2 Months Natural!

I just realized that today is the 29th, which means I forgot to post about my 2 month anniversary! This month has been a blur but at least I'm only three days late.

Celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary 

Current Length: Somewhere between 2 1/2-3 inches. I'm not really sure though. (There is a length check for the Summer Castor Oil Challenge next week, so I will be sure to get an accurate measurement).














My Go-to Styles this month

At the beginning of the month,  I wore my finger coils and finger coil twists out a lot. But then I started wearing wash and gos more often. Sometimes I added a headband or a flower but more often than not, I just wore my curly afro. This month I started really loving how my hair looked. I loved it last month too but this month felt different. Instead of being preoccupied with constantly doing something with my hair, I found myself just letting my hair be. I've also added a new favorite accessory, bows from Vine80.

         

One of the bows I bought from Vine80

Were there moments that I wished my hair was longer? Of course! I usually felt like that after watching videos or seeing pictures of other naturals with longer hair. But, I know that length will come with time so for now, I'm embracing the ease of short hair :).

I started focusing on my hair regimen and ways to improve or change it. My hair was shedding more than usual so I went back to doing tea rinses. Something I did a lot before transitioning and I my hair really benefited from it. In month three, I want to try a new cowash cleansing conditioner and try a new deep conditioner as well.

I also found out that two of my favorite relaxed vloggers/bloggers (Jen and Sdestra) decided to go natural! It's great to see more and more women embracing their natural hair. Natural hair is also becoming more of a presence on television and in the media too. Check out this story about Tamron Hall.


So it was another great month for me. I'm still loving my decision and I'm excited to learn more about my hair :).

Castor Oil Challenge: Week 4 Update + Vine80

It's already been 4 weeks since I started the summer castor oil challenge! This week, I lost a little momentum. During weeks 1-3, I used castor oil in the morning to seal in the moisture and along my edges. This worked fine until this week. As my fellow Ohioans know, summers here can be like living in an inferno. I started having castor oil dripping down my face during my workout sessions or just hanging outside. I'm going to try applying the castor oil before going to bed to relieve some of the "castor oil sweat". Lol. Other than that, everything else seems to be going well. So far I've noticed the following benefits from this challenge:

• I've noticed a few more baby hairs sprouting around my edges, specifically in my bald spot.
• My is already thick but it seems thicker and fuller
• The castor oil has helped with dry hair (typical in the TWA stage)

Next week, there is a link check along with the update. As always I will post my results here as well.

Vine80

Recently, I've been searching for more hair accessories to add some flair to my TWA. I'm getting bored of the simple headbands and want something funky/unique. I can't remember how I found out about Vine80 but  I knew I had to check them out. They're a local business that specializes in "funky, fresh and fashionable hair accessories". Their products are sold mostly online but I wanted to see the hair accessories in person before buying. So imagine my surprise when they announced a pop-up shop at Miss Monroe Boutique tonight during Final Friday in Over-the-Rhine :)!

    

My first bow purchase

Second Bow

Although the bows looked amazing, I was concerned that I couldn't rock the bows/headbands with my short hair. But, one of the owner showed me how the special wire in the fabric allows you to get 9 hairstyles out of one bow!  I bought two and can't wait to try it them out. I'm hoping to wear one this weekend.

Interested in learning more about Vine80? Visit http://www.vine80.com/ and follow them on Twitter or Instagram.

That's it for now.

~Until next time :)

Back to Basics: Incorporating Tea Rinses on Wash Days + Castor Oil Challenge: Week 3 Update

Lately, my hair has been shedding A LOT. Now, it is true that every day the average person sheds between 100-200 hairs a day. But, it seems that my hair is shedding more than usual. So I decided to go back to something I did before going natural. You all know (from previous posts) that I follow Jen on Just Grow Already. Anyway, she posted about the benefits of tea rinses-- how they can help stimulate growth and stop shedding. I started doing tea rinses once a week and immediately noticed a difference. Well, after I began transitioning I stopped doing tea rinses altogether.

Today, I did my first tea rinse as a natural. Unfortunately, I didn't have any black tea for my tea rinse so I had to make due with what I had. After the tea rinse, I noticed a difference right away! Check out Jen's post on how to do a tea rinse. So helpful!

                                         Here is what I included in today's rinse:

                                              1) 2 bags of Green tea
                                              2) 2 bags of Burdock Tea
                                              3) 2 bags of Peppermint Tea

I plan to do a tea rinse every wash day to help curb shedding, stimulate growth and strengthen my hair.


Castor Oil Challenge: Week 3 Update

This week I used my JBCO the same way as weeks 1 & 2 (pre poo and around my edges & nape). The funny thing that happened this week: I noticed the sides of my hair are having a bit of a growth spurt. In fact I have to tuck the hair behind my ears or headband or else they stick out. Lol. Any growth is a plus, so I'll take it.

Oh, I almost forgot. I started a Facebook page for my blog. Look up Adventures of a Nappy Chica and like the page!

Until next time :)!

Week 2 of the Summer Castor Oil Challenge, Taking Everything With A Grain of Salt + Some Blog Love

Ok, so I meant to post about week two of the Castor oil challenge but I forgot. So, here is a brief summary of week 2.

