Monday, March 3, 2014

Protective Style Challenge Complete!

Hey All,

A few months back, I embarked on a protective style challenge. I stated back then that I would be on this challenge until February sometime. I have since complete the challenge!
Recently I wore a sew in weave, with a little bit of leave out. The hair used for this protective style was First Remy, Bobbi Boss hair in a 1B. The lengths were 10 inch at the top and 12 inch at the bottom. Now, I know your wondering how much heat did I have to put on my hair to maintain my leave out... With the use of certain products, and with wrapping my hair at night, I only HAD to use heat once every 2 weeks! 

The products that I used on my leave out were: Organix weightless argan oil, Carols Daughter Monoi split end repair/sealer and Carols Daughter Hair Balm.

I loved having my hair straight for a while, and loved that I didn't have to use that much heat on my hair and the weave hair. The weave hair blended perfectly with my own, and the next time I get a weave I will definitely be repurchasing this hair. Every winter, I will be putting my hair in a protective style, to retain length and minimize manipulation. I feel like my hair grew a lot while in these styles, and I was restricted with the versatility. When I took the hair out and washed my real hair, I did not see any apparent heat damage. I will be going back to my conditioning regimen, which is deep conditioning every week. I will also be doing protein treatments regularly on my hair to get it back up to par.

How do you guys feel about sew in's with leave out? How often do you use heat on your hair? What kind of hair do you use? Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to subscribe :-)

-Dani

Clarifying with Aztec Indian Healing Clay

Hey Guys!

I have been so MIA! I have been transitioning into a lot of new things lately. I started Graduate  school in January, and I also got a new job, and started training this week. Not to mention my hair has been in a protective style since early January, so I haven't really been able to try any new products or post any new reviews about them.
I took the protective style (weave) out yesterday with the help of my boyfriend. While I had this protective style in, I took the opportunity to try Hairfinity Hair Vitamins to see what all the hype was about. (A separate post will be coming for that soon).

Since I had this protective style in  for over 6 weeks, I knew when I took out this hair I needed to clarify my hair, to remove all the build up I would have from having this style. My usual clarifying routine consists of an ACV rinse, (Apple cider vinegar solution, ACV with a little water). But this time I decided to try something new! This past weekend, I found myself on YouTube, browsing my favorite natural hair guru's YouTube channels. I came across one of my fav's "HeyFranHey". Her texture and my texture are complete opposites, but I love to see what methods she uses for her hair and also what she does for her skin. I came across a video of her using the Aztec Indian Healing Clay. I've seen this particular product on other blogs and YouTube channels, and most people swear by it for their skin and also for their hair! I've heard it works wonders as a facial mask, pore reducer and it also is great for removing access oils from the skin that can cause acne and blemishes. So I though, why not use this one my hair?

The Mixture: (no exact measurements were used. I approximated until I got a nice smooth paste)

-3 scoopfuls of Aztec Healing Clay
-about a cup of "Braggs" ACV (apple cider vinegar)
- about a 1/2 cup of Aloe Vera juice

I mixed all of these together in a glass bowl, until I received a nice smooth paste.
PLEASE NOTE: It is advised on the packaging of the clay that you DO NOT use metal utensils or bowls when dealing with this product. The metal mixed with the clay creates some kind of charge :-/

I used gloves, to keep from getting my hands messy. I parted my hair in 4 sections, (makes things easier), and I proceeded to apply the mixtures evenly to my SCALP and my HAIR. I made sure to rub this into my scalp so that all of the build up accumulated, oil and dirt could be removed with the clay. After applying, I immediately washed it out. As I rinsed my hair, the product was not hard to rinse out at all, and my hair felt very moisturized. I'm thinking the reason my hair felt moisturized and not dry and stringy was because of the Aloe Vera juice I added to the mixture.
I could have proceeded to styling without deep conditioning, but since my hair hadn't been deep conditioned in so long, I knew I needed to add this step.

I will definitely be clarifying again with the Aztec Indian Healing Clay. This mixture did way better in removing buildup from my hair and scalp than just ACV alone. All of the products (Aztec Indian Healing Clay, Aloe Vera juice and ACV) were purchased from the Vitamin Shoppe by my house. All of the items together were about $15.
This method is good for ALL HAIR TYPES, not just kinky textures. I will be using this same recipe as a skin masque, and I will post to let you know how this turns out.

Let me know if you guys have any questions about the products, were to get them and your experiences with them. Don't forget to comment, subscribe and tell a friend !!!! :-)

Peace,
Dani