Sunday, August 4, 2013

Update On Mixed Chicks

I just had to do another update on Mixed Chicks. I have been trying to use other products to see how it would work on my hair just because I wanted to do the curly girl method. And I have to say that I have come across some nice products that work on my hair and I will still be using some of them.
You know how you have your favorite and it just works right for you no matter what? That is Mixed Chicks for me. I have been using this product since my TWA and that was 2009, because as you all know I BC in 12/2008. I am telling I fell in love with this product. I had been looking for years for something to do my curls the way the leave in does my curls. This would have saved me hair a long time ago when I was putting those Jerri Curls in my hair to elongate my curls lol.
As you all know I try my best to give you something to show what I am talking about and this is my mother with Mixed Chicks in her hair. Yes we do a family affair up in here!!
So I was rudely interrupted and just now getting back to finishing off. And the sad part about that is that I forgot where I was at lol. But so you can see that Mixed Chicks has done wonders for our hair and although we may try out new products this will always be my first love….
Ladies as I always say love your hair and it will love your back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!

My Natural Hair Is Trying

So as my curly hair was growing out from 1/4″ at the end of 2008 there was so much joy and excitement because of the inches that were gain in such a short period of time. I remember when I got 4″ of hair, I was running around making a jack behind of myself  lol. “Look how long my hair got” and it was growing so fast so I thought. Then we get to shoulder length, that is when it started to slow down. It seem
like it took for ever to get to arm pit  This is what my 3b curls look like and I am loving them everyday. Now it is the product that dictate the shrinkage of my curls. My final goal is waist length  and I am working on going through 3yrs and 7 months of growth and it seems so long for my length to not be where I think it should be. So getting back to the inches on my head. I now have 11″ in the back and 12″ on the top of my head and they say that I need to have about 20″ to make waist length.
 So here is my ideal length, a woman can dream right? lol No but I know it will happen in a matter of time just not in my timing. I think I will have to be going on my 5th year before I see this happen and I am ok with that. I have learned to stop going by what everyone else is doing. I am not them and if I never make it all the way I can at least say that my hair is very healthy, because forreal forreal that is all that really matters, right?
Ladies please love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!!!!

Life Changes

Hey all, I was feeling little down today because I was thinking back when my children were younger and what I thought I had to offerthem. And this is really what I thought my life was going to have in store for me….. ok dream is over!!!  But you know what happens? They start growing and branching out to other people who teach them things outside your household rules. Ding, then you end up with a teenager, yes a teenager the very thing we try our best to stay away from but when they are yours what can you do. Out of the five that I had I ended up in the end of it all having 2 very beautiful girls. Yeah!! hair to do.
OMG!!! do you know how excited I was about having some hair to do and clothes to play with, someone to go shopping with, all that girly stuff. It was getting bad in here, little ole me with all these boys, I even had a high pony tail in my second son’s hair until he was 2 yrs old. LOL. I knew just what to do with my girls hair because my momma taught me well, right? I only had to put grease and water and put those very nice pony tails in their hair. As they got older I was already into the Jherri Curl but they had this new formula out which was called a Dry Curl which was not as wet as the old jheri curl and since my step mother and uncle were stylist and I had gone to school no one was touching my girl’s hair.
When they turned 11 each of them got a dry curl applied to their hair and I would keep it up and make sure that it was not over processed and their hair was growing. Then the time came for them to take care of their own hair, yeah that was a big mistake. Just as they no longer liked my rules in my house they longer wanted curls either.
They wanted to go straight, yes can you believe it??? I told them “you will mess up your hair. I have given you the structure you need to have all the hair you want”, but they didn’t care and didn’t want that. As humans we always want other than what we have. So I got to say good-bye to the hair I once knew for the time that I took care of my girls.
You know what is so very hard some times?? Listening, just listening.
Ladies I always say love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!!

Wait For It.... My Mother's Update

There has been much request on my mother’s progress. It took some time to get her butt over here to get the pictures on what is going on with her. So what has changed in her regimen is that she has put Mixed Chicks a side for now and is using Taliah Waajid Curl Sealer. It is a gel and it is very lite and without silicone. Since my mother is mostly only co washing I think the silicone was becoming a problem for her and although a little breakage has cause her not to retain any length on the other hand her thickness is doing much better. She is still getting the henna and other herb treatments on a regular.
Today I started with giving her a henna treatment and the brand Nupur. I love that it already has the 9 herbs that I was using separately, this had really cut down so many steps.

