MIA: Missing In Action…….. I am back

 

I have been missing in action, but I am aiming to keep up with my blogging from now on.

I have a few new things coming shortly which will be announced accordingly, I will also be doing a mid month prize give away so stay tuned for that.

I was busy helping to a UK hair event meet up, which was just absolutely AWESOME! I will be making a post some time this week along with pics and further details of this event.

I have some products reviews and pics of some recent hair goodies I got my little hands on. Will be updating you also as to where I am in my transition to natural hair :).

With that being said please stay tuned for regular updates :).

Transitioning: Growth & Texture SHOTS!

 

These are close up pictures of my texture and growth on the left side of my head, by the end of June 2011, i will be 15 months post texlaxer.

 

Right side of m head and growth and texture shot; sorry about the bad lighting, but it was the best I could do, I tend to be able to get good shots and lighting at times and another time, it is blah.

 

These are right side and middle of my head, showing texture and growth again.

Side and very front of my head, showing both growth and texture of hair. Mmmm it seems like there is less NG at the front of my hair, but when I wash and apply conditioner it shows a little more NG. There is a lot more texlaxed ends at the front, so that maybe my issue also, texlaxed hair weighs on the natural texture.

This is he side of my head showing the NG and the rest of the texlaxed hair that need to be cut off in due course.

Again front of my hair showing NG a texture, same thing here, it looks as if there is less NG, but when air is washed and has conditioner it shows up more NG. Again I think the texlaxed hair is weighing on the natural.

 

Again sorry about the lighting in some of the photos, it also give the impression that I have colour in my hair, there is no colour in my hair. I use henna but on naturally dark hair the red hue does not show up as how the lightening gave the impression there is colour in my hair……Hope that makes sense.

Hope you enjoy my hair update :).

L@@kie: Goodies I got from the USA!

 

A family member is visiting us from the USA and they bought me some awesome goodies as they know I love me some hair products and they are aware that I am transitioning. I am pleased, I will be on a product testing path and will bring you some reviews in the future to come :).

2x 8.5oz Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner
2x 8.5oz Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Shampoo
2oz Giovanni Smooth as Silk Xtreme Protein Hair Infusion

 

 

Easy Look Slicon Massss
Avanti Silicon Mix  Bambu Nutritive Hair Treament
Baba de Cacacol hair Lo0see Treatment
Crece Pelo Natural Phitoterapeutic Treatment
Baba de Caracol Seda Integrada Treatment

 

These did not come from the USA, found these in our TK Maxx here, awesome buy and find :).

1x 33.5oz (1000ml) Giovanni 50:50 Balanced Hydrating-Calming Conditioner
1x 33.5oz (1000ml) Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner

New Growth & Texture Shots!

I have been playing in my hair, I like the feel of my coils, coils and kinks and so I decide to show them off some. I have been taking a few pics of my napps each time I get the chance to. So here are few texture kinks :).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not claiming any ‘hair type’ as of yet until I BC, which will not be until March 2012. Although I did a mini chop. That is to rid the texlaxed hair some. My hair is growing nicely and I am pleased. I am hoping to be say shoulder length by the time I BC, if that is not wishing for too much LOL, well will see. Hope you like the texture shot I managed to capture :).

Fenugreek, Amla Powder & Henna Mix

 

I will be sharing more of my herbal and henna mix with you guys. I have so many different experiment mixture. I have tested out that gave me good results.

Here is one I did this week, it consist of Fenugreek, Amla Powder & Henna.

My first ingredient below is 1 1/2 tablespoon of Fenugreek Powder (pic. on the left). I love this powder so much, it can be used to cleanse the hair and scalp, it is meant to help promote hair growth. One of my other love for his powder is that it can be used to stretch the volume of your henna or herbal hair mixture. So in fact you can use less of your other herbal powders and get the same benfits all round.

(Pic. on the right) I added 1 1/2 tablespoon of Amla Powder, I love Amla Powder so much, this is one of the first when I discovered ayurvedic hair care. This powder has so much to offer in both hair care as well as skin care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final batch of ingredients in the (pic below), the last ingredient added was 2x50g of Neha Herbal Henna. It is my first time using this henna, I bought too packet on my last visit to ‘Green Street Indian Market’. Love that market it any girl market if you are into ayurvedic hair care, it is cheap and and you are spoilt for the choice of henna, herbal hair powders and Indian hair care conditioners.

So to recap the ingredients in the glass dish about are 1 1/2 tablespoon of Fenugreek, 1 1/2 tablespoon of Amla Powder and 2x 50g of Neha Henna Herbal Powder.

