Random: Thoughts

I'm done counting on people. It's hard to just erase or remove what you're so use to.
People don't reciprocate a lot things these days. I'm so use to being the giver that it's the norm & people seem to think I'm stupid enough to continue to allow it to happen.


I will not be going out of my way to do anything for anyone.
I will not think someone will even think about helping me out, or doing me a favor.
Everyone is so use to wanting, and others doing for them that they think it should always be that way...
How I feel goes for everything in my life right now.
This is my hiatus from being the nice me. I'm just going to be neutral and that's that.
Taking 5 steps back & watch everything in slow motion.

Update [9] 2011 Hair Challenge-Protein Treatment

Hey everyone!
So I'm going to keep this short...or try to at least. I'm trying to knock out as many posts as I can today. I haven't blogged since last week, so most of the up & coming posts will be hair related.


The day after I wrote the post Update [7] Hair Challenge- Getting Back on Track I decided to give my hair a protein treatment (TLC). Why? My ends weren't looking right, my hair seemed limp, and needed some strength to it. I did a little research to see if this was the right thing (Appropriate time to do this). 


Protein treatments can help or harm your hair. Some people don't need to do one as often than others. Sometimes you just need to need up your hair moisture game. I knew I had fallen off with being hands on with my hair.
Long story short, I tested a strain of my hair to see how strong (Elastic wise) and it seemed like I should go ahead and do it. I didn't have enough Aphogee products (A protein treatment product) so I did what my mom normally does (& use to do for my hair).

The following items I used were:
1. Proclaim Natural 7 oil
2. 1 medium sized egg *Not shown in picture*
3. Herbal Essence "Hello Hydration"
4. Honey
5. EVOO (Empy bottle, I had to add some into the bottle)
6. 1tsp of Mayo *Not shown in picture*
7. Grape seed oil *Blog Post: Where I purchased it from*


I applied it to my hair, then placed a shower cap on my head. I left the treatment on for an hour & 35mins. I let the warm water run threw my hair before touching my hair & rinsing/working the treatment out. I then turned the water to cool.This has been my first protein treatment this year. Heck, maybe in a year & some months. I find that my hair could use a one of these treatments every so often.


I then later made my own leave-in conditioner.

The following items I used were:
1. Doo Gro leave in cond.
2. Hawaiian Silky 14-n-1 *Review HERE*
3. Proclaim Natural 7 oil
4. Grape seed oil 

Yes, I use a lot of oil(s) on my hair. It helps to keep my hair soft :)
This WHOLE process made my hair come back to life. My curls were more defined :)

Break Time Is Over: FML

Okay, well no FML.


But I can't seem to catch a break. I mean I come up for air only to be pulled away & back under 10ft. I really thought this year would have been a GOOD year. Every time I turn around it's ALWAYS something. Everything that could have went wrong this week or in 2 days did...


I'm trying not to lose my faith & "give up" but it's hard. I don't know why I've been put in these situations what so ever. And I'm not trying to demand anything but I really hope God has something great planned for me, because this right here is LAME. Yes it could be worst *womp womp* not trying to hear that :-/


I would be on a hiatus (once again) if I didn't have certain projects going on...
Anyways, have a good weekend.

Update [8] 2011 Hair Challenge- Protective Hair Styles

Apart of being natural other than not using relaxers, retaining length, & just having healthy hair is the hair styles you're wearing during your journey. Although this is the first time I am mentioning this I have been wearing protective hair styles for awhile now. Even before I was fully natural. My take/definition of a protective hair style is a style where you're no really hands on, and trying to give your hair a rest. The more that hair tools/hands are in your hair the more tension & cause for breakage.


-My favorite protective hair style is wearing a full weave. All that is is getting tracks/extensions put in. I usually get my hair french braided (corn rows) and the hair sewed in. My other favorite protective style is...


-Half wigs. Yes! They are the best things next to wearing a weave to me. I can't do the full wig just because it looks too fake. That's my opinion. Many can pull it off. There's also...


-Two strand twists/braids (with your own hair). I'm not a big fan of these styles by themselves. They make you look like a little kid. I do wear my hair like this underneath my wigs. I usually put a wig cap on where I purchased/mentioned in my SamsBeauty Mini Haul.


-Then there's corn rows/braids where there's hair added to your own hair. I haven't gotten something like this done in like ages. Nothing wrong with them, I myself have grown out of them. And plus those are styles I would get if I'm going on summer vacation somewhere where I'll be swimming.


Is there a protective style you're wearing now?

Controversy: Products With Mineral Oil & Petroleum

Yes they have spoken!

I know some of you may remember mothers that use to use grease that had the ingredients that the natural hair community shines away from.

