I'm an Afro Glitz Web Award Nominee!

Lovelies - I am an Afro Glitz Web Award nominee for "Best Hair Blog"!!!  There are some other really great hair blogs that are nominated as well, so the catch is that the category  must be narrowed down to 6.  Please vote for me if you enjoy the content and what I'm doing.  I truly appreciate the love and support!!!

10 Day Veggie + Fruit Cleanse

I have been a busy bee preparing for my move to Ithaca and my last day at work (YAY - 10 days and counting)!  In the meantime, I am doing a 10 day veggie and fruit cleanse with my boyfriend's cousin.  She suggested that this would be a good time for me to cleanse my system and get ready for the next big step in my life - business school.  So I already don't eat meat (yes - I do cheat every once in a while), so I am hoping this won't be too bad, but I will miss carbs (oh how I love carbs)!  I'm sure my hips won't miss them!


This morning I had a great mint fruit salad full of watermelon, pineapple and grapes and I am pretty full.  For lunch, I made my favorite soup - Vegetarian Ribollita, but without the sourdough bread, cannellini beans and Pecorino-Romano cheese.  So basically it is a hardy cabbage soup.  For dinner, I am going to have some yukon gold potatoes and steamed veggies and maybe a strawberry watermelon smoothie if i get hungry after that.


I'm curious to see if this will have any effect on my hair.  Granted it is only 10 days, but I am still wondering if I will notice any kind of change in how my hair looks and feels.

My hair is still growing very fast which is great because I hope to be able to cut out the rest of the color at the end of this year.  I am still adding coconut oil to my deep conditioner and my hair is loving it.


**Let me clarify.  Yes potatoes are carbs, but they can be used in moderation in the plan that I am following.  You are only supposed to resort to eating potatoes or other root veggies after you have eaten steamed or raw veggies and are still hungry.  I know me and I will be hungry tonight, so I will be having some potatoes lol.***

J'adore l'huile de noix de coco!

Translation - I love coconut oil!  So I am trying to brush up on my French as I want to study abroad during my last semester at school (Spring 2012).  


I digress - so I wrote an article for The Coil Review about organic, extra virgin coconut oil, so I have been experimenting with it in food preparation (makes great scrambled eggs) as well as in my hair.  Here are the ways I have used it for my hair thus far.


1. Pre-shower moisturizer - I've read that coconut oil is the only oil that your hair will absorb.  Not sure if that's 100% true (meaning I'm not sure if there are other oils out there that will do the same).  So before my shower I put a quarter-sized amount through my hair and took a steamy shower.  My hair felt super soft after.


2. Deep conditioner - Last night I added coconut oil to the Redken Butter Treat conditioner I use.  I put a plastic cap on and sat under the dryer for 25 minutes.  I rinsed it out and then soaked my hair with KC Knot Today and detangled.  I decided to do a dry twist out.  Let me tell you.  Blowing drying my hair (on the warm setting) was a dream.  My hair was and still is amazingly soft!

Bantu Knot-Outs aren't just for long hair beauties!

I've been intrigued by bantu knots for a while now, but never thought I could achieve a cute look due to my length.  So last night I was watching TV and decided to try something new.  Starting with dry hair (I washed my hair and styled with Knot Today and KCC on Sunday), I lightly sprayed my hair with a water/aloe vera oil spritz and proceeded to make little bantu knots all over my head.  I secured the ends with bobby pins and went to sleep.


I woke up this morning with a cute, curly fro!  I will have to try this on wet hair and make a video about it.

Chocolate Coils + Dermatologist Visit

Since I got more of a cut, rather than a trim last weekend, I was nervous to wash my hair and wear it curly, but I was too excited to care.  In my last post, I mentioned my current issue with central scarring alopecia.  Well I am happy to report that while I was combing my deep conditioner through my hair last night, I literally only lost a few strands of hair.  Months ago, I was losing clumps of hair, and was honestly scared to wash my hair, let alone come through it.  I attribute the minimized hair loss keeping the faith, the regimen and scalp injections my dermatologist prescribed, and the great trim I got last week.

I had an appointment with my dermatologist this morning.  Nothing good or bad to report.  I received 7 more Kenalog scalp injections.  I am scheduled to go back in June for another round.

My hair is definitely shorter, but my curl pattern is much more defined since I lost the raggedy ends and I love my new rich, chocolate brown color.  The first picture shows the length in the back; you can definitely tell it's shorter.  And hopefully in the second picture you can see the curl definition some.  I am still using the Kinky Curly product line and don't plan on straying from my current routine.

 

This is why I can't keep my hair straight...

So after paying a pretty penny to get my hair blown out + trimmed + colored, I find out that it is supposed to rain for the next few days (I usually check the weather before I make an appointment, but I was so excited that I forgot this time around).  FML.  I woke up this morning determined to get to work not looking like a poof ball, so I did something that I probably shouldn't have done.  I went to work in my pink and green scarf with my hair wrapped underneath *gasp*.  So I made it through my bus and metro ride without seeing someone I know.  But I get into the elevator and of course there is someone from upper management riding up with me... oh well.

I was willing to look a hot mess if it meant saving my hair and best believe that I will be putting my scarf right back on my head when I leave to go home!

I did a damn good job though.  My hair still looks fresh!

 

Time for a blog update!

So even though I am working on a new site, I couldn't resist the temptation to update my blog now!  It was time for a change.  Big changes are still ahead!

Central Cicatricial Alopecia

On February 22, I was diagnosed with central cicatricial alopecia. This type of alopecia is also known as scarring alopecia because inflammation destroys the hair follicle causing a “scarring” below the scalp’s surface. "Central" refers to the area in which the alopecia starts (the center top of the head) and the fact that the alopecia spreads out.  At first, I was devastated – I cried for days. The dermatologist said that the likelihood of my hair growing back was slim but that she would do her best to stop the hair loss from spreading. So my doctor immediately started me on rigorous regimen of creams (some twice a day) and scalp shots (every six weeks).

 


I waited a while to share this because I was still coping with the news.  But now I am in attack mode! :).  I think the hair loss has stopped (for the time being) but I am prayerful that my hair will grow back in the affected areas.


So part of the reason I wanted a darker hair color, was to help my hair to look thicker (because of all the hair I lost at the top/front of my head) and to just give my hair that healthy look that darker hair usually has.  And as I would like to eventually go back to my natural hair color, so dying my hair darker will allow me to grow out my color without the extreme differences in color.


So today, I went to see Nicole and we talked about my situation.  She agreed that going with a darker, richer color would be a good idea and a great change.  She used a demi-permanent chocolate color and I am beyond happy with the results.  She trimmed a LOT of my hair but it looks so healthy and I feel like I have a new head of hair.  Wearing my hair straight is a challenge because I have to hide the thin top section, so I am still not completely comfortable wearing my hair blown out.  I will be sure to keep everyone updated on the situation.

Time for Change

Hi Lovelies.  So a lot has happened since I last updated my blog (sorry for the long overdue post).  I decided where I am going to business school (Go Big Red!), I started packing and am moving in with granny for a few months before the BIG move, and of course I am itching to change my hair.


I made an appointment with Nicole to get a much needed trim (hopefully it doesn't turn into a cut) and a deeper, richer color.  I really want to go with a deep, rich chocolate color.  Not sure if Nicole will opt for a rinse or a permanent color.  I really just want something that I can easily and cheaply maintain on a student budget for the next two years.


Also I did my hair this weekend and I am not liking the way it feels.  I think that I'm going to wash it tonight and try a throwback hair style - dry twist out.  I will post the results!


Updated: So once I got home from work, I realized that I already packed my blow dryer.  Soooo with that said, I got really lazy and opted to do absolutely nothing with my hair.  I will post my results from my appointment with Nicole!

Kinky 4a/b girls listen up + My 2 year natural-versary!

I am speaking straight to the kinky, 4a/b lovelies out there!  


While wash and go looks aren't necessarily a reality for us, we can still take advantage of quick, gorgeous styles!  If you haven't already, please try the style I talked about in one of my last posts.  I have managed to shave off an hour of time from my previous wash day routines.  If you aren't a fan of KCC, give it another try and use a TON of Knot Today before you apply any of the KCC (funny story - I went to pick up the 2 bottles of Knot Today I special ordered from Whole Foods.  When I got there, there was another woman cleaning the KC product line out!  She was so excited.  She said that she calls all the time to find out when the shipments come in.  People really love the products.  They are really amazing and all natural.  You can't beat that!) 


Is detangling is tough?  I used to use conditioner to detangle my hair, but once I discovered Knot Today, my life changed (dramatic? indeed).  I use a TON of it and the comb literally glides through my hair.  It is worth every penny.


I am now 2 years into being natural (I totally missed my natural anniversary lol) and I am finally comfortable and really loving my hair.  I used to be upset that I didn't have looser curls, but God gave me my texture and I love it!  Please embrace and work what you got!


Hugs!