Heya, curly mamas! 🔻
I really haven't had much to talk about as far as hair lately, so I haven't written anything in ages. But now, I just want to say that everyone's hair is growing immensely!
If you guys have been following me since their baby days. you know that Symari's hair used to be incredibly thin and fine. Long and wavy, but thin at nature. I didn't think her hair would ever thicken up, but it really has lately. Even my mother in law has noticed!
I haven't been doing anything new or strange with it. I just do as I usually do, wash and condition every 2 weeks, oil her scalp with my castor oil mix, use a leave in, and do a protective style with it. Yesterday, I took down her braids for a prepoo and even that came out beautifully, as you can see in the picture. Her diet also helps. They eat a lot of fruits and veggies, lots of water, and little sweets.
I still massage her scalp a lot as well!
I hope that helped someone a little!
~Curls of Innocence~ Follow daily posts on IG! @curlsofinnocence
Hey, curly mamas!Do you guys suffer from dandruff? Your kids have it, too? It's not that hard to get rid of it... for good.
My kids and I haven't had dandruff issues in years. We all used to, probably back in about 2012... I believe that was the last time I had issues with it. My youngest child, who is 11 months, has NEVER had dandruff, or even cradle cap thus far. Even my hubby used to have excessive dandruff and doesn't have it any longer!
So, here is what I do to keep dandruff away.. for good,
1. DRINK WATER! I cannot stress that enough. If your body is not hydrated properly, it will manifest itself in your scalp and you'll see those annoying, itchy white flakes that won't go away.
2. WASH weekly! A CLEAN scalp is a happy, non itchy scalp. Bi-weekly may work depending on how your hair is already trained, but if you have lots of dandruff, it is recommended that you wash it weekly.
3. DITCH the sulfate shampoos! Sulfates make your scalp even dryer, which contributes to MORE flakes. No bueno. Want to cleanse completely? Use a mud/clay wash or ACV (apple cider vinegar).
4. OIL your scalp! After you wash and condition your hair, oil your scalp with a natural based oil (EVOO, castor oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, etc) before using a leave in. If you don't seal that moisture in, it'll quickly be zapped away by the elements.
5. DEEP CONDITION weekly! Now, I don't have time to do this for all my kids, but I definitely do it to myself. But the kids actually don't need deep conditioning to keep dandruff away, and that's because I have their hair TRAINED. We all guzzle water as our number one drink, and when I moisturize their hair, I use water, then oil, then cream and/or shea butter, otherwise known as the LOC method.
Occasionally, I'll do the opposite... the LCO method. Both ways work well for us!
6. PROTECTIVE STYLING works wonders! Now, I'm not talking about weave, Ya'll know I don't do weave... no shade to those who do; it's just not me, I am talking about doing styles that last for a week. For me, because I'm always in the house, my hair is in twists or braids 90% of the time. If it's not in twists, it's up in a high bun to stretch it and also keep the ends moisturized. I only wear it out when it's moist enough or I'm going somewhere... or I'm about to wash it anyway, so it doesn't matter. lol
For the kids, their hair stays braided, twisted, or coiled up some kind of way, and washed every two weeks. I do moisturizing 'sessions' in between, but maybe only twice a week. Still no dandruff!
*So those are the six things that we've been doing to keep dandruff at bay. Symari and Jalani have never had dandruff at all, and that's because I learned from the two oldest. Woo hoo!
I hope you guys take my advice and apply it to yourself or your kids if you're having dandruff trouble. These things work!
Hola, curly mamas! This is my mini product haul. I had ten bucks to spend and I was out of conditioner AND leave in, so I found new products to try. By the way, that leave in is full of proteins, so my hair will probably act up with it, but I wanted to try it anyway.
I finally found that Gorilla Snot that everyone in the Facebook 'Beads, Braids, & Beyond' hair group always raves about! Walmart actually had it this time. This is a Mexican product, so most of the text is in Spanish. I have already tried it all of these products, but this Gorilla Snot is the main one I have been aching to try.
