It's never too late to share Black Friday deals, right? Yes, I know Black Friday was over a month ago but I still want to share the good deals I snagged. Unlike previous Black Fridays, I was determined to stick to a budget and not buy things I would never use. In order to prep for the sales I referenced The Mane Objective's comprehensive list. So without further delay, here is my Black Friday Haul for 2016:
Thank God It's Natural
I've heard so many great things about this natural hair product line but could never find it at Sally's in Portland. But once I saw their Black Friday sale, I knew this could be my chance to finally try their products. All of their products were on sale for $9.99, so I went with three of their most popular products: Honey Miracle Hair Mask, Twist & Define Cream and the Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer
Curls
A few months ago Jenell B. Stewart (a.k.a. BlakIzBeautyful) posted about a new liquid vitamin from Curls. I made a mental note to try the vitamin at some point in the future. Prior to the Black Friday Sale I purchased one bottle to try it out. But then I saw their Black Friday Sale and knew I had to buy more. This particular sale was buy 1 get one free! So I got two bottles of the vitamins for $30 ($5 for shipping). Since this would be my first time taking the vitamin, I didn't buy a lot just in case I didn't like the vitamin.
Be Kekoa
Now if you follow the blog (although my posts have been a little scarce in the past few months) you know I had a chance to visit the Be Kekoa salon. At the time I only purchased the Tamanu Oil, I know silly me. Because I love Brandie and her products, I purchased the travel sample pack for $20. In addition to the products I also got this cute little bag with the salon's logo. The sample sizes are great for trying out products but I plan on stocking up the next time I visit her in Temecula.
Happy New Year's Eve! There is so much content I want to share before the new year so expect a number of blog posts today. In this first post, I want to share some of the empties from the summer and fall.
1. Mielle Organics Babassu Oil Mint Deep Conditioner
This has been one of my go-to deep conditioners for the past year. I love how soft and moisturized feels after using it.
2. Mielle Organics White Peony Leave-in
If you're looking for a lightweight leave-in that moisturizes your hair without weighing it down, this might be the product for you. I like to use this as part of my LOC method and also in my spritz bottle with oils.
3. Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Juice
I didn't get hip to the awesomeness of Aloe Vera juice until the middle of 2016. I found that Aloe Vera Juice comes in handy during my pre-poo session and I like to use it my spritz bottle when I need to add moisture to my strands.
4. Be Kekoa Tamanu Oil
Another great thing about my visit to Be Kekoa is that I got to experience her amazing products. I decided to try this oil to seal in moisture. I loved the consistency of this oil and also that it did what I wanted: sealed in the moisture.
5. The Chocolate Antidote
I don't need to tell you how much I love this product because you already know. This has become an essential part of the pre poo process and it literally melts away my tangles.
6. Rapunzel Hair Multivitamin (x2)
In my quest for natural hair I have experimented with hair vitamins. While I'm longing for length, I won't compromise the health of my skin to gain that length. Prior to taking the Rapunzel vitamin I took Mielle Organics' vitamin for several months. Before switching to Rapunzel I did my research regarding side effects. I will post a review telling you about my experience with the vitamin.
7. Mielle Organics Detangling Co-wash
One of my favorite co-washes. I just wish it came in a bigger bottle!
My third hair vitamin that I am trying out. What's great about this is that is in liquid form. This is the first bottle that I completed. I'm going to take this vitamin for 3 months (6 bottles total) and share my results.
8. Keracare Twist and Define Cream (not pictured)
I have nothing but great things to say about this defining cream. It gives my hair moisture and also helps me achieve the best twist out results.
9. Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar (with the Mother)- not pictured
My wash day isn't complete without an act rinse. I know some naturals even use this to clarify their hair.
10. Eden BodyWorks All Natural Cleansing Cowash
I used this when I ran out of my Mielle Organics Detangling Co-Wash and couldn't find it at my local Sally's. Great product and definitely something I can see myself using again.
What are your some of your hair product empties from the summer or fall?
Man, I've really been slacking on the blog as of late. That's what happens when you're juggling work, writing and spending time with the hubby. Luckily I've still be taking care of my hair through all of it. My wash days have pretty much stayed the same with just a few minor updates. I'm still co-washing and deep conditioning my hair once a week. Since I want to retain length, I mainly wear low manipulation styles like twists or two strand twist halo braid (not sure if that's the proper name).
Here are a few pictures of my hair over the past month and half
This twist out from 10/29/16 was everything!
Smiling because I love my twist out.
My other go-to protective style from 11/6/16
Another view form 11/6/16
Rocking a twist out for Thanksgiving 2016
I've also been experimenting with products as well. Currently I'm using True by Made Beautiful. But since I scored some good deals on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, you will probably see a change in my wash day products :). I didn't go too crazy but I'm excited with my purchases which I'll share soon.
I'm not trying the whole line, just their co-wash, hair masque and leave-in conditioner
Now that my mini hair update is out of the way, here is a recap of Sunday's wash day.
Pre-pooed I'm still loving my current pre-poo routine which consists of applying water, EVCO and The Antidote to sections. Then I detangle my hair using my wide tooth comb from Eternally in Amber. Once the section is detangled, I put the section into twists.
Shampooed with Mielle Organic's Babassu Conditioning Shampoo with my hair in twists.
Protein Treatment- Used Aubrey Organics and let it sit in my hair for about 2 minutes before washing it out.
Deep Conditioned with True Intense Treatment Masque- I applied the masque to my hair (still in twists) and left it on for about 20 minutes under a plastic cap.
ACV Rinse - I did a final rinse on my hair (acv mixed with water).
Styled my hair- As I mention before I've been keep my hair in low manipulation styles. This week I opted for my two strand halo braids. I plan on moisturizing my hair every other day and keep this style until my wash day on Sunday.
This post is a little late (by a couple of weeks) but I still wanted to share my last wash day of September. As part of my new regimen/routine going forward, I plan on co-washing my hair three weeks in a row and shampooing on the 4th week. So my first shampoo day happened to fall on my last wash day of September. Here's how my wash day went:
Pre-pooed by spraying my hair with a mixture of aloe vera juice and water. Then I applied EVCO to my strands, focusing on the ends. Lastly, I applied The Antidote and used my fingers to detangle. I then detangled with a wide tooth comb before putting my hair into two strand twists.
Shampooed with Mielle Organic's Babassu Shampoo (with my hair still in twists). I really worked the shampoo in and gently used my Shampoo brush I purchased from Vanity Planet. I made sure to use a downward motion to avoid getting tangles and knots (thanks for the tip NappyFu!)
Protein Treatment- I used my usual treatment, Aubrey Organics and let it sit in my hair for about 2 minutes before rinsing it out.
Deep Conditioned with Eden Body Works Coconut Shea Hair Masque Treatment. Instead of simply using a plastic cap, I decided to use my Q-Redew for the first time! Yes, I know I bought it on a Black Friday, which means I should have used it by now but...I didn't. Anyway, I used applied my hand-held steamer to each twists keeping some distance so I wouldn't burn myself. I learned this lesson early on when I put it a little close to my edges when I started. Luckily I didn't really burn myself and I'll never make that mistake again. After I finished with the steamer, I put a plastic cap on my hair and waited another 15 minutes before rinising out the masque.
ACV Rinse- Before wrapping up my wash day, I did my apple cider vinegar rinse. I like to dilute the acv with water so it's not too potent and then I either spray or pour the solution
Styling my hair- Once I'm finished with the ACV rinse, I let my hair dry using a t-shirt for about 10-15 minutes. Then I do a quick survey of my twists to see which ones need to be re-twisted. Since I used up the last of my Kera Care Twist and Define cream, I picked up Eden Body Works Coconut Shea Curl Defining Cream to twist my hair. After that I applied a little of my water + Aloe Vera Juice mixture, Tamanu Oil and Jia's Carribean Dream Creme to my hair and ends.
Happy Sunday! Here is a recap of last Sunday's wash day.
Pre-poo/ Detangle Session: I'm still following my same pre-poo routine. I part my hair into four sections and spray each section with a mixture of aloe vera juce & water. Then I apply The Antidote to the length of my hair as well as EVCO paying special attention to the ends. After I finger detangle each section, I use my Eternally In Amber wide tooth comb. Once my hair is fully detangled, I put my hair in twists.
Co-washed with Eden BodyWorks All Natural Coconut Shea CoWash- I co-washed my hair in twists and applied this to my strands and gently massaged it into my scalp. Then I rinsed out the co-wash with lukewarm/cool water.
Protein Treatment- I added a protein treatment back into my routine for this particular wash day. Deep Conditioned with Tangles & Beyond's Deep Moisture Conditioner. I applied the conditioner to my twists and let it sit under a plastic cap for 20 minutes. T-shirt dried my hair for about 10 minutes. With my hair being in twists, my hair didn't feel like it was soaking wet. Styled my hair- Now that I wash my hair in twists, I usually don't have to really style my hair at the end of wash day. Once my hair is a little dry, I simply re-twists any twists that look a little worse for wear.
Throughout the week I kept my hair moisturized by spraying water (mixed with leave-conditioner) and sealing it with Tamanu oil. I picked up this tip for moisturizing my twists from Craving Yellow. Check out the video below to learn more.
After my trip to Be Kekoa, I'm on a mission to keep my battle with single strand knots to a minimum. Like Nappy Fu always say, "to have healthy hair, you have to do healthy things" and that is what I intend to do.
