I've been featured

Yesterday I was featured on True Naturalista (thanks True)

Check me out (here).

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

Does season change = hair change?

I guess because of the bad winter storm we experienced last month, I’m especially looking forward to the warm spring and summer days

Many focus on protecting their hair from

Shower or Sink?

Which is best for your wash day routine? Is one really better than the other? I can see this debate go several ways. Maybe one is more convenient/easier for you. Maybe one “plays nicer” due to

Look at what I did!!! (see pics)

Ok, I’ve LONG past the potty training stage but I was so proud of myself on Saturday! Why you ask? Because I did crochet braids all by myself. I think they turned out nice for my first try. I watched some tutorials on Youtube (of course) and figured I would give this protective style a whirl.

I washed and deep conditioned my hair on Friday. Then I put it in big plaits and air dried overnight. In the morning I put my hair in 12 cornrows straight back and began the process. I used Freetress Water Wave in 1B (a little less then 2 bags). It took me roughly 5 hours to install. I hope to maintain this style for at least a month.

So let me know what you think. . . .

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

Protein: Love It or Leave It?

So far in my hair journey, I haven’t put a real big emphasis on protein applications. I’ve used it (infrequently) in the past and my hair seems to do fine while some don’t favor protein. I do not intentionally avoid proteins, but the majority of products I use on my hair don’t contain them. Sheer curiosity has me pondering protein now; wondering if my hair will benefit from regular treatments. So far, I’m not looking at anything heavy (like ApHogee) but maybe 1 or 2 times a month I could use a light protein conditioner and see how that goes.

These are my considerations:

Komaza Care Intense Moisture Therapy – I already have this product and I’ve used it with nice results.

Aubrey Organic GPB Conditioner – I recently purchased this but haven’t tried it yet.

Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner – I’ve heard great reviews on this product.

Giovanni Smooth as Silk Xtreme Protein Hair Infusion – I’ve heard great reviews on this product also.

Giovanni Nutrafix Hair Reconstructor – I’ve heard great reviews on this product as well.

Now you dish! How does your hair do with protein? Do you use kitchen ingredients for your treatments (I would love your recipes :-)) or do you have a fave store bought conditioner?

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

Hair Journaling: 3 Month Progress Report

Disappointed by slow growth!

On December 30, 2009 I decided I was going to get serious about documenting my hair journey. On this day, I took measurements and pictures of my hair. I planned to check my progress every three months (March, June, September and December). It’s a bit shy of the 3 month mark but I needed to take my measurements now since I’ll be installing braids over the weekend.

In December my measurements were from 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 inches. Yesterday my measurements were from 6 to 8 inches. Why the slow progress? If hair grows from the scalp an average of half an inch every month, I should have at least 1 inch growth. I’m so frustrated! I’ve been up on moisturizing and protective styling. Although the healthy eating and exercise has been lacking, I was hopeful for more then what has been obtained.

I don’t know if genetics has the major say here or not but since I don’t plan on taking supplements again, I may try a growth oil. I already have a few in my stash (and one on order) so maybe while I am wearing braids I can use it on my scalp several times a week.

So that’s my story for now. I’ll update you in June with my 6 month progress report. Keeping my fingers crossed. . . . . . .

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

Tshirts: Natural Hair Community

**YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! PLEASE WATCH.**

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

On the hunt: Komaza Care Review

As a follow up on this post, I wanted to let you know my results on the 3 deep conditioners on my radar. You can read about #1 here and #2 here. This is the third one I tried:

Komaza Care Olive Moisture Mask http://www.komazahaircare.com/products/120/Olive+Moisture+Mask.html
Size: 4 and 16 ounces
Cost: $6.50 and $16
Ingredients: Water, Dipalmitoylethyldimonium Chloride (A derivitive of Palm Oil), Behentrimonium, virgin olive oil, olive butter, aloe butter, soybean oil, coconut oil, polyquaternium, quaternium 87, jojoba infused with nettles, horsetail, rosemary, peppermint, marshmallow, xanthan gum, pro vitamin B5, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B6, allantoin, honey, inositol,citric acid, rosemary essential oil, lavender essential oil, lemon essential oil, Polysorbate 20, cinnamon cassia, potassium sorbate.
Product description/claims: Created for all African American hair textures. This thick creamy olive butter deep conditioner is designed to detangle, moisturize, and soften hair to put an end to breakage. Komaza Olive Moisture Mask does not contain proteins making it friendly to deep condition weekly if you choose.

What I did: Pre-pooed with oil overnight. I cleansed with diluted shampoo. Then I applied the Olive Moisture Mask to my hair in sections and detangled. I put on a plastic cap and wrapped a towel on my head to let my body heat do the work. After an hour, I rinsed it out and continued with my styling routine.

My say: I have enjoyed other Komaza Care products so I was excited to try this. The conditioner is creamy, thick and has a nice scent. It took a bit more effort to detangle than the first conditioner I reviewed but it was not as bad as the second one. My hair did feel amazing afterward and I am pleased with the ingredient list. Most likely I will repurchase this product but the Love from Sweet Nature by Eddie is top on my list at the moment! :-)

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

March Mission

After last weekend’s hair ritual, I was feeling bored and lazy. Instead of going into a styling session, I decided to wear my hair back in a ponytail, baggie my ends and sport a phony pony. My last rendezvous with the baggie method was approached differently but this way is nice also. I’ve been wearing my hair like this all week and I’ve been enjoying this little “break”. Before going to bed, I remove the phony pony, baggie and take the hair band out. Then I just throw everything back in the next morning – only takes 5 minutes. I make sure my ponytail is not too tight so I don’t put unnecessary stress on my hairline.

Anyway, it got me to thinking how long I can keep this up. Since I started hair journaling in January, I am scheduled to do a progress check at the end of this month. So why not see if I can continue this until then. I’ve committing to a month long challenge of baggying (spl?) and wearing phony ponies. I’ll keep you all updated.

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily