Baby Bantu Knots!

Heya, guys! This is just a quick post showing Mari's little bantu knots that I did in her hair. I only did a few, but it looks cute and suits her well! She's 19 months old.
I have to cover her hair at night with a stocking cap or else it'll be messed up easily... her hair is soooo silky.
Products used: Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and whipped shea butter

 My little greedy butt... she's always eating but doesn't gain a pound!

Peace out till later, guys. I've got some online jobs/gigs to complete. ;) #SAHMhustle

~Epic Realist~

First ACV Rinse and LENGTH CHECK!

Heya, curlies! Today is Halloween, but I don't really celebrate that, so sorry; I don't have any Halloween hair ideas or anything. lol
I want to talk about my first ACV rinse that I did in my hair, and my length check!
Video is self explanatory... wish I could embed the YouTube one here but for some reason, that never works out for me in blogger... no clue why. Enjoy, though! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc2lVD8IzvY

ACV is an abbreviation for apple cider vinegar, commonly used by naturals for cleansing the hair of everything in a natural way. ACV also balances the pH of your hair, which in turn makes your curls 'pop'. It closes your cuticles as well... I'm honestly not sure how good that is for your scalp, but that's one of the attributes. ACV is gaining popularity because of the extremely clean feeling it leaves your hair with.
Now don't get me wrong, the stuff stinks to high heavens. When I first heard of it, I was like, apple cider vinegar? I didn't think vinegar belonged in hair! But there are studies that say that vinegar itself is awesome for a total clean.
So I went to Walmart and found the cheapest bottle of ACV I could find. I don't remember the price (I bought it last month), but it was between 5-7 bucks in the salad dressing aisle. I just used it for the first time this Sunday, and it was amazing!
First, I washed my hair with a cheap (VO5) sulfate shampoo to get the last two weeks of gunk out of my hair. I did this over the kitchen sink because I didn't feel like hopping in the shower at the time. Then I mixed the ACV in a small dispenser bottle with less ACV than water, then shook it up. I hated the smell; it smelled like rotten apples that had been sitting in a dumpster for months! >_< Then little by little, I squirted the mixture onto my my whole head, scalp and all. I massaged it in for about five minutes, then rinsed it out. The smell was barely there anymore after rinsing, and my hair felt amazing!

The curls were seriously popping, and I was able to see every hair texture in my head! I have several hair textures. My new red color was popping, too. My scalp felt a little dry, but overall super CLEAN! I love the feeling that the ACV left me with.

Now of course, I wasn't going to leave my hair like this, so I applied my oil mixture to my hair (EVOO, peppermint oil, castor oil) rubbed that in, then applied my Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque. I love this stuff; it's so buttery and soft. I like to use it as a leave in. My hair stays incredibly soft when I do that. SO I just twisted and did bantu knots around my head, de-tangling each section while doing so.

Hardly NO hair came out in the detangling process. I was amazed! My hair shed way more than this last week when I washed. I don't know if it was the ACV that prevented the shedding or what, but it's now part of my monthly routine. Probably instead of using a sulfate shampoo monthly to cleanse my hair, I'll use the ACV instead. Hooray for more discoveries! ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed this post! What are your experiences with ACV? How does your hair like it? Tell meh here or on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918?ref=hl

Until next time, curly mamas! Peace!

~Epic Realist~

Creative Birthday Hairstyle!

Hiya, curlies! Syriah Lynn turned 4 years old on March 3rd. I did a completely new, made-up hairstyle on her. Loved the results. I got the idea from someone else, but the way I did it... completely unique. I had several people ask me how I did it. 

It's quite easy, actually. All I did was moisturize, de-tangle with damp hair, oil, and Cantu Leave in cream, and held a ribbon at the top of the hair section before securing a hair band. It's as if the ribbon was a regular piece of hair. Had to be careful, though, so that the ribbon didn't come out of the band in the process.
Then I just twisted regularly.
With the back, I did bantu knots instead, but I parted her hair in the shape of the number 4 before doing so. It came out awesome. She want to Chuck E. Cheeses the day before and got plenty of compliments. ;-)

Here is a picture of the mini twists I had in her hair prior to her birthday, before I washed it. They didn't last as long as her first mini twists did, and that's because I used different products. Just goes to show you that simplicity is best. The first mini twists I'd ever done on her were created with my whipped shea butter only. I guess I didn't need gel here. I barely use gel in her hair anyway except for the edges, but I tried something different and they only lasted a week, and that's with her hair being ridiculously fuzzy on the fifth day. I was ready to take these suckers down then!
I learned my lesson. Never again. Oh, and that new Cream of Nature conditioner I got recently... still hate it. I'm going to use it because I paid for it, but never again. Me no likey. I ranted in a previous post about that stuff. I got the same crappy coating in Syriah's hair as well. Bleh.
Soon, I will be selling my own whipped shea butter and whatever else I can conjure up. Screw this! lol xD

Tip of The Day: If your daughter has 3B hair, more than likely she won't need gel to hold her hair in place. A simply light, milky cream will probably work best, although I like using the thick, buttery stuff. Do not load her hair with gel; it isn't necessary and you'll regret the hardness and flakes later.
Well, hope you guys enjoy the hairstyles. Peace out til later!

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~Epic Realist~

Bantu Knots and Babies

 Syriah has a new style! I'd never done this before, but had been meaning to try it. The famous bantu knots! I've done something similar a few years back, but not this.
These were mega easy. I spritzed her hair with distilled water and used a random product that I had lying around (III Sisters of Nature Lengthening Creme), de-tangled, and coiled the hair around with my finger. Then I wrapped it around itself like a mini bun and secured with a rubber band wrapped around once. She loved it.
The only problem I had, of course, was making sure that they stayed pinned up. Because she's an active 3 year old, she kept bouncing around and the coils kept falling out. But I just re-pinned them. Eventually, when it was almost bedtime anyway, I wrapped her head up with a stocking cap.
I can't wait to see the bantu knot-out when these get old and dried out. Lol!
My little one Symari's hair has been flourishing as well. When I wash it, I use Earth Mama Angel Baby shampoo and body wash (AWESOME stuff, organic, all natural ingredients, no sulfates or parabens) on her hair and body and moisturize her hair and body with my whipped shea butter or plain coconut oil. Sometimes, I use my JBCO/coconut oil concoction in her hair. It's been seriously growing. I'm glad that she's starting off with the right stuff already. Didn't have that opportunity with my other two babies.
I love her adorable little curls! This is how it looks 'stretched out' with shea butter. This is also her first COI hair update picture by herself! Awwwwww!
She cried getting this done because I don't do her hair often. No need for ponytails on a baby all the time. Her hair needs to breathe and grow and flourish without tight ponytails all the time. I didn't use rubber bands in her hair, but still.

Jam's hair is... well, low. I gave him a low haircut a few weeks ago because he couldn't take me combing his top fro anymore. Guess he'll never be able to handle long hair... or at least not now. :-/ All he can handle is his rat tail!
Hope you enjoyed my update. Add me on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918

Until later, curly mamas. Peace!

~Epic Realist~