonnet is the string that ties up that perfect package. It keeps my hair protected while I sleep and keeps it from getting dried out or tangled. Love it. 

There you go, the first installment of my Favorite Things: The Basics. 

Until next time, keep it happy and healthy.

I'm Back!

I've been up to all sorts of interesting things with my hair in the past few months, but I've been really, really bad about keeping up with this blog. I promise to do better :) .  Lately, I've started a new bedtime hair-care routine which I will be posting shortly.

'Til next time, keep it happy and healthy

The Bantu Knot and Variations

So, I've been coming up short when thinking about spicing things up stylistically. However, with some inspiration from Curly Nikki, I've decided to try setting my hair with bantu knots. Now, I've tried doing Curly Nikki's absolutely gorgeous signature 'do, the twist and curl, a few times now with less than satisfactory results. Usually, when I twist my hair, I'll leave it twisted for a few days, but the twist and curl seems to require twisting and curling on night 1 to untwist/uncurl on day 2. So, what always ends up happening is that my hair is still damp in the morning when I take my twists down, so my hair is a frizzy hot mess. This time around, I've made sure to get my hair done early enough today so that the twists/bantu knots should be dry enough tomorrow when I untwist them.

In other news, in the process of doing my hair this weekend I think I have decided my hair routine for the rest of the month of April. This is what I did this weekend:

Friday night, I prepared 200 grams of henna with about 2 cups of chilled, strongly brewed green tea, mixed well and covered. Saturday morning, I parted my hair in four sections (as always) and did a quick co-wash/detangle with a wide-tooth comb. I then jumped out of the shower, added about 1/3 cup of honey to my henna, mixed well, and applied the henna my hair. This was my third henna and I think I've got the technique down: I drape a cape over my shoulders like you would get at the salon (this really helps to protects my clothes and minimize mess) and use my gloved hands to plop and smooth the henna on and through my hair. I covered my hair with two shower caps and a towel and took a nap/watched TV for about four hours. I then rinsed the henna "paste" from my hair then rinsed my hair until the water ran mostly clear. Then I conditioned/detangled with some left over conditioners and rinsed twice. I then used a mixture of Pantene Pro-V Nourishing Moisture Replenishing Mask, coconut oil, DevaCurl One Conditioner, and Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner as a deep conditioner. I left this mixture on overnight and rinsed it out this morning. I wanted to make sure that all of the henna was out of my hair, so I did a quick co-wash with the AO Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner and rinsed thoroughly. 

After all of that, I shook my hair to remove excess moisture (I almost never use a towel on my hair) and applied Giovanni Direct Leave-in Conditioner section by section. I then twisted my hair in two strand twists using a mixture of shea butter and coconut oil to smooth down frizz and seal the ends.  I think the combination of conditioning from the henna and the deep conditioner really imparted a great healthy shine on my hair. This being my third henna, I think I've achieved enough color saturation/conditioning to actually be noticeable. I don't think I've ever seen my twists look so good. I took each twist and twisted it tightly around my finger and then around itself so that it would form a knot sort of like this. I sprayed my bantu knots with Deva Curl Set it Free and voila, the finished product:

Bantu knots from the front

From the front again, note the shine

From the top, I need to work on smoothing my roots into the twists 

And from the back: cute, tight bantu knots

On Becoming a Henna Head

Since the last time I posted (and that was way too long ago) I have become a henna head. I've jumped on the henna bandwagon like so many other natural ladies. I decided to henna after seeing all the great conditioning, strength, and length results other naturals were getting and because I wanted to mix up my hair color a bit, but in a subtle and natural way. 

I initially bought my henna from mehandi.com. I ordered  300 grams of the popular Jamilla brand and it arrived within days of my order, but it was not cheap.

One of my three boxes of Jamilla henna

Since I planned on doing my first henna that Friday night, I mixed my henna up the night before. I decided about 200 grams would be enough, and I poured that amount of henna into a container to do my mixing.

Henna must be mixed with an acidic liquid, I choose apple cider vinegar since I use it on my hair to clarify anyway. I think I probably added about 1/3 of a cup of vinegar and about 1/2 a cup of water and mixed really, really well.

