DiscoveringNatural

Two days ago, CurlyNikki had a post on " Hair Pouf Variations ", I noticed that she did not have any pictures of transitioning ladies.  First of all, I was thinking that maybe I have to wait till I am fully natural before I can do a pouf style... but then again...maybe not. I decided to give it a try. Here is how I got this style. On an old flat twist style, I lightly spritz my new growth ONLY with water and oil. ( I did this because my new growth felt dry). I moisturized my hair with Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Gathering my hair from the back, as if I want to do a french twist, I secured my hair with a bobby pin I gathered my hair until I got to my crown area. Then the topmost area of my crown, I did a big two strand twist ( see the bottom right picture ) and looped the twist underneath the cascading front bangs hair.  This actually helped the pouf area to push forward and not lay flat. I decided not to accessorize it with anything, bu...

Okay, so you know that Argan Oil is good for your hair.  You decide to go to the Beauty Supply Store to buy something that has Argan Oil in it.  After going up and down the aisle, you see a product, brightly labelled as containing ... Argan Oil. Your heart skips a beat. You pick it up, look at the list of ingredients, because you know that is what you need to do , and see "Argan Oil" as one of the ingredients.  You put it in your shopping basket, and proceed to check out. Before you take another step to the check out lane.  Look at the list of ingredients again. If the Argan Oil is not listed as one of the first five ingredients on the list, then it probably just contains a few drops of this coveted oil.  Yes, it does contain Argan oil, but probably not in the quantity that you are expecting. Most of the time, the listing of this ingredient is for marketing purposes. So, next time you go hair product shopping, pay close attention to the first five ingred...

I was on YouTube, looking for a style for the week and came across this video. Funny enough, this is what I did to get my best twist out ever . The only difference is that I used a perm rod on each twist versus using a flexi rod. I have to try a flexi rod next time. Enjoy!

After viewing a YouTube video, where the vlogger reviewed Carol's Daughter Transitioning Kit, I started to wonder, are transitioning kits really necessary ? You might be wondering, what are Transitioning Kits ? A transitioning kit is a collection of products that are geared towards helping people trying to go from relaxed hair to natural hair. These kits usually contain two or more products and are all products under the same hair product company. The products in these kits usually contain a cleansing agent, anti-breakage product and a styling product.  Below are some Transitioning kits that are available to you:  Carol's Daughter Transitioning Kit 1-2-3 This kit contains the following: "Purifying Low-Poo Cleanser: Nourish & Wash away excess build up Renewing Scalp Spray: Exfoliate & Heal Scalp and Follicles Restoring Anti-Breakage Treatment: Hydrate & Restore Breakage Points" Shea Moisture Repair & Transition Kit This kit...

What is Taliah Waajid Curl Sealer? A light, alcohol-free, Conditioning hydrating gel. Stops frizz, adds moisture, defines, shapes and seals in any size or texture of curl. Dries soft and adds shine with no flaking.    Ingredients: Soft water, (Aqua) glyceine, polyquaternium 10 and peg 13, polyquaternium 37, dmdm hydanoin, yarrow extrat (achilea millefoliu), jua extract (zizyphus Joazerio bark), lemon extract (citrus medic limonum fruit), wild mint extract (mentha avensis leaf), Soap bark extract (quillaja sapponaria bark), polysorbate 20, fragance. My opinion:  This product has a nice smell to it. It is not overpowering but lightly scented. It looks like gel, but does not have that sticky gel like feel to it.  When applying this product to my transitioning hair, it had a nice moisturizing feel. Unlike Shea Moisture Curl Enhanced Smoothie that sometimes has a little dry feeling (without the addition of Glycerin ), this product was very moisturizing...

I saw these on the wall of my friend's office and thought I'ld share them with you all. Have a Happy Weekend!

Started with a day old braid out.  I used this to stretch my hair that I washed the night before. Section hair and put a bobby pin at the base of the hair Spritz hair lightly with water and jojoba mixture Apply my Modified Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie mix. I love this stuff.. makes my hair super soft. Proceed with doing a two strand twists, keep both strands seperate even if one strand appears shorter than the other. Curl the end of the twist with a perm rod Let this set overnight Next morning, remove perm rod, and untwist starting from end to base. Remove bobby pin at the base of the hair Seperate each strand one more time. How do you achieve your best TnC?

