DiscoveringNatural

February was a fun month!! I did a lot of hair intervention, tried several products, some I loved, and others not so much. Here is my February 2013 Favorites... the categories are: - Conditioners - Deep Conditioners - Oils - YouTube channel I loved - Favorite hairstyle - Book of the month - ....and goals for March 2013. Thanks for watching!

For two months now, I have been nursing my ends.  My process of sealing my ends was working okay, but today after co-washing my hair, I noticed that the issue still existed. So, I gave in and did the trim that I did not want to do. I feel happier now that at least the problem is resolved. Although I lost one inch throughout, I feel content with my decision.

 While doing some research regarding hair care, I came across a website talking about the effect of caffeine on hair . Quite interesting! According to the article on the website, caffeine helps regulate hair growth by restoring and even preventing abnormal hair loss. Then, as I dug deeper, I found a forum of ladies trying this out. Click here . What do you all think?

Yesterday was Wash