summer styling circuit: braidout!

for this challenge, i decided to try my first braidout. i liked how quickly this took, maybe 30-45 minutes to braid my whole head. here are the pictures (loving how shiny my hair looks!)

not sure if you can see from the pictures, but i always have trouble when i get to around my temples because my hair is thinner there. instead of braiding, i had to do the odd twist or two.

and here's when i took them out in the morning!

it was tough getting rid of the parts, but i think it came out kinda cute, despite some of my sloppier braids. it looked better on the second day, but of course i forgot to take pictures of it. on the third day, i stuck my head under the faucet for a quick moment to get some water into it (which i won't do again, at least not without following with some moisturizer and a gel). on the third day, it was definitely ready for a washing!

so i washed with the mozeke just peachy shampoo and steamed with an enso deep conditioner. i braided up my hair last night to keep it stretched and work a "quickie" braidout today that was actually pretty cute! 

my next style will be a regular ole twistout; i'm twisting with the eco styler argan oil gel right now, really trying to make neat, even twists. some are bigger than others, but i'm focused on getting "equal" parts of hair for the twist and smoothing my ends. i'm amazed to see how long my hair is getting, stretching out the hair as my fingers work their way downwards. 

so far, i'm learning how difficult it is to actually "style" my hair! on shorter hair, it is very easy for a braidout or bantu knot-out to look completely crazy and wild, which isn't exactly what i'm going for. if my hair "fell," the weight might take out some of the bigness, which is what i want… just not right now, lol. i am a slave to headbands (i have the most trouble styling the front of my head), and i've been trying to think of ways to maneuver my hair to either "fall" like a bang, or stick straight up. it's trickier than it sounds! 

summer styling circuit: bantu knot-out

for my first styling attempt, i tried a bantu knot out! i figured my hair was finally long enough to try this style, so i sat down sunday night and began twisting. it took me maybe an 40 minutes to an hour (i don't remember how long exactly, but it couldn't have been longer than that). i worked for about twenty minutes and then took a break before finishing. i sat under the dryer for 20 minutes afterwards and when i unraveled in the morning, some still felt a little damp (not sure if it was sweat from my workout or if they weren't completely dry).

here's some images from when i finished twisting/bantu-ing:

and here's the morning i took them out!

unfortunately, i didn't take pictures of my 2nd day hair before starting on my next style, but it held up "okay." i wasn't really impressed or disappointed. this was my first time trying so i'm sure my technique can use some improvement - some parts of my head were a little harder to grip than others. next time i try, i'll make sure to smooth my ends more, dry my hair completely, and twist neater. i think it could come out really nicely a second time around. :)

i really only care for bantu knot outs on longer hair, so i was expecting some funky pattern going on and it definitely wasn't uniform at all. the parts disappeared by the second day, but i didn't really care for the results on the first day either.

the lack of uniformity makes my hair look dry in the photos and i'm still working on taming my ends. no matter what, they always seem to end up frizzy. some ends are smoother than others, so i'm not sure if its my ends that are in bad shape or if i'm simply not smoothing enough when i detangle. braids can be brutal on your ends, so i plan to baby them while my hair is out and start paying more attention to them when they're in braids. i really need to get a handle on them because frizzy ends can really put a damper on a cute look.

next circuit post will be a braidout! :)

the summer 2011 two week styling circuit!

cool title, right? ;) 


so i gave in to the siren call of izzy and took my braids out after 6 or 7 weeks (i don't remember how long exactly). i was maybe 1-2 weeks short of the 8 weeks i had them in earlier in the year, so i don't feel too bad. i plan to give izzy two weeks to have her fun before i go back to my senegalese for the rest of the summer. while i've missed her, i'm really not trying to deal with her at the beach or out-of-state. since i'll be going back into braids soon, i figured i would make the best of these next two weeks by doing a mini styling challenge. :)


i always wonder what i can do with my fro and figured what better time than to try new styles?! i've already tried a flat twist out, which came out pretty cute despite how craptastic my twists were (it's a very forgiving style, thank goodness). i plan to try them again soon. i'm in bantu knots right now (pictures coming soon!) and i'm excited because it'll be my first bantu knot out! i also want to try some smaller twists, braids, cornrow-out (i made that up just now), a mohawk, a twist-n-curl, and whatever else that i come across that looks cute.


i'll post my pictures and routine with each style, the day i try them so this'll be the busiest my blog has been all year (sad, i know). it should be exciting, regardless! i also plan to have up at least two more reviews this week, just fyi.


hope you all are having a great summer so far!

