Talk About M....I....A!!!!

2016????    2016!!!

Man did life take me away!! Maybe I lost track of what I was trying to achieve with this blog once I went fully natural.  Spent more time just trying to figure it out, and less item documenting. I've been natural maybe 5 years now....I think... Wore a lot of twist outs, had a set back, self trimmed. Went into protective style mode.  I'm still playing with the wig idea.

Transitioner's Corner | What Have I Been Doing with My Hair Lately?

Hello there! I have been MIA yet again. I get so mad at myself when I've been away to long. I enjoy blogging, but sometimes "I just don't feel like it" *in my whiny voice*. When I get home from a long day of work and whatever else I've had to do, I just want to relax.  Getting on my laptop after sitting at a computer all day is the last thing I feel like doing when I get home, even for enjoyment. But I do like when I keep up with what's going on with me and my hair because I like to have that record that I can go back an revisit later on.

I'm usually pretty boring with my hair but I have been trying a few things here and there to switch things up a bit. I rarely stray from my everyday bun, but every now and again I get an itch to try something different.  I was going through some old photos (that I had intended to post) and thought I'd share them here.

DIY Off the Should Sweatshirt

So this is not your typical hair post but is still somewhat related.  Fall has come and the weather is starting to get cooler. Of course that means it's time to bring out everything warm, cozy, and cute.

Well some of you may know that I am currently transitioning to natural hair. I'm actually right around 81 weeks post. I've made it just over a year and a half! Woot! Lately I've been loving a lot of the natural hair apparel that I have seen popping up on my Instagram feed with words of inspiration for natural gals. I just love it...but sometimes these items can be a little bit pricey.  Well, my sis planted the seed in my head of designing my own so I figured I'd give it a shot!

I watched a few videos on making your own off the should sweatshirt and there didn't seem to be too much to it. I will be honest and say that I wasn't completely happy with my results but it was not too awful for my first attempt.  Here are the items that I used for my project.

1. Medium sized men's Fruit of the Loom Sweatshirt from Walmart

2. Iron on Lettering purchased from Hobby Lobby

3. Scissors

4. Measuring Tape

5. Iron

I wanted to do a video of my first DIY attempt at designing my own sweatshirt, but my video recording application on my laptop did not want to cooperate with me; so no video. I thought that would have been fun to do.  If you want to attempt your own project, I'd suggest watching a few videos before attempting as I wish I had done. I found one the I wish I had seen after I had already started cutting. She was the one that used measuring tape, which I didn't have at first. LOL! I am posting her video below.  I liked the care she took in cutting the neckline.  She is actually doing a t-shirt hear and not a sweatshirt; but similar concept.

Here is the finished result of my sweatshirt! I was not completely happy, but of course it was a learning experience. First I think I bought the sweatshirt too big for my liking.  Secondly, I think I made the neckline too big. I definitely wish I had measured first and I might have been happier with it.

I didn't know what I wanted it to say but my sis and I were browsing around Hobby Lobby and she saw the lettering that spelled out L-O-V-E.  I looked at her and said "How would I use that". "Natural Love" she said to me. Duh moment! But I loved it.  I purchased additional lettering for the "Natural" part of my shirt.  I just followed the directions on the packaging to iron on the letters and Voila! My own off -the-shoulder natural inspired sweatshirt. And I must say it is SUPER comfy and cozy!

So what do you guys think? Have you done any DIY projects lately? Do tell!

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Lots of LOVE!

Another Wash Day, Another New Product

It has been a while, so I'd figure I'd come at ya'll with a wash day post.  I don't enjoy posting about my wash days so much, because I feel like it will come off a bit boring.  But being a transitioner, sharing my changes in technique might help some one else going through their transitioning phase. So I figure why not.  So here we go....

Well, before I jump into this past wash day, just let me say that I am constantly tweaking my technique.  I am still experimenting with what I think will make my wash day a little easier and a little bit quicker than the last. This has def been a struggle.

DETANGLE

I sectioned my hair into four quadrants as I always do on wash day and spritzed with Mane and Tale Detangler before hoping in the shower. I rinsed and detangled my hair while in the shower with my detangling brush.  This was kind of a new technique. I noticed with passed wash days, if I had just recently moisturized and sealed my hair, it is SOOO easy to detangle in the shower before shampooing. I was also trying to use up product, so this was a good way to do it.

SHAMPOO

Another kind of new-ish technique; I split each quartered section of hair in half and braided it after detangling to keep it stretched out, leaving me with 8 braids total.  I then applied my Mane and Tail shampoo to my scalp and gently massaged.  I also applied a little shampoo to the braids to ensure that the length was thoroughly cleaned.  I noticed verily little shedding the past couple of washes also. I'm trying to determine what I owe that to. I haven't done a tea rinse in a long time, but I have been drinking green tea more lately as well as my bamboo tea.  Whatever the cause, I'm happy about it nonetheless. Ha ha!

