Coffee...For Hair Growth? For Cellulite?

I came across a study that said, when you combine coffee grinds (you know, the stuff that is left in the coffee machine after the coffee has been made), and your own oils or greases (Although, I don't advise anyone to use a non-raw grease, and when I say "non-raw," I mean, a grease with lots of synthetic ingredients/products), and then use it on your scalp, it helps to stimulate hair growth.

At first, I wasn't too keen on the idea of smelling like a coffee pot, but I got to thinking. With leaving my hair alone for the rest of the winter, combined with my Vatika and Amla oils and a coffee/raw grease scalp treatment, something good may spring up from this, non? Oui, I say, oui, it will, and I am going to start tomorrow. (I took down the 3 strand twist cause I had an appointment with a happy birthday girl and tbh, my hair was so shoddy, no real parts, just something to keep my hair in).

I'll be using this until around this time next year, and when you can see real results. I'm going to post the regime that I'll be using so that you can have a good idea as to what I'll be doing.

Now, as for using coffee grinds in the fight against cellulite, all you would have to do is mix 1 cup of coffee grinds to 1 cup of lotion and rub it into the affected areas. You would shower in warm water, then towel yourself off, then rub the concoction into the affected areas, then rinse it off. They say, if you have a good balance of diet and exercise, you will have fabulous results! I'll be starting this tomorrow as well.

Be on the look out for some more "coffee post" and health post as well.

Ta ta for now!

Winter Styles and Shrinkage

I decided to do a length check before I washed my hair, to tell the difference after I trim it.

Yes....I washed my hair the other day (I mean, that would be pretty disgusting on my part after taking down locs if I didn't), and I washed out the pre-poo using my trusty Jason Biotin Shampoo and Conditioner and finished off with an ACV rinse. Here is a close up with the Conditioner in my hair.

Then, I part my hair in quarter sections, that way, the de-tangle process was a bit easier, even if it did get on my nerves. (de-tangling after loc take down is a horrid...oh, the horror!)

After I got all of my hair de-tangled, I saw some SHRINKAGE!

I want you guys to see the difference in the shrinkage and how long my actual hair is. Shrinkage, as we all very well know, is deceiving!

For a protective hair style, I decided to install 3 strand twist, but the way I did them, I braided the top, then started the 3 strand twist in the middle, and finished off with a two strand twist to keep it all in place. I used my trust bottle of water/olive oil and put a little bit of castor oil on the ends.

I plan to keep these in for 2 weeks at the least, 3 weeks at the most. I'll maintain them but oiling my scalp every 2 days and wearing a sating bonnet at night.

Markings of a New Me!

Alas....I can no longer call myself loc'd lady....but don't be sad for me, no, instead, be happy, rejoice if you must, for....I have taken down my locs and rejoined the ranks of loose natural hair. Sure, it took 4 days to accomplish this feat, but it is well worth it, in my humblest opinion, and all of this was done with a mere rat tooth comb, a spray bottle of water and olive oil, and some conditioner.

Here is a picture of when I took down the first loc, my hair is stretched to show length.....

And here is when a set were completed (By set, I mean at least 10).

Another set, my hair stretched to show length

This is when I put some conditioner on my hair so that it could help in softening my locks and repairing them. I left the conditioner on for 30min.

In this picture, my hair wasn't completely down.....I had to go to a BBQ and I wasn't about to miss it...(Jeema throws some good BBQ's), so I washed the conditioner out of my hair and put some light Pooka oil on it and threw it in a pony puff.

Here is the result of all of my hair being taken out....two pony puff pigtails and a very happy smile!

Tonight, I'm going to pre-poo, using Vatika oil and Amla Oil. I really enjoy the oils, although they do have a certain.....smell about them, but they are really lovely for the hair.

Meh....I know I look rough, but I mean really, should I put on my glamour and make it look like I've gone out for tea and scones with the girls, or should I look like I'm really at home, taking down locs? I choose the second, and sometimes the latter of the matter.

I know that most of you probably have questions as to why I took them down, so, feel free to ask away! Ta ta for now!

mini update

It's been a while, but I have an update!

It's now my 9th month of loc'ing, but my hair still looks like twist......hopefully they'll look like locs soon before I go barmy over the fact that my hair isn't doing what I want it to do!

I've no pictures for this update (I've clearly been slacking), but for my next update, I will, and you'll be able to understand what I mean about my hair.