This is after the henna was co washed out with Tresemme and Hello hydrations. I know in this photo it looks like there is still henna in her hair but it was something with the flash on the camera. This is her hair and her curls using Taliah Waajid Curl Sealer.
Here is a close up on her curls. I really love how they came out. She is loving her curls also.
We still have some work to do in the top but it is very much an improvement from February of 2011. Her hair is still a little wet so when it dries it looks a little more filled in.
Sorry it took so long for the update and I hope it was well worth the wait. Now we are working on getting her length back. There is no longer any breakage so she is gaining some inches.
Ladies love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!

August Update On Hair Growth My Way

I just wanted to pop in to show you Dana’s hair growth. Do you see the length we are getting here girls. Even though we have only gained 1/4 of a inch it is looking good. 
So she is still co washing her hair with Tresemme and massaging the scalp with the castor oil. Our goal right now is to get her hair softer. Because she was weaving 100% of the time and neglecting her hair, the moisture was just gone. She has gotten the confidants she needed to start wearing her hair out and stop hiding from under the wigs, plus it started getting hot up under there lol. I am pretty please with her growth and the taming we have done on her own natural curl pattern. Her hair is coming alive right before our eyes, lol. Her henna treatments are still done every 4 weeks and what I do is clarify before I apply the henna. There is a oil treatment done before and there is a deep condition treatment done after. With her wash n go’s I usually use gels and her curls come out great, here look.
 Aren’t they great?? Well ladies that’s all I think I have to share at this time and of course we will be keeping you posted.
Ladies as I always tell you love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!!

What's New On Childhood Friend

Over the weeks Mel’s curls are training to be the greatest. As I have repeated many times before of our regimen she goes by the same thing. The only thing that changes with some of the girls is the products they use for their curls because we have found out from practice everything is not for everyone. The one thing that I am for certain and for sure is that with time and afford everyone can have healthy hair and retain length. I know that everyone is not that concerned about length just as Curly Nikki, she keeps her hair at the length it is because that is what she wants.
 Well is the first day Mel came to me. There was a lot of heat damage and I knew over time I was going to have to cut it out. I gave her some time to say good-bye to her hair and I think I cut it maybe 2 weeks later lol..

This is her hair today. Tell me you can not see the big difference in her curls and yes I cut away all the heat damage. She also gets the henna treatments once a month and she maybe due for one now as we speak…. hello I know you hear me lol.
I really enjoy helping those I love to love their hair. Just the excitement I see on their face, like I can’t believe it looks like this, man Ummi you those fingers.. I am so sad that I will be moving so far away from them but I know they will keep it up because they have a passion for it. This is not just a phase nor a fly by night thing like it was with my daughter,uh don’t get me started.
But as I transition to my new home or old home in Atlanta  GA, Clarkston to be exact I know I will find some love ones who is looking for the same healthy journey as I am. As a matter of fact a Step Daughter is coming to mind, you know who you are so get ready babe.
Ladies I can not say this enough, love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!

My Week

So I am packing to move back to Atlanta GA and it has been a mess in here. So my hair, I decided to give it a rest and what better way to do that than with mini twist, yaaa. And I am blaming Naptural85 for this because she had just put them in her hair again and I could not take it anymore I just had to have them. lol They were looking hot man I mean hot! lol I just had to have them. I think I had them for 1 1/2 weeks now. Because my hair is so thin they just keep coming out and it will start in the back and just work it’s way up. So I did my hair over because my scalp was itching anyway and since my hair comes out of anything I do to it once it gets wet I knew it was a rap. So I redid my whole head and then in a few more days I just redid the ones that had come out.
But as I am typing this I am sitting with a deep conditioner on my hair with a plastic cap on and my satin cap. You know what is next, right? You got it! washing this bad boy. After I felt the tangles back there last night I said I have to save the nap of my hair it is not worth it, now that on my hair we are talking about.
This is going to be short but I just wanted to pop in to tell you how my experience went with the mini twist. I think you will enjoy her video on how to do them because it takes some patience but well worth it. You have a protective style and you get to keep it for weeks depending on your hair type. So I wanted to post this one for you all to watch.
How to Mini Twist So I hope you enjoy.

Ladies love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!!

Trying More Products And Ordering More YAAAAA!!!

