Shedding and Breakage....Which Is It?

So I am still in the protective mode....


Today I took out my updo and washed and deep conditioned my hair.  I will air dry and twist again tomorrow.  One thing I dont like about twisting my hair is the tangles that I get...I am still perfecting my ability to take my time and CAREFULLY take down twists. I find that I get alot of breakage when I am removing twists.  Im sure this is not at all as bad as what I am thinking but any breakage is BAD during a growth challenge.


I can say my hair remained moisturized and conditioned...it was not dry and brittle when I took the twists down which was an awesome thing!  


From now on...I will stick to larger twist instead of small ones which are really hard to loosen and easily gets tangled. 


I did wash with a new shampoo which I LOVE!


Its from U R Curly called Soya Shampoo 

Its a great complement for the Morning Mint Masque which I am deep conditioning with RIGHT NOW! The shampoo has soy protein, tea tree oil and abyssinian oil and provides a great tingle.  It makes my hair feel like SILKY GOODNESS!  The smell is heavenly...I love it!


Hopefully the hairs I lost was more shedding than breakage....(I didnt notice too many white bulbs....eek!) and when I measure my hair in July I will see some improvement!  I PRAY! 


Im really trying! :)


Here's the next style I am trying...

Till Next Time
Taking the Twists Down Slowly 

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Protective Style #1

So I really wanted to get kinky twists because they look so beautiful...but reality hit and I know that they never last more than two days in my head (well may be 2-3 weeks) and I dont get the full benefit of them.  I saw some pics of people who have twisted their own hair and did some awesome things with it and I decided to give it a shot.  I mean I have a decent amount of hair it should work!

So I attempted to do an updo and I think it came out pretty good....its modeled after FusionofCultures on youtube I put one of her videos in my last entry about flat twisting.  I am not that good and the flat twisting but I am am better than I was before...I have a hard time getting them to be tight. All and all I think I did a good job!

YAY ME! I will try to keep this in all week and then I will probably wear my hair down to wash it and back up it will go...

How do you style your hair during its protective seasons?

Till Next Time,
Protecting and Shielding :)

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Hair Growth: Protective Styling

So I am not sure if my hair has grown at all during my little challenge!  It does seems thicker, less hair is trapped in my combs and brushes and definitely more moisturized...I haven't measured again yet...that isn't due until July.  I am still using MTG and covering my hair and that has served its purpose...I will continue to do that!  Next phase is protective styling!  I am not one for true protective styling because I like my hair to be FREE so I can play with it!  BUT I've seen the proof....protective styling is very important for length retention! So I must try it...


Starting next week (sometime after 6/2) I will be doing protective styles ONLY for one month straight!  YES! ONE WHOLE MONTH!  I want to do kinky twists....but I am not that good.  I will see how it goes!  I am not looking up protective styles so I can try them out and get this thing GOING!  I will take down for my deep conditions....then right back up they will go! 


I will play my deep conditions by ear.....when my hair is looking broke, busted and disgusted I will refresh it with a nice conditioner!  


This method will minimize combing, finger play and brushing which will minimize BREAKAGE!


I found a great video that teaches me how to do the style above....
Why not give it a try!

Till Next Time,
Twisting and Protecting

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You Deserve It!!!

Take a look at your life.

Do you treat yourself well? How do you keep your home?

How do you look when you leave the house?

All of these things are direct correlations to how you really think about yourself. There is a scripture that says "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7). Such a powerful scripture! However you think about you...will manifest in your everyday life. You may think you have high self esteem and you may even convince others but if you really felt that way...you would treat yourself better. Would a queen really sit in filth day after day and be ok with it? Would you look like yesterday's bad news? Deep down inside we all know we deserve more but lack the courage to change things.

You were created to reign and to rule, God only thinks good thoughts toward you. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11). He wants you to have the best in life. Somewhere in our journey we have allowed the words spoken over us to get into our hearts and we may not even know...but its easily seen on the outside. God has designed you to LIVE!

Paint your nails...buff those heels! Dress like the paparazzi is waiting at your doorstep! Clean your house...treat it like a palace! Do your hair (or your weave)...you never know who is watching! Manage your health...exercise and eat well! Your life depends on it! Say nice things to yourself and about yourself. If you dont like something about you...CHANGE IT! You can do it! Sure your heart is WONDERFUL, but we only can see your outward appearance...let the inside shine through! We want to see what God sees! This is especially true for us singles that desire a husband. Dont you want to be shiny crown to his head? Why would God place one of His kings in sloppy care? He wont. Not just for a man...Im not talking facades IM TALKING LIFE CHANGE! Do it because you want better.




These tips are for us all...me included. Lets stop talking about it and start BEING IT!




Till Next Time
Watching Over My Kingdom Royally ;-)

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Still Pushing...

Im still here!  Dont you doubt me...lol!


