it's been awhile

It has been awhile since I've posted, it's not that I don't have anything to write about its just that I can't focus long enough to do so. Hopefully, with this long break I have coming up I'll be able to get back to it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Winterizing Your Hair

In a time when grease is though of as a bad thing I have learned, for my hair, it is the best protection against the bitter cold of living in the Northeast of the US. There is nothing cute about damaged hair so these are the products I use to make sure my hair is protected from the freezing cold and wind damage:

For my scalp I use either Blue Magic's Indian Hemp or Coconut Oil hair grease/conditioners

For my hair I use Black n' Sassy Lavender Oil...I like it MUCH better than Luster's Pink Lotion:

If things start getting really bad and my hair starts breaking or thinning out I use Bronner Bros. Pine Tar. It stinks like hell but works. 

WARNING: Only use this product at night, use a pillow case you don't care about and a scarf you don't care about. In the morning use a moisturizer that smells good but is light so your hair isn't super oily.

In the winter time I grease my scalp every 3 days and wash my hair every 3 - 4 weeks. I put a scarf on my hair every time I go outside (underneath my hat). I haven't quite found the perfect protective hairstyle for my lil busy self but when I do I will let you bloggers know!!!

Two-Strand Twist

Two-Strand Twists
The style for the week & hopefully the weeks to come.  This here are the results:

Two strand twists can be done on wet or dry hair.  Since I'd been wearing my hair in a puff pony tail and it was pretty stretched out I decided to do dry twist thinking that I wanted to go for length.  I have VERY thin hair in my opinion and as a result my twists always look "scalpy"(you know how you can see the parts/not full).

After watching a couple of YouTube videos I decided to give it a second chance and was very successful with the result this time around.  So here are a few tips:

1. Don't try to twist your hair all in one setting especially if you don't have any help.  Once you start getting tired you get lazy and your style suffers.  You won't care about parting it well or the size of the twist, you just want to GET IT DONE!!! So, take your time and do a little bit at a time I started with the front, then the back and lastly the middles. Which allowed me to wear my hair in a ponytail until I was finished.

2. Try to part your hair as even as possible and keep your twist the same size.  When parting I find it best to stagger the twist so that they are not all lined up(if that makes any since...kinda like "every other" <--that probably doesn't help lol).

3. When twisting the two pieces of hair together make sure they are even amounts and of the same length.  Its best not to add hair from the other piece as you twist because this will cause tangling and knotting when it's time to take it down.

After I finished my entire head I didn't care for it AT ALL! The first day I wore it all in a ponytail thinking "oh well I"m keeping these for at least two weeks".  At this time my hair was completely straight even the ends of the twist which was not want I wanted. so i sprayed them with water then put some oil on the ends to help them curl up.  this was much better but to my dismay the looked thin and scrawny.  So I figured why not just spray my whole head with water so they "will puff up."  I initially I was concerned about shrinkage but I figured it would be worth a shot.   After spraying it they "puffed up" and became fuller and the shrinkage helped it to look fuller which is what was my main issue the first go round. 

So, I'm happy with the results and falling in love with my hair :-)

TANGLE TEEZER!

I recently came across a product called the "tangle teezer" while watching a YouTube video, so of course I had to Google it!!  I found great reviews from several websites and immediately I was sold.  I found my local Sally's store and picked one up for $9.99 + tax.

This is what it looks like:

 

You use this as you would any other comb/brush in the de-tangling process.  I'll give you a step by step.

1.  Part your hair in to several sections.  Its easier to de-tangling when using small sections at a time.

2.  Spray your hair with water or if you prefer some type of leave-in conditioner. You should NEVER try to de-tangle hair while dry.  It doesn't stretch as well and can cause breakage.

3.  Now this is a personal preference I suppose but I prefer to start detangling from the ends and work my way to the roots.  However, when reading the directions in the box the started from the roots.

4. Once you work your way up after only a few strokes you should be able to run the Tangle Teezer from root to end with not a problem.

The brush it self has a lot of small flexible teeth that help to immediately detangle and stretch the hair out.

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this for all hair type and especially for use on kids hair.  It is fast and easy to you use.

So, having said all that WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON? GET UP! GO TO SALLY'S & GET A TANGLE TEEZER TODAY!!!

lol

Feel free to comment if you have any questions....

-MsQuietstorm
sistahcurlz.blogspot.com

My Hair Type

Based on the different descriptors that were put in the post What's Your Hair Type?, my hair type is:
2.5BC, S, Medium, Spongy

So what does that mean for me? I NEED MOISTURE...and lots and lots and lots of it!!!
Still haven't figure out what is the perfect combination of products to keep my hair at is best but when I do I will let you ladies know!

-MsBegonia
sistahcurlz.blogspot.com

Split Ends...

