Sunday Question: Styles You Still Haven't Mastered

I have a confession to make guys. After all these years of being natural, spending the past 3 on healthy hair care practices and great styling, there's one thing I fail at.

Twist outs.

If you check out our twist out tags, you'll notice a sea of beautiful posts from SP and this one little post from 2011 from me, which wasn't even all that. I SUCK at them and no matter how many techniques I've tried, I just can't. One of my hair goals of 2013 is to do a really great twist-out, although I'm kind of holding my breath for it. Meh.

So tell me, which natural hair style/technique have you yet to master?

Results: Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls

Description:
Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls is a light-as-a-feather styling lotion that incorporates "fabric softener" technology to help you obtain large, flowing curls. Helps prevent tight, ramen noodle curls, instead offering larger, expanded curls. 
This lotion delivers fluffy, touchable curls and larger than life volume, without weighing down your hair's natural bounce. It’s made with a healing blend of avocado, coconut, sweet almond, and olive to repair dry, damaged locks.

Took a picture with flash so you can see fluffy curls

End of day hair

Wednesday's experiment with Miss Jessie's Soft Pillow Curls was...interesting. I washed and conditioned my hair, then split my hair into four sections and worked some of the product through. I wasn't heavy handed with it and still have plenty left in my sample pack. I don't think my hair turned out bad, and it seems the product did exactly what it promised to do: curls with volume. But there's a reason why I washed it out of my hair last night: the smell. It wasn't a joke when they said this product "incorporates "fabric softener" technology" because that is exactly what my hair smelled like. It gave me a headache and I couldn't shake this feeling of being at the laundry. I don't know, guys. I'm glad I got a sample and it wasn't a complete disaster but for $22, I won't be purchasing. The smell alone turns me off and I just can't take it, but some people can.

Have you tried Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls?

Trying: Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls

I subscribe to Birchbox to get samples of beauty, hair and lifestyle products and this month, I found Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls in my sample box. I've never tried anything from Miss Jessie's because I've read reviews where they're hit and miss and they were too pricey for my college wallet.

I've looked up some reviews specifically on Pillow Soft Curls and I admit, I'm not hearing too many great things, but I'm going to give it a try and report back tomorrow - might as well. For the record, here is how my hair looks now:

Pardon the tired look, it's been a long day of work (as usual, ugh!) From the description of the product, it's promising the big hair I love and possibly some definition. Off I go to try this out!

In The City: Spot Dessert Bar

My sister-in-law and I went out one night a couple of weeks ago and after dining at a nice Portuguese restaurant in East Mid-town, we were on the hunt for some delicious dessert. I had planned to take her to this cafe in the West Village, but by the time we got there it was closed! Determined to get our desert-fix we ventured over to the East Village in hopes that we'd find something. Luckily we walked down St. Mark's Place (8th Street between 3rd and 2nd Avenues) and stumbled upon Spot Dessert Bar. As many times as I've hung around this area I never heard of this place so it was new for both of us.

Apparently this place is really popular (being Zagat rated and everything) and I immediately saw why. At 10pm it was bustling and bright inside, with patrons enjoying coffees and teas with pretty looking desserts. My SIL and I were seated by a friendly server and given a menu with choices of cakes, ice-creams, and other pastries and since we were completely new to this place, we decided to share their most popular dessert, the Chocolate Green Tea Lava.

I'm actually not a huge fan of green tea ice-cream and my SIL didn't like the taste of it plain, but eaten with the chocolate lava cake it was actually a delicious combination of flavors. I also had a cup of Jasmine tea and the SIL had coffee. We stayed there for a bit enjoying the dessert, the ambiance and best of all at 11pm cupcakes were half-off, so I decided to bring one home for Mr. Smooth (which means I had some too #nomnom). This place boasts of fresh ingredients with Asian inspired desserts and I have to say, worth checking out. It's not a cheapie spot but I also don't think it's expensive given the type of food it is. We enjoyed our night here for sure and it looks like we have plans to be back here this coming weekend.

Have you been to Spot Dessert Bar? Let us know!

Back to Henna

So what have I (CFC) been up to? I haven't posted in nearly four weeks! Longtime readers know that there are patterns in terms of how often SP and I update. While we usually stagger our posts throughout the week, when there's only one of us doing most of the posts it usually means the other is putting in overtime in our work life - during fashion weeks SP is m.i.a and in my case when film festivals or major industry conferences (since I work in entertainment) come up, I'm swamped!

What has that meant for my hair? Nothing of note. I've played with my flatiron a couple of times; one time was going all out with blow-drying included while the last time was just a pass of the flatiron over hair that had been washed, conditioned and braided the night before which gave me a big wavy look:

My hair last week

I've noticed this weather has made my hair react all sorts of ways, and that I have more gray hair then I remember! Coupled with the fact that my ends were feeling a little stale I was looking forward to some gentle TLC for my hair. While packing over the weekend (I'm in the midst of moving) I came across a pack of henna that I recall buying over the summer. Since I knew damn well one box wouldn't be enough to cover my entire head, I opted to do a henna conditioning treatment (otherwise known as a henna gloss). This just means I add conditioner to my henna amongst other ingredients, and for those who experience severe dryness after henna or do not want too much color this is a great alternative to a regular henna treatment. I used Herbal Essence Hello Hydration and added about a tablespoon of raw honey. Since I did want some color, I let the henna sit over night and used red wine for dye release because I didn't have any green tea, which worked just as well. I was tempted to use apple cider vinegar instead, but I read that it really stinks up the mixture.



















