Girly Protective Styles For Winter 2017

Good evening, curly mamas!

I've been working on doing a lot more style videos than normal just to see if I can reach a bigger audience on YouTube... because let's be real. Having only 1,000 subbies after almost 4 years of hard work on this channel does a lot of damage to my... well, self-gratification. 

I know that my videos are good and well put together; however, I don't have the capital to put money into YT... and I'm definitely not getting any in return right now. Sigh... suggestions, anyone?

Anyway, here are the last two videos showing the styles that I've been doing on my girls this winter so far. 

I hope you guys enjoy them! Nothing spectacular, just styles that makes me stay out of their hair for up to two weeks. A lot of times, the flyaways and frizz don't allow the style to last for two weeks, or ever one full week for that matter, but I don't really have a choice lately. I have a lot going on in life at the moment, and I need to keep their hair pinned up as much as possible.

I've been loving that Cantu Natural Line... if I'm not using that particular Cantu product, then it's the Cantu Kids hair care line. I love both of them. Very moisturizing, minimal build-up.

I don't do many styles on them with a million and one hair ties and hair bows, because frankly, we don't go out much! There's no point in doing fancy things all the time when it'll be a hassle to take down at night so they won't sleep in hair bubbles/knockers/whatever you'd like to call them. I simply can't deal with all that. Haha!

So lots of braids, cornbraids, and flat twists is what I've been doing lately. And I'm very proud of them. If you like the videos, please like, subscribe, and share! I appreciate it. :)

~Curls of Innocence~

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~

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~

Styles and Trials- Routine Updates

Hola, curly mamas! Haven't done a good update in a while.
I rocked mini twists last week. As usual, they only lasted a week, but they looked better than my first attempt. I dampened my hair and used my newest whipped shea butter, which has castor oil in it. It felt awesome. It began to frizz badly by the fourth day, so I put some oil on the ends and wrapped it up at night again.
It didn't do much to salvage them. I learned my lesson from last time about not spritzing mini twists or braids with water, because that'll just create more frizz. My itchy scalp was screaming for water around this time. I avoided the water and put coconut oil on the ends. Eh, still only looked okay after taking off my bonnet, and then they shrunk up and looked dry again. Oh, well. I'll keep trying and figuring out how to make mini twists last for two weeks instead. ;-)

I used some of my leftover birthday money to stock up on some things. I got my two favorite Shea Moisture products, since I was out and I missed them so much. I also got a new soap, an all natural one that I tried on my face. It's awesome! There are NO foreign ingredients. It's by Nubian Heritage... 3 bucks and change. Walmart has natural soaps now? Holy crap... they're coming UP!

For now, that's my new facial routine. I use this soap day and night on my face, and apply castor oil or coconut oil to my face. It feels just as soft as baby skin, I swear. I'm in love with this soap. Screw the other Ambi crap that made me break out. LOL!

My Current Hair Health: Well, my hair feels very healthy right now, soft, supple, and growing... except for the excessive shedding. I still haven't figured out why I'm shedding every single time I finger de-tangle my hair, or why my hair seems to have gotten a little thinner. I feel like I've tried everything. I've tried using protein to avoiding protein, deep conditioning, natural shampoos, hot oil treatments, and trying to keep my scalp clean. I've even been eating a lot healthier, more water, more fruits/veggies/nuts, less meat. But something else is going on, and I'm hoping that it isn't thyroid related. :-/ I need to go back to taking vitamins...
Pre-poo: About an hour of coconut oil on damp hair
Wash routine: Washing once a week with a SM shampoo, castor oil on scalp and ends, whipped shea butter or SM cream, braided or twisted into whatever amount
Daily care: Spritz with water (which contains vegetable glycerin and peppermint oil) until damp every other day, apply castor oil on scalp, apply shea butter or SM cream, brush through with paddle brush, braid or twist (usually one without protein)
Nightly care: Apply stocking cap if already moisturized that day; if not, do daily care routine
Outdoor styling: Spritz with water, style with SM cream or whipped shea butter
Deep conditioning: Once a week with Roots of Nature Green Tea deep conditioner or hot oil treatment with castor oil

