Keep Me Curly!: Shades of Us - GIVEAWAY!!!

This is one of the blogs that I love to read because they have so many different types of hair that they showcase. I love all that product reviews I have read or watched on YT for products I would not have heard of otherwise. I also enjoy watching all the children and how they have grown up. Please go by and check this blog out, in fact right now is ideal cause they are holding a giveaway for some really great hair accessories from a new company.

Keep Me Curly!: Shades of Us - GIVEAWAY!!!: Giveaway time! Three lucky winners will win ANY hair accessory of their choosing from Shades of Us! Have you gone over to the Shades o...

Diva Locks (Diva Do's & Everything In Between): 111 Follower Giveaway!!!!!

Go by and Check out the Giveaway going on at Diva Locks...

Diva Locks (Diva Do's & Everything In Between): 111 Follower Giveaway!!!!!: Hello!!! I had said that once I reached 111 followers I would hold a giveaway well I have surpassed my goal thanks to the Rafflecopter Rou...

My NaturallyCurly.com Photo Shoot Experience... by Des (picture heavy)

Hi, it's Des... sorry it has been so long since I have written but I have been busy with school.

I wanted to stop by and tell everyone about an experience I had this past Sunday. My mom saw something about a photo shoot for NaturallyCurly.com taking place where we live. So my mom asked me if I it was something I wanted to do and I said sure. Well she sent some pictures of me in to the place and they told her they would like me to come.

Well on Saturday night we washed my hair and detangled it then put some moisturizer in it. My mom put it in a pineapple and off to bed I went. The next morning, I got dressed in my casual outfit and mom took my pineapple down, my hair looked good so we just added a little more moisturizer to it. We made sure we had all our stuff and off the the park we went.

In the car.

Before the shoot, taken by mom

During shoot, when photographer was busy

My mom was really early to the park so we sat in the car and talked. She took pictures of me, she always does that. We started to see a few other curly haired children roaming about so we got out since it was almost time to start. There were only a few of us there; a set of twin sisters, a set of sisters, another little girl and me. The photographer and another lady for NaturallyCurly.com showed up and told us what they wanted to do. All the kids took pictures on the swings and in other parts of the park. We were running, jumping, holding hands, and walking around. We took pictures together in a group and by ourselves. Once we were done at the park we headed over to the hair salon called Ron King Salon.

At the Ron King Salon, there were a lot of adults there for the photo shoot. People had different kinds of curly hair everywhere you looked. People were getting haircuts, styles, and makeup. They decided they wanted me to get a hair style done. While I was getting my hair done, a photographer from Amber Vickery Photography took step by step pictures to show people how to do it themselves. The stylist did three rolling twists into bantu knots on the right side of my head with a puff in the front. After that I did 360 head shots, a detail shot of my curl pattern, and a stretch shot to show the length of my hair pulled straight (gotta love shrinkage).

Three rolling twist with Bantu knots, puff in front (top of head)

Another angle

While we were waiting we were offered finger sandwiches, beverages, fruit, chips, bagels, and pickles. I really enjoyed meeting everyone. I think the hardest thing part of the shoot was the heat when we were outside and smiling for long periods of time. I hope I can share the pictures taken by the photographer soon. I had a great time and hope that I can do it again some day.

Sincerely,
Des

Note from Michelle (Mom): The pictures in the above post are ones I took myself with my cell phone and my own camera. I would like to thank the staff of NaturallyCurly.com, Amber Vickery Photography and Ron King Beauty for making this such a wonderful experience. All the men and women who took part were wonderful.

Nutty for Macadamia Nut Oil (Picture Heavy)

So a while back while research oils in general I ran across some information about Macadamia Nut Oil that intrigued me. I learned that it was very rich in Essential Fatty Acids and distinctively resembles Sebum. Macadamia Nut Oil is an ideal enriching and replenishing agent that allows for it to be rapidly absorbed.

Some of the benefits of Macadamia Nut Oil are that it is intensely nourishing. It provides a smooth and long lasting tangle free, frizz free finish on hair with incredible shine. Hair and skin instantly absorbs the lightweight oil. It also provides natural UV protection and is said to extend the life of color treatments while reducing dryness by 40% to 50%.

Well with all that being said I really wanted to try it but I had a hard time finding it. I found it at Natural Grocers, 16 oz. for $12.99 made by NOW Healthy Foods.

The first time we used it was after co washing Des' hair, while it was in box braids, using Yes To Carrots conditioner, love this stuff for Des and I. Since we were going to do Curlformers I just took one box braid down at a time. I detangled and moisturized her hair with Kinky Curly Knot Today and Macadamia Nut Oil mixed together. I then coated each section with Eco Styler and put the Curlformer in. I repeated this process till her whole head was done. With the exception of the one flat twist that I put in across the front of her face.

The next morning we took the Curlformers out and her hair looked great. It was moisturized and the curls were defined and shiny. Des wore her hair like this to church that day and wore it in a pony tail the remainder of school week and we didn't have to reapply any moisturizer to her hair. I did use a small amount to move her ponytail over from the center to the right side of her head.

