The picture speaks a thousand words: Kandy Kurls Takeover Box!
I can't wait to try these products. They look promising. I am excited to try all of them. However, it will be awhile before I try these products out as I have several other lines that I have to give a whirl.
Don't worry, I will be trying them in the next couple of weeks for a first impression as I am about to start doing a lot of first impression reviews on a couple of products lines I have.
As the title and the pic shows, this week's style is an Asymmetrical Two strand twist style. I love these type of styles (Asymmetrical) because if you're like me, I can usually only perfect something on one side.
This week, I decided to clarify my hair by washing with V05 Moisture Milks Strawberry shampoo. I forgot how defined my hair gets with sulfate shampoo. Since I was supposed to be going out the next day, I decided to use the Optimum Rinse out conditioner because I remember how soft it left my hair.
The next day, after plans got canceled due to impending rain (that never showed), I did my regular henna gloss with the Shea Moisture Tahitian Noni & Monoi Masque (I'm not about to repeat that mouthful). As I stated in my "My thoughts on" post, it did nothing for my hair. So I followed up with the TReSemme Flawless Curls and detangled.
I LCO'd my hair with the Ori Essentials Leave-in, followed by the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, and finished off with the Optimum Amla Legend Oil (I do like the thickness of this oil).
Now here comes the style.
I used the Ori Twisting Butter as my styler with the U R Curly edge control gel as my finisher(?) or styler #2.
I wore the twists from Sat to Wednesday. Thursday I did this style. I was not a fan of it when it was twisted out. I was going to leave the bang out but it's been so hot this week, that would have been the worst thing to do.
And Friday I did this style. I loved my puffs like this. Doing a twisted headband front gives my edges and front hair a breather from being pulled.
Not bad. My hair was soft and moisturized until Tuesday when I refreshed it by lightly spritzing and sealing with with some JBCO. However, because it was so humid all week long, my scalp was wrecked. It was very itchy by the time Tuesday rolled around. I think when it's very humid (& when I sweat a lot), I might have to co-wash midweek.
I used this as my base for my henna gloss this week. This was my first time using the actual masque but I had found that I like the conditioner from the same line. It's thick and moisturizing (I use it to detangle before I wash, sometimes). Surely, the masque should be the same if not better.
Boy was I wrong.
The masque is super runny. I mean, no thickness to it at all.
It went on smoothly but I supposed that was because of the texture (similar to thin yogurt consistency). After applying it, I did notice some coil formation. It showed promise. I sat under the hooded dryer for 30 minutes. Before I rinsed, my hair did feel soft. However, that softness was rinsed down the drain when I rinsed everything out.
My hair wasn't dry or hard. It just felt ok. I was not impressed. For it to feel just ok, that tells me that even with the additives of my henna that it would not do a good job on its own. I had to use a rinse out to add some softness back to my hair (TReSemme Flawless Curls conditioner). After that, my hair was feeling good.
One thing that I did like about the product is that it rinsed clean. So far, my Shea Moisture DCs have not been rinsing clean and have been leaving a film on my hair.
I will not be using this as a base for my henna glosses but I will be using it for a DC next week just to give it another chance to redeem itself. Let's see what happens.
Here's the update to my Length Retention challenge.
I did not know that I was supposed to trim my hair before I set the challenge to myself. So obviously, I retained no length because it went to the trim.
However, I am still seeing progress. My trim was a week ago. I trimmed about half an inch off. The front section of my hair is still about 7.75/8 inches. I'm giving myself another month as I will be updating what I do.
I am no longer doing WNGs at the moment. I will be doing twisted styles weekly. My hair will stay in two-strand twists for 4 days (Sat night/Sun-Wednesday) and then Twist out for 2 days (Thurs-Fri).
So let's Reset! This mini challenge will end on August 28th. Same starting length. Hoping for a different ending length.
100% Pure Unadulterated 70's Afro!!!
This is my partially shrunken, combed out afro. Yes, you heard me right. COMBED out afro.
