New Headbands

A few weeks ago I ordered 4 new headbands from SugarChicBaby at ETSY.  I love these new headbands!  These bands are wide and I like that  they go all the way around my head instead of just behind my ears. 

The headbands are reversible and I feel like I got two for the price of one.  I was able to request a black band instead of a white so that the band blends in nicely with my hair in the back.  These were very comfortable to wear.  No headaches, which is a big plus for me!  The bands are made from cloth and washable.  I used no gel in my hair and I liked the results of my curls with just my Aussie Moist and jojoba oil mixture.  As you can see my hair got fuller and fuller as the week progressed and I loved how big my hair got.  If you like the bands they were only $6 per band.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Changing Things Up

Hello all!  I have been wearing my hair in defined curls for a couple of weeks now so I decided to mix things up this week.  Check out my puff and fro hawk with quick curls made with my Denman brush.

Puff with white ribbon.

Fro Hawk with some quick curl bangs.

One of my students asked me if I cut my hair today.  I looked at him and said "no, these are combs holding my hair back".  He shrugged his shoulders and said "it would of been cool to see a teacher with a mohawk".  I was never cool in high school so to be considered cool by wearing a fro hawk makes me giggle.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Aloe Vera Gel

This morning I didn't have much time to get ready because my son woke up early and I had to deal with him.  So, I did a quick co-wash, used my It's Perfectly Natural Root Food on my problem spot, added my Aussie Moist and then instead of raking some Eco Styler Gel I used some of my Aloe Vera Gel to hold the curl.

I was pleasantly surprised with my results.  I used my Denman brush to get these defined curls with a light hold that reminded me of the Mop Top gel except my Aloe Vera gel cost only $2.49 while the Mop Top gel costs $17-$39.95 depending on the size you order.  The above picture is me right after a workout on my elliptical machine this evening.  So, even with sweat my curls are still popping!  I'm thinking that I'm gonna stick with my Hello Hydration for my co-washes, Aussie Moist for my leave in conditioner, and either the Aloe Vera Gel for a light hold or my Eco Styler for a more firm hold.  All total these product combined cost less then $15 and lasts for weeks sometimes months.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Playing with my fro

The other night I was playing with my hair and I realized that my fro is no longer a TWA.  So, I sectioned off the front and fluffed out the rest.  I then twisted the sectioned hair a little and then used two pins to make a little pompadour in the front. 

I'm thinking about wearing my hair like this sometime next week to work.  I have been wearing my hair in very defined curls and a fro would be perfect to mix things up a little.  Plus this shows off my length a little better and what the heck.  Until next time...
Blessings!

6 Month Anniversary of Big Chop!

Wow, it's been half a year since I cut all my relaxed hair off!  This month I measured my hair and I did a fist pump in the air when I saw I got a half inch of growth bringing me to 5 inches in the front.  I think the stress of the holidays and being sick for 6 weeks straight really hindered my growth last month.  I have been healthy and drinking a lot of water the past several weeks so I think my growth is back on track.

How I wore my hair today.

Check out those curls!

Feb. 8, 2012 Hair is touching the tip of my nose at 5 inches!

Feb. 7, 2012.  Check out the fro!

Aug.8, 2011 just finished with the BC!

So, I included the last two pictures to show my growth from my BC to now.  I have made so much progress and I can honestly say that my hair is healthy.  No split ends, no breakage (that I have noticed) and finally really soft touchable hair that I absolutely love.  I used my Mop Top products again this morning and I really like them!  Sigh...  The hubby would totally freak if I started buying these products regularly.  I might splurge and rotate the Mop Top with my Aussie Moist.  I have to think about it.  Until next time...
Blessing!

Mop Top Review

I was blessed to win a giveaway from Dominique at Natural Hair Care Info.  I won a travel sized set of Mop Top products that include their gentle shampoo, daily conditioner, anti-frizz gel, and detangler and refresher spray.  This past Saturday I decided to try out my new products.  I want to let you know up front that I didn't use any other products besides the Mop Top products so I could give a honest non-bias review.  I did go to the Mop Top site and watched the video on how to use the products.  

