Hello to all of my lovely naturals,
First I would like to do a quick update on my lip gloss...okay its just alright so back to the drawing board. Now last week when I did my hot oil treatment I placed my hair into individual braids instead of my usual two part twists. Once I got tired of the braids I took two braids and with some whipped shea butter I placed them into twists and twisted those into bantu knots. I let the knots stay in for a couple of days and then I unraveled those and placed my curly braids into a nice up do...check out the pics below and then check out my video on youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=desKjK62v7s let me know what you think.
Always,
Verano
Hello to all of my lovely naturals!
I hope that you all had a blast for the holiday, cuz I know I did : ) So for most of us it is getting colder outside meaning that the days of the wash and go are over. In order to maintain proper moisture we will need to protect our hair, we can do that by properly moisturizing and wearing it in styles that are no fuss and do not unnecessarily cause our hair to be exposed to the elements. This does not mean that you can not wear the occasional blow out, braid out, afro puff and so on and so forth. This means that you should keep your hair in a protective style for 80 percent of the week at least in order to insure that your beautiful locs will still be able to thrive. Okay so on to my hairstyle...in order to achieve this hairstyle I first sprayed my hair with some water then moisturized it with natures blessing and detangled. Then I begun my braids but I started from the bottom going up, once I was done I pin curled (my fav) the tips and tied it up. In the morning I got up and took down the middle braid by a couple of inches and poofed it up into a mini bouffant. This style can be worn for a week and a half then for the rest of the week you can wear a braid out. Oh and remember that just because you have your hair in braids does not mean that you can relax on moisturizing your hair. Check it out and tell me what you think.
Always,
Verano
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
Hello to all my lovely followers
I just had to blog about the results of my home made lavender shampoo. So as I was getting ready to twist my hair (protective hair styles for the winter time is a must!) I noticed that my curl pattern that usually frizzes away to nothing once the water had dried from my hair was still there, and my hair felt smooth,silky,moisturized and healthy. It really is a must try naturals! and it is something that I will use forever!
Always,
Verano
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
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
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