The Holy of Holy'

Hey Dolls,

So I have a confession to make. I have really been slipping on my deep conditioning as of late. I’m talking once a month MAYBE. *Gasps* I know I know but in my defense since I’ve been using terressentials mud wash my hair hasn’t really felt Super dry. 

I think one of the major reasons I’ve stopped DC’ing is because I haven’t found a deep conditioner that really makes anymore of a difference to my hair than my Yes to Carrots conditioner. So I was like why not eliminate the extra step? And save the extra $$

I would however like to step up my DC game for the summer, because I will be wearing my hair out a lot more, and experimenting with new styles, and I don’t want any setbacks!

I have been experimenting with a new deep conditioner and I think I’m in LOVE. It’s a variation of Naptural85’s Greek yogurt DC and it has already been promoted to the Holy Grail list. I am also in the process of looking for a store bought HG deep conditioner (because sometimes I get lazy) so for those of you that aren’t into mixing your own products stay tuned for that.

Here we go.

I always deep condition on dry dirty hair.

This mix adapted from Naptural85.

½ Cup of Greek(I bought low fat by mistake but it worked just as well) Yogurt

2 tablespoons of Oil (I’m using EVOO today, but I just pick whichever oil is handy at the moment)

1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar

10-20 drops of tea tree oil ( to stimulate growth, help with dry scalp and mask the smell)

Now you want to try to not get this on your scalp because the smell might linger on long after you’ve washed it out, but I didn’t have any issues with that.

Now I’m an airhead and I didn’t take any pics of me applying this mixture but I apply it in the same way I apply everything which is section by section. I also started at the ends and worked my way up.(Don’t let it touch your scalp, or try you best anyway)

When you’re done cover it with a plastic cap and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. You can leave it on as long as you want. I think I left it on for about 45 min.

wet hair before I washed

after washed and 85% dry

This DC left, my curls stretched and hydrated. My hair has never felt softer! I think this will be good for relaxed heads, transitioning and color treated heads because it has just enough protein without being over powering, and it helps you hair to retain moisture. The best part is, you probably have all the ingredients already in your house.

Try it.

I dare ya

XOXO

Erika

Kinky Twist:: part 1 DC and Detangle

I was inspired to do this little series by one of my beautiful transitioning cousins. Since I'm one of only 2 naturals in my family extremely large extended family questions about natural hair usually defer to me.

So i started to thing what tips would I give to a transistioner to help them along ,and my number one piece of advice is find a style that you like and that makes you feel like yourself. If you don't feel cute you won't want to last long in your transistion.
Kinky twists are a great protective style and the first video in the series is all about what to do before you actually install the hair.

Egg on My Face...

Hey Doll's
So as you know from my Updates post I plan to relax next week. I will be exactly 16 weeks post. I am really proud of myself for stretching to 16 weeks, but I am also disappointed in myself forgiving up, because this stretch was such a breeze I know I could have gone longer, and I probably wont be as lucky nexy go round.

Anyway enough rambling. Since I am relaxing next week this wash day is my pre-relaxer wash day so that means it's heavy protein time! My protein treatment is simple, and many other lasies use the same method so I won't go into to much detail, but I will show you what I did.

First I started out buy bagging for most of the day. My hair isn't very protein friendly so I try to balance it out as much as possible.

In the actually treatmeant I only use 1 large egg and enough of Kitchen Sink to cover my enitre head and mixed it all together.


After it was all mixed up I set my timer for 25 minutes. Once again since I a leery of protein I don't let it stay in my hair very long at all. I settled on 25 minutes because it usually takes be about 10-12 minutes to apply it then I like to let it sit in my hair for another 13-15 minutes to let it do it's magic.

*When applying you might want to put an old towel on the floor because it can get really messy*

Once the timer went off I jumped in the shower and rinsed the Egg out with COOL WATER (hot water will cook the egg).

Once that was all out I Clairified and Deep Conditioned for about 2-3 hours and I did a AVC as my final rinse.(here is a list of my staple products)

Now I am basically gonna leave my hair alone until next Friday.

Peace
So Much Love
Erika

Scalp Exfoliator.

