MzNappyTrini.com

Guess Who's Coming to TEDx Port of Spain 2012?!!!!

2012-11-21T19:26:00.000-05:00

The lovely Afrobella that's who!!!! I'm so excited to get the chance to meet this fellow Trini Naturalista Blogger and listen to her live for the very first time. I am also excited to be able to participate in my first TEDx experience, that is if they will have me. You see, you have to apply to be considered to purchase a ticket for the event, I guess because demand is that high. Tickets are $300 but there are bursaries available which you can request if the price is too steep for you. Visit the TEDx Port of Spain site for more details and to get tickets and I hope to see some of you there on 12.12.12 as we explore the theme of "Courage"!! Leave a comment if you will be there and pray for me that I'm selected to get a ticket!

Black Friday through Cyber Monday Deals for my Naturalista Product Junkies

2012-11-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

[Source]

This Thanksgiving will be the first in a loooooooong time (nearly a decade lol) that I have not celebrated in the US and to be honest, I'm feeling a little nostalgic right about now. :( So to pretend like I am engaging in the festivities I compiled some useful links for those of you looking for holiday shopping deals. Hope you enjoy it and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!!

WestNDNbeauty has compiled a comprehensive list, even arranged in alphabetical order, of 2012 Natural Hair Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales Announced thus far. Keep checking the link back as the comments section provides updates to the list from the beautiful West herself as well as her readers.

Shae of AfroniquelyYou has also compiled an alphabetical list of black friday sales. There are some overlaps with West's list but some newbies as well.

My fellow Trini Naturalista Ms Afrobella may also compile a list so I'll update with links to that as well later this week if she does. Make sure to check back!

Curls 24hr BOGO Sale - Buy Curl Ecstasy Hair Tea Conditioner, Get A Free CURLS Styler FREE!

At Khamit Kinks in Brooklyn New York get 20% off the entire Anu Essentials line as well as discount prices on cuts, color touch ups, Locs, Twists sets, lashes, & make up and more!

CurlBox Black Friday Warehouse Sale in Atlanta Georgia from 11am - 3pm. Shop reduced prices on Ouidad, Curls, Huetiful, Design Essentials and much much more! $20 per ticket and up to four full sized products in your own handpicked CurlBox!

For my Trini and Caribbean Naturals, Cher Mere has something for you too with 50% off all products in-store and online for one day only, with certain restrcitions

If you are in the market for hair sticks and forks, thank Hairscapades for this heads up! Zuki Imports has a 40% off sale through Monday 11/26. Enter the discount code "cybermonday" during checkout to get your 40% off at www.zukiimports.com.

Ouidad's Friend and Family Sale 25% of any purchase plus 10% off all salon services using checkout code FFCURL for a limited time only

Ojon deal: buy any of 3 full size shampoos and get the full size conditioner free. They also have free shipping, free returns and a free sample.

That's it for now but make sure to check back before the shopping madness begins for any updates! Happy Shopping!

UPDATE!!!!!!!

Another alphabetical shopping list compiled by the lovely ladies at Derby City Naturals

TheMakeupVixen provides another one

And ANOTHER ONE from the Natural Review

Last but not least, check out Ms African Export's status update for some vendors as well.

Happy Shopping!

A Tropical Bantu Knot Out Experiment

2012-10-20T15:54:00.000-04:00

I tried an overnight experiment on my 4 week old blow-dried hair. I did 6 two strand bantu knots on my head. I used Fekkai Glossing Cream as a moisturiser and also to eliminate frizz and impart some shine to my hair. A little really does go a long way, I only used a small pea sized amount for each of the 6 sections. I have the 2 oz tube and I expect that to last me YEARSSSSSSSSS lol. After knotting I wrapped it up with my satin scarf.

Slept with the knots all wrapped up in a satin scarf overnight

Uncovering the bantu knots

Unrolling the knots

I actually had some errands to run that morning so I decided to save the knot out for later. To preserve the waves I did a big bantu knot in the back with all the twists (essentially a bun), wrapped my hair up and threw on a beanie.

Since I wasn't going to wear the knot out immediately i rolled all the twists into one big bantu knot at the back of my head, tied my hair with a satin scarf to keep it frizz free and smooth, put a bonnet over it then rocked a beanie to run errands

Later than evening I took down the big bantu knot and unraveled my twists to reveal big sexy hair! My first ever Bantu knot out in Trini lol.

Beautiful big voluminous hair

After a night out, to smooth the hair again I divided the hair into 4 sections, detangled with a wide tooth comb, applied some coconut oil and the Fekkai glossing cream, combed them through, then brushed my hair into one, rolled into a bun and tied with a satin scarf.

back to smooth and straight

Fourth week of straight hair - Dominican Blowout 4: Trini Humidity 0

2012-10-18T21:20:00.000-04:00

My work style today. I did two flat rolls on either side of my head and gathered in the back for a pinned bun. I used a headband to keep my flyaways/frizz in check

As you may know, I got a Dominican Blowout almost a month ago. I've been dealing with Trini heat and humidity all that time so it's pretty impressive it has stayed straight ish all this time. I must admit, I wore my hair in a bun or similar style most of the time and didn't try to style my hair at all. That contributed greatly to keeping my hair straight. The few times I tried to rock out styles, I could feel it swelling by the minute lol but with the help of some argan oil, coconut oil and jojoba oil I was able to control the frizzing for the most part and recover with more bunning and tying with a satin scarf. As this is my last weekend, I'll probably style it, do some pin curls or a braid out for some big spectacular hair before the washout. And then on wash day I'll be hoping and praying all my curls and kinks and zigzags come back. Stay Tuned!

