Blackbeauty Natural Hair Journey

Hello my cUrLy Ladies!! Well I was in the middle of sending a post in last night when the RUDE Hurricane Ida decided to cut my power off . After my power was cut back on 20 hours later and I attempted to restore my last online session because let's face it I dont want to spend a hour trying to re-write something that i already wrote. Well anyway when I restored my session I discovered... Are you ready for this (music from psycho movie begin! if you dont know what i mean click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuIQJ-l16b4)...THE BUTTER and BARS Folder was GONE so my post that would have been there was gone . I went into a mini panic because that means I have to start all over soooooo HERE WE GO.....

I'm very excited for this wknd because I will be attending a natural hair meet up this saturday in the Virginia Beach area. The creator of Sarenzo Beads will be there showcasing her homemade jewelry & accessories for natural hair. Since I know some of you ladies wont be joining me this Saturday, I will like to share the experience with you, so here is a link to Sarenzo Beads and some of the hand crafted accessories she will showing us: http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=12459&rmore=1&op=new

So today I wash my hair with Elucence moisture benefits shampoo and conditioned with Elucence Moisture Balance Conditioner and I will be doing a product review on both of those products and I will also show you curlies pictures of how I styled my hair today. Are you ready...LETS GO!!!

Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo:


Product Description:This gentle cleansing shampoo contains peach extract, irish moss, ginseng and wheat protein — all of which moisturize and condition hair without weighing it down. Moisture Benefits Shampoo soothes and replenishes, leaving your hair feeling healthy and refreshed.

Ingredients:Prunis Persica (Peach) extract, Pimpenella anisum (Anise) fruit extract, Panax Ginseng root extract, Ginkgo Bilobika extract, cetraria islandica (Irish Moss) extract, saccharomyces cerevisiea (Brewer's Yeast) extract in purified water, sodium myreth solfate (coconut oil-derived). C14-16 olefin sulfonate (mineral-derived_, cocomidopropyl betaine (coconut oil-derived)hydrolyzed wheat protein, tocopherol acetate, Panthenol (provitamin), glycol distearate (fatty acid-derived), polyquaternium-10 (polysaccharide celulose, DMDM Hydantoin, methlyparaben (USP), propylparaben(UPS), benzophenone-4 (UV absorber), fragrance, D&C orane 4C!15510

My Experience: This is an EXCELLENT shampoo that does not leave my hair feeling stripped and removes product build up perfectly all the while coating my strands in moisture. It left my hair feeling clean & moisturized but not greasy or heavy. The shampoo itself is luxuriously creamy, rich and concentrated. You only need a small amount, i used about a quarter size amount and that was plenty for me. To me it has a VERY STRONG PEACH SCENT while washing, as you can see it's the 1st ingredient listed thankfully it doesn't linger, but if you like peaches then it shouldnt be a problem.

Final Verdict: I would definitely repurchase this shampoo for the cheap price $8, the ingredients are great and my hair loves it but my nose just doesnt.

Elucence Moisture Balance Conditioner:


Product Description:A balancing blend of natural olive oil and coconut, Moisture Balancing Conditioner moisturizes and protects your hair without weighing it down. Essential triglycerides add softness, shine and silkiness to your hair for effortless combing and minimized breakage.

Ingredients:Panax Ginseng root extract, cetraria islandia (Irish Moss) extract, saccharomyces cerevisiea (Brewer's Yeast) extract, Gingko Biloba extract, pimpinella anisum (Anise) fruit extract, prunis persica (Peach) extract in purified water, hexadecanol, stearakonium chloride, certimonium bromide, Squalane (olive oil lipid), Capric Caprillic Triglycerides (coconut fatty acids), Panthenol (pro-vitamin USP),Biotin (USP), imisazolidinyl urea, methylparaben (USP), fragrance

My Experience: THIS CONDITIONER RIGHT HERE!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! I absolutely LOVE this conditioner...no wait love is an understatement I IDOLIZE this conditioner! It helps detangles my hair like a freaking DREAM. Its not heavy and its not too light, so it can work as a leave-in if you wish, which I havent tried yet. It left my hair moisturized and very soft and I also enjoy the fact that it doesnt have a very strong peach scent it smells like a light fresh/clean with slight fruity hint to it.

Final Verdict: I love this product, im always happy when I get money's worth. As a college student Im always on the hunt for great products at a cheap price and at $8 this is one of them. This is definitely a holy grail product for me & next time I am buying the liter size!

How I styled my hair today:After I washed my with Elucence I then

• added my garner fructis triple moisture conditioner with added avocado, olive, shea, grapeseed, olive and jojoba oil to it to my hair as a leave-in.
  
• Then I applied Eco Styler Olive Gel to my hair in small sections
  
• Added more water to hair
  
• Lastly, I shook my head like RoCk StAr and went on about my day!
  

