Riah's Yearly/Holiday Hair Straightening!

Heya, guys! Happy Holidays! I wanted to briefly show my attempt at straightening my four year old's hair. It came out very well! Her hair is already so silky, so it's easy to get straight. Her hair is 3A-3B, sometimes seems more like a type two instead. But either way, it was easy. It only took a full hour to get her fine strands straightened.
Before I did anything, her hair was freshly washed two days prior, oiled up, and put into four braids. When I wanted to straighten it, I cranked up my regular cheap flat iron (400 degrees), put some grapeseed oil on her sections, and then applied my Tresemme heat protectant on the sections as well. Then I combed through with my wide toothed comb. I started with smaller sections. Syriah did so well with being still... she always does.

To avoid more damage, I only did one pass. A few ends had an extra run through them, but then I realized how badly she needed a trim. Her last trim was in July... about a half an inch. I measured her hair after I was done to get a more accurate length check than the one above, and her hair was actually about 22.5 inches (damn!) instead of 21. But she needed a trim, so I took off about an inch. Her hair was also a little uneven from the last trim as well, so I evened it out. And she looks gorgeous! Her hair is soft and silky, flows well like 'white people hair' LOL!

This is how her hair looked when she went outside the same day (above). Below is the trim.

            Here is how she wore her hair when we went to a woman's breakfast at my mom's church.

 

My little fashionista LOL! I love the waves in her hair due to braids.

Nightly Care:

Every other day, I put a light oil (grapeseed oil or coconut oil) all over her hair, especially the ends. Then I thoroughly comb it after parting it into two sections. Lastly, I braid each section into the same 'Pocahontas' braids showed above, except without the hair band at the top. She wears stocking caps to bed and her hair always looks fresh and un-bothered in the morning.

So, that's my straightening update for Syriah. I wish that my hair was as easy to get just about bone straight like hers sometimes. But I love my curls and my own hair, anyway. ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed. Peace out till later and happy holidays! <3 

 ~Epic Realist~

Oil Rinsing?

Hiya, guys! I wanted to talk about something I have yet to try on my natural hair... oil rinsing. I have seen others do it, though. I started thinking about it after seeing Fusion of Cultures on YouTube doing it in her latest wash day video. Then I remembered that I had never tried this!
The process of oil rinsing is usually done after the hair has been shampooed and conditioned. The purpose is to give the hair shine and more manageability. If you use cool/cold water to seal the oil in when rinsing it, the cuticles will close and the oil's properties will remain in your hair even after you've washed out the oil. 
 Apparently, it's a popular method for a lot of naturals. I use lots of oils in my hair anyway... I pre-poo with oils, I add oils to my scalp right after washing, and I add oils to my hair throughout the week, especially if I hadn't found the time to deep condition that week. But the reason I thought about trying an oil rinse is so that maybe I won't have to re-apply oils on my scalp after coming out of the shower; I can just go right to using a leave in with shea butter on top. I want to see if my hair will have a shine to it as well after sealing in the oils with cool water. 
So perhaps, on my next wash day, I'll bring my oil spray bottle in the shower with me and rinse the oils out after washing and conditioning. Can't hurt to try! I just have to make sure not to slip and bust my behind on a slippery, oily tub floor. LOL!
Have you guys tried this method? How long do you leave the oils soaking in your hair? Have you noticed any benefits? Tell me! Comment below or on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918?ref=hl

Peace out till later, curlies! 
P.S.: I have been slacking on my videos lately... lots going on in life right now. I will get back on it soon! ;)

 

My babies and their new baby cousin, Aria! <3 

My current hair product stash!

 Me with a fresh twist-out (using Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter)

                                                     ~Epic Realist~

Syriah's 3rd Length Check! Butt Length (December 2013)

Hey, guys! There's been epic progress with Syriah's hair growth. Her last length check was in May, and since then, I've trimmed an inch off her hair in July. Now, in December, I decided that it was time to measure again.

 (previous) 2nd Length Check

May 2013

 

                        3rd Length Check!
                           December 2013

 

Well, she beat the record! :-) I am curious to see how long her hair can possibly get. Length checks are always fun, but doing them too often takes the fun out of it. So it's only (officially) done every 5-6 months or so.
Her hair is currently super healthy... a little dry from the cold weather, but shea butter keeps that in check. As you can see, she attempted to twist her own hair during this picture. I did most of the twist and she took over. One day, she'll be a pro. LOL!
I let her wear her hair out yesterday after the length check, and she was whipping it back and forth. Haha!