Shrinkage is something that all naturals will face. You can't run away from it. Your hair will shrink.  Now, finding ways to reduce the amount of shrinkage you get, which can be up to 80% of your wet hair length, is something that all curly, coily beauties out there are looking for. Sometimes, we do love to embrace our shrinkiness by doing cute styles that works with it versus against it.  However, whenever we do want to take advantage of the length our unshrunk here has, here are some ways that we have been able to reduce shrinkage without heat. Banding This process involves using several hair ties to band the hair to allow it to dry in a stretched manner. Click here to read more about this technique.     Braiding Not only can braiding help with shrinkage, when you unbraid the hair, you can also get a nice wavy look. To ensure that this method works, clip the base of your hair with a bobby pin and then wrap the braids around your head. ...

My transitioning buddy gave me a satin pillowcase for my birthday and so, I decided to give it a try! I have never had a satin pillowcase before and after hearing about it, I was very grateful to her for giving it to me.  I decided to sleep without my satin bonnet or silk scarf and see how my hair looks like the next morning.  It was not a bad night... however, it took some getting use to because of the slippery effect the satin gives.  Here is my hair before I went to bed: After a night of tossing and turning without any head covering (eEkK!) Not bad... I even wore it out to my daughter's photoshoot that morning... Do you use a satin pillowcase?  Do you like it?

I just heard the real people that this movie was all about. Their love and commitment to their marriage despite unforseen problems is very commendable. Go see this movie in your nearest Theatre.  Click to read previews and watch trialer 

I have seen people do Bantu Knot Out with single twists and two strand twists, however, I have never seen a braided bantu knot out.  I decided to give it a try.  Now I know why I have not seen it before... Epic Failure! How I did it.... I braided my hair into 8 braids, and then bantu knotted it. The next morning, I undid the braids and got this... It gave me a lot of fullness, however, the curls were very untamed and did not flow in any directions unlike my previous bantu knots that gave me awesome results, see it here . So, I decided to just create a curly afro puff. I want to thank Shelli of Hairscapades for the opportunity of picking me for the winner of the Threadmill and DarinBabe contest.  She gifted me with these two headbands and a lovely handmade ring.  I got lots of compliments from the headbands and ring and totally love all the items. Thanks, Shelli! I received it in the mail today...and how appopriate since it's my BIRTH...

Two words that you don't wish to be associated with your hair are "Knots" and "Tangles".  Let's be frank! Everyone does get some form of knots and tangles at one point or the other. Single strand knots, messed up tangles and so much more. Today, I encountered some tangles and a true knot.  Now, this one knot was on one of my strand of hair from my two strands twist.  It was a true knot.  As if someone purposely knotted up my hair. Very bizarre. So, how did I unknot this naughty knot? LOL.. I used a pin. At first, I thought, well.. it's part of my relaxed ends which I will cut off anyway, so, I was going to just cut it, then I saw a video on YouTube where a lady used a safety pin to unknot her hair. It worked! Okay, one down, one more to go.  After undoing my knot and untwisting/unbraiding my protective style from a week ago, I started my pre-poo and detangling process.  What do you think I found midway into my detangling? Yep! Tangles....

If you want to try an all natural gel to use on your hair.  Try out Flaxseed Gel. I have not tried it yet, but wanted to share it with you all. By Naptural85 Benefits of using Flaxseed Gel  Makes hair soft and moisturized Provides hair with nice shine Lays edges well Rich in Omega 3, therefore good for the hair and scalp Promotes hair growth Gives hair nice curl definition Good hold without flakes, dryness, and crunchy feeling Do you use flaxseed gel?  Share your experiences.

