Girly Protective Styles For Winter 2017

Good evening, curly mamas!

I've been working on doing a lot more style videos than normal just to see if I can reach a bigger audience on YouTube... because let's be real. Having only 1,000 subbies after almost 4 years of hard work on this channel does a lot of damage to my... well, self-gratification. 

I know that my videos are good and well put together; however, I don't have the capital to put money into YT... and I'm definitely not getting any in return right now. Sigh... suggestions, anyone?

Anyway, here are the last two videos showing the styles that I've been doing on my girls this winter so far. 

I hope you guys enjoy them! Nothing spectacular, just styles that makes me stay out of their hair for up to two weeks. A lot of times, the flyaways and frizz don't allow the style to last for two weeks, or ever one full week for that matter, but I don't really have a choice lately. I have a lot going on in life at the moment, and I need to keep their hair pinned up as much as possible.

I've been loving that Cantu Natural Line... if I'm not using that particular Cantu product, then it's the Cantu Kids hair care line. I love both of them. Very moisturizing, minimal build-up.

I don't do many styles on them with a million and one hair ties and hair bows, because frankly, we don't go out much! There's no point in doing fancy things all the time when it'll be a hassle to take down at night so they won't sleep in hair bubbles/knockers/whatever you'd like to call them. I simply can't deal with all that. Haha!

So lots of braids, cornbraids, and flat twists is what I've been doing lately. And I'm very proud of them. If you like the videos, please like, subscribe, and share! I appreciate it. :)

~Curls of Innocence~

Mini Braids and Insanity Workout!!!

Hey guys! This is just a post about my experience with mini braids, and that I took my mini braids down yesterday, washed my hair, and now it feels fresh and free once again. LOL!
I haven't worn mini braids since I was a teenager... maybe 14 years old... before I got my first perm at 15. That was my staple hairstyle. That was all my mom knew to do with all the hair I had, with out-of-this-world thickness. I didn't like them then because that was practically all I had my hair in, but my hair had always grown long because they were in for at least a month.
My hair wasn't that healthy because I know my ends were split and straggly like mad, and regular hair grease was used to braid my hair, but it still grew. I thought about that more recently, and although braids take longer to install, they tend to last longer. So I did the mini braids in my hair last Monday and left them in for a week and a half.
I used EcoStyler gel on damp hair. Awesome technique. It worked well, and I honestly didn't get much noticeable frizz until the second week. I don't use gel like that, but for this it worked like a charm. They also looked great on me.

 Now, they're not as small as some people would probably do theirs, but ain't nobody got time fo'dat! Not with three kids! This size was great for me. Bad enough it took two hours to do, which is a miracle for my hair.
When the second week began, the itchiness began. My hair likes being washed at least once a week and it goes crazy if it isn't washed once a week. So, you see my dilemma. I almost tried washing it with the braids still in, but I knew already that that would cause major frizz. The gel would be washed out of it, and the manipulation and the water would cause the braids to be frizzy afterwards and I knew this. Plus, it would also be hard to condition my hair. So that was it. My scalp was too itchy, no matter how much I spritzed my scalp with my water/peppermint oil concoction. It was time for the braids to go! I was kind of sad taking them out, but I could easily find the time to do them again if I wanted to.
Besides, with the working out that I have been doing lately, my scalp needed the wash to remove sweat. I have started doing the Insanity workout program. Yes, the crazy hard one, with Shaun T. It's AWESOME. I've got some major pounds to lose, about 30, and since I've changed my eating habits greatly, I've already lost 3 pounds. Combine that with the biking and other random exercises that I have started doing (push ups, jump ropes, crunches, squats), I've added INSANITY to the mix and have lost 3 MORE pounds. So happy! I am seeing my baby gut go down finally.
If you do INSANITY, too, let me know. How far are you in it? Challenges? Given up yet? I've only done the first two videos so far.
Ever done mini braids? How long did it take? Did you like the results? How long did they last before your scalp was on it's knees, begging for shampoo? Tell meh! I like hearing hair stories.
Peace out till later, curly mamas!

