Butterfly Kisses

If you didn't know that I am a butterfly lover, you know now! I decided to spruce up my PT with an adornment of butterflies. I hardly wear this accessory because it's very fragile but I gave it a go today. What do ya think?

I twisted the bangs and pinned it into a pompedor.

Happy Friday!

What's in your hair today?

Hair Food: Aloe Vera

Many of you are aware that I love Aloe Vera gel/juice for my hair and many of my staple products have aloe as one of the main ingredients. I read an interesting article this morning on some awesome ways that aloe vera gel/juice can be used as a pre-poo to prevent shedding and to promote a healthy scalp. The great thing I learned about aloe vera is that it not only balances the Ph of hair but it also cleanses the pores of the scalp. Everyone knows, or should know, that a clean and healthy scalp will lead to healthy growing hair.  A good pre-poo tip  is to spray or apply some aloe to your scalp and hair and let it sit for 15 minutes or overnight. The aloe will penetrate the hair shaft, seal moisture in the cuticle and prevent frizzing and dryness.  Folks over at Hairfinity say that, aloe has amazing conditioning properties and can be used as a leave- in conditioner after shampooing. I didn't know this but aloe is also a heat protectant! It can be used as a hair serum or as a protective gel before using any heated instrument like hair dryer or flat iron. I found it interesting that  aloe vera gel, wheat germ oil and coconut milk can be mixed together and used as a shampoo.It has traditionally shown great benefits for the growth of healthy, thick hair. Also, a 2:1 preparation of aloe juice/gel and extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil makes a great softner/detangler for new growth. 

I hope this little bit of information helped! It definitely gave me some fun new things to mix up in my kitchen at home. 

xoxo,

Alex

Today's HAIR: 2/22/11

I know a lot of you are going to be proud to see this post; I got another protective style, YAY! I really haven't been in the mood to do anything with my hair lately so I decided to get it cornrowed up. The whole process took about and hour, which is not bad at all. I took a few pics to show you how it turned out, I like it. If you are interested in knowing who my braider is let me know and I will email you her info. This style cost me $50.
I twisted the bangs for a T.O. and I used Sweet Ohm Hair Pudding, which I LOVE and some Oyin Greg Juice.

I'm Kinky

Look who is BACK! Yay, I missed my big "gives me personality" hair. I decided to wash yesterday because my hair was filthy and my scalp was gross. I needed a good hair cleaning. It feels to have my hair back and it looks like my hair grew a tad bit, which is always a great thing. Before I gave myself a good thorough wash I soaked my hair with water and tried the new Eco Styler "Argan Oil" Gel. I was so anxious to give it a go, LOL, I just wanted to test it out. I love it, a lot. Way better than my Olive Oil Eco Style, it's thicker and smoother. I will be doing a review soon. Any who, once I was done playing with my new gel I washed my hair really good and conditioned with Aphogee's 2 minute reconstructor. I needed a good protein treatment, ESPECIALLY because I have some heat damage...*sigh.*  I twisted my hair for a T.O. and pinned it back. Here are some pics:

I put 2 medium sized flat twists on both sides of my head and I put individual twists in the in middle. No reason really, I just wanted to try it. This morning I ended up stretching my roots with a pick and fluffing my hair into a puff ball. I swear there is NO ESCAPING the puff! 

The Heat Damage: Let me explain, when you use heat on your hair there is ALWAYS a possibility that you will get heat damage. I was lucky the first 2 times that I got my hair flat ironed but this time around I was not so lucky. The damage is only in one spot on the left side of my head. My hair is much finer around the perimeter of my head and edges so I am not surprised that my curls are now very loose waves. I do not plan on cutting my hair in the damaged spot either, it's not that bad. Click the jump for a pic. 

Update

(source)

I'm all late BUT Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you beautiful folks had a nice, relaxing, ROMANTIC day. I didn't. LOL, I was in class studying psychology while all the lovers were roaming the streets together (do I sound bitter?) I'm not. Any who, this post is just a quick hair check in. My hair has been straight for two weeks (tomorrow) and I am in absolute awe! The past 2 times I got my hair pressed was in the summer and on both occasions my hair barely lasted a DAY! I plan to wash by Friday because this head is ITCHING and is getting dirty. I have been wearing the back clipped up with my ends tucked; my bangs have been out or swooped to the side to give my "up do" some umph. Overall, I am happy with the results and the longevity of the style. I miss my curls though. Coming up in April is my 1/2 mark to my 2 year natural hair anniversary. I plan on doing a length check video (if I don't have a PT in), so look out for that. I am debating on whether or not I should get a weave for Spring time... Not sure about that yet. I do need a PT so I can retain length and reach APL by September. So we shall see.  

