This one kindof came out good... braid out i believe

Me Last Sabbath

It didn't dry all the way so it shrunk up but here it is.......

Needed a change sooo...

My Sabbath hair..

Hey guys! I just wanted to share with you all how I did my hair on Saturday. Okay So I always have this problem where I get so excited to wash my hair but once its done Im completely overwhelmed and have NO idea what to do next lol its quite sad, anyway on friday night i washed my hair with my Organix tea tree shampoo and my new Aussie Moist conditioner (which i like so far) and just corn-rolled my hair going back. In the morning I unbraided and created this style. (Dont mind my mother in the background lol)

Wash Day and Co-Wash

Monday, June 13th was the first time I washed my hair since I began my challenge. I began by pre treating my hair on Sunday with my homeade hot oil treatment which contains: Avacado oil, almond oil, vegetable glycerin, rosemary e.o., tea tree e.o., jojoba oik, castor oil, apricot oil, a little Bronner Bros growth oil and I think thats it. I sat under my hooded dryer for 30 mins and then left that in overnight. I had errands to run on Monday and didn't have time to wash the hot oil treatment out so I pulled my hair back with bobby pins and put a head band on and ran my errands.

When I got home later that day I washed my hair in sections using my new lavender castile soap (I'll post a review later). After washing, with my hair still in sections I put Aussie Moist conditioner in my hair and sat under the huetiful for about 20 mins (or however long it stays on) after which I rinsed about 85% of the conditioner out. After rinsing I kept my hair in sections and put a small amount of Herbal Essence: Long Term Relationship Leave-in in my hair concentrating in my ends. By that time I was tired so I put my satin cap and satin scarf on and went to sleep.

Tuesday I put medium sized two strand twists in my hair. My daily routine with these is moisturizing with water (I put warm water in my spray bottle to open up the cuticle of my hair to receive the moisture) and sealing with one of my oils.

I co-washed today (Saturday) with HE: Totally Twisted and applied the LTR leave-in. I did not use an oil today.

Thats all I've done this past week. Oh yeah, I gave myself a facial using the huetiful facial attachment...love, love, LOVE!!! Will do a review on that later too!!

Ta ta for now!! :)

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Last night

Last night I had some knots and some dryness so I sectioned my hair and used a spray bottle to wet it and applied coconut oil... especially on the ends... twisted it in big twist and put a plastic cap on. Today I will wash it out..... moisturize (not wash or co-wash) or maybe I will co-wash... moisturize and seal

14 day Prayer

A friend and I are doing this and I wanted to share this with you guys and hopefully we can do this together as well. My friend and I are doing a 14day prayer and we're asking God for these things so that we can be more like Him and also enhancing us in areas where we could use some extra help. Here it is, and we can def add to the list.

14Day Prayer Plan:
1.Pray for Christ love
2.Pray for the Joy that only God can give
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9.Self-control
10. Family
11. Academics
12. Spiritual Growth
13. Faith in God
14. Relationship

Let me know if anyone wants to add more to the list.

Last weeks hair-do

This was my Sabbath braid-out look on June 4, 2011.

New Products and how I like them.

<-- this is my hair with the conditioner in it.

I washed my hair with the Organix shampoo that was made with Tee Tree and Mint and I conditioned with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration made with Orchid and Coconut milk. I left it on for about 5 mins then washed it out. This was the first time I've ever used Herbal Essences and I love it, it left my hair so moisturized and smelling good. After I conditioned, I sprayed Infusium 23 and the oil mixture Laura made for me all over my hair, and braided it up. I'm gonna keep doing braid-outs for the summer for a protective style. I'm noticing my hair changing since I've been using less heat. Ill upload pics of my braid outs later, probably tomorrow.

:-D

Pre pooing, shampooing, and d-cing :). Products and uses.

So I used to pre poo with olive oil and honey. However, I now use coconut oil to pre poo. A half an hour to an hour, I apply coconut oil to my hair in 4 sections and put a plastic cap on my head. I try to do some sort of physical activity do that my scalp will start to heat up for better penetration of the oil.

After I rinse my hair in the shower, if I am washing my hair that day. I use the Aussie moist moisturizing shampoo. It has ammonium sulfate and not sodium lauryl sulfate. The other one is a milder sulfate that doesn't dry out my hair. I only wash once concentrating on my scalp. This is the area that needs to be cleaned.

Afterward, I have started using elasta qp deep penetrating remoisturizer as my deep conditioner. I apply to all four sections and put on a plastic cap. I leave this on from an hour to usually over night. Finally on the morning, I do my lazy routine again. I recently have started just washing every week when I know I'm doing to deep condition.

This is my updated version of my hair regimen along with the lazy routine post as of June 9th. Pictures to come soon.

Test run....