[review] emerald lab's coconut oil!

i haven't done a review on a natural "product" in a long time, and since i just recently ordered more coconut oil, i figured i would review that! :) this review will be on what i like as coconut oil as a whole, but i will say that emerald labs is my favorite brand. now, i've only tried one off-brand coconut oil before  so i can't really compare this brand to others. this is the brand i first tried and immediately fell in love with it. i may try other brands in the future and i'm sure it doesn't matter too much what brand you get, so long as it's raw/unrefined/extra virgin coconut oil. soooo let's get started.


i've been using coconut oil for maybe two years and it's never been anything less than amazing for me. i use it for everything and i really do mean from head to toe. i love it for my hair; coconut and castor oil give me the best shine. i also like to add a little bit of coconut oil for an extra kick in my deep conditioners. it softens my hair so well, although i have heard that coconut oil has hardened/dried out some ladies' hair. take it slow; since coconut is a fairly thin oil, it can be easy to go overboard. 


i also use it for my face. i like it as an occasional moisturizer, but you must be careful to only use a tiny amount, or else you'd end up looking a greasy mess. one thing i've recently discovered is that using coconut as a moisturizer underneath physical sunblocks (zinc and titanium dioxide) helps to eliminate that annoying white cast that many of them can leave behind. 


i've also used coconut oil as the main oil when i use the oil cleansing method. it also makes an excellent make up remover! it gets rid of eyeshadow and foundation and leaves my face feeling so damn soft.


during the summer, coconut oil is one of my main moisturizers for my entire body. after a good, thorough exfoliation in a hot shower, this is my favorite oil to slather on. i've used jojoba oil, olive oil, and grapeseed oil after a shower and none of them can beat out coconut oil for me. it's such a light oil to spread on without being greasy and deeply moisturizes. yum!


one thing i particularly like about the emerald labs (and i'm not sure if this is unique to this brand or not) is how emollient the texture is. it's really light and kind of feels like it's gliding across your skin. it's hard to describe but it makes me feel like i'm scooping out a fingerful of cloud or something. the oil itself is just so incredibly soft, it's something you have to experience for yourself!


the scent is also the perfect, faint coconutty fragrance. just sweet enough and far from overpowering. it fades within a few minutes and doesn't "scent" your skin.


now, compared to other brands of coconut oil that you can scoop up from any grocery store (organic or otherwise), you can only by emerald labs from GNC. it's also a bit pricier. where generous jars other brands may be $8 or so, the emerald labs is a whopping $12.99. of course i'd rather pay $8-9 than $13, but GNC runs pretty good sales fairly often. in a sale last week, the oil was on sale for $9.99 and if i'd had the funds, i would've stocked up on two or three more jars instead of just one. but as with many products, the price is worth it to me and a single jar will last me many months, despite how often i may use it.


coconut oil as a whole is a staple beauty for me, while emerald labs gets a definite A.

ftc disclaimer: i am in no way affiliated with this company. i was not paid for this review and the product was purchased with my own monies. :)

[review] african royale braid & extensions sheen spray

ingredients: deionized water, glycerin, propylene glycol, ppg-12-peg-50, lanolin, dicetyldimonium chloride, polyquarternium 32 & paraffinum liquidum, tea tree leaf oil, polysorbate 80, oat kernel extract, allantoin, silk amino acids, sheep sorrell, yarrow, slippery elm bark, sage, henna, comfrey, burdock root, goldenseal, cherry bark, ginseng, black walnut, chamomile, alfalfa, hyssop, wheat germ, methyl & propyl paraben, fragrance.

this review won't be broken down into sections like some of my past reviews, because this is such a simple, straightforward product. i'll hit on the main points, of course, but this product is summed up pretty neatly in a few paragraphs.

i figured this would be a good time to review, since i'm closing in on week five in my braids. i've used this braid spray every time i get extensions and it's a pretty good bargain product. i got 12 oz of this for about five dollars out of a random beauty supply store. i'm sure you could find this at a target, cvs, or sally's as well, but any beauty supply store will be your best bet.

to be so "cheap," the ingredient list is actually quite nice, although confusing. i'm not sure why you'd need mineral oil in a braid spray, what the hell ppg-12-peg-50 is, or what the ingredients in the end actually are. obviously, i know what wheat germ and henna is, but what did you guys use? an oil, extract, powder? it's not a big deal to me, but you know, sometimes you like to know.

i like the fragrance of this spray, which was probably one of the main reasons why i chose this over the thousands of other options. it's actually pretty hard to describe, even as i sit here sniffing at it now... not very sweet, but not musky at all, it's perfectly in the middle. it's fragrant without being overpowering. there might be some florals in there with a tiny musk-like undertone. neutral scent, not manly or feminine but it's light and plesant. to be honest, i don't have the words (shocker!) so i'll just sum it up by saying: it smells good.

being a braid spray, the consistency is... well, liquid (big surprise there). i loooove spraying this on newly braided hair, it just feels so cool and amazing on a stressed scalp. the perfect, post-braiding treat.

this is a very moisturizing braid spray. every time i get braids, i inevitably end up taking out a few either around the perimeter or in the middle (idk why, i just do). one thing i've noticed is that when i'm touching the freed hair, it feels incredibly soft and smooth. this braid spray is the only thing i use on my hair when in braids, so it must be the spray. it's important to keep your moisture up when in long-term protective styles, especially braids or weaves. this braid spray does a great job of keeping my hidden hair soft and moisturized.

i can see myself using this even without extensions. if i were to braid or twist my own hair with the intention of keeping them in for a few weeks, i'm sure this spray would perform equally as well.

