The Crown Update

I have so much that I would like to talk about. I barely know where to begin. Since this blog was originally began on the topic of hair I figure I should start there.

so let us begin. As I said in my last post I am officially 2 years natural. I in no way regret mydecision to go natural. It was and still is a liberating experience. Now I have had my ups amd downs. Mainly right now I am kind of overwhelmed by those pesky knots on my strands. I do also get frustrated with my hair bit thats something that comes with the territory of having hair on your head period. As far as a regimen I don't have one. I always try to make a schedule but it doesnt work out. Now I think I am probably washing my hair every two weeks. Lately I've been doing mini twist. I usually wear those for a week then wear them untwisted for another week. Depending on my scalp I might wash my hair like a day or two before I untwist my hair. That is basically it. I used to just do a regular twist out but I always ended up wearing a headband. so I decided to do the mini twist as a way to give my edges a break from the headbands. I admit I wear the headbands sometimes when I work out though.

So since I am 3 years into my healthy hair journey, and 2 years into my natural journey the pj phase is long gone. Not to say thay I don't want to try new things. Trust and believe I do bit I used to have to buy every item exactly when I wanted it. Now as long as I have some conditioner, moisturizer, and oil then I'm good. I actually gave away a ton of my hair products before I moved. I eventually want to get into mpre natural products but for now I focus on what is accessible to me. So here are the products I have been using the most:

L-R African Pride Olive Miracle Moisturizer Lotion, Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner, Now Sweet Almond Oil, and Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

As I've said before these products are what I have been using consistently. They are not staples in any way.  Granted I can find an accessible place to find sweet almond oil that will become a staple. I might make the olive oil too for mixing purposes. I do love the AP Moisture Lotion and if my switch to more natural products doesnt work out I will consider making this a staple. Next are products I have used every now and then:

L-R ORS Olive Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion, ORS Replenishing Conditioner, Wild Growth Hair Oil, Cantu Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream, Mixed Silk by Silk Elements Nourishing Deep Conditioner, Let's Jam Shining & Conditioning Gel, Aphogee Pro-Vitamin Leave In Conditioner, Sammy Get Curls Curl Activating Lotion, Aphogee Deep Moisture Shampoo

I'm not too crazy about the ORS hair lotion. I usually use it mixed up with something. I only got it because it was accessible and cheap. The ORS conditioner was my go to deep conditioner for a long time. Now that I'm fully natural I don't use it as much. My hair needs more moisture but protein once in a while helps. As far as the wild Growth Oil I try to use it with my mini twist but forget. Most of the time I use it in a conditioner mix. I got the cantu because it was accessible and to temporary take place of my African Pride moisturizer. I've used it in the past so I got it again. I love the consistency but for some reason when I used it before putting in mini twist my hair didn't like it as much. I think because my hair was semi dry. I noticed it works better when it is applied to my hair when its wet. I decided to try the Mixed Silk deep conditioner since I don't like to use my ORS one as much. I actually like this conditioner for the most part. The first time I used it, it did leave my hair soft Despite that I probably will try something else one it runs out. For the most part I use the Let's Jam for most of my twist outs. It keeps my hair conditioned for a good little while. Also it makes taking my twist out a breeze.I did experiment and used the Sammy activating lotion on one of my mini twist. By day two I had to unravel my twist because they were far too frizzy. However the twist out was actually amazing. Now for the aphogee products. I only got the shampoo to replace my ORS clarifying shampoo. I wanted to get something a little more moisturizing. Its a good shampoo but I rarely use shampoo other then to clarify so it sort of defeats the purpose of me buying it. The pro-vitmain leave in is good. I mix it with olive oil and spray my hair once I finish washing my hair.

I didn't want this post to be this long. I planned to post some pictures of my hair, but I will save that for another time!

Peace, Love, & Blessings~

I am back! For real this time!

There is no point excusing my absence. I have had much on my mind and though it is better to express those things I held them inside.Now I'm in a better mind space and ready to let it all out. I have been trying to focus on my songwriting but life has gotten in the way and I haven't been able to allow myself the time to dedicate to writing. I'm always trying to make myself a better person. So during this time that I've been away I have been trying to work on myself spiritually. So I will explain what I've been doing since I obviously haven't been writing.

