Monday, December 19, 2016

How to Painlessly Remove LINT!

Hey curlies! I created a video for you guys showing how I remove lint from my kid's hair. It's pretty easy and self explanatory, but here it is.


My kids don't know how to keep their heads off the floor, even with me constantly telling them. But even so, they still get a ton of lint. I went through years of trying to wash lint out by simply shampooing, but it never really occurred to me to just pick it out before washing. Doing this on wet hair is NOT fun because the lint sticks to the wet hair and makes it harder to come out. On dry hair, it comes out with a breeze while using a comb.




No tears come out of this, and now when the kid's hair is full of lint from the indentation where their hair ties are, I just use a small comb and comb it out. No problems! Hope you guys enjoyed this.
How do you get lint out of your child's hair? Do you use a brush instead? Comment below! Thanks for reading and watching! Subscribe for more!

~Curls of Innocence~

Saturday, December 10, 2016

ACV And Daily Stretches



Morning, guys! I have been doing so well with drinking my ACV in the mornings. I am on day 15 as of today. I have been noticing some changes already and I'm stoked! I made a video the day before I began doing this.
I will soon make another video explaining more about it soon, but it's wonderful! Of course, you guys know, this stuff is disgusting. But putting a little of into a cup first thing in the morning with some honey really isn't so bad. It's kind of sour, with a sting to it. Like tart lemonade, in a way. It's drinkable. You want to use the most natural honey you could possibly get, though. The cheapest honeys out there are full of nothing but sugar and NOT real honey properties.

I have been incorporating this into my new health routine lately, while doing stretches daily before my exercise. Stretches are really important for blood flow, which is what I am having issues with. Circulation is a big issue for me, but I am fixing that right now. When I stretch, I stretch my entire body. DAILY. It really helps me feel so much better, and I've been having increased energy without drinking coffee! Yay for progress!

NEW business cards: 

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Health Goals For The WIN! | Curls of Innocence

Hey guys! I want to talk a bit about my health goals, because I think I haven't talked about them since literally last year. Blah.
So, as you guys know, I had baby #5 on August 20th. I was about 185 prior to having her, and then I dropped back down to 175. And the rest of that weight is just stuck to me like freaking glue. -___-
I know I don't seem like I'm that heavy, but I am! It's mostly belly as usual. My belly is still 40 inches in diameter.
My belly is very saggy and fat, along with my diastasis recti issue. Having a lot of kids and never losing the weight will do that to you.
If you've been following me for any amount of time and also reading here, you remember the last time I spoke on my health goals and how I used to be. I was very much into health years ago before marriage, watching what I ate and writing everything I ate. I was so dedicated on staying healthy, back when I was mega skinny. But between battling PTSD and depression, I fell off the wagon after having all of my kids and remaining sedentary.
I also made a video last year about when I found out about my muscle separation and what I was doing to fix it.
I'm finally 100% ready to change my habits. I am sick and tired of being, well, sick and tired.
I'm never literally sick, as in always having colds. I'm talking about my body pains, back pains, headaches, migraines, stomach issues, dizzyness, insomnia, foot pain, heart pain, unexplained fatigue, heart palpitations, and whatever else I happen to be struggling with at the moment. I have circulation issues, especially in my legs. And you know that's not good. From my research, it's a problem that a lot of pisces develop. We tend to have circulation issues for some reason. Ugh.
But anyway, I am ready to change that.  I can get to a gym, BUT I can't afford the gym, and neither is my current neighborhood the best or safest in the world to go for a walk or a run. However, I will make a way to do something with no equipment. I do at home workouts right now, including jump roping. That's the best way I can get some cardio in.
I am changing my eating habits to the best of my ability. As you can imagine, with five kids and also homeschooling them, it can be a hassle. Hubby and I have no help with them, so it's just us planning and preparing their meals, making sure they're getting their nutrition, making sure their weight is up to par, and making sure that they actually eat instead of sneakily dumping their plates in the trash trying to avoid broccoli.
I may attempt to do meal planning, but omg. Lots of work! I am not sure if I can successfully do it, but I will work on it. There are little things I am doing to change my habits and lose this fat, like drinking apple cider vinegar every morning. I will have a video about that very soon.
If you have some tips for me or any encouraging words, I sure could use them! Starting before the new year starts so I won't care about sticking to a resolution or not. Haha!

