LOVE

Banana Deep Conditioner Results!

My hair feels really soft!!! I don't have a great amount of curl definition, but I kind of like my hair that way anyway. Conclusion? I'll definately be doing this treatment again!

Homemade Banana Deep Conditioning Treatment

I came across this article on Beyond Black and White, and it inspired me to get in the kitchen and concoct my own homemade deep conditioning treatment. I chose to do the Banana Treatment because it was the only one in the list that I already had all of the ingredients for :). However, I did tweak the ingredients just a bit.

My Mixture

1 and 1/2 Banana (sliced)
5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
1/2 cup water
A dash of Vegetable Glycerin and Aloe Vera Gel

I blended that bod boy together (if you don't blend there tends to be lots of banana chunks). The resulting mixture was very liquidy, but I stuck it in the fridge over night and here is my result!

It looks a lot more liquidy than it actually is. Check out that consistency:

Pretty thick! So prior to putting the banana condish on my hair, I warmed my trusty oil bottle in a bowl of hot water until it was warm. I then used the nozzle to properly oil my scalp which led to a relaxing scalp massage.

I then shampooed my hair using Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Shampoo. I hate using a towel, so I blotted my hair dry with an old t-shirt to remove excess water afterwards. I usually wash/ condition my hair in twists for several reasons.

1. My hair just doesn't feel the same if I try to wash/condition it with a regular fro. My hair doesn't feel as moisturized.
2. I want to get my scalp really clean, so twists allow me to shampoo my scalp, not my actual hair.

After my pre poo and shampoo, it's time to get to work!

I added conditioner to each twists by untwisting and then coating the strand in banana-y goodness.

And here's how they looked when I finished each strand.

Now I'm going to wait 30 mins to wash it out and then I plan on conditioning one last time with my staple cheapie V05 Moisture Milk Strawberries and Cream. Yum!

Result pics will be coming soon!

Hair Challenge

My hair has grown a lot over my year of being natural but I feel like I'm ready to take it to the next level. Maybe you'll join me?

I've decided to give myself a hair challenge in an attempt to achieve healthy, shiny, bouncy locs. And yes, I hope this will help it grow a little longer in the process. I understand that hair shininess and length is in part genetic, but there are things all curlies can do to make their hair the best it an be.

My Luscious Locs Challenge

I plan to:

• drink water with every meal (sorry cherry coke, you are no longer my staple)
• do a scalp massage every night
• eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal
• wash/ deep condition weekly

I know other hair challenges include taking a daily vitamin or exercise, but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible (baby steps my friends) and I know those don't jive with my life style.

So what about you? Are there any hair challenges you've tried or would like to?

Sorry!

I haven't been posting that often AT ALL.

Part of the reason is school work and general life business but mostly it's because I've been Tumblin'.

I used to be one of those people who thought "Tumblr? What is the point of that? It's not even a real blog!"

But now? I've fallen in love.

Tumblr is more than just pictures and random GIFs.

Tumblr is a place for the right brained. For the creative creators of the world who love life and color and love and wish to celebrate that. Tumblr reveals personalities and makes connections to friends that think and dream just like you. It's give voice to the meek. The people who walk down the halls each day and nobody notices. It's home to the loved, the lost, the believers, the painters, the artists, the depressed and oppressed. It's great. You should really get one. And explore.

Here's mine :) badahair.tumblr.com

Length Retention and Protective Styling

Sighs.

I am in love with my hair, curlies, but I've come to the realization that I'm kind of the abusive boyfriend in this analogy. I'm nice and gentle with her. I treat her to deep conditioning dates and deep scalp massages. But every now and then I get frustrated and I start to abuse her. I fall asleep without twisting her ( a big no no for me it gets really tangled) or instead of slowly untwisting my twists from the bottom up, I rip them apart from the top down. (And yes sometimes I even hear that sickening RIIIIIP!)

So today is the day where I'm making a public declaration of love to my hair in hopes that she'll forgive me and give me another chance.

From now on, I vow to:

1. Treat my hair to yummy deep conditioning treatments on a regular basis.
2. not be lazy and co-wash daily or at the most every other day (she is happiest when I do this)
3. Seal and Untwist my ends with oil dipped finger tips
4. More Scalp Massages
5.No more ripping my twists apart in the morning! I will be more gentle!
6. To do more protective styling/ low manipulation


I have a problem with protective styling. The problem is I don't really do it unless I have some form of weave in. My hair isn't long enough and is too thick anyways for a pony tail or bun or any other style that I've seen where you can tuck the ends of your hair away. So I'm more of a low manipulation style girl. But sometimes I forget the "low manipulation" part of the style and I constantly twist/'un twist my hair. As a result I only see lots of hair growth/length retention after a long period of wearing weave. Which sucks.

So I researched some styles that are great for protecting the hair. Unfortunately they seem to include:

• Buns (which I can't do yet)
• Twists (Which I am doing and don't seem to be working)
• Flat twists (Ditto)
• Weaves

Ahhh! Any advice? What is your choice protective style or some of the vows you've made to your lovely locks?

:P

My Chunkier Twist Out Results

I said in an earlier post that I wanted to do a twist out with bigger chunks o hair so that my resulting hair do would be less defined and more fluffy. So here is the result!

Sorry for the bathroom pics lol. I get the best lighting in their tho!

For my chunky twist out I didn't add any more product onto my hair because it was already pretty moisturized. I never really part my hair I just grab chunks and twist. I've been flat twisting the front of my hair to one side to make a kind of part and to keep certain strands from sticking straight up as my hair is sometimes prone to do.

At night I have a satin scarf I wrap around my head (just to keep the twists from sticking up all weird in the morning) and in the morning I just spray my hair lightly with my leave in concoction for a boost of moisture.

And voila! Chunky Twist Out! By far my favorite style thus far.

What are some of your favorite natural styles?

:P