Protective Style: Three Strand Twist

Now when i first learned of this, i was like no way is that possible, but it and and its fairly easy..
fairly.

Now I found a simple tutorial on youtube (click here) that completely dumbed it down. I always refer back to this video when i get my finger placement wwrong or need a refresher. its simple, and i liked the fact that she showed you how to do it with the yarn rather than having to try to catch her finger movements as she does her own hair.

So yea...

I havent done these in a while, the last time being 2012 (i think) yep it was then so lets compare shall we

dec. 2012 vs. feb 2014

 
Not that much of a difference other than length of my hair, i colored it, and i did them a bit chunkier. The method used (not that you can really see it) is also different. I had to go back and make some smaller since they were really puffy. I use a tension method to keep the twist really tight. Meaning that after a few times of going around i would pull at the ends as far as it would go to bring the hair up and start twisting again.

I recently saw this video and i like the method of braiding the hair a bit first (same as a stylist would do when twisting with extensions) and starting the twist from there.

I like how mines came out and how i look with the twist. I'm leaving it in until friday. Got an exam that day and then Saturday is the Locs Revolution: Know Your Roots natural hair even in Harlem. Ill be there as brand ambassador for Alikay Naturals.

So come through!

Have you tried 3 strand twists before?

A.Soul

Product Review: Entwine Couture 'Fall Ready Collezioni'

Hey all, i was a giveaway queen for th new year! last week i used my goodies from @MNRtv, loved the Miss Jessie's shampoo, didnt get a wow with their leave in condish but i'll try it again. Same with the sweetback treatment.

This week i used my hair crack (Mixed Chicks) for wash day. I dont use it often since my pockets arent that deep. But know this, as soon as that deep conditioner hits my hair, my hair is in HEAVEN!!!!

Ahem..
Any who here's what i used

I somehow ended up with two boxes (not that im complaining but i gave one to my coworker since she was looking in to getting the sample kit from Amazon). From Entwine Couture I got their Fall Ready Collezioni: which included full sizes of their 

• Exotique leave in hair potion (here)
• 100% raw+vegan argan oil (here)
• Exotique butter creme hydrator (here)
• Creme jelle styler (here)

After i washed my hair, toweled dried it, let it air dry for bit and then followed up with the leave in. Then the argan oil ( i do like the pump!) and the butter creme hydrator. This was my LOC. These three are very light weight and have a very light scent to them. i followed up with my now foods castor oil and the creme jelle styler. The styler is a heavier consistency but also very fluffy as well, it was whipped really well. 

I did some three strand twists ( next post) and that was it. I liked the feel of the products going into my hair. I prefer the creme jelle styler over the butter creme in that my hair needs a heavier moisturizer. The leave in was a bit more watery than i liked. But my hair feels awesome. I dont even have to say anything about my ends this time around (my problem area) cause they are well and truly hydrated.

I highly recommend this! 

Iits CG friendly as well - no mineral oils, parabens, petrolatum, or phthalates. 

Enter the Entwine Giveaway here

Love,
A.Soul

Product Review: Miss Jessie's & ORS

It was a Miss Jessie's wash day this weekend. I recently won the super slip sudsy shampoo and leave in condish from the My Natural Reality birthday giveaway  and i already had some samples from various other natural hair events that i've been to in the past few years. (Exact pic of everything i used! lol)

                        

HOWEVER!...

This is my first time using any of it. Cause you know my pockets dont run that deep and its 50/50 on what people say about it. I am more for the CG method of being natural staying away from cones, parabens, sulfates, mineral oils, etc... And the first thing i see on the shampoo ingredient list after water is Ammonium Lauryl sulfate ...

((((O_O)))) (lord give me strength)

But i did it and i really like this shampoo... didnt get that slip it talked about but it did suds up nicely and my hair did not feel stripped and was really moisturized (thank you jeezus!). Will i purchase again... meh. lets see how my pockets feel when it runs out lol.

Now i followed up with ORS Replenishing Conditioner cause i personally felt my hair (specifically the ends)  needed that extra bit of protein care. But it didnt do much for me, did not like how my hair felt afterwards and this was a first. I then deep conditioned with the Super Sweetback Treatment..