After adding the vinegar, very thick consistency 

After adding the water, still quite thick

I left the mixture to sit over night for dye release, but then I didn't get around to applying it the next night, so I applied Saturday morning.

Henna on Saturday morning. Note the puddle of released dye in the corner.

Before applying the henna I added a large amount (about 1/4 of a cup) of my oil blend and mixed that really well. I jumped in the shower, got my hair soaking wet, pretreated with Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment (waste of time and money, more on this later), rinsed, then jumped out of the shower an parted my hair. I did not detangle my hair before hennaing the first time, but I did the second time. Definitely detangle your hair before applying henna.

My hair in 4 parts

My hair (detangled) in four parts, the 2nd henna

I then put on some gloves, grabbed a handful of henna, started applying it to my hair one part at a time. The henna is quite heavy and stretches your hair out while it's on. No worries, your hair will return to normal when you rinse, though some people do say that henna loosens curl. 

My head completely covered in henna

After all the henna was on, I covered my head with two plastic shower caps and wrapped my head up in a large towel. I then lounged around my house like this for about 24 hours (this is not necessary, you only have to leave the henna on for about 4 hours to get the effects, I was just being lazy). The next morning, I rinsed out the henna thoroughly, conditioned my hair thoroughly, and twisted my hair.

I've been a bad, bad girl. . .

I've been careless with this delicate blog.

I've been up to all sorts of great/interesting things with my hair in the past few weeks, updates will be forthcoming.

'Till then, keep it happy and healthy,

~T

Twist Out Pictures!

About two weeks ago, I twisted my hair. Last Saturday night, I moisturized and untwisted my hair to reveal one of my best twist-outs to date. Here are some pictures taken on Monday and today:

from the back and one side

... and from the other  side

my wavy/curly/twisty twist-out

my hair tonight (I don't know why my head looks so flat)

a quick length check.

 

The Natural Choice or Making Your Own

So, since I've really gotten serious about taking care of my hair, I've been toying with making my own haircare mixtures. My very first mix was a random concoction of whipped coconut oil, castor oil, almond oil, and jojoba oil which I used to moisturize my twists. I didn't really like the gritty consistency of the mixture, so the next time I melted the coconut oil and then added the oils. As the mixture began to solidify, I noticed that the consistency was approaching something like petroleum jelly, though the final consistency was harder and smoother. 

In addition to trying to make my own hair moisturizer, I've also found that I have been really disappointed by the ingredients in the body lotions on the shelves in my local stores. On my latest trip to Whole Foods, I saw a brand of un-petroleum jelly and after looking over the ingredients, I realized that I could probably make my own that I could use for hair or body. 

Here's what I mixed up when I got home from work:

• 1 16 oz jar of coconut oil
  
• 5 oz castor oil
• 4 oz sweet almond oil
• 4 oz apricot kernel oil
• 4 oz jojoba oil
• 2 oz aloe vera gel
• 1 oz cocoa butter
• 5 drops rosemary essential oil
• 5 drops tea rose oil

I melted the solid ingredients, whisked all of the ingredients together, and poured them into a jar. I'm not sure how the consistency will turn out since I've just made up this recipe and I didn't add vegetable glycerin which was in the brand I saw in the store. Right now, the mixture has achieved the consistency of a loose petroleum jelly, I think it will probably continue to harden, I'll have to check on it tomorrow to see if I like the consistency. 

The Development of Routine

So, about a week and a half ago, right after I decided to give up on any type of formal protective style challenge, I put my hair in twists. . . the irony of this has not escaped me. 

I decided that my hair needed a bit of TLC, so I gave it the spa treatment. Also, I'm trying to work out a hair regimen, and I needed to figure out how long it takes to do all the things I need to do to my hair.  

 First, I have to say that for some reason, I  had been extremely resistant to an idea that I picked up over on Mane and Chic. I have a lot of very thick hair that tends toward tangling and is starting to get quite long and is really to much to handle all at once. But, I thought that parting my hair in four separate sections would be a lot of work and wouldn't help. I was so wrong. I jump in the shower, throughly wet my hair, make a part down the middle both ways, secure with "Ouchless" hair ties, and I'm good to go. When I part my hair in four sections and deal with each section individually, it makes the whole "hair doing" process SO much quicker and easier. 

