Showing posts with label low maintenance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label low maintenance. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Happy New Year and 2017 Personal Goals
Hey, beautiful people. Happy New Year!!! Like many others, I am happy to see the end
of 2016. It just was not one of my
favorite years.
For many, the new year brings a
time for resolutions. It may be a
distinction without a different, but I have always disliked the term “resolutions”
because it feels like a setup for failure.
I prefer goals, and I like to start the ball rolling before the new
year. Here are 5 goals that I low key
started in December that I plan to continue:
1. Drink
at least 80 oz of water per day.
I have found that my whole body does better when I drink a good amount
of water throughout the day. From what I
have read, studies have moved away from drinking 8 glasses of water to drinking
half your body weight. For me, I wanted
to up that a little bit. My plan is to
drink 12-20 oz of water first thing in the morning, and then two 32 oz – 1 liter
(33.81 oz) bottles of water during the day.
I have two plastic mason jars that are 32 oz. each. I also have a bunch of old soda stream 1L
bottles that I can no longer use because my soda stream broke (tear). To help keep me motivated, I have joined a “Drink
Your Water” challenge, with daily check-ins, and I am using the water tracker
in my Fitbit app.
2. Have 7 good, quick styles that work on my
fine hair, and a regimen that incorporates more protein. As you may remember from some of my other posts,
my hair is low porosity, fine, high density, and a 4A/4B mix. In the past, I have been very focused on
taking care of my hair based on it being low porosity, and spent little time
researching how to make my fine strands look best. For example, individual mini twists tend to
look very sad when I try to use them as a style, and tend to break my hair when
I take them out. My hair seems to do
better with low manipulation, “big” styles, like 2 cornrows, buns and wash n’
gos, and I am a lazy natural, so I need quick styles. I plan to play around with styles in 2017 to
give myself some more versatile looks (more on this throughout the year). I also haven’t been using as much protein as
I should, and I have seen more breakage as a result.
3. Create mini makeup challenges every 1-2
months until I can do a full face.
Growing up and even now, I have not been very big on makeup or beauty upkeep
in general. Most days, you are lucky if
you see me in lipstick. I’ll also admit
there have been some days that my eyebrows needed serious help. At the end of last year, I put myself on an
informal challenge, forcing myself to fill in my eyebrows every day for two
weeks. I was proud of myself because I
stuck to it too. One day, I even had to
stop at the drugstore on the way to work because I forgot to do my brows before
I left the house. It worked out well
because I saw marked improvement in my eyebrow shape, and I learned a few
tricks through Youtube. Youtube also inspired
me to go a little crazy buying makeup products on Black Friday/Cyber Monday,
and I bought a few makeup organizers. With
all the new stuff I bought, I want to extend my informal challenge to other makeup
areas over the course of 2017. I may
stay in the eye area for now, and work on eye shadow. I have always wanted to learn smoky eye and
cat eye.
4. Exercise for 30 minutes at least 1 time
a week. This may sound like a
bare minimum, but I like to set goals that are measurable and achievable. Typically, I say that I am going to work out
every day or 3 times per week, fail miserably and stop working out altogether. This time, I am starting with 1 day and we
will see how it goes. I have no excuse
for not getting in 1 day because I have 7 days and multiple options. If I am traveling that week, the Sworkit app
on my phone is awesome for squeezing in a workout. If I am feeling ambitious, there is a gym
less than 10 minutes from my house and I can text a friend to meet me. If I want to do something fun, there is a
community center that is about 20 minutes away that has drop in classes and, in
the summer, there is outdoor Zumba.
5. Read a book every two months, alternating
between one self-improvement book and one “just for fun” book. I love reading. I just did not do much of it in 2016. I have a Goodreads account and set a goal for
myself of 6 books in 2016, but I only finished 5. I also haven’t been to my one of my book clubs in about
a year (I'm in two), and I miss it. In 2017, I’m
going to do better because it speaks to how many other things took
priority over what I did for myself last year.
What are your goals for
2017? Make them measureable and
achievable!
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Detangling Tools
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:
What do you use to detangle?
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
I have tried some other tools, based on their rave reviews from the natural hair community, but they just did not work for my hair:
- Denman brush - I bought the original D3; the D41 with more widely spaced bristles; and a D4 (nine row). All of them just ripped my hair out. I could literally hear my hair ripping, as I tried to pull the brush through.
