Hair Serum Recipe

Hello to all of my lovely naturals,

I remember using serum when I had a relaxer and all that I can remember is that it was super expensive and it smoothed my already straight hair. It was like $10.00 for that little bitty bottle. Now that my hair is natural and I am always looking for something to better define my curls by smoothing out the frizzes it is worth taking another look into. I am not all that familiar with the ingredients in hair serum but I am pretty sure that they contain chemicals and since I am not that into chemicals I decided to make my own. I have not tried it yet because I have to first henna my hair, but I will be trying it on this new hairstyle that I plan on posting on youtube. So I will let you all know the results in a couple of days.

Hair Serum Recipe Smoothes, Softens Coarse hair

Ingredients:
3 ounce Coconut Oil
1 ounce Castor Oil
5-10 drops fragrance or essential oils (optional)

Directions:
Mix oils in a 4 ounce bottle then store in a cool dark place.

Soooo try it you might like it and let me know

 

Always,

 

Verano

Homemade: Super De Duper Easy Cranberry Lip Balm

Hello to all of my lovely naturals,

So for those of you who know me, you all know that I am a pretty natural person. I am addicted to a couple of products that aren't natural and it drives me crazy so I have made a list and I want to find natural solutions for these addictions. Now I have been addicted to lip gloss since I can remember. I love it, if anyone in my immediate circle has some awesome lip gloss they know to keep it away from me because I will steal it. With that being said it bothers me that I am putting all of these chemicals on and in my mouth. So I have found a recipe for natural lip gloss right now I am letting it sit but it looks and tastes pretty awesome. I wanted to share this with you because doing things naturally is not hard yes it takes more effort then going to pick it up from the store in some situations, but knowing what you are putting in and on your body is totally worth it. This took me all of 7 min to make and I already had all of the ingredients except for vitamin e oil, I exchanged that for castor oil.
Below you will find the recipe check it out, try it, and let me know. I got this recipe from mybeautyrecipes.com awesome site! and I will fill you all in on the results later on in the week.

P.S fresh cranberries cost about $2 they are on sale now because of the holidays and whatever you don't use you can place in the bottom of a glass vase/container with water and place on display for the holidays! 

Ingredients

• 10 fresh cranberries
• 1 tbsp sweet almond oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 drop of Vitamin E oil remember I used castor oil

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl (bowl may also be heated in a pan of water on the
stovetop).
Stir well and gently crush the berries. Cool mixture for five minutes and then strain through a fine sieve to remove all the fruit pieces. Stir again and set aside to cool completely.
When cool, transfer into a small portable plastic container or tin.


Always,

Verano

Don't Forget the Hot Oil!

Hello to all of my lovely naturals,

So I must admit that I have been forgetting to do my hot oil treatments, well today I set aside the time to make sure that I did mine. Well if you all know me at all then you know that I did some research. Now I have been giving myself hot oil treatments for years now, but I have been doing it my own way. What I mean by that is that I don't wash the oil out I give myself the hot oil treatment after my wash and conditioning. This has always worked for me but I wanted to know if there were others out there that felt the same way. Some people suggested to just rinse the oil out and all the others suggested to wash it...keep in mind that the people that say wash it out are relaxed or have very straight hair. Since oil weights straight/fine hair down then maybe they don't want any excess oil, but I love oil and so does my hair. To continue on with my research I asked a couple of natural ladies and relaxed ladies the  one natural lady said that she was not really sure why we are washing out this oil. Another relaxed lady said "hey do what works for you". So that is what I will continue to do because washing out the oil is just crazy talk to me. Oh and my friend who is also natural was like "Well Verano, you know you are addicted to oil" Haha and she is totally right! Now that I was sure that I was doing what was right for my hair, I decided to experiment with what type of oils I wanted to use in my hot oil treatment. Check out the recipe below.