Hope you guys enjoyed! Peace ouuuuuuuut! <3

P.S.: Interested in her hair regimen? Click here! http://curlsofinnocence.blogspot.com/p/syriahs-hair-regimen.html

~Epic Realist~

How I Use Coconut Oil

Heya, curlies!

I love using coconut oil as a pre-poo for my hair, but mostly during the warmer months. In the colder months, I usually pre-poo with EVOO because it's such a heavy oil for the winter dryness.
Right now, Syriah's hair takes coconut oil better than mine. I think that it's because my hair cannot take lots of protein, so if I constantly use coconut oil as I had been using previously, my hair will be more dry and brittle. So right now, coconut oil is mostly used as a pre-poo for both my daughter's hair instead of mine.
I also like using coconut oil on my face in the morning after I've washed my face. It's silky smooth, smells good, and not heavy at all. It's part of my facial routine. ;-)
Here is Syriah's hair with coconut oil in it. I have these pics in the previous post, I believe. This is on damp, finger de-tangled hair.

 Love the shine and the extra softness that it gives when I wash it out of her hair. It's amazing. Sometimes, I don't even need to use my Herbal Essences conditioner because the oil is so soothing that it's VERY easy to manipulate the hair. The last picture is the end result.
So, that's pretty much how I use my coconut oil during these cold months. Hope you guys enjoyed this post!  Follow me on Facebook for everyday tips and updates. Peace out!

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


                    ~Epic Realist~

Pre-poo & Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter!

Heya guys! This is just a quick post showing Syriah's latest wash day routine and what not. I washed her hair yesterday, but first, I pre-pooed her hair with coconut oil and did finger de-tangling. Then I pinned the sections into bantu knots for later on.

Washing her hair is always fun. I find it just as therapeutic as washing my own hair. LOL! She loves it too. I talk to her about what I'm doing and then let her comb/brush her hair herself. I used my usual Shea Moisture Extra Moisturizing Shampoo and Herbal Essences Hello Hydration for conditioning. I realized that her hair is back past her butt. She gained back the length from the trim I gave her in June. ;) (and she got taller, too. lol)

I edited that second pic because I fell in love with the way she was looking. So cute!

So after I was done washing, I went to work de-tangling with my Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming moisturizer. I didn't need a lot of it because her hair was 90% already de-tangled from the conditioner... no knots whatsoever. Then I applied Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter that was given to me by someone who bought it to try it and hated it lol! But I had tried it about two years ago and although the smell was revolting at first, I enjoyed the way it made my hair feel and didn't mind the smell.
It smelled like an old people/herbal type of smell, but I don't mind it. So I tried it in Syriah's hair. It's kind of like a greasy butter... has beeswax in it and is 99% natural.

I put her hair in 4 braids. The shine was amazing! It felt like it was slicking down her hair very well. I had to use a brush to work the product into her wet hair... beeswax on wet hair is NOT fun to work with, I have come to realize. But the brush helped and it was wonderful! The shine is still there this morning.
So that's my little update and review. See ya later, divas!

My twist out using this product :)

Oh, check out my 'skills' in reversing a cornbraid style last week lol! :-)

                             ~Epic Realist~

New Deep Conditioner: Organics Hair Mayonnaise Review

Hey guys! It's been a little minute. I just wanted to quickly show you guys the new deep conditioner that I tried yesterday. It's cheap, but very effective.  I love it!

I almost bought my usual Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque, but I was in Walmart at the time and they jacked the price from $9.99 to $11.99. Hell no was I buying that! Walmart be tripping... raising prices because of popularity. So I started looking for cheaper deep conditioners without a ton of protein. I found this one, which I think has one type of protein only. It smelled wonderful... to me that is. The smell kind of reminds me of hair grease from back in the day! It was 3 dollars and change, so I said, why not? 

Consistency/Overall look: orange with herbs in it, thick with a little runniness
Smell: herbal, smells like hair grease
Price: no more than four bucks
Slip: amazing to detangle with


It was a wonderful deep conditioner! I put it in my hair before washing it and let is sit for a few hours, then rinsed it out. My hair was super soft and manageable.
So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to deep conditioning, try this stuff. I've heard lots of raves about it, so more than likely, you won't be disappointed. ;)

See ya later, curly mamas!

~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~

Mini Braid Takedown

Heya, curlies!

New video alert! I took down my mini braids. They lasted for two weeks and it was definitely time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orM2uu2vlJc&feature=c4-overview&list=UUq2NN4aY3jcyJ2TNTwMwQHA

Hope you enjoy! I'm trying to do at least two videos a week to get more of a following. I already have almost 850 likes on my Facebook Curls of Innocence page, but hardly any subscribers here on Blogger or on YouTube. So I did this video and another one showing Jam's rat tail, because I never show him in my vids. Silly boy.
Rate my videos, subscribe, and comment please! ;)

See ya soon!

