Super Easy Two Strand Flat Twist Protective Style

 I originally found this hairstyle on YouTube. The girl who was in the vid had hair that was super long to her knees so I was not sure if this would work for me. I tried it about a month ago and could not make it work. I tried it again on Friday and it worked! So ladies don't give up on hair styles. My hair is between 6.5 and 7 inches. So it is not that long. It was super easy too. The tutorial is below.

 So this is my first tutorial video. It has some issues in the beginning. I don't know what happened lol. This video actually shows the second time I did it. I did it way better the first time so I need to start taping the first time I do hair styles. Hope you enjoy!

Finger Comber Looks

About a month ago I was rocking this Finger Comber wig everyday. It even traveled with me to San Fran and Seattle. Here are a few of my fave looks with it:

You can buy the floral hair accessory here.

With my girl Chanda and Tony Pirata.

WIth my friend Pascal from Kizomba Chicago.

Hmmm I don't think  nursing hats are made for afros.

Overall the wig was super easy to use. It did get hot sometimes while dancing. And I kinda was afraid at times someone was going to spin me the wrong way and it was going to fall out. A few times random folks just put their hands in it. So ladies I HIGHLY recommend that combs are put into the front. Those combs saved me lol. Otherwise you are going to be in an embarrassing situation cause the wig will easily come off with out combs put into the front.

I would say my hair grew at least an inch during the two months I wore the wig. It easily accommodated my two strand twists underneath. And everyone thought it was real! It blended perfectly with my kinky 4a and 4b hair.

Why did I stop wearing it? Hmmm.  Simply because I grew bored of it. I still love it though and I am sure I will wear in randomly in the future.

I would say the Finger Comber wig is well worth it's money. I have convinced 3 of my friends to buy one and they love it too!

 You can buy the wig here.

My Granny Is Natural Too!

I went to visit my granny and I did her hair. Her hair is really long, fine, soft,  and gray.

I did a simple roll tuck pin hairstyle. I really just wanted an excuse to spend time with her. It is so funny, growing up, she always wore wigs cause she said her hair would not grow. Now that she has stopped wearing wigs her hair has grown longer than it has ever been. She even remarked "Now that I am about to die, my hair wants to grow."

Failed Twist Out Hairstyle

Hello world! Today's hairstyle is the result of a failed twistout.



I used this product called Curl La La  that I found at the Family Dollar Store. I was attempting to do a product review for this blog. This quickly reminded me of why I do not like to use store bought products on my hair. I did a twist out in my normal fashion using the product. By morning my hair was not dry. I was super annoyed by this. I put a head wrap on and continued throughout my day. By afternoon my hair STILL was not dry. I can't wear a headwrap to nursing school so I just untwisted my hair damp, twisted the front to the side and put the back in a puff.

I will do a full reveiw of Curl La La at a later date. So far, they are not getting good review from me. I only bought the product because it was five dollars.

Kinky Love: Kendra and David

So my good friends Kendra and David are getting married! I am super SUPER excited for them! They are very well known in the salsa community in Nashville. They teach Casino Rueda classes and other styles of salsa throughout the city.

Kendra had kinky twists for a while. Can you tell David is in Nashville?
I think the hat gives it away. 

They go out like this everyday. 

Anyone who is friends with David on Facebook knows that he is in LOVE with his KMM! I wanted to know how he felt about her hair. Of course he loves that too lol. 

Here is what David had to say about Kendra's hair:

(I see a few typos in the vid...please excuse! It will be edited later. I am not a pro at blogging yet lol.)

Music City Naturals Hair Event 2013!

IT WAS THE BOMB!!!!

Here is why:

I got to wear my flower dress!

And I did my makeup!

This sister looked like a beautiful plant in her dress!

Nice space at Vandy.

Lots of nice vendors.

Her hair was hot!

Her locs were lovely!

Lot's of spontaneous, small group discussions about natural hair. 

Kinky Gal Lola came to the event with her hair like this:

And left with her hair like this thanks to the One Brush!

There were free goodie bags!

Amber's hair was an awesome purple color!

Everyone loooooved my hair!

I saw some old coworkers!

And made some new friends!

Overall it was a great event. The best part was seeing so many natural haired ladies around. The only thing that was kinda suspect was this Design Essential's "no damage" straightening treatment that is supposed to not make your hair permanently straight. Other than that, it was all good!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Me and my granny Willie Mae Brodie.

Natural Beauty's

She said she does not like to smile because she "does not have any teeth." LOL!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's from the present and future!

How should I wear my hair for the Music City Naturals Hair Event? Hmmmmm....

I have a few ideas in mind. I will more than likely do my favorite hair style that always gets tons of compliments and is super super easy to do. If you have been a follower of the blog it should be of no surprise to you.

Hint: It is a roll, tuck, pin hairstyle. I will reveal it tomorrow!

I am very excited about this event. I plan on meeting a few people there. There is a natural chica named Amber of Nashville Natty's who is doing a documentary about natural hair so we will meet up tomorrow. On Facebook it says this lady whose kids I used to babysit will be there so maybe I will see her. The day is sure to be full of surprises!

Check out Amber's blog here. She was also recently featured on Black Girl Long Hair.

If you are natural in Nashville and would like to be a part of her film then check out the film's  website and contact her.

For more info on the Music City Naturals Hair Event click here.

Let's have an honest, frank discussion about using coochie cream on you scalp.

I was at work the other day and this lady comes in and shares with me her natural hair story. I love that women frequently come up to me and start talking about hair. She revels that she is a new natural and is enjoying the process of discovering her natural hair.  As we continue to converse I ask her what products she is using. She proceeds to tell me that she uses vaginal cream in her hair.

I was very taken aback by this. Now when I say vaginal cream I mean the cream that you use to clear up fungal infections in your vagina. So something like a Monistat. She then proceeds to tell me that there are a ton of ladies who swear by it and the she has experienced tremendous hair growth because of it. I did a Google search and there are indeed quite a bit of people who use coochie cream in their hair on a regular basis. In fact this lady has a whole blog dedicated to the subject.

Now I consider myself a very open person, however I am NOT putting coochie cream in my hair. Actually, I probably would not even put coochie cream in my vagina without trying other methods first. It is a drug and drug have many side effects. I am gonna breakdown why this drug may work for some ladies and also why I will not be using it.

Anti-fungal vaginal cream is miconazole nitrate. This molecule is made of the drug miconazole and a nitrate. Miconazole is an anti-fungal which is pretty harmless when applied topically. It is not absorbed through the skin that much, however if you apply it everyday like some of the women do then the small amount of drug absorption will add up over time. Topically miconazole is NOT supposed be used long term. The side effects are are mainly application irritation and maybe an allergic reaction. If you have fungus issues on your scalp that impede hair growth, they may be relieved by applying this drug. However, I would also like to add that proper pH balance of scalp and good hygiene practices will also eliminate fungus on your scalp. Additionally there are other more natural treatment options for scalp fungus such as tea tree oil.

  

Now let's talk about the other part of this molecule: the nitrate. I called my pharmacist friend Eejay and she say that nitrates in drugs are usually used to balance the drug out, whatever that means (it was a lot of confusing nerdy drug talk lol). Some of the ladies on the websites say that this ingredient has a vasodialation effect. In other words, it expands your blood vessels. It is a known fact that nitroglycerin is used to expand blood vessels. When people have had a heart attack they are usually given nitroglycerin tablets to expand blood vessels which get more blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. If the nitrate in this drug has this effect, then yes, it will cause an increase in hair growth. When more blood gets to the scalp there is more blood, oxygen, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals which are good for hair growth.

  

HOWEVER it should be noted that blood flow to the scalp can also be increased by simple non pharmaceutical means such as scalp massage, exercise, and eating right. furthermore a rapid increase in blood vessels diameter can cause unintended side effects such as headaches (a reported side effects of using coochie cream on your scalp), low blood pressure, feeling faint and dizzy, and tingling. If the nitrate in this drug is indeed a vasodilator then the user will also develop a tolerance to it and the effects will

go away and users may even experience withdrawal symptoms if they quit using it.