Oh, and start to expect more make-up post and nail varnish post as well! (IF you wish for post that are just about my life in general, just check out my other blog: lolliesnlife.blogspot.com)

Ta ta for now!

I did my hair!!!!

Finally! My hair is tightened!

I used my trusty latch hook......

.....and my trusty spray bottle (that contains olive and castor oils and water). From my experience, my locs have to stay extra wet in order for the best slippage and for my hair to latch without any problems. I'm not sure if it's the same for palm rolling the loc though, but I'm sure it may be.

I made sure that my hair was sectioned off so that no hairs crossed into the wrong loc. And in this picture, you can tell the tightened locs from the untightened locs.

I do the four point rotation.....up, down, right diagonal, left diagonal, until the hair was at the root.

This is what the front of my hair looks like when the loc is tightened.

New Finds

So...this post is so not about hair! It's about make-up!

I am feeling a little out there today, so I played with my make-up!

If you can't tell, that's green, and golden yellow......and a nice red lip!
My red snow white lip!
These are the tools my minions fetched for me to achieve this....look! From the bottom, it's CoverGirl Golden yellow eye shadow, then Beauty Rush Green, then Fabu Liner liquid eye kohl, then Maybelline New York XXL Pro Volume mascara, next is Jordana purple eye kohl, then NYX snow white lipstick, and last, Beauty Rush liquid glitter liner.
Just giving you a view of the eyes!

(Next time, I'll have better lighting, promise!)

Commence à être ce moment ....

A quelle heure exactement?

Eh bien, de ce que les gens qui ont locs / dreads / dreadlocks(autre terme qu'ils choisissent d'utiliser les leurs) m'ont dit à un moment où les choses deviennent un peu ..... laid.

Laid, comme dans le flou, aléatoire en herbe, poils parasites, le lot, en fait ......... et je pense que mon temps est enfin venu.

Sur les 14 août 2011 (duh, cette année) sera mon loc'd 8ème mois, et je l'ai apprécié jusqu'ici, même si je reçois un peunostalgique ........ mes cheveux lâches et mes bouffées , tordre etles aboutissants de telles, mais loc juste me conviendrait mieux pour le moment.

Ce sont mes racines .... je suppose .... c'est un peu floue .... mdr

Starting to be that time......

What time, exactly?

Well, from what people who have locs/dreads/dreadlocks (whichever term they choose to use with theirs) have told me of a time when things get a bit.....ugly.

Ugly, as in fuzziness, random budding, stray hairs, the lot, actually.........and I think that my time has finally come.

On the 14 August 2011 (duh, this year) will be my 8th month loc'd, and I have enjoyed it thus far, even though I get a bit........nostalgic about my loose hair and my puffs, twist outs and such, but loc's just suit me better at the moment.

These are my roots....I suppose....it's a bit fuzzy....lol

Natural ways to Dye Hair

I'm big on dying my hair, changing colours whenever I feel the time is appropriate (Mainly, when I get a feel of how free I can be with my hair and whatnot at a certain job).

One day, I came across a recipe to naturally bleach my hair. Yes, I said it. I naturally bleached my hair.

HOW?

Well, with cinnamon and conditioner. I, of course, added a few extra things (honey and paprika--paprika because I wanted it to have a slightly red tint before I completely finished the dying process) to add a bit of spiciness to the hair. You are supposed to leave the product on overnight, but seeing as I can't stand the smell, nor the taste of cinnamon, I simply couldn't comply with said instruction. Instead, I left it on for about 9hrs. The results weren't bad, for my hair lightened a bit, and then I used Henna on my hair, which helped to give my hair a red tint. My friend said that she could see the red in my hair when the sun light touched my hair jussssst right. I used 250ml (1 cup) of conditioner to 3 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp paprika and 2tsp honey

So, here is what you'll need:

Cinnamon

Conditioner

Optional:

Honey

Paprika

Here's the instructions on Henna.

I get henna from the local Indian market across the road from my house. I get it in all natural powder form. It's best to get your henna from a reliable Indian/Middle Eastern market because those already sold in jars (in powder form) have been tampered with. With the henna, I squeezed the juice from some lemons and added paprika (see, miracle powder)

Henna

Juice of Lemons:

Paprika (see picture above)

This mixture I had to let it set over night at room temperature. (Which means I put it in my kitchen on the floor near the bakers rack) and the next morning I applied it all over my hair, and the part that had been "bleached" previously has a more reddish ruddy tint to it.