See how smooth it looks?

Side view of the roll and bun

Back view. Kind of dark but you get the idea

Letting my bun down

Letting my hair down. lol lots of volume and some shrinkage but for all intents and purposes still straight

side view

Shrunk to about armpit length and texture a little wavy

The Back

The Life and Styles of a Working Girl

2012-10-07T00:59:00.001-04:00

So if you are my Facebook friend you know that I relocated back home to Trinidad last December and I am now part of the working population. That has presented many challenges, one of which is actually having to give a damn about my hair. I can no longer rock Ceelie braids like I used to when I was a grad student slaving away in a lab not seeing the light of day lmao.

Now I meet important folk on a daily basis and I wear a suit everyday so my hair needs to be presentable as well. Here's a few pics of the different styles I've rocked thus far. I'll admit some days are better than others but hey, we all have a few lazy days or days when disaster strikes or we fell asleep instead of washing our hair right?! lol Thankfully I'm appreciated for my brains and personality and most times they love the uniqueness of my hair compared to everybody else so when I have an off day nobody says nuttin lmao enjoy!

When in doubt rock a braidout! Although I will say these are particularly susceptible to my island's ridiculous heat and humidity lol I swear it has gotten way hotter than I can remember from when I left and pretty much everyone agrees. It feels like what Satan's home must feel like

Nice chunky twist out

Medium sized twists. Usually rock these for about 2 weeks, retwisting the edges as necessary

Mini twist time! Rock these a month at a time, retwisting in between. When they get old, roll them up on some flexi rods and it breathes new life into them lol

I would say the majority of the time my hair is in some sort of bun. High, low, with a pompadour, without. When disaster, over-sleeping or laziness strikes (which is pretty often) we bun it up!

Low effortless bun on a Dominican Blowout.

Updo on twistout hair. Updos last longer than out styles in this humidity.

Texture shot!

This style looked pretty swanky but was actually a result of falling asleep and not washing so my hair is soaking in coconut oil from pre-pooing and these twists are actually my detangled and sectioned hair ready to jump in the shower. oh well lmao

Top/front view

Ok so maybe I DO rock Ceelie braids from time to time. At least it looks fairly neat lol

Undiagnosed Hair ADD

2012-09-24T01:13:00.000-04:00

Yup. I think I'm a candidate. So I straightened my hair after attending my bff's wedding and I cut my hair back to bsl. Again. I say 'again' because I have a hair blog so I can go back and see what I have been doing for the last two and a half years and it seems that every year around this time I get antsy and bored and straighten and cut my hair lmao. Granted my hair probably appreciated it this time around because I had a lot of breakage in the nape area and along my edges (at least a lot by my standards). This is probably due to my abuse of bunning of the slick variety and my general neglect of my hair since my return to Trini. So much living to do, so little time lol.

My wedding bun

I got a Dominican Blowout and I didn't even attempt to prep. I went in there with my dry dirty hair with none of my own products. I asked them for a wash, deep condition, protein treatment and then blowdry, flatiron and cut. I didnt even walk with a heat protectant, although I made sure to ask them to use one. But since they all speaking espanol and I only understand poco right now, let's hope for my sake that when I wash my hair my curls come back. lol I'll keep you posted. In the meantime enjoy some pics.

My last kind of length check on June 27th 2012

June 27th 2012 we were back to waist length

September 24th 2012 back to bsl

Now that I realized this fall antsy syndrome, I felt like I owe it to myself to grow my hair out again, reach the goal I set for myself (hiplength) and then I can do whatever the hell I feel like. So on that note, I feel a grow out challenge coming. Friend me on facebook to stay posted and join me if you like!

Summa, summa, summatime!!

2012-07-01T01:49:00.000-04:00

Well technically now that I am a full-time Trini we don't have no damn summatime, although you would never know from the proliferation of ads for 'summa' parties and other such shenanigans. No summer in these here tropics. Just Hot and Hotter. Or Dry and Rainy. This heat burns hotter than the fires of hell and the humidity is out of this world lol. BUT, I did get a chance to run away to my graduation and other festivities in the USA so here are some of my 'summatime' styles.

Repping for my clique! lol Rocked a low bun to fit my cap

My Birthday! Rocked a bun and pomp

More bday shenanigans, different city. Rocking a twistout

After the humidity got to my twistout, pulled it in a ponytail and rocked it with a headband fashioned out of my satin scarf lmao

Updated!! Another USA jaunt for a wedding. More styles:

More slick buns

Straight hair don't care

Trini Staples:

High wash and go puff

love me some headwraps!

Juicy Juicy

2012-06-23T13:30:00.000-04:00

I recently won a gift hamper from Body Beautiful on D'Avenue and when I went to collect I went gaga when I saw their recent shipment of Naturalista Cosmetics' Juicy Leave in. I have been following Naturalista for a while, ever since their Facebook page was attacked by spammers, and I have really enjoyed seeing the outpouring of support for the brand as well as their astounding growth in such a short period of time. I always wanted to try it so I was beyond ecstatic when Allison of Body Beautiful offered me a small sample to try.