Syriah's Current Hair Health: Riah Chic's hair is very healthy right now as well. Since I got the SM creams again, I threw away what was left of the Cantu stuff. I will never buy that crap again; it's not natural and it made both of our hair feel coated beyond reason. Tried to go cheap and screwed myself yet again. So I got rid of that stuff. If I ever get Cantu again, it needs to be the natural kind.
Pre-poo: About an hour of coconut oil on damp hair
Wash routine: Washing once a week with a SM shampoo, castor oil on scalp and ends, whipped shea butter or SM cream, braided in 6 or more braids or twists
Daily care: Spritz with water (which contains vegetable glycerin and peppermint oil) until damp every other day, apply castor oil on scalp, apply shea butter or SM cream, brush through with paddle brush, braid or twist
Nightly care: Apply stocking cap if already moisturized that day; if not, do daily care routine
Outdoor styling: Spritz with water, style with SM cream or whipped shea butter

Baby Symari's Current Hair Routine: (9 months old)
Wash routine: Wash twice a week with a SM shampoo, castor oil on scalp, whipped shea butter, small twists done without hair ties
Daily care: Spritz with water (which contains vegetable glycerin and peppermint oil) until damp every other day, apply castor oil on scalp, apply shea butter or SM cream, re-twist
Nightly care: Nothing as of yet. I won't dare try to keep a cap or bonnet on this child at this age!

The boys (hubby and Jam), they pretty much do whatever lol! I wash Jam's hair once or twice a week because he's always on the floor, and I just wet it and apply oil to his rat tail whenever I actually remember about his hair. Hubby has a low haircut and a rat tail, which is growing rapidly. I am the hair lady of the family. Hehe. ;-)

Well, that's my super long update. Hope you guys enjoyed!

Until next time, fellas. Oh wait... are they any dudes on this blog? Haha! O_O

http://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/Epicrealist
http://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

~Epic Realist~

Creative Birthday Hairstyle!

Hiya, curlies! Syriah Lynn turned 4 years old on March 3rd. I did a completely new, made-up hairstyle on her. Loved the results. I got the idea from someone else, but the way I did it... completely unique. I had several people ask me how I did it. 

It's quite easy, actually. All I did was moisturize, de-tangle with damp hair, oil, and Cantu Leave in cream, and held a ribbon at the top of the hair section before securing a hair band. It's as if the ribbon was a regular piece of hair. Had to be careful, though, so that the ribbon didn't come out of the band in the process.
Then I just twisted regularly.
With the back, I did bantu knots instead, but I parted her hair in the shape of the number 4 before doing so. It came out awesome. She want to Chuck E. Cheeses the day before and got plenty of compliments. ;-)

Here is a picture of the mini twists I had in her hair prior to her birthday, before I washed it. They didn't last as long as her first mini twists did, and that's because I used different products. Just goes to show you that simplicity is best. The first mini twists I'd ever done on her were created with my whipped shea butter only. I guess I didn't need gel here. I barely use gel in her hair anyway except for the edges, but I tried something different and they only lasted a week, and that's with her hair being ridiculously fuzzy on the fifth day. I was ready to take these suckers down then!
I learned my lesson. Never again. Oh, and that new Cream of Nature conditioner I got recently... still hate it. I'm going to use it because I paid for it, but never again. Me no likey. I ranted in a previous post about that stuff. I got the same crappy coating in Syriah's hair as well. Bleh.
Soon, I will be selling my own whipped shea butter and whatever else I can conjure up. Screw this! lol xD

Tip of The Day: If your daughter has 3B hair, more than likely she won't need gel to hold her hair in place. A simply light, milky cream will probably work best, although I like using the thick, buttery stuff. Do not load her hair with gel; it isn't necessary and you'll regret the hardness and flakes later.
Well, hope you guys enjoy the hairstyles. Peace out til later!

http://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/Epicrealist
http://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

~Epic Realist~

Beauty Supply Haul and... My STRAIGHT Hair!

Hiya, curlies! Today I'm displaying my beauty supply haul from two days ago, and the results of me straightening my natural hair for the first time in over a year!

So, here's what I got the other day. The Cantu Shea Butter leave-in cream I have already tried a long time ago and wanted to get it again for the hell of it. There's a Cream of Nature Moisture Extreme conditioner here. I've never tried this before, and I got tired of my Tresemme conditioner. Just wasn't working for me anymore. I don't like it because it has not one natural ingredient in it. I only got it because it was cheap at the time. So I got this new one to use with my Shea Moisture shampoo.
I know that I mentioned in a very old post about 'brand-hopping' hair products not being the best thing to do because if something went wrong with your hair, you wouldn't know what product to blame. But I wanted to try this, anyway.
I also got the Roots of Nature shea butter and green tea deep conditioner simply because I needed one, preferably one with protein and natural ingredients. Re-stocked on my EcoStyler olive oil gel, found a flat iron for ten bucks, and finally found my JBCO in store! Yay, no more ordering!
Spent fifty bucks in there, and it was well worth it.
After I 'doctored' up my hair for a few days, I decided to try the new flat iron. It was cheap, but it has a one year guarantee. As long as it lasts a year and does it's job, I'm not going to spend 50-100 bucks for a flat iron, just to (hope to) get top-notch quality! This one works just fine. The last time I attempted any heat on my hair was November 2011, so it's been over a year. Those results were not good because my hair wasn't that healthy at the time. No, I don't have a picture of that hot mess. Today, the results are great!