BUT WAIT! (mad jamaican wit it lol)

What did i think i was going to accomplish with the 1-.46oz pillow pack with my big ass head of hair???.. 

Again did not like how my hair felt afterwards. And the bumblegum scent was alright (like bubble tape in my hair lol). I dont think sweetback is for me.. but ill give it another go (without the protein tx) and then try the rapid recovery tx. I did the same method as my last wash and while rinsing out the sweetback treatment... added Shea Moisture's restorative conditioner on my hair as well. It gave it some life but not much.

Moisture Method: The leave in condish was nothing special. Meaning i didnt notice much of a difference in my hair putting it in.  followed by oil, alikay's shea yogurt, castor oil and then the jelly soft curls. And i already like the jelly soft curls, i notice the the curl enhancement as soon as i lay that on my hair.... love my LOCO G method!


Now the SCENT! They were not kidding with they called it a FRESH SCENT! i Felt like i had just washed linen following me around with a hint of lemon and apples mixed in. Its a very light fresh clean but slightly sweet scent. 

I dont mind it. I dont mind it at all.

Recommendations: ALL OF IT! =) Honestly i did like everything. Ill give the sweetback treatment another go (bigger size of course!) But for you guys I would try the sample packs/ 2oz sizes first before you go all full size and yes they do offer them on the site! =)

Love,
A.Soul

Moisture Routine: The LOCO G!

Huh?

I bet you're confused but have no fear i shall explain.
=)

After the take down of my braids my hair was in serious need of some TLC which i gave it last weekend. and i had it in a protective style for most of last week until i decided to wear my hair in it twist out.
With this cold weather i did not moisturize as well as i should have =/

Le Sigh...

But i did use my LOC method and sealed afterwards with some castor oil midweek, which helped in sealing in moisture on my somewhat crispy ends. So it became an LOC+O. I usually go LOC+G, sealing it all in with a light weight gel (ors loc & twist creme, miss jessie's jelly soft curls, or curls cashmere curl jelly). I liked how my hair felt after sealing with the castor oi so i said i'd do it again for this week.

But this weekend i decided for an uber method the LOCO G! lol yes you read it right (the crazy g!)

So its pretty much all i said earlier loc method with an oil followed by gel in the end.Yes it sounds like much but if you have coarse (4b/c) hair that soaks up moisture and want to wear your hair out in the 11 degree weather out in NYC then you have to go to extremes..

(damn polar vortex!)

O_O

So this is what i used this week.. i traded up the alikay naturals leave in for the miss jessie's leave in condish (won it in a giveaway.. it was a miss jessie's wash day!)

My hair feels awesome and I wont be moisturizing again til the end of this week.. hopefully!

Whats your moisture routine like?

A.Soul

Protective Style: Flat Twists & Roll Tuck

found this on Entwine Naturalle Couture facebook page.. might be my style for this week!

i dont know if i'll get my twists this lose, cause i usually twist tighter than whats shown but ill give it a go

And there it is. Not as neat as hers but i like it and it fits my face. Instead of leaving the back straight i had it in mini-twists to give it a more crinkled look. Left that in for two days before i took them out and roll tuck them away. 

Protective Style II Take Down & Wash Day

                     

Braids are gone people! (finally) After 7 long weeks, i took them down friday and im and so glad to have my hair out and about again. Its a learning experience doing these type of long term protective styles. its long term for me since i dont where my hair in twists for more than a week or 2, 3 is sometimes stretching it.

But take down took me an entire day. I pretty much stayed home after my surgery and chilled on netflix on my brothers big screen lo. Like the loc extensions, i took my time taking out the hair, spraying my roots with the acv spray and ball of dirt collected at the start of the braids. I gently pulled that apart and finger combed for each braid. After a while the pain kicked in from sitting in one position so long and i had to stop for the rest of the night.

heres a good video to watch on take down..

Saturday was wash day. i treated with a protein treatment plus a bit of garlic in the mix to help with my major shedding that occurred. Garlic will be a new addition to my weekly treatments from now on. Afterwards i followed through with the luscious locks shea butter shampoo (can find here or here) and then alikay naturals honey sage deep conditioner (here).