there's no question that i would purchase this again, but this bottle has lasted me at least a year now and i'm not even halfway through it. for only five dollars, it's a great value, especially for those of you who like to stay braided up, like myself.

ftc disclaimer: i am in no way affiliated with this company. i was not paid for this review and the product was purchased with my own monies. :)

my drug of choice: braids

i know, i've been a terrible blogger lately. i know in my last post i said i'd be updating more frequently since it's the summer time and i wasn't (intentionally!) lying. technically today was the first day of summer so i'm making good on my previous promises. ;) lol

to be honest, my enthusiasm for this whole natural thing has dwindled - i can't lie to myself or you guys. don't get me wrong, i still love and adore izzy… perhaps i should say my enthusiasm for short natural hair has dwindled. i have an oddly shaped, very hairy head and so this in-between/growing out length looks super awkward on me. while it was fun and exciting to try different methods of twisting for my twistouts, i've been hit with the long-hair bug BAD! ever since my last chop in december, i've been adamant about no more cutting (no matter how badly i pine for my fade of yester-summer. sigh). 

anytime my hair is lose, i end up making designs on it. i've even thought about getting a texturizer! that's how bad my boredom gets. i've wanted to shave one side, dye it a million different colors in a million different ways, everything. the only thing that really quiets these urges is hiding izzy away for a few weeks, which is promptly what i did - i'm back in more twists.

while i would love to get back to steaming my hair and trying out all these dang products i have, i've been in braids for the past three weeks. and guess what? i plan to stay in them all summer long. yep, you heard/read me. 

my reasoning is this: the less my hair is out, the less i'm frustrated with it; less frumpy fros and tired arms, less impulses to do something crazy. besides, i figure i'll have a nice little surprise growth-wise when i take them out. when i got my braids in december/january, i'd grown back what i'd lost in the chop plus more. i'll probably take out all my braids sometime in July and then have them redone to last until the fall semester starts.

the plan is by fall semester, i should have enough hair to leave out in a part for a natural/curly hair weave. i'd love to tuck izzy away for a few more weeks and play with a big kinky weave! the idea sounds  like a lot of fun to me and i've had a weave before. i kept my last weave in for maybe a month with no troubles (although this was years ago), so i feel confident that i have the tools to go maybe two months this time. of course, i'll have to judge that when i get there. i've already been looking at hair (don't judge me)!

there's my quick summer update. i know i've said this over and over again but i do plan to start back up in the reviews. what i'll do is set up a schedule/list of products so that i actually have a timeline to focus on.

hope all is well with all of you. :)

i haven't steamed in two months?

there are two things you can safely assume when it comes to the posts on my blogs: if i'm posting, i'm probably sitting under the steamer (like i am now, at 3 AM) and if i'm not posting, that means i probably haven't been steaming either. 

i can't exactly say i took a "vacation," considering i was still going to class, doing homework, and going to work on most days. my absence certainly wasn't intentional. but now that the semester is out i'll have more time to dedicate to this. i've missed my steamer and i've missed blogging, so i'm glad my schedule's freed up a bit more. 

as always, i have a ton of product reviews to get out. i'd like to crank these out at least once or twice a week, however it seems like my rate of posting is matching the rate through which i get through my products (i'm almost out of oyin's hair dew). instead of trying to test out all these products i have waiting for me, i'll focus on getting the "older" ones out of the way first.

i'd also like to do some more "personal" blogs about izzy and i. the longer she grows, the more my feelings toward her change. i feel like my hair has all but freaking sprouted this semester and wash day is always a surprise for me. it's crazy to say that this is the longest my hair's ever been since i've been natural. granted, my 3-4 inches may not seem like much, but this is huge for me! i think i've finally conquered the scissor happy demon within me. i played with the idea of cutting my hair for weeks, maybe months, since i decided to "officially" stop cutting it and now, whenever i stretch out a curl past my chin, scissors are the last thing i'm thinking about (thank goodness). i'll save some of the details for another post.

as far as a quick update on my hair... i've gone from washing every week to every two weeks, mostly because i'm too busy studying to be bothered (a week goes by so quickly now!). i've been wearing twistouts and i'm learning just how important stretched styles are (so important i plan to make a post). my hair is still some kind of unfathomable pattern. even when wet, it seems to want to "bush" instead of curl up. the perimeter of my head gives me the least trouble, probably because it's the loosest of all the textures in there. honestly, i haven't been thrilled with my hair lately and that's probably while i'll be going into braids next week (more on that later too).

in other news, i'm growing lukewarm towards my huetiful steamer... idk, i'm just not so sure i'm loving it like i once was.

i just wanted to quickly check in with everyone - when i saw i now had 90 followers, i was so shocked! where did you guys come from?! last i remember, i had maybe 84-85, i can't be sure. 90 may not be a big number compared to more popular blogs, but it's more than i ever planned to have, considering this blog was more of a "hair diary" for me to keep track of things. but if others enjoy it, i'm glad! it makes me happy to share. :)

i hope everyone has been doing well and i sure hope you chat with all of you soon. <3