The ingredients list reads as follows:

Butyrospermum Parkii (Organic Shea Butter),
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil,
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil,
Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil,
Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil,
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil,
Organic Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil,
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Organic Sweet Almond) Oil,
Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil,
Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil,
Tocopherol (Vitamin E),
Panthenol (Vitamin B),
Vegetable Glycerin,
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract,
Raw Organic Honey,
Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil,
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil,
Natural preservatives,
Fragrance

This first thing I noticed was its light whipped texture, I haven't used a product with this consistency before and I quite like it. The second thing was the smell. OMG can somebody say heavenly!!!! It definitely smells like I should be eating it rather than putting it in my hair. The first thing I did was to massage some between my fingers and into my skin. I was concerned that juicy might mean greasy. Initially it did feel a bit greasy to touch but that feeling soon went away.

Nice and whipped and delicious smelling

On wash day I tried an experiment. On one side of my head I moisturized with my usual homemade leave-in, the other I used my 2oz Juicy Leave In sample. And I did use all of it lol.

Right after application and twisting. Left side - my homemade leave in. Right side - Naturalista Cosmetics' Juicy leave in

I did medium sized twists all over which I planned to rock as is for the work week. My initial impressions as I was applying and twisting was that on the Juicy Leave in side, there was less frizz, a little more shine, somewhat more stretch and definitely smelled better than my homemade leave-in.

Juicy Leave in side

On my home made leave in side, it defined my curls better, detangled my hair way easier, was much less greasy and felt more moisturized to the touch. The white stuff eventually goes away but I guess its a plus for Juicy that you can twist and immediately leave the house without ppl's minds wandering to the gutter thinking about what is all that creamy stuff in your hair lol.

Home-made leave in side

Three days later I examined my hair for differences again. Both sides were equally frizzy (remember I didn't use any styling aid for hold). The greasy feeling from the Juicy had for the most part gone away and both sides felt about equally moisturized, although I will say the ends of my hair with the homemade leave in felt better than the Juicy leave in side. This may most likely be due to the acidic ph of my homemade leave in.

Three days later

A week later, my hair stayed moisturized about equally on both sides. I ended up retwisting mid-week using Shea Moisture hold and shine moisture mist and it looked about the same on both sides.

One week later after retwisting midweek with Shea Moisture hold and shine moisture mist

Verdict - I like Naturalista's Juicy Leave-in. It definitely leaves your hair juicy and moisturized so if you aren't into mixology it would be a convenient leave in product. While I don't like greasiness, this product does smell divine and the greasiness goes away over time. I think this product would also be good for stretching on dry hair although I haven't tried it like that yet. At US$23 for an 8oz jar it is kind of pricey compared to similar leave-ins. You can check their website for purchase or my trini naturals, you can try it and buy it at Body Beautiful on D'Avenue.

Where to Find Natural Hair and Skin Products in Trinidad - Part III

2012-06-09T23:05:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks!!!!

Hands down, the most popular posts on my blog have to do with where my fellow naturalistas can locate products in my lovely home Trinidad and Tobago. This makes me so very happy and just for that I feel this blog has served a useful purpose. I am so happy that so many ladies in Trini are embracing their natural hair and rocking it proudly. If I can help in anyway to encourage, educate, motivate or whatever else, I am only too happy to be a vessel.

One of the reasons I am heartened is because of how many people have taken the time to share where they have been able to locate products. This post is just a summary of some of the suggestions in the comments from the two previous articles on where to find products in our sweet, sweet TnT. Please feel free to keep adding places where u satisfy your product junkyism!

Thanks to all my lovely fellow naturalistas who have commented and shared this wealth of info. Keep it coming! And as always, if you go to any of these suggested places, make sure and tell them MzNappyTrini sent you! lol

Valrosa Limited
Located on 102 Abercromby Street Port of Spain (623-6805).

They carry products like Uncle Funky's Daughter, Wonder Curl, Curly Kinks, Camille Rose Naturals, BeeMine, JessiCurl, darcy Botanicals and so much more (see flyer below). Lots of product lines I haven't personally tried but hopefully I get the opportunity to! Make sure and visit their Facebook page for more info.

Product lines carried by Valrosa Limited

Mayleah Organics
Located in Santa Cruz and they DO DELIVERIES!! (385-4327)
Specialize in natural and/or organic products. All products are free from parabens, artificial fragrances, artificial colors, phthalates, animal testing, petroleum compounds, sodium lauryl sulfate/ sodium laureth sulfate, PEGS, PPG, MEA, DEA or TEA and GMOs
Check their website for the product lines they carry and check them out on Facebook

Hair City
Located on Henry Street (4 stores up from the promenade)
They carry lots of things, most notably Ecostyler gel (olive and argan oil), Cantu line, black soap, jbco, argan oil, sweet almond oil and shea butter.

Pennywise
Nationwide - never know what you might be lucky to find, they carry a lot of stuff.
Chartlottte street branch in particular carries - Infusium 23 LEAVE IN, amla powder, and ayurvedic products.

Live Green
Located at the western end of Ariapita Avenue (622-8911; 685-9291)
They carry Giovanni products.

Starlite Pharmacy
Located in Diego Martin (632-0516)
They carry Giovanni products ($50 each), Redken, Aussie Moist, and African Pride

Sankofa African Store
Located on Penitence Street San Fernando
They carry black soap and shea butter ($30/jar)

Onika's
Located upstairs Carlton Center High Street San Fernando
They carry the Mixed Chicks brand

Puja stores - henna

Risa's - She is a certified Mehendi artist and she sells Henna powder in ziplocked packets of 100g for $35. Her contact is 312-5239

Xtra Foods Grand Bazaar - methi, coconut oil

Superpharm - jbco ($120/bottle), 100% aloe vera gel (Fruit of the Earth)

Santas - High Street San Fernando - lots of brands

Pharmacy at Movietowne POS - Vatika coconut oil

Herbal Store, Town Center Mall POS - basil oil, lavender oil, jojoba oil, veggie glycerin

HiLo Arima - aloe vera juice ($26/bottle)

Look who won something again!!!!