Another thing...miconazole nitrate is NOT to be used while pregnant, especially in the first trimester. So if you are trying to get pregnant you should stay away.

Really? Ladies let's have a chat. Come have a seat.

Honestly ladies I just have to ask this question: Really? Are you serious? I mean, in an effort to grow hair we will resort to putting an unproven drug on our scalp? I guess that just speaks to people's desire to have things quick, fast, and in a hurry without putting in the work. We get liposuction/lap band surgery instead of putting in the work to lose weight. We fall prey to get rich quick schemes to make money quickly. WE PUT FREAKING VAGINAL CREAM IN OUR HAIR instead of using good hair practices like moisturizing, protective styling, careful detangling,  and limited heat use.

I have a laid back personality so I maybe I just don't feel passionate enough about my hair growing long  to understand why someone would do this. In general I try to stay away from pharmaceutical drugs and rely on more natural plant drugs to heal many ailments that I have. A lot of these drugs are made from plants anyways. They simply extract the active ingredient and concentrate it which then takes the drug out of it's natural balanced state and brings about all types of unintended side effects.

If you have fungus growth then you should take a step back, listen your body, and reflect on why fungus is growing. It means something is out of balance. This is true with any disease. I got hit with the flu this winter around my birthday and it was totally because I was doing too much partying, bad eating, and not resting So my body said, "Enough!" and forced me to stay in bed for 10 days to recover and rest. Fungus growth usually means you are consuming too much sugar and starches.

If you have fungus issues on your scalp you can do the following:

• Eat a diet full of fresh fruits and veggies. Good health ALWAYS starts from the inside out.
• Tea tree oil is a known very powerful anti-fungal.
• Raw papaya is an anti-fungal. Rub pieces over your scalp.
• Aloe vera gel on problem areas.
• Proper hair washing and hair drying.

 

If you want to increase blood flow to your scalp you can to the following:

• Again diet! Keep your blood vessels free and unclogged by eating lots of fruits and veggies!
• Exercise expands your blood vessles and increases blood flow all over your body.
• Scalp massage.
• Moving your head below the level of your heart. Simply bend over at the waist and let gravity help you. Do this for 10 secs and give yourself time to recover. Repeat if you want. Please do this sitting so you won't fall from being dizzy lol.
• Inverted yoga poses help for the same reasons as above.  

So there you have it folks. Using coochie cream on your scalp more than likely will not harm you but there are other more effective and proven ways to achieve hair growth. I would proceed with caution if you have sensitive skin, if you are prone to headaches, pregnant or trying to be,  if you have blood pressure problems, or if you have an allergy to any of the ingredients. Personally, I will not be using it.

Ladies (and men) have you used vaginal cream on your scalp? What were the results? Would you use it? Are you repulsed or saddened that women are doing this? Am I being harsh and over dramatic? Share your thoughts below!

Shout Out To My Blog Readers + Dark And Lovely Knot Out Product Review

Shout Out To My Readers!!!

First off I would like to say that my blog readership has grown a lot over the past 8-9 months. I think it is because I have been posting more. I check the stats of the blog everyday and I am always surprised to see what countries pop up. Of course I have readers from the US, Canada, and the UK, but I am always surprised by what other countries visit. There has been a country I had never even heard of called Suriname which is located in South America, there are quite a bit of readers from Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands. Germany pops up every now and then (Hello Yori!). Of course there are lots of places in the Caribbean like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia. And there are lots of African countries like Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa that are regular visitors. I have not had any Asian visitors though....lol.

So hello to all my blog readers and thanks for reading! Please leave a comment down below and post your website or blog!

Dark and Lovely Knot Out Product Review

Ingredients: AQUA / WATER / EAU, CETEARYL A L C O H O L , E L A E I S G U I N E E N S I S O I L / PA L M O I L , BEHENTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE, GLYCERIN, PHENOXYETHANOL, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, STEARAMIDOPROPYL DIMETHYLAMINE, MANGIFERA INDICA S E E D O I L / M A N G O S E E D O I L , C A P RY L I C / C A P R I C , T R I G LY C E R I D E , C I T R I C A C I D , C H L O R H E X I D I N E DIHYDROCHLORIDE, BENZYL SALICYLATE, LINALOOL, BAMBUSA VULGARIS EXTRACT.