By now I'm sure you all know how much I love BlakIzBeautyful's channel. Well, she recently launched a channel for her daughter Elle, which I follow as well. Earlier this week I stumbled on her detangling routine for Elle. From what I can tell, Elle and I have the same curl pattern. This detangling/wash day routine seemed easy and let's face it, who doesn't want an easy wash day? So I grabbed my tools: spray bottle (filled mostly with tap water and some aloe vera juice), 5 butterfly clips, EVCO and The Chocolate Antidote.
Here's my hair before the pre-poo session right after I took out my old twists.
Pre-poo/ Detangle Session: In the video, Jenell uses Creme of Nature Coconut Detangling Conditioner but I used The Antidote instead. I actually wanted to try out the Detangling Conditioner but of course I couldn't find it anywhere. I basically followed the same steps from the video.
Step 1: Using my spray bottle filled with tap water and aloe vera juice, I wet my hair so it was almost soaking wet.
Step 2: I parted my hair into four sections and put them into butterfly clips.
Step 3: I decided to start with one of the back sections first. I sprayed more of the spray bottle into the section and then added coconut oil starting at my ends first.
Step 4: Detangle with my fingers first, getting any shed hairs out of the way.
Step 5: Add The Chocolate Antidote to the section
Step 6: Using my Eternally in Amber wide tooth comb, I started at the ends and worked my way up gently.
Step 7: Once that section was complete, I put that section into two strand twists.
**I repeated these steps until my whole head was detangled and in two strand twists. And let me just say, this was by far the EASIEST detangling session ever!!! The comb was going through my hair effortlessly. Why didn't I do it this way before? I'm sure my curly cut contributed to the ease of my detangling session too.
Co-washed with Eden BodyWorks All Natural Coconut Shea CoWash- With my hair still in twists, I applied this co-wash to my strands. I gently massaged my scalp as well with the pads of my fingers. Then I rinsed out the co-wash with lukewarm/cool water. Deep Conditioned with Tangles & Beyond's Deep Moisture Conditioner. I applied the conditioner to my twists, applied a towel to my hair and let it sit for about 20 minutes. I originally planned on finally using my Q-Redew but I forgot to buy distilled water, so I'll try it out next week. I skipped out on doing a protein treatment again this week. My hair didn't feel like it needed it. I might decide to do it next week, we'll see. T-shirt dried my hair for about 10 minutes. With my hair being in twists, my hair didn't feel like it was soaking wet. Styled my hair- The washing my hair in twists is that my hair is already styled! There were a few twists that were a little worse for wear from the wash day process. I simply re-twisted them and applied Jia's DreamCreme Leave-In Conditioner and Be Kekoa Tamanu Oil to seal in the moisture.
Hands down this was my favorite wash day. From the pre-poo/detangling session to finishing my wash day in twists, it was an easy wash day. Since I'm about keeping it simple, this will be my new wash day routine! How was your wash day? What do you do to detangle your hair?
I wrapped up a great Labor Day weekend with the hubby with wash day. After my visit to Be Kekoa last week, I realized that I needed to focus more on my detangling techniques, if I want to keep retaining length. Sure my hair was in need of a trim but single strand knots have been an off an on issue for me. I'm making it my mission to incorporate better practices and having healthy natural hair. Now let's get into Monday's wash day.
Pre-pooed- I recently started following Naturally High's YouTube channel and it's great. I'm trying to follow more women with my hair type (4C). Anyway, she posted this video awhile back and I decided to give it a try. I applied EVCO and then used my fingers to detangle. The oil really helped work out the knots and tangles. Once I detangled a section, I worked in The Antidote to give my hair extra moisture. After I finished with each section, I twisted my hair to keep it from getting tangled. All in all it took me two episodes of The Office (an hour) to do my whole head.
Here's another updated video about detangling from Naturally High below
Co-washed with Eden BodyWorks All Natural Coconut Shea CoWash- I decided to wash my hair in twists. I don't know how these vloggers keep their twists in while co-washing. By the time I was done, about have of my twists were undone. Oh, well maybe it'll get better with practice.
I didn't do a protein treatment this week. My detangling process took longer than I thought, so there wasn't any time.
Deep Conditioned with Tangles & Beyond's Deep Moisture Conditioner. I applied the conditioner in sections and then twisted the section. Since we don't have a microwave in the our new place, I couldn't use my Hot Head thermal cap. Instead I put on a plastic cap and left the conditioner in for 30 minutes before rinsing it out. T-shirt dried my hair for 10-15 minutes. Styled my hair- I knew that I wanted to wear my hair in twists, but I wanted to wear it a little differently. So I opted for a hairstyle from Naturally High's channel using two strand twists.
It only took me about an hour or so to do all of my two strand twists. After I finished I put on my bonnet and went to bed. The next morning put all of my two strand twists into two big plaits and pinned them to get a crown braid look.
Looks like I lost a bobby pin here in the back during the day
This will probably be my style for the week. I plan on undoing the plaits on Thursday to moisturize the twists and then re-do the crown braid.
How was your wash day? Are you trying out any new hairstyles or techniques?