I just had to vent for a min y’all. You know these chain stores  need to get it together, I mean together y’all. They call themselves having a sale for the week but put enough product on the shelf for a day or so. What kind of crap is that? I was pissed, you mean I wasted my gas and time to come to your store and you gonna say, ” oh I’m sorry but we are out of that”. Like hoping that we will stay and shop for something else. At least the Super Market when they have a sale the products is almost coming out the door or maybe out the door.  I really thought I was going to rack up on the Shea Moisture because there are some things that I have not tried yet and this is always the time to try a product out of a line when it is BOGO. I told CVS what was on my mind too, they can take it or leave it.  Well I had to take a drive to one of my mother’s friend house to pick something up before driving over to NJ to my sister’s house. Down the street from her was a CVS and it was the last day of the sale, I found 4 products left on the shelf of the Shea Moisture lol so I grab them but all of the curly line was gone of course. This is it I can not do this anymore. I will just have to pick the line of products I am going to stick with and just be done with it. If I find them on sale so be it, it not ok I will keep a head.
So now that I am kinda stocked up on my Shea Moisture it was time to reach out to what was going to be my final line for shampoo and conditioner. Aubrey Organics seemed to come in at #1 so I made sure I ordered a moisturizing shampoo and hydrating conditioner as well as a protein conditioner just so I will be able to keep that moisture / protein balance.
I am so hoping that I will love the Aubrey Organics line so that they will remain in my stables. And really this will just about round it up for me every thing else I have down pack.
We all know that Mixed Chicks is my curly product that I will never give up and Shea Moisture is my other curly product when I want a change. Both of these product lines give me the necessary  look that I am trying to achieve at that time. I just want to stop running out to buy what is on sale at that time to use for shampoo and conditioner.
We all know that we have to find what works for YOU and no one else lol. Once you do just keep it simple. Simple works, lol.
Ladies what I always say? Love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading,  peace and love!!!!

Henna For My Hair

Everyone knows that I do henna treatments on the hair of others and what my method is. But what everyone does not know is that when it comes time to henna my own hair I have time to sit with oils after the treatment. I apply oils to my clients hair before treatment and give them all a massage and make sure I clarify their hair before the henna is applied but afterwards it is just deep conditioner and they are styled and out. For me I have time since I am not leaving my house, lol to go a bit further. So after I condition wash my henna out really, really good I will take either olive oil or grapeseed oil and apply it to the whole hair concentrating on the ends as always. This great oil will help seal in the moisture as well as bringing out the color I am looking for in the next few days. Yes henna gets darker as the days go on, you will not see the final color when it is rinsed out.   
My mother never believes me when I tell her just give it a few days it will darken up.  This is what I wait for after every application. So the oil will allow me to keep my hair moisturized as well as in a restful state until my color kicks in. I know I was not trying to henna my hair until the move was final but I decided at the last min to not show up to Atlanta seeing all my old friends with grey hair lol.

Now I just wanted to show you the seeds that are used to make the grapeseed oil. Yes it is the real seeds from the Grapes that we eat. I mean this fruit serves many purposes, we eat the fruit itself and we make wine from it and now we have a cooking oil or hair oil from that same fruit. I am more and more amazed everyday of the things I am learning about everyday food. AMAZING!!
Ladies please love your hair and it will love you back.
As Always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!

My New Addition Hair Growth My Way

This had to be added to the Growth My Way section because 8 months ago another 1st cousin of mines started her journey and just like Dana she went down to about 1 1/2″ of hair. I am just so like excited with them both because they took the leap and for now are coming out on top.
Here is a look at her beginning. She stated when her hair was cut off she felt beautiful and she loved her curls. She looked different, there was like a glow all over her face because she knew she was a diva.  I helped her with understanding co washing and making sure the she concentrate on keeping her hair moist and make sure she was babying her ends to retain her growth. Her hair was dry and brittle before the cut and I really wanted her to have soft hair because her curls were just so nice. Since both Nikia and Dana are striving for growth as well as healthy hair this is ole so nice of them to allow us to follow their journey.

During the summer she had her hair into mini braids so she had not had her hair done for months. Everyone gets henna once a month and protein if they need it. When she walked in the door and took her scarf off I just about hit the floor, take a look.
WOW!!! right?? I could not believe the growth she got from January to September. She is just as surprise. So I proceeded to apply her treatments and making sure that I concentrated on moisture and protein balance. Once the deep conditioning was completed I styled her hair using Eco Styler clear gel. This is the finish product…
I just love it, don’t you??
Ladies love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thank you for reading, peace and love!!!!

My Dear Auntie

I have been working with my Auntie almost a year on the health and growth of her hair. She decided that she love the health but changed her mind about the growth. So she decided to get a cut that she would enjoy and later for the growth at this time lol. What is it about older women and short hair lol besides menopause…
This is the back view…
This is a side view…

Ladies love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!

Slow Growing

Let’s talk about my hair for a moment. I have helped everyone else over this past year and I am very grateful for it too but this is what made me discover the rate at which my hair is growing, very slowly. I started at 1/4″  in almost 4 yrs the end of this year and I am barely retaining half of the 6″ that could be saved. Once I calculated my growth for this past year it turned out to be about 3″ which sadden me so.  Now what is causing me to not retain my hair? I have been doing all the right things, keeping up my moisture plus deep conditioning I drink about a gallon of water in a night and sometimes protective styling so what could it be? The one thing that was not happening was food lol. I was not feeding myself. I mean who does that. 