- Felicia Leatherwood Detangler Brush - I bought this brush because one of my favorite YouTubers raved about it. When it arrived, the edges of each bristle were jagged and uneven (see picture). I looked at it and instantly knew I could not use it in my hair without causing some serious damage.
- Evolve Dual Sided Boar/Paddle Brush - The paddle brush side worked ok, but not as smoothly as my Conair Paddle Brush. There was some definite ripping when I ran it through my hair.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
08-21-2016 Wash Day (Wetline Extreme Gel)
Hey, beautiful people! I am really late in posting about my last wash day, but I still wanted to post so that I remember what I did.
Yet again, I forgot to do my deep conditioner overnight, so I decided to do a clay wash this time. I washed my hair with Naturalicious Moroccan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment. In full disclaimer, I know the owner of the company and I got this bottle for free when I attended one of her events. That being said, it doesn't affect the way I review the product. This was the second time I tried out this product. The first time, I purchased the clay wash years ago and I had a hard time maneuvering the product while trying to wash my hair in the shower because it is somewhat runny. This time, I figured it out and I really liked the way it made my hair feel, especially since I didn't deep condition. My hair felt cleansed, but not stripped, and it was buttery soft.
When I got out the shower, I put Oyin Hair Dew on my hair as my leave-in. Then, I used Wetline Extreme Gel to do my wash n' go. As this is a thicker gel, like Eco Styler, I used the shingle method. Then, I put my hair up in a turbie twist to absorb some of the excess water and speed up the drying process, while I got dressed. Finally, I put a couple hair pins at my crown and just let it hang while I went about my day.
I loved my results! The wetline reminds me of my pink eco styler, but with a stronger hold; and reminds me of the krystal eco styler hold but without the flakes. It's the best of both worlds. The only problem is that it still takes forever to dry because it is so thick. It took about 2 days. I'm going to see if I can get it down to 1 by using less gel. If so, this may be right up there with my Camille Rose Curl Maker and Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic.
Total Wash & Styling Time - 25 minutes
Yet again, I forgot to do my deep conditioner overnight, so I decided to do a clay wash this time. I washed my hair with Naturalicious Moroccan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment. In full disclaimer, I know the owner of the company and I got this bottle for free when I attended one of her events. That being said, it doesn't affect the way I review the product. This was the second time I tried out this product. The first time, I purchased the clay wash years ago and I had a hard time maneuvering the product while trying to wash my hair in the shower because it is somewhat runny. This time, I figured it out and I really liked the way it made my hair feel, especially since I didn't deep condition. My hair felt cleansed, but not stripped, and it was buttery soft.
When I got out the shower, I put Oyin Hair Dew on my hair as my leave-in. Then, I used Wetline Extreme Gel to do my wash n' go. As this is a thicker gel, like Eco Styler, I used the shingle method. Then, I put my hair up in a turbie twist to absorb some of the excess water and speed up the drying process, while I got dressed. Finally, I put a couple hair pins at my crown and just let it hang while I went about my day.
I loved my results! The wetline reminds me of my pink eco styler, but with a stronger hold; and reminds me of the krystal eco styler hold but without the flakes. It's the best of both worlds. The only problem is that it still takes forever to dry because it is so thick. It took about 2 days. I'm going to see if I can get it down to 1 by using less gel. If so, this may be right up there with my Camille Rose Curl Maker and Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic.
Total Wash & Styling Time - 25 minutes
The picture on the left is wet hair.
The picture on the right is day 2 of my wash n' go, after it dried.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Braiding Challenge
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.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Low Maintenance vs. Protective Styling
Hey, beautiful people. With winter fully here, I thought now is good time to talk about protective styling vs. low manipulation styling. A style can be both protective and low manipulation, which is why the two terms are frequently confused, but they are not the same thing.
- 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.
Thus, far, I've found that my hair likes low manipulation styles. However, in the winter time, it prefers styles that are both low manipulation and protective because my hair stays better moisturized that way. I live in Michigan where the winters are very cold and dry.
As a word of caution, with both low manipulation and protective styles, you have to be careful about tangling. If your hair is in a loose, low maintenance style, it may tangle. For example, I typically get tangles with my wash n go if I am not careful in applying gel to the curlier sections. Also, if my hair is left in a protective style for too long, like braids or twists, then it may tangle. Obviously, with both types of styles, you have to continue to maintain moisture levels.
What types of styles does your hair prefer?
What types of styles does your hair prefer?
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