I have been spending a lot of time at my boo's house. I don't have my usual arsenal of coconut oil, shea butter, oils, essential oils, honey, and ACV at his place to make my hair products so in a pinch I went to Target and saw that Dark and Lovely has come out with a line for natural hair.

Now let me just say that when I went natural back in the day the only thing we had was pretty much Carol's Daughter and Miss Jessies. That is it. These products were hard to purchase at local stores. They were always sold out or we had to order online. That is why a lot of old school naturals started making their own products. After that a few other independent lines started coming out with products for kinky hair. Then about 4-5 years ago it seems that the major hair companies such as Soft-Sheen Carson, Loreal and the others realized that they too could get black women's dollars and started creating natural hair care lines.

I am usually very, very suspicious of larger white owned corporations and their natural hair products. They usually use ingredients that are cheap and are not beneficial to the health of hair. I have nationalist roots (black power fist) so I really do believe in supporting black owned companies. If I do buy a hair product I try to use one without glycerin, alcohol, or silicones (explanations to come in a later post). With all that being said, I was in a pinch and needed to wash and detangle my hair. I chose this product because it said it had good "slip" and it was cheap. The ingredients are very questionable though. This has silicones and alcohol lol. So I will leave this at his house and only use when desperate.

As far as how it worked, it worked really well. It did have nice to it and a little went a long way. My hair detangled with ease and it was soft, though I can't attribute that to the detangle exclusively.  So an A for how it worked and an F on the ingredients.

So you may ask why did I not choose a black owned detangler. Because they are too darn expensive lol. I don't have $15 to spend on a bottle that will last a month. For me, it is not worth it. I will continue to make my own for much cheaper.

How do you all feel about the larger commercial companies making kinky haired products? Do you feel they are just jumping on the bandwagon?

Slightly Harder Roll Tuck Pin Hairstyle

            Continuing with my theme of roll, tuck, pin protective styles...this one was a little harder. It was harder because my hair was a little too short for this. At last check it was between 6.5 and 7 inches. I kinda had trouble getting it to roll properly in some areas. Maybe this would not have been a problem if my hair was properly stretched. At this point, I am in serious need of a wash. I put a bit of water and shea butter on it last night to combat dryness and this more than likely contributed to it shrinking some. Plus I like to do hairstyle with my hair curly textured so this also contributed to the shrinkage.

This hairstyle also took a bit longer to do. Most of the hairstyles can be achieved in 6-10 minutes. This one  took about 15 minutes. If I had not been late and in a rush this morning it would not have seen the light of day. The tutorial is listed below. I did a few things different from the tutorial. First off I don't really brush or manipulate my hair with styling tools that much. I feel this contributes to breakage. Plus my hair has not been detangled in about a week so brushing without detangling is a recipe for lots of unnecessary hair breakage. The tutorial calls for stretched hair. My hair was not really stretched that much.

Super Easy Roll Tuck Pin Protective Style

Continuing with my protective styling....YAWN!!! Protective styling sucks!

For those that have not been following, I am going to attempt to do protective styles at least 5 days out of the week. Protective styles are defined as styles in which none of the ends of your hair are showing. Protectives styles protect the ends of your hair which are the oldest and most fragile portions. When people say that their hair won't grow it is a matter of their hair breaking off, not of their hair not growing. In order to see hair growth you must retain the hair that is already on your head. Protective styling is a great way to help this process. Or at least that is what all the long haired ladies on YouTube say. For me, I love big afros so this has kinda been a challenge mentally for me. I am always trying to find new hairstyles that work on my short hair.

Today I have a roll, tuck, and pin hairstyle. Theses styles are good if you have streched out hair that needs to be washed and detangled but you have not had the time to do so just yet. They are really, really simple and work on my short 6.5 inch hair.



The hairsyle is cute, it is kinda retro which are styles that I like. Like I said it was super easy to do. The tutorial is below.

Ladies! I need help! What are some of your fave toll, tuck, and pin hairstyles? Post them in the comments section.