Saturday, January 15, 2011
Beware of Tight Braids
OK...I'm sorry but these braids look to damn tight. My edges would be screaming for dear life. Look closely Curlies at the cornrows around her hair line..OUCH!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Running While Natural
I guess you could call me a runner...sounds funny when I say it, but yours truly laces up her kicks and runs half marathons (13.1 miles) for shits and giggles...LMAO Below is a blog post I did for Black Girls Run. 
Since it's the start of a new year, why not take advantage of all he benefits of being natural...especialy exercise. Check out the post below...Running While Natural.
“Girl I do NOT want to sweat out my hair!!” You will hear this same mantra repeated by many women of color whether their hair is relaxed or natural! Many of us don’t take to kindly to sweating out a $50 deep condition, blow dry and style, and the same applies to natural ladies who have spent a few hours putting two strand twist in their hair in hopes of achieving the perfect twist out. Burning serious calories equals sweating and there is nothing quite like the sweat produced when pounding the pavement and running.
Whether you want to call it highly textured hair, natural hair, kinky hair, curly hair or nappy hair, the result is the same after a long run…a scalp filled with salt and sweat which is a lethal combination for your tresses. The salt that sweat produces dries out your scalp and can leave your hair looking dull, brittle and lifeless if you don’t care for your hair properly.
So how do you care for your locks and still get your fitness on???? The answer is water…good old fashioned H2O. This is what works for me and several other ladies I know who “run while natural.” Each of us will have to find what works for our specific hair, but I think my routine is as good place as any to start with.
I will not allow sweat and salt to sit on my scalp for more than 2 days without rinsing my scalp with plain old water. This means if I run two days in a row, on the second day after my run I will rinse my scalp and hair with water while in the shower. I do not use shampoo or conditioner since my hair really isn’t dirty, my scalp simply needs to be cleansed. On the day that I do my long run (for me 7 miles or more) I co-wash my hair in the shower after the run. Co-washing means to wash your hair using only conditioner. I rinse my hair with water and then saturate it with my favorite moisturizing conditioner and let it sit on my hair while I handle the rest of my showering business and then simply rinse out the conditioner in the shower. It’s important to use a moisturizing conditioner because textured hair craves moisture whether your hair is relaxed or natural.
I wash my hair once a week using a sulfate free shampoo and follow up the shampoo with a deep conditioning treatment. Anytime I rinse, co-wash or wash my hair I always follow up with a good leave-in conditioner! Maintaining well moisturized, soft kinks and curls is very important to achieving and maintaining healthy hair. You have to get the salt and dirt off your scalp in order to do that. No one wants their hair feeling like a brillo pad and if you leave sweat and salt sitting on your scalp for to long, that is exactly what you will end up with…a birllo puff…not cute ☹
Since it's the start of a new year, why not take advantage of all he benefits of being natural...especialy exercise. Check out the post below...Running While Natural.
“Girl I do NOT want to sweat out my hair!!” You will hear this same mantra repeated by many women of color whether their hair is relaxed or natural! Many of us don’t take to kindly to sweating out a $50 deep condition, blow dry and style, and the same applies to natural ladies who have spent a few hours putting two strand twist in their hair in hopes of achieving the perfect twist out. Burning serious calories equals sweating and there is nothing quite like the sweat produced when pounding the pavement and running.
Whether you want to call it highly textured hair, natural hair, kinky hair, curly hair or nappy hair, the result is the same after a long run…a scalp filled with salt and sweat which is a lethal combination for your tresses. The salt that sweat produces dries out your scalp and can leave your hair looking dull, brittle and lifeless if you don’t care for your hair properly.
So how do you care for your locks and still get your fitness on???? The answer is water…good old fashioned H2O. This is what works for me and several other ladies I know who “run while natural.” Each of us will have to find what works for our specific hair, but I think my routine is as good place as any to start with.
I will not allow sweat and salt to sit on my scalp for more than 2 days without rinsing my scalp with plain old water. This means if I run two days in a row, on the second day after my run I will rinse my scalp and hair with water while in the shower. I do not use shampoo or conditioner since my hair really isn’t dirty, my scalp simply needs to be cleansed. On the day that I do my long run (for me 7 miles or more) I co-wash my hair in the shower after the run. Co-washing means to wash your hair using only conditioner. I rinse my hair with water and then saturate it with my favorite moisturizing conditioner and let it sit on my hair while I handle the rest of my showering business and then simply rinse out the conditioner in the shower. It’s important to use a moisturizing conditioner because textured hair craves moisture whether your hair is relaxed or natural.
I wash my hair once a week using a sulfate free shampoo and follow up the shampoo with a deep conditioning treatment. Anytime I rinse, co-wash or wash my hair I always follow up with a good leave-in conditioner! Maintaining well moisturized, soft kinks and curls is very important to achieving and maintaining healthy hair. You have to get the salt and dirt off your scalp in order to do that. No one wants their hair feeling like a brillo pad and if you leave sweat and salt sitting on your scalp for to long, that is exactly what you will end up with…a birllo puff…not cute ☹
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
UPDATE...Curls Products at Target
You may recall that I found some of the Curls products on clearance at my local Target store and scooped them up. Well I returned the unused products for 2 reasons.
First I need more hair care products like i need a hole in my head and have vowed NOT to buy any hair products in 2011.
Second, after further research I discovered why I wasn't able to find the products I purchased at Target listed on the Curls site. The Curls products sold at Target have specifically been made for Target stores...basically this means that in order to mass produce products for a large retailer the and to remain cost effective, ingredients used in the Target store products are different than those used in Curls products sold online. So yeah I took that stuff back. The ingredients were not bad but bottom line is I DON'T NEED any more products even if they are on clearance...LMAO
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Product Junkies Anonymous
Hello My Name is Nikki and I'm a Product Junkie...
