First two strand twist out

This Saturday it rained most of the day and I couldn't go out and work in my gardens so I decided to wash and two strand twist my hair.  I decided that I wouldn't wear my twists and go for a twist out for Sunday, Church hair.

Just completed two strand twists.

 Saturday is wash day and I used my Mop Top Products, so I shampooed and then deep conditioned.  After detangling my hair I rinsed most of the deep conditioner out then I smoothed a nickle sized amount of the daily conditioner throughout my hair.  I then sectioned my hair into four sections and applied the leave it in conditioner to each section.  Each section then got about 5 twists in which I used my It's Perfectly Natural root food to seal my hair.  To be honest it only took me about 30 minutes to twist my whole head.  I would of gotten in done faster if my son hadn't of had a crisis with finding his monster trucks.

My older brother was driving into town and he and my hubby planned to work on his car.  So, I had no plans to go out with these twists.  Well, my brother was late so we all ended up going out to eat at the 50's Grill.  This must be a sign that I'm more secure with myself now then I was when I was younger.  I looked at my hubby and said "let me put on some earrings and some lipstick and I'll be ready to go".  I went out to eat wearing my twists and got no strange looks or comments.  Basically, no one cares and it gave me an opportunity to get over myself.

 

I left the twists in my hair all day long and slept in them over night.  When I got up in the morning I used some of my jojoba rosemary oil on my finger tips to unravel the twists.  I looked in the mirror and hated the results.  I thought "this looks so much better on other people".  I was up early with my son and my thought was that I could always wash it out and do a wash n go to church or I could pick it out and wear a head band and a fro. As I went throughout my morning of cooking breakfast and getting my son ready of church I would look in the mirror and play with my hair.  While I was helping my son brush his teeth I started to rake my fingers through my hair and I started to like how it was beginning to look.  Well, basically I played with my hair until I liked it.  Yes, I know that it is a little frizzy, but you can still see the definition. I got dressed for church and wore my twist out.  I didn't get any compliments, but my usually lady friends were not in church today.                                                

I found it to be really difficult to take a picture of the back of my head.  The hubby had greasy hands from working on my brother's car, so I had to figure it out.  I finally got a decent shot that shows the texture of my hair and I really like how my hair turned out.  I think that I need to do this again and play with different sized twists.  Until next time... Blessings!

Cottonwood fluff everywhere!

It has been beautiful up here in Minnesota.  I love that it is warm enough that I don't need heat at night and cool enough that I don't need to turn on my air conditioning.  Since it has been so warm the Cottonwood trees in my neighborhood have gone crazy.  Cottonwood fluff is everywhere!  I have been picking this fluff out of my hair for over a week now.  This past weekend I was out doing yard work for a couple of hours and when I came inside to use the bathroom I looked in the mirror, my hair was white.  The hubby could of said something, but no he just smirked and kept raking up pine needles and trimming branches.

Image source

So, yards in my neighborhood look like this picture.  I live near a creek and a lot of Cottonwood trees grow on the banks.  Every year this fluff covers yards and the street like snow, but this year was different.  My curly hair just grabbed this stuff out of the air and entwined it tightly like Velcro! Grrr!!

I'm planning some more yard work this weekend.  Getting my plants out so that when we put our new patio in I can replant them elsewhere and not pay for new plants.  I think I will wear a hat instead of my visor.  I hate hats!  I usually only wear hats in the winter for warmth.  In the summer I like to where visors so my hair can be free.  I know, I know that the sun can damage my hair, but I can't stand wearing a hat because all I do is sweat.  Yuck!  Sweating on my head leads to sweat dripping down my neck to running down my back.  No thank you!  So I'll wear a hat until the Cottonwood fluff goes away and then back to my visors.  Until next time...
Blessings!

I got in!

So, on Friday I got my letter of acceptance for grad school!  My husband hid it under my pillow so when I went to bed I pulled it out and tore it open.  I will be the first member of my family to attend grad school.  I'm excited and scared at the same time.  Oh Father give me the strength!   I now need to meet with my advisor and then the financial aid office.  Registration is in June so I will have the summer to mentally prepare myself for this next step.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Curly Fro Hawk

Hello everyone!  I created a video on how I make my curly fro hawk. Please check it out.
Blessings!

9 month anniversary of big chop

Nine months ago yesterday I cut off all my relaxed hair and started my natural hair journey.  I almost forgot that it was my anniversary!  Wow how times flies.  Nine months ago I was getting ready to go back to school and now I'm writing my finals and getting my seniors ready for graduation. 

 To the right is how I wore my hair today.  I really like my "curly" fro hawk.  I used my Denman brush to help define these curls in the front.  I might even do a video on how I get this look.  It only takes me about 10 minutes in the morning.  Considering some mornings I'm dealing with a cranky toddler who refuses to sit on the potty, this style comes in handy because I can do it and run out the door.  I always get compliments when I wear my hair like this, so it's become my go to style usually on day 2 or 3 hair after a wash n go.

My hair in the front is now touching my upper lip when it's wet and measures about 6.5 inches in the front.  I did pull a shed hair from my brush and it measured 7 inches.  So, I know that my hair in the back is probably longer then the front and I'm happy with my growth.

The castor oil is making my hair really shiny and I'm loving the softness.  I have used castor oil in the past to help with my edges and if I knew then that it would make my hair soft I would of used in on my entire head.  I'm actually considering adding castor oil to my leave in conditioner because I love the results so much.

As you can see in the picture on the right my edges are very healthy, so let's pray that the castor oil works on my crown.  Since I'm talking about my crown.  Denise over at It's Perfectly Natural checked out my blog the other day and she is recommending some products.  I'm really considering purchasing them after reading about her struggle with hair loss.  I wouldn't be a product junkie if it wasn't for the thinned out spot on my crown.  I would basically have a gentle cleaner, a rinsing conditioner and a great leave in conditioner (maybe some gel for styling), but no that spot makes me jump at any natural remedy to help it fill in.  I will say that I'm pretty good at hiding it with my curls, but I do feel like I pull a lot of hair forward to try and hide that spot on my crown.  I really notice the pulled down effect on my day one hair where I have the flat top hair because my curls are really defined and that spot is too visible if I don't pull my hair forward to cover it up.  If I decide to purchase the two products she recommended I will do a product review and an update.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Problem Spot Update

Back in January I did a post about my "problem" spot where my hair thinned out after my last relaxer in March 2011.  I've been using jojoba oil with rosemary and peppermint essential oils everyday for over three months.  Well I would love to report that my hair is thicker and that new growth is coming in, but no I don't think so.  Check out the pictures they speak for themselves.

May 2012

January 2012

The picture on the left was taken with dry hair and the picture on the right was taken with wet hair.  I don't notice any improvement, so I'm changing things up.  I purchased some Castor oil and I'm applying this to my problem spot every night with a left over oral syringe from my son's medicine.  I've done this for over a week now and I plan to give this an eight week trial. 

The Castor oil is very thick so I've been co-washing my hair more often 2-3 times a week.  I've noticed that my hair is shiner and I do like that the weather has been much warmer so I don't mind the wet head to work in the morning.  I understand that my hair may be permanently gone and this may be my reality for the rest of my life, but I also want to exhaust other options before I give up and just live with this thinned out spot.

By the way, I've submitted my application for grad school and I'm waiting for my letters of recommendations and my transcripts to be submitted.  I will update you when I know more.  Until next time...
Blessings!