Hey Doll's

As you all know I have being fighting an on going battle with my dry itchy scalp. It seems like I have tried everything, but nothing seems to help. While I was searching youtube and the hair boards I came across this recipe for a scalp exfoliation.

All you need is Brown Sugar, Silicone free Conditioner(or a Carrier Oil of your choice) and Tea Tree Oil


I mixed 4 parts brown sugar to 2 parts condtioner and about 10-15 drops of Tea Tree Oil


here's what I got


To Apply I parted my hair into 4 sections working one section at a time I used my fingers to apply the mixture to my scalp rubbing in circular motions. Here's what it looks like:


Once I applied the scrub to an entire section I then went back and applied my Kitchen Sink DC to the length of my hair(OH yea Click HERE for the the KS recipe and HERE for a list of my staple products)

then i pined it back up


Once all 4 sections were done I put my plastic cap on and let it sit for about an hour.
I rinsed each section one by one and re clipped it when I was done.

after rinsing I co washed in the 4 sections with my Giavonni Conditioner, then I did an AVC rinse to make sure all the Sugar was out. I i finished with a cool water rinse.

I left my hair wrapped in my turbie Twist for about 10 minutes while I got dressed, then I applie my LTR and The Aphogee Leave-in, The I moisturized and sealed with Coconut oil.(all in the 4 sections)

Lastly I braided braided each section(4 big braids) and put a roller on the ends to air dry.

I will do a quick updated post tmrw to let you know how well this treatment turned out.
Until then

Peace
and So much Love
Erika

Patience...

I am still battling my dry hair. It is slowly getting better. I am bagging or co washing each night depending on what i have planned the next day. Last night I co washed with Sauve Hummectant. Then I did a quick Kpac, Then detangled in the shower, then did an AVC rinse. I use 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vingear, and 2 Cups of water. Pour the mix into a water bottle, the kind with the pop up top, and applied it to my hair after rinsing ans pre detangaling in the shower.

Once I got out the shower I m/s and detangled thoroughly in 6 sections. So in each section I used a bit of HE lTR, Silken Child Detangeler, and sealed with coconut oil. Next i COmbed it all through from bottom to top, then I bradied that section and moved on to the next one.

This morning my hair feels the best its been all week, but still not back to normal so I will be baggying again tonight and tmrw and my normal wash day is Wednesday soooooo until then i am practing PATIENCE

Peace'
So Much Love
Erika

Apple Cider Vinegar

Hey Dolls,
Sorry I’ve been lacking on the health and beauty stuff lately, but this should make up for it. I was surfing the internet the other day and I came across a lady’s blog, I don’t remember which one, and she said that she uses Apple Cider Vinegar to lighten up dark spots on her face. AVC rinses are also a great natural scalp cleanser. All of this got me to thinking, what else can I use it for? So of course I did some research and here’s what I found.

My Top Ten
1. Helps fight dandruff, and clarifies the hair. Dilute ½ cup vinegar with 2 cups of warm water and pour onto hair after shampooing.

2. Helps prevent yeast infections. 1 TBLS of ACV and 1 Quart of warm water

3. Cure the hiccups, so annoying, 1 TBLS of AVC

4. Takes grease off of suede.

5. Brightens clothes and helps prevent them from attracting lint. Add ½ cup
to the rinse cycle

6. Mixing 2 TSP AVC with a glass of cold water daily helps aid in weightloss b/c it can help prevent fat from accumulating in the body

7. Mixing 2 TSP of AVC and water after each meal can help prevent acid reflux

8. Drink some apple cider vinegar in water, with honey added. This concoction can help calm a queasy stomach.(hangover cure)

9. Combine 1 cup AVC to 2 gallons warm water. Soak feet for 45 minutes then pumice to remove dry skin. Instantly soft feet

10. To clear up respiratory congestion, inhale a vapor mist from steaming pot containing water and several spoonfuls of vinegar.

Also remember Apple Cider Vinegar is a brownish color and it is supposed to have chunks floating in it. Always be sure to buy the all natural AVC, which is basically just fermented apple juice that turned into cider, that was fermented again and now its vinegar. Hope this helps

Peace
So Much Love
Erika