http://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/Epicrealisthttp://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

KCCM Castor Oil Challenge- Week 8

Hey guys! These are my check in questions from Kinky Curly Coily Me's Castor Oil Challenge- Week 8.
I'm sad because I'm out of JBCO and can't order more at the moment. Nooooooooooooooo! (throws fit)

1. How long did it take you to finally make the decision to become natural? When you became fully natural were you surprised at all by your texture? Why/why not?
It didn't take me very long to make the decision to start transitioning back in April 2009. My mom, sister, and I all stopped getting perms that month/year. I wasn't too surprised by my texture because I didn't perm a lot at all. I could go 4-6 months without a perm, so I pretty much saw my natural texture, anyway. I loved it, even though before I transitioned, I still had the notion that my edges and new growth needed to be slick down. Full hair story and video here. =)
http://www.curlsofinnocence.bl...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

2. How do you feel about HUMIDITY? Does it effect your hair in any way? If so, how so?
HUmidity does effect my hair a lot. It makes my hair frizz up, but on those humid days, I make sure to use shea butter and/or gel to slick it up so that it doesn't frizz up. it always works. A lot of times on humid days, I wear up dos (ponytails, buns).

3. How did you do last week (week 7)? Did you follow through with your goals? Any challenges thus far?
I've been... hanging on. Haven't fully stuck to my goals. Money is tight, I'm actually out of JBCO now and can't order any more at the moment (please don't kick me out of the challenge!). So I've been doing my usual hair routine, and also using my whipped shea butter which has a LITTLE bit of JBCO in it. Trying.

4. (optional) Post a pic of your hair after being effected by humidity. OR Post a pic of how you wear your hair to prevent it from being effected by humidity.

Awww... don't have one. I don't get out of the house a lot, so I don't even see many humid days.

~Epic Realist~

Merry Christmas & a New Shampoo!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I have a new shampoo! Now before you get all excited, this isn't a giveaway or anything. One day, those will come when I can afford it. LOL! But I got this two days ago from Walmart and I am in love with it.
It's another Shea Moisture shampoo, but I like it better than the one I was previously using. I couldn't wait to try it, so on Sunday, which I have officially named as my wash day, I tried it. It was absolutely awesome!
Truthfully, this stuff didn't even feel like a shampoo. It was so silky, it felt like a conditioner, like I was co-washing my hair instead of actually 'sudsing' it up. As usual there are all natural ingredients in it, and no sulfates! I'm so in love with this shampoo.
Wish that I had the money to get the conditioner to try along with it, which was also $9.99. Some people have said that the conditioner doesn't do as good of a job as the shampoo does, but I want to see for myself one day.
So I washed my hair in two sections, towel blotted it, and applied my castor oil and grape seed oil mixture on my scalp and ends. Then I used some of my Tresemme conditioner (which is almost gone) in my hair as a leave in and de-tangled with my wide toothed comb. I don't usually do this, but it has been doing wonders for my hair's epic dryness lately. I did my usual 6-8 twists in and tied it up to in a scarf to air dry.
The next day, Christmas Eve, I spritzed it with water, finger de-tangled it, and applied my whipped shea butter. Replaced the fat twists with braids so I could get the roots pinned up and not knotted together like they always do after one day of wearing fat twists. The JBCO has been making my roots so much thicker, so when I do twists, after one day, not only is there a bunch of frizz near on the top of my head, but the roots sometimes get tangled within one another. Sometimes braiding is better, even though it takes longer. But it creates a lot of stretch!
As of now, we're not going anywhere for Christmas, but I'm still going to play around with my hair and Syriah's and create some 'holiday style' just for fun.  xD

Until next time...
Happy Holidays, curly mamas!

~Epic Realist~