Wash & Go Love!

I love my hair lately! I've been doing a ton of wash and gos because of time.
I'm in love with the Extreme Wetline gel. I've always heard raves about it, but I finally tried it and it's even better than the EcoStyler gels as far as wash and gos go!
"As far as wash and gos go..." okay, that sounds very weird. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkwCd93i0Os

I don't regret buying this stuff at all. I am totally loving it. But of course, I use an oil on my hair prior to using it. The first time I tried it, I didn't put on oil my HAIR; I put it on my SCALP only. I regretted that because my hair was super crunchy. Leave ins didn't work well with this gel. Made those annoying white flakes. LOL



 


 After rocking wash and gos for about a month now, I started back doing my twists. I actually missed doing twists and twist outs, which was shocking because I was getting bored of them before.
But the cooler weather approaches, so I'll be doing more protective styles, anyway. Yay! lol

What do you use for your wash and gos? How will you be protecting your hair this winter?

 ~Curls of Innocence~

curlsofinnocence.com

Versatile Styles, Postpartum Shedding, Etc.

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VOLUMIZED Twist-Out for Girls

Hola, guys!

These pictures from the collage above were actually taken last month, but I hadn't had the chance to put them together in a collage or talk about how I achieved this style on Syriah.

But it's not that hard. Originally, I had her hair like this... 

...and this style lasted for about a week. When I took the braids out, the definition was phenomenal! The moisture was still there, and the fact that I did center braids instead of side by side ones is what  created the voluminated look above. That's all I did last month to get that look, and I did it again a few weeks ago to make her hair appear fuller. This technique works so well, because Syriah's hair isn't very think. It's like a medium thickness, and sometimes, doing things like this makes it automatically look thicker. Awesome!

Her wash & go process goes well, too. I am currently out of shea butter (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!), so I have to use what I've got until I can get more. I still have KCCC left. I like the way her wash & gos turn out... much better than mine do! lol

Lately, I've been using this stuff with oil on top of it. I'm not too fond of the ingredients in it, but for me, it actually held up the moisture in my hair for almost two weeks now! O_O I am shocked, even though I have used this same Cantu product in the past and had bad results... results that made my hair seem coated. lol

But it's all good for now. Been a little broke lately, but soon, I will have a product haul to show you guys!  Right now, I am keeping my hair as protected as possible to avoid a ton of postpartum shedding. That has been going well for me. I have started a 'Vlogtember' series on YouTube, where I vlog every day this month. So, I've been uber busy, video editing every single day, homeschooling the kiddos, cleaning the house, cooking, and playing video games when I can. #mommyflow #SAHMflow

Peace out till later, curly mamas! #curlsofinnocence

~Epic Realist~

Transitioning Styles and Tips (2009-2011)

Hiya, curlies! I wanted to post some pics here of how my hair looked when I was transitioning. I didn't have any natural products then because I couldn't afford them, so I stuck with pink lotion, very cheap leave ins (African Pride Olive Miracle) and Pantene shampoos and conditioners even though I was beginning to realize that those things were bad for my hair. But I used what I could! :-)

 

 
 

I was home most of the time, so I kept my hair twisted up a LOT. I remember how my twist outs looked, mostly stringy at the bottom and nice and fluffy at the top. I transitioned for two years because my relaxed hair was already about 16 or 17 inches long and I didn't want to lose all of my length that quickly. I don't remember getting a lot of breakage with my line of demarcation because I was very gentle with my hair then. Eventually, when I got tired of the two textures (and needed a change in life), I did my own big chop and cut my hair a little past ear length.

See my whole hair journey here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y9UEDQV8D4

I was never very fond of or good at updos; I love having my hair down. That's always been my signature thing. Occasionally, I'd wear a ponytail or two, but nowadays, It's rare that you'll catch me wearing a ponytail or a bun unless it's inside the house. I'm quite sure that I'd still look nice in updos, though, especially since most people say that I look Indian based on the way my head is shaped when you look at me sideways. LOL! (random)

Transitioning Tips:

1. STAY AWAY from combs! Try to do as least combing as possible to avoid breakage at the oh so fragile line of demarcation.

2. Finger detangling is always best. Don't worry; you CAN do it! If you have stubborn type 4 hair, make sure that your hair is wet and saturated with conditioner or a silky leave in before attempting to finger detangle.