Anyway, I shampooed using Carol's Daughter Tui Herbal Shampoo. I thought about diluting the shampoo, but I hadn't actually washed my hair in awhile and I knew I was going to deep condition after, so I just used it straight. After the shampoo, I conditioned and detangled using Nature's Gate Jojoba Conditioner. I then used a completely home made deep conditioner inspired by the ladies over at black girl with long hair. I left the deep conditioner on for 1.5-2 hours, and then rinsed with some varied conditioners I had lying around because I didn't like the way the deep conditioner made my hair smell. 

I took A LOT of care twisting my hair, and it came out looking really great (I failed to take pictures). I used the Giovanni's Direct Leave in Conditioner and my homemade concoction to moisturize. I combed each section and twisted in medium sized sections and then smoothed down flyaways and sealed my ends with some more of my homemade moisturizer. I wore my twists for a week moisturizing every couple of days.

The Inspiration that Is A Follower (or Two)

So, I logged in today to write a post that I thought that no one but maybe a few friends might ever read, and low and behold, I have have followers. People are actually reading my blog! I have definitely not been posting here as often as I had originally intended, nor have I been as dedicated as I would have liked to have been, but knowing that other people have read what I'm writing is such an inspiration to keep on writing. 

. . .

I'm so excited. 

Now to the blogging....

The Highs and Lows of a Protective Style Challenge

Last week, I wrote that I would try to continue with my protective style challenge of keeping my hair in twists. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), I only woke my twists until last Saturday because they were not looking great. Since I was disinclined (read: too lazy) to put my hair in another set of twists, I smoothed out the front of my hair with a scarf and wore my twist-out in a bun for a few days. I then wore a wash-and-go for another two days before conditioning and twisting my hair in much larger that normal twists on Thursday night (I really need to get better about taking pictures). I took  these twists out on Friday morning and they looked good so I wore a twist-out that day. 

Some point this past week I realized that I had basically been keeping a routine that included protective styling the entire time I've been natural. I usually washed and conditioned my hair and then twisted it. I would wear the twists for a week and then wear the twist-out for a week. This routine helped me go from a TWA after my big chop in December 2006 to nearly bra strap length today. Clearly, I was doing something right. So, while I admire all the ladies keeping to their Winter Protective Style Challenge, I just don't think it's right for me at this stage in my natural hair journey.  

The Wonders on Bentonite Clay

Inspired by the ladies over at black girl with long hair I decided to blog about my experiences with Bentonite Clay.

In the winter of 2006, I took a relief trip to New Orleans to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. One of the girls on the trip was stung by a mosquito on her eyelid and her eye swelled shut. One of the other volunteers gave her this clay to put on the bite and within hours her eye was back to normal. I was amazed by this clay and its ability to remove the toxins and impurities from my friend's skin, and I wanted to know where I could get some.

Fast forward three years, and I've finally got my hands on some of this *amazing* clay. I have had troubled, acne prone skin since the onset of puberty, and I've been looking since then for some miraculous product to clear up my skin. I was in my local Whole Foods store a few months ago when I stubbled across this

 

and I knew it had to be the clay that reduced my friends baseball sized eye back to its normal proportions. So, I snatched it up and I've been using this brand of bentonite clay as a weekly mask for a couple of months now, and my skin has never been clearer. I also use it as an overnight spot treatment when I get a blemish, and usually wake up with said blemish noticeably smaller. I mix a few spoonfuls of clay in a bowl with some apple cider vinegar and water to about the consistency of loose pancake batter, rub it into my face, layer it on, and let it dry for about 20 minutes. When left to dry on your face, the mask gets tight and your skin really does pulsate, but in a nice way. To remove, I rinse it off with warm water and rub on my moisturizer of choice. Since it's winter, I have been following up my water based moisturizer with some jojoba, coconut or castor oil, especially on the drier patches of my skin. 