2 parts Olive Oil
1 part Castor Oil
1 part Coconut Oil

Warm this up in a pot..I don't like using the microwave because the heat is not evenly distributed. Oh and watch the oil because it will burn and keep in mind that you need to make sure that you have enough oil to cover your whole head..BTW this was too much oil for my hair but that is okay you can reuse.


So I parted my hair into four sections and within each section I parted into four sections. I took these sections and combed them and then massaged the oil into my scalp on down to the tips of my hair. After I completed each section I twisted into 2 twists. Let this sit for 15 min if you are going to rinse/wash out if not style as usual. I really liked the way that this made my scalp and hair feel. The only thing that I am skeptical about is that I have been hearing a lot of freezing coconut oil horror stories. If you don't have these oils (shame on you! ; *) then just use olive oil. Don't forget that during the winter dry months that we need to fully moisturize our hair. Oh and lucky for you naturals I am pretty sure that I need to clip my ends so I will post a demonstration vid on that in a little bit. Do you have any recipes for hot oil or do you like to leave the oil in also? Drop a comment and let me know!


Always,


Verano

Stylin n Profilin: TWA + New Oil!!!!!

Hello hello to all of my lovely naturals,

So I must admit that I have been a little bit bias, I have forgotten about our natural men and our sista's who have just transitioned. For those of you who are currently rockin' your twa (teeny weeny afro) I wanna so go head wit you bad self. I loved when my hair was super short it was so cute and so sassy. On the other hand I feel your pain cuz eventually you get tired of the wash and go but don't fret it will all be over with in a matter of months. For the ladies that have a twa don't forget to use head bands,flowers,clips, oh and hair combs. You can also pin your hair into a fro hawk. I know that I have been preaching about protective styles, no wash n go, and moisturize but for you all with twa's a wash n go is really all you have. So here are a couple of tips: First remember that you don't have to do a wash and go all the time, after you wash you hair you can apply a leave in conditioner, then on the days that you hair is looking a little thirsty you can add water to rejuvenate. Second water is your friend sometimes whipped shea butter and castor oil are too heavy for your twa, I use to use distilled water mixed with aloe vera juice.Third invest in a light oil moisturizer ie coconut oil, sweet almond oil,jojoba oil, tea tree oil....and mix this with a heavier oil ie castor oil or olive oil...when mixing these oils remember to use more light oil than heavier oil. Keep in mind that this length is only temporary and cherish it cuz the more you hair grows the more time consuming it can be. Okay so on to the hairstyle my friend Xety came over and he is growing his hair out. Now I would be lying if I didn't say that it was a hot mess but fortunately for him I did not take any before pics. His hair was just dry you know to the point where it even looks dry and once this happens you curls just look pitiful. Make sure that you are moisturizing every day and it is super easy when you have a twa. Anyway lucky for him I was just concocting an elixir and had some left over. I was playing around with the whipped coconut oil recipe that I posted last week instead of using aloe vera juice I used castor oil and loved the results. First I sprayed his hair with distilled water and then worked in the elixir. So without further adue here is the recipe and the pics. Check it out and tell me what you think.

Always,

Verano




Whipped Coconut Oil Remix

1/2 cup of Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon of Castor Oil

Then Whip It!!

Stylin n Profilin: Fat Twist Out w/ Twist Headband

Hello to all my lovely naturals!!!!

Okay so I apologize about not posting yesterday but I was filming my video for youtube which I posted this afternoon so check me out at MzGrimmage!!! and tell me what you think. I know that I have been posting Sun-Thurs but now that I have my youtube up and working (well it needs a little bit more work) I will have to balance or better yet juggle the two, that being said there might be some changes coming; I will let you all know when I figure it out myself. Now that's out of the way I want to show you all this easy hair do that I did for my friend and fellow blogger Metaphor. I co-washed the hair with Trader Joes Nourish Spa Conditioner and deep conditioned it with Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque. Then I hit it with my whipped shea butter and I applied my natural spritzer on it, detangled, and twisted it into about 7/8 fat twists which then were pin curled. Once everything dried (she slept on it) I put some castor oil on my fingers and un raveled the twists, poofed the hair. I sectioned off the top and twisted from one ear to the next then secured the end of the twist with a bobby pin that I hid behind her ear. In order to maintain this hair style all you need to do is twist the back part of your hair every other day (or everyday its up to you) and un ravel in the morning. Check it out drop a line and tell me what you think.