First up was the gentle shampoo.  The scent is lavender mint and I found it very refreshing.  I  followed the directions and focused on washing my scalp.  I used only a little bit about a quarter sized amount and I felt like my hair was clean, but not squeaky clean.  That's good because that means that my natural oils were not striped from my hair.  So, far thumbs up.

Next came the daily conditioner with lemon sage scent.  I liked this scent better than the lavender mint and I followed the directions from the site to not use a lot and to rinse most of the product out after a few minutes of sitting in my hair.  Now, I thought "no way will I have enough slip to comb my hair with that little amount".  So before I rinsed most of the conditioner out I finger combed my hair and I has pleasantly surprised at how easily my fingers slipped through my hair.

After rinsing most of the daily conditioner out and patting my hair with my micro fiber towel, I decided to run my wide tooth comb through my hair and was once again surprised at how easily my hair detangled  with no damage to the pulling on my hair.  Before adding the anti-frizz gel I just had to add some more daily conditioner as my leave in about a quarter size to my entire head.  I then added the anti frizz gel and I only used about a dime sized amount to four sections to my hair.  The gel is labeled as "light hold" and I was not sure if this light gel would hold my curls.  I was a little surprised to see how my curls popped from the little amount of gel.

Just finished applying gel and my hair is still wet.

Couple of hours later and my hair is completely dry.

So let's get to what I liked and didn't like about these products.  I really liked the shampoo and was very impressed with the conditioner.  When I looked at the little bottle of conditioner I thought "well I'll maybe get one use out of this".  I used about 1/4 of the bottle, so being able to use less conditioner was a big plus.  Also, the slip I got from the conditioner was awesome and very surprising.  Moving on to the gel, I liked that I didn't need to glob a lot of gel to get defined curls.  The light hold allowed my hair to retain it's natural softness and I would call my curls "touchable".  My hair also has a very natural looking sheen instead of the wet shiny look other gels can give your hair.

Ok, now the cons about these products.  The expense!  This kit costs $23!  I'm a tightly curly method girl and I have never spent that much money on just four products of only two ounces each.  The daily conditioner ranges from $20.50 to $39.95 and I just can't justify spending that much when I get similar results with my $6.59 32 ounce bottle of Aussie Moist.  Second, the light hold from the gel is just that, light.  The next morning when I used the refresher I had to use more gel to make my curls pop.  Right now as I'm typing this review I'm planning on a puff tomorrow because my hair has frizzed out of it's curl.  I tend to wear a puff when my style has frizzed out to the point that I need to rewash to get the defined curls back, but it's not wash day yet.  So, basically I got only two days out of this style. 

Next day hair after refresher and more gel.

Overall, I'm glad I got to try these products.  The one product that impressed me the most was the daily conditioner.  I loved the conditioner and that might be the one product I would drop the coin on to purchase regularly because I wouldn't need to use as much as I would my Aussie Moist so I could justify the expensive with the fact that it would last longer.  I want to mention that Mop Top does have a deep conditioner and a leave in conditioner.  I can't speak for those products because I didn't try them out.  Until next time...
Blessings!

My custom Mossy Rock Design!

A few months back on Precious Curls I read about Mossy Rock Design by Katie Bradley and I fell in love with her art!  After looking at her store on Esty and her blog I had to have an original painting of my son.  Precious put me in contact with Katie and we exchanged a few emails.  My final painting arrived in the mail earlier this week and I love it!  When my son saw this painting he said "momma, that's me!". 

I know I'm bias, but he's really cute!

What I really love about Katie is that she and her family are in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia.  Katie is using her art to help finance the expenses.  I have two adoptive brothers and I know first hand the hoops and expense a family goes through to bring a new member of the family home. 

Please check out Katie's beautiful and very affordable art work!  Like me you can commission her to create an original piece of art that you will cherish for all time.  Until next time...
Blessings!