Happy Halloween + 3 Strand Twist

Happay Halloween! This is my fave holiday! I dressed up as some sort of wild cat. I have one a leopard print dress.

I think my boss is cool with it. Oh well!

I also did a three strad twist out on my hair. I have mixed feelings about it. For one, my hair is still not that long. I feel that it would have looked better if I had longer hair. 3 strand twists results in really defined curls. Next,  It took about twice as long as a regular two strand twists. Last I was at my BF house when I woke up and I did not have all the proper hair tools so maybe I could have done something else with it if I had been at home. At any rate, this is my Halloween look. You can see a vid on how to do a three strand twists below.

Have a great day!

I Felt Like Cooking

So I am off work. I have a little more free time than normal. So I decided to go grocery shopping and cook. I was quickly reminded why I don't cook that much. I don't mind cooking. I love cooking. I hate cleaning up. That is why I usually cook at my BF house. He cleans up (usually).

Today I made plantains, coconut rice, and spinach seasoned with thyme and garlic, salt and pepper. It was a simple meal but very tasty.

First I chopped half an onion, half a tomato, and one clove of garlic.

Next I sliced the plantain diagonally. This sticker was on it.  I thought it was cute!

The onions and garlic were sauteed. 

At this time I also started cooking the plantain. I used coconut oil and fried them over med heat. 

Next I added tomatoes to the onions and garlic. I also added thyme, salt and pepper,and red pepper for spice. 

I added the spinach. This is one of those pre washed spinach box thingys. It seems like a lot...

...but this is what it amounts too lol. 

Lunch is served! 

 To make the coconut rice I just put a can of coconut milk in the rice cooker instead of water. The sweetness balanced out the spiciness of the spinach. I have eaten...Now I am ready for a nap. Till next time!

Fall Weather Skin and Hair Butters

Well...it is fall. I hate cold weather. I am a tropical girl. I am always freezing.  It wreaks havoc on my skin. My skin used to be perpetually dry until I discovered the wonders of shea butter. Now winter is bearable.

I want to share a recipe I use to keep my skin from being dry in cold weather. 

The tools needed are a stove, a small pot, and a measuring cup that can be boiled. I used a pyrex cup.

 

I boiled some water and placed the cup in the water

My main ingredient is shea butter. I had a ex who ships stuff to and from Africa. He got me a whole ball of shea butter. I have had this for at least three years and only made a small dent in it.

.

 I also have various oils and butters that I use to make the shea butter more spreadable. Today I used  a little jojoba oil, almond butter, olive butter, and coconut oil. I get most of my supplies from soapgoods.com. The almond butter used is not the kind that you eat from a grocery store. It is this kind used for cosmetics. You can find and example here.

 I added the shea butter to the cup and let it melt. I added 10 oz.

When it melted I added the jojoba oil. It was not that much.

 Next I added 2 spoonfuls of almond butter.

 I added one spoonful of olive butter. I olive butter is kinda grainy so i usually don't add much of it.

 Finally I added enough coconut oil to make 2 cups of liquid. As you can see this is not an exact science lol.

 Here are my tins that I use to put the butter in. I reuse them over and over till they break. Each one can hold 8 oz.

 I use this strainer to filter the shea butter. Sometimes it had bits of I don't know what in it.

 Poured in the butter. I had a little left over so I have these tiny tins I use. They are great to take on the go. I take one if I am traveling or to work with me.

All done! In all the process took about 10 mins. You can use it while it is liquid or wait for it too harden. To make it harden faster (that's what he said) you can put it in the fridge.  If you want to add essential oils or other smell good oils I would add when the butter had cooled some otherwise it is going to burn off while the butter is hot. I usually just keep the natural smell.

This can be used on my hair and body. It works well with a twistout.

What are some hair/skin butter recipes that you use?

Dancing In The Night Away

So I have been M.I.A....

This past weekend was the Hotlanta Salsa Congress in Atlanta. My dance group Nashville Rueda had a performance. I had to mentally and physically prepare myself for it and for the weekend full of dancing. I partied till 3am + every night. Met lots of wonderful people, saw lots of old friends, got inspired, improved my dancing, and had a wonderful time.

So I am currently obsessed with this dance called Kizomba. It is from Angola and is danced to Zouk music from Martinique, Guadalupe, and Haiti. I took a few workshops from Kizomba NYC and I am working hard to bring it to Nashville. Here are a few clips from the workshops:

Her name is Annie and his name is Joel. They are Haitian.

Annie and Ivo. I think he is Brazillian but not sure.