~Epic Realist~

Silly Riah, Cantu's Not For You!

Heya, curly mamas! I could not attend my hair show this time (cry cry, bummer), but that's okay.I shall go next year!
This is my newest video. It was actually shot like last month, but I never did anything with it. I will never use this Cantu product, though. It made Syriah's hair sooo dry and matted. I couldn't do anything with it. Here's the YouTube link... help me get more views and subscribers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZJfrzVV_D0

The Facebook page has reached 800 likes. Woo hoo! Spread the innocence! lol

~Epic Realist~

╰☆╮The Origin of CI and Other Random Hair News

Heya, curlies! I'm not going to write a long post here, because this video that I created is self-explanatory. It's the origin of this company, basically how it was founded, how I came up with it and all of the artwork that I have done for this website. It's my longest video yet, but I hope you enjoy anyway! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itjls49tWFc

P.S.: I did mini braids in my hair again! I'm going to make this a habit now to do them at least every other month to retain length and (try to) keep my hands out of my hair so much. Because I'm home a lot, all I have time to do is play with my hair. No bueno. :/
I cornbraided my dad's hair the other day. It was so challenging because it was the nappiest head I've ever worked in! I say that as if I'm a hair stylist who's done thousands of heads... not the case. But he has natural hair (only on the sides of his head because of male pattern baldness) that he doesn't know how or have time to take care of properly, so it gets SUPER dry and knotted up. Took me 30 minutes to detangle each section I worked in, and it still had knots. Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming leave in was a miracle for his hair; it was so matted!
Oh, well, I tried. Still came out okay. These braids will probably be in his head for another month. LOL!

Taliah Waajid World Natural Hair Show is coming up on October 12-13th! Omg, I can't wait! I hope that I can go, because life has thrown me lots of curveballs lately and I'm not sure if I will make it for transportation AND financial reasons. But if so, I will be uber happy.

That's it for my little random update. Peace out til later, folks!

~Epic Realist~

Textures and Tones Color Review!

Heya, curly mamas! I have another color review for ya!
As you guys know, I colored my hair in April for the first time. The results weren't exactly what I wanted and the color was beginning to fade, so I wanted to try again this month with a new color... and a cheaper dye. I didn't have 15 bucks this time to spend on getting Shea Moisture again. LOL!

Clairol Textures and Tones worked just as well, if not BETTER than my previous experience. Here is a video on the results.
This video is also on YouTube, but again, I couldn't get it to embed here. Ugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLt5EHjaP4w

Subscribe to my channel for more exciting videos.
Hope you guys enjoy the video and results!
Peace out till later!

~Epic Realist~

Washing Yo Hair Don't Have To Take ALL DAY! (Rant and Tips)

Heya, curly naturals! It's about that time again... ranting time. LOL!

I just like to write, so I write down my frustrations with natural hair as well as other people's frustrations with natural hair.
I am a bit annoyed at the amount of time that people spend on wash day. It's really not that serious. No, it has nothing to do with hair type because I have several different hair types in my head and I still manage to shrink wash day time down to two hours MAX, and that includes styling.
Here are the basics of wash day:

1. Pre-poo- Lather your hair in conditioner or oil, leave in for desired time. If it's left on overnight, I don't count that as part of wash time.
2. Detangle- Optional... some people do this after washing instead of before.
3. Washing- Honestly, this shouldn't take that long, unless your hair is waist length or you don't wash your hair for a month so it's really grimy (gross)
4. Conditioning/Detangling- This might be where people spend the most time, because some people deep condition at this point instead of doing a five minute condition...
5. Rinsing- shouldn't take that long
6. Drying/Flat Iron- Another way some people go wrong... the use of a blow dryer is not necessary EVERY TIME you wash! I don't use one at all, and if I do, it's for styling purposes and not to dry my hair fast.
7. Styling- Honestly, this should be the longest step, depending on what style you're trying to achieve.