Quite frankly, I was a little intimidated to try something with this name. I mean, wouldn't you? What it it really was gorilla's snot? LOL! #IJS
Gorilla Snot Review Consistency: VERY gooey/gluey substance. Extremely sticky! Look: Yellow and slimy Smell: very light chemically smell, not strong Ingredients: Water, PVP (used for crunchy hold) Alcohol, PEG-150, Sorbitol (binds water), Hydroxyethylcellulose, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba Gum (Guar), Fragrance, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Yellow 10 (CI 47005), Yellow 6 (CI 15985), Green 8 (CI 59040) Not at all the best ingredients, especially the alcohol, and I haven't used any alcohol products in ages, and the artificial colors are a no-no Effectiveness: Highly effective for slicking down hair; however, it has the tendency to leave white flakes after a day (in my hair, that is). Didn't do so in Syriah's hair for some reason when I left her hair twisted with this stuff Overall grade: B+ Why: This gel is AWESOME for slicking down every little piece of hair that sticks up, BUT the hold is way too crunchy for my taste. I would honestly never try this gel for a wash and go because my hair would be rock hard and would probably barely even move after drying. Also, I'm not fond of the color additives. They're totally unnecessary. But for edges, this product is BEAST! Yes, I would use it again, but sparingly.
So, that's my review for this product. Keep a look out on YouTube. I will have a video review on this soon. Hope you enjoyed this review! Peace out and Happy Holidays! <3
Heya,curly mamas! I have a quick hair color tip for ya.
Before dyeing your hair, make sure that your
hair is CLEAN and DRY. You will not get good results coloring on
product-laden hair.
Also, the dye won't penetrate well if your hair is already soaked up with water. O_O Have you permanently dyed your hair? Did you make any mistakes? Any regrets? Tips? Click here to see what I did to get my new color! ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vcaAq4WH0w&feature=youtu.be
Heya,curlies! It's been a while. I have been sooooo busy lately. We just moved and finally got settled in with everything. :)
I did a braid out the other day, and it came out AWESOME! I mean, super awesome. I had eight braids in my hair for three days (using damp hair with shea butter and oil), and when I took my hair out, it was super defined!
Now this video was done on the first day hair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWlv8C2vuoQ
Today, I am on day four, and I'll probably have another video up soon showing how it looks and how big and fluffy your hair gets each day. Lots of frizz, but still good enough to wear outside if need be. ;) Pics of day 4 hair:
Compare that to the video above lol!
Syriah's hair is still in mini braids now for 3 weeks. They're a little frizzy, but still holding up well with proper maintenance (water and coconut oil every other night, stocking cap before bed). I'll have a video about that up very soon.
Peace out, ladies! Stay curly!
Hey guys!This is just apost 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!
Buenos dias,ladies! I have an interesting topic that I thought about a few days ago. It pertains to our hair growth. It began when I started seeing more and more posts about hair supplements, such as pills that claim to grow your hair (Hairfinity) and the all too famous... Monistat. -___-
I started to think about how impatient women are in growing their hair, and it got me thinking hard about patience. We're living in a world now where no one is patient anymore. We want everything now, now, NOW! Every woman wants long hair ASAP. We're popping pills, religiously doing scalp massages, and even resorting to 'coochie cream' for abnormally quick growth. And I ask myself, why are we breaking our backs to get long hair and ultimately missing the main ingredient, patience?
So, then I started to think about our hair, and how, like anything, it requires time. Time to grow, to flourish, to regenerate. Just like.. a plant. Plants take time, right? A lot of time. Trees take years to grow to their full potential. I don't understand why some naturals still don't use water on their scalps enough. Don't plants need water? That's the main ingredient that plants need. Everyone knows that if plants aren't watered, they'll die.
But that's the same way our hair is. All the years that we've been perming, we've been afraid of using water on our scalps, which is why our hair was not growing and was always dead. Well, all hair is dead, but you get the point.
My point here is that our hair is like a plant. It requires water, food, and time. I will emphasize time because like I said, women want their hair long fast, fast, fast! That's how we get jacked up, trying every little thing that promises to make our hair grow beyond our wildest dreams. Most hair vitamins have side effects that you aren't even aware of until you stop taking them. Some people get hives, some people get headaches, some people get muscle twitches. It's ridiculous. All for the sake of having long hair. Patience, ladies. Your hair WILL grow as long as you take care of it and put what's supposed to be in your body into your body. Start eating better and your hair will definitely grow. Get out of the mindset that you have to have to do something extreme just to prove that your hair can grow to great lengths. Remember, you went natural for a reason. Why are you going back to unnatural means of growing your hair? That makes no sense. I mean, Monistat? Really? I don't care if someone got waist length hair in two years after big chopping. That's still an unnatural way. So when you decide to stop using Monistat for whatever reason, don't be surprised if you get massive headaches or something like that.