2012-05-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

Beautiful box and beautifully wrapped! Can you feel the love?

ME!!!!!! lol if you read my post from the last time I won something, you can understand my excitement. I didn't just win something yall. I HIT DA JACKPOT! lol Look at this beautiful gift basket...

I know yall see all that stuff!

I won this bounty due to the fact that I practically live on Facebook lmao. So when bright and early one morning before Mother's Day the folks at Body Beautiful on D'Avenue asked their Facebook fans to answer a question on the products they carry, I was one of the first folks to answer. Now they never said what you would win, just that they had a gift. So trust me, I almost fell out when I saw how much stuff I won! And the best part? I had never tried any of the products before.

I had to line the loot up. Somebody say product junkie jackpot!

Allison of Body Beautiful was so sweet that since I so happened to show up to collect my prize when they had just got a shipment of Naturalista Juicy Leave- in, she generously gave me a sample to try!!! I about died and went to natural hair product junkie heaven yall lol

Collecting my prize from Allison at Body Beautiful on D'Avenue

So expect some product reviews and in the meantime my Trini naturals, head down to the Avenue and see Allison at Body Beautiful! They carry so many of the popular product lines including Kinky Curly, Shea Moisture, Karen's Body Beautiful, Jane Carter, Curls, Eco Styler, Naturalista Cosmetics and so so much more. They also carry JBCO, shea butter, lots of ayurvedic products and other beauty products and candles. When you go make sure and tell them MzNappyTrini says hi!!! lol check out their Facebook page for more

Co-washing and Unintended Consequences

2012-05-02T17:12:00.001-04:00

This week I did a co-wash using a longtime favorite, Herbal Essence Hello Hydration conditioner. My hair had been in one for almost a week. Most of my washing time involved just letting the water fully saturate my hair and using water to loosen up the dirt/grease on my hair and scalp. This involved massaging my scalp with the pads of my fingertips and using the closed palm (like you are praying) method to smooth my hair.

If I was washing, that braid would be a loose wet section of hair. Smooth the closed palm down the section from root to end to apply product, wash the hair, etc. This way the hair stays relatively detangled.

Whenever I wash my hair I try not to disrupt the clumps my curls want to be in. I've found that is the number one key to reducing tangling. I think back to my childhood when shampooing involved wild hand in hair motion, trying to create the most lather possible. lol good old days. Washing was fun, combing after, not so much.

Once my hair was fully saturated with water, I applied a shilling size amount of conditioner to each of four sections on my head and let it sit for about 5 minutes. I then rinsed it out, section by section and did a cold water acv rinse to finish off. I dried my hair with a cotton tee to avoid frizz.

Drying with an old cotton t-shirt to avoid frizz

During washing I could tell that my coconut prepoo I did a few weeks ago was still in effect as my clumped curls were well defined and healthy looking while washing. You can really tell once you get out of the shower and the hair is dried a bit. Look at the definition of my natural hair with no products in it whatsoever. This is the true definition of wash and go. One of these days I'll try and experiment to see how tangled my hair would get if I just left it like that to fully dry. lol

Once my hair was about 30% dry, I applied my kimmaytube-based leave in. I used the following recipe this week:

2 tbs Giovanni direct leave in
1 tbs Kinky Curly Knot Today
1 tbs Redken Antisnap
2 tsp jojoba oil
2 tsp castor oil
1 tsp avocado oil
1 tsp coconut oil

As you can see, I forgot the aloe vera juice this week and boy could you tell. My braids were way more frizzy than usual without that added acidity and the curling power aloe vera juice has on my hair.

Nothing tying with a satin scarf couldn't fix though.

The resulting braid-out made me fall in love with braid-outs all over again (sorry! no pic but I'll repeat it sometime). I don't know why I ever stopped doing them but I expect to be doing more in the future. I did another braid-out a few days later using Ms Jessie's curly pudding. I think I prefer the effect from using my homemade moisturizer better but this was very pretty as well. I wore this to a job interview.

About to get my interview on lol

My Mommy and the Andis Gold

2012-04-27T12:03:00.000-04:00

My mummy is a natural too, although I would classify her as a natural rebel. She hot-combs her hair 2-3 times per month, she insists on combing her hair every day, dry, and she uses grease on an almost daily basis. lol.

Can't tell my mama nothing about her grease lol

While my mum, my sis and I all have what I would call type 4 hair, it is so interesting to see how different our hair is. My mum's hair is super duper soft and not as easily prone to tangling as my hair or my sister's hair. My sister's hair tangles less than mine, is thicker than my mum's, but her hair strands are a bit finer than mine. After my mum washes her hair, she can comb through it with no product and leave it to dry overnight. Neither me or my sister would ever dream of doing such a thing.

I live in a household with three heads of type 4 hair with 3 different hair regimens that appear to be working for the specific head it is being used on. Due to this experience, I can say for a fact that what I do to my hair may work for me, but there is no guarantee that it will work for yours, even if we are supposedly in the same hair type category. The only way to know for sure is through trial and error.