There you have it my staple style wash &go!











Kisses to you!! Thanks for stopping by !!

Your TWA is so pretty. It suits your face. Can't wait to see more pictures

Thanks for the product descriptions... Around how much do they cost?

...and your hair is too cute... Curlies like you make me wanna BC sooner than later.

They both cost $8. The shampoo is on sale @ curl mart for $6 right now.

Thank you for the compliments!!

i dont think ive come across these shampoos- where do you find them? and yes: twa= cute on you:)

gammainme wrote:i dont think ive come across these shampoos- where do you find them? and yes: twa= cute on you:)

Thank you Gammainme!! I heard about them on www.naturallycurly.com and I watched several reviews about them on youtube before purchasing it. I bought mine through amazon although at the moment the shampoo is going for $6 at www.curlmart.com

NaturalNurse04 wrote:Your hair is too cute!

Thank you!!! I love your hair too!

Hello Curlies!!!

Let me give you some background info on why I decided to go natural.

How long did I transition? When did I Big Chop?
I transitioned for about 7 months starting from Feb 22 which was my last time I got a relaxer. I big chopped for my 21st birthday on Oct 2.

What was my transition staple style?
When I first started transition for the 3 months I wore silky twists. Which I WILL NEVER do again!!! When I took those out my fav style was Bantu Braided Knots and knot outs for the rest of the months. Around my 6 month the 2 textures in my hair started to get really annoying,so I just wore a scarf around my head.

What Inspired me to go natural?
My boyfriend's 7yr old daughter, Deja. When she was 5 yrs old I had to figure out how to do her hair when she came to visit. I mean I knew NOTHING about how to do hair let alone a little girl's with a head full of dark brown thick, VERY THICK kinky curly hair down to her shoulders. Her texture was SOOO FOREIGN to me and I felt ashamed by that.

Doing her hair I started thinking about what does my real texture look like, At the time I had a relaxer since I was 3. Relaxers are all I have ever known and I didnt even know that relaxers werent required for our hair until I met Deja.

Even though I was curious about Deja's hair, going natural still was non-existent in my mind. Shortly after my experience with Deja, I highlighted my relaxed for the 1st time ever and then loving the color I wanted more when it started to fade. My beautician OVER bleached-fried my hair and my hair kept breaking around the front so after that I took it easy on my hair for months. The thought of going natural never entered my mind and heart until one day:

Deja came home crying to me about how she hated her hair and wanted her hair to be straight like her friends at school (she was the only girl with natural hair in her class and there were only 2 black
girls in her class). Every time she would cry to me I would reassure her hair is beautiful it's unique & the hair of queens & princesses of Africa.

One morning she watching me flat iron my relaxed hair (my usual routine) and she said that "white people don't have to do that to their hair they just wake up and go, I wish I had hair like that. Why do I have to have hair like this?" I realize at that moment I was damaging her, even though I preach to her the beauty of her natural hair, how can I tell her hair that her hair is beautiful if I don't even want or have it and I abstain from getting it. Psychologically her watching me straighten my hair reinforces in her mind that her hair is ugly.

So that day I put my flat iron down and I told Deja to make me a promise. I told her if she promises me that she will never get a relaxer, I promise her I will go natural and show her by my actions not just my words that having natural hair is beautiful. And since that day I havent had a relaxer and now today, I can proudly say Im 100% natural and I enjoy every moment of it. In the course of me knowing Deja she has taught me so much and I want to be able to teach her something valuable. It's a beautiful thing showing Deja how beautiful OUR hair can be and now more
than ever I know she believes me and she loves her kinky curls now. That brings me more joy than anything.

Walking down memory lane:

My last relaxer, Feb 22 2009:


My silky twists (march-june):


Bantu Knots & knot outs:


Big Chop (4 days later):


Relaxed Before Highlights (fall 2006):


My first time with highlights & bob (late spring 2008):


My 2nd time with Bleach Fried Highlights (summer 2008):


Thank you guys for stopping by !!! I Hoped you enjoyed walking down my Memory Lane!!!

awww...the baby inspired you!!! She will probably never forget the words you said and the commitment you made with her! What a blessing!

You look so beautiful with your natural hair. How great that you can help reinforce Deja's beauty by example.

You are beautiful twa sistah! lol...keep rocking!

@ Cocoeru: Its funny sometimes how a child can teach you things you never even imagine you'll learn. She is a blessing to me!!

@erika5417: Your fro is huge!! How long have you been natural? I cant wait for my hair to be that big!

@curly+kinky+fierce: You & mandy are rocking too!!!

What a beautiful story about you and Deja! Your TWA is SUPER CUTE! I love it!

HeLlO mY bEaUtIfUl cUrLy LaDiEs!!!!

So today I will be doing a product review of Darcy Botanicals Natural Coils Curling Jelly which I received a sample of when I purchased the Daily Leave in Conditioner from her.