3. Deep condition weekly. This was one thing that I couldn't afford to do back then, but I wish that I had been able to. My hair would have been a lot stronger, and I would have probably avoided seeing a ton of hair come out in the shower. :-/

4. Protect the ends! Yes, they are the relaxed, already damaged portion of your hair that'll eventually get whacked off, but trust me, you don't want dry, raggedy looking ends when you're trying to blend your two textures. Been there, done that. Pay more attention to those ends than anything else; seal them like you'd seal your bank account.

That's all for now, folks. Peace out!

~Epic Realist~

Personal blog link: http://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

WARNING: If you are easily offended by religious debates/statements, DO NOT even attempt to read this blog.

My First Wash & Go EVER! KINKY CURLY CURLING CUSTARD Review

Heya, guys! Yes, you read the title right. I have actually never attempted a wash and go, not since I've been natural. I've just never actually needed to; I'm home most of the time, so I'm never in a situation where I have to fix my hair and run out the door or anything. My hair remains braided or twisted, or nowadays, in a bun or pineapple to preserve the twist out or braid out.
But since I had a chance to get KCCC (Kinky Curly Curling Custard) recently, I decided to finally try a wash and go. People have fallen in love with that product, and now I see why! It's actually all natural, I believe, or at least 99% natural. It's wonderful.
So on my wash day on Saturday, I co-washed my hair with the new As I Am Coconut Co-Wash I also got (yes, I actually co-washed, only because it's actually formulated for cleansing and not some random cheapie conditioner) from my CurlMart haul (previous post), conditioned with my Herbal Essences conditioner, and rinsed. Right after I towel blotted my hair and got dressed, I started sectioning my hair and applying the KCCC onto each section, after using a dab of coconut oil on my scalp and newly colored ends.
See new color review here!╰☆╮41- Textures and Tones Review: OMBRE Effect PART 2

Applying the KCCC

 
 
 

 


Now the only problem that I had with this was that I think I was supposed to re-wet my hair as I was doing it. Although I applied immediately after washing, I don't think my hair was wet enough. I say that because when my hair dried, it was super frizzy in the back and also very hard and crunchy on certain parts of my hair! It looked amazing as far as definition, but I could just tell that maybe I should have used my AVJ/water spritz on each section before applying the product.



                           After KCCC is Dry

 

 


It looks cute, though, except for the shrinkage, of course LOL! I pineappled my hair for the night and tied it with a satin scarf. I was curious to see how this wash and go would look on day 2.

Day 2

 


Well, it did look better! More volume, hangs better. My hair is still super hard in some areas, so hard and clumped together to where I cannot even pull the hairs apart (yikes), but I will probably spritz my ends again soon and pin it up before bed to loosen the hardness of it, then apply some oil and see if it still holds up. If not, oh well. That's the fun of experimenting, right?
At least I finally tried a wash and go, and I finally tried KCCC! Yay, me! Haha!
Let me know what you guys think and if you've ever tried this product. Was it a success or was it a half-failure like mine was? lol
Peace out till later, curlies! Stay curly!

~Epic Realist~

Personal blog link: http://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

WARNING: If you are easily offended by religious debates/statements, DO NOT even attempt to read this blog.

Whipped Curly Butter Twistout Results

Hiya, curlies! I have a new video. It's simply me talking about my twist out with the whipped curly butter that I made.
I'm trying to get used to the camera and talking more so I can create more videos. Bleh. Me and my shyness. Hope you enjoy anyway! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CT6ZDqvqfI

Peace out till lata,

~Epic Realist~

Twisting With Gel

Hiya, guys! I'm just making a quick post about gel. I've had my EcoStyler Olive Oil gel for about a year (huge container) and I just ran out of it. NUUUU! (hyperventilates) MUST GET MORE!
I'm surprised that it lasted that long. But I'm not that avid of a gel user. I usually only use it to smooth edges down and nothing else... on rare occasions. I don't wear ponytails or buns often.
Lately, I've started using more gel for my two strand twists. I use a cream on a section first, make sure my hair is de-tangled, and smooth in some gel throughout the entire section before I twist. It's been working awesome. My twists tend to unravel because I have 3B-3C hair, so I need something to where they won't come undone every minute. The EcoStyler is doing it! Sorry that I don't have pictures at the moment. Life's...well, busy.