I downloaded a new app... Just seeing if its working.

hair ....... my hair and my updated "lazy routine"

So recently, I've done the complete opposite with my hair from Lo. :) Today.. I woke up, showered and co-washed with herbal essences totally twisted. I detangled using that and then got out of the shower. I washed all the conditioner out today because I needed for my hair to not be dripping wet due to the cool weather outside due to it being early in the morning. (any other time, I would leave some conditioner in it)

Once out the shower, I left the towel on my head for about 5 mins to soak up some of the water. My hair is always in 4 sections when I wash now. So I took each section and moisturized it with shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie and applyed my leave-in/sealant. This is a mixture of the curls line from Target leave-in, aloe vera gel, extra virgin olive oil, 3 drops of peppermint oil, 3 drops of cedarwood oil, and 3 of rosemary, and water. I spritz my hair lightly with water after the shea moisture and the leave in are applied so that the products can distribute evenly. I do not comb my hair after I exit the shower. My hair will not be combed again until the next morning in the shower.

After all of this takes place, I put my hair in a pony tail. My pony tail ends up being moisturized and very curly due to not separating the curls by combing after applying the finishing products.

This is my "its hot outside and I'm too lazy to twist my hair at night like I used to" routine. It seems like now because it is so warm out, my twist and braid outs are not defined resulting in puffy hair with no definition. This is why I have started doing wash and go's.

Before I forget. When I put my hair in a pony tail, I put aloe vera gel on the sides, then Eco styled gel on top. For some reason my hair doesn't get hard when I put the aloe vera on the. The Eco styled on top. And I don't have to use a lot of either.

My next post will be about pre pooing and deep conditioning. 

June 4th photos

These are the pics of my hair from all the angles. Front, both sides, back, my fro from the front and back (its not picked out, I had just taken twists out for work) my pony tail from the front and back and a bonus pic of my twists before bed (taken 6/8/11).

Although I didn't post this until the 8th, I've been strict with my regimen since I decided to start on the 4th. I've been twisting my hair at night since late May.

More to come soon.... :)

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6 Month Hair/Financial Challenge...Ready, Set....GO!!

Start Date: June 4, 2011
Mid Check In Date: September 4, 2011
End Date: December 4, 2011

So, I was perusing online while at work one night when I stumbled across the blog thinkandgrowchick.com. I read one post and fell in love! This girl has some pretty good stuff! And on top of that her writing keeps you entertained to the point where you don't even realized how much you've read! In reading Miss Courtney's (thinkandgrowchick) blog I was inspired to start a challenge for myself and be 100% strict! In the back of my mind I'm thinking "Laura, you are biting off waaay more than you can chew!" but I'm always up for a challenge, especially one that can better me! I'm praying that I can pull it off, I think I can...and I'm determined to do my best! So here goes.....

                                                          The Hair Challenge:

So basically while reading Miss Courtney's blog I decided that I like the way in which she breaks things down for her regimen, and let's face it, the whole point of my doing this challenge is to build a GREAT regimen so that I can maintain HEALTHY, long, thick, BEAUTIFUL hair! So just as Miss Courtney did, I'll break my new regimen down into 3 categories. The Need, The Situation, and The Means.

The Need:

1. Cleanliness: Whereas most naturals are saying they wash their hair 1x a week, I don't think that fits in with my lifestyle. LOL! I will be washing my hair 1x a month, and co-washing 2x a month (every other Sunday that I'm off). I've picked this as my wash schedule because I don't think that I need to put shampoo in my hair every week in order for it to grow. As long as I'm cleansing it in some fashion, I believe that I'll be good.

2. Moisture: I plan to moisturize 2x a day. Morning and night. I plan do moisturize by misting my hair lightly with a mixture of water and rosemary essential oil which of course, is in my spray bottle. If am an not working, I will more than likely mist hy hair multiple times a day. After misting my hair I will seal with whatever oil I feel like for the day and vegetable glycerin.

3. Protection: I plan to protect my hair with twists/braids, twist-outs/braid-outs/bantu knot-outs, buns, and possibly a sew-in when it gets cold. We'll see. :)

The Situation(s):

1. Daily Life

2. Going to Bed

3. Wash Day

These are pretty self explanatory so I'm not going to delve to much into them. If you all have any questions you can definitely let me know and then I'll post something regarding each of these situations.

The Means:

1. With a hair product

a. Shampoo: I plan to purchase Castile shampoo to use as my main shampooing agent. I've heard a million and one great things about it and almost bought it on my bday but for some reason I didn't. So I will definitely be adding that to my hair regimen.

b. Conditioning/Deep Conditioning/Leave-ins: Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do as far as this category is concerned. I haven't found a conditioner that I'm absolutely in love with and can't live without! I'm definitely looking for one so if you have one that you think I'll like let me know. I'm also in the market for an amazing deep conditioner and leave-in too! Let me know! :)

2. Oils: As you all know I've been loading up on oils to put in my hair. As of right now my oil list is as follows.

a. Almond Oil

b. Apricot Oil

c. Avacado Oil

d. Coconut Oil (Extra Virgin)

e.Castor Oil

f.  Jojoba Oil

g. Rosemary Essential Oil

h. Tea Tree Essential Oil

i. Vegetable Glycerin (not an oil for real but who cares! lol)

* I have E.V. Olive Oil as well but I didn't want to name that since its in my pantry to cook with. Ha!!

I will primarily be using my oils to do hot oil treatsments (which my hair loves) and sealing in moisture after I moisturize.

