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LOVE it: Pretty and Soft Curls with @MixedChicks
I’ve been looking for a good leave-in conditioner for my natural hair for ages now, but haven’t been able to find one that delivers. You can only imagine my excitement when I received a lovely package full of Mixed Chicks goodies in the mail a few weeks ago, AND in that package was a leave-in conditioner! Now because I haven’t had much luck with leave-in conditioners, I was a little apprehensive about how well this conditoner would work, but I’ve heard good things about Mixed Chicks products so I was more than down to try.
Sunday is ‘Hair Day’ and this is when I do my usual co-wash, deep condition and re-do my protective style. So for the last few Sundays I’ve been using the Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner before putting in my twists/flat twists. I’ve noticed that it actually takes me a shorter time to do my twists/flat twits as the conditioner softens my hair right away, and there are hardly any tangles, therefore less breakage. Score!
Defined, fluffy, shiny and healthy curls, I couldn’t ask for more!
Since using Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner, my hair is still soft, and fluffy even after taking my twists out, and one of the best things is that there is no flakiness, which is what used to get on my nerves when I used other leave-in conditioners. I’ve also noticed a significant amount in breakage. I know that we lose about a 100 strands of hair a day *gasp*, but I still don’t like to see my hair break, so I love that my hair barely breaks, if at all, before and after using the Mixed Chicks conditioner.
Pros:
- Instantly soft
- Little to no breakage, which means increased retention, therefore increased growth.
- Did I mention super soft hair????
- Defined curls
- No flakiness AT ALL!
- Increased moisture and shine.
- I live for how sleek and defined my twists look!
Radiantly rollin’ with Mixed Chicks!Big thank you to Mixed Chicks for sharing this with me, and for bringing my leave-in conditioner hunt to an end! I can’t wait to try the other goodies!
Have you tried Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner? What are your thoughts?
Bella
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Kinky Update: Low Manipulation Challenge
I haven’t shared my natural hair journey on here in a while, and I recently received the sweetest message from one of our readers about how she got inspired to go natural and stay natural, after reading my posts, sooooooooooo… here goes. As many of you know I started my transition in September maybe October of 2010. I did my big chop in January of 2012, and have been fully and happily natural ever since. I read that it was wise to keep your hair in protective styles during the transitioning process and after; as this not only helps the hair from breaking, but also aides in bringing back the once lost curl pattern as a result of a relaxer. So I kept my hair in twists all the time, which got incredibly boring as I like to change my hair as often as I can (everyday). I noticed there was lots of growth for a while and then my hair seemed to stop growing and was breaking a lot, despite the bi-weekly trimming I was doing (so unnecessary by the way). I hadn’t changed my haircare regimen, I was still deep conditioning and moisturizing like a maniac so I’m not sure what was happening… then I realized I’d been doing all kinds of things with my hair. I’d coloured it red, I was switching protective styles weekly, some days I fell asleep without a satin wrap… my hair was clearly pissed off, and showing it.
Day 1 of the challenge
So 12 weeks ago, I decided it was time to stop being lazy and to go back to loving my hair. I went onto BlackGirlLongHair for some Kink-spiration (my go-to for everything natural hair), and while perusing hundreds of articles, I came across a few that stressed keeping your protective styles in for as long as possible, as this not only helped eliminate breakage, but also helped retain length.
9 days in… Fuzzy and already locking/meshing
That’s all I needed to hear, the only problem is my hair normally starts to lock/mesh after a week, and this is why I was always messing with my hair. I wanna rock a big sexy afro this summer, so I need to do all that I can to ensure that my hair is strong and healthy. So I decided to challenge myself.
First twists with Elentee Soy Organics Twist & Lock Gel
I would do a protective style and leave it in for as long as I could. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong, I couldn’t even bare to think about the boredom of rocking one hairstyle for weeks… Ugh. So long story short, I did mini-twists and lasted 9 days. Then I found this miracle gel, called Elentee Soy Organics Twist & Lock Gel, and managed to keep my twists in for 18 days!
Re-twist after 18 days!
My hair didn’t lock/mesh once, it was so easy to untwist, and there was little to no breakage! I kept those twists in till about the first week of January (WHAT!!), but was in desperate need of a change; so rather than re-do the mini twists, I went for chunky twists instead. I’ve deep conditioned three times since putting in the chunky twists, and other than re-doing the front ones to make them look neater, I haven’t touched my hair… well until today when I did a deep condition 🙂
Things I’ve discovered since my low manipulation challenge:
1. It’s definitely harder than I thought, but so rewarding when you see the progress in length, strength and overall look of my hair.
2. Elentee Soy Organics Twist & Lock Gel is a winner for girls who wanna rock mini-twists but are worried about it locking/meshing.
