Winter Natural Hair Protection

*Protecting My Hair*

The weather here in Kansas City is crazy!  Very cold, harsh, and dry Winter air,

so  I'm keeping it covered and moisturized as much as possible!

I wear a satin cap on the back half of my head then cover it with a beanie.

I spritz my twists with a water and aloe vera juice mix and I rub my twists

down with my shea butter homemade creamy mix.

I got this recipe from Naptural85 on Youtube:

       Shea Butter Pomade:  unrefined shea butter, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp olive oil,                 1 tsp castor oil, 1 tbsp jojoba oil, 1/2 tsp vitamin e oil

Shea Butter Creamy Moisturizer:  3 or 4 tbsp of your shea butter pomade, 

2 tbsp coconut oil, 1/2 tsp castor oil, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp jojoba oil

How are you protecting your hair???

Mini Twists

Finally did it! *Sigh*

Check it out!

                       

 

It's amazing how much my hair has grown in 3 months!  

I did a set of small twists in October and wow!

 

Check it out!

 

I must be doing something right....I hope Lol

                I used my shea butter homemade pomade mix on my hair...

                      2 days and 8+ hours later.....Ta-Daaaa!                    

Shea Butter

Is There A Difference Between Yellow Shea & White Shea???

So, I have been using unrefined yellow shea butter since transitioning and I recently made the decision to stop and start using white shea butter for my natural hair instead...

 

I purchased my unrefined white shea butter from  Camden Grey Essentials and I love it!

I followed a recipe that Naptural85 on YouTube makes for her natural hair (using white shea) and I tried it with both butters.  The yellow shea is harder to mix and blend no matter what I mix with it and eventually the mix either hardens or separates to where I have to mix it again.  I then tried the recipe with white shea and it turned out perfect and stayed creamy.  It was also easier to mix and blend with my oils. I also noticed a difference in my hair, it's a lot softer and holds moisture better with the white shea than the yellow.   Camden says their white shea butter is unrefined and they even sell refined shea butter,  but I don't understand how both butters are completely different.  

Regardless, I'm going to continue using white shea and I am done with the African Shea Butter.

 

I found this information online:

White vs Yellow Shea Butter

 

Shea butter is a natural fat that is extracted from nut of Shea tree. Shea butter is useful in many ways. It is often used in cosmetics, lotions and other products. It is also used in the chocolate industry as an alternative to coco butter.
Shea butter has moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties and as such it is considered best for ageing. The extract also helps against sunburn.
White and yellow shea butter has almost the same properties. The main difference between the two is in their colour. The white shea butter comes in white colour whereas yellow shea butter comes in bright yellow colour.

White shea butter can be said to be refined shea butter and the yellow one are the natural or unrefined shea butters. As the yellow shea butter is natural, it has an earthy smell, which most of the people do not like. On the other hand, white shea butter comes without any smell.
When comparing the nutrient, the yellow shea butter has more nutrients packed in them. This is because some of the nutrients in white shea butter are lost at some stage in the refining process. In vitamins also, the yellow shea butter is better than the white shea butter. Yellow shea butter has more healing properties than the white shea butter. Most of the healing properties of white shea butter get lost during the process. White shea butter is, however, more used in the cosmetic industry.

Read more: Difference Between White and Yellow Shea Butter | Difference Between | White vs Yellow Shea Butter http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-between-white-and-yellow-shea-butter/#ixzz1AUFq5UBS

Mini Twist *BREAK*

Mini Twist Time Out

I've been doing mini twists, or small twists rather, since my protective style challenge starting in August....it's time for a break!
I was not feeling spending hours twisting my hair after a long day of pre-pooing, hair steaming, detangling, shampooing, and deep conditioning....forget that!

I decided for the next couple of months, I'm going to wear chunky twists instead.
Mostly because I'm going into my winter time laziness phase LOL
Almost every natural I know has their version of mini twists they are rocking right now so I dare to be different...


These are not the best chunky twist but...they work for me and my hair feels great!

My regimen to get this style, I'm not making this up ladies, this is how lazy I got this time LOL:

Hot oil treatment: (castor oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, tea tree oil, rosemary oil) I put this on my hair, made 10 huge twists, put a shower cap on and a long scarf wrap, went to work for 9 hours, then left it in overnight...SMH

In the am, I took down each twist, put Aubrey Organics GPB Glycogen Protein Balancing conditioner in and twisted my hair back up. I steamed for 20 mins then detangled and shampooed my hair, which was one of the easiest detangling session I've ever had!!!

Then I did a Rhassoul Clay treatment (Rhassoul clay, brazil nut butter, coconut oil) and left this in for a really long time lol

After that, I deep conditioned overnight with Bee Mine deep conditioner mixed with avocado bvtter, cupuacu butter, jojoba oil, and coconut oil.

Results:
My hair is amazingly soft, manageable, and shiny....

*LOVING NATURAL LIFE*

*Happy Nappyversary*

17 Months Natural!!!

In honor of my 17 month Nappyversary today I'm sharing my journey with you!
I BC'd June 10, 2009 :-D

You know, with all the ups, downs, and set backs I've had with my natural hair over the past year, I am still loving this!

November 2009
November 2010
November 2009
November 2010
November 2009
November 2010
November 2009
November 2010
November 2009
November 2010
November 2009
November 2010

I would love for you *Natural Beauties* to share your journeys with me!

Follow my blog & share! :-)

*Small Two Strand Twists*

Protective Styling For Me!
So yes, another set of twists that took me 5 hours, but good thing is these are smaller than the last ones so I'm getting faster! :-)

Since I can't use my homemade shea butter mix for awhile (see my Dry Hair Repair Blog)
I made a new mix which is: shea butter, mango butter, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, and Qhemet's Biologics Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee

This mix is great!!!!

Crazy shrinkage but I'm a happy *Natural* now! :-D

Dry Hair Repair

*Braid Out Nightmare*

Watch for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSStrQTU4OA

I had to wash my hair after a couple of days, I could not take this dryness anymore!

So here's what contributed to my very dry braid out:

After I washed my hair I deep conditioned overnight with Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque which has vegetable glycerin (a humectant) in it...The next day I rinsed then put my leave-in conditioner on which has Castor Oil in it (a humectant). To braid my hair I used Afroveda Curl Define, my hair felt dry but I wasn't concerned at first. The next 2 days I used my homemade shea butter mix (shea butter, mango butter, 100% aloe vera gel, vegetable glycerin, sweet almond oil) and my braids still felt a little dry.

So, I finally unraveled my braids and my hair felt so dry and brittle...Now I know why! With this cooler weather, those humectant products were working against me, I'm thinking I'm moisturizing my hair and I'm getting no moisture what so ever! My moisture/protein balance was way off!

I got a tip from my natural hair idol KinkyKurlyQueen about Aubrey Organics GPB Glycogen Protein Balancing Conditioner so I purchased some and immediately started "Project Dry Hair Repair"

I put the GPB conditioner on and steamed for 10 minutes, product was on my hair for a total of 15 minutes maybe 20
I washed all that mess off with Bee Mine shampoo & V05 Strawberries & Creme conditioner. My hair already felt better...


I deep conditioned overnight with Bee Mine Coconut deep conditioner mixed with Vatika Oil, Cupuacu butter, Avocado butter, and Coconut oil.


My results: SUPER SOFT & MOISTURIZED HAIR



So now I know until spring time next year, I will not be using Vegetable Glycerin, Castor Oil, and Aloe Vera Gel....also will not be using any products with these as ingredients