What are your health goals? How do you plan to attain them?
~Curls of Innocence~



Friday, November 25, 2016

Building The Confidence To Write Sentences | Uncaged Learning



Well, this isn't the homeschool blog, but I am posting this here anyway as a blog post! I hope you guys enjoy. What does your child struggle with academically?

Friday, November 18, 2016

Not Vlogging Much... But Here's One Anyway!

Hey people! I haven't been doing my family vlogs as much lately. Nothing much has been happening. Having vehicle issues, so we've sorta been stuck in the house. Blah.
But here's a new vlog anyway. If you haven't subscribed yet here, please do!
I promise there will be more action soon. LOL!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkDVJnoTb6U&t=27s


~Curls of Innocence~

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

WATCH ME Take Out My Twists!

Hey, guys!
Do you ever find yourself just watching random vids with people chatting about random topics? Well, I did a video where I was taking out my twists, my 'mini twists' while talking about nothing in particular. I'm sure you'll find it entertaining. Well, at least I hope so. Hehe.


I talk about how I did the twists, a few fears of mine, and shortly demonstrate how to play a phone game app called "Mystic Messenger". The video is quite long, but I hope you enjoy it!

                                             ~Curls of Innocence~
                  www.curlsofinnocence.com

Friday, November 4, 2016

Getting Rid of That Cradle Cap! | Curls of Innocence

Heya, curlies! I am going to talk about treating cradle cap today.
My youngest child is 2 months right now. She has a serious case of cradle cap, or so she used to. My previous child, Jalani, didn't have half as much cradle cap as she did. I don't know what it is, but poor little Kyanah has had a ton of the stinky, white flaky stuff on her little scalp!
I always use coconut oil from birth on my children as a moisturizer for their hair AND body. It's the best. Very silky and smells good, no issues with skin breakouts or anything. So of course, I use it for cradle cap as well.



I made a post on Instagram about not worrying about whether or not to use 'regular' Shea Moisture products on your baby. Shea Moisture is supposed to be all natural anyway, so there's no real need to refrain from using it because you don't have the baby version. I always use it on all my kids as babies and they work just fine! No need to go broke using 'specialty' products. ;)


So for the cradle cap, I wash her hair using one of these SM shampoos and I massage really well. I don't use my nails at all, ONLY my finger tips. You don't want to pick the stuff off their scalps and create scabs. It's so tempting for me to pick at it because I HATE dandruff or anything that looks like it because it looks like dirt to me; however, I know that I shouldn't. lol
I wash and rinse like normal. No conditioner needed at this age. Afterwards, I just take a palm full of coconut oil and massage it all over her head. Then at this point, I take one of those tiny baby combs and gently comb her hair out, which is the perfect time to tackle the cradle cap because her hair is wet and the stuff is loosened up. It comes right up easily with the baby comb and it doesn't hurt her. In fact, she loves this process and nearly falls asleep. lol


After combing as much as I can out of her hair, THEN I go in with the baby brush and brush it down, slick it down. I put a hat on her so she can warm up quickly after the bath.




Doing this same process after every bath has significantly decreases her cradle cap issue. Like I said, in the beginning, it was really bad. Now it's almost completely gone! I am so happy about that.
Hopefully, these tips will help you guys, too. I'll probably make a video addressing this also.
What do you about cradle cap? How do you treat it?

~Curls of Innocence~
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IG: Curls of Innocence
curlsofinnocence.com




Thursday, October 27, 2016

Flat Ironing Done Well!

Sup, curly mamas? Any good hair news?

Yesterday, I uploaded a video showing that my hubby has no heat damage from his first ever blow drying and flat ironing experience. I did a good job, I believe. Haha!


I didn't really expect for him to have heat damage, but I always put it in the back of my head as a maybe. I didn't put the temperature too high, I used heat protectant AND grapeseed oil, and I took my time, even though it was mega late. But that was the only free time that I had to get his trim done, while all 5 kids were knocked completely out for the night. That was the main reason why I wanted his hair straight to begin with. The trim was really needed. His hair is already kind of choppy and damaged from him previously having locs, so I'm working on getting it back to better health, starting with getting rid of dead, split ends.