                               

With the DC i read on Curly Nikki this "Before rinsing, add a daily conditioner to seal in the treatment" It was a couple months ago before when i read this that i finally put it to use this weekend because hair still felt some type of way to me. i used Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Restorative Conditioner and it felt great afterwards. i would have used the shampoo but it smells something awful. Never have i ever used used the raw shea shampoo before and it smelled rancid (like rotten eggs and perm)... Just NO! i was not using it and i emailed them immediately! i really like their shampoo its just his one bottle that came out wrong... Lets see how that goes (cue side eye)

As for moisturizing and styling products, i used;

• alikay naturals lemongrass leave in (20% off Code FOC2014, ends 2/10)
• my oil mixture
• alikay natural shea yogurt moisturizer (20% off Code NMEL2014, ends 2/20)
• luscious locks shea butter curl enhancer (out of this months curlkit)

A well needed trim followed. I dusted my ends in th large sections after moisturizing. then again in smller sections as i went through for styling. I was aiming for a flexi rod set.. before i headed out for my friends surprise birthday party (of course my hair didnt dry in time... NEED HOODED DRYER!)... ended up with two large flat twists for the night (no pics)

And now i need a protective style for the week, cause its gonna be cold in NYC =(

...found it yesterday, new post with pics later!

Happy Days,

A.Soul

Protective Style:: Box Braids: Maintenance & Wash Day

So its been 4 weeks since ive had these box braids in (my mommy did them for me!) And ive been treating them so poorly. The first week or two i was tying it every night, spraying it with the Alikay Naturals leave in, massaging in my oils... and now its just like i cant bother with it.

The first and third week i treated it to a dry wash with my ACV spray. Last week there was also some shampoo used (Shea Moisture Raw Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo), and i used a wash rag to get into btween the braids after rinsing them with some water. I was only focused on my scalp and not the mength of the hair.

today i really shampooed and conditioned cause it was needed.

1. i sprayed my scap with the ACV spray and gently rubbed it in to help alleviate the build up accrued. In it i have water, acv, tea tree, rosemary and peppermint
2. i rinsed using my applicator bottle ( then filling my applicator bottle about halfway with luscious locks shea butter shampoo. again focusing on my scalp i sprayed it on gently rubbing so as not to irritate it. then i rinsed with warm water. 
3. i filled a small spray bottle with water and herbal essences hello hydration conditioner and sprayed my scalp and the length of my actual hair on the braids. After i felt that i saturated it enough i poured the rest of mixture in and let it sit for about 5 minutes while i worked it into my scalp, again gently rubbing before rinsing with cool water. Always do your final rinse with cool to cold water.
4. lastly i took my rag and went in between the parts to get any lasting shampoo or conditioner that may have been left behind. i towel dried my hair (yea yea bad girl... ill get a microfiber towel for the next wash day) and went off to moisturize
5. i sprayed with the leave and oiled my scalp and hair. I oiled my scalp directly and then pouring some oils into my hands and rubbing it along the lengths of my hair. i saw this done in Jenell's video and she said that since that part of the hair was older and still exposed in someway despite being in a protective style it still needed to be moisturized as well. I thought about taking it a step further and finishing but with a C but that was too much

There was no set way in how i washed it. At one point it was all down (like the chick from the grudge) while i sprayed it. another point it was all in my fist stretched away from my head while i rinsed it witrh the applicator bottle sans spout. i was not trying to get it all wet since i had somewhere tp go later and had no dryer at home.

Funny how im trying to take care of my braids in the last two weeks when i havent been doing so well to begin with. All i know is i wont be doing box braids again. ill stick to twists (Marley, Havana, Senegalese, yarn) and loc extensions, 

Oooooh and i measured my new growth (like i really sat down at my desk at work with a ruler measuring it) but any who i measured 1 in. of growth in the four weeks that iv had the braids in.

But yea my wash routine all without completely soaking my hair all the way through. Simple for these short term styles nad not you know months at a time (which i cannot do). All i know is im starting to miss my fro but in this cold ass NYC weather im good rocking it out only for a week or two at a time, well now at least.

Whats your protective style(s) for the winter or cold weather months?

