PIC HEAVY POST AHEAD!!

So. I’m sure that all of you are well aware of the Mommy & Me event that I had this past Saturday with Tameeka McNeil-Johnson (aka JadedTresses) at Christos Fifth Avenue salon ;). Well, here’s a little recap!!

Preparations
The day started with me and Wei rushing around to clean the house on Saturday morning before my middle sister Sheri arrived with my niece, Reghan, and her little friend. I hate having people over my house when it isn’t clean and I hadn’t managed to clean the prior weekend or all week. So, the crunch was on and the kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom were cleaned in record time (I need to always have people over; I get things done so much more quickly ;))!!

Anyway, Reghan was asked to be a hair “model” at the event. She’d been wearing braids for about a month and my sisters took them down Friday evening. Since Sheri is not at all into hair, I wanted to give Reghan’s tresses a little TLC with a pre-poo and deep conditioning treatment before turning her over to Tameeka. The little troupe arrived at my house at about 10 am and I proceeded to pre-poo Reghan’s hair with Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose (should have added Vatika oil, but was rushing) and put it into about 12-15 twists. Y’all, my niece has some seriously dense hair!! Head FULL of hair. I told her, “Girl, people wish they had all of this hair.” She told me, “It takes a long time to do.” LOL!

So, I put her under my thermal heat wrap for about 30-45 minutes while I pre-pooed my own hair (I managed to add Vatika Oil to my own pre-poo … I know, bad auntie!!). Then, I donned the thermal wrap while I shampooed her hair in the kitchen sink using Bye Bye Parabens Rosemary Mint Shampoo diluted in water. I concentrated on her scalp and allowed the shampoo to run down her twists. She liked the smell. As I washed her hair, I explained to her that her hair appeared to be low porosity, because it did not easily absorb water. In fact, the water seemed to just bead and roll off of her hair. She asked if that was a good or bad thing and I explained that it was good in that it allows her hair to hold styles well and for a long time, but it can be a challenge to get moisture into her hair.

Next, I used Herbal Essences Hello Hydration (HE HH) to condition and detangle her hair. It worked very well and her hair was actually a lot easier to detangle than my own, in my opinion!! She has 4c hair, but her strands are strong and resilient. I detangled in sections and re-twisted each section once done. After rinsing the conditioner, I applied Shea Moisture Raw Shea Deep Treatment Masque and put her back under the heat wrap while I hopped in the shower to wash up and do my own hair.

After I finished up in the shower, I used a Curl Cloth to “plop” and eventually applied Kinky Curly Knot Today (KCKT) to my hair before placing it in 8 twists. I then cooled and sealed Reghan’s hair using diluted HE HH and rinsed with tepid/warm water (since I think her hair is low porosity, didn’t want to use cold water, which she complained about anyway ;)). Then I used a tee-shirt to lightly blot her hair dry before placing it in several braids to keep it detangled and stretched. I applied a little KCKT to her hair to provide a little moisture.

And then, it was time to hit the road!!

The Event
We arrived in the city at around 3 pm and the salon was bustling!! So many beautiful heads of curls of all colors and textures! I wish I had asked to take pictures!! Anywho, Tameeka was with a client, so we killed time by talking to a grandmother who was there with her two curly, red-haired granddaughters who had already been serviced. Their mother decided to get her hair done after seeing the results on her daughters.

As we hung out, Reghan and I also traded shoes. So sad. My 10 year old niece and I wear the same size.

Shoe swap (me on the left; Reghan on the right).

I texted this picture to Sheri, who wears the same size as me, and she replied, “All the shoes I buy for her now, I make sure that I will like once she grows out of them.” Now THAT’S planning ahead!! LOL!!

By now, it was Reghan’s turn in Tameeka’s chair! We quickly traded shoes and they took her to the shampoo bowl to wet her braided hair. Then, Tameeka used Curlisto Design Lotion to rake and shake Reghan’s hair in small sections to style.

Before

In progress

Reghan was also gifted this super cute skirt from Sofistafunk to wear for the event and another adorable skirt was donated for a giveaway!

After her hair was finished and while she got dressed, the salon employees began to set up the room for the event. Then, at around 5 pm, everyone started to arrive.

Hors d’oeuvres were served and everyone was given a coupon for 20% off of a Sofistafunk purchase! All were seated and then Christo himself welcomed everyone to the event. He gave a rundown of the agenda for the evening, which included “Day 2” hair and styling demos, individual consultations with the salon stylists, goodie bags with sample size Curlisto Kids products, a future service coupon and, finally, a giveaway.

Christo introduced me so that I could say a few words and then Tameeka stepped to the “stage.”

And … at this point … I discovered that I was selected to be the “model” for the styling demo! So, I had to hand my camera over to Reghan’s friend so that they could take me to the sink! Yeah, the rest of these pictures were taken by a 10 year old! There are many that didn’t make the cut (‘cuz, you know, they are of the girls making funny faces and carrying on ;).

First, Tameeka explained how she styled Reghan’s hair using the same technique that she uses for all textures. She talked about the different textures, about moisture and about styling. She then “finished” Reghan’s hair by using a little Curlisto pomade to “scrunch the crunch.”

Next, Tameeka talked about how Day 2 hair can be challenging as kids are so prone to sleeping wildly and are bad at keeping their hair wrapped/covered at night. So, she explained that creative styling is a parent’s best friend. Then, she proceeded to demonstrate how the front of the hair can be styled into a braid to create a fun look, while adding some “polish” and control to the hair.

Then it was my turn. Tameeka used the Curlisto leave-in and styler and proceeded to demonstrate how to section the hair, how to properly apply product to wet hair from the ends first, how to rake the product through the hair to encourage curl clumping, and how to squeeze the ends of the hair and shake as the final step to further encourage curl.

Sectioning hair

Raking & Shaking

After Tameeka finished with the styling, I was placed under the dryer and the one-on-one consultations began. I had to sit it all out!!

All by my lonesome. *lol*

After about 15 minutes or so, I came out from under the dryer and Tameeka diffused my curls to finish drying them and give me the volume that I crave!

Finally, we closed out the evening by raffling off the other girl’s Sofistafunk skirt … just as my camera’s battery died!!

This is the adorable little whirlwind who won it!

And that was it! It was a fun little event and we hope to do more in the future! I also want to try my hand at a braid out on my niece, whose only complaint was that her hair looked “short.” Ahhhhh … she’s a true natural in training … already bemoaning shrinkage ;). *lol* Anywho, that’s why I’d like to try a braid-out with rollers on her ends to see if she likes that natural style.

Alright, here are a few more pics from the event (you know that I love a slide show ;))!

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What are the challenges of caring for the hair of your Curly Kid?