Daily Archives: January 15, 2013

Jan15

Claim Your Space!!

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Weis_corner

by Weusi

Yes … a couple of weeks ago, I put on the do rag thingy … and this week I have another little confession …

I have started to acquire products. In fact … I am proud to say that I have a FULL corner in the shower. What? How did this happen to a manly-man like myself? I am glad that you asked … I’m blaming Jor-El, Shelli and Shea Moisture products.

What you see here is MY (not Shelli’s) shampoo, conditioner, body wash & scrub, magic Dr. Bonner Peppermint super soap and relaxing bath salts.

I just changed my mind. I am not explaining myself. I am allowing myself to be the kind of man that takes care of himself in 2013. I like nice things and will enjoy them. I will get manicures and pedicures. Why shouldn’t I? Who likes a man with messed up hands and feet? (Not Shelli!)

I’ll give you the reason why I chose these products in my next post, but THIS post? THIS POST is about S.O.’s not being peons in the homes of PJs. CLAIM YOUR SPACE. It may start with a corner in the shower, but maybe one day one of us will get our own countertop space in the bathroom! And, sooner or later, we’ll get our own closet space and man cave!

But it has to start somewhere … so CLAIM YOUR SPACE! Display your products proudly!

NOTE: Beware of the urge to become a product junkie and product junkie like symptoms. What are the symptoms? Great question … I will tell you in a later post.

SHiNE

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Jan15

My Albatross: Darker Than Brown’s Edges

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Nneka1by Nneka of Darker Than Brown (dtb)

Hey Shelli,

It’s me Nneka. I’m finally sending in this story that has been sitting half finished on my computer for many months. 😦 I want to talk about my hair albatross, which is length retention at my edges. Since childhood, I have had “issues” with my edges.

Nneka4

For some reason, my mother was never able to retain much hair in those two areas of my head. In fact, growing up, I swore everyone had edges like mine. Around grade school, where I was teased for having peaszy edges (sp), I started to realize that was not the case. We all know kids can be vicious at that age!

I was grateful when my mother began to chemically relax my hair, because it appeared the problem had corrected itself. Imagine my disbelief when I started my natural hair journey, only to realize how bad off my edges still were. Don’t get me wrong, I do have hair there. But, the first two inches into my hairline is extremely short. Looks like I get it buzzed at a barber shop, but I do not. Of course, my high school micro dot/braids faze didn’t help matters much. I would get a skilled girlfriend, to “catch” the small amount of hair, and tightly hang human hair around it. Then I had that short, but detrimental lace front wig obsession.

Nneka3

Now, I want my edges back, and I am open to suggestions. I have tried just leaving them alone and that didn’t work. I tried messaging both areas with regular castor oil for two months … and that didn’t works. Then I tried massaging the area with Jamaican black castor oil … and no, that didn’t work either. I think the area needs moisture. It does look excessively dry. I have started a new challenge on my blog. I will spray my edges 2 times per day and then seal with a thick sealant. Other than that, I don’t know what to do. Part of me believes it may just be hereditary and there’s nothing I can do. However, the vain girl deep down in me, can’t just let it go.

Can you or your readers be of any help?

Nneka2

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Hey Nneka!! First, sorry it took me a month to get this up lady!! Second, I saw your Natural Hair Style Icon story on BGLH a little while ago!!! Awesome!! You looked gorgeous! Third, I just checked out the recent posts on your site to see how you are doing with your planned regimen. I see that you recently got a significant cut that removed damaged hair, are using a hand-held steamer a minimum of three times a week to instill and lock moisture into your hair, and are moisturizing your “sitch-eeation” nightly ;)! I also saw that you used sulfate shampoos in the past and are now co-washng instead. So, it sounds like you are on the right path to retaining moisture (though I would suggest using a sulfate free shampoo at least once a month to cleanse your scalp).

In regard to additional advice, as you indicated above, your thin edges might be genetic. But, when has that ever stopped us from trying to beat Mother Nature ;)? If you know that your hair hasn’t been properly moisturized in the past, I don’t think it’s a confirmed fact that your shorter edges are at their terminal length. Also, if the strands are fine/fragile and you have been tugging/stressing them with extensions, weaves, braids, wigs, hair accessories, hair tools like brushes or combs, they may have not had a chance to be all that they can be.

That being said, here are a few things that you might be able to add to your arsenal:

  • Deep condition weekly with a moisturizing conditioner using my Cool & Seal Deep Conditioning Trick (you may want to use lukewarm water rather than cool/cold as it seems you may have low porosity hair). Also, check out my post, Moisturized Hair: It Starts on Wash Day.
  • If wearing a protective style, do not pull your fine edges into braids or weaves and protect them with an appropriate cap if using wigs.
  • Watch the edges of your satin bonnets. If your bonnet is moving around on your head at night, the elastic may be putting stress on your edges and breaking off your hair. So, try wearing a silk scarf under the bonnet or instead of a bonnet to protect your edges. If you find a scarf doesn’t work, some find that wearing their bonnets inside out preserves their edges. Or, you can may want to ditch the bonnet and opt for using a silk/satin pillowcase instead.
  • Try massaging Wild Growth Hair Oil or the essential oil mix found here into your edges 3 days a week for 30 days and see if you notice any improvements.