This wash day, I did a henna gloss with Shea Moisture Tahitian Noni & Monoi Smooth & Repair Nourishing Hair Masque as a base. It did nothing for my hair. Also, it was time to truly detangle my hair as I have been slacking the last couple of weeks with making sure the knots and tangles were truly out.
Instead of using the shower stream, I opted for my paddle brush. This brush to be exact ~~~>
The only one I would ever use now-a-days. After rinsing out the henna gloss, in small sections I applied TReSemme Flawless Curls. This conditioner has so much slip and gave my hair life.
If you're looking for a good combing conditioner (a conditioner that has a lot of slip), I recommend this conditioner. As I brushed through my hair, my hair clumped and curled, something it has never done ever! Even my kinkier sections were curling in thick clumps. Of course, the roots were still a bit frizzy.
Each section was then twisted in two strand twists and then rinsed after I completed my entire head.
I then plopped until my hair was about 95% dry. I'm playing around with the wetness vs dryness when applying my leaving in conditioner (details will be in this week's normal Styled! post). After each section was LCO'd, I then unraveled. I took a look in the mirror and said to myself, "why not!"
I took my shower comb and lightly combed out each section. Because my hair was still a bit damp, this partially shrunken afro is what I got. Coffee brown on the outside, dusty black on the inside.
I absolutely love it (but I would never wear this style for one day).
I am the co-founder and co-owner of a mobile game company. Currently, there are only 2 employee; myself and my sister. Together we venture into the world of making mobile games. I haven't always wanted to be in the game industry but video games where a big part of my life ever since I was a kid.
For over 25 years, I was bombarded with all types of video games and systems and I loved it all. It wasn't until my mid twenties that I decided to take that love and turn it into a career. I went to school for 4 years to earn my programming degree and tried for a couple of years after I graduated to get into a Triple A gaming studio.
It was not easy.
I was turned down by a couple of places and that was very discouraging. It made me wonder if this is what I should be doing. The last company I was turned down for couldn't have come at a more worse time. I was being over worked at a retail store, making $8 bucks an hour. My morale was depleted. I questioned whether or not I should just work at a regular job for the rest of my life.
But that rejection was the push that I needed to do it for myself. I decided that I would start my own gaming company. It was a dream of mine to own my own studio one day. Why wait until later in life? Why not start now?
My sister, who also had a passion for video games like I do, had went to school for game art and design. So with one programmer and one artist, we decided to make our first game, Farm Horror Story, and open our own company, Scary Good Studios.
It wasn't easy. The business side and the development side done by 2 people. It can be overwhelming at times. Add in having a regular 9-5, home life, and social life. I just don't have time for anything now-a-days.
But this is working towards something that I wanted for almost 10 years now (& plus, I'm tired of working for other people). And something that you want that badly does not always come easily. I'm learning to budget my time (although not as well as I would like) between work, home, business, and outside projects. Oh, did I mention that we're taking on other development projects and expanding SGS to a T-Shirt line.
So I'm hustling everyday just to get my business out there and have us rise to the top. It's not easy but no one ever said that life was.
To my friends,
I apologize for the lack of time, we hardly speak or see each other.
I'm always busy; work, projects, home life.
You're always wondering, when we will spend time together.
I seem to have a bag full of excuses.
I apologize if I seem uninterested in what you have to say,
that things tend to go over my head.
I'm always thinking of my next moves day after day,
what more can I do, what more could I change.
Please understand, I apologize for building my empire.
I want so much more than what I have.
I want to be more than what I am. I want to build myself higher and higher.
While you may not understand right now, please be patient.
I do think of you and I do miss everything.
But right now, I am not content.
You only get one chance in this life and I'm making mines count.
So many dreams and so many goals but at the cost of everything.
And while I'm faded into my mind right now, you'll soon understand what this is about.
So once again, I apologize for going after what I want in this world,
the dreams I dream of everyday.
I encourage you to do the same. Just listen to the words of this girl.
We only get one chance at this life,
don't wait until you wake up and wonder....