There are a million and one products out there saying they can reverse the dreaded problem of split ends. However, the only product that I have come across that cures the dreaded split ends is...>drum roll please<
a good pair of hair sheers.
There is no glue that binds the hair back together. To stop the unwinding/splitting of your hair you must CUT!!! Don't be afraid of the sheers. Sheers are your friend to nice, long, beautiful, and truly healthy hair. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING cute about long hair that is filled with ends that can help fuel a fire.
It is important for you to find out how often you need to trim your ends to maintain healthy hair. For me, I need to trim my ends once a month. It helps my hair to grow and remain healthy.
I was watching a video by Ms. Heather Nicole on youtube about split ends and a technique she calls "Search & Destroy". This is finding split ends and just clipping the offending strands and not the entire section that we often do at times. I do this a lot, mostly out of boredom. It has helped me to learn where I have most of my trouble spots and helped me to change my routine for my hair.

So happy clipping!!!

~ Ms. Begonia

Who Would've Thought!

A year ago who would've thought I woudl be apart of this natural hair journey? Surely not me!

For those who know me, I am truly a girl who loves weave...the longer n bigger the better. That was my motto, but gradually out of nowhere the thoughts of going natural started to invade my brain, then my spirit. After being permed for years and seeing my hair at its highs n lows, I finally made up my mind to try it and see where it goes. My hair had started breaking off bad in the back and it really never got back to the full body bounce it once had. The influence has always been around me...my mom rocks a short texturizer and my sis has been natural twice.  They both have heads made for short styles but me not so much.

During my transition I wore a lot of weaves- n-wigs but after like 5 months I said "F" it and cut it off.  I never pictured myself with short hair because I felt I couldn't rock it like my mom n sis, but to my suprise when I did my big chop it didn't look that bad!! Who would've thought "MS BIG LONG HAIR DONT CARE" would rock a TWA and rock it well! Well, I did and I wouldn't change it and proud of it. 

Don't get me wrong, I was scared as hell at first and it took a lil while to love it but after time I fell in love and truly love, like, n embrace my thick coily spongy NATURAL HAIR!!

-MzPhotogenick
sistahcurlz.blogspot.com

Going Natural?

I've come to realize that natural hair can bring about quite a debate for many.  Everyone has their own reason to go natural. Wearing your hair natural is definitely not for the "faint at heart" it takes work.

I once heard someone say "natural hair isn't for everybody." For some reason this really annoyed me and thinking further on this statement it is PARTIALLY true.  I don't exactly know what that person meant by this but this is how i see it.... How can something "natural" not be for everybody? Is this not how we were born?  What's so wrong with wearing your hair exactly how it was given to you? Whether, nappy, kinky, curly, or whatever the term you want to use to describe it.

On the other hand maybe it "isn't for everybody" ONLY because it can take some work and some people just don't want to put in the effort towards their hair. If you never had a relaxer or had your hair straightened as a child you would be used to it. Had it not been for our parents relaxing our hair (probably for conveinence or to make it more "manageable") wearing our hair natural would be the norm.  Granted some of us have really "nappy" hair (lol) and as kids we hated getting it combed; had our mothers taking a different approach maybe we would have been able to deal with it better.

It's rare that someone says "relaxers aren't for everybody" or "she shouldn't have gotten a perm" that is the standard these days it's what we have become used to. When you wear your hair natural their are ALWAYS going to be mixed reviews, some love it, some hate it and others are not quite sure how they feel about it. (lol)

So why go natural? Who am I to tell you why?  Going natural should be your decision, you may want to just try something different or maybe your having issues from relaxing your hair. Whatever the case it should be FOR YOU.....NOT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO FIT IN WITH WHAT HAS BECOME SOCIETY'S STANDARD.

-MsQuietStorm

What's Your Hair Type???

The following are different ways categorize hair. First up we have Andre Walker's Hair categorizer...

Typically Hair Types are put into 4 categories (curl pattern):

1. Straight

2. Wavy

3. Curly

4. Kinky

With 3 subcategories (thickness & tightness):

A: Thin & finer 

B: Medium texture, "S" shaped

C: Thicker, coarser; tighter, smaller curl pattern

Next up we have the LOIS Categorizing System. This system is based on the actual look of a single strand of hair.

L: If the strand has all bends, right angles, and folds with little to no curve

O: If the strand is rolled up into the shape of one or several O like a spiral

I: If the strand lies mostly flat with no distinctive curve or bend

S: If the strand looks like a wavy line with hills and valleys

Finally we have the FIA Categorizing System also based on a single strand of hair.

Thickness of Strand:

Thin: smaller than a size of a frayed piece of thread

Medium Thickness: size of a frayed piece of thread

Thick: larger than a size of frayed piece of thread

Texture of Strand:

Shine = sharp reflection of light

Sheen - dull reflection of light

Thready: Low sheen, high shine; low frizz - wets easily; water dries out quickly

Wiry: Sparkly sheen, low shine; low frizz - water bounces off hair; hair never seems to get fully wet

Cottony: low sheen, high shine; high frizz - absorbs water quickly, doesn't get wet fast

Spongy: high sheen, low shine; compacted looking frizz - absorbs water before it gets thoroughly wet

Silky: low sheen, high shine; a lot or low frizz - easily wets in water

Knowing your hair type is important because it will tell you what you need to do with your hair, types of cleansers, conditioners, moisturizers, etc.

-Ms.Begonia

(I used this sites and others for Hair Types, LOIS Hair Types, )