If it takes you five years to get to waist length, so what? Everyone's hair grows at a different pace. What's the rush? Really? You get waist length hair and then what? Gonna brag about it to kingdom come? Not the right way to go about it. My hair grows fast, but even if it didn't, I'm not impatient with my hair.
I'm just happy to have hair in the first place. Imagine how cancer patients feel. They're stressing about losing all of their hair and they can't do anything about it. And we're sitting around, stressing because our hair hasn't reached BSL length within two years of returning to natural. Come on, guys. We can do better.
Hair Tip #3: Start thinking about your hair like a plant. Whenever you get discouraged about your hair not growing, take a look at a tree and think about how long it took that tree to grow. Even a small bean plant. Everything takes time to grow, even hair. Growing your hair unnaturally is not best. Do it the natural way. Eat right, guzzle water, keep water on your scalp, exercise, use castor oil, deep condition weekly, protein treatments, you know the deal already. You'll be better off in the long run. Peace out and be blessed, curly mamas.
So, here's one of Syriah's latest hairstyles, created with just whipped shea butter and water. Awesome what you can do with just those two things, right? Oh, and of course, my trusty new paddle brush. She has the perfect hair type for this...3A. Sometimes I wish that my hair was as silky as hers, but only part of my hair is like this... the top. The sides of my hair are like 3B-3C. Darn you, different curl patterns lol!
I still love my hair, though. All hair types are beautiful :P Natural hair RULES!
Hey, guys! I'm going to share what I've learned on my hair journey so far. It's been three years, and I've come a long way and still have an even longer way left to go. I'm not giving up! As I mentioned in the previous post, my hair texture doesn't hardly benefit from a perm anyway, so I shall never go back.
1. Transitioning your hair also means that you are transitioning your life. If you beg to differ, look at it like this... you're finding the 'black pride' within yourself, so you are becoming happy(er) about being African American. Therefore, you develop a new outlook on life that you previously did not have. 2. Technically, you do not 'go natural'; you were born natural. So you are only going back to how you came into the world, but this time, you're accepting it. 3.Water is not the devil. In fact, water is your friend, a good friend to your hair. You hear that, black women? Stop being afraid of putting water on your hair! Unless it's well, hard water...eh, not much you can do there except go buy distilled water or install a filter in your shower. Hehe. 4.Just because someone else has tried a certain routine and it has worked for them does not mean that it will work for you. Try your own regimen and don't be a follower! You'll be disappointed if your curls don't look like theirs. Talk about hating your hair all over again. Trust me. You don't want that. 5. Having several hair patterns can sometimes appear to be a curse. Literally. One side of your hair is cooperating so far, but the other side wants to act like it's on crack. Just gotta' keep working at it. 6. Trimming is not necessary to do by a certain time. Only trim as you need to, like if your ends begin to break or look split and straggly. If you trim too often, like every month, you'll never notice your hair's growth and you'll keep thinking that you're doing something wrong and that your hair isn't growing. Be patient... and drop the scissors, woman! 7.Less manipulation is best. Combing and brushing excessively is not good at all. Yes, that's for all you women who do this every day. Try to do as little combing and brushing as possible to minimize hair loss and hair breakage. Fingers have become my friend when it comes to lazy nighttime parting and taking down twists for twist-outs. I barely ever touch a comb unless it's wash/conditioning day! 8. Rock what you like and don't be afraid. If your hair is acting flat that day, wear your slick back afro-puff. If your hair is busting with volume and frizz, throw a headband on it, wear your full fro outside and be retro. Women are wearing styles from the 40's again lately, and I think it's sexy. Who cares about the freakin year? There's no law that says if a certain style hasn't been 'popular' since let's say the 60's, then you shouldn't wear it. That's how I feel about my son's rat tail, and now my hubby has a rat tail, too. Rock what you like no matter the season! 9.Commercial shampoos should be banned. Like, seriously. Those sulfates make your hair dryer than the Sahara Desert. 10. The best deep conditioners can be found right in your kitchen. You don't have to spend an arm a leg, and your head on a platter to get silky hair. Got an egg, some mayo, and some olive oil? Yeah. Sounds gross, but that stuff actually works. 