#ThinkingOutLoud
"We all want healthy, long hair but..."
Heard this line before? Get tired of hearing it, huh? I know I do. This line is always the start of some natural hair rule that you must follow to get long and healthy hair. I hate rules, especially when it comes to natural hair. I tend to bend some and poke fun at others, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and actually follow one of these most important natural hair rules.
Trimming!
Some say 6-8 weeks, others say seasonal, and yet there's those who don't. I've tried them all and learned a couple of things about the forbidden world of trimming. I've broke it down to a couple of key points.
Frequency.
How often you trim your hair depends on a couple of factors. Trim too much and you won't see any retention. Trim too little and you risk having the damage spread to the healthy parts of your hair. First things first, understand why you're trimming.
Why?
Trimming is the only way to "reverse" damage on your hair. Split, frayed ends, heat damage, color damage, etc, can only be "reversed" by cutting. For me personally, my hair is prone to split ends no matter what I do, so trimming frequently is the only way to prevent those splits from traveling up the shaft to the healthy hair (something I had happened and something I don't want to live through again). Just look at these splits I had from my color damage a couple of years ago:
Prevention.
This is the best way to prevent your hair from becoming like that^^^ which will lessen the frequency in which you have to trim your hair. Moisturizing and sealing ends with a thick oil or butter, protein treatments, using fingers instead of hair tools, moisturizing products, and low manipulation will all help in reducing the amount of damage done to your hair.
For me, my henna glosses are the reason why I don't have to trim as often (any more). Strengthening the hair helps to keep it from being damage. Henna builds up a layer around the cuticle, protecting it. We all know that all damage is the hair fiber having less cuticle layer or some type of trauma to the cuticle layers.
But how much to trim?
This depends on you and how much you feel comfortable with removing. A good rule of thumb is half a inch. I find that this gets most of the damage off without sacrificing too much. You can even do less if you have a trim schedule. My trim schedule right now is a dusting every 2 months (just to get rid of excess damage from when I bleached my hair and to prevent more damage). Like everything, this will change depending on my hair reacts.
Trim or Dust: Is there a difference?
There is. A trim will usually get rid of several inches of hair. Dusting the hair will get rid of anywhere upwards to an inch (usually a lot less). For each trim session, I opt for more of a dusting of my hair. I never cut more than a half inch. This ensures I get all of the splits I need to trim off with retaining my length.
Added Bonus:
I know I talk about it a lot but my henna gloss actually dictates how much hair I trim. At the end of the month will all my treatments, a healthy coating of brown/red color shows up on my hair. Henna usually coats the hair cuticle in order to show this color. If your cuticle is damaged or you have less layers of the cuticle, the color will show more of a reddish hue. This is how I know what to cut. The more red the hair shows on the ends, the more I know I need to cut.
Final remarks.
I was happy with the length retention I was seeing. Especially because I usually don't see any length retention. This new regimen that I'm on has really helped me see progress with my hair. I was weary when I looked at my reminder to trim. However, after I was done trimming and I saw all the splits in the trimmed hair, I was happy that I did. Hair is hair and it will grow long. But hair is not always healthy and holding on to unhealthy hair will not get you closer to your length goal.
Wow, the summer is almost gone. There's a running, inside joke I sometimes share with people and it goes like this:
"As soon as my birthday is done, the summer is over!"
My birthday is July 13th. So it's mostly true.
Here's what's coming up in the following weeks of the blog:
- Shea Moisture Deep Conditioner reviews
- I know I promised these a couple of weeks ago but I've been noticing something weird happening when I use the Shea Moisture deep conditioners. I want to know if it's consistent all of them or just some. So, review coming soon.
- My life as a programmer/business owner & Chasing the dream!
- Weight Loss Update!
- August CurlKit First Impression!
- Ori Essentials Moisturizing Leave in and Twist Butter Reviews.
That's just a taste of what's to come. I will also be sharing more of my life outside of hair. Hair is a big part of my life that I don't understand (but learning). However, there's a lot more worth blogging about.