As it says it's a course in not only discovering your creativity but also helps recovering your creativity. I originally heard about the "morning pages" on a video I saw on YouTube. So after hearing about the pages I started doing them. Then the next week I decided to get the book to see what other ideas were in it to help my creativity. This book is amazing. This is a 12 week course and I stopped at week 9, because I just had so many thing going on. Even though I have temporarily taken a break from the course I still do my morning pages and I intend on starting the course again eventually. The author Julia Cameron also has 2 more books that go along with this course as well. I will definitely be getting those when I finish the book. For more books I've been reading you can check out my profile for Good Reads in the the links on the right side of the blog.---->

So next is what I've been doing with my hair since that was the original purpose of the blog. I haven't done anything special to be honest. At first I did a wash and go everyday. Now I am way to lazy to wash my hair everyday. My hair has grown a lot despite my profile picture I have cut my hair twice. I'm going to hold off on doing that for now. I have crazy shrinkage so my hair shrinks up and looks 20x shorter then it actually is. All I've been doing lately are twist outs. I was supposed to twist my hair today, I don't feel like it so i may actually do a wash and go tomorrow. Hopefully I get to leave work early tomorrow and twist it then. The thing I love about twists outs are I only have to do my hair once a week. That way when I get up in the morning all I have to do is maybe wet my hair and shake it and go. I have tried the oh so famous Kinky Curly.

I've tried everything except the Gloss Pomade. I like the products. The only problems I have is for my hair it is time consuming. Not only that the products are expensive and not widely available. Not only do I have to pay an arm and a leg for the products I have to drive all the way on the opposite side of town. As far as the custard it smell soooooo good like candy and cake. I experimented once and used the shampoo and the conditioner, but instead of using the curling custard I used this:
So instead of paying $16 on a 8oz jar of curling custard you can get 32oz of this for under $5. Another good thing about Kinky Curly is that they are cruelty free and organic. So of course organic products and foods are more expensive. There is so much irony in the fact that you have to pay more for organic(products without chemicals) as compared to products that are not organic(products that have chemicals and pesticides). I may no buy anymore of the curling custard but I love the conditioner. I can do without the shampoo but I will most likely buy it again.

I think it's best to end this post here. I have soo much more to say but I need to save some for later post (like a haul from the NYX Anniversary sale last month)! As always peace love and blessings~

Quick and sweet....Or maybe not

Well I've been called in to work today. I'll be leaving in a little under an hour. So I'll try to make this quick.

First off I finally made it to Whole Foods. I've wanted to go for years but never got the chance until now. I only got a couple of things but I'll definitely be going back.
So this is what I got:

Burt Bees' Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Hair Treatment
Vegitable Glycerin (Humectant)
Orderless Garlic Supplements (For Shedding)
Nature's Way Organic Pure Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Sealant)

The only thing I haven't used yet is the hair treatment. Everything else I've used. I'm still in love with my coconut oil. I use the old jar I have left on my skin now. The glycerin seems to be doing well. It will probably take a month for me to see the results of the garlic supplements though.

Yesterday was eventful for my hair I guess one could say. I had a 24hr no manipulation challenge. I just wanted to see if I could go a day without combing or brushing my hair. Which I did. I actually didn't even comb my hair until after I had moisturized and sealed it. Which was around 4 in the morning. I also did my first baggy last night. I must say my ends do look a lot less crazy. Though I think I could have used a lot less product. I ended up using a mixture of my Garnier Fructis Length & Strength Leave-In mixed with Glycerin and Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Leave-In. Then after that I sealed with my Coconut Oil. Next time I think I'll go without the Garnier Fructis Leave-In.

I felt around in the back of my head and it feels like I've got at least an inch of new growth in the back. So that is pretty good. The last two days I've had the urge to just chop my hair off. I don't know why. I'm just so over the two texture thing that's going on I guess. I'm just ready to take care of my natural hair. I'm over the relaxed hair. I plan on transitioning until April or May. The way I'm feeling I just don't even know if I can last that long. This hair journey in some way does feel like a spiritual growth. I feel like I'm truly coming into my own. I've gone through so much crap in my life. Especially the last 5 years. It's like me cutting my hair off will be a symbol of me letting all the hurt, pain, regret, doubts, insecurities, and negativity that has ran my life up to now go. I feel so ready when I just think about how much something that seems so simple will likely affect my life in a MAJOR way. It's a truly beautiful thing.Peace & Love~

Better late then never...