What are your hair plans for the Spring/Summer? Anything special?

Loc'd Man: AkinRemi

I was directed to the Remi via Twitter from one of my followers. When I saw his loc's I just had to have him on my blog. When I reached out to him he was open to the idea of being this months loc'd man and I was very excited that he agreed to the interview. His loc's are gorgeous; read his story below.

Enjoy!

1. Tell us a little about yourself: Hello World, the name is AkinRemi Sawyerr, I’m a 29 year old Nigerian currently living in Atlanta, Ga pursuing my MBA

2. How long have you been growing your locs? It’s been about 8 years

3. What do you use on your hair, product wise, to maintain it? The only thing I do outside of what my locktician does is use either Mango & Lime product or Africas Best Herbal Oil to keep it moisturized
4. How often do you have to wash and re-twist your loc’s and who styles them? My Locs don’t require that much maintenance so I get them re-twisted about every 3 months and wash it at least once a month.
5. What do you think about women with natural hair? I think it’s a beautiful thing to see a woman with natural hair, I mean what could be better than what’s natural right?!
6.  Do you care if your woman is relaxed, natural or loc’d? I won’t say I would care what my woman decides to do with her hair but my preference would be that she’s natural.
7. Do you think women who choose to loc their hair are sexy? Very.
8. What are the pros and cons about having your hair loc’d? The pros to me would be just the freedom of being yourself and not having to fit a certain conformity of society. The cons would be being mistaken to be from somewhere I’m not from, or for someone else just because I have locs.
9. What made you decide to loc your hair? Have you always had hair or did you start your loc’s from “scratch?” Im not sure what made me decide to lock my hair I just remember I got tired of rocking the baby afro in high school so I twisted my whole head when I was bored. I happened to like the look so I ended up getting them locked professionally.
10. What makes a woman’s hair beautiful to you? The way she takes care of it.. the full, rich texture of it.
11. Do you have any advice for my readers who are considering loc’ing their hair? Just let it lock and grow, no need to worry about how long it will take to get long because it will never seem long enough to you Lol.
12. Where can we find you on the web? Add me on FB.com/princeofzamundah, or @Remi_NoChaser or www.BlackOnBlackRhyme.com

Today's Hair: 2/3/11

On Monday I decided I wanted a little bit of a change with my hair, so I called up my stylist and made an apt to get my hair flat ironed on Wednesday. As usual the whole ordeal took about 2.5 hours and since my hair is a little longer now, I felt like I was there forever and a day. This time a around I wasn't pleased AT ALL with how my hair came out, which was a first. I am usually very happy with how my stylist does my hair but yesterday was a fail. She kept saying the reason why my hair wasn't holding a curl was because I need 1/2 inch cut off and I was not about the let her cut that much hair off. As you all know, I am trying to grow out my layers and I rather not have her keep cutting it because then, the layers will never catch up to each other. Don't get me wrong, I am all for trims but not when I feel like I don't need one. Anyway's I wanted a wispy, fun style that didn't leave me with "grandma hair." Since my hair is still in that awkward in between stage the wrong hair style will have me looking like a 60 year old woman in a 21 year olds body, LOL. I didn't want that BUT for some reason she could not get my hair right. I honestly think it is because of the length; I find that she is awesome at really short hair or really long hair-not so much the in between stage. I was also taken back because she kept saying my hair wouldn't lay right because "I am natural" that is so not true but I let it go. I left the salon very disappointed, I kind of felt like I wasted my $65. When I got home I played with it a little bit and finally made the the style she had given me wearable. I put the back of my hair in a ponytail and clipped it up with a hair claw. I left my bangs out around my face and when it was all said  it look cute. Thank God. See pics below. :)

Today's Hair: Flat Twist Out

Today's hair was simple, I washed last night and stretched my hair with a blow dryer. I then twisted my hair in medium sized flat twists. I used Original Moxie's "Just Gel" for some hold and a little Kinky Curly on my ends for moisture. I noticed that my hair is GROWING. My last trim was months ago and I feel like my stylist took off a lot of hair. She also trimmed the back of my hair to give it a shape when I wear straight. It feels like it's been FOREVER trying to grow out that "mini cut." My hair also grows in annoying layers and lately I have noticed that the layers are finally catching up to each other. I snapped some pics; some are below and the rest are under the jump.