The picture speaks for itself, and the process is there, too. I love how my hair came out. I only used a small amount of grape seed oil on each section that I straightened. I had to pass through my hair twice, some areas three times because although I had banded my hair overnight, it was still hard to get as straight as possible. It took almost two hours to complete. But my hair is extremely soft, full of body and moisture. I can whip it back and forth lol!

Hope you guys enjoy this post! Questions, comments, advice? Write meh somewhere! When was your last battle with the flat iron? What did you do? 

Peace out, ladies!

http://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Curls-of-Innocence/256662627753918?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/Epicrealist
http://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

~Epic Realist~

Walgreens vs. Walmart

So, I went to Walgreens on Monday to get some Shea Moisture hair products again. I picked up three different things, went to the cashier. There was a young black guy who had been looking me up and down ever since I'd walked in. Guess it was because I had something kind of sexy on.
Anyway, I paid for the stuff and I noticed that the total was way lower than what I'd expected. I decided not to investigate until I was in the car, and lo and behold, the total was ten dollars off.
Either the fool wasn't paying attention or he'd done that on purpose, trying to flirt with me on the undertone. Heck, either way I got one of the $10 hair products for FREE! Haha! Sucker!

I think I see why that happened, anyway. One of the products was the Shea Moisture Curling Souffle'. I washed my hair yesterday and immediately sectioned my hair. Then I began applying the stuff.

It was the stickiest hair concoction I'd ever touched! I mean, seriously. It felt good, kind of like a gel, and it smelled awesome. But it was soooo sticky! I felt as if I'd lathered my curls in honey. Literally. So, in a way, the universe must have known that I wasn't going to fall in love with the product and decided not to have me even waste money on it, because frankly, I'm not sure if I'd ever buy it again. 

Hey, I just got lucky.

Wait... I don't even believe in luck. You guys know what I mean though, right? .__.

Anyway, today in Walmart, I went cruising down the hair aisle, which I hadn't done in months, due to them not carrying any all natural products yet. I just wanted to check and see what they had now. I got a surprise this time. They actually had a good selection of natural products now. I was like, wow! Walmart's finally coming up! 

But good old Wally World's prices on some of these products weren't so hot. For the Shea Moisture shampoo that's shown above, they wanted $11.99! That's two dollars more than Walgreen's $9.99. I said, hell to the no! It was also $11.99 for the curl enhancing smoothie stuff I usually get. I'm not paying an extra two bucks when I know I can go right across the street and go cheaper. What happened to Walmart being the cheapest of the cheap on everything? 

You'd think that a pharmacy would be more expensive, considering that people don't really go to pharmacies to solely purchase hair products. You'd think they'd want to take advantage of the people who are going in to pick up their prescriptions... to sucker them into picking up a pack of diapers or candy or pens just because it's there. Oh, since I'm in here, might as well get my hair cream!

Apparently, that's not the case here. Now I know that I won't be getting any Shea Moisture stuff from Walmart, and if I try another natural product, I'll price it elsewhere before settling for Walmart. I heard that CVS now sells Miss Jessie's products. Wow. Now that stuff costs an arm, a leg, and your head on a platter.

Thirty bucks for one container... a 12oz container, I believe. Some people say that it isn't worth the hype, but either way, that's way too freakin expensive for some darn curl cream.

I got that Cantu hair cream from Walgreens as well. I was shocked because I didn't know that Cantu was beginning to create natural products at all! I mean, there's a few questionable ingredients, stuff that I well, can't pronounce, but hey. It's just a few. Haven't tried it yet, but I will soon. 

Syriah's hair is straight at the moment. I straighten it usually every 6 months to trim and what not. I used EVOO as a heat protectant. Her hair is in GREAT health right now. I'm so proud of myself.

Well, that's all for now, folks! I don't exactly have a tip for today. My mind is somewhat in a trance due to excessive sleep deprivation. Symari's one month old today, and she wakes hubby and I up twice a night to eat. So, we get about 4 hours of sleep a night. We're lucky to get 5 most days. Oh, well. That's newborns for ya.

I'm out! Peace, curly mamas! 

~Epic Realist~