My mum washed her hair the night before using herbal essence hello hydration shampoo and conditioner. She then airdried in 10 two-strand twists, done by yours truly, overnight. The next morning, I moisturised her hair using Kinky Curly Knot Today, applied John Frieda Frizz-Ease Wind Down Extra-Strength Relaxing Creme section by section as a styler, and Dudley Creme Press Pressing Oil as a heat protectant. I then blowdried her hair instead of hot combing it, using my brand new Andis Gold blowdryer.

We both were extremely pleased with the results, this being my first time ever blowdrying somebody's hair. Using the fine tooth comb attachment, I was able to get results similar to her hot comb without burning and her hair was moisturized due to the ionic technology. Can't wait to try this on somebody else!

Back view. She wore her hair in a puff to church and I took this pic when she returned so the ends are already reverting lol

Side view

KCCC and My Very First Self-Trim!

2012-04-24T12:02:00.000-04:00

I trimmed my hair! All by myself! And it was curly! lol so proud of myself. I didn't have any split ends that I could find but a fair amount of single strand knots. I didn't dare go through and cut each knot out so I took my hair small section by small section and cut about 1/2 to 1 inch off most sections. I know I cut off a good amount of perfectly fine ends as well but I can live with that. I had no idea what I was doing really so there was no shaping going on, just tried to remove as uniform an amount as possible.

All the hair I trimmed off, not that much when u compare it to the size of a lipbalm lol

I trimmed my hair on 80% dry hair a day after wash day. I stretched each section of hair in my hand by smoothing it between my fingers, stopped just short of where I wanted to cut to maintain the tension and then SNIP lol. I didn't remove too much hair, as you can see from the picture above. The video below by the lovely Ms Naptural85 is a good guide for trimming natural hair, but I didn't bother with all that combing and brushing lol.

As I mentioned, I did my trim a day after wash day. I had done bantu knots over night to stretch my hair.

Moisturized Bantu Knots from wash day

After the Bantu Knot take down. I undid each twist, divided into smaller sections and trimmed piece by piece. I then spritzed the entire section, applied KCCC and flat-twisted for a hopefully fabulous twist-out the next day.

After trimming each section, I spritzed with my moisturizing spritz and applied Kinky Curly Curling Custard and flat twisted each section. I had used KCCC previously for wash and goes and wasn't really impressed with it as the shrinkage was crazy and the hold was atrocious. However, it did give great curl definition so I thought I would give it a shot as a style aid for a twist out.

The contents of my spritz

I used about 1/6 of the jar for this style

top section of my hair after spritzing and applying the KCCC

I then flexi-rodded the twists so I could get a twist and curl effect.

The white stuff eventually goes away as the style dries

I gave this thing almost 24 hrs to dry and it didn't completely so the style turned out to be a flop. I think in the future if I do anything with flexirods, I need to sit under a dryer for a while or use less product. As a result, I ended up doing a single french braid in the back and a pompadour in the front.

I think if I had done just the regular twists, the twistout would have been great so I may try this again with the KCCC, without the flexirods.

Remedying Porosity - Protein time!

2012-04-20T09:26:00.000-04:00

My wash and deep condition supplies

It's been a while since I did a protein treatment (other than my coconut prepoo). My hair seems to be extremely porous these days (or maybe it's the weather change, I dunno) so I think I need to up the ante a bit on my protein. I decided to revisit an old (but expensive!) favorite, the NEXXUS Emergencee. Love is not the word to describe how I feel about this product. It's a product that does what it says it will do and u can count on it to react the same way with your hair everytime.

All shampooed up

Pre-protein treatment

Post-protein treament

Texture shot after washing out the protein treatment

Post deep conditioning

This week's leave in mix

It must be noted that using the Kinky Curl Knot Today instead of the Giovanni Direct Leave in, I get a mixture that is less thick in consistency and my hair dries out/ feels less moisturized faster. I guess I'll stick to the Giovanni in the future. Once my hair was moisturized, I two strand twisted each section and then made a bantu knot, securing the ends with clips.

moisturized Bantu Knots

All That Hair Talk is Great But Check Out Ma Nails Yall!

2012-04-17T11:30:00.000-04:00

My nails had it rough the latter half of 2011, don't know if it was due to stress, diet or both. But you couldn't tell under all this wonderful nail polish lol. I'm happy to report that since returning to my motherland, this good food has not only put meat on my bones but my nails are strong again. And now I have my boo's sis Apples to do my nails. I'll post more of her stuff on future blog posts. Enjoy!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Plum Lock (640)

10 Professional Nail Lacquer - Starstruck (465)

Forever 21 Love and Beauty - Baby Blue

Free hand design by my sis-in-law

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme wear - The Real Teal (39)

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear - Twisted Pink (15)

Ombre nails - Base: Forever 21 Love and Beauty - Peach, Tip: Pure Ice - Spit Fire

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear - Lacey Lilac (270)

Revisiting the Coconut Prepoo

2012-04-16T18:36:00.001-04:00

Ingredients used for my first Trini coconut prepoo mix

Last few months I have been rough on my hair so I decided to give it some TLC by doing a coconut prepoo treatment a few weeks ago. This would be the fist time I was attempting this in Trinidad. I had coconut oil that I brought with me from the US but I needed to locate the other ingredients locally.

After mixing up all my ingredients. It was a bit less thick in consistency than when I made it previously but worked just as well

My undetangled, dry hair before prepooing. Clearly the last few months been rough lol

A section of my hair after applying the prepoo mixture. Curls are elongated and the section is easily detangled.