I then began mixing in 1 cup of cooled down boiled water gradually, in the end I end up using two cups of water to get a nice smooth batter consistency.

I then covered my mixture and let it sit until the next day.

Here is the part I made a mistake, well I just forgot to take a pic of the final mixture LOL sorry and then it got worst, I did not even took pic of the product in my hair. I got so caught up in doing my hair and completely forgot that I was going to blog about it.

Anyways after all the fact I then remember and I took a few picture after I washed the powder mixture out and blot dry my hair…., go figure :rolleyes: L@@k at my texture popping, lward I am so excited and enjoying my transitioning. I am excited and nervous all at the same time to meet my texture. Not that I forgot it was like as I was not allowed to get a relaxer until I was about 16-17yrs old.  But still, I know I have a lot to learn about my texture, taking care of my hair and finding out which products may still and may not work for my natural texture once I am completely natural.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had to deal with the ‘Haunt of BCing’ too early lol. I am sure you remember my last post, well BC was still haunting me. I just could not rid the urge to get rid of the telaxed ends. So guest what I did, I went ahead and did a little cutting//BC some hair off and it WORKED! It helped to quench the desire to axed it all off before my 24 months mark.

Not only did it help with the haunt of BC early, but it made a huge difference in detangling, combing my hair and doing any form of styling, well the main style for me at the moment is twisting my hair after wash day.

Hope you enjoy this little blogging, apologies for lack of pictures, will do a lot better from here on out :).

Natural Hair Sightings: Snippet # 2

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amla Powder – Indian Gooseberry

 

Dark and Healthy Hair Naturally.
Hesh Amla Powder is a natural astringent and skin toner that works on both hair and skin. In botanical terms it is known as Emblic Myrobalan. The paste of this powder helps promote black and luxuriant hair. Even as it controls hair loss, it stimulates roots and promotes hair growth. This apart, it prevents scalp infection and controls premature greying of hair. When used on skin, the paste of this powder brightens the complexion and removes pimples and grime. 

Promises:   Briefly, 'Hesh Amla Powder' has the following advantages:
- Promotes hair growth
- Controls hair loss
- Cures scalp infection
- Controls greying of hair
- Removes pimple and grime

 

Great for: Hair loss, premature greying, dandruff

Amla is high in Vitamin C  & antioxidants and works hard at stimulating hair follicles. Our powder is an excellent natural hair conditioner.

Growing throughout India, Amla is known as the Indian gooseberry and is excellent at moisturising the scalp, stimulating hair follicles and encouraging healthy hair. High in Vitamin C and antioxidants, it’s also good for protecting the hair from the drying, damaging effects of pollution.

Ingredients: Amla Powder (Indian Gooseberry) / Emblica Officinalis (Amla ) Fruit Powder.

Directions: Use either as a paste or tea rinse, leave on hair for 30-45 minutes then rinse thoroughly with warm water.

The TRUTH: I wrote a review on Amla oil a while back expressing my undying love for this oil lol, but I must bring your attention to the powder. This powder has numerous benefits, from strengthening of the hair root to the ends of the hair, it also aids in hair growth, it defines curls (this is something I have noted), it also helps in darkening of henna (if you don’t want that lush read colour that henna gives, mix up some amla and it helps lessen the red result), amla also gives a dark tinge to the hair after prolong usage and also helps in premature graying.

I think I will stop there, you get the picture of how awesome and brilliant this one powder alone is and the numerous benefits that it brings to the table in order to appease your hair’s appetite.

You can use this oil in many ways, just to list a few 1. makes into a paste using either black tea or boiled water and apply to either freshly washed hair and leave on for 30mins – 1hr longer if you wish or the same steps can be done if you pre oiled your hair with coconut oil or any other oil of your choice overnight then in the morning apply the paste to your hair and leave on for as long as you wish. Then rinse the hair thoroughly with warm water to remove the paste completely. Then proceed to co-washing (please be gentle with your hair), you may feel the need to DC wth a moisturizing conditioner and you may not……, listen to your hair, you will be able to tell if you need to DC or not…………., I always do, because I note how strong my hair feels but I know once it dries, it is a different bizniz.

2. You can make it into a ‘tea’ you can add the powder to boil water and brew a tea from the powder, you will then need a cheese cloth to strain the tea to reduce the amount of grains you will haveto deal with when it comes to rinsing your hair. Use the tea to rinse your hair, let it sit for few minutes, then rinse your hair with warm water and proceed to your next regimen step(s).

