To Health: The Infamous Green Smoothie

Over the past several days, I've been reading online about different cleanses and diets that people are doing to be healthier.  I found a few very interesting articles called the "Detox Diaries" about ladies who tried 4 different types of cleanses - ranging from 3 days to about 3 weeks.  I've learned that no matter what the time frame, as long as you are putting more fruits and veggies into your diet (organic preferably) you are going to do your body a whole heap of good. 

So I decided to follow one of the main concepts which appears to be what several ladies are doing including fellow blogger Chary-Jay (shout out to LaNise who saw her at the Natural Hair Show in ATL this past weekend).  So I started on Friday morning with fresh veggies that I purchased at the farmer's market the day before.  I still need to run to GNC for a few other ingredients, but to make my smoothie I used:

• Kale
• Romaine Lettuce
• Apple
• Banana 
• Water

I wasn't exact and really didn't know what I was doing, but I knew it was going to take a few tries before I got it right anyway so I wasn't expecting anything magical or even yummy...  

I'm Curly and I Know It

Week 8 of my relaxer stretch and after not combing my hair during week 7, I decided not to comb my hair another week by going curly.  I had company coming over that day so I got up early on Saturday morning and washed and styled my hair.  This time when I styled it, I moistened my hair with my typical mixture, but before wrapping around the flexi-rod I used the smooth and hold pudding along with sealing with a dab of oil.  I will say that this time around, I took my time, made a few larger sections in my parts and had a decent flexi-set for once.  I finished with a ton of rods left.  I then proceeded to clean up my house while letting my hair dry.

Real Life Scenarios: Epilator - My BFF!!!

Update!  We are weeks into the spring/early summer season and I have not shaved once.  Nor have I had hairy legs.  Since my last post I have been uber consistent with my epilator and even upgraded my old one.  I've proven to myself that I can master the tool and felt confident enough to believe that I can epilate throughout the summer and not shave once.  My epilator has become my new bestie!

My New Baby - Emjoi Emagine

There are a few lessons that I've learned over the course of these few weeks and I want to share... 

I Didn't Comb My Hair This Week and I Still Looked Fab

How ya like me now?!  It all started on a Sunday night.  I had washed my hair, I was about 7 weeks post relaxer, and I was like, oh really, you want to act like that?  And my hair was like, umm yeah, what are you gonna do about it?  So I was like, well okay, I'm just going to twist you up in two buns and go to sleep and deal with you in the morning.  

What resulted were light, fluffy, puffy curly curls that looked super cute.  I wore a ton of different styles with it - of course I didn't take pictures every day, but this is one of the looks:

Yeah, I was feelin myself ;-)

Each night I would just put my hair up in two buns and the mornings would be a surprise.  It wasn't as cute as the week went on, but I just changed it up.  One day I wore it half up and the rest down.  One day it was a curly ponytail.  Either way, it got me through the week and I was in flexi-rods that weekend.  But who says stretching can't be cute??? 

Real Life Scenarios: Epilators - Pure Torture or your BFF?

So lets shift the discussion today from the hair that I love to the hair that I hate -- my body hair.  I've always hated my body hair.  Always.  And when I say hate, I don't mean dislike, I mean I actually hate my body hair.  For almost a couple decades now, I've spent countless time and money trying to get rid of it.  From shaving and plucking to laser hair removal, I've tried it all.  Today I'm going to talk about another option that many of you may not be familiar with -- epilators.

Epilating, to me, is a cross between waxing and shaving.  It's a handheld tool that you use like a shaver to pull/pluck the hairs in your body at the root.  So unlike shaving which just addresses the hair above the surface, it's like waxing which pulls the hair at the root, thus taking it a lot longer to grow back.  Now why might one torture themselves like this, it's quite simple, you HATE the hair on your body.  If I didn't have a deep hate for my body hair, I don't think I could stand the pain of using it.  I do have a few tips for making it less painful, however what is beauty without pain, LOL. 

Spoiler Alert: It Ends Well

Well after a several month hiatus I am finally back in my hair care stride and things are going better than ever.  A few months ago I declared:  Arm Pit Length!!!  When I first made it there it was really just in a few sections and it looked good, but I was just barely there.  Today I'm at a full Arm Pit and it's looking better than ever!

Hair after a wash and blow dry a few weeks ago

What have I been up to lately?  Nothing much.  The end of the summer, early fall was filled with personal projects so hair has been a last priority.  I've continued relaxing ever 8-10 weeks with protein treatments in between, washing/co-washing every week (1 or the other), and no deep conditioning.  I think it was all the bunning and a lack of heat that really got me to where I am today.  My bangs have grown back out and all of my strands are longer.

I Can't Believe it's Not Foam!

It's official.  Previously, I subscribed to the train of thought that the only way to keep and maintain curly hair via rods/rollers was by using wrap lotion.  The foam type was my lotion of choice.  But little did I know, that great curls were achievable through the use of my little concoction.

Going Natural?!

First things first, let's go Mavs!!!  Game 6 is on right now and it's about to go DOWN!

Secondly, throughout the past several month I've seriously been contemplating whether or not to go natural.  I have a lot of support on both sides and ultimately I know the decision is up to me.  So after playing around with it and getting use to the idea, I've finally made a decision...

Tangled!

No, not the movie, but my hair, LOL.  So I think I've just learned the reason why my hair gets so rough and tough as I air dry with a lot of new growth.  I'm not de-tangling properly!  Therefore, when it dries it just bunches together and forms these big patches of fuzz.  I'm going to invest more time into properly de-tangling my hair and not doing my usual 2-5 minute comb through.  I really want to stretch and I'm hoping this will help. 

Not only am I going to start de-tangling, but I'm also going to start taking a supplement!!!  One of my gorgeous and lovely girlfriends recommended GNC Ultra NourisHair.  It cost $11.99 so I figure why not?  I'm going to go pick up a bottle today.  I can't wait to get started!