I came across this great article at the Coil Review for PJA (Product Junkie Anonymous). I plan on following the five-step program because I truly do have an addiction to products of all types! I will NOT be buying any new hair products in 2011...I repeat, no new hair products for me in 20-11. I am positive that I have enough in my stash to get me through the next 365 days. Check out the article below to put an end to or at least curb your inner product junkie.
Welcome to Product Junkies Anonymous (PJA), a safe space for men and women to discuss and recover from their common addiction: Product Junkism (PJ). Here at PJA, we have designed 5-step programs to help you recover from various forms of PJ. Today we’ll focus on one of the more common forms—Newly Natural Product Junkism (NNPJ).
1) Admit you have a problem
By clicking this link you’ve probably completed Step One. For those who are hesitant to admit they struggle with NNPJ, go find all of your hair products and line them up on your bathroom counter. How many do you have, and how does this number compare to the amount of products you use regularly? How many have you bought in the past month? If you’ve bought over 5 products in the past month that you really didn’t need, you may have a problem.
Hello, I’m a product junkie. It all started when I decided to go natural. I began searching online for different hairstyles to transition, but then I would see so many recommendations to try various products and I started buying products for different styles I wanted to try. Once I BC’d, I had to experiment with products in order to find my staples. I’d buy products I saw most people using, then products for people with my hair texture, then products people with my hair length recommended. I bought so many products that I found myself with products I had only used once.
2) No Buy Phase
You are not to buy any products for a month or more depending on the severity of your addiction. In order to prevent future purchases, you may not stroll through the hair care aisle at beauty supply stores, drugstores, or department stores alone. You may not go to online vendors to browse. You may not open emails from online vendors advertising sales. Caution should be exercised on hair boards, fotkis, and blogs because these can send you hunting for your wallet.
3) Housekeeping
Gather your products and divide them into three categories: what you love, what you like, and what you hate. Check the ingredients of your hated products. Do they have anything in common? If so, avoid that ingredient in all future products. Throw out or give away all products that fall into the third category. For the products you like, try to find additional uses for them—add oils to a thinner conditioner to make it more moisturizing, or mix two conditioners to create a deep conditioner. Finally, as with the products you hate, try to find the common ingredients in the products you love.
4) Focusing on Health
Hair health problems like breakage and dryness are the most common triggers for NNPJ. Tackling these specific problems will solve most natural hair complaints—too dry, too frizzy, won’t grow, etc. Basic questions, "have you been regularly trimming?--"do you deep condition or seal?", will help you figure out your health problem and how to address it quickly and efficiently.
5) Reinstatement
By completing steps 1-4, you’ve identified what your hair needs, wants, and likes, which will help you determine what works best for your hair. This knowledge will help you avoid the purchase of products that you already know won’t work on your hair. You are now welcome back into the natural hair loop of product discussions, styling methods and hair care
I came across this great article at the Coil Review for PJA (Product Junkie Anonymous). I plan on following the five-step program because I truly do have an addiction to products of all types! I will NOT be buying any new hair products in 2011...I repeat, no new hair products for me in 20-11. I am positive that I have enough in my stash to get me through the next 365 days. Check out the article below to put an end to or at least curb your inner product junkie.
Welcome to Product Junkies Anonymous (PJA), a safe space for men and women to discuss and recover from their common addiction: Product Junkism (PJ). Here at PJA, we have designed 5-step programs to help you recover from various forms of PJ. Today we’ll focus on one of the more common forms—Newly Natural Product Junkism (NNPJ).
1) Admit you have a problem
By clicking this link you’ve probably completed Step One. For those who are hesitant to admit they struggle with NNPJ, go find all of your hair products and line them up on your bathroom counter. How many do you have, and how does this number compare to the amount of products you use regularly? How many have you bought in the past month? If you’ve bought over 5 products in the past month that you really didn’t need, you may have a problem.
Hello, I’m a product junkie. It all started when I decided to go natural. I began searching online for different hairstyles to transition, but then I would see so many recommendations to try various products and I started buying products for different styles I wanted to try. Once I BC’d, I had to experiment with products in order to find my staples. I’d buy products I saw most people using, then products for people with my hair texture, then products people with my hair length recommended. I bought so many products that I found myself with products I had only used once.
2) No Buy Phase
You are not to buy any products for a month or more depending on the severity of your addiction. In order to prevent future purchases, you may not stroll through the hair care aisle at beauty supply stores, drugstores, or department stores alone. You may not go to online vendors to browse. You may not open emails from online vendors advertising sales. Caution should be exercised on hair boards, fotkis, and blogs because these can send you hunting for your wallet.
3) Housekeeping
Gather your products and divide them into three categories: what you love, what you like, and what you hate. Check the ingredients of your hated products. Do they have anything in common? If so, avoid that ingredient in all future products. Throw out or give away all products that fall into the third category. For the products you like, try to find additional uses for them—add oils to a thinner conditioner to make it more moisturizing, or mix two conditioners to create a deep conditioner. Finally, as with the products you hate, try to find the common ingredients in the products you love.
4) Focusing on Health
Hair health problems like breakage and dryness are the most common triggers for NNPJ. Tackling these specific problems will solve most natural hair complaints—too dry, too frizzy, won’t grow, etc. Basic questions, "have you been regularly trimming?--"do you deep condition or seal?", will help you figure out your health problem and how to address it quickly and efficiently.
5) Reinstatement
By completing steps 1-4, you’ve identified what your hair needs, wants, and likes, which will help you determine what works best for your hair. This knowledge will help you avoid the purchase of products that you already know won’t work on your hair. You are now welcome back into the natural hair loop of product discussions, styling methods and hair care
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