Full head all done prepooing

The amount of hair lost. Not bad at all considering I can't remember the last time I fully detangled my hair prior to this lol

Prepoo hair the next day after sleeping on it.

Once I was done pre-pooing, I steamed using my Huetiful hair steamer. I then shampooed using the Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo, conditioned with Giovanni Nutrafix Hair Reconstructor, did an ACV rinse, applied my homemade leave-in and twisted my hair up to dry.

Putting that Huetiful steamer to work!

Naked hair after washing out the coconut prepoo after steaming.

Deep conditioning

My ACV rinse: 2 caps full of ACV, 2 cups water

Back view, post-ACV rinse

Front view, post-ACV rinse

Ingredients used in this batch of leave-in

Hair after applying leave in

All twisted up!

After Colour with Brianna McCarthy

2012-04-12T14:47:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of attending my first art exhibition in Trinidad in probably a decade recently. What made it even better is that I have known the talented artist since childhood, growing up as neighbors and attending primary school together. Ms Brianna McCarthy's work is rooted in the depiction of women of color and it has been very intriguing watching her develop as an artist over the years. She is also a fellow naturalista and when I first started following her work, a lot of her girls also had natural hair, in addition to their signature elongated necks.

[Source]

This collection, After Color, sought to use a deconstructive approach to explore issues of colorism in post colonial societies using mixed-media. The artist used handmade dolls and collages to portray women stripped down to the essence of their form with no recognizable skin color or hair texture present. She also used guerilla advertising style billboards based on personal classified ads to spark discussion on what we value when we choose to describe ourselves. Her artist talk was very insightful and spurred probably the most mature and enlightening discussion on race and class I have ever engaged in, in Trinidad and Tobago, with a group of strangers, from all different ethnic backgrounds, and there was no yelling or cussing involved. lol. Congrats to Brianna again and you can check out more of her work at her blog PassionFruit or check out her tumblr.

The Artist, My favorite Doll and I. She's a fierce naturalista too!

The boo's favorite piece. Note the mirrors in the eyes

Her very first Doll

Another Stylish doll

Her very first Collage Girl

Brianna's signature necks.

Even After-Colour, you can't miss those lips!

My hair for the occasion. A Ms Jessie's Baby Buttercreme chunky twist-out.

If you are in Trinidad, you should definitely check out Medulla Art Gallery, they have some other great shows coming up.

Giving Kinky Curly Curling Custard Another Shot

2012-04-07T14:31:00.001-04:00

My Birthday Kinky Curly stash

You may recall I had a first go with the suite of Kinky Curly products after receiving the shampoo, leave-in and curling custard for my birthday from my sister A. Since then, I can say that the Come Clean shampoo is hands down the best I've used thus far. It's really clarifying but also moisturizing and a little truly goes a long way. No dry hay feeling after washing, it doesn't tangle my hair and my scalp is super clean.

Shampooing with the Kinky Curly Come Clean shampoo

The leave in is also great, although I can't really differentiate between that and some of my other leave-ins of choice which are cheaper. I usually use it as a base for the kimmaytube leave-in, only using it by itself if I am doing a KCCC wash and go.

The ingredients for my kimmaytube leave in, using KCKT as a base.

The curling custard I haven't used since but I will probably finish the container at some point. I did, however, use it on my sister's hair. Brief note, while I am a wild child style wise with my hair, she is more on the conservative side. Like me, she has also been natural all her life and usually if her hair isn't in braids or twists, she is rocking some manner of bun, edges slicked with Giovanni Direct leave in. So the wash and go look on a whole was different for her. And boy did she not like it lol.

The back of my sister's hair. lots of definition but LOTS of shrinkage. She's not a fan of the shrinkage lol

I gave her the works using only Kinky Curly products complete with detangling and shingling. Resulted in very defined curls but LOTS of shrinkage. In the end it seemed like more trouble than it's worth and I think it's pretty safe to say you won't see her rocking a wash and go style anytime soon, if ever again lol. My thoughts: I still have to be convinced that this expensive custard gives me better results than using some ecostyler or IC fantasia. In fact, later that day I used ecostyler in place of the curling custard, keeping everything else the same as I had done for my sister, and really, there wasn't that much difference, at least not enough to warrant the price difference.

My wash and go using KCKT and KCCC

Wash and go using KCKT and Ecostyler Gel

I'll probably try the custard again for a twist out and see how that works out. Stay tuned for more experiments!

Be Blessed!
MNT

April 2012 length check

2012-04-05T11:47:00.000-04:00

It's length check time! I did this one on dry hair, detangled with coconut oil, prepping my hair for wash day after several experiments with Ms Jessie's products.

Left - September 2011 (my longest length check ever). Center - November 2011 (hair trimmed/cut back to bsl). Right - April 2012

It never ceases to amaze me (and other people lol) how much shrinkage I get. The two pictures below were taken 3 days apart. The shrunken fro was a wash and go done using Ms Jessie's Quick Curls.

Further Experiments with Ms Jessie's - Quick Curls and Curly Meringue

2012-04-04T18:00:00.000-04:00

Ms Jessie's Sample Pack

I've done quite a few posts on my experimentation with Ms Jessie's products but within recent weeks I have found myself using my stash more consistently. My sister got me their sample pack (pictured above) back in 2010 and I reviewed some of the contents here. While I've used the curly pudding and buttercreme numerous times since, I only just got around to the quick curls and the curly meringue this week.