ALWAYS REMEMBER! Follow up your henna treatment with a good DEEP CONDITIONER, or your hair will forever hate you! It will be hard and brittle to the touch. I always leave mine in for 25-30 minutes under a towel(s). My deep conditioners usually consist of conditioner (duh), honey, and castor oil/olive oil.

All in all, this is a 2 day process.....so don't start it without having any free time......

Return to 15 Day Challenge

Needless to say, it is over, but I have found out a lot about other products and my hair through it all.

Here are the remaining three days:

Day 13- Share your favourite natural hair blog/vlog

My favourite blog is hautepinkheels.blogspot.com (highly suggest the visit to this site, so worth while)

My favourite vlogs are by "Thinknappythoughts" and "Ajalocsitup" on youtube.

Day 14- Apply your favourite leave in conditioner and rock a wash n go.

Seeing as how I have locs.....everyday I wash my hair, it's a wash n go day with leave in conditioner....that's just the way of the locs, I suppose.

Day 15- Compile and upload a slideshow of your natural hair journey.

It's a lot of photos.....So, I'm going to do this when I have a bit more free time on my hands.

Hair Challenge

I am on this 15 day hair challenge. I got to day 6 with no problem, but since life seemed to get in the way off my activities, I had to hold back on posting. So, I'll just finish it up here.

Day 7- Create an updo using twist out/braid out/bantu knot out.

Day 8- Wash and deep condition hair

Day 9- Try a new style that you've never done before

Because my locs are still sort of new, and I've been going through somethings, I've yet to try something new with them. Stay tuned.

Day 10- Add an accessory to your hair

Here are some I like to add to my hair:

Day 11- Make an easy DIY product

Sometimes, I like to take the "hair grease" that I have, and add extra elements to them. In the picture below, I have Herbal thick "grease" and I've added Pooka Oil (which has lemon oil, avocado oil, olive oil,rosemary oil, and peppermint oil, I added some castor oil and some WGO and I usually let it sit in the freezer for a couple of hours, but I forgot to do it this time around)

Day 12- Show favourite product(s) and tell why you love it/them

This is the Pooka Oil

Changing it up!

I love to try new things with my locs! They are exciting, after all!

Here are some pictures of these bad boys:

Regime

My Regime to care for and maintain my locs is fairly simple, and I think, fairly easy.

So, without further a due, here is my regime!

Once a week, I put a mixture of ghee and oil in my hair overnight to obtain the ultimate moisture for the week.

I wash my hair once every week with Jason Natural Biotin shampoo and conditioner.

and I then finish with Apple Cider Vinegar, which is one cup of lukewarm water to 2 table spoons ACV

When the wash is finished, I then let my hair air dry.

The next day, I'll spritz my hair with a water/lime mixture and then a water/oil mixture

I'll then oil my scalp/oil my hair (seal the ends, really) with pure castor oil.

Finally, I'll use a cream based conditioner to hold in the moisture for the week (Usually, the Biotin conditioner).

I oil my scalp everyday, because my scalp is prone to be very dry, and it is very necessary, and I do the moisture part (spritz, conditioner, oil) every other day.

I tighten my hair when I see fit. I usually interlock the hair (with a latch hook) because my hair never stays when I just twist the root, but hopefully, like in the near future, I can twist the root of the hair and go.

See! Simple!

Introduction

So, I have never had a hair blog, but I have seen many of them!(And I also want to reach out across seas and languages, so don't be surprised if you see a post written in Spanish or French!)

So, here is my hand at one, and here is a little back story on my hair:

I became a natural lady on the 18 July 2007, when I was 18. through many trials and tribulations, I was able to grow my hair from ear length to APL in as little as 2-3 years and in the 4th year, my hair was stagnant, mainly from stress and depression.

So, on the 14 December 2010, I decided to loc my hair. I had been contemplating it for a while, after falling in love and having a love affair with my friends locs, so I dived in and haven't looked back yet.

In doing so, I have been able to find my staple products, mainly because I'm not trying to define a curl pattern anymore, I'm just focused on the budding and upkeep of my locs.

I currently latch my hair and want to break free from it, because it's tedious and it's doing the most to me (my opinion).

I am currently into my 6th month of having locs, and it's going swell, I suppose.

I will be posting pictures sometime at the end of this week, so for the time being, please, enjoy a video I made like 2 weeks ago!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE4kT6HYXwY&feature=channel_video_title