2. With a hair technique: As I said earlier I will be doing protective styles as my day to day.

a. At night I finger part my hair into about 14 twists, M & S and put my satin cap or scarf on.

b. On wash day I will pre-poo (thinking about using honey as Rashana has told me before), puting my hair in 6 chunky twists, washing and detangling in the shower and DC'ing either under my hooded dryer or steamer. After rinsing out about 75% of the DC I will then put my hair in a protective style. On weeks that I co-wash only, I will start with a hot oil treatment instead of a pre-poo.

3. With both: Self explanatory, combine the two above. LOL!

So....this is a very long post already and I haven't even gotten to the financial part! Luckily that part is not as long. So here goes....

                                                   The Financial Challenge:

The first step in becoming more financially secure is to KEEP more than you SPEND!!! Duh right!?! Then why aren't we doing it?? Well, I'll tell you what, I'm tired of being BROKE and not being able to to do the things that I want to do! Sometimes I ask myself why I went to school in the first place if I'm just going to stay BROKE!!! Well....NO MORE!!!!! I have decided to turn over a new leaf and start becoming more financially responsible/secure. Here's how I'm gonna do it...

1. Know your income: You gotta know what you're brining to the table so you know how much you have to go off of. If you are spending more than you are bringing in....THAT'S A BIG PROBLEM!!

2. Know where your money is going: again, that should be a no brainer, but sometimes I look at my bank statement and am like "where the heck did my money go!?" Keeping my receipts is going to be one of my first steps in knowing where my money is going. I plan to do a weekly tally of all my receipts and put it on an excel

3. PAY MY TITHES!!!!!! (this should really be #1) Too many times do I say "well, how am I gonna pay for this, or that if I pay my tithes?" and I don't give God what He has asked for! Why I can't just put my faith in Him when He has told me and shown me time and time again that He will take care of me I'll never know! But its a new day....tithes will be paid!!!

4. Keep 10% of my TOTAL income: This is not just my paychecks from work but any money that I receive. I don't care how small, 10% should be saved! I think I'll be surprised by how quickly that 10% grows.

5. Use coupons as much as possible! This is self-explanatory!

This is all I have for right now....but there will be updates shortly! Also, I took pre-hair photos but because I started this post on the computer at work it won't let me add pics from my phone in the same post. So I'll add another post of my hair pics. :)

Nails

Nails galore!!

These are the last three nail designs I've had. The first was inspired by spring, the colors are Green with Envy as my bottom color and Mellow Yellow as my polka dots, both colors by Sally Hansen. The second is Pink with a teal design done by Laure (if you can post the name of those colors for me!) The third is Sun Worshiper and Crackle in Black Mesh by China Glaze. Hope you guys like them! :) If you all can, start uploading pics of your nations and toes so we can be inspired by each other. I'm not very creative so I need all the help I can get!! LOL!!! Later ladies! ;)

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new picture.... :) cheese!

End of April beginning of May :)

So....I've had a lot of fun with my hair and nails these past couple weeks. My hair looks AMAZING thanks to Rashana and I am loving the wake up and go-ness (lol) of it. I say I'm gonna keep twists in my hair for a while but we'll see. Get ready to start twistin Laure cause I have a bunch of hair!! LOLOLOL!!! (I'm serious though...) So here is my hair as of late.....

Next up are my nails....

About the beginning of this year I started to develop a nail polish fetish! I can't go into a store and not look at the nail polish and end up walking out with at least 2 or 3. To make matters worse Rashana HAD to introduce me to the nail dotter...why oh why oh why!?!? This has taken my once fetish to a now OBSESSION!!! I get so excited to think about all I can now do to my nails because of this simple little tool! I've been you tubing looking for different designs to try and all that! Its a hot mess! LOL! I painted my nails Sat night and used my dotter for the first time...it was love at first dot!!! I can't wait to get better at it! So because I did my nails you just KNOW I had to do my toes too! Once again I got out the dotter.....pure bliss is the only way I can describe it :) So here they are both nails and toes.... Hope you like!!! :o)

I'll be posting nail and toe pics weekly...if you guys can too that would be too fun!! I'm also gonna try to post hair pics every week but if my hair doesn't change weekly then I'll only post when it changes! :) Ok...I'm done!

P.S. I'm toooooo EXCITED about this! :) :) :)

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Yay for Afro's

I love her hair

Ray (@Rnames_Rcool) has shared a Tweet with you:

"TraceeEllisRoss: Finished hair! http://t.co/UGPXJKj"
--http://twitter.com/TraceeEllisRoss/status/52842980947673089

Wow!!

Been too long since I was on here. Been working a lot lately no real time to sit and do the things I used to do. No excuses anymore!! I'm going to start taking better care of myself...mind body and spirit. Hope you all are ready for the ride!! :)

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So......... my hair

Why is my hair toooo thick (not complaining) its just that I cannot just wake up and go. There has to be some type of preparation and a nice amount of gel. :) I have to be at work at 9 am and ill prob wake up at 7:45. I am hoping to slap some gel on it and get out the door.... idk.... ill update tomorrow

It's been too long

I did a big chop, colored my hair red, and got the hang of this natural thing