A.Soul

DIY Hair Care: Protein Treatment

Now, protein treatments are a must for all hair types, whether natural or straight, male or female... it must be done. Depending on your hair type there are heavy and light protein treatments.

For a light protein: i recommend: Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing Conditioner (light citrus scent, leaves hair manageable and soft, great slip, and an all time personal fave... costs about $6-8 for 12.25 oz or $12-14 for 33.8oz)

For a heavier protein: I usually make my own. . but so far (in terms of buying) I tried the

• Tropical Isle Black Castor Oil Protein Conditiner ( was not fond of the mustard smell and my hair was font of the product at all)
• Aubrey Organics GPB: Love. love love 
• HiProPac Protein Treatment: I really liked this one, my hair came out feeling awesome and i would highly recommend it to others
• Homemade:
• Chocolate Hair Mask: cocoa powder, egg, yogurt, oils, honey
• Mayo Mask: Egg, Mayo, Oils

Now with my mayo mask, i changed it up this weekend. Instead of just mayo, egg, and oils, i added some extraness (yea i made it up) I put in some ACV (restore's hairs pH balance and great scalp cleanser) and Aloe Vera Gel (good for dry scalp/dandruff). The main reason being that my hair has been breaking a lot lately (i havent been treating it very well) and it needed a good balancing cleanser as well since i was putting in a protective style for the next month.

The Recipe:

• 1/3-1/2 cup mayo (depends on how much hair you have)
• 1 whole egg
• 2 tbsp oils of choice (i recommend what ever oil mixture you use or a mix of evoo, rosemary, tea tree, peppermint
• 2 capfuls of Bragg's ACV or if store brand (already distilled) use 1 oz
• 1-2 oz of Aloe Vera Gel

This mix worked really great for my hair. I mixed it in my parkay mixing bowl (yea i reuse lol), had a semi thick consistency (need more mayo for thicker consist-), and used and applicator brush to apply to my hair. I recommend detanglign your hair beforehand. I did it with the mix and my head was so tender afterwards (like i said my hair was suffering from neglect i was all tangled up). 

My hair was so soft and manageable afterwards, had shine, my ends were loving it (jest needed a trim) and my scalp was clean. Everything a protein treatment needed. I followed with the Ori Essentials cleansing cowash and moisturizing conditioner (thumbs up)...LOC..style.

Product Review: Alikay Naturals

Photo Credit: BlackOnyxWord

Hey all, so its time for another review and i could have sworn i did one on Alikay Naturals, LLC before but i guess not. So Alikay Naturals, LLC is a natural hair & body product line based in Florida, and smells heavenly. So far i have tried their lemongrass leave in conditioner (spritz), the honey sage deep treatment, the shea yogurt moisturiser, the creme brulee curl custard, and the essential 17 hair growth oil. (click on links to head over to the Alikay Naturals, LLC page for product information and price)

*review free of choice and products from my own money or my monthly curlkit subscription.. same thing*

PhotoCredit: CurlyandLovely

The first product i ever tried from them was the creme brulee curl custard, some time last year and it did wonders on my curls. They popped out gorgeously but i didnt like how my hair felt. It was a bit stiff and crunchy and my hair shrunk... a lot. Now this was in the stage of me still learning about my hair and what it likes. Also i dont think i used it in a way to really bring out the best of the product so i didnt write it off completely. I just saved it as something i would use as a later date. Especially since it smelled so heavenly. I think i spent more time sniffing it than actually wanting to use it in my hair lol

Photo Credit: AlikayNaturals

The second product i tried was the shea yogurt moisturizer. This was such a tiny sample that i only had enough to use on my ends only. At the time i was still working out a good moisturizing routine and shea butter worked great on my dry brittle ends, so i kept using it as such while i worked custards and cremes on my hair directly. Like i said my moisturizing routine was a work in progress and i had not discovered the LOC method yet. But my hair did like wjat the shea yogurt did i just wished i had a bigger size to see how my hair would really take to it.