Shampooing in Braids

Very little shedding from detangling and shampoo session

DEEP CONDITION (***New Product Alert***)

Well what else would you expect of a product junkie? ;)  I've been wanting to try TGIN brand products for a while and finally got my hands on it. I was super excited to try the Honey Miracle Hair Mask.  I unbraided each section of hair, applied the hair mask, then re-braided each section.  Sat under my heat cap for about 30 minutes and allowed my hair to cool off before jumping in the shower to rinse.  I rinsed with warm water and did a final rinse with cool water. I have done this before, but it actually even says it on the jar.

New Products

LEAVE-INS

For my leave-ins I decided to use the sample packet of TGIN Green Tea Super Moist Leave In Conditioner, coconut oil, Proclaim Foaming Wrap Lotion, and Regis Design Line Enchanted Blow Out Lotion to prep for a blow out.  I blow dried each section with cool air until about 90-95% dry and braided it back up.  Once I finished blow drying, I took down all the braids to pull my hair into a top bun. I kind of like the texture of my hair though, after I took down the braids, but I quickly lost the definition.

And there you have it! The wash day experience of a transitioner. I'm still tweaking my regimen, but it has improved a lot. Trust me! Because if it hadn't improved, you would probably be reading a relaxer update right now! LOL!

How well did your most recent wash day go?  Share your post on the Wash Day Experience Link-Up or share in the comment section below.

Thanks for dropping by!

Kinky Hair Unlocked in Atlanta

First of all let me apologize for going MIA again.  I will blame it on a little bit of business and a little bit of laziness.  Blogging takes some work! I figured I could at least post on the natural hair even that I attended as I had promised.  It was a lot of fun, only thing is I wish it wasn't so late. It was a two hour drive from home so it was a late night get back home after the event. Other than that it was a pretty cool experience.

The event was hosted by 4C Hair Chick's and Sponsored by Dark and Lovely. It was held in Atlanta, GA.  My friend Ashley went with me. She has been completely natural for almost 10 years I think, so I knew she would enjoy it.

I decided to style my hair in a bantu knot out.  That was risky because I had never had a successful bantu knot out, but it turned out fairly well this time. Not perfect as it felt a bit frizzy in the back because it wasn't completely dry, but I did get a lot of compliments.  I had done the knots on a week old blowout, re-wetting my hair with distilled water and using Carols Daughter Styling Creme for hold and definition.

We had intended on getting to Atlanta early enough to go shopping and maybe eat, but we got down kind of late. We stopped and had dinner at Legal Seafood in downtown Atlanta.. The food was great there and we were stuffed. We had to leave straight form the restaurant to make it to the event which started at 7pm.

The venue was filled with naturalistas and transitioners and there were several natural hair vloggers in the building, including Jouelzy, NaturalMe4c, HeyCurlie, and others some of you gals may recognize.  Jouelzy was one of the guest speakers.  We also heard from Dr. Kari Williams who is a licensed Tricologist, and we had style demonstrations from Miss Felicia Leatherwood who has styled for celebrities such as Teyonah Parris, Will Smith, Jill Scott and others. She took volunteers from the audience and shared styling tips for us kinky haired gals. I was not bold enough to volunteer myself but gladly watched her work her styling magic on others! It was a fun filled night with drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and prize giveaways.  We also received VIP gift bags with awesome products to try.  We had a great time. I didn't get to take a lot of pics because my battery was starting to die on my phone, so forgive me.  I got a few decent ones that were taken by Ashley until her battery died too. LOL

Jouelzy

Dr. Kari Williams

Rep from Sponsor Dark and Lovely (forgive me for not remembering her name)

And now for the best part; the VIP girt bags full of amazing products to try...and a little wine which was icing on the cake!  My gift bag contained:

1. Small bottle of Myx Moscato
2. Eden's Body Works Coconut Shea Leave-In Conditioner(which I gave to my mom, only because I already had a bottle of it and I do love it!),
3. Design Essentials Natural Coconut & Monoi Deep Moisture Milk Creme,
4. Shea Moisture Strengthen, Grow & Restore Styling Lotion
5. Kinky Tresses Avocado Infusion Restorative Conditioner.

6. This was not a part of the gift bag, but I purchased a jar of SheScentIt Banana Brulee Moisturizing Deep Conditioner from the shop that was set up by Tendrils and Curls.

I completely gave in to my inner product junkie!

It was an amazing and informative evening.  I had a lot of fun. If you ever get a chance to attend one of these events, I definitely say go for it. You won't regret it.

Has anyone else attended any hair events lately? How was your experience?

Thanks for reading!