Week 2

Nothing new to report. Things are going well and I use Castor oil everyday. I've been trying to pay attention to my edges to see if there has been any growth. As of right now, I can't tell if there has been much growth. There will be a length check for week 5 and I will post my pictures/results here on the blog. Next month I think I'll try mixing emu oil and evco (extra virgin coconut oil) with my Castor oil. From what I've read, emu oil helps with scalp conditions and can help with bald spots. Read more about emu oil here.

Taking everything with a grain of salt

The other day I posted about the results of my porosity test. The purpose of this test was to help me find products to help moisturize my hair. I try not to believe everything that I read but instead test things out for myself. I came across this post on hair porosity by one of my favorite bloggers. This article brings up some great points and goes back to the idea of choosing products that work for your hair.


Some Blog Love

I wanted to share some of my favorite vloggers and bloggers. They have been a great resource for me throughout my healthy hair journal.
.
      * The Main Objective
      * Just Grow Already
      * Sdestra
      * Kinky Curly Coily Me
      * Naptural85


Until next time :)!

The Results of My Hair Porosity Test

I finally got around to testing my hair porosity yesterday. I wanted to wait until I was natural for at least a month before I did the test.

Why is hair porosity important?

 Porosity refers to your hair's ability to absorb and retain moisture. Knowing your hair porosity will help you choose the right products and regimen for your hair. Although genetics does play a role in your hair's porosity, other factors such as chemical processing, heat and exposure contribute to it as well.

How do you test your hair porosity?

There are two ways to test your hair porosity: 1) The Float Test and 2) The Slip 'n' Slide test. The Float test is really easy and quick, so I went with that. First, make sure your hair is clean (freshly washed hair is best). Take a few strands and place them in a glass of water. Before I placed the strands in the glass, I made sure the water was about room temperature. If the strands sink to the bottom, you have high porosity hair. If the strands float, your hair has low porosity. If your strands floated to the middle of the glass, your hair has normal or medium porosity. 

My strands floated at the top of the glass. I waited for about five minutes but my hair was still at the top. This means that my hair has low porosity. Low porosity hair has flat, compact cuticles, which makes it difficult to absorb moisture. Because of this, it is hard for products to deeply penetrate the hair.  According to this post, using a clarifying shampoo, lighter oils, humectants, and a deep conditioner will help retain moisture.

                 My strands floating at the top (hard to see)

I will use this information to review my product stash and regimen. I'll post products and techniques that seem to work for me (as I experiment with them).

Until next time :)!

Sometime a "fro" just needs to be a "fro"

Last month on every wash day I had a specific plan for my hair. But sometimes, it's nice to just to let your fro be free. So since I got back from Peru last week, I've been just wearing my fro without twisting or braiding it. I don't plan on wearing my hair like this all summer but I'm loving it right now. I'm sure I will probably twist or braid it at some point but until then.... :)

Week 1 of the Summer Castor Oil Challenge

It's the end of the first week of the Summer Castor Oil Challenge hosted by Kinky Curl Coily Me. This week went really well. I didn't experience an itchy scalp from the JBCO (Jamaican Black Castor Oil). We'll see if I experience any this coming week. I've read that this is due to the castor oil detoxifying the scalp.

As I mentioned before, my motivation for this challenge is to help my edges grow. Years of chemical relaxing has caused serious hair loss along my edges. I'm hoping that the castor oil will help stimulate the hair follicles and cause growth.

Current Length

*Front: middle of my forehead




















Sides: middle of my ear

Back: just a little past my nape    

    

Another before pic  

That's it for now. I will post more pictures next week.

~Until next time :)!

Review of May Goals + Goals for June

Hey everyone!

I'm slowly getting back into the groove of things after returning from Peru. The first couple of days after vacation can be hard. Lol.

Now, let's review my goals for May:

Review of May's Goals

* Buy/make hair accessories (done) I bought a couple of accessories (a wrap from The Wrap Life , a couple of headbands (one from The Honey Hut Beauty Bar Boutique) and a flower from Charming Charlie).

    

* Drink at least 5 glasses of water a day (not even close)- Ugh, this is a constant struggle for me! Lol. One day it WILL happen.

* Read/look over The Science of Black Hair & Thank God I'm Natural: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair (done)

* Do scalp massages at least once a day (almost)- I'm going to change this goal for June.

* Pick a regimen/routine & try it out for the entire month (done) -This was an easy goal to stick to.  So far my current regimen seems to be working.

* Do more additions/renovations to the blog (failed) - I need to work on this. Hopefully since I will have some more time on the weekends this month, I will actually get this done.

3 out of 6...not great but not bad either.

Goals for June

* Try at least one new hairstyle and post a pic on the blog

* Drink at 1 liter of water at least once during the week (Baby steps. Lol.)

* Start the Kinky Curly Coily Me's Summer Castor Oil Challenge  and my update progress here throughout the challenge.  If you're interested in joining the challenge, be sure to register by Saturday, June 7th.

* Continue to buy more hair accessories--This month's goal: more flowers & bows.  Oh and I'm in love with flower rings at the moment. So I'm going to try and buy some of those as well.

*  Use up at least one product before buying/trying a new product.

* Shampoo at least once this month.

* Research a new deep conditioner to incorporate into my regimen for July.

* Make at least one update/change to the blog

Excited to see how this month will go.

Until next time :)!