3. My hair is longer, stronger and thicker.
4. I will ALWAYS ALWAYS…ALWAYS twist my hair with Elentee Soy Organics Twist & Lock Gel. Always.
My hair now (with shrinkage). Happy 🙂
peace and love
Bella
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Review LOVE: Kinky Haircare with NHF
I was browsing the aisles of Ramco, a local store here in Togo that’s similar to a Wal-Mart. I came to an immediate halt when I got to the hair care aisle… my favourite aisle. I noticed that they have loads of natural hair care products, and when I say natural, I mean these products contain all natural ingredients, no chemicals. I had to stop myself from buying everything off of the shelves, and instead decided to treat myself to a shampoo and conditioner by Natural Herbes Force (NHF). I stopped using shampoo a couple of years ago, as I found it made both my hair and scalp really dry. Instead I use conditioner to wash (co-wash) and condition my hair, but I bought the NHF shampoo because I’m honestly so tired of the baking soda method to clarify my scalp when I have build up. Totally over it.
I figured I’d give the NHF shampoo and conditioner a try, seeing as they both contain all natural ingredients. The shampoo is a blend of a variety of african plants, coconut milk and shea butter; and the conditioner is a blend of a variety of african plants as well, coconut oil and protein/magnesium (which I hear is excellent for enhancing curls). As soon as I got back to the hotel, I jumped straight into the shower. It was time to put these babies to test!
The shampoo doesn’t real smell like anything really, and it doesn’t sting when it gets into your eyes! I wash my hair in sections, this way I get to give my hair and scalp a good wash, and it also prevents breakage that comes from tangling.
The conditioner smells like bubble gum! I also condition my hair in sections, as it helps me to gently remove any tangles in my hair, and also ensures that I get the conditioner EVERYWHERE.
I threw on a shower cap and kept the conditioner in my hair for 30 minutes.
After rinsing out the conditioner, I re-twisted my hair with 100% coconut oil and sealed my twists with raw Shea butter; then threw on a satin wrap and went to bed 🙂
Took my twists out two days later. My hair/scalp were nice and clean, my hair was super soft and smelled like sweet bubble gum!
I have to say that I’m so relieved to have found an all natural shampoo and conditioner, cause I’m not one of those “naturalists” that likes making her own shampoo and conditioner… I don’t have the patience for all of that lol. If you’re ever on this side of the world and are looking for an all natural shampoo and conditioner (no matter your hair type), I would definitely recommend Naturals Herbes Force! Your hair and scalp will love you forever!
peace and love
♥Bella♥
ps: If you want more information on how you can get your hands on NHF products, shoot them an email at meyecosmetic @ gmail.com
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My Protection…with Style!
So I’ve decided to try something new.
Something new in the realm of a “sew-in“. For those of you reading who do not know what a sew-in is, it is a weave (full or partial) that is sewn onto a person’s own hair. I know, crazy. Never the less this process was totally necessary for my hair survival. I’m in training and my job requires me to wear my hair pulled back.
Which means that status of “no edges” is right around the corner! YIKES!! I had a friend ride with me to the store where we spent hours picking out the right hair color and brand.
I was so clueless that there were different brands and that they each had something that set them apart. I spent nearly a good $300 for my hair, and to get my hair done and styled! Expensive but for two months I will not be hassling over how to style my hair. Military life is beautiful but for women it is so stressful. So I cut my hair out of that equation.
I went from this, in February 2011:
To this (one year later):
I am living proof that protective styling produces growth and many other benefits.
So of course protective styling is necessary.
Some example styles that can be done to protect your hair:
-Bantu Knots
-Two Strand Twists
-Flat Twists
-Micro Braids
-Senegalese Twists
-Cornrows
-Wigs/Weaves/Tracks/etc
-Up Do’s
The goal of all these amazing styles is to protect the ends of your hair! The ends help retain your growth. Protective also keeps your ever moving hands out of your locks. Its also used for moisture, growth, long styling, dates, get up and go, etc. I think you get the idea. If you have any questions on protective styling and how you can keep your hair looking fresh follow me on Twitter @IamInkWell.
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Bantu Knots L-O-V-E
I’ve been rocking bantu knots for about a week now, and everybody seems to love them, I’ve even gotten a few nicknames along the way, however i’m not sure if they’re compliments or… they’re compliments. I tried bantu knots earlier on in the year, but didn’t really like how they looked; but I was in desperate need to do something different with my hair, and decided to give them another shot… Success. They took me 10 minutes to do… WINNER! I love twisting my hair, but that usually takes me an hour soooooo, this may just be my new go-to protective style, especially because the weather in Toronto is still crazy.
peace and love
♥Bella♥
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Under the scarf…
Everyone’s been saying that I’ve been “hiding” my hair. This is true to some extent, but I haven’t been hiding it; I’ve been protecting it. I kept it wrapped all winter, and it will remain wrapped up until the summer. I find it’s better to keep my hair wrapped up during the cold months to keep it from breaking, and the weather is so crazy during spring, that I prefer to keep my hair safe under my head scarf 🙂 However, when I’m home, the head scarf comes off, and my hair is free to “be” where the temperature is warm and STABLE. The fro will be back in the summer 🙂
peace and love
♥Bella♥