Photo Credit: BlackOnyxWorld

Now, since the takeover last month for my CurlKit subscription, the only product i used was the lemongrass leave in.i used this product almost everyday while i had my marley hair loc extensions in. And yes the spritz did leave my hair smelling like lemons but it was a sweet scent that i could take any day. I continued using my own oil mixture for the duration of the time i had my twist in and kept spraying my hair with the spritz. It was lightweight and i really didnt have to worry about any product buildup since it was not heavy or a cream leave in. This stayed in my bag and continues to do so. Im making it stretch by adding water to it.

Photocredit: MyCurlyMane

Over the weekend i used the honey sage deep conditioner, the essential 17 hair growth oil, and the shea yogurt moisturizer. The honey sage conditioner had a thick but airy consistency, like it was whipped and and  a bit grainy. It went on my hair nicely and provided a good slip for my to finger detangle/comb my hair. The scent... hmmm... well in the bottle it was light but a bit musky, on my hair im sitting in the chair wondering why am i smelling pine sol... not not the lemon scent but the original, you know the amber liquid looking on. I was not happy. Im guessing it was the sage since honey does not smell that way to me in my hair. I love they way my hair felt afterwards -soft, moisturized, lush. The only thing is the smell... that pine sol smell, lingered... joy.

PhotoCredit: MyNaturalHaven

I sprayed the leave in, used the oil (i really like that it came in a mini applicator style... tube bottle with screw applicator top) and i realized the scent was stronger. Sniffing the oil mixture i knew why... seriously that pine sol scent was so strong.  my brother says it smells like Dettol (if your Caribbean you know what it is!) so it wasn't the deep conditioner but the oil. I went back to smell and compare the two, the conditioner and the oil. And i really do like the lightweight sweet but musky scent of the honey sage i dont know why it smelt liked pine sol in my hair but the oils... despite how good it may claim to work it (first time user), I would not purchase it ever, simply because the one i got smelt like straight pine sol. Hey first impressions are important. I looked at other reviews of the oil and saw that again with those that got it from CurlKit it smelt similar but purchased full size from website, it smelt like peppermint... hmmm.

Ill see if i can doctor it up with some peppermint. I think its the rosemary (never did like how that smelt on its own) and the emu oil (though i should smell it before i throw it under the bus). so i let you guys know later how it turned out after i 'fix' it. Other than the emu oil this is exactly like my own oil blend but my own smells so much better!!! So there really is no need for me to purchase this mix.

I would like to know what the rest of the ingredients are in the 'Herbal & Botanical blend' that they put on the labels. Also if they notice the double rosemary listed on the growth oil label. I'm not a stickler for these (just want to stay away from mineral oil, parabens, and sulfates... which it does) but you would think spell check and grammar would be put into use when mass producing something. also a complete listing of product for those that are product Nazis.. i mean what if there is something that someone is allergic to or gives a bad skin reaction?.. (you never know!)

So i have my hair twisted with the shea butter (will post pics tomorrow), i didnt use any gel like i normally would after the LOC method to lock everything in and give my extra hold. I wanted to see how my hair would react to all the Alikay Naturals, LLC products as is. Would i recommend, the stuff i used... absolutely. And if anyone can get over the scent of the essential 17 oil then by all means go for it. But like i said before not everyone experienced the same scent, just the one the takeover CurlKit from what i've heard online. If not then do like i do, buy the oils separately and make your own mix.

Heres a the store listing link for those that would like to find it somewhere other than online.

Enjoy.

A. Soul

Hair care: Horsetail Oil

So sometime last year i think i made a list of new oils i wanted to try, mostly after researching oils to help with my aunts hair loss and growing bald spots since she went natural. She finally BC'd but the hair loss from weaving was that great and she had bald patches all over her head.

Le Sigh...

So i was gona make her a growth oil mixture with castor oil, burdock root, nettle, rosemary, horsetail, and other carrier oils, such as jojoba, carrot, avocado, sweet almond to balance it all out. Well i finally bought the horsetail oil and ive been using it for the past week or so. I dont like to give someone something without trying it first.

And let me tell you i suck at trying new things cause you know you're supposed to do the before and after pic's and i never remember, until after i start using it like now

:Shrug:

But any who like ive been saying, ive been using horsetail oil for the past couple of weeks or so, and my scalp reacted to it like the first use of JBCO. it was itching like crazy. Ive been using it in my oil mixture to seal my hair and grease my scalp mid week, but this time i used it in my oil mixture for a hot oil treatment.

