Meet Me in St. Louis

Over the course of this month I have had several events to attend, all of which cause me to wear my hair down on the weekend.  The following are a few pictures from when I was in St. Louis, MO attending my husband's graduation from Webster University.  He received his Masters in Finance.  Yes, that was a shot out, LOL. 

Enjoy

Hairstyle of the Week: The Farrah Flip

Since my last relaxer, my bangs have grown out quite a bit and I haven't been quite sure what to do with them yet.  I don't feel the need to cut them again, so I've been trying to find styles that I can rock to get around it while they grow out a little more.  The result... a throwback!!!

It is a little hard to tell from the pictures, but I've been flipping my bangs back for the past few weekends and I've liked it a lot. I curl the rest under as normal. 

Thoughts?

Hairstyle of the Week: The High Bun

This week was the week of the bun!  Protective styling at its best.  I wrapped my hair every night and pulled it into a bun each day.  It looked fantastic.

Relaxed - Long and Strong

I actually relaxed my hair on March 29th, 8 weeks to the day and here are my results.  My hair looked awesome and super long.  I plan to post some before and after since I did my Castor Oil challenge. 

Enjoy!

Day after Relaxer

 

Hang Time!

Out to dinner with the Hubs!

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.

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??? 

How Low Can You Go?

V-Day Flowers hand delivered by my Hubby

 It's February... the month of love, black history month, and now - the month I always get bangs, LOL.  This is year 2 of the v-day bang (no pun intended) and I'm loving it.  After desiring, wishing, and hoping that I had the balls to change my hair, I finally went through with it... over the course of a couple weeks.

Recipe for Success

I am happy to report that I successfully met my goal of waiting 8 weeks between relaxers!  And the main reason (and probably the only reason) I was able to achieve this goal is with the use of oils.  With the help of Amazon, I have assembled a team of oils that have provided moisture and balance for my hair.

Minus the Smooth-n-Hold Pudding, which I'll discuss later, I purchased online:

• Almond Oil
• Grapeseed Oil
• Jojoba Oil
• Cocoanut Oil
• Jamaican Black Castor Oil

Jealous of My Own Hair

I'm a couple weeks strong with deep conditioning twice a week and my hair is suddenly loving it!  I think I'll stick with Wednesday and Sunday deep condition days - with a switch ups in between.  I did my first switch up this past weekend. 

On Wednesday, I did a normal deep conditioner mix with EVOO, JBCO, and my conditioners.  On Friday, I finally repurchased Suave Humectant conditioner to use as my cheapie condish.  It cost around $2 and I'm now going to consider it my miracle in a bottle.  So on Saturday, I only did a co-wash, no oils or anything.  I air dried for a little over an hour and then I blow dried my hair because I had a few parties to attend.  After I blow dried my hair, it felt more soft and moisturized then it has been in weeks.  When I flat ironed my hair, it looks silky and shiny and felt amazing to the touch.  I loved it :)

Also, if you're keeping track - I'm going for 8 weeks before I relax my hair.  That puts me at about one week away.  The oil treatments have definitely made a difference and I will continue to use them as a part of my regimen. 

Meh....

I've had a very busy past 7 days or so with my hair.  It started off on a high note when I received my Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) about 2-3 days after I ordered it on Amazon.   JBCO and Castor Oil in general is said to be great for maintaining moisture in your hair, which can help with breakage.  Also, from what I've observed, castor oil also helps promote growth.  I'm not sure if it's because your messaging your scalp more or maybe just because you start taking better care of your scalp period... But I've seen some miracles with castor oil, so I impulsively replenished my stash.

Since I have quite a bit to work with now, I decided to go ahead and test it out.  I had already applied JBCO to my scalp with the remainder that I had left from the first time I purchased it, but this time I wanted to do a deep condition and use the JBCO to, first, do a hot oil treatment, and second, mix with my conditioner. 

I Had a Dream

[Source]

Since the beginning of the year, I've been wanting a new style.  And for some reason, a new style always means bangs for me.  I did it last year and maybe I'll do it again this year.  Well last night I had a dream.  I dreamed that I wanted these fabulous bangs and that I was going to cut them myself.  But as I sectioned my hair to cut for the bangs, my hair was self cutting itself and I didn't have to do anything!  So when it was all said and done, I had fabulous thick arch shaped bangs and I wore it down and in a ponytail.  And no, I don't remember anything else about the dream, LOL.

I've seen several women at work with the style and I feel like they're taunting me by having the guts to wear the style I want.  Then I think about having to flat iron more often, or how I'd sleep with my hair, or how much more I'd break my hair by doing so.  That's another thing I noticed this year, I have a lot of fly-aways.  All over my head.  I don't just have a section of broken hair, but several random broken hairs everywhere.  I don't think it was like that this time last year, so I'm going back to the basics.  I did a scalp massage off and on for an hour, I shampooed and conditioned with my Roux Porosity Control, and I'm currently deep conditioning with my Shea Moisture.

I'm not really sure what style I can do that will not cause me to flat iron each day, but I need to find something soon... 

Year End Wrap Up

Hello 2012! 

As I look back over 2011 and all of the growth and styles, I must give myself a pat on the back for being the MOST consistent I have ever been since starting my hair journey. Since December has been pretty busy socially, I tried not to style to same each time I went out.  I didn't find very many options that worked for me but, below are some pics from a few events.  Look for changes in 2012...


Bun with a Twist for Work

                           

Time with Friends

I tried to go for a sleeker look

New Year's Eve Party

 
                    

Blue and Gold Eyes

See you in 2012!

I'm Bringing Sexy Back (Literally)

As we all know, I like to show up and show out.  This past Friday was no exception.  Given the fact that I had been awakened to a whole new world of makeup that I didn't know that I didn't know about, I just knew that this past Friday was going to be extra special.

Last weekend I did a flexi-rod set mainly because I couldn't really comb through it the week before (it was thick and dry) and therefore wanted to do a minimum amount that week.  Plus, I went to a holiday party that Saturday and I wanted it to be fresh and super cute. Overall, it turned out well and lasted until I was ready to relax my hair that Thursday.

Casual Party Attire w/Fresh Curls

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 don't Whip my Hair Back and Forth...

You heard me!  I don't whip my hair back and forth because I don't wear my hair down anymore.  Unless it's a special occasion.  Mon-Fri you will catch my hair pulled back in a bun varying in different styles.  One of my new up and coming favorites is having the sides twisted up and pulling it back in a bun.

Please excuse the acne...

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.

GNC or HSN?

Oh wow, please excuse my one month hiatus.   I started working on this post about a month ago, however, during that period I found a new home and have since moved in!  It's gorgeous and I'm settled in and very happy right now. 

Earlier this year I gave hair pills a try and since I received a coupon in the mail for GNC, I figured it was time to give them a try again, LOL. Since it had been recommended before I went with the GNC brand, Ultra Nourish-Hair. 

Arm Pit Length!!!!

Ok, I'm saying it loud and proud, I am ARM PIT LENGTH!  I relaxed my hair again about 2 Saturdays ago my hair was soooooo long!   I curled it that night and my hair was so full, long, and sexy!  I put my feather in my hair and said "how ya like me now?"

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...

Switch Up

Before you say anything... I know I've been MIA for a while, but it's been for good reason.  I have had a lot of personal changes recently, one being I finally got a new laptop today, so I'm ready and prepared to get back to regular updates.  This one is a few weeks old, but hey, it's new to you : )

I've taken my hair into my own hands again.  I was bored with the regular and not ready to go for layers again so I decided to give myself side swept bangs.

Before