3. You can infused the powder into a favourite oil of yours, to name a few (EVCO, EVOO, grapeseed oil, sesame oil,, sunflower oil etc), you can strain the oil through a cheese cloth/fine strainer and then use this oil to apply to the hair daily or use as a pre-poo treatment for your hair.

Either way you choose to use Amla Powder you are sure to notice a difference in the way your hair feels and looks. This powder is good for nourishing both natural hair and scalp…….., A life time staple of mine.

Rating: 5/5

Price: £0.89 - £0.99 for 100g

Featured Excerpt: Latoya

Tell us a little about you……!       My name is LaToya. I have a BA in theater with a concentration in acting and I graduate with my MFA in May 2011 *deep breath*. I love to have fun and I consider myself a pretty goofy person…I kind of  have an obsession with makeup (don’t tell anyone) and I LOVE food. The treadmill and I are on visiting terms now. I love life and even through trials I feel blessed to have a life that is rich and full of wonderful people that reciprocate my love.

2. When & why did you decide to go natural?    Last relaxer: Feb 2010; Decision to go natural: May 4^th 2010. I was tired of getting chemically burned, wasting time at the salon, and not being able to get my hair to grow past my shoulders.  Big Chop: October 8, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Were your friends and family supportive of your decision? If not, how were you able to move forward?      My friends supported my decision, but my mother and boyfriend at the time were very discouraging. My mother was worried about my career and not being cast because of my hair. My boyfriend said he didn’t like the ‘unkept’ look. I actually ended up posting a video on Youtube talking about it and I used it as a kind of anchor to help me go through with my decision. I didn’t want to publically announce going natural and then let the negative thoughts put me back in the salon chair to get another relaxer. I have always been a strong person and I wasn’t going to let discouraging words change my mind. I put my foot down and said, “This is MY decision and though I love and respect you for sharing your concerns, I’m going for it!” I haven’t turned back since.

4. How long have you been natural for?   6 months on March 8 2011.

5. What’s your regimen?    Wash: Kinky Curly Come Clean or Pantene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural (once a week)  ~  Conditioner: Giovanni or Pantene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural (at least once a week)   ~   Deep Condition: Organics Olive Oil Deep Conditioner(looking for alternative-once a week)   ~  Leave-in Conditioner: Garnier Frutise Leave-in or Kinky Curly Knot Today (everyday)   ~   Oils: Jojoba, Coconut (everyday)  ~  Butter: 100% African Shea Butter (once a week)   ~  Strength: Chi Keratin Mist (once a week)   ~  Shine: Chi Silk Infusion or Biosilk (as needed)

6. What mistakes have you made with your hair that you’ve learned from?  *I went natural once before (poor, in college, couldn’t afford relaxers) and I used heat EVERY day. Since I decided to go natural I have only used heat once to trim.

*I have learned to TAKE MY TIME when detangling.

*I don’t comb my hair dry anymore

7. What has been your favorite product?    Honestly, my Garnier Frutise Sleek and Shine leave-in conditioner. My hair LOVES it!

8. Do you have any hair goals? What steps are you taking to achieve them?   Yes, my main hair goal is and was to embrace my hair and learn how to take care of it. I grew up thinking ‘nappy’ hair was ugly, but now my view has changed drastically. My vanity hair goal is to be mid-back length. I want a big OBNOXIOUS afro.

9. What has the biggest milestone you have faced in your hair journey? How did you overcome this milestone?    I had been afraid to wear my natural hair on auditions. I always wore wigs because for fear of not getting cast because of my hair. One day I woke up to get ready for an audition and I didn’t put a wig on. Simple as that. Now I have made it a habit of wearing my natural hair out for auditions.

10. You love your hair because?    It’s versatile, thick, healthy, soft, fluffy,big, makes a statement, and literally brings out my natural beauty. It demands attention when I walk in a room and contrary to what I have been told before, it fits my personality PERFECTLY. I feel blessed to have hair this divine.

11. Where can we find you (a blog, website,Fotki, Youtube, Twitter)?   Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/toyaboo2     ~    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/2Toyaboo2

L@@kie @ My New Haul!

 

  

 

500g of Bentonite Clay
500g of Kaolin Clay
500g of Fuller’s Earth Powder
1x Bar of Honey & Oatmeal Natural Hand Made Soap
1x Bar of Seaweed & Algae Natural Hand Made Soap

 

All was purchased @ thesoapkitchen