Recent Curly Pudding Twist-out

For the Ms Jessie's Quick Curls experiment, I began on wet hair, having rinsed out previously used products in my hair using water only.

My rinsed hair with no product

Wet Hair, no product. That's what 75% + shrinkage looks like lol

I divided my wet hair into medium sized sections, spritzed each section with a water/ rose water/ acv mix, then applied a quarter size amount of quick curls to each section. I used the water mix to make sure all the sections were equally wet before applying the product. The acv was added to acidify the solution, eliminating frizz and making my curls pop.

immediately after applying the Quick Curls

The most impressive thing about this product for me was its detangling abilities. I did not attempt to comb or detangle my hair prior to adding the product, but I could literally feel whatever tangles there were melting away as I smoothed the product through each section. For the minimal effort put into applying the product (no shingling and I applied it to my entire head in about 10 minutes), it did an excellent job defining every single curl on my head, probably better than any gel or curling custard I have ever tried. I also loved the scent, it's fresh, refreshing and lemongrassy lol.

Every single curl is defined.

As with all my wash and goes, the shrinkage I got was amazing! ppl were trying to figure out if I had cut my hair or what was going on with all them curls lol.

80% dry. Yes I still have mbl hair but I can live vicariously and pretend to have a baby fro when I feel like lol. Got to love the versatility of natural kinky 4abz hair.

I used the pineapple method to protect the style overnight and woke up the next morning to still cute-looking but extremely DRY hair! From the pineapple-ing the hair in the back was more stretched than the hair in the front but that can easily be rectified by spritzing with some water until all hair is back to a uniform level, if that is the look you are going for. On this day I didn't have anywhere to go so I just let it be.

I decided to experiment further to see what kind of curls I could get if I stretched it using the Ms Jessie's Curly Meringue. Although my hair was the driest it had been in a long while, I didn't moisturize or spritz it as I wanted it to be maximally stretched. I did 8 2-strand twists and 2 flat twists at the top of my head as I wanted a side swept bang look. The resulting twist-out was even drier and kind of hard (I guess they weren't joking when they said the curly meringue had the maximal hold of all their stylers) but absolutely big and fab! I softened it up using some argan oil and Ms Jessie's Babby Buttercreme and it was good to go. Heads definitely turned: big kinky hair in broad daylight for no special event or purpose is kinda rare in Trinidad lmao. I personally find it liberating and feeling the breeze blow through your hair in this dry season heat is a blessing.

texture shot. I got's all kinds going on here lol

side view. I did two flat twists across the top/front of my head for a side swept bang effect

Today's style - all hair pinned to the side.

Who doesn't like big hair?! lol

I later experimented with pinning it up a la Chary Jay as she so elegantly demonstrated in this video.

This is my interpretation

Ms Chary rocked a Fedora. I rocked my momma's yard hat lmao

The side/back. SO much texture going on! I love it

I expect to experiment some more with the curly meringue and I still need to try the Ms Jessie's Stretch Silkening Creme so stay tuned for future trials (and maybe tribulations lol)

Stay Blessed!

MNT

The Missing Chronicles of August 2011 - February 2012: Guess Who Met Taren Guy?

2012-03-26T08:56:00.000-04:00

This Trini gyul, that's who lol. I had the wonderful opportunity to not only meet the lovely Taren Guy (taren916 on Youtube), but collaborate with her and the uberly talented Ms Aingeel of Khamit Kinks salon in Brooklyn on a holiday styling special for naturallycurly.com.

Holiday Hair w/Taren Guy for NaturallyCurly.com

This was actually my first experience getting my natural hair styled in a curly style at a salon. My previous salon visits were usually for straightening, weaving or braiding purposes. It was an amazing experience to say the least. It feels so good to have someone who understands my hair type wash, condition and style it. It takes so much weight off you so you can just relax and enjoy the experience and even learn a thing or two.

From l to r: Aingeel, yours truly and Taren after getting my hair styled at Khamit Kinks in Brooklyn, NY. Check the lovely layout and ambiance.

The salon itself is very natural-friendly and even on a Tuesday early afternoon it was fairly busy and all the clients seemed like happy regulars. Folks were professional and on time and everybody that left there was looking good! There were folks getting their locs maintained, getting their fades neatened up, getting braids done, weave put in, two strand twists etc. I even saw a hairstyle I had never seen before and haven't seen since.

Check out that crazy braid!! Anybody can figure out how she did that?

As for my personal experience, Aingeel washed and deep conditioned my hair. She detangled my wet hair with the conditioner still in it using a brush, something I would NEVER do on my own hair, but surprisingly it did not rip my hair out. It effectively detangled my hair with no breakage to speak of. Once she was done washing, she put me under the dryer until my hair was about 80% dry. She then used a cornbird dryer to blowdry my hair using the tension method. She then styled my hair into a really nice updo using Jane Carter products to moisturize and style. The most important thing I learnt was using mousse (Jane Carter Wrap and Roll) as a replacement for gel to smooth edges and keep a style slick and neat. Great hold without the hard feel!

See how smooth the style looks?!! Thanks to Jane Carter Wrap and Roll Mousse.

The front/top of the style

Thanks again to Taren for the opportunity and to Aingeel for the great job she did!

Blessings
MNT

The Missing Chronicles of August 2011 - February 2012 - I'm a WrapStar

2012-03-23T15:47:00.000-04:00

As you may have figured out by now, I lurvvvvvve to wrap my head. Turbans, headscarves, headbands, I love them all. Last year a fellow naturalista, S, introduced me to a wonderful group on facebook for folks to share their love of headwraps. The group is called Headwraps and Wrapstars. You can view the awesomeness here. I dedicate this post to the lovely members of that group and the wonderful Sister S!