11. Constant stressing over your hair won't make the problem go away. It can only make it worse... and cause it to fall out. Research the problem, do your best to fix it, and leave it alone. Chances are, your hair will cooperate in time. Again... be patient. 12. You are still going to have bad hair days. Don't think that when you go natural, the decision to stay natural will be a walk in the park. Sometimes, you're going to want to revert right back to the creamy crack. I never did, but some of you will. Don't feel bad, and don't give in. Look at YouTube videos for inspiration! LOL 13. Begin the de-tangling process before you wash your hair. If you just took down a braid out, it's going to be hard to really wash and condition your hair with knots in it. Try putting coconut oil and/or EVOO in your hair an hour before you wash it, and comb the knots out before washing. It makes it way easier, and you don't have to lose any hair, either. 14.Protein-based creams and moisturizers will always have your hair feeling like butter... unless your hair is protein sensitive. My hair loves it, soaks it up. 15.Corn braids are not the only protective style in the world! I used to think that it was, because that's all I saw in little girls' hair and I still do. In fact, corn braids are one of the worst protective styles. Yeah, they look really nice and what not, but people often braid too tight and leave the braids in way too long, neglecting the hair's need for moisture. That tight braiding allthe time can put wear and tear on your hair, and possibly create little painful, sometimes bloody bumps on your scalp. Then when you take the braids down, you have lots of hair coming out in your hand and the comb. Some parents don't realize this and they keep corn braids in their' kid's hair almost year round, over and over and they never know that the child is slowly suffering hair loss/damage. Ladies, cool down on the braids, please, and let your child's scalp breathe and be free! 16.Again, it doesn't cost a lot just to maintain healthy hair. Use natural oils, shea butter, and water. That's pretty much all you'll need. You don't have to try every new fancy product out there just to have healthy hair. Create your own concoction and work it. That's what I did, and my shea butter mixture has lasted me 3 months each time. FIVE pounds of unrefined shea butter for 17 bucks on Amazon... and lasts for 3 months... how the hell can anyone beat that!? I mean, come on ladies; let's be resourceful here, and not break the bank trying to look cute! 17. Just because something says it's organic, doesn't mean it is. Just because it says it's all natural doesn't mean anything, either. Read every ingredient, and do your research.
Okay, I'm all out of suggestions... for now. Gotta go feed my little desparatos. If I have more, I will most likely come back for a part 2 of what I've learned. Take care, curly mamas!
P.S.: Curls of Innocence is on YouTube now! Check out my first little bootleg video that I did a few weeks ago. Don't laugh at me. Hehe. Comment and subscribe! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDNOuCfqQzE
So, I've been doing it up with Sy's hair lately. Random hairstyles. I have to find time to put the pics together and update them here. Sometimes it takes forever. I'll have several new styles siting on my computer for weeks at a time because I'm so busy and tired lately. But I have some to show now... finally. Hope you enjoy!
The second style on the first pic was when her hair was straight, and so was the second picture. I had never gotten a 'perfect' curved part before, so I surprised myself when I actually got it. So she had an S for her name. She loved it!
Now I need to practice my cornbraiding. I put cornbraids in Sy's hair recently, but they were a bit sloppy looking. Her hair is so silky. What makes it worse is that I can't stand doing anything on dry hair anymore, so I have to put something on her hair to moisturize before braiding. My hands are always slipping all over the place. Sigh... practice makes perfect. lol
I made another batch of my shea mixture a few days ago, and I added another ingredient... honey. Just wanted to try it out. I don't notice a difference in texture, but that's probably a good thing. Tip of the Day: Best way to combat dandruff is to of course, constantly moisturize! By moisturize, I mean water and water-based natural oils or products. I've heard that tea tree oil works great; haven't used it yet, though. DO NOT use anything with petroleum jelly. It will only clog your pores and make your hair and scalp feel overly greasy, and it will attract dirt as well. So all you grease lovers... yeah. Back away from the Blue Magic and grab some EVOO and water! If your daughter has excessive dandruff, any type of grease will probably make it worse. I know it did back in the day when I used to use grease. Oh, and gentle brushing will definitely help. Use a boar's head brush only. It's soft and gentle to the scalp and the dandruff will fall right out.