I remember my cousins mom would use good ol water & grease to do her hair. And her hair was long. Well since she's used relaxers, her hair isn't as long anymore...Our moms use to use nothing but grease. They didn't have all of these wonderful products. Hmm.

Anyways, like I said before, I use products that work for my hair. And you should too. I use to think I wasn't apart of the natural hair community because I was going against what was said was "bad". I don't care too much about what the product is made with (That could be a good or bad thing). If my hair likes it & can stand it cool...

Check out the video...it's funny & she makes some good points.

But, I do think it is important when you do use these products with "bad" ingredients, to use them to a minimum. What are YOUR thoughts?

Update [7] 2011 Hair Challenge- Getting Back On Track

Okay, I've said this before and although I have gotten back on track with taking care of my hair, but I want to really get back into this hair challenge like I was when I started it. Plus, my hair needs the TLC it's been lacking.


How I'm going to do that is...for the rest of this month I must do:
- 2 Deep Cond. a week
-At least one Co-wash per week
-Mint Spritz my hair everyday
-Apply an oil/cream leave in to my protective hair style (braids) everyday

One of the reasons why I'm doing this other than the obvious, is because my journal speaks for itself. There are gaps where I don't do the necessary things to retain the length/moisture in my hair....I do see some progress in my hair. I do still have a little relaxer in my hair (the ends) from the time I did my BC (big chop) in May. I didn't want to rock a tiny fro, so I told myself as I go, I'll trim & dust my ends frequently (which I have) but I do see some great progress :)


Thank you for the well wishes on this journey, I do appreciate it. I'm totally in this alone which is fine. Just hearing from some of you is great. If you're documenting your natural hair journey drop the link below & I'll check you out.

Homemade Deep Conditioner [3]

So, by now...some of you may know I make my own deep conditioners. There's no real reason as to why I do this, I just love coming up with new things & making random recipes for my hair lol. I shampoo, conditioned, deep conditioned & moisturized my hair Monday...to below is the deep cond. recipe I used.


I've done a few past blogs on deep conditioners I've put together:
Homemade Deep Conditioner [1]
Homemade Deep Conditioner [2]
There's not a big difference as to the ingredients I've used in those posts & this one. I post about these for myself (keep track as to what I'm doing/using) although I do keep a journal. And if someone finds this interesting/helpful good :)

The following items I used were:
1. Proclaim Natural 7 oil
2. Motions Conditioner
3. Herbal Essence "Hello Hydration"
4. Honey
5. EVOO

This is what it looks like in my mixing container...

The white product is the Motions Cond.

The blue product is the Herbal Essence H.H.

The yellow products (light, darker) Proclaim oil & EVOO

Deep conditioning your hair after washing your hair is very important. I know it helps softens my hair, & gets it back on track with being moisturized.

SamsBeauty.com "Save Big Stay Gorgeous"

This isn't a review, nor am I being paid to share this site (SamsBeauty) to you all. I thought someone out there would enjoy this website just as much as I do, if you don't already know about it. Last week I made an online purchase on this site. The deals that they offer are phenomenal! majority of the items I purchased are from their "Buy 1 get one free" section. They have items like: nail polish, lip gloss, lotions, wigs, lashes, makeup, hair tools, etc

I bought 7 items which only 4 of those items I will be sharing here on my personal blog & the others on my beauty blog. And they are: Wig stocking cap (Buy 1 get 1 free), African Black Soap-Shea butter, Stainless Hair sheer's, Mega Care Nature Hair Oil (Buy 1 get 1 free). All items were $1 except the sheer's ($1.99). Great prices right!?


I knew these great prices were too good to be true...shipping was more than my total. Which was fine, because each item I purchased was well worth it. Some of these things I can't find locally.


I may go into deeper details about each item once I have time to use them.

My Book Shelf: In The Meantime by Iyanla Vanzant

I checked out this book like three months ago & kept renewing it because I haven't finished it yet. This time I HAVE to finish it. I'm fresh out of my renewals lol. Anyways, I'm on Chapter 2 (There's 12 chapters). I've been reading another book that I'll share in another post.


This book is about "Finding yourself & the love you want". I checked out this book around the time of my break-up. Being in the meantime is whatever situation you're in now (That's what I took from it). I consider it my down time/me time as I made a post about this in the past. It talks about relationships, being in love, the lessons of relationships etc.


I will not be doing a book review on this or any other books I share. I wanted to share /keep track of the different books I have read/reading/want to read (in the tab on top). Please share & leave a comment below with some interesting books you have read/reading.


Have any of read this book?

College Graduate...Unemployed...Taking A New Turn!

So this recession is a KILLER. No seriously! People have committed suicide...& killed their family because life took an unexpected turn (I read this sometime last year)...Well God bless them, I'm nowhere near that situation. But I know the feeling of not financially being where you want to be, or think you should be etc.