Used a black scarf to wrap my head then used a pink and white polka dot one for a highlight.

Boboshanti Styling

Had my hair in a high ponytail and wrapped a headband using my black satin scarf to keep my edges slick on a windswept day

Black scarf again, this time using a white scarf for highlight.

The Missing Chronicles of August 2011 - February 2012: Rediscovering Juiciness

2012-03-20T18:09:00.003-04:00

Head Full of Juicy Twists

One day on a whim I decided to try a new leave in conditioner. As you may know, I had been using various creamy concoctions based on kimmaytube's method for a while. However, I only used those on wash days and as we moved into fall and winter I found that my hair was getting dried out between washes. I decided to experiment with spritzing. The practice seemed conducive to easy use during the week, and the minimal effort required once you made up a batch was ideal for my busy lifestyle. The very first spritz I made, I didn't measure out the ingredients, but it consisted of the following:

infusium 23
rose water
bottled water
aloe vera juice
almond oil
vegetable glycerin
lavender essential oil
peppermint essential oil

Let's just say my hair was so juicy I almost fell out. Absolutely frizz free hair! Unfortunately, two weeks after I discovered this miracle, I straightened and cut my hair (more like a deep trim as it wasn't cut into a style) so no spritzing for a month and then I moved and had my hair essentials shipped so I've been unable to replicate since. However, as soon as I have all ingredients in hand again, I will be repeating this experiment. Enjoy the pics!

Absolutely ZERO frizz!

The resulting juicy twist out

My Braids after getting my hair blow-dried and a deep trim

The Missing Chronicles of August 2011 - February 2012: Length Checks and Deep Trims

2012-03-15T13:53:00.000-04:00

Yah. I did it. Remember at the beginning of 2011 I mentioned my hair length goal for 2011 was to get to 3 inches shy of the crack of my butt? lol Well turns out I made my target with 4 months to spare.

Taken 8/25/11.

Then in October I got antsy and decided to get a blowout and THEN decided I should also get a trim. I ended up leaving the salon with bsl length hair lol.

Length check on a braid out done on blow dried and deeply trimmed hair. Back to about bsl. Picture taken 11/19/2011.

Rocking my shorter hair has been great. Honestly, since moving hair has kind of been low on my priority list so I haven't been really doing right by it. Despite this, it still managed to grow back to about midback length.

Rough length check on extremely curly and tangled medium twist- twistout hair. seems to be back to about mid back length. Picture taken 3/2/2012

I think now that I'm more settled, I may try actively growing it back out again. If only to get some hang-time in this sweet country they call T&T, with what feels like 200% humidity. I loooove my shrinkage but sometimes I leave my house with hair down by my armpits and return with hair around my ears and rain didn't fall. LOL. I'm kinda curious what length I have to get to for my hair to get less than 50-75% shrinkage. To re-frame that: at what length of hair is it heavy enough to give me serious hangtime in its kinky-curly state? Only time will tell.

The Missing Chronicles of August 2011 - February 2012: Styles I've Rocked

2012-03-12T14:26:00.002-04:00

To say my hair has been through some changes would be an understatement. More details to come in other posts but I'll let these pics do some of the talking.

Braid-out using Shea Moisture Curl and Style Milk

Chunky Juicy Fro done using my homemade spritz

Rocking two french braids or 'canerows'. Combed my hair out dry, or I attempted to, in order to do this style for a smooth finish. Can we say epic fail? lol There is a reason I have banished the comb and that reason is called breakage.

The resulting curly fro after taking out two french braids

Another chunky fro. Also did my boo's hair. To neaten his locs I palmrolled using Jane Carter's wrap and roll setting lotion and Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. I then made about 8 large braids using his locs and then wrapped them on each other to create what he calls a rose.

Wash and Go, no shingling

Twistout style using Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Front of twist-out style

Rocking Mini Twists. These lasted about a month

Did a Page 56 style on my gf P. Multiple Flat-twists coming across horizontally from the right ear and then two french braids on the left side. Very chic! Used Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie as the style aid.

Inspiration video for this style by Ms MahoganyKnots from Youtube can be found here

Twistout on blow dried hair. Wish I got to take a pic of the blow dried hair before the humidity hit it, it was gloriously huge! can't wait to do that and go out in Trini LMAO

The beginnings of a failed rodset. Used Jane Carter wrap and roll for a setting lotion. The ends and middle turned out great but the roots were very frizzy

The ending of a failed rodsetting attempt. 4 canerows on each side, A textured pompadour on top and swept the rest into a high pony and threw a piece on that. lol Got to have that emergency piece I tell you.

My other fall back - the Bun. When in doubt, spritz hair with water, slap on some ecostyler, bring out the boar bristle brush and pull that hair into a bun. Tie down my edges with a satin scarf for a few to smooth the edges and voila!

A closeup of the bun action. In this one I wrapped the base of the bun with a braid.

Been experimenting with more roll and tuck protective styles lately. Particularly loving the texture in this pic. This style is inspired by ACurlsBestFriend (Youtube)

The inspiration video for the style above - ACurlsBestFriend

Victory Roll-esque updo inspired by Ms. FusionofCultures on Youtube

Side View of the victory roll updo

The inspiration video done by Ms FusionofCultures

When in doubt, just throw on a beanie and go lol