So….. what’s new you say? Well I have been on vitamins for 3 months now and I am getting back to a healthy diet. I see fullness and nice shiny hair with lovely curls. The length I will have to wait and see on that one.
The great thing I see is that my hair is not falling out and my ends seem to be smooth. I will have to come back with an update later to tell you all about my growth rate to see if it has changed. Also I will talk some more about this hair line Natasha Somalia. Besides the vitamins I was sent two other products to try out which I can not wait to give you feed back on. So stay tuned for more news on this up and coming line.

Ladies as I always say, love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!!!!

The Truth About "Curls" by Paul Mitchell

I was sent two products of the Paul Mitchell Curls line by ShopPR. I was asked to try these products to see what I thought about them. I tried them several times in different ways so that I could give you all my most honest opinion about the products.
I first washed and condition my hair with Aubrey and proceeded to apply the Full Circle leave – in treatment, which I have to tell you allowed me to detangle my hair with no problems whats so ever. I then applied Twirl Around which is the curl definer and let my hair air dry.
I have to say that my curls were so defined and I loved how bouncy they were. I love bouncy curls. What I didn’t like was at the end of the day my hair was so dry, I mean that brittle feel kind of dry. It reminded me of the old mousse from back in the day. So I was frowning after that.
Next I refreshed my hair the next day with a spray bottle and just some water. My curls again were lovely and bouncy. I left my hair alone for the rest of the day and again my hair was dry. So I said let me try the product the way that I would use it if in my regimen.
So the next day I co washed and sealed with olive oil and then applied the Full Circle leave in and then the Twirl Around curl definer and air dry. Again my curls were to die for and so full but I just don’t know what to say, the dryness was still there even with the olive oil.
I have watched as many youtube videos as I could on the review of this product and across the board was the dryness issue. I think this product is on the right track and could be an even better product if, I don’t know maybe more oils were added. I know I hate my hair feeling dry, that is the one thing that will make me not return to a product is if my hair feels dry at the end of the day. Oh and I forgot to tell you all that my hair smelled so good, man I mean it was the bomb all day. I was not sent the shampoo so I don’t know how that is but if your hair is not one that needs extra oils in your products then maybe your hair will not feel dry but it was many different hair types that had the same complaint. I really hope this helped you all out and use this information to make your decision.
Ladies as I always say love your hair and it will love you back.
As always thanks for reading, peace and love!!!

What's New Now In Atlanta


OK, since the big move there are some things that have changed in my regimen but not much. I know I told you that I was waiting on my shipment from the Aubrey line, it came and I have been using it in my regimen and I will tell you all about that. As far as the henna process, it stays the same. What changes is what comes after that.
1. Wash days is Sunday, I wash my hair with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle shampoo and then I use Moroccan Oil Intense Hydration Mask and I try to leave it on for 2 hrs and sometimes that don’t work unless I am doing my hair late at night. I rinse it out with cool water and on to the next step.
2. I have grown fond of Shea Moisture Thickening Growth Milk. I don’t like these products on their own for my hair because they left my hair so dry but I have found a use for them. The growth milk is applied to my hair and finger combed in to make sure it gets distributed through out my ends, I like to do the rake and smooth method.
3. Sealing is next, I use olive oil most of the time to seal in the moisture.
4. To proceed, Mixed Chicks leave in is added to my hair for definition. I rake through my hair down to the ends to make sure that I get every bit of my hair.
5. Last step, Alterna Smoothing Lotion is put on top of the Mixed Chicks Leave in just to tame the frizz a little more. I don’t like big hair, I like big curls, which is why I use the Alterna. Once it is through my strands and to my ends I begin my smoothing method. I take most of the stands one by one and smooth and spring is the best that I can describe it. When I do this method my curls look more like Shirley Temple curls. I have fuller hair but not big hair. In the nape area this method is very important because it cuts down on knots.

This is the best regimen I have had so far. I get to have smooth silky curls that bounce all over the place. My hair is left to air dry and it may take up to 2hrs for that to happen. Once it is completely dry I take my hands and smooth out the crunch which I don’t mind at all. I take my hands and massage my scalp to make sure that I get the fullness that I want in my curls sometimes I even shake my head to get the style I want. So I will get 2nd day hair out of this and it is great for me because I never like 2nd day hair until now. I just take a spray bottle and spritz my hair and smooth my hands down on my hair all the way to the ends to make sure I will not have any frizz as well as making sure my curls spring.
This is what works for me and yes I will keep coming to tell you about my regimen as it changes. I have been able to save my ends with this method which was a really hard thing for me to do before. I can not wait to see how much length I gain from this new regimen.
Ladies as I always say, love your hair and it will love you back.
As always, thanks for reading, peace and love!!!!