OH MY FRACK! where is the relief?!

seriously it went on like that for a little over 2 weeks before i got used to it. Now I'm just like whatevs and keep it moving. I don't use the oil more than 3x out of the week... when i first wash sunday and maybe 2 days after to grease my scalp (10-15min scalp masage) then another two days later for the same reason and then wash day again sunday. using it more than that will cause hair to become dry and brittle or so they say but im not taking any chances.

i've gotten a lot of growth since then, and my hair despite it always being full and thick, seems to be a bit more fuller lately. and i love it!

I do reccommend that you give it a try. there are horsetail capsules if you want to give that a try as well, but i highly reccommend you speak to your physician before you add that to your vitamin regimen. and yes there are the leaves so you can do your tea rinses or drink it as tea... but again with oral consumption speak to your physician first.

enjoy your journey!

The No PrePoo CoWash

Yea that did not work out..

so i was running late to work one day and forgot all about body hygiene that day... i washed my face and brushed my teeth  but no shower i dressed and ran lol

Coming home though my mom said she smelled my arm.. i was just like damn i aint shave or shower (tmi, i know but who cares) so i knew i was funky... headed straight to the shower and decided to CoWash while i was in there just because..

Let. me. tell. you!

my hair felt like trash!

while i was under the water,it felt dry, like dry dry like i needed a protein treatment or hot oil treatment but it wasnt necessary like i moisturized the day before so it surprised me...im so used to doing my prepoo stage with my oils over night or before washing that feeling it without that stage was just like ugh

Hell i even skipped on the sectioning part

I know, i know i was just asking for it... detangling was no fun, Hello Hydration didnt do much for my dry hair, it felt matted and just yuck

So for the future i know to never, ever, ever ever ever ever skip on my prepoo stage or the sectioning of my hair even for a CoWash

lol

Chocolate Hair Mask (Protein Conditioner)

Hello to all you fabulous readers out there, though i don't know if anyone actually reads these things but I had another DIY Hair Care weekend and it involved my favorite thing of all time: CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!

love the smell, the taste, the creaminess... you know the all around yumminess!

Now what made me decide to use chocolate on my hair... well i had the Hershey's cocoa powder in my house and i wondered if i could use a hair mask out of it..

you know what came next right?... GOOGLE!

So here are the benefits:

"Chocolate is high in fat and has a bit of protein - a great combination for a conditioner worth trying.  (This sweet also has a small amount of caffeine, which studies have suggested may stimulate hair growth in those suffering from balding.[1])" via hair & health

"Yogurt (or yoghurt for our lovely ladies in the UK) is high in lactic acid, and has natural antifungal and antibacterial properties. The yogurt works to stimulate hair growth and fight dandruff by acting as a natural cleanser that tightens and clarifies the pores on your scalp. The protein properties help to strengthen and moisturize your hair and to tame persistent, pesky fly-aways by smoothing your strands. The creamy consistency and antibacterial ingredients help to soothe your scalp and reduce any itchiness." via Lipstick Masala

Honey: humectant

So here is where i found the Chocolate Hair Mask Recipe

And here is how i found the supplies: Cocoa powder (ill use melted dark chocolate next time) and honey: my cupboard, the Greek yogurt stole it from the office fridge (hey if no one was gonna eat it i might as well put it to good use!)

 

they said saran wrap (like i really have that in my house) i used a plastic bag as usual lol

Oh my yum! the smell of chocolate in the air! left this on covered for a good hour or so, and washed it out with warm water, followed by a blast of cold water. I didn't shampoo afterwards. just left some oil in overnight cause my ends felt crunchy and that was it. 

I  moisturized with shea moisture curl smoothie, and whipped shea butter on my ends for the day (it was laundry day!), followed by kinky curl curling custard when i styled it up in bantu knots for the night.

 

(im at work so dont mind the background!)

This is more of a summer time mask, yogurt cools body temp down and honey draws in moisture from the hair.. but its cold out here in nYC

All in all my hair loved the mask, but my ends weren't feeling it this time =/