Natural Hair Journey: 10 Months Natural

It's been 10 months since I went natural. I can't believe in two months it will be one year since my big chop!

Overall this month has been pretty easy. I decided to join the February Mini Challenge and have been wearing updos all this month. This allowed me to experiment with styles and give me a break from constantly manipulating my hair. 

Current Length: I'm not sure. Since I've been wearing my hair up this month, I didn't really focus on the length. My current plan is to do a length check in April.

My Go-to Styles this month: Updos 

 All of the updos that I tried this month were from YouTube. I always watched tutorials but thought I couldn't achieve a certain style due to my length. But, I learned that I change or adjust the hairstyles based on my length. 

         

                               

                  

Hair Regimen: This month I reduced the number of times I washed my hair each week. Instead of two wash days a week, I went down to one. At first I was nervous that my scalp would be greasy or dry but so far it's been okay. I also bought several new products that I am currently testing out. 

Plans for next month:  To combat my issues with single strand knots, I'm going to wash my hair in sections from now on. I will also need to look at my regimen to see what else might be the cause of the knots. And because I love trying out new styles, I plan to do that more as well.

Until next time!

~Adventures of a Nappy Chica

February Mini Challenge | Updo #4: French Roll/ French Twist with Bang

Happy Monday everyone!

Can you believe it is the last week of the February mini challenge? Crazy, right?! This week I wanted to have a little of my hair out, to spice it up a bit. So I chose the French Roll/French Twist with Bang by BlakIzBeautyful. I love her tutorials because they are easy to follow and the hairstyles are cute.

        


I'm going to wear this style for a few day, then take it down to moisturize it and put it back in the same updo. I had less tangles on wash day and perhaps adding more moisturize during the week played a part.

Front

Back

Side 1

Side 2

                                           What are your favorite updo styles?





Until next time!


~Adventures of a Nappy Chica

Wash Day Recap

[1] Exfoliated with Lisa's Hair Elixir Fortifying Spray. I  massaged it into my scalp and left it on my scalp for  five minutes before rinsing it out.
[2] Hot Oil Treatment with Lisa's Hair Elixir Restoring Oil + Soultanical's Knot Sauce  for 30 minutes.
[3] Co-Washed in sections with Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Co-Wash Cleansing Conditioner.  In an effort to eliminate my single strand knots.
[4] Protein Treatment:  ApHogee Intensive Two Minute Keratin Reconstructor
[5] Deep Condition: Perfect Moisture Deep Conditioner by Tangles and Beyond for 40 minutes.
[6] T-shirt dried my hair for about 20 minutes.
[7] Leave-ins: Jia's Carribean Dream Cream (another sample from Tangles and Beyond) and SM's JBCO Leave-in Conditioner.
[8] Prepare hair for bed: Applied Perfect Moisture Shea Butter Blend, Argon Oil, Mango Serum with Sulfur. I also put in ponytail holders to stretch my hair.


There were a few less knots this wash day. So maybe changing my prepoo/hot oil treatment and co-washing in sections made the difference. I'm going to keep tweaking my wash day techniques and see if that continues to help.  Be sure to check back tomorrow to see the updo I'll be rocking this week. 

   How was your wash day? Join the linkup and share your #WashDayExperience .

February Mini Challenge | Updo #3 Inspired by NaturalMe4C

Happy Monday Everyone!

At the end of yesterday's wash day, I still didn't know how I wanted to wear my hair this week. I had a few styles in mind but didn't know if I could pull them off. When choosing a hairstyle, I try to be realistic about my styling abilities. I try to choose quick and easy hairstyles for my hair. This week I went with a hairstyle inspired by NaturalMe4C:


          


     
Now, my results are a little different from the tutorial but I still love it.  One of the things I've learned during this challenge is that it's okay to adjust a hairstyle to make it work for you. My hair is shorter than NaturalMe4C's hair, so I tweaked it a bit.

My plan for the rest of the week: I plan to wear this style the rest of the week. To keep my hair moisturized I will spritz my hair every night and in the morning. I noticed I had a lot of single strand knots yesterday, which means I need to change a few things this week. I'm going to wear this style until Wednesday and then take it down to moisturize it. I'll redo the style and wear it until my next wash day (Saturday or Sunday).

                                              What styles are you rocking this week?

Wash Day | 2.15.15

Hey loves!

I hope you had a great weekend and a wonderful Valentine's Day. I planned on washing my hair before Valentine's Day but I never got around to it. Instead I rocked my updo for a couple extra days.

