AfrikanLatina ☥ It's A...

Okay Nubie, I admit it BUT let me say this....my hair is 3 inches in some areas lol See you in the BAA thread.

That hair looks soft, darling.

TEA TREE OIL EO is all I have to say about itching. Mix it with peppermint tea and shea or another oil and apply. It works for me.

Hey AL!

@Chrs...I know our scalps will thank us for it.

@IB: I'm fresh out of tea tree oil. I just told my hunny yesterday that we need to get some more. I know it would do the trick but its also time for a good ACV rinse for me to get rid of some buildup that's probably on my scalp.

@Shee: Hey my dear.


So I just sat here and thought out a regimen that I think will work for me while I'm in this BAA growth challenge. I may tweak it a bit but I have to set dates for myself in order to ensure that I do things when I'm supposed to. I have NEVER had a strict regimen. I just did things whenever the mood hit me and I'm hoping that my hair will thrive being put on a schedule. **fingers crossed**

I plan to keep this regimen for at least 6 months although I believe some products will either be added or taken away. I'm still looking for a great water based leave in conditioner.

Tentative Regimen


Wash (Shampoo) & Clarify: Twice a month (1^st & 15^th) with Shikakai Shampoo Bar & ACV.

Cowash:Weekly or as needed (Aussie Moist or Suave Coconut Conditioner)

Leave In: TBD

Deep Condition: Once a week—overnight (Aussie 3 Minute Miracle mixed with honey & oil or Cholesterol Condtioner--alternating)

Henna: Once a month on the 7^th (prepoo the night before)

Ayurvedic Treatment: Once a month on the 21^st (Shikakai, Amla & Brahmi Treatment) (prepoo the night before)


Styling:Try to wear protective styles 2 weeks or more out of the month. Apply castor oil/Vatika oil mix to edges twice daily. Spritz hair with horsetail/chamomile spray twice daily. Apply castor oil to scalp once a week to start.

Thanks Chrs!! I will be sure to assess and make the necessary changes if necessary after 3 weeks.

Ladies, if Chrs recommends a site, youtube channel or anything else to you...take her advice lol. Because she introduced me to a fellow curly sister, MopTopMaven who has hair very similar to mine I won some Kinky Curly Knot Today & Kinky Curly Curling Custard. I'm so excited to give it a try! This is only the 2nd time in LIFE that I won something that I really wanted. The first time it was tickets to see the Broadway version of The Color Purple. THIS IS AWESOME!!

CONGRATS!!!!

Congratulations!!! You save about $50 bucks, huh?

Thanks Sweet & LL.

@LL...I'm definitely saving a pretty penny. I've been wanting to try this but couldn't bring myself to actually buy it. If I don't like it I won't feel bad since I didn't have to pay for it.



Today I am going to wash & clarify my hair as well as deep condition in preparation for starting the growth challenge tomorrow. YAY! I told hubby I'm going to need his help measuring my hair before he goes to work so I'll have to wash my hair in a little while. I'll plop for a bit and then we'll measure it before I DC. I'll be posting pictures in here and in the challenge forum. Its going to be a beautiful sunny 83 degrees today in my part of NC. Gotta love that.

Love you and I love the symbol too..thanks for sharing!

AfrikanLatina wrote:

"The word SANKOFA is derived from the words SAN (return), KO (go), FA (look, seek and take). This symbolizes the Akan's quest for knowledge with the implication that the quest is based on critical examination,and intelligent and patient investigation.

The symbol is based on a mythical bird that flies forwards with its head turned backwards. This reflects the Akan belief that the past serves as a guide for planning the future,or the wisdom in learning from the past in building the future."

I came to Curly Nikki hoping to gain some of the knowledge necessary to care for my hair in its natural state. It has been such a wonderful journey for me. I have received so many kind words and messages from so many of you that turned a not so good day into a great day. As a new mom I couldn't post everyday or every week sometimes and I haven't been able to follow some of your journeys as closely as I would have liked but I knew the other curlies would pick up the slack lol. Many of you have been here with me through my postpartum shedding and had it not been for some of your encouraging words I probably would have scalped myself out of frustration lol. I just want to say thanks for being such a wonderfully made group of ladies. You are my extended family

Thanks for sharing this which is a perfect example or mission of this forum!!

I've enjoyed reading your posts...I remember the shedding days after I had both of my sons. I was freaking out!!! It is something that is unavoidable!!

KNH

aww, great post

Twisted Hairdo Fit For the Outside World to See


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Winston Salem--Saturday night I got bored and began twisting my hair up to see if I could come up with a style worthy of wearing outside the house. Although I have received a number of compliments on my flat twists in the past and them being nice enough to wear outside the house I just didn't believe they looked THAT good. I started out gently twisting up the sides to wear a fro hawk I somehow got the idea to twist the middle as well. The hair in the middle is so straight I can never get it to "kink" up no matter how much water I spray on it.