Tip of the Day: If your twists come apart a lot, try using gel before you twist. Use only a fingertip amount, depending on how small your twists are. But make sure your twists are moisturized first. You'll reduce the 'crispy' feeling that you usually get with gel, and you hair won't feel hard when it dries. Trust me; it works!
And when you're done wearing the twists, you can take them down for a wicked twist-out. ;-)

Peace, curlies!
~Epic Realist~

Mineral Oil...Do or Do Not?

Hey, ladies! Today's topic is a hot topic among naturals lately. It's our famous mineral oil.
Oh, the horror! How dare you speak such blasphemy! (covers mouth in shock)
So we probably all know by now that mineral oil, (aka baby oil) has gotten a very bad rap in the natural community. Some people still swear by it; others avoid it like the plague. Mineral oil is a super cheap form of liquid petroleum (Vaseline) that is supposed to seal moisture in to our skin and hair. But some people debate that it's the opposite.
Frankly, I don't really care. If it works for your hair, then by all means, stick with it. Me, personally, I hate the stuff. Before I became fully natural and I was stretching my perms by 6 months or so, I went through pink lotion like water. I had to use it every night when I got home from college or wherever I'd gone because my stringy, processed twist outs and braid outs were parched dry again. I used it every night to re-twist or re-braid my hair, but it was never as moist as I hoped it would be. It would always be dry by like, mid day. I wasn't doing much protective styling because I didn't know about that then, but either way, I didn't like the ingredients on the bottles of these products. However, there are some people who use it consistently and they still have healthy looking hair going down their back. O_O
I don't use mineral oil because I don't believe that it works for me. It isn't natural and in my opinion, does nothing but sit on your hair and prevent water from getting in. Then it takes a sulfate shampoo to wash these chemicals out, and I REFUSE to go back to using sulfates on my hair. It's been doing so well without it. I believe that once you go natural, there are certain things that you can always go without. Mineral oil is one of them.
It's basically Vaseline. I've never liked using Vaseline as a lotion. Yeah, it makes your skin all shiny and supple for the time being, but I always knew, even when I was younger, that it was unnatural and it was only 'sitting' on my skin. I'm a huge lotion fanatic... mostly because one of my biggest pet peeves is dry skin. I HATE dry skin... any form of it. Dandruff... ick. It just looks like dirt to me. When I saw lotions or hair products not holding in moisture, the first thing I used to look at were the ingredients. Mineral oil was always on the list. These commercial lotions out there... Vaseline, Jergens, St. Ives, even the awesome smelling lotions from places like Bath and Body Works or The Body Shop... all laced with mineral oil. They don't seal in moisture. It's only an illusion of it being a sealant.
If it's a lotion and it's job is to seal in moisture and keep it there at least for an entire day, then you shouldn't be ashy by 2:00.
So, I don't use anything with mineral oil in it. Not because I'm bashing anyone who does; it just doesn't work for me. For body lotion now, I either use a natural oil or I use my whipped shea butter that I can use for hair AND body. I like being versatile with my beauty products. My whipped shea butter will keep me and kid's skin moisturized for at least TWO whole days. They're not ashy when they get up in the morning, which has been such a blessing to me. Like I said, I HATE dry skin. I even hate it when my hands are super dry because my nails feel scratchy. Then I don't want to touch anything because it'll give me the 'nails on a chalkboard' feeling, even if I'm not scratching anything. Eh, I'm just weird like that. But I like that about myself. You won't catch me or my kids being ashy, unless I was just lazy that day or forgot to moisturize.
Other beauty products have mineral oil in them as well, like make up, lipstick (I think), facial cleansers, and lip gloss. I don't use make up at all anyway, and I am on the hunt right now for an all natural lip gloss/lipstick besides my trusty coconut oil. ;-) Same goes for my facial cleanser. Right now, I use my trusty Dudu Osun black soap for my face and it's doing just fine.

I've pretty much eliminated the stuff from any regimen of mine, and I am happy to have done so. Do or do not? I do not!

Questions? Comments? Hit me up here or somewhere else. =)

http://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence
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Peace out, curly mamas!

~Epic Realist~