Here is a breakdown of what I did today:

[1] Exfoliated with Lisa's Hair Elixir Fortifying Spray. I  massaged it into my scalp and left it on my scalp for  five minutes before rinsing it out.
[2] Hot Oil Treatment with Lisa's Hair Elixir Restoring Oil for 10 minutes.  I made sure to to pay attention to my ends. 
[3] Shampoo: Rhassol Whip from Tangles and Beyond . This is one of the products I got in my recent product haul .
[4] Protein Treatment:  ApHogee Intensive Two Minute Keratin Reconstructor
[5] Deep Condition: Perfect Moisture Deep Conditioner by Tangles and Beyond for 40 minutes.
[6] ACV Rinse: After rinsing out my deep conditioner, I use this mixture of apple cider vinegar and water to get rid of any product buildup. It gives my hair extra moisture and keeps my scalp clean. I've skipped this step recently but I decided to incorporate into my wash days again.
[7] T-shirt dried my hair for about 20-30 minutes.
[8] Leave-ins: Jia's Carribean Dream Cream (another sample from Tangles and Beyond) and SM's JBCO Leave-in Conditioner.
[9] Prepare hair for bed: Apply Perfect Moisture Shea Butter Blend, Argon Oil, Mango Serum with Sulfur (testing a small area to make sure I don't have a reaction to the sulfur). I also put in ponytail holders to stretch my hair.


I'm still deciding what updo I'm going to wear this week. I have a couple in mind but I'm not sure if they will work for my twa. I hope to have an updo to share with you all tomorrow.

           How was your wash day? Join the linkup and share your #WashDayExperience .

Until next time!

~Adventures of a Nappy Chica

Natural Hair Product Haul + Winner of the Blogiversary Giveaway

Happy Friday everyone!

When I first started my natural hair journey, I tried to keep my natural hair products to a minimum. Now that I'm almost ten months in, I've decided to branch out a little and try new products. So I wanted to show you the new products that I've purchased within the past month.



Soultanicals Knot Sauce

I've heard so many great thinks about this conditioner that I wanted to give it a try. Knots have become a common occurrence and I am looking for ways to make detangling easier. In addition to the Knot Sauce I also received a packet of the Mango Dip Detangling Slip. I plan to do a product review of the products in the future.
                                                 

Mango Serum with Sulfur by Bee Mine 

Bee Sensitive Oil Free Serum has been a godsend especially now that I'm trying to wash my hair once a week. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try their sulfur serum. This particular product has great reviews so I'm excited to see if I like it as well. 

Tangles and Beyond

One of the great things about social media is that you get introduced to new products and companies. When I saw the that they were having a drop sale in January, I made sure I scooped up their sampler. I plan on trying some of the products this weekend. If you're interested in buying products, their February Drop Off Sale is next Friday (February 20th). Be sure to check out their website to learn more about their drop sales. 

I don't plan on buying any new products until I use up what I have, I'm not a product junkie...yet and I want to keep it that way. I'll be sure to post my reviews of these products after I use them for a couple of months.

Winner of the Blogiversary Giveaway

First, thanks to everyone for your well wishes on my 1st Blogiversary. It has been a great experience and I really enjoy interacting with other bloggers. I would also like to thank everyone that entered the giveaway. The winner of the $35 Ulta Gift Card is Kris from Beautifully Curled. Be sure to check out her blog! Stay tuned for another giveaway in April :).

Until next time!

~Adventures of a Nappy Chica

Adventures of a Nappy Chica One Year Blogiversary + Giveaway!

I can't believe it has been one year since I started sharing my natural hair journey. What started as a way to keep me motivated through the transition process, has become so much more. I have enjoyed sharing all of my adventures with you. This year has been filled with success, failures and new discoveries. I hope my journey has helped or inspired someone to start their own natural hair journey.

Thank you to everyone that has commented, shared their own experiences and given me advice along the way. To show my appreciation to everyone that has followed my journey, I am giving away a $35 gift card to Ulta.  The giveaway starts today and ends Friday, February 13th. Be sure to enter and share as well :)!

                                                                 Good Luck!

                                     

a Rafflecopter giveaway

February Mini Challenge | Updo #2: Braid & Tuck + Help Me Choose My Next Updo

So far I am really loving this updo/protective style mini challenge. It has really forced me to try new hairstyles and allowed me to see the versatility of natural hair. I thought my hair had to be longer to do updos but so far I've found some great styles for my current length. When I saw CaribBeauty's braid and tuck tutorial, I knew I had to give it a try.

This might be my new favorite hairstyle. It was quick and easy. And it actually looks like I have braiding skills, which I don't. Now, my hair doesn't look exactly like the tutorial but I think it's pretty close. I love that this hairstyle can be worn for work or for a night out on the town. Plus, I don't have to worry about styling my hair every day.

The upkeep for this style has been fairly simple so far. I spray my hair at night with my Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner and apply JBCO to my edges. Then I wrap my hair in my satin scarf, put on my bonnet and call it a night. I'm on day two of the style and it still looks great. I'm hoping I can stretch this style to Friday.

I'm already thinking of my next updo. Does anyone have suggestions on styles that might work for my current length? I'm looking for something that is easy to do and will last at least for about a week. I would appreciate any help!

                    What are your favorite updos for twas? Feel free to comment below!

Until next time!

~Adventures of a Nappy Chica

Wash Day | Prepping My Hair For My Next Updo

Happy Saturday! 

I went a whole week without washing my hair! This is the first time that I've done that since my big chop. I didn't work out a lot this past week, which is not the norm, so it will be interesting to see how this week goes when I'm back to my regular schedule. Here is how Friday's wash day went:

[1] Exfoliated my scalp with Lisa's Hair Elixir Fortifying Spray massaging it into my scalp for a couple of minutes. I let it sit for about five minutes before rinsing it out.
[2] Hot Oil Treatment with Lisa's Hair Elixir Restoring Oil.  I massage the oil into my scalp first and then into my hair paying attention to my ends. I left it on my hair for about 10 minutes and then washed it out with warm water.
[3] Co-washed with Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Co-Wash Cleansing Conditioner.
[4] Deep conditioned with Soultanical's Knot Sauce (part of my recent product haul) for 30 minutes. I worked the conditioner in from root to tip with my fingers.

[5] Rinsed out the conditioner with warm water
[6] ACV + Water rinse on my hair using a spray bottle. I tried to focus on my scalp making sure I removed any buildup.
[5] T-shirt dried my hair for about 15-20 minutes 
[6] Applied Soultanical's Mango Dip Detangling Slip (I received a free packet of this with the Knot Sauce), Black Vanilla Conditioner, Marguerite's Magic Restorative Cream and JBCO to my hair.
[7]  Pineappled my hair with scrunchies  and put my bonnet on my head.

Stay tuned  for tomorrow's post to see the updo I'm rocking for week two of the February mini-challenge !


               
                  How was your wash day? Join the #WashDayExperience and share you wash day.

Until next time!


~Adventures of a Nappy Chica

Fashion Adventures: My Favorite Looks from Last Week

Hey loves,

Here are a couple of my favorite looks from last week courtesy of my Le Tote subscription. Enjoy!

I absolutely loved this Color Block | Upper East Side Dress. I paired the dress with leggings and flats for work. It was super comfortable and I got a ton of compliments at work.

This fun Sunburst Necklace from House of Harlow 1960 was the perfect accessory. I loved this necklace so much that I bought it.

The other gorgeous dress in last week's tote was a winner. This Joa | Third Dimension Dress added a little color and fun to my wardrobe. Plus, the dress also flared out a bit, which was a nice added bonus.

Last but not least, these cute Sam Edelman earrings were adorable.


It's getting harder and harder not purchase all of the things from Le Tote. So far I've only purchased two necklaces and I have a couple of dresses that I want to buy in the future.

 What were some of your favorite looks from last week? 

Until next time!

~Adventures of a Nappy Chica

February Mini Challenge | Updo #1: BlakIzBeautyful's Two Strand Twist Pin-Up

Although I love wearing my hair out, I've decided to wear more low manipulation styles to help retain length. My goal is to mix up my styles as much as possible and avoid wearing my hair out until the end of April. So imagine my surprise when I found out there was a updo/protective style challenge going on this month.

Here are the rules for the challenge:

-Style hair in an updo each week in February
- The style MUST be an updo. Faux bobs don't count
- Do Not repeat a style
-  Manipulate your hair as little as possible

Go to Great Lengths to read more about the challenge


My last wash day was this past Friday and I attempted to do a Roll, Tuck & Pin. It didn't look great but I was too frustrated/tired to attempt anything else. So, I left my hair like that until yesterday evening. After the Superbowl, I decided to try this tutorial from Jenell B. Stewart (BlakIsBeautiful) from Kinky Coily Curly Me. Before twisting my hair I added Marguerite's Restorative Magic Cream and Alikay Natural's Rich Hair Parfait.



                          


Now, my hair didn't turn out exactly like Jenell's but I still love the style. Her tutorial is quick and easy to follow. I feel like my hair is in the weird/awkward stage but this style gave me the boost I needed. If you're in that awkward twa stage or getting bored with your hair, try this hairstyle. Believe me, you won't regret it. And even if your hair is shorter than mine, you can still wear this style. Just be sure to use more bobby pins. It took me about an hour or so to do the two strand twists last night and about 10 minutes to pin it up this morning.

The goal is to keep this updo until Friday, if possible and I will continue moisturizing my hair daily.

What are your favorite updos/protective styles? Do you have any twa updo/protective style recommendations for me? If so, please feel free to comment below! 

                         
Until next time!

~Adventures of a Nappy Chica