My natural hair routine- wash day

 

Don't you hate when you watch a YouTube hair tutorial and they say "oh, I'm gonna show you this simple wash routine," and then they proceed to use 6 or 7 products during the video? Well, I'm probably going to do the same thing. Sorry, but as much as I've tried to simplify my routine and life, I have to listen to my hair cause she can be down right savage if I don't treat her right.

So, this is my fail proof hair care routine for my wash days.

 

1. Pre-poo and detangle. 

I choose to put a protein/ cholesterol treatment or hair mask on my hair prior to shampooing for two reasons- one my hair usually needs it since I only wash it once every 1-2 weeks and two, once I'm out the shower there is no going back in to rinse anything out. Ain't nobody got time for that.

So I spray my hair down with water and aloe Vera juice and distribute my treatment, which right now is Queen Helene's, an oldie but a goody. As I distribute I gently detangle with my fingers and twist up about 10-12 sections in my head and let it sit for 20-30 minutes.

2. Shampoo and condition.

Yes, I shampoo. My hair wants no parts of a co-wash (using conditioner as a wash) situation. While my hair is still twisted up, I rinse the treatment out and shampoo my hair still in sections. Why do I do that? Because the main point of shampooing is to cleanse the scalp and its easier for me to get to my scalp when hair is still parted. Current shampoos in rotation are Shea Moisture and Cream of Nature, while I mini-deep condition with Beautiful Textures.


3. Styling.
After my hair has been washed and conditioned, I put my current leave-in staple- Shea Moisture Black Jamaican Castor Oil Leave-in and seal it in with more Jamaican Black Castor Oil with Amla, which is good for the scalp. My styling technique does change from week to week, depending on my mood. I like to do different things to my hair but, my go-to style is a flat twist and curl. Using either Elasta QP's Design Foam or my homemade flaxseed gel (recipe below), I flat twist my hair upwards in the front and down in the back and secure it with gray perm rods. I sleep in them overnight, or wear a scarf while running errands during the day, and take down and fluff when they are dry.

 Flax Seed Gel Recipe
1. 2 cups boiling water in saucepan. Add 1/4 cup whole flaxseeds. Boil until white film is floating on top of pan, approximately 5-8 minutes.
2. Strain into mason jar or other heat proof container. Let cool for about 2 minutes.
3. Add 4-5 capsules of Vitamin E and 5-6 drops of essential oil of choice. I use lavendar and lemon grass. Stir with wooden spoon or stick. Store in refrigerator, should last 3-4 weeks.

I hope my routine wasn't too overwhelming for any newbies that may be reading this, but the important thing to remember with natural hair is to just do what your hair likes. Sometimes you know right away when a product doesn't work and sometimes products that used to work loose it's power factor once your hair gets used to it. Do you have any staple products your think I should try?
































Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty,
Rhonda

 

My Life in Pictures: The Uninvited Guest

It has been quite a week for me and I am pretty exhausted by it all. Here's what happened...

1.

1. It was parent teacher conference time and this time around the kids had to run the show. There were power point presentations and group projects that were very impressive for elementary school. My kids are doing great, as I expected and are both above their reading level. Another proud mommy moment for me.

2.

2. I have been contemplating a trim/cut for a while now and when I saw the shapes if these wigs on Instagram I knew it was about to go down. As soon as I make my final decision on the diva cut I want, me and my scissors are going to have at it. I'll keep you posted.

3.

3. So there's my hubby, my hero, who went in a ditch to get my tire that had popped off my car while I was driving. He told me to come home when I complained of the shaking and rattling noises I was hearing. I didn't want to cause I had things to do, but I'm so glad that I did because things could have been a whole lot worse if I was still on the highway. Thank God for his intuition.

4.

4. We had an uninvited guest staying in our garage this week. We don't know how long he was there or where in the world he was hiding, but the other morning as we starred each other down, I knew he had to go. Thanks to my neighbors, who are equipped with just about everything, we were able to trap the possum and are going to call animal control to come get him. This defiantly was better than the alternative which would have involved my husband and I screaming and having a fit trying to chase him up out of there.

