Update August; Highlights and Brahmi Oil

As previously stated, I will write primarily monthly updates on this blog. To make things consistent, I'll be using a structured question format.

August Update 

What is the current length of your hair?

What products are you currenty loving?
Tresseme Naturals - This not only gives me great slip, but is also super moisturizing!
Brahmi Oil - Contains 22 different herbs and oils including coconut and amla. This stuff is the bomb.com!
Eco-styler - I can't believe I'm writing this but a tiny amount of eco styler mixed with olive oil has help me maintain a frizzless, defined and bouncy wash and go. My hair usually hates gel. Happy I didn't give up on trying to make it work for me!


What's your current wash regimen?

• Cowash 1 - 2 times per week
• Shampoo twice a month (every 14 days)
• Apply a leave-in or leave in a little conditioner
• Seal hair with coconut, olive or monoi oil and seal ends with shea butter
• At night I leave my hair in the puff and wrap it,wake up, fluff and go or I baggy the puff and wrap the rest. Sometimes, if my hair feels dry at night, I apply a little water and leave-in.

How have you been styling your hair?
Puffs and an occassional wash and go. I'll probably start twisting again in September when the weather cools down.


What challenges have you faced?
Trimming my hair. My hair is really dense and destroy and search is a bit difficult. I'm trying to find an effective way to trim. I think I may have to have my hubby go back to trimming duty, at least the back of my head, that's the most difficult part to trim.

Any drastic changes to your regimen or hair?
Highlights


Would you like to offer any hair advice for this month?
Brahmi oil, this stuff is incredible and it works great when mixed with conditioner. Some people complain about the smell, but I think it smells mostly like coconut oil. It's so moisturizing and imparts shine.
Vinegar rinses to help cuticles lie flat and add sheen to the hair. I use about 4 cups of cold water and 1/8 cup of vinegar, a little goes a long way. I do this once or twice per month.

Happy August!

Fewer Posts

Blogging about my natural journey really has helped me catalog my experiences and gain a more solid regimen.  I hope that I was able to help someone out there going natural or debating about going natural or anyone for that matter. However, in the future, there will be fewer posts on this blog. I'll try to get a post at least once per month. The monthly posts will generally be a hair update (growth, regimen, etc), style or product review. I feel like the things I am doing in my routine at this moment have not changed greatly, with the acception of implementing some new products. I still use nautral products such as rhassoul and vinegar rinses, still dc with conditioner mixed with oil and wear pretty much the same styles. Since my goal is pretty much healthy long hair, a monthly update is probably more suitable for this platform.

I'm thrilled to be in the position of having a solid hair routine. In addition, via wearing puffs all summer, I realized I've grown past the awkward stage, yay! Life in natural hair land is pretty good at the moment, but nothing drastic or that exciting to run home and blog about. This whole adjustment to natural hair snuck up on me without me even realizing it and I'm loving it.

This isn't a goodbye for sure, but a see you again soon (i.e. next month).

xoxo

Return from Vacation Updates w/pics

I'm back from vacation. I had a beautiful time with fam and friends. I feel relaxed and rejuvenated, besides being a little jet-lagged. I also feel giddy everytime I open my bathroom closet, as it is are now stocked with products! You'd think I'd won a sweepstakes or something!

Being in the States for vacation made me realize, I would be a total product junky if I were living there. I know in my hair goals post, I discussed finding one or two staple products, however, that's easy to say living in Europe, where options are significantly smaller. So when I got home and hit the aisles of Target, Walgreens and CVS, I kind of went wild--- like literally cray cray! I just started grabbing up products as if they were disappearing. Some of the finds that I am loving at the moment are: Tressemme Naturals and Brahmi Oil. I will try Giovanni "Smooth as Silk" for the first time today, I've heard really good things about so I'm excited!

I know in my "gray hair discovery"post, I mentioned that I would henna my hair. I don't know why but there is just a little voice in the back of my head that is telling me not to henna. I listened to it and decided against it. I guess I'm just not ready. I must have a hair committment issue and the idea of having to retouch and re-henna on regular basis makes me a little weary. I did however, decide to get highlights! I wanted a new look and to brighten things up a bit. I got light brown and honey colored highlights only in my crown and the front of my hair. I really love the look and think it adds great dimension to my hair. The highlights didn't at all loosed my curl pattern and I haven't experienced any unusual dryness. I'll upload pics later of my highlights on flat-ironed and natural hair.

Besides the color, I've just been enjoying an easier more laidback approach to my hair in the summer. Twice a week co-washes and pulling it back into a high puff. This was my vacation approach at least, I'm hoping it carries over to my everyday approach. Simplicity is lovely.

I feel like my hair responded so well to the climate back in the States. It loved humidity and salty, moist, ocean air. Everytime I went to beach, I could not stop caressing my hair. Oh well, a girl, or at least her hair, can't have it all, but can be spoiled from time to time with a nice beach vacation.

How are you liking your summer hair routines?

Xoxo

**********************************************

My hair highlighted and flatironed in an updo.

My summer to-go-to style wash and puff

My highlighted natural hair

My Hair Loves Humidity!

I'm thrilled to be back home and am having loads of fun spending time with the family, especially my nephew, and catching up with friends. My hair has been in humid and dewy heaven here! I'm staying away from humectants and enjoying the sheen and moisture that humidity provides!

I wore my hair in twists for the first 4 days of my trip and on my flight. This worked out really well and my hair stayed hydrated, which is rare when I fly. I'm already in product heaven-- or hell (i.e for my wallet), depending on how you look at it! Today, I'm trying Aussie Moist for the first time and plan on doing a wash and go. We'll see if I still love the humidity as much as I did when my hair was in twists. =)

Here are some products I'd like to test during my stay and hopefully, I'll stock my suitcase with a winner.

• Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
• Aubrey Organics Glycogen Protein Balancing Condi
• Hawaiin Silky Leave-in
• Kinky Kurly Knot Today
• Giovanni 50/50 Condi

Any other suggestions for me? What are some of your favorite products?

Preserving My Wash and Go

Tonight, I'll twist my hair and leave it in twists for about one week. This week, I decided to wear my hair out and do a wash and go. To preserve my wash and go, at night, I simply put my hair into two low buns. I leave the front of my hair pulled back, as styled below and in the previous post "Hide Your Awkward". The ends of my hair, I moisturize with diluted leave-in. I used to moisturize my hair at night with oil, but I noticed, I still woke up to not-so moisturized hair. This was the result, even after wetting my hair. I think the trick for me is definitely applying leave-in to my ends and then wrapping my hair with a satin scarf. My hair really seems to love leave-in conditioner.

This is day 3 of my wash and go.

On another note, I am heading to the US next week and am really excited to see family and friends. While there, I plan on testing out some products to figure out what to bring back. The goal for me is to select two conditioners (that can serve as a leave-in, deep conditioner and co-wash conditioner), one styling product that lasts a long time (maybe shea moisture or kinky curly) and henna. I hope to stock up and bring these items back with me. On another note, my hair is lighter than usual due to the summer (and maybe my use of honey). I recently wrote about doing henna, however, at this stage, henna will definitely give me red hair near my hairline (see picture). I'm entertaining the idea of adding indigo to my henna for a dark, warm brownish-black color. It would be nice for fall and I think darker hair generally looks more lustrous and shiny than light hair.