1.  Embrace The Natural You Twist Truffle Whip
  2.  Silk Dreams Almond Buttercream
  3.  Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream
  4.  Camille Rose Aloe Whipped Butter Gel
  5.  Uncle Funky's Daughter Supercurl Miracle Moisture Cream & Extra Butter combined

Hey, beautiful people!  With Michigan winter coming soon, I am moving back into more protective
styling, which means more shed hairs get trapped close to my roots and I get more tangling. I have to be careful when detangling because, even though my hair is high density, it is also very fine in most areas.   Thus, typically, I just finger detangle 1-2 times per week.  Every few months, however, I do a more thorough detangling session.

For those more thorough sessions, here are my favorite tools:

1. A good rinse out or leave-in conditioner with a lot of slip.  I like Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner; Herbal Essence Totally Twisted Conditioner; Silk Dreams Wheat Germ Butter Conditioner; and Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Conditioner.  I have also used Oyin Hair Dew with my oil mix to get the job done.


2. A wide tooth comb.  After finger detangling and putting my hair in sections, I next use the wide tooth comb to get out the more easier tangles.  I have two Hercules Sagemann Magic Star Rake Combs that I really like because they are seamless.  However, sometimes I just use one of my $4 Diane or Annie Jumbo Rake Combs.  They are not seamless, but I have never had a problem with them.


3. Paddle Brush.  After going through a section with a wide tooth comb, I go in with my Conair Paddle Brush to get out the remaining tangles and some of the loose shed hairs that I missed with finger detangling and my wide tooth comb.  I have the old school square wooden handle one.  I am not sure that they make still make it because I no longer see it in stores, but the plastic and "velvet touch" handle ones are pretty much the same.  The only downside about my Conair is that it is big, which makes it hard to get close to my roots.  I may try the Wet Brush as it appears a bit smaller.


4. Tangle Teaser Or Similar Brush.  This is my final step before braiding up the detangled section.  I don't have a Tangle Teaser.  I have a Goody Tangle Fix, which looks the same to me; is cheaper; and works great.  This is good for getting any knots out of my ends, and for getting final shed hairs out of the length of my hair.  I am careful with this brush, however, because I have had heard of other ladies getting mid-shaft splits.

Hey, beautiful people.  This post is really overdue because I tried this butter in the winter, but I forgot to post a review until now.

Hey, beautiful people!  With Michigan winter fully in gear, I put my wash n' go challenge on hold and put my hair into hiding, typically in braids.  I tried twists, and they just don't give my hair the same definition.  Also, I have to be careful because my is also fine, so it break easily with too much tension.


Right now, my regimen is to:
1.  Deep condition my hair overnight
2.  Shampoo as needed
3.  Detangle with rinse-out conditioner
4.  Add leave-in conditioner, light oil and styling cream
5.  Braid my hair



During the week, I typically keep my hair in two crown braids, with the last inch of hair at the nape of my neck cornrowed in a separate braid.  I intend to test out a number of the twist creams in my hair to determine which ones leave my hair with the most moisture, sheen and definition.

• Low manipulation refers to styles that require minimum styling, and require little maintenance during the week.  Low maintenance styles tend to be "set it and forget it" styles.  This would include wash n gos, certain updos, and bunning.  Braid outs/twist outs are only low manipulation if you don't have to frequently re-braid/twist.


• Protective styling refers to styles that hide your hair, particularly your ends, to protect it from the elements.  This would include updos, bunning, braids, twists.  It would also include wigs.

For some people, especially those with fine hair, like me, low manipulation styles may be better than protective styles because frequent manipulation of the hair can lead to breakage.  On the other hand, for some, protective styles are better because their ends are easily damaged.

1. Strive for a healthier body.  A healthy body leads to healthy hair, so I need to focus on both.  This doesn’t mean that I can’t have dessert and cheesy appetizers every once in a while, but I can’t have it every day.  Also, now that I’ve had my baby, I have a size goal (not a weight goal) in mind, so I’m going to start exercising again to get to that goal.  Don't worry, I don't want to be stick skinny.  I like my curves.  I just want them a little firmer.