Syriah barely has dandruff anymore because of how I moisturize her hair. I might see some flakes in her hair like, once a week, and that's usually before hair wash day.
Alrighty guys, I'm out. Enjoy the hairstyles. Tips? Comments? Let me know! =)
Peace out, curly mamas! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918?ref=hl
Morning, curly mamas! I'm going to share some tips on reducing knots and tangles in our hair. One of the biggest problems is hair breakage due to misuse or overuse of certain tools or products. This mostly happens when it's time to wash the hair, and a lot of hair is shed and broken off. Something we've probably heard growing up is to never comb your hair when it's wet, never ever ever! Well, that doesn't exactly have to be the case. We CAN comb our hair even while it's in the most vulnerable state... IF you follow these directions. 1. ALWAYS use a wide tooth comb, aka 'shower comb'. All of those other tiny combs you have stashed in your bathroom are not for use on wet hair. Your hair will fall out with those. Use something with wide teeth. It is best to only comb after shampooing and you're in the conditioning part of your regimen. 2. It is best to prepare your hair for washing, as in use some type of oil to 'soak' your hair in. It can be olive oil, some type of conditioning oil, whatever you like to use. I usually use extra virgin olive oil in mine and my daughter's hair the day before I wash it so it soaks in overnight. The extra moisture really helps. I don't even need to use a conditioner! 3. Wash your hair in sections. This greatly helps. I have tried it my hair and my hair didn't get as nappy afterward. Part your hair with your fingers in two or four sections, whichever you feel like comfortable with, and shampoo it that way while parted. This greatly reduces unnecessary knots. 4. Use a detangling shampoo. Even if you do not have a sulfate free shampoo yet, use one that detangles, or at least claims to. Much easier to manage your hair. 5. DO NOT be afraid of water! After shampooing, it's okay to re-wet your hair if you're applying a product that works best on wet hair. Another thing we've grown up on is to keep our hair away from water, that water is the enemy. Water is NOT the enemy! Water is good for our hair, contrary to popular belief. 6. Style your hair in sections.If you're already on the natural journey, then more than likely you'll want your curls to show as much as possible. After shampooing and conditioning, use a thick moisturizer on your wet hair, especially if your hair craves moisture. Do not use any brushes. Braid or twist into several sections and let it air dry. I say air dry because it is the healthiest way to dry hair. Heat isn't always needed here, unless you're going for a certain special style. Even then, I would still recommend using a hair steamer such as this one on this website. http://www.behuetiful.com/store/steamer/cat_5.html?gclid=CKO5rZuX7q4CFY1R7Aod_3WeKA
I currently do not own a hair steamer yet, but one day I will. I am not an advocate of heat on hair. I barely straighten my hair at all, and I don't blow dry or sit under a dryer like we've all probably grown up doing. 7. DO NOT 'overwash' your hair! I know some African-American women who are constantly washing their hair, like three times a week. That is not necessary at all. Unless you're sweating profusely every day or in a swimming class where your head is always laced with chlorine, there's no reason to wash your hair more than once a week. Our hair requires as much moisture as possible, but sometimes, too much water can dry it out and create more tangles than necessary. Thus, the excessive dandruff and itchiness. Water is not the enemy, but it can be if you overuse it. If you absolutely have to wash your hair more than once a week, then you should not use a drying shampoo. You should consider getting a good co-wash formula or just simply condition it while wet, which I will talk more about at a later date.
These are all the tips that I can think of at the moment. I will add more if I remember any more. Hopefully, I've helped you guys. These tips are awesome on little girl's hair, because even though they may have 'baby hair', their hair is more prone to tangling up because of them being active little girls, running around, possibly having their little heads all over the floor, all that. These tips work on my girl's hair, and her hair is NEVER tangled after washing and she hasn't had any breakage in months. This is due to me constantly studying her hair and studying what works with it and what doesn't.
So, I hope you enjoy my tips and try them out. Let me know what happens! Comment here or on the Facebook page. Happy curling! =) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918