I've worked hard & LONG for my degree only to wait...wait..& wait for a job opening. Oh & apply, but don't get a call back...oh & if you get that call back, get an interview but don't get the job ::face in palm:: I can't take it!!!!


Okay, well anyways...I'm thinking about taking up a new hobby...and maybe interning (sad face) somewhere just to add things to my resume. I mean why not? If any time is better why not now? The big move out of state doesn't look like it'll happen anytime soon, nor that dream job. So, I have to do what I gotta do.


But either way I'm restricted. The area I live in isn't equipped for individuals like me. Ambitious, creative, young, motivated individuals. There aren't many opportunities here. I would have to drive 30mins (the least) to get my foot in a door out of 15...smh. God is definitely by my side through this long haul. I graduated in Dec 2010 & I have yet to get anywhere. So lame.


I want to do something creative. Maybe become a mini-entrepreneur or teach a class of some sort (workshop). I haven't gotten far as to WHAT I want this to be. So, I'm going back to the drawing board & see where that leads me. I def. have a side hustle that's legal...lol, but it's not enough to feel comfortable.


Anywho...any other suggestions, ideas out there?

I'm Comfortable Now...

If you can't tell by my past blog posts, I went through a rough breakup. The type of breakup where you thought your FIRST was your only...last name...one day we're going to get married and have pretty babies...I love you so much your family is now my family TYPE love. That all came to an end in Jan...but mentally way before then.


This post isn't to back track on that journey...I'm over it & I'm in a new place.


A place where I'm comfortable where I am at, where I'm headed. So comfortable that I wish him the best, I want him to be happy even if it's not with me. We just weren't meant to be. I mean, what can I say? If you want to know what I mean by ALL of this, please take the time & check out the few past posts I've talked about regarding all of this. Like... Old Post: The breakup...It's over now, Old Post: Falling In Love Again, They do tell a small piece of my life/relationship.


Anyways, I'm in a better place now. I'm very surprised & happy about this. I use to ask my sister (close girlfriend of mine) "When will I get over him?"...Her: "I know how you feel honey, it's hard & it will take time. There's no real answer to that"...she was right about that. She's still dealing with a breakup she had a year ago. I mean...how do you get over someone you loved so dearly & saw a future with so easily? It's just not easy. But what I can say now is that I'm at peace with it. No, I'm not totally OVER him. But I think, the biggest part is over with.


I owe all the praise & thanks to God, Because He only knows how difficult & impatient I am.

My Favorite Blogger Is No Longer On My Radar...

So...I'm not going to mention who the individual is because I don't know who know's the person & I'm not trying to make this more than what it needs to be. This is my personal blog, I tend to vent & that's what I'm about to do.


What made this person my favorite blogger? The things that they did for their community (they blogged & tweeted about these things), goals, the type of topics they blogged about.


I started to notice that this particular blogger never checked out others blogs (I don't ever see comments from them) & I've checked out quit a few. This person doesn't get millions of comments on their blog, so it's not like they couldn't take the time out to comment back on others blog. I'm always too nice. I usually comment back on someones blog when they leave a genuine comment & not just to drop off their URL. That mess is so annoying to me. 


I do follow this person on Twitter. This is how I found out about their blog. I noticed they tweet negative things about bloggers that aren't as (Hmmm what's the word) "popular" as her blog. I can't stand this as well. I really do believe bloggers that have some clout aren't genuine.. If there's one out there point them out for me. People let numbers, stats get the best of them. Instead of talking down help one another out. But I don't see that much.


I wanted so bad to say "Honey, your blog is nice but it's not all of that for you be acting the way you do". It's just like the cons outweighed the pros about this individual. I shouldn't feel this way about someone I don't even know. I'm not saying I hate this person, but I honestly am taking the route of not following anything this person does.


Another thing that bothered me...don't post my response that I left on your blog on your twitter page without quoting me. Did you think I wasn't going to see that? The whole blog post/topic of what I commented on seemed controversial in the first place. And my opinion is MY opinion. I didn't say anything negative. And obviously she felt like that...


Anyways...some of these bloggers need to get off of their HIGH horse. And call it what you want, but I can't respect those that think their better than others..I quickly remove myself from it. There's not enough "like" in this world about a persons blog that's going to keep me around to comment/follow when there's barely any dialogue or support in the blogging community. SO because you have 700 followers that speaks for itself?


I don't think so! Ugh ::flips hair:: I'm so through...

Update [6] 2011 Hair Challenge- Length Check & Time To Get Straight

So, back in June (the 18th to be exact) I did a length check, straightened my hair & trimmed it (Important if you want to retain your length). I don't use heat on my hair on a regular basis (or any at all). I think the last time that I actually did was in Jan/Feb (not sure). I'm trying to keep track/document my journey the best that I can. But sometimes I get lazy. Writing down every little thing is boring.