That was my eventful week, how was yours?

Rhonda

Fabulous Friday: On the Wild Side

It's Friday once again and I am sooo excited because tomorrow, my co-worker and I are going to Praise at the Park, at Chene Park. I haven't been to a concert in over a year because of my spending diet, but this was a treat to myself. Plus, I'm going to get me some more Jesus, so I ain't mad about it.

Anyway, this week's fab Friday outfit was worn this past Monday. It was nice and cool for this 90 degree we've been getting lately and I love the side braid I wore with my genie locs.

Dress: Parisians (Now known as Carsons)

Shirt: Old Navy
Shoes: DSW
Earrings: Charming Charlies
Bracelet: My fav gold bracelet gifted to me by my dad before he passed

My makeup is simple, but pretty
Foundation: Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid Foundation in Cocoa
Blush: Stilla in Self Adjusting Coral
Highlight: Milani Baked Bronzer in Soleil
Lips: EOS Balm in Cool Mint
Brows: Black Shadow

Until next time, stay fabulous.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty!

Me and My Hair: Genie Locs, AKA Yarn Braids

I have been one braiding sista the last couple of weeks. Between me, my daughter and my new clients (whoot, whoot), I'm surprised my fingers even work. I challenged myself by doing not only my hair, but also my daughters, which totaled to 20 plus hours of braiding, twisting and feeling like my arms were about to give out. But, never the less, both of us look good if I do say so myself. I've had genie locs before, so I knew what to expect and still love them.


So here are the stats: My hair.
Washed with Shea Moisture Raw Organic Moisture Retention Shampoo
ACV Rinse (Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse: 1 part ACV, 3 parts water)
Deep Conditioned with Giovanni Deep Treatment Conditioner (only left in 10 min)
Conditioned with Pantene Pro-V Frizz Control
Detangled with Knot Today and Morrocanoil Oil Treatment
Blow Dried Hair using the tension method
Hair- Red Heart 100% wool yarn in black, 1 and 1/2 packs
Time- 16 hours over 3 days (it took me 21 hours last time, so my speed is up.)

Follow me on IG @RhondaSoulDeep

And here's what I did with my daughter's hair.

Washed with Carol's Daughter Tui Shampoo
ACV Rinse
Deep Treatment with Shea Moisture Deep Conditioning Moisture Retention Tx (left in 30 minutes)
2 Minute Protein Treatment by Aphogee
Detangled with Kinky Curly Knot Today and Grapeseed Oil
Blow Dried hair using the tension method
Hair- 1 pack of Short Loc Hair (Kanakelon, I think)
Time-  About 4.5 hours

Follow me on IG @RhondaSoulDeep

I hope to keep these in for two months and keep my daughter's neat looking for a 4-6 weeks. I will of course wear a satin scarf or bonnet  at night, oil my scalp and do ACV/ baking soda rinses to keep them up. My daughter however, will play in her hair until twists start to fall off and refuse to keep her bonnet on at night, but we'll see what happens. Until next time, loves.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty

Fabulous Friday-Thrifty Finds

Yes, I know it's Monday, but for the sake of trying to recover from this past holiday weekend, lets pretend it's Friday. Plus, I know I have missed the last couple of Fab Fridays, because I have been super busy. So lets get down to business.

My hair is in a twist and curl, which basically is a twist out with rods on the end.

Shirt- Thrifted from Value World for $2.80! Love a good deal.
Leggings- Lane Bryant
Sandals- Dots
Earrings- Charming Charlies
Bracelet- Tiffany & Co.

And, because I was totally feeling myself last week, here's another one. This was what I wore on date night.

Dress- Dressbarn
Shoes- Shoe Dazzle
Necklace- Can't remember where I got it from, but it was two of them linked together
Earrings- Lane Bryant
Bracelet- Tiffany & Co.
Also, I had just had my semi-permanent lashes done at Spa-a-Peel (It was a $150 service I was lucky enough to have received a gift card for.)