I am impressed with this flat iron. It's still fairly new. I just got it this spring, I believe. So far, it's done well. I still have yet to straighten my hair with this thing really well, except for the one rush job I did back when our water heater was broken and I couldn't wash my hair too well. But the cooler weather is coming, so I will definitely be straightening my hair for real soon. I want to see the length and because of less humidity, I usually flat iron during the colder months anyway and don't have to worry so much about my curls reverting back.

Do you have a favorite flat iron? What is it? How often do you straighten your hair with it? Got any recent heat damage? How did you go about repairing it? Let me know!




~Curls of Innocence~


Thursday, October 20, 2016

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~


Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Did You Enjoy Vlogtember?

Well, Vlogtember is over! I got through it. I only got to 25 videos, but who cares? I was exhausted and burnt out. I couldn't do anymore after video number 25.
Between homeschooling, having a newborn to feed every 3 hours, cleaning the house, doing laundry, advertising, cooking, and washing endless dishes, finding time to edit had become another chore. And when I was done, I was done.
However, I am proud that I came so far. I did 25 well done videos and I hope that you guys enjoy them. I took an entire week break before I uploaded another video, and it was a short video.



Friday, September 2, 2016

VLOGTEMBER 2016 Begins!

Hey, curlies! It's September and I've decided to do Vlogtember this year!
I know what you're thinking. "Didn't you just have a baby? How will you have the time? Will you be able to do it?" Well, I am challenging myself this month to really work on managing my time better.
Being a stay home mom with kids home all day can be rough and time can easily slip away from you. Challenges like these actually help me not waste time lollygagging online, looking at social media's mindless drama a little TOO much. YouTube is fun and I really enjoy making videos. So I'm doing Vlogtember, which means a video every single day of the month! That'll definitely keep me occupied in between bottle feedings and checking the kid's schoolwork.
Also, the one time I did a challenge like this (VEDA) last year or the year before, I gained a lot more followers and subbies in that one particular month because the videos were on topic but a little more off topic sometimes. Nothing wrong with branching out. I remember doing a couple of gaming videos and a few videos showcasing my ability to create my own music. Maybe I should do a couple more of those this year...
So I hope you guys enjoy and get ready for some fun! I'll be doing some tags also, whenever I can get some quiet moments around here. Haha!





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DF6yN4jk04




Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Do Babies' Hair Stay Straight...? + BIRTH Vlog!




The other day when my 5th child Kyanah was born, Syriah was pretty curious about her sister's straight hair. She was stroking it and trying to figure out why it was straight while her other siblings hair was curly/wavy.
We know that a lot of black babies are born with straight hair because of all the mixed up genetics in our bodies and then it eventually starts to curl up. Some take longer than others to curl up, but they still do.
I guess Syriah was just noticing this now whereas two years ago when Jalani was born, she hadn't thought about it yet! His hair as well as all 5 of my kids were born with bone-straight locs that curled up within the first month or two. But the simplest answer to to her question of why babies are born with straight hair and then turn curly was to just say that it depends on your parents. I told her that if the parents have curly hair, then the baby's hair will turn curly, too. And if the parents have straight hair, then their hair will stay straight. As far as the in-betweens, she'll have to figure that out as she gets older because she's only 7 and knows nothing about genetics or even what sex is, for that matter. LOL!
She didn't press the issue, though. She took that answer and went with it, which is what I wanted. Parenting SCORE! Haha!



If you haven't seen baby Ky yet, here's my 'birth vlog'!



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Friday, August 19, 2016

Kid's Hair Updates! August 2016


Hey curlies! I apologize again for the lack of blog posts. I'm still very pregnant right now; just hit 38 weeks! We've been super busy doing a million errands, taking library trips with the kiddos, and overall, getting ready for the baby. You know how that is if you have multiple kids.
Plus, I've been preparing for the new 'school year' as far as homeschooling, organizing their schoolwork, and planning out what they're going to be learning in their new grades. A lot of things are happening with us at the same time, and it's overwhelming getting everything done while finding time to edit videos!
As far as the kid's hair, I have been trying to maintain protective styles on them for the last two weeks, and for the most part, Jamian is okay now. I gave him a much needed undercut and washed and retwisted his locs. They've been pinned up and out of his face for now.
Symari's blown out hair has served me well! It actually lasts a long time, with way less flyaways and WAY less tangles. It's still soft now after almost 3 weeks, although it needs to be washed. If I had the energy to blow dry it again just to hold me through the remainder of the pregnancy, I sure would because I would barely have to touch her hair. However, Syriah's is more of a concern in that area. Hers has been neglected as usual because it takes the most time and work. I want to blow dry hers also, but it's been mega hot lately. Our air condition at home isn't quite up to par the way it should be, I'd have no problem of it were. Blah. lol





Jalani's little type 4 curls have been easy. Wash and go fro or wash and go mohawks for him or a simple ponytail.
He looks adorable in everything, although he hates getting his hair done on days that aren't wash day.




Follow my Instagram page for DAILY updates on our hair and lives! I will be back updating here more soon. Any questions or comments leave them here or Instagram. Peace out!

IG: Curlsofinnocence
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Facebook: Curls of Innocence


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Homeschooling Blog is on TUMBLR, Not Here!


I have had a few people coming here asking for homeschooling advice. I am flattered; however, this is not the homeschooling blog! I have a separate blog for that... it's on Tumblr! uncagedlearning.tumblr.com

For daily updates on that also, follow Instagram and Facebook.
I don't update Tumblr as much as I wish, only because I can't directly link my IG to the homeschooling Tumblr page. It would have to be the main page, but I have 4 Tumblr blogs and it won't let me choose which one I want to link to IG. But oh well. If you want to follow it, you can.


I recently changed this cover on YouTube to add the new family vlog channel. Check it out if you haven't already.
I am in the process of doing long term hairstyles on my kids that'll last for weeks because my pregnancy is at 33 weeks. And I'm super exhausted now. Can't do much of anything with everyone's hair all the time.
Stay tuned for natural hair updates when I can.



Sunday, July 10, 2016

No Natural Hair Videos? O_o


Hey curly mamas! I did another video on baby hair care. Sorry I haven't been doing many hair videos about MY hair. Truth be told, I haven't been doing too much with my own hair. I'm way too busy with kids and being 32 weeks preggo now. :/
I'll get back to my own real routine at some point, but right now, it'll be mostly the kiddos hair being shown.
Has anyone tried any new products lately? I'm still loving the Taliah Waajid products for the Memorial Day sale. One has actually come very close to running out. Having curly hair can be challenging with all the false claims that these products have.  I'm still sort of a product junkie, but there are certain ingredients that I will never touch.
See daily updates on Instagram and Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/curlsofinnocence/


Thursday, June 23, 2016

What Happened To The Vlogging!? CI Vlogs

Heya, curlies! If you are wondering where the family vlogs are, I've created a new channel just for them. I had to. I don't want too many topics being crowded on Curls of Innocence. I'm already doing hair, health, and homeschooling there, so the family leisure vlogs belong somewhere else.

So I finally made an entire separate channel called CI Vlogs for our daily/weekly family adventures. Subscribe if you dare. Hehe. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-292mGnIlOjXyvvX4KERHg
Now I have three channels. Omg! However will I keep up? LOL



There are already three videos up there, so go check them out before you miss out on any more! :D
Enjoy.

Also, there is a new homeschooling video up on Curls of Innocence. Take a look.




                                           ~Curls of Innocence~

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Braids & Bubbles Protective Style, Girls' Hair Updates

Hey, curly mamas!
I did this simple hairstyle on Symari about two weeks ago. I've never done this bubble technique on her for some reason, just never got around to it. Initially, I didn't know what to do with her hair after I did the cornbraids. I was going to leave it out, or just braid the three pieces together.



But I saw the rubberbands, and had an idea to do the simple bubble technique. It came out well. Of course, her hair isn't as thick, so the 'bubbles' aren't going to 'pop' as well as it would someone with thick, dense hair, but it worked, anyway. She was happy. See the full video here:





Her hair's thriving right now and I'm happy. Even with all the other heads in the house that I'm trying to keep up with, hers is doing well. It still gets dry and almost matted if not pinned into a style. Leaving it out is rare, because after one day of her sleeping on it, it's already tangled and dried up!
If you're looking for a simple protective style for girls, you can try this. Don't worry; you don't have to cornbraid if you don't know how! This can be done even with flat twists or just doing regular ponytails in the bubble style. Either way, it'll be cute. Just make sure that their hair is properly moisturized (LOC method) prior to 'banding' it up.

 Syriah's 3A-3B hair is also doing much better since her 8 inch cut.




Stay tuned for further updates! See the website for MORE.