Good luck lady and I hope to read/hear good news from you soon!!

♥

Now I’m turning it over to you ladies!! Have thin edges been your albatross? Were you able to successfully grow perpetually short edges? If so, what did you do to regrow them? The cry for help has been raised!! 

Jan15

At A Glimpse: Shea Moisture C&H Curling Soufflé

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SMSouffle_aftercollage

On Friday, I went on a Shea Moisture-induced PJ mission at my local Target, only to be thwarted. With a Buy 1 Get 1 50% sale going, they didn’t have the product I wanted on the shelf!! So, I decided to hit a CVS on my way home and, yet again … NOTHING! But, my inner PJ would not be denied and I went online to search availability at various Shea Moisture retailers. After seeing “in stock,” I hit the Walgreen’s next to me house and …

SMSouffle1

Mission accomplished!! I was able to successfully acquire the Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curling Soufflé from Walgreens on sale for $9.99 with card and coupon (because, you know CVS and Walgreens prices are typically higher than Target’s).

Now, what you may be asking is, why was I on a mission to get this stuff?! Well, I had been reading a lot about the souffle lately, some good, some bad. Curlfriend Gina told me that it was very thick and she didn’t like how it felt the first night that she applied it, but the next day her hair was soft and moisturized and she didn’t need to apply any additional product for days. She was able to simply re-twist her hair and that seemed to “reactivate” the product. She warned that only the slightest amount of product was needed, just as the jar indicated.

Then, on Instagram (IG) I saw a picture of MahoganyCurls’ twist-out results with the product layered with the Curl Enhancing Smoothie. She actually showed the very little amount that she used for each section of her hair and then posted her gorgeous twist-out. I think I saw a few other people posting about it on YouTube and IG and the inner PJ started itching. So, I had to track some down and give it a try on my fine hair, with the knowledge that I should only use a very small amount as the product is oily, heavy and made for thick hair.

Now, this is not a full review. I’ve only used the product once on an old braid-out and I used the teeniest, tiniest amount. Like, seriously, I just swiped the surface of the product to get a little of it on two fingertips. I didn’t dig my fingers into the product at all. I also applied virgin coconut oil (VCO) to help finger detangle any difficult sections (crown, you know who you are) before applying the Soufflé.  This is what my old braid-out looked like on Friday night (if you remember, I re-set my dry hair on Tuesday night too).

SMSouffle_before1

As I indicated above, I used the Soufflé and VCO to restyle, setting my hair in 12 braids (3 in each quadrant). Then, I dampened the braids with water and set the ends on small grey perm rods. The next morning, I applied some Wild Growth Hair Oil (WGHO) to my scalp while my hair was still braided. Then, a couple of hours later, I released the braids and these were my results.

SMSouffle_after2

My hair was nicely defined and full. However, it was oily when I went to fluff it too. The thing is … I think a big part of this was the WGHO that I applied to my scalp! I was kind of heavy-handed and I couldn’t differentiate what was product on my hair and what was the oil from my scalp. I do think the Soufflé left oil on the surface of my hair, but it wasn’t an excessive or troublesome amount from what I can tell.

Anywho, by the end of the day out and about in a humid environment, the definition faded and my hair got fluffy.

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I do love fluffy hair. However, gotta admit, I do wish that I could get a defined look to last a day or two so that my styles have more longevity and the fluff happens day 3 or 4!! I think that I may need to add some gel to my sets in order to accomplish that. I have in the past with TnCs, but it’s been a long time since I’ve used gel to set my hair in a braid-out or TnC. So, I think I’ll throw some Eco Styler into the mix my next wash day.

So yeah, again, this isn’t really a review. Just sharing how this product seemed to work the first time. It’s now three days since I styled my hair with the Soufflé and my hair hasn’t had any oily residue since Sunday. It actually could stand to be re-moisturized. But, it won’t be with the Soufflé … because I gave it to my BFF to try!! She has very thick hair and will be running around a lot the next few weeks. So, she doesn’t have time to worry about dealing with her hair, which can get dry quickly. I told her to try it when she washes her hair this week, using a small amount for each section, and see if it helps keep her hair moisturized for a longer period than her normal products. Can’t wait to hear how it works for her!

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Have you tried the Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curling Soufflé? If so, how did you like … or dislike … it? How did you use it to style your hair (WnG, braid-out, twist-out, etc.)? Did you apply to wet, damp or dry hair? Did you use any other product with it?