This weekend we were going to have a perfromance in Knoxville, however, it will probably by cancelled. I had a death in my fam and a few other team members had some things going on. The next weekend we will be in ATL again for the MySalsa Festival. I am super excited. Last year the festival was super fun and this year will be even better. That was where I learned how to dance Palo and where I met the awesome Daybert. They have classes in Kizomba, Casino, and afro-cuban dance. If you are in the area you should stop by.

 When I go to ATL I will get to dance with my friends Else and Patrice from Martinique, Daybert and Lena from Florida, Chris form NY,  and all my peeps in ATL. Look for more vids to come! Maybe I will take a vid of my dancing lol.

So what do you all think of Kizomba...It is HOT right?

Out On The Town

Me and my boo EK went out on the town. We went to Maggiano's. Really I just wanted an excuse to wear my new outfit. I am slightly obsessed with peplums and animal print at the moment...so I bought an animal print shirt with a peplum lol. Peplums are good if you have a slight tummy cause they hide it and they emphasis your hips and booty. I got my whole outfit from asos.com. The top is here and the bottom is here. They have free shipping both ways!!!

Since I chopped my color off I have not been liking the way my fro has been looking. It is kinda short in the front and longer in the back...like a fro mullet. Oh well. Guess I just have to grow it out. The best way to grow out hair for my is some type of twists so that is what I will be doing soon.



I like how this pic looks kinda old school.



Front of outfit.

My Henna Experience

Hola Lindas!

So I told you all an an earlier post that I bought some Henna. Well I used it this weekend and I have mixed emotions lol. On one had I felt like a total complete hippie. I literally ahd mud in my hair. However, my hair does feel great today so I am gonna repeat the process again in the future. I want to say that I am gonna do it two times a month however, once a month is more realistic.  I purchased the henna from here.

First I measured out one cup of henna.

Next I added some honey to the henna.

Next I added water to make it a paste the consistancy of yorgurt. I planned on adding some green tea, however I discovered that I did not have green tea. Oh well, next time.

It smelled like a green tea, herby, plant like substance. I can't even believe I put this on my hair lol. I was totally grossed out at this point but I felt I had to continue.

Here is an up close pic of the henna in my hair.

So I put it on and let it sit for about three hours. I actually took a nap. I did not sleep well though. Then I got up and rinsed it out my hair. I have to admit that my hair felt thicker and moisturized after I rinsed the henna out and put some conditioner on. Next time I want to use green tea and also leave it in overnight. I will probably do it next week when I am off work for fall break.

So what has been your henna experience? Do you all have any tips for me?



Kinky Gal Lola

Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Lola. I am from Chattanooga, TN where natural hair was not accepted when I was much younger but sneaking in slowly.

 Why did you go natural?
I went natural in the 6th grade for no real reason just to rebel on my mother who loved hair , so I went to a beautician and she cute if off... FULL FADE!! I was definitely mistaken for a boy from behind; from teacher who did not know me....Good thing I had ghetto friends to curse them out as I watched in silence. I use to walk away looking at the teacher like, "Im sorry you have to get blessed out by my friend." hehehehe

How long have you been natural?
I have been natural since age 11, got a relaxer at 16, got rid of the relaxer at 18. Still natural at the age of 25.

Sometimes Lola likes to go out in public like this. It is a fetish.

What is your hair care routine?
I wet my hair and add shea butter...style as desired.

Did you transition? Tell me about your transitioning process.
Lets just say I knew nothing. Thank God for beauticians!!! Its funny b/c when we come over to the freedom side we realize we are product junkies which in all actuality make natural hair very expensive when you first get into it. You live and you learn.

Lola with Nashville Rueda

What are your fave products?
Shea Butter

Who is your hair icon?
My Aunt JD Richards, b/c she is a pioneer for natural hair. She has worked with chemist to customize products for ppl like us, so we can go from straight and tight kink.

What has helped your hair growth?
I would have to say braids, but I don't let my hair grow that much. I cut it off when I feel like it. The men in my life have never complained. If they do, why did they get with me in the first place.

Eejay and Lola

What has hindered your hair growth?
Color and dryness

How do you feel about relaxers?
I don't hate them, but I figure why go get you hair straightened permanently when you can have the versatility of both worlds.

How has going natural changed your life?
Well before I went natural people didn't ask me, "why did you cut your hair?" I really have a problem with that b/c I have cut my hair wearing a relaxer and no one would say anything. Happy nappy me always got 24 questions when I went natural. It has made me a stronger women, I must say. I'm more confident and I know that what ever I display on my head is not going to be the end of me. So many people get caught up in what type of weave is in fashion its a trip. Also people assume my hair never grows b/c of the tight curl pattern I have. I literally went to the barber shop they picked out my hair and was amazed b/c it was packed down. What can I say its Kunta!!lol

What is your current hair goal?
To keep it moisturized.