Natural Coils Curling Jelly by Darcy Botanicals:


Product description: Natural Coils Curling Jelly will give your natural coils & waves everything you have been looking for in a natural hair gel. Natural Coils Curling Jelly will not leave your hair flakey or dry. Natural Coils Curling Jelly works to enhance & define your natural coils and waves while also giving you hold, softness, and healthy conditioning.

Ingredients: Distilled Water, Organic Aloe Juice, Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Coconut Cream, Organic Castor Oil, Sea Moss Extract, Organic Brown Rice Extract, Hydrolyzed Oats, Potassium Sorbate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid and Fragrance.

My Experience: Upon opening the jar of Jelly it has a light citrus aroma, which doesnt bother me it goes away a bit when it dries but to me it's a clean smell. If you smell it in my hair well HEY at least you know its clean! The consistency of the jelly was not like anything I've ever experience before, it was very goppy & runny because it's so runny it seems as though you have to add more of it. That ultimately means the product doesnt last that long. The product for me was just alright nothing spectacular, Im one that if I spend my money I want my moneys worth. It defined my curls well that already had a curl pattern to it but the hair that was 4b & doesnt have a strong pattern, still looked like frizz. My favorite Eco-Styler Olive oil Gel does a better job defining my curls than than & that's only $3 although unlike Eco-Styler this product is an all natural gel which is a HUGE PLUS in my book. It just didnt work well for all of my hair textures on my 1 little head.

Final Verdict: Being a college student that survives off of Ramen noodles I probably wont repurchase because of the $12 price for a gel that's just alright.

How I styled my hair today:

• I co-washed with Totally Twisted HH
  
• I used Elucence conditioner
  for my detangling method & as a leave-in ( so far im liking it)
  
• Lastly I did my staple wash n go style today and used the curling jelly
  in replace of my usual Eco-Styler Olive Oil Gel.
  

Here are pics of my hair today...as you can see some parts are defined and some parts are not.

my hair is growing...YAY!!:


frontview (very defined, soft and shiny from the Jelly):


Upclose in the front:


side view,some part are defined while others are not:




Thank you Curly Queens for stopping by !!!!

It looks good! I have the frizzies all the time too! Right on the side of my head!

AfrikanLatina wrote:What a beautiful story about you and Deja! Your TWA is SUPER CUTE! I love it!

Thank ya !!

HeY mY lOvElY cUrLy QuEeNs!!!

I know use alot pictures in my journal that may cause the page to load slow but I cnt help it I love visuals & what best to describe what ur talking than an actual picture of it!! Although I may delete some pics if loading gets too slow !!

How I styled my hair today:
So today I did another co-washed w/ Suave Tangerine, I wanted to remove the Curly Jelly from my hair.

• I then used my handy dandy Garner Fructis w/ added oils as a leave-in,
  
• then I layered it with afroveda curly custard
  
  
• then I added Eco-Styler Olive Oil Gel to my hair
  
• I added more water to my hair & Shook My head like a RoCk StAr (I do this step to get the curls to go its own individual way and clump they way it feels,my springlettes love me for this.)
  

This combo works for me my hair is soft even with the gel & it smells so good like orange & vanilla!! Thanks to the curly pudding!!

Here are pics of my results:




Do you have any special tricks, tips or flips that ur hair loves? Please share if you do!!

Thanks for stopping by !!!!

Your hair looks great yesterday!

Is the Afroveda curly pudding different than the curly custard? Was this your first time layering products?

Looks great! The curls are really well defined.

ChrsLvsBks wrote:Your hair looks great yesterday!

Is the Afroveda curly pudding different than the curly custard? Was this your first time layering products?

Thank you!!!

I didnt mean to write curly pudding I meant Curly Custard. This was my first time layering with curly custard and I got the idea from YOU!! THANK YOU!!! I absolutely LOVE the custard my hair is so soft and curly and I LOVE IT!!!

Courtie wrote:Looks great! The curls are really well defined.

Grazie!! Grazie!!

Hello Curlies!!

Today I just spritz water on my hair & shook my head to revive my curls!! This morning my curls did pop out at me to tell me GOOD MORNING!!! I love that curly custard my hair is soft & curls are bouncy, I cant stop playing in my hair.

HeLLo ChICAS!!!

Today was another day in stretching my TWA it is Day 3 for me & my hair is sooo soft and it's bigger than my Day 1 hair (I promise next time ill take pics)!! I swear I love that Curly custard it made a huge difference in the softness of my hair.

If you have a TWA and you have no idea how 2 stretch ur TWA you have to check out this youtube video from Mahoganycurls,I found it to be very helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwl702dqK68

I hope you enjoy!!!

dont u love to stretch that wash n go?? mahogany really helped me with tht when i first bc! p.s. ur hair is cute up! rock that twa chica!