So life got busy...
My parents were coming to town, it was my church's anniversary so there were services and activities to prepare for and attend, I was getting ordained, and it was FCAT time (for a Florida teacher...that means WORK!).  So many things going on in the month of April...my head could've popped off!  Despite of that I know I can do ALL things through Christ...so its all good!  Made it through the season...but my weight suffered a bit...working out was falling farther and farther on my to do list...until it wasn't there!  


So my weight go from 17 pounds lost all the way to 6 pounds lost...now we know that most of that was water but still....I had to stop it!  So I slowly got back into the swing of things this month (May), first I started eating better and picking up my water again...that alone brought that 6 to a 12 in the matter of days....then I slowly began to exercise again...now that 12 is back to a 17 YAY!  I am trying to make it to 20 by Friday. I know it sounds over zealous but the fact of the matter is that most of this is water weight that I have gained and I just need to regulate myself now...I think three pounds in a week is feasible for the place I am in. Meaning just starting out again.  Its like that first week when you start working out and you lose six pounds because your body is like WOAH!  So I am hoping to have one of those weeks...then I know I will just go back to my 1-2 pounds a week which is normal.  Just happy to be out of the 240s....even more anticipating the 220s...its been a loooooong time coming.  I know if you are reading this, you are probably saying that the 220s is nothing to be excited about...well you can just HUSH IT!  Its not a parking spot but its definitely a big change from where I was in December...


I am looking to be solid in the 220s by the end of summer, if I really push it I can get to the teens of the 200s...then I am on my way back to the 100s....I will be throwing a party the moment I hit at least 199.9 because I haven't seen the 100s in about 6-7 years.  Its been a long time. I miss them so much...and we will have our reunion!


You know that each time I lose an increment of 10lbs I get a prize!  Here is my next prize:

MAKEUP!!! I am a little scared of pink...so this is a great adventure for me...
I already have it in my possession but I wont wear it until I reach that 20 lb mark...hopefully next weekend LOL!  So I can wear it then....EXCITED!!! I just cant hide it..




Till Next Time,
Pushing Pushing Pushing :)

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Hair Stats

  So I am so not good at taking those pictures checking length and I never feel like its consistent because of the way I hold my head and other factors.  Instead of doing that I just got out the measuring tape and decided to measure my hair in various places.  So I have the average from the front, my crown and the back. 


I am getting pretty good at my twist outs too! I will post pictures below. I have never had a twist out last more than one day...I went three!  I've learned that using conditioner with silicone ingredients helped because it reduced friction between strands which reduced frizz!  I am attempting a Bantu Knot out tonight on my stretched hair...exciting!




Here are my stats:


Front: 11 inches


Crown: 10 inches


Back: 9 inches


I will take the inches in about three months (July 3rd) and see how I am doing.  I am still using MTG as a growth aid once a week. I am deep conditioning once a month at least, I will do more than that if I feel necessary.  My hair has been unbelievably moisturized because of my consistency in moisturizing properly and covering my hair with a satin scarf or bonnet.  I moisturize using Morning Dew Hair Products. (www.morningdewhair.com)

The best twist out EVER! :)

Day 2...

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Twist and SHOUT!!!!

Hair was deep conditioned and detangled using the Morning Mint Masque...hair was moisturized and sealed using Mango Coconut Sunshine and a personal mix of essential oils. Eco Styler Gel was used to slick down edges and hair was doubled strand twisted overnight :)

Cue the music....
I am really conquering my twist out woes...YAY!


As you can see Im getting good...


This style was inspired by my new favorite youtuber/blogger MahoganyKnots!  I am in love with her hair!!!  


We don't have the same texture but its close enough...LOL!


I'm learning that twist outs are more involved than I thought.  Its all about technique....


I've begun to flat twist my hair especially in the front to get more definition...I will post a video that shows you what I mean by flat twisting.


I've also noticed that to keep the definition of your twist out it requires little to NO manipulation once twists are taken out (at least for my hair).  If I pull the curls too much it will transition to a big poofy mess of tresses.  Once I unravel I usually leave it alone, my hair will plump up given me the big hair I desire.  It just takes a little time. 


Ive started to do more twist/braid outs when my hair is already dry as well.  I do mist my hair with my master mix because I like the way it looks better when the style is "set".  The reason for this is my hair rarely dries overnight...as a matter of fact it NEVER dries overnight.  If my hair isnt fully dry...it also leads to the frizz puff...no bueno!


I love it!


For my growth challenge, Ive also decided to not apply any more color to my hair :(
For a season...Ive grown really close to my red/blonde hair...but Im going back to black for a while....since it needs to grow out....I still have more time to be a red head. Once I reach my goal....IM COLORING AGAIN!!! Probably immediately....lol!


Im running out of MTG...Im thinking of making my own concoction, the ingredients are pretty simple...I will keep you posted on that.  Just have to find the sulfer...which is the most important part.  We'll See....


Till Next Time
Twisting and Loving It :)








Here is what I mean by flat twisting...

I cant embed the styling video but here is the link....ENJOY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=QZtfEWwlPQ4

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