Apple Cider Vinegar what is all the hub bub?

Hello to all of my lovely naturals,

I hope that everyone is getting ready to enjoy their New Years celebration because I know I am! You will hear a lot of naturals talk about ACV (apple cider vinegar) When we choose to co-wash our hair there will eventually be build up and it is suggested that an ACV rinse will get rid of any build up. ACV is also know to help with frizzes and make your hair shiny. I don't know about you all but when I first started out natural I had like 3 things in my regimen and now I am up to about 7 UGH but hey when you know better you do better. Anyhoo I have used ACV before and I just didn't see the results that the others are talking about. I mean I did not hate it some people say that afterwards their hair feels stripped but I am pretty sure that they are not diluting it. When you co-wash your hair with non-organic conditioners then you are placing silicone's in your hair which leads to build up (unless you have a silicone free conditioner) Check out my post on silicone's for more info. Since I co-wash my hair I know exactly the feeling when you have too much product on your hair and when that time comes I wash my hair with my homemade shampoo (check that post out its delightful and easy/cheap to make) and that usually does the trick. Now if you notice product buildup then you really need to rinse/wash the product out of your hair. So after I co-washed my hair I used 1/2 cup in about 3 cups of warm water and poured that over my hair and let it dry. No your hair does not smell like vinegar once it dries you can not smell it. At the time I did not have product build up but like I stated before I really did not notice any difference. I suggest that if you have product build up skip the co-wash and just rinse it with water and then apply the rinse. Give it a try and tell me if you noticed any difference....Oh and Happy New Years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Always,

Verano

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 winter regimen

Hello to all my lovely followers

So today I want to let you all know what I do to to keep my hair looking and feeling its best. I wash my hair once every week and a half to every two weeks. I use to only co-wash my hair (natural term for only using conditioner to cleanse your hair) but since I started making my own shampoo that has changed (check out the post on my home made lavender shampoo) I am in between conditioners right now, after educating myself on what silicone's do for your hair I started making my own deep conditioner. Ummm lets just say that I have not mastered that yet :/ So I am going to target this weekend to buy shea moisture organic deep conditioner and I will let you know how it works. Right now I am using Trader Joe's conditioner which is organic and works perfectly for my hair. I do a hot oil treatment once a month with olive oil. Oh and when I deep condition my hair I like to add a little coconut oil in the conditioner or whenever I feel that my hair is getting a little dry I will rub coconut oil on it (especially my twists that are some days old) right before I hop in the shower. Once I get out of the shower I part my hair into four parts then comb each section with my wide tooth comb, this is the only time that I comb my hair. Once that is all done I style and repeat every two weeks, please feel free to post what works for your hair during the winter months.





Always,


Verano

Silicones,Sulfates and Oils what is a natural girl to do? part 1

Hello to all my lovely followers!

Today lets tackle the natural enemies of our curly hair. I am just joking of course! I will give you some information on these chemicals and my opinion and hopefully help you to come to an informative decision on the subject. Okay so I am pretty sure that you are hearing a lot of negative talk about silicone's and sulfates but sometimes its hard to get to the bottom of these opinions. Lets start at the top with sulfates. Sulfates can be found in shampoos they are a harsh cleaning agent that strips the hair of everything. Now if you are putting heavy products on your hair or using a conditioner with silicone's you will need to use a shampoo with sulfates in them because that is the only chemical that can get rid of silicone's. Sulfates cause the hair to be dry and brittle and will remove all oils from your hair natural and other wise. Now I don't suggest using products with sulfates because they strip your hair and I for one work too hard to keep my hair properly moisturized to have it stripped in one washing. Okay so now on to silicone's there are two types water soluble and non water soluble. For right now lets focus on non-water soluble. Silicone's can be found in conditioners and they coat the hair and like I stated before the only thing that can remove them are sulfates. In my personal opinion I don't want anything coating my hair because then it will not be able to absorb any of the oils that I put in my hair. At first silicone's make your hair look smooth and shiny but this is only temporary many people say that after awhile their hair looks dull. If you think back I am pretty sure that you can recall hearing some hair professional say that after awhile you need to change your shampoo and conditioner. This is because after time the silicone's will cause your hair to look dull and lifeless this happens because of product build up to be more specific silicone build up. Now some people use conditioners with silicone's and they don't have any problem. Non water soluble silicone's usually end in ane,cane,one,and cone. There are a lot of you who only co-wash (natural term for only washing with conditioner) if this is the case for you I don't recommend using a conditioner with silicone's. Water soluble silicone's have a PEG in front of them and they are safe to use in the co-washing process. I suggest before throwing away any of your products keep what works for you and your hair. Now that was a lot! I was going to cover oils but I think I will make that my next post because I have a lot of information on that as well. Please follow and comment and let me know what your take is on the whole silicone and sulfate debate.



Always,


Verano

Home made lavender shampoo

Hello my lovely followers

Okay so I am so excited that I just had to do a quick blog. I made some lavender shampoo a couple of days ago and used it today. You talking about something that was awesome when it first went on my head I could tell that it was going to fully moisturize and clean my hair. I got out of the shower and my hair was bouncy and clean without being stripped. I don't use shampoo I co-wash my hair (co-wash or no poo is a term used when naturals only use conditioners to wash their hair) but I wanted to give shampoo a try and ran across this recipe, it was such a pleasant surprise and not to mention totally relaxing because of the lavender. Unfortunately I did not jot down the website that I received this recipe from but a major shout out to whomever came up with this little piece of heaven for my hair! Try it out and see if you like it as always what works for me might not work for you but my motto is as long as it is a natural product there is nothing that could happen, other than I hate it or love it. The recipe is below please let me know if this works for you


Always,

Verano

Natural Shampoo Base

This is the base I use for making essential oil and spice shampoos. It makes 1/2 cup of concentrated shampoo.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup castile soap

1/2 teaspoon of (extra virgin) olive oil

Method:

Mix together all ingredients and place into shampoo bottle.

Lavender Shampoo

Lavender is an time honored aromatherapy treasure. It soothes an irritated scalp and stimulates the hair follicles. Lavender also aids in relaxation and feelings of well-being.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup fresh lavender

2 tablespoons of glycerin

1/2 cup Natural Shampoo Base

Essential Oils:

5 drops of lavender essential oil

Method:

Mix water and lavender together into a heavy bottom pot and bring to a boil.

Let boil gently for at least twenty minutes.

Let cool slightly and add basic shampoo mixture and glycerin slowly to herbal mixture.

Mix well.

Pour shampoo into container and let stand for a few days to allow the mixture to thicken.

Use as you would your regular shampoo.

 

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