Now, the ranting part comes in where I say... you ain't gotta do all dat! I have heard some naturals dread wash day because it takes literally the entire day, which is ridiculous for the average working woman who doesn't even have the time for all that. They waste their entire weekends tampering with their hair, and the whole day is gone. I don't see how some people take 30 minutes just to WASH their hair, and then another 3-4 hours to deep condition, then they jump back in the shower to rinse it out. No wonder your hair takes up your entire weekend! Then when it's time to style, they use too way too many products for one style. Some swear that it's best to DC right after washing and get it over with, but if you honestly don't have time to do it, I wouldn't stress over it! You're only making wash day more of a chore for yourself. 
Wash day for me is therapeutic, not only because I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) and that's one of my only ways of ME time (LOL), but I don't blow dry my hair, I don't take ten years washing and rinsing it out, and I don't flat iron my hair. I have a lot of hair; that would take way too much time to do often. Plus, the best thing for me is that I don't have to go somewhere every day, so I can wear fat twists or braids around the house until God knows when.
Some people have TWAs and they still somehow spend the entire day on their curls... I don't get it. Try to track how much time you're spending on your hair on wash day and see if you can make some improvements. It doesn't have to be soooooo time consuming to be natural. It should be about simplicity. What's the point of being natural if you spent 100% more time on your hair than you did when you were relaxed? That's why some naturals revert back to relaxing, because they think that natural hair is such a chore when it doesn't have to be. Unless your hair is waist length, it should take the average natural no more than TWO HOURS (not including styling or DCing) to get the washing process done. I'm just saying... trying to help some sistas out!
Yes, I have UBER thick hair, yes, my hair is past bra strap length, yes, I have to detangle like everyone else, and yes, I have multiple curl patterns, which is sometimes rough to deal with. It's not always a walk in the park here, either. But I can get it done in a timely manner where I don't have to waste an entire day on the washing process. It's just not worth it.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post. Comment and join the Curls of Innocence community!
Until next time. Take care, curlies!
~Epic Realist~

RANDOM Hair Chat! (Fall 2013)

Heya, curlies! I have some random hair stuff to talk about. Brace yourselves for randomness! ;)

1. I have a new video up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPuetgbe5AA Well, I have another one that I posted yesterday, but this one is a quick vlog about my beauty supply run. My kids are in it! Woo hoo! I have 16 videos up now and 30 subscribers. Working on getting more, more, MORE! <3

2. My hair has suffered some breakage at the top of my head within the last two months, and I'm not sure how it has. I haven't worn any tight styles at all; I've been wearing braids, twists, braid outs, and twist outs. I think maybe the breakage might have come from those mini braids that I had... maybe having only gel in my hair for two weeks holding those braids together is what broke the top of my hair off, because that's the only place that I can see breakage. I don't know; it's so weird. >_<

3. I have a million and one different textures of hair! I say that because I don't know for sure how many I actually have. Here are about 2 or 3 examples of my hair fresh out of the shower. The back of my hair is really tight, like the kitchen area. I just find it interesting...

4. Little Riah's hair is still flourishing. She got taller this summer, so her hair isn't exactly to her waist anymore, but it's still healthy and growing. Recently, she had bantu knots with flat twists as a style combo and it looked amazing on her.

 

When the style got frizzy after about 5 days, I made a new style out of it. 

 

5. Mari's hair is rapidly growing and healthy. I've been doing little baby hairstyles on her, styles that I didn't know how to do when Riah was a baby. She's 15 months old now, and is such a great sport about getting her hair done. She actually sits still... as long as she has something to play with. There's a video on YouTube (which they won't let me embed here, ugh) where I did her hair and she barely moved.

 

 
 

6. My hair doesn't like a lot of protein! I think that I've been figured this out months ago when I did the hair strand porosity test, but I never took it seriously as far as like, deep conditioning. Surely my hair can withstand a weekly deep condition with mayo, right? Not! I have tried it three times already, and each time, my hair was extremely crunchy and dry, lacking serious moisture after air drying it. I hate the feeling that my hair has after using mayo in it. It feels okay right after washing it out, when my hair is still wet, but when it dries, no matter what I put in it afterwards, my hair feels like a bird's nest with Brillo on top. >_>
I'm seriously going to stick with deep conditioners that don't have protein in them, like my Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque. Might even use that for my next natural hair lightening treatment (see previous posts). Other than that, my hair is growing and feeling great. Official length check will come again next month. Stay tuned for that!

 

7. Jam still has his little rat tail! It's growing, and it's becoming less of a priority to keep it moisturized nowadays because I'm working on me and the girls' hair more, but I do spritz water on it every few days and some leave in moisturizer or my whipped shea butter mix, or both depending on dryness level. I wash it at least once a week, even though he keeps his fat head on the floor constantly. I am still doing his at home haircuts... Mama knows best! ;)
#savingmoney

So, that's my long, long random hair update! Hope you guys enjoyed. Check me out on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.  Peace out! 

http://www.youtube.com/curlsofinnocence

~Epic Realist~