Anyways, I've decided that I'll do a length check every two months (3-2 times during my 6 month hair challenge). I guess this makes month #2 on this challenge. I was more into the whole process in the beginning, now it just seems like a lot of work. Oh how fast my excitement has died.


Below are the tools/items that I used at the time to prepare this length check:

I Co-washed my hair (Washed my hair with conditioner).
Applied my Proclaim Natural 7

Tools- Wide tooth comb (Very important), Denman Brush (from Sally's Beauty store), & a small tooth comb (I didn't use this much).

Applied the Olive Oil heat protection serum by Organic Root Stimulator.

Blow dried it on Low-Cool. Trying to stay away from as much heat as I can.


Then flat ironed my hair [Picture not shown]


My hair lasted a week. It may have lasted longer if I wasn't so anxious to wash out that HORRIBLE heat protector on myhair. I swear I hate that product. I'm really going to look into purchasing a new one.
Also...I'm still undecided if I'm going to post pictures of this particular hair journey...


Anywho..if you're natural & have kinky, curly, wavy hair how do you do your length checks? How often?


Talk to you all soon...

Top 10 Award

Thank you for tagging me Sauniya! She's one of my readers. I enjoy reading blog posts from her as well. You can check out her blog ! I Am Not Perfect..!.!

So the award comes with these rules:

1. Thank the person who tagged you and link their blog.

2. Put the Top 10 award logo on your blog.

3. List your top 10 cosmetics.

4. Choose 10 bloggers to tag, link their blogs and let them know.

My top 10 cosmetics 

1. E.LF primer
2. NYX Jumbo Pencil's
3. Maybelline's Great Lash mascara
4. Cargo's One Base
5. N.Y.C Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder
6. Maybelline's Expert Wear Eyeshadow (Bronze Glitz)
7. MAC Lipglass
8. E.LF. Cream Eyeliner (Brown)
9. Virtual Illusion Makeup Primer
10. Pop Eye Topper (Beaming Blink) from Ulta

 (I'm really not the best with cosmetics, sorry that's all I could come up with ..)

Bloggers I am tagging (click on the names)

**FYI Majority of those that follow me here, follow my beauty blog, & I've tagged you already over there...so this list will be short. 

Me My Hair & I

My So Called Life

Update [5] 2011 Hair Challenge- June Hair Regimen

My June hair routine was very simple. Months ago when I was transitioning, I spent a lot of time on my hair, now I can admit I've gotten lazy. I haven't been moisturizing my hair like I promised myself and like I use to. 


With my hair & goals, it's a must that I spritz, or use one of my water/oils concoctions to moisturize my hair. One natural hair Youtuber by the name of UTubeHairCare that I'm subscribed to mentioned in her video how important it is that we do this. Especially if you're trying to retain length & healthy hair. So, I thanked her for that friendly reminder in her video.
Regime-
-Co-wash once or twice a week
-Shampoo my hair twice a month instead of once a month
-Mint spritz my hair just about every day.
-Use EVOO or my Proclaim Natural 7 Oils more often
-Braid hair in 8 braids. Use: a mixture of Patene Pro V's conditioner for women of color relax/natural, oils, & water.
-I'm back to taking my One a day vitamins. Something very important that US women need to take.


Anywho, check out UTubeHairCare's video below. Very informative...

Let me know what you think...

Update [4] 2011 Hair Challenge- Products I'm Using

What products are you currently using?
**=Products I use often

Shea Moisture-Organic Raw Shea [Review Coming Soon) Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo [Review Coming Soon]

**ECO Styler Gel-Olive Oil
Cantu-Shea Butter (Leave in conditioner) [Review Coming Soon]

Procalim Natural 7 oils

**EVOO

**My mint spritz..you can check that out HERE

**Aussie-Hair Insurance (Leave in conditioner)

Herbal Essence (Shampoo)

**Hello Hydration ...& conditioners

**VO5 Milk Moisture-passion fruit

...last & most important Water!

What's Been Up? Where Have You Been?

Hey lovely people...
So I've been MIA over this way. Reason being is A) I've been lazy B) I've just been posting blog posts on my other blogs & not commenting back & checking blog posts like I normally do. Although this is common in the blogging world..I feel like I've missed out on a lot. I've been awarded a few awards, recognized & included in Follow Fridays. You guys are the best seriously. Please forgive my tardiness.


All in all..I'm here..alive, doing better and blessed. I'll have to update over this way today. Hair related stuff, my life, & product reviews. Also. I'm thinking about doing a giveaway on something small. Even though I'm still unemployed I find ways to give back here & offline...


Okay, chat with you all soon. Thank you for sticking around & commenting :)