Southern Comfort-Keeping it soft and juicy

It has been hellaciously hot here in VA!  As much as I have roasted, I know my hair has suffered similarly.  While you don't have to worry about dryness in the summer as much as you do in the winter, you should still maintain a moisture regimen to encourage healthy strands.  My standard routine is to wash my hair once a week (every two weeks in the winter), load it up w/conditioner (right now I'm using Aussie Moist as my leave-in), and then seal w/an oil ( I'm using sweet almond oil since it is light and has a nice smell).  After styling, particularly for long-term styles, such as twists, I spray my hair with either a Dove Glossing mist that is basically Jheri Curl spray with a much better smell (water and glycerin are the main ingredients) or a homemade concoction of leftover bottled water (I hate to waste), a conditioner that won't dry flaky (ex: Yes to Cucumbers, Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight, or Aussie Moist), and a little oil (coconut oil, almond oil, vitamin E oil, etc.).  I make it so that the mixture is about 3-4 parts water, 1 part conditioner, 1/2 part oil.  For example, 3/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of conditioner, and 1/8 cup oil if the parts are 1/4 cups.  this is a great recipe to practice your mixtress skills on or to use up leftover bits of products. 

Easy-peasy beautiful detangling!

Denman and Goody make several similar brushes that are excellent for detangling.  I use a Denman D4 brush or a similarly made, but slightly wider-set Goody brush to detangle my hair after washing.  I got my Denman brush from Sally's for about $10 and I later found a great Goody version for $5 at Rite Aid.  I usually switch off depending on what I'm doing to my hair or which brush is clean-I usually clean my brushes after washing my hair, but every now and then my ADD acts up.  I usually defer to my Goody brush because my hair has grown and the teeth are wider set.  The best thing about these brushes is that they do the work of several detangling combs (when I first went natural, I was developing quite a set of guns trying to detangle Cirrus with a comb). 

Tips for using a Denman or Goody brush:

• Choose one based on the thickness of your hair.  My Denman looks like the white one in the middle, but it is black.  I have very thick hair, which I have determined to be mostly 4A/4B and some 3C curls in the back.  It's not the absolute thickest, but it's definitely Cabbage Patch Hair, not Barbie hair. 
• NEVER dry-brush your hair.  It is safe to use these brushes to detangle and style your hair, as long as your hair is damp to dripping.  Also use at least a handful (I use about 4) of conditioner or styling aid such as gel to allow it to glide through your hair. 
• Start at the ends and work your way up to the roots.  If you notice tangles or knots, add more product (I use conditioner and I almost never use any gel in my hair).

Happy styling!

Natural Love

AFRO LOVE

Today's message is simple. I love afros.  I love my own, I love little baby afros, I love big, loud-ass afros, and I love  YOUR afro!  Do you?  Show an afro some love today, even if it's just your own!  Part of the natural journey is learning to accept what grows out of your own head and learning not to have afro envy.  I'm still working on the afro envy-I would love to wake up with Leela James' hair!  I'm learning to be patient with my own rate of hair growth and have learned to appreciate my own curl pattern. 

Love yourself and love your hair!

Fro-spiration

I was looking for some inspiration and I found this picture and thought I'd share! 

Beautiful!!

Hopefully, with all of this tender loving care that I give my hair, Cirrus will grow to this size by next year!

ADD has a hold of me!!--Happy Belated Nappiversary to ME!

I forgot to announce  that my Nappiversary was on July 24!!  Yes, it's been one year (and some change, now) since I cut off the last of the perm and embraced my real hair.  In celebration of one year of natural hair, here's a my story in a nutshell:

Birthday girl- 3/12/10-Happy 30th!

I had natural hair until I was 7 years old and my paternal grandmother decided that I needed to have a Jheri curl.  Of course, she decided this on my dad's weekend without consulting my mother.  I can't imagine how upset my mother must have been to send her baby off with two pigtails and have her return with a greasy, drippy head of curls.  After blessing my Grandma Dot out, my mother essentially opted to just let it grow out and deal with it as best she could (thank God for banana clips!).  After growing out the curl that wasn't all that carefree for 2 years, I got a relaxer at 9 years old and maintained one ever since. I had rinses, highlights, all over color that I did at home (trying to lighten my hair a little, I turned myself into a caramel SKUNK) and even had 2 weaves (one horrible, MC-Lyte mushroom style one from someone who just wanted some money and another fabulous interlock weave that invited the attention of one of the finest dudes on campus, sigh) .  I always planned to go natural, but I planned to wait until I was ready to have kids because perms are bad for pregnant women.  Well, no children, yet, but here it is!  I started off stretching my relaxers out to encourage healthy growth during the winter and after getting my last one in October 2009, I figured, if I can go 2 months, 3 months, etc., why not go FOREVER!?! 

Day of Big Chop 7/24/09

Shea Butter Parkay!! (Conspiracy Theory)

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE me some shea butter!  Like Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, "ooh, baby, I love it from head to toe!"  Well, in the midst of all this shea love, imagine my surprise and quite frankly my disgust when a dear friend called to inform me that my beloved shea might just be an imposter!  Apparently, the yellow, Playdoh (R) looking stuff that is sold in plastic tubs and glass jars as "African Shea Butter" is actually a blend of various nut butters, including shea, and some kind of yellow coloring.  The real Slim Shea-dy is actually more of a white color, according to preliminary research.  I will be doing more research on this foolishness, and will include more info as I find it (include where to find/order it).  In the meantime, if you're like me and you have tubs and tubs of the Designer Imposter shea butter, it is perfectly safe for continued use on hair and skin.  It's just not 100% pure shea butter.  Apparently, it's Shea Parkay!