So I was supposed to do a co-wash on Thursday. I didn't of course and decided to do it on Friday. THEN of course that didn't happen. So finally I had co-wash #2 Saturday. I actually didn't care so much for my co-wash yesterday. I'm not sure what it was. Maybe I didn't do something right. I loved my hair the first time I did a co-wash, but this time it seemed bleh... I co-washed with a mixture of Garnier Fructis Strength & Repair Instant Melting Conditioner, Garnier Fructis 3 Minute Fortifying Deep Conditioner, Jojoba Oil, and Coconut Oil. I also did a scrub with some of my Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner. After I applied my leave ins (Elasta QP H-Two, African Pride Braid Spray). After that I put a little mango butter in my hair as well. Then I let my hair air dry. After that I moisturized my hair with more mango butter(I love this stuff) and some of my Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil. Then I pin curled my hair and went to sleep. Here is the result of my pin curl:

This style reminds me a lot of the Bantu Knot out. Except I find doing those much easier. That's probably because this was my first time doing a pin curl.I think I'll try this again sometime after I flat iron my hair again. Which I'm hoping I can hold off on the flat ironing until next month ,but I'm feeling mighty week right now.

Well about two post ago I said I wouldn't be buying anything unless one of the flat irons I want goes on sale. Well that didn't happen. I ended up buying a few products >.< So these are the products that broke me down:
Silk Elements MegaSilk Olive Shampoo & Conditioner
Hollywood Beauty Carrot Creme (the little bottle of Carrot Oil Root Moisturizer came with it)
Wild Growth Hair Oil
Vo5 Herbal Escapes Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Shampoo & Conditioner

So far I've only used the Carrot Creme. I really like using that on my hair. The Root Moisturizer however has mineral oil in it so I'm kind of wary of using that. It also smells horrible on top of that. lol
I plan to start using my Wild Growth oil after I do a clarifying wash. I plan on using the Silk Elements Shampoo and Conditioner Monday. So I should be making a post about that tomorrow. That is all for now. Peace & Love~

And the beat goes on~

Well so much to tell. I really should be in bed now but since I'm here might as well continue.

So I'm officially not buying anymore products for my hair. Unless the flat iron I want goes on sale.... Anyway on Monday I went to the BSS even though I knew I shouldn't have. I couldn't help it though. I knew if I went to that specific store I would find everything I wanted. Guess what?!?! I did.

Exhibit A


Elasta QP H-Two
Garnier Fructis Fortifying Deep Conditioner
Garnier Fructis Strength & Repair Instant Melting Conditioner
Jojoba Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Beyond The Zone Straight Shot Smoothing Serum
Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil Hair Treatment with Mink Oil
Twist Rollers
Banana Clip
Shower Comb
Assorted Comb Pack


Exhibit B

Elasta QP Mango Butter
Aphogee Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer
African Essence Natural Herbal Oil
Donna Round Firm Foundation




Well the second picture is actually the purchase where I knew I had purchased way too much. Oh well! So yesterday was wash day #3. Before I get to that let me talk about my Scarf Method results. It didn't turn out all that great. I must say that was my fault. I got waves, but I don't think I covered as much hair as I would have liked. I will definitely try it again hopefully when I put that hair bun to use.

Ok now back to wash day #3. I pre-pooed with the Garnier Fructis Fortifying Deep Conditioner mixed with Africa's Best Herbal Oil and some Coconut Oil. I left that on for about 2 hours. I then washed it out with my Vo5 Moisture Milks Strawberries and Cream shampoo. After that I used the conditioner, detangled with my shower comb and left that on for about 20min. After I towel dried my hair I sprayed it with my Aphogee Restructurizer, Elasta Qp H-Two Leave In, and my Dove Heat Defense Therapy Protect And Shine Mist. After I applied the sprays I then applied some of my Mango Butter to my hair. I then let my hair air dry. After about 2 hours I brought my drier out because I wanted to go to bed. I wasn't going to go unless my hair was flat ironed so to pick up the pace I blow dried my hair. When I finished that I once again sprayed my hair with my Dove Heat Defense Therapy Protect And Shine Mist. After that I sectioned of my hair and applied my Beyond The Zone Straight Shot Smoothing Serum. When everything was done this was my end result:
My hair has not looked this good (in my opinion) in about 2-3 years. So it's safe to say that I am satisfied with the results. My Aphogee Reconstructor and my Shower Comb are my two favorite things now.

Peace-Love-Understanding

Up next will be my first co-wash. :O

So far...

Ok I'm four days in and it's going pretty well. I decided to wash my hair Monday night. Evrything went well. I decided to pre-poo with my Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner and some Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I kept that on for a little under 2 hours. I thought about doing it overnight, but I didn't put enough oil on my hair to do that. When everything was said and done I liked the results I got. I decided to let my hair air dry. After it was about 80% dry I put in some Bantu Knots and kept them in over night.

I loved my results the next morning. This will definitely be a style I will continue to use. After I moisturized my hair Tuesday night I decided I wanted to try the braid out. So I braided my hair in...well I can't remember how many braids probably 8 or 9. The next morning I took them down and worked them apart. Well I hated that look. Maybe I didn't braid them down far enough or maybe I should have put rollers on the ends or something. It just was not hot. So I decided to put my hair in two buns. Well after I did that I was informed I looked 12 so yeah. I could not rock that look. So I ended up taking them down and suddenly my braid out looked perfect. It ended up looking exactly the way I wanted it to look. No pictures of that though sorry. >.<

Tonight I will be trying out the "Scarf Method". I will also be doing a Protein Treatment. I think one of the hardest part of this regimen will be trying not to manipulate my hair a lot. I just feel like I have to comb my hair everyday. I just can't deal with having matted hair. So yeah that is going to be tough.

Next week I'm going out of town so I will be flat ironing my hair. I'm going to try to cut my heat use down to every other week then hopefully once a month after a while. Next week I've also decided that I'm just going to shampoo on monday and do a cowash on Friday or Saturday. I hate washing my hair away from home so I'll resume my regular schedule the following week.

Oh yeah about my flat iron I have no idea what type it is. I was told it was a ceramic one but I'm not sure if it's just coated to be honest. So obviously I'm currently looking for a new one.
I'm thinking about going with the Solia Tourmaline Ceramic Ion Flat Iron. The Chi Digital flat irons seem decent but I just don't want to dish out $100+ for that.

That is all for now. Next up I'll probably be posting my wishlist of products. I may even just post some random junk on my mind who knows. Peace out~

So today is the day. Maybe?!?! I'm not sure...+HAUL!

Well I was going to wash my hair today. The only thing is it decided to rain. I can't wash my hair with wet weather outside. I feel there is some old superstition out there that warns against it. I can't remember nor do I even know if this exist. This superstition could very well be all in my head. I might wash my hair anyway. My scalp is so dry and is itching like crazy. I'm feeling like I can't wait another day. Plus I planned to try this bun out style. Who knows.

Even though the weather seems to have possibly rained on my parade the show must go on. I was intending to post my regimen. I also wanted to post the haul of products I purchased to help me along this journey. So let us (or me) begin....


Now will be a good time to give you my hair stats.

Length: NL/SL
Hair Type: 4a/b
Ideal Length: APL/BSL
Relaxed/Natural: Relaxed

For those who were wondering:
NL= Neck Length
SL= Shoulder Length
APL= Arm Pit Length
BSL= Bra Strap Length

There are many more but they don't pertain to me. They are either too long or too short of a length for my liking. Believe me the more length the more work. I have thick hair so anything longer then BSL is just too much work for me. Plus what is truly important is the health not necessarily the length.

Next up are the products and tools that I will be using. Most of these will most likely vary overtime. For the time being here are the products/tools I will be using:


These are what I like to call my essentials~

Creme of Nature Detangling Conditioning Shampoo
Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner
Vo5 Moisture Milks Strawberries & Cream Shampoo and Conditioner
GVP Hair Reconstructor
Elasta QP Recovery Moisturizer
Braid Spray
Profectiv Mega Growth Lotion
Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise
Organic Root Stimulator Replenishing Pak
100% Coconut oil

Next up are my tool~

Rollers
Hair Clips
Spray Bottles
Squirt Bottle
Paddle Brush
Satin Nightcap
Hair Pins
Ouchless Hair Bands
Shower Caps
Wide Toothed Comb
Soft Boar Hair Brush



Last but not least are my extras~


Healthy Hair Skin & Nail Plus Pomegranate 40:40
Castor Oil
Garnier Fructis Length & Strength Anti-Split Ends Leave-In Treatment
Aussie Hair Insurance Tip Protector+Leave-In Conditioner
Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Conditioner
Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave In Split In Protector

That is all for now.....I'll hopefully be posting my regimen next time.