I did two chunkier flat twists in the middle going diagonally/horizontally. The back that was left out got put into some not so hot looking two strand twists that resulted in a cute twistout the following day. I plan to do this style again and actually care about how it'll look in the end but to be a quick I'm bored do I liked it. The pictures aren't so great but I'll share with my curlfriends anyway...

Don't laugh at the sad 2 strand twist in the back

I used Peace, Love, and Sunshine whipped shea butter(it was sent to me for free to do a review...I'll be back with that later. I'll just say I don't think my hair loves Shea Butter anymore)

TOP/BACK


BACK


FRONT


I just realized I didn't snap any side pics. The sides were just two strand twisted like you would do if you were doing a frohawk. I was going to attempt to pin the twists up in the back but didn't. I'm going to give it a go next time.

Hey AL,

I will be back for the review. I want to see pics with the back out. I think you did a good job!

I'm going to do the review some time today Sweet. The little one is not going to allow me to type a long review at the moment.

Thanks Chrs! I know I could've did better so I'm going to actually put some effort into it next time. I'm going to a friends graduation on Saturday so I'll be redoing it Friday night after I henna and DC.

So I've decided to make my first Qhemet Biologics & Oyin purchase this week. I have yet to decide what I will get but since Qhemet is having a sale on Friday I will most certainly be taking advantage of it. I'm off to the product reviews thread to see what ladies are saying about it.

Thanks for sharing that style. I may have to try that design so I can wear my two strand flat twist out too.

Oh your welcome Lynnie. I'm trying to protective style more than I did the first time I BC'd which was never. My hair was always in a twist out or afro. I'm going to redo the style better on Friday and come back with pictures.

Loving that style AL! I love big flat twists!

Checking to see if you did a review!

REVIEW: Peace, Love, & Sunshine Whipped Shea Butter "Pear Berry Elegance" (NEW SCENT NOT YET AVAILABLE)

May 5, 2010

Winston Salem--Sunshine Abuwi of PL&S asked for a few volunteers to sample one of her new products so I gladly obliged. I was not aware of what I would be sampling until it arrived in the mail. I received a 4 oz size of PL&S Whipped Shea Butter.

This is what she says about it "Sunshine's new formula now includes Jojoba Oil. The additon of the oil has made Sunshine even creamier and more whipped than ever before" " Many customers have fallen in love with the new texture, but you will be the first to experience a new seasonal scent. Pear berry is just the fragrance needed to make Spring feel welcome. It is perfect if worn alone, be can also be layered with other Sunshine scents to pump up the volume a bit...Making most scents Spring/Summer ready!"

I had previously stopped using shea butter because I felt like it made my hair appear dull no matter how little I used. If you remember some time ago I was making my own whipped shea butter for my hair and it worked well for a while. Many of you commented on how shiny my hair looked in pictures & a few in person at the CN meetup. It was short lived. Now on to the review:

After washing and clarifying my hair last week I used about a half dollar sized amount(as a sealant) and rubbed it through my hands. I immediately noticed that it started out feeling a little gritty but as you emulsified it in your hands the grit melted down. I applied it by rubbing it through my hair focusing on the ends. Right away I felt like my hair looked a bit ashy but thought that it would disappear as it absorbed into my hair. I then proceeded to twist my hair in the style pictured above. The next day my hair was soft and the ashy look had disappeared. However, by the end of the day my hair felt a tad bit dry so I applied some more to my ends before I retwisted. Again the next day my hair felt soft and moisturized. So on and so forth.

I used it on my sons hair as well with the same results but in its defense he is a wild sleeper and his curls attract lint like crazy.

The scent is very faint and the smell of shea butter is quite apparent. The shea butter definitely is more overpowering than the Pear Berry Fragrance so if you don't like the smell of shea butter you probably won't care for this. When used on my hands alone it is a tad bit greasy but eventually absorbs. I'd recommend it for your feet if you want them to feel moisturized. I put some on my feet and then wore some socks for a bit and my feet felt nice afterward.

All in all I can't say that I LOVED the product but I didn't hate it. I will finish it probably just using it on my ends rather than the full length of my hair. I'll also use this as a nice foot moisturizer.

I give it out of 5. It comes in very pretty packaging, she decorates the envelope it comes in. Although it didn't wow be.(my hair) for those of you who love shea butter I think this could be great! Check her out at peaceloveandsunshine.etsy.com She's a really sweet chica and has the cutest little boy that they call Shea Baby

The jar label reads (in yellow)--Shea Buter Olive Oil Vitamin E (in orange)--4 oz. Multipurpose All Natural

Very thorough review!!! Thanks!