2. Drink at least 64 oz of water every day.  Proper water intake helps with moisture retention levels (more on this later), and it just helps the body function better.  While I was pregnant, I got dehydrated very easily, so I started different techniques to help me drink more water.  One of those was to buy 32 oz plastic mason jars.  I’ve found that if I fill up the jar morning when I get to work, and then fill it up again mid-afternoon, I easily get my 64 oz in without thinking about it.


3. Maintain healthy hair practices.  I am less than 6 inches away from mid-back length (MBL) / bra strap length (BSL).  As I’ve said before, I am not setting length as a goal, because I want to focus more on healthy hair practices than length.  But, healthy hair practices, such as weekly deep conditioning and baggying when needed, should get me to this length in 2015.  One day I do want to be waist length and it would be great to get there in 4 years (2016).  The distinction, however, is that I won’t ever avoid a necessary cut to preserve length over healthy hair.


4. Continue to narrow my staple products.  In a previous post, I listed my product favorites for 2014.  I will always be a product junkie on some level; but, in 2015, I want to continue to shrink my product stash and strengthen my list of staple products.  I also want to avoid another incident where I go completely overboard again on product purchases.


5. Continue my hair styling exploration.  In this past year, I stopped wearing my wigs as often, attended a hair styling class, tried out a few new styles including twists, did a ton of buns/puffs, and discovered that I’m a lazy natural.  With my hair getting longer, I do want to have a few more go-to styles for work and become a little more adventurous for special occasions.  Also, I want to try to straighten my hair again since I did such a horrible job the last time, and I'm not big on failure.

What are your hair goals for 2015? 

As promised, here is part 2 of my essential tools list:

1. Wide Tooth Comb - This is optional.  Some women use one, and some rely solely on their fingers.  I use my fingers to detangle regularly.  But, I find that, with my curl pattern, I have to do an intensive detangling periodically with a wide tooth comb.  I have two Hercules Sageman Magic Star Rake combs, but I've found that I actually prefer my cheap jumbo rake combs made by Annie and Diane these days.

2. Soft Boar Bristle Brush - Again, this is an optional tool because not everyone uses one.  You also have to be careful if you have fine strands like me.  I only use my boar bristle brush if I want a sleek bun or puff.  Also, my boar bristle brush has hairs that are almost as soft as a baby brush.

3. Headbands - I have a ton of these.  I use thick, decorative ones when I don’t want to brush my edges but I still want a neater look.  I use thin, stretched out ones to do my buns and puffs.  My hair is too thick to gather it all up with a ponytail holder (I’ve broken a lot of them trying and I get headaches from them).

4. Ponytail Holders - I use these mainly for sectioning my hair to deep condition and wash it.  I also sometimes use a couple of these, once my hair is already in a bun, to catch any remaining strands or flyaways.  I buy these in bulk because my hair snaps them easily.  Some people use the stretchy lace kind, but I’m a bigger fan of the traditional Goody or Scunci ones, which are cheap and effective.  Plus, my hair is too big for the tiny lace ones.  Just don’t buy the ones with metal clamps because these can snag your hair.

5. Hairpins - These should be self-explanatory.  I have not met a natural yet, who does not have a stash of hair pins.  This is another cheap tool that I usually buy in bulk, but I also have travel packs.

6. Hair Clamps - Now that my hair is longer, I don’t use these as often as I used to, but alligator clips and roller clamps are still great for sectioning off the hair to flat twist or braid.  I also use duckbill clips to set my part for a wash n’ go.

Hey, beautiful people!  After I posted my top 5 things that I learned last week, I thought of five more:

Hi, beautiful people!  I was looking at my blog and realized that I have not posted in over a month.  There has been a lot going on.  I moved into a new house, I'm in the process of selling my other house, and I'm still preparing for baby, who will be here in a month or less.  I'm doing all of this while working a full time job and taking care of my toddler.

In the midst of all of this, I have to admit that my hair has taken a minor backseat.  I have not been washing or deep conditioning weekly, though I try to get both in at least every two weeks.  In the meantime, I have been protective styling and still moisturizing my hair regularly using my homemade spritz.  First, I used medium sized twists after a thorough detangling.  Now, I've switched to two crown braids.  During the week, I usually wear my protective style under a satin scarf and a wig to preserve the style.  Then, I wear it out on the weekend.  So far, I haven't seen any breakage from this low key routine, but I do need to pay close attention to my crown, which is prone to breakage.

What do you do with your hair when you have a lot going on?

Happy Living!