I left the mix in my hair for about an hour or so, then rinsed it out with the help of a Suave Conditioner and wrapped my hair in a white t-shirt to dry. I have to say, my *naked* hair felt really good. My curls were really defined and felt silky smooth. I apologize for the crappy phone picture but I hope you can see what I mean

So that's that! I actually washed my hair again today just to be sure I got all the henna out of my hair, and it's now set in bantu-knots. I have a holiday party to attend tomorrow so I have to make sure my hair looks nice and big!

Sunday Question Revamped: Dealing With Negative Hair Comments ON A DATE!

My first Sunday Question! Yay!! lol

While reading through the blog, I had came across one of Curly Film Chick's loved Sunday Questions about dealing with negative hair comments and it really triggered a few thoughts of my own, especially being I recently went through a situation I thought I should post about...

A few weeks ago, I met a new guy (uhg... single life) and decided he seemed nice enough to allow him to take me on a date. He was a black guy, of Carribean descent, so I was very taken aback when he decided to make a "joke" about my hair. He was wearing one of these hats:

And proceeded to tell me not only that my hair looked like his hat, but that I needed to give Oprah her hair back.

 -__-

Last I checked, I actually wouldn't mind having some hair like Oprah's, in any state... we all know Oprah has that good hair. lol

I'm new to the dating world, but I know thats definitely not okay, joke or not. I responded with my greatest amount of sarcasm "Oh, I'm sorry I'm black" and proceeded to do my best not to choke him out.

He was surprised that I didn't find it funny (dumb@$$) but I just didn't get where any one in their right mind would think that's okay...

 I mean I met him on the day I had this hairstyle (not the style that was judged) but I guess he didn't notice then that I had natural hair... and that I was black ... so I don't know what he was expecting. 

It doesn't even surprise me that it would be coming from a black man either...

What do you think ladies? Have you ever experienced such adversity on a date? Even when dating "your own kind"? 

Help!

Pincurls: Preserving My Flatironed Natural Hair

That's right! This is probably going to be the last video of this week but here's for you all! Videos from me to you! I hope you all enjoy these videos and they are in some or any way helpful :) 

Love you followers! 

Natural Year 2: Blow out, Flat Iron, Length Check & Reflections

 I broke the videos down into 3 parts so it wouldn't be one super long video, but I guess I'll let the videos (or me) do all the talking for themselves :) ... but wait? Why is Debbie in the background tryna steal my shine? lol
 #pleaseexcusemycreepyoldcosmetologyschoolmannequinhead

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Baby Eczema Therapy Review

 You know how they say everything happens for a reason... well what a grand reason today! I was on my way to Yoga, only to realize that it was overcrowded when I arrived :(

Instead of fretting, I remembered that I wasn't too far from Bryant Park and the fact that Shea Moisture had a tent sent up there!!! Did I mention they also have their products selling at 3 products for $25 there?

Anyhoo, I know I mentioned using a new product in my post yesterday about my Poppin' Curls... watch the video to check out my review! The product I'm reviewing is Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Baby Eczema Therapy with Argan Oil & Extracts of Frankincense and Myrrh.

Though this is a body product, I loved the ingredients and decided to try it in my hair and boy do I love this product! It really moisturizes my skin, without leaving it greasy, smells great, and keep my eczema from feeling dry and itchy. I have even used this overnight on my face with no issues. It moisturizes and seals my hair amazingly and gives it shine like I've never seem before, almost like a sparkle!

I had the honor of meeting Jenell from KinkyCurlyCoilyMe.com  and of course she is just as adorable in person as in her videos and of course her hair was amazing as usual! Randomly, she complimented me on my hair when I was lurking to get a peek at hers, lol! We ended up having a cute little convo and hopefully I'll be able to get some input from her over here! Not to mention, everyone over at the Shea Moisture pop up was super awesome, humble, and down to earth. There was definitely a beautiful vibe going on in there.

All in all, I'll have to do my Yoga on a different day but I had a great time vibing with everyone in the Shea Moisture pop up shop and especially meeting Jenell!

What's your favorite Shea Moisture Product?!

My Curls Are Poppin'!!!

So, the picture to the left, shows my curls poppin' with some conditioner in my hair. I made it a point to take a picture of this area of my hair to show the drastically different textures that are right next to each other... this is only in one little segment of my hair mind you.

I definitely haven't been wearing wash and go's because of this little fact of having extremely drastically different textures everywhere, but i missed my curls, so i prepared for a day of crazy, curly hair! I oil treated my hair overnight with wheat germ and neem oil, a little Trader Joe's Nourish Condish, and baggied to sleep.

After Cowashing, I realized I had never tried the whole T-shirt wrapped on the head thing, but decided to give it a try and OMG! Love this technique! My hair was still damp but not soaking wet, and my curl pattern wasn't disturbed or made frizzy.

Four products (Lacio Lacio Leave-in, Care Free Curl Instant Moisturizer, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing smoothie, and something new to review later!!!) and a little smoothing and shaking later, pow! Curls! I had to leave my house soon and my hair was still a little damp so I used the diffuser to do a little blow drying, and then switched to my nozzle attachment to stretch my roots out a little.

  By the end of the day, a little shrinkage had ensued, but frizz was still kept to a minimum and my curls were still poppin'!


I got lots of compliments and mini convo's that day, a whole lot more stares, and even more hands in hair syndrome. And though I'm not looking forward to the detangling, I really missed my curls so I'm enjoying this wash do too much and go, lol. I pineappled to sleep, and woke up to amazing second, and today even makes third day hair (banded last night though).

After wearing my hair in roller sets and blowouts for like the last 2 months, always up in a bun or semi-protective style, it was a great change to rock my curls for a few days. 

How have you been rocking your natural?