I had seen some really great results on my skin using this product, but I was still skeptical when I saw Curly Nikki and other natural hair bloggers using it in their hair. Still, I decided to give it a chance, and last Saturday I used this special clay on my hair. I pretreated my hair the night before with a mix of almond, coconut, and castor oils and some Suave Naturals coconut conditioner. I braided my hair in two french braids, covered it with a plastic cap and a pair of pantyhose, and went to bed. The next day I unbraided my hair, rinsed it out, and divided it into four parts. I mixed up my clay with water, honey, and oils and applied it to each of my sections using my hands and occasionally dipping my hair into the bowl of clay. I covered my hair with a plastic cap and waited about 30 minutes. I rinsed my hair out really well, co-washed with the Suave, and conditioned using Organix Coconut Milk conditioner. My hair was super smooth, tangle free, and had amazing, great coil definition. A lot of the bloggers have said that the clay left their hair feeling dry which I did not find to be the case, though my hair did feel a bit weird before I conditioned it. 

The short story is, I'll definitely be including this clay in my routine as a treatment every other week.

Keep it happy and healthy 'til next time,

~t

The Virtues of Protective Styling

Inspired by Fleurtzy at Texture Playground  a few weeks ago, I decided to wear my hair in protective styles for the rest of the winter, until my birthday in mid-March. I succeeded in wearing my hair in twists for two weeks before I punked out and wore a twist out for a week and then a wash and go for almost a week. Last night, I decided to get back on the bandwagon.

I clarified my hair with a 2:1 mix of water to apple cider vinegar to which I added a touch of jojoba oil. I conditioned with TRESemmé Deep Moisture Conditioner (not my favorite, but the 32 oz bottle was on sale for about $3). I used the Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Hair Remoisturizing conditioner as a leave in (it was also on sale for about $3.50). I then twisted my hair in relatively large two strand twists using the Wen Sweet Almond Mint styling creme and sealed using my homemade oil concoction (more on this later). Finally, I curled the ends of most of my twists using really small slotted perm rods. I covered my hair with my satin bonnet and went to bed. I'm going to try to wear these twists until maybe next Wednesday, but they are already starting to look pretty fuzzy.

I'm really dedicated to growing my hair out and keeping it protected from the harsh Massachusetts winter, but it's hard for me to stick to protective styling for two major reasons: 

1. I love playing in my hair (though manipulation is not good for growth)
   
2. I have a limited repertoire or protective styles (namely, two strand twists).

My first problem is avoided easily enough, but I don't think my hair is long enough yet to bun, and I definitely need to pick up some new protective styles if I'm going to make it through the winter.

Until next time,

Keep it Happy and Healthy

~t

Twists, Twist Outs, and Protective Styles

As part of my hair growth goal, I wore my hair twisted for one week, untwisted, co-washed, deep conditioned, and re-twisted my hair. 

    

The first twist out

The twists after a week from the top and side.

After wearing my twists for a week, they were starting to look really frizzy and less thann attractive. I spritzed my hair with with Carol's Daughter Tui Leave in conditioner and  moisturized using my homemade concoction of coconut, castor, almond, and jojoba oils and un-twisted my hair. This was definitely my best twist out ever, and even though I had previously decided to only wear protective styles, I wore this twist out for a week.

A New Hair Care Regimen

So, one of my hair goals for 2009 is to retain and gain length. As of now, my hair is just past my collar bones, but I'd like to get my hair down to armpit length or (being extremely optimistic) down to bra strap length. As such, I've decided that I'm going to need to make some changes to my current (-ly non-existent) hair care regimen.

1. I need to wear my hair in protective styles. I define protective styles as any style that involves minimal manipulation (combing, brushing, etc) of my hair. I'm thinking of sticking to two-strand twist to start out. I'm still trying to decide if a twist out is a protective style.
2. I need to do a much better job of keeping my hair moisturized. Right now, my hair and scalp are constantly dry and I'm going to try to make an effort to deep condition at least every other week and moisturize daily.
3. I've read a lot about co-washing on other natural hair care blogs, and I think I'm going to try to co-wash weekly and moisturize before putting my hair up in a protective style. 

I'm going to co-wash, moisturize and twist my hair and post the pictures later today.

Welcome

So, I'm starting this blog: Heathy, Happy Hair to chronicle my continuing natural hair journey. I know how important natural hair blogs and forums were to me in deciding to go natural and I hope that this blog can be equally inspirational and educational to other women who have gone natural or are in the process of transitioning. I hope to have lots of pictures, product reviews, tips and tricks, and links to other hair blogs. 

'Til next time, keep it happy and healthy,

~t