Lola as a leopard

How have men responded to you being natural?
 I have dated all men while natural....Indian, black, white, red and yellow! There are some that feel it is too much for them; they are all brainwashed by the American Dream...lol Men go through the same thing in embracing their natural hair as well.(I wont go into it) They have more respect for me, but they don't approach me so well. They tend to ask close friends about me but never do they approach me. I'm not intimidating...just saying.

Things you wish you knew when you first went natural?
That it would be such a big thing NOW!!

Lola at Halloween

Anything else you want to tell me?
Natural is still evolving, its something people aren't running away from now.

Lola and David Lucas

Do you have a website/youtube page you would like to share?
NOPE!!! but check out my friends t-shirts at naturalbeautifulme.myshopify.com/

My Henna is Here!

Hola lindas! So I have heard so much about the wonders of henna that I have decided to order me some from Henna for Hair. It came in the mail earlier last week. I am BEYOND excited. I will get to working on this this coming weekend.

In the mean time I have been researcher how I want to apply the product. I am not applying it for color, but for conditioning. My hair is so dark I dont expect it to color much anyways.

I think I am going to go with the following recipe:

1/4 cup henna powder
1 tbsp honey
1teaspoon olive oil
lemon juice
water to make it pasty (not sure how much yet)

When I do it this weekend I will let you all know how it turns out!

I do have a few concerns though. I have heard henna will loosen curls somewhat. I don't want my curls to be loosened. Hopefully it won't happen to me. Time will tell.

Dreadlocks For Sale

At first when I saw that you could buy some locs on Etsy for $300 I was kinda grossed out...but then I guess it is no different than buying remi hair or brazillian hair. It just seems like locs are more....connected to the person.

I know people put a lot of time and energy into growing and caring for locs. Maybe somehow this energy will be connected to the new owner....

$300 for 50 locs

Afro Puffy Twists

At some point earlier in the year I ordered some Nafy Collection afro puffy hair from here. I was attempting to do some Havana twists but at the time I did not know which hair to use. The twists were not Havana twists but they were in so I wore them for about 6 weeks. They were very easy to maintain. When I washed them they were not as heavy as the loooooong kinky twits I had before. And they dried much quicker too. Overall I enjoyed them. I still have the hair and may put them in again. They only problem I had was them slipping out of the back of my hair which was super short back then.

Side view of the twists. I was making a rum cake.

I do capoiera with Groupo Balanca. This was when I got my first cord.

Lulu, Eejay, Crystal, Me, Drea, and baby Caleb.

Lulu, Me, and Ivalisse. We were at the Salsatlanta Casino Congress.

I was at my friends graduation. I ordered the dress from here. The lady makes custom dresses from teh 40's and 50's.

Me and my friend Stephanie.

Me and Kana Dancing Casino at African Street Festival

They were playing salsa music....what other choice did we have?



The song is called "Aicha" by the African salsa group Africando.

Excuse Me But You Have Food In Your Hair

Hello everyone!

This post is about the many different foods that you can use to condition your hair. I really like using natural food products for hair and skin care. If you can't eat it you really should not be putting products on you skin and hair. You skin is the largest organ and absorbs whatever is put on it. Although many commercial products contain only minute amounts of harmful chems, over time it can add up.

Not only can making your own concoctions be better for your health, but you can save a lot of money as well. That is the main reason I make my own products.

So here are some of my top hair care recipes using food.

Pre-poo conditioning treatment

  Ingredients:  Coconut Oil (virgin or refined)  +  Honey

Simply add 1 tablespoon of honey to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Mix together and apply to hair.

The coconut oil acts and a moisturizer and conditioner because it's molocules are small enough to slip into the hair shaft . The honey is a humectant and draws moisture out of the hair into the hair follicle. Don't worry-the mixture won't be sticky.

Pre-pooing is coonditioning your hair before you use shampoo. Many naturals suffer from dryness and shampoo can make dryness ever worse. Using a pre-poo treatment can help to combat dryness caused by a shampoo and can make de-detangling easier. When I use my pre-poo treatment I dampen my hair and then place the coconut oil and honey and my hair and let it sit for at least 30 min. Then I rinse with water and use shampoo or sometimes I just co-wash.

Kinky Gal Clothing

Greetings kinky haired people.

There is lots of cute clothing for people with natural hair. Here are a few of my faves.

 


Kinky T-shirt
Availabe here for $25.00

 



Kinky necklace
Available here for $25

 
 

 

Afro pic earrings
Available here for $30







Available here for $25.00