Until next time.
Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty!

Fabulous Friday- Puff Love

Hi Loves,

Another Friday has arrived and it's time for the look of the week. It got humid real quick around here. My Bantu Knot-out got bigger and bigger, so by day 3 I decided to tame it and get it back under control. I puffed it out and put a little lean on it. And because I was feeling myself that day, I have an outfit for the week, too.

Shirt- Old Navy

Skirt- Convertible wrap dress from Avon

Shoes- Payless

Earrings- Charming Charlie's

Bracelet- Tiffany & Co.

Necklace- City Trends

We'll see what look of the week I have next time.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty!

Fabulous Friday!

Hi Loves,

So it's Friday, my favorite day of the week. And if you're lucky enough to have a job with no weekends or holidays, you have a 3-day weekend ahead of you. Even though Memorial Day is bitter sweet: (sweet for not having to work, bitter because it's a solemn day of remembrance for those who have passed on), my creative juices are flowing and I decided to start a Fabulous Friday segment that will take a look at either my favorite outfit of the week or best natural hair victory. If it was a good week, I might do both. If not, we'll pretend this conversation never happened.

So here's this weeks natural hair victory.

This is a 3 day old twist and curl and here's the details of my wash day and night time procedure.

Me and my hair: Puffy Twists

I had my hair in puffy twists for about 2 months and when I started to officially miss my fro, I took those bad boys out. But, I wanted to share my puffy twist experience with you. First, let me say that I absolutely friggin love those twists. They were easy to install (only took me 6 hours) and the styles that I could do were endless.

Here's the lowdown on installation:
Hair- 2 Packs of puffy naffy hair in 1b (I redid them in November and used a pack of 1b and a pack of 30). $10 per pack from local beauty supply store.

This pic is off the Internet. At time of post I had already thrown my package away.

 I washed and condition hair with Carol's Daughter Tui Healthy Hair Set.

I got this set off of HSN as a special kit.

Then I blow dried the hair using Hair Rules Blow Out Your Kinks

I bought mine from Ulta, but when I went to their site I couldn't find it.

I used Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie during the install and sprayed the scalp with jojoba oil afterwards.

Here are some of the styles I wore:





Puffy twists will definitely be in my life again because I be doing the most: "Boop boop" (in my NeNe voice).
Have you ever worn puffy twists? Did you love 'em like I did?

As always,
Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty.

Me and my hair: Curlformers

For those of you who don't know, I am a natural hair enthusiast. I can, and have talked hair with just about anybody: the lady at the grocery store, patient at the hospital, anybody who even says "Oh, I like your hair. How did you get it like that?" They just don't know what they got themselves into. I love my friggin' hair and I am not ashamed to say it. With natural hair I have never had a bad hair day (not one that I'll admit to anyway.) Natural hair is supposed to be free and unconstrained- a little like me. It's healthy and versatile and I am constantly trying new ways to twist out, twist up, Bantu or updo my hair.

That being said, I decided to give my Curlformers another go and see how many days I could stretch the style.

So this is what I did.
I washed and conditioned with Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo and Organic African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner.
          


Deep Conditioned with Moroccanoil Deep Conditioning mask.


Used Hair Rules Nourishing Leave in.



I set Curlfomers using LottaBody and Aphogee Wrap Lotion.
   


And here are my results:

Day 1

Day 2

Days 3 & 4

Then, I decided to do something I only do a couple times a year- wear it straight.

Blow out baby!

You couldn't tell me nothing....

By the way I used grapeseed oil to blow dry and flat iron.

Until it rained four days later and my volume and curls left the building.

Days 10-12 I wore some variation of this:

So, through a lot of manipulation, I was able to "stretch" my Curlformers set to 12 days. I have decided that I will use Curlformers to dry my hair when I'm going to either braid it up or straighten it out so I can avoid additional heat. I will try them prior to a twist out one day, but I like my current regimen now and if it ain't broke I'm not trying to fix it.

That's all for now.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty.