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~

MAJOR Breakage & Sally's Haul

Heya, guys! I wanted to show you what's been going on with my hair lately. I've had a hair setback that I'm not too proud of. :(  Natural Hair Setback

Check out the video link or click the picture above to see the details.

I am hoping that this breakage is irreversible. I did some research and went to Sally's to get an ApHogee product that I had heard raves about as far as restoring damaged hair. It was seven dollars and change for the small bottle, so I hope that it works for me!
I got the ApHogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor, which is apparently notorious for helping to strengthen and repair hair. I was careful to get this one and not the protein treatment, because a load of protein is the last thing my hair needs right now lol! I got the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (an old fave) mostly for my daughters because my hair especially can't handle protein during the colder months. Although this product only has silk protein in it, it still has coconut oil in it, which adds more protein. And you know from a previous post how my hair feels about protein during the colder months. LOL! But for my kids, it works just fine without the crispy feeling the next day.
The last thing I got from Sallys was the satin scarf in the picture. One of my other satin bonnets had recently fallen apart. The elastic was stretched out really bad and basically, the thing had to be discarded. So I threw it away and got this new kind for two bucks. Here's a pic of me wearing it. lol

I am still doing the KCCM challenge this winter, although it's been rough keeping up with it and my three busy kids and their homeschooling/mischief. But I'm doing it! So that's my update for now. I'll let you guys know how the ApHogee worked out for me... as soon as I get a chance to use it. LOL!

Peace out, till later, curly mamas!

~Epic Realist~

Click Diva chic's pic above to see her newest hair video! ;)

Aloe Vera Juice for Natural Hair

Happy New Year to all you curly mamas! Woo hoo! Hope that everyone fulfills their hair goals this year as well as their other goals.

I wanted to talk about aloe vera juice and how I've been using it on my hair for the past two weeks or so. I've been using it only on wash day, after I wash, condition, and rinse. I apply AVJ on my sections, squeeze out the excess liquid, then apply my usual oil mixture to my hair and scalp. Then I proceed with de-tangling, whether or not I use a leave in moisturizer, then braid/twist it up.
First and foremost, I wanted to try using AVJ on my hair because I have heard a ton of great things about it. I always want to go as natural as possible with my hair and body health, so I wanted to give it a try. The day I bought the AVJ from Walmart, there was only one kind left... the one that had extra berry juices in it. Apparently, other people have caught onto the benefits of it and bought out the plain one. I scanned the ingredients for anything foreign, saw nothing, then bought it, the Fruit of the Earth brand.
Aloe vera juice is great for a lot of things, one being balancing the pH in our hair, just like apple cider vinegar does. Here's one article about the benefits of AVJ: http://blackgirllonghair.com/2012/01/4-hair-benefits-of-aloe-vera/
So I am doing it the way I mentioned above, for the last two weeks. I've already seen a difference in my hair. It's mega soft with my oil mixture on top. Now AVJ is an astringent, so it is used as a cleanser as well as other things like skin care, so it has a really squeaky feeling when you smooth it in your hair. It's kind of like the feeling that you get if you totally strip your hair of all dirt and grime and are left with a squeaky clean head. But it moisturizes at the same time. It also feels good because AVJ has to be refrigerated, so when I pour it into my hair with my dispenser bottle, the coldness feels awesome on my scalp lol!
I don't rinse the AVJ out; I leave it in, massage it into my scalp and my whole head. My oil mixture (see here http://curlsofinnocence.blogspot.com/p/my-hair-regimen.html) goes on top and then I de-tangle, then twist and braid the sections. For stretch, I put the twists into one big fat bun, and even though it takes longer for my hair to air dry that way, my hair is stretched and extra soft when it does dry.
Last night, I deep conditioned my hair, rinsed it out after two hours, and then tried using the AVJ the same way. Awesome results again! My hair is softer because of the DC/light protein treatment that I use. Don't even have to use a moisturizer with this stuff. I've seen a change... my hair appears a little stronger and silkier.
So, I will be sticking to this for as long as it works. ;)
How do you guys use AVJ if you do use it? What changes have you seen?

Peace out and Happy New Year again!

~Epic Realist~