My Miracle Elixir:Whipped Shea Butter

Hello to all of my lovely naturals,

As women we are bombarded with so many products that I think we tend to get overwhelmed. Well I know that I do, there are so many different products and oils out there and I want to try them all just to satisfy my never ending quest to find my "miracle elixir".Since we are always on the grind to find newer and better working products we either forget the ones that work for us or we never give them a proper chance cuz its on to the next.With that being said In the winter time I think that we need to go back to the basics. We need to use the products that give us the proper moisture and there is little room for error. That is why I am going to give you all my recipe for whipped shea butter it is my miracle elixir (it took my husband to remind me of this little fact) not only does it make my hair shine but it makes it soft and keeps it moisturized. I am not sure if I included this in my regimen but after I wash my hair and condition it I put my whipped shea butter on my hair immediately. So here it is


2 TBSP Shea Butter
1 TBSP Coconut Oil
1 TSP Olive Oil
1 TSP Castor Oil
1 TBSP Glycerin
1/4 TSP Honey (remember as a preservative)

Add shea butter,coconut oil, olive oil,castor oil,glycerin, and honey
mix in a food processor for about 5 min then freeze for about 10 min then mix again and ENJOY!!!!!!!

Once you use this let me know how it works for you


Always,


Verano

Winter Seasons...Is Your Hair Fully Moisturized

Hello my lovely followers,


Okay so you were whipping your hair in the summer stunting on folks but now it seems like all your moisture is gone and you can't seem to get it back. Don't fear lovely naturals you can retain the same amount of moisture in the winter months with the right knowledge. First I will give you some information as to why your hair care routine isn't working anymore; in the summer months there is moisture in the air therefore making it easy to retain the moisture in your hair. You will hear a lot of naturals saying that they use glycerin to secure their moisture. Glycerin is a by product of the soap making process it is a humectant and at high concentrations it will attract and hold water from the environment therefore causing your hair to glisten. Since the winter months are cold and dry (in most areas) your hair is most likely loosing all of its shine. In the winter time you hair feels kind of schizophrenic with the constant change in temperature, from the warmth of your car to the harsh cold outside, to the warmth of your office. The best solution is to wear what we like to call protective hair styles. These hair styles include but are not limited to braids,twists,weaves,wigs....whatever floats your boat. In the winter time I like to wear twists and head coverings (fashionable ones of course) oh and remember if you are going to wear a winter hat please wear a scarf over your hair until you reach your destination. Okay so we still need to cover your hair care routine....This is when you hit your hair with your heavy hitters it is all about protecting your tresses. I leave the glycerin on the shelf and exchange it for cold pressed and cold processed castor oil (will blog about the benefits of cold pressed and processed oils later) not only as a hot oil treatment but as a moisturizer..maybe castor oil does not work well for you the object is to use a heavy oil that will coat your hair against the elements. Also invest in a good deep conditioner, a deep conditioner should have to be kept in your hair for at least 15 min. You should also use shea butter (a natural hair conditioner and moisturizer) and last but not least please remember to wrap your hair before bed time. So to sum it all up 1.Don't forget to moisturize your hair with something that will coat the hair shaft and follicles therefore retaining your moisture 2. Give yourself a hot oil treatment at least once a month 3. I suggest only deep conditioning your hair during these times 4. And finding a good moisturizer for your hair ie shea butter or natures blessing (my favorites)
Most importantly remember that getting to know and love your hair is a work in progress what works for me might not work for you so with that in mind try it all until you find what works for your hair. Good luck and remember moisture is a curly girls best friend!



Always,

Verano