We decided to rinse her a week after first application with just warm water and detangle her hair again. We were in a rush so we did this fairly quickly with out any issues. Her hair was not tangled except along the nape of her neck where her uniform shirt rubs and even that wasn't hard to detangle. The only thing we used once her hair was rinsed was Macadamia Nut Oil alone. Des' hair was put up in a high ponytail since we were going to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party. We were there for about 4 hours, she was running around and playing 90% of the time. I was really worried about the frizz especially since the front of her hair was almost dry when I put the MNO in her hair. Well to my pleasant surprise, we had very lil fly aways and her curls were beautifully defined.

Sunday evening, to get ready for school, we sat down and did rolling twists that lead into a ponytail. On Tuesday morning, I put her ponytail in twist for school. On Wednesday morning, I put the twists into a bun.

Wednesday Night we decided to wash her hair with SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Shampoo and conditioned with Yes to Carrots. I put MNO in her hair prior to finger detangling and then using a Denman brush to brush her hair out. I then put in random twists for the night. I did a twist out the next morning but it went into a ponytail at Des' request. They are doing a lot of PE testing in school and it is still hot here. When she got home from school we did take her hair down and separates her from her twist.

I must say we absolutely love Macadamia Nut Oil. It does a wonderful job of keeping her hair moisturized but not greasy feeling. I love how my hands feel when I am done working with Des' hair. We both enjoy the light nutty smell that it has although it does fade pretty quickly so don't worry if that is not your thing. Her hair looks better for longer and feels better as well. I love that I am not constantly needing to apply more moisturizer to her hair throughout the week. I also did not notice any buildup of dirty or oil on her hair since we have started we using it.

Have you ever used Macadamia Nut Oil? If so, what was your experience?

I hope that you enjoy this post. If you decide to give Macadamia Nut Oil please let me know what you think. Until the next time...Stay Blessed.

First Day of School Hair, REALLY Late

I must apologize first off of how late this is. I have been so busy with everything, I completely forgot to post what I did to Des' hair the first day of "summer school." Des' school goes back in for two weeks for partial days to get the kids back into the swing of things and get everyone used to the schedules and such so this was done the beginning of August.

The day before school started we had just returned for a week and a half of traveling. Des' hair had been in box braids with two cornrows across the front of her head. Des had been swimming, playing and not always sleeping with her bonnet so we were in for a treat when it came time to take her hair down.

Vacation hair, night before leaving

Lots of swimming

In order to make the process easier and to help restore some of the moisture in her hair I put a oil blend on her hair/scalp to help the braids loosen up. Des had a few along nape of her neck that were really bad and we hadn't noticed up to that point cause we were going non stop. Thankfully the oil blend coupled with the conditioner in the shower helped tremendously. The braids were left in during the co washing portion and taken down once she got done.

I moisturized her hair and we opted to do something quick since we were tired and it was late. I let Des search the site of my fellow blogging friends and she came across a style she wanted to try on Goldilocks*n*Me's page. Des had chosen to do two slide braids on each side that connected to a 3 strand twist in the back. This style entailed doing some things we have never done before but we gave it a shot and loved it.

Slide braids with 3 strand twist (our first time for both)

Des started her first day of school with a fresh new 'Do and a smile on her face too. She came back to me and reported that people at school loved her hair. We ended up keeping her hair that way for that week and just changing the pony tailed portion from a 3 strand twist to a fish tail braid as the week progressed.

Slide braids into a fish tail braid

I hope that you will go and check out  the blog, Goldilocks*n*Me, I know that you will see some wonderful styles and find some very good information.

Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed this post. Until the next... Stay Blessed.

Diva Locks has Done it again (Review & Giveaway)

I first must say that I have had the pleasure to have been the lucky winner of two different giveaways for some of Tiffany of Diva Locks' creations. The first giveaway was for a turquoise and pink butterfly headband which she crocheted and the second was a red, white and blue star headband she crocheted. Tiffany shipped the headbands when she said she would on both occasions and they arrived within a few days. The first headband we won was Des' favorite colors so she was immediately in love and upon taking it out of it's packaging it was on her head. The second headband was for a July 4th giveaway and was very appropriate. It arrived wrapped in tissue with a snazzy Diva Locks sticker on the tissue as a nice touch.

I love how the headbands are able to be adjusted to fit various size heads which is wonderful for families with more than one girl or for girls to grow into them. I was able to let a friend's daughter wear the star with no issues keeping it on. The headbands are super cute and soft to the touch. We always get compliments on them when we are out cause they are so unique and wonderfully made.

With all that being said Tiffany from Diva Locks which she has generously decided sponsor a giveaway for my readers. Tiffany has made a beautiful Zebra Slouch Hat since we are headed into Fall this week for one of you. Below is the Rafflecopter Entry form for you to use to enter this giveaway. I hope that you all enjoy this opportunity and please keep in mind this is my very first giveaway. I hope that it goes well as I have many other things in the works. Good Luck All!

Hair Carnival: Copy Cat Style....

So you like twist... flat, two strand, three strand...but how about rolling twist? Well this month for the Hair Carnival we were paired up with another blogger to copy one of their styles. I was lucky enough to get Untrained Hair Mom who does wonderful styles on her daughter, D (gotta love that she has a D too). Des and I really couldn't decide on just one style so we did a couple.

The first style incorporated Rolling Twists which look very nice and give the appearance that a lot of time was invested. I think the reason it did not take Des and I a long time to do this style had to do with the fact that we were doing it at the end of a week before we co-washed her hair again. I think the thing that probably took me the longest is making sure the parts matched and the angle at which they were made were as close to being like the opposite side. I know the next time we do this style we will be doing it immediately after washing /detangling and we will use holding product of some sort. I feel like it came out well all things considered. 

The second style was how we salvaged her hair after the rubber band broke on her Stretching Veil style. I just removed all the rubber bands except the ones in the front and put her head band in. Once I had the head band in I crossed the sections of hair and re-secured them again in a different pattern over the head band. I gathered the remainder of her hair in a ouch less ponytail and braided it. Once it was braided, I put it in a braided bun. We were going to be out and it was too hot for her to have her hair out. 

I really enjoyed this Hair Carnival and I hope that you enjoyed seeing my interpretation of  Untrained Hair Mom's styles. She has great information and holds fantastic giveaways on her Blog so be sure to check her out, you will be glad you did.

Until the next time...Stay Blessed.

Style with Purpose...

I am going to share one way I stretch hair. I know a lot of you may have heard about banding hair to stretching for styling like my friend at All Things Cute and Girly does or to stretch it in order to prepare for a trim which is what my friend at Untrained Hair Mom did. I do a different variation of this using a veil method. I used a veil method cause Des and I had somewhere to be and I was trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Freshly co-washed and moisturized

Des had just co-washed her hair. I moisturized her hair from root to tip using a butter mixture. I then began sectioning it off her hair while Des picked the colors she wanted, since we opted for colored rubber bands. I used a modified Denman brush to smooth her hair as I got the hair sectioned off to put it up. I did five sections across the front of her head. I then staggered the second area into six sections. I went back to five sections for the third area. The fourth area was put into six sections. I then began attempting to taper the sections so the fifth area went into three sections by combining the sections previous. I then gathered all the sections together into a single rubber band. I went down the length of the ponytail placing rubber bands approximately two inches apart making sure the hair is smooth before placing the rubber band. Typically when banding hair you use thicker ponytail holders but we were trying to use the colors specific to these rubber bands. As I got to the end of her hair I made sure that I placed the rubber bands closer together to help protect her ends. 

 I have used this veil stretching method in the past with wonderful result and this time was no different. I must say that the day after I did this style Des ended up getting her hair wet at a church function so I left it until it dried. With that being said it was not as stretched as it would have been had it stayed dry initially.

Changed the back a lil cause I didn't like the gap

This style served a dual purpose of being a style Des could wear out while she stretched her hair. She enjoyed it so much we left it a style till the day one of her rubber bands broke and then we revamped it. More on that style later.

Here is a couple of pictures of another time I did a similar style for the same reason.

I would love your feedback, have you ever done this kind of style and notice that it stretched the hair out. 

Until the next time I hope you enjoyed stopping by... Stay Blessed. 

Love Your Girls Biracial Curls: We're Hosting an Amazing Giveaway Sponsored by Che...

Love Your Girls Biracial Curls: We're Hosting an Amazing Giveaway Sponsored by Che...: It has definitely showed true that it should be that time again where we give back to our blessed fam and show our appreciation to our loy...

Food for thought... by Des

Hi again!

Just wanted to share this food for thought real quick.

While making ramen noodles, I was stirring them around and noticed that they looked like my wet curly hair.

Does your hair or your child's hair remind you of any food?
I would like to know.

Bye,
Des <3

Now It's My Turn...written by Des

          Hi, this is Des(the little girl in the picture). I am writing about how to make new and unique accessories using what you already own.

          This year I started to go to a new school. at my new school we cannot wear any accessories except for hair accessories and watches. One morning, I wanted to wear something different the just a flower. So what I did was made a floral headband with my flower and then my flat & simple head bands by clipping the flower on my headband.

          That night when I got home I decided to make floral headbands for the week.This allows you to change the color of flowers with different headbands. Also, I decided to match a watch with each head band and  from what I can see people could tell my personality without me having to talk. New people came up to me to say they liked my head bands. Now I have new girly friends at my new school.

Note: This is Michelle (the mom). I am writing to say I am proud of Des. She is a trooper, Blogger deleted her first post by accident so had to retype it. In a way I am glad cause I was able to snap this picture of her as she wrote her first post. Hope you enjoyed Des' first post, she fully intends to be very hands on with this blog.  Until the next time... Stay Blessed.

Des deep in thought.