My older daughter is in a protective style challenge sponsored by Beads, Braids & Beyond .  I am trying to keep her cornrows in for a month.  Let me first say, this is extremely hard for me since I love to braid hair. Here is how I co-washed her cornrows. In an applicator bottle, add about 1/2 an ounce of conditioner (I used V05)  and 3-4 ounces of water. Shake well. Using the bottle, pour the solution into each part, saturating each cornrow. Gently massage the scalp for a little while. Add some of the solution to the ends of the cornrow. Rinse off with water until you no longer see any suds. Dry off with a terry cloth or T-shirt. Post co-wash Apply your oils to the scalp Apply shea butter to the ends to seal in the moisture I tied down the hair with a scarf for about 30 mins.  This took out most of the water. Let hair air-dry.

This is my daughters' favorite YouTube video and they wanted to share it with you all! Enjoy! For more grown-up video, watch this: 

As I was driving to the gym this morning, I came across a gas station with Regular gas price of $0.00.  I couldn't help but chuckle as I knew that it was a mistake and nothing in life is free .  Well, that phrase is not really true.  Do you know that the best product for your hair is FREE ? Really... F - R - E - E Now, what is that product.....? WATER Yes, Water. Not only is water good for your body, it is also good for your hair as the ultimate moisturizer. If you notice, when you look at the good hair products, a lot of them start off with water as the first ingredient. When using water, it is important to seal it with some kind of oil, so as to lock in the moisturizing property of the water.  This is why I started adding oils in my daily spritz bottle (water, jojoba and sometimes glycerin). Water also supports the consumption of hair vitamins.  This is for people that take hair growth vitamins like Biotin,  I use to take biotin but ...

What is Hawaiian Silky Miracle Worker 14 in 1? This is a hair product that promises to Moisturizes, Strengthens, Defines Curls, Softens Hair, Add Shine, Enhances Growth, For Healthy Braids, Heals Scalp, Relieves, Chemical Burns, Non-Greasy, No Drip, Prevents Itching & Dandruff, Increase Body, Thermal Protection. Ingredients Water, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Mineral Oil, PEG-75 Lanolin, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Polysorbate-60, Triethanolamine, Acetimide AME, Hydrolized Vegetable Protein, Stearyl Alcohol, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Menthol, Panthenol DL, Jojoba Oil, Anjelica Root Extract, Articum Lappa Root Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Extract, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract, Mistletoe Extract, Nettle Extract, Oatmeal Extract, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Sage Leaf Extract, Nasturtium Officinale Extract, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothizolinone, Fragrance   How I used this product Although I try to stay away from 'cones and mineral oil, I deci...

When you read through product ingredients, do you know what alcohol is good or bad?  I have always thought that alcohol in hair products have negative effects, however, I still use products that do contain them. Why? Because I guess I feel that the good outweighs the bad. I decided to do some reasearch as to what alcohols are good and which ones are bad.  The two differences between alcohols in hair products is that some are fatty alcohols, whereas others are drying alcohols.  The drying alcohols should be avoided because they can dry your hair making it brittle and causing it to break . Fatty alcohols help add moisture to the hair and also helps in conditioning the hair. The softness that you feel in your hair after using a product is usually due to the fatty alcohols that are present in the product. Here is a list to help you familiarize yourselves with the good and bad alcohols. Fatty alcohols Benzyl alcohol C30-50 Alcohols Cetearyl alcohol Cetyl ...

Picture taken by a friend When you visit websites, blogs, or forums dedicated to natural hair, you will come across different terminology.  I was quite puzzled when I first started my transition journey.  I didn't know what a CBL or a TWA was... but as I got more involved in the community, I was able to find the definitions for all the terminology.  Here are some that I know so far. A ACV - Apple Cider Vinegar ALS - Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfates AO - Aubrey Organics APL - Arm Pit Length AVJ - Aloe Vera Juice B BAA - Big a** afro Baggy - After you moisturize your hair at night, you put a plastic cap on overnight. BBA - Big Beautiful Afro BC - Big Chop - cutting off all your chemically treated hair BNC - Braid-n-Curl, simply plait or braid the hair and roll the ends on rods or flexis. You can also pin curl it with a bobby pin. BSB - Below Shoulder Blade BSL - Bra Strap Length BSS - Beauty Supply Store C CBL -...

My younger daughter is extremely tenderheaded.  Just the slightest touch of her hair causes her to cry.  Unlike my older daughter whom I can cornrow, thread, or do any styles on, I have only been able to do twists without her crying. Today is her wash day, and as you can see, she has lots of hair that needs to be detangled! I literary have nightmares when I think about detangling her hair and dealing with the tears that accompany the process.  Here is how I accomplished a tear-free detangling session! Pick your detangling location I choose our game room. This room is her favorite room in the house. Provide distraction Turned on the TV to her favorite show. I also provided her with a small snack. Her Barbie dolls were readily available. Get all your detangling products available While she was watching her show, I mixed the products for detangling. I do the detangling during pre-poo step of the whole wash process. I mixed conditioner and Extra Virgin Ol...

I'm sure you've all heard that slogan, " The incredible, edible egg.... " Egg is an incredible food product that is not only good for eating, but also for different beauty remedies.  Here are some ways that you can use eggs... Pore and Blackheads Treatments with a Face Mask Homemade Deep Conditioner Homemade Shampoo By the way, I just recently discovered that I have been boiling my eggs the wrong way.  Hmmm.... no wonder they come out undercooked or overcooked, and spilling out from the cracks..LOL Here is the fool-proof way to boil eggs ( found on the Great Day Farmers Market egg cartoon ) Place the eggs into a saucepan. Fill with cold water ( be sure the water covers the eggs by about two inches ) Bring the water to a full boil. Once it is boiling, put a lid on the saucepan and remove it from the burner.  Let the eggs stand for 12 minutes still covered by the lid. Place the eggs under c...

I love modifying hair products to suit my hair needs. After successfully modifying Cantu Shea Butter Leave In to solved the problem of white residue on my hair, I decided to modify Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (SMCES). Why.....? Earlier last month, I was doing two strand twists on my daughter's hair, and using SMCES, as I have been doing for the past 5 months... 5 winter months... and her hair just DID NOT LIKE IT. It felt dry, unmoisturized and straw-like to the touch.  I was quite puzzled until I read about Glycerin . Because of the change in weather/humidity, her hair didn't feel so moisturized. I had some samples of Taliah Waajid Style and Shine and her hair L-O-V-E-D it!. I was like.. What?!?  And as you must have guessed, the ingredients of this product included Glycerin ! Even though SMCES contains some Vegetable Glycerin, I guess it was not enough quantity of it added. I still had some SMCES left and didn't want it to go to waste so I decided t...

I have officially been transitioning for 6 months as of today! I am so excited about this journey and all that I have learnt so far.  I believe my hair is growing at a good rate.  I am not too worried about it since I am doing a long term transition . Here are 10 things I have learnt about my hair My hair loves water; daily misting with water and oils It has a nice curl pattern with a mixture of all the 4s.. (a, b, c) and a dash of 3c. All conditioners are not equal, my hair loves to be co-washed with Tresemme Natural My hair tangles up a lot if kept in a protective style for over 2 weeks My hair loves to be styled in braid outs and twists Protein Treatments makes my hair stronger My scalp loves oils, but my face does not. =(. Still trying to find a balance to my oil production. My hair prefers finger detangling and combing to using actual styling tools Pre-pooing my hair is a very essential step in my wash routine. and.... Moisturizing my hai...

What is Tresemme Naturals Silicone Free Conditioner ? This new lightweight, silicone-free conditioner uses natural ingredients to hydrate hair, giving you the moisture you need and the natural benefits you love. I did not realize that this conditioner comes in different varieties. The one I bought was the Aloe Vera and Avocado version. I would have prefered to buy the one with Coconut oil and Jojoba Extract. Ingredients Water (Aqua) , Stearyl Alcohol , Cetyl Alcohol , Caprylic , Capric Triglyceride , Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine , Fragrance (Parfum) , Lauroyl Lysine , Caprylyl Glycol , Brassica Campestris , Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer , Aspartic Acid , Distearyldimonium Chloride , Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado) , Citric Acid , Alcohol , Isopropyl Alcohol , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Benefits Silicone-free ( Great for Curly Girl Method) Moisturizes hair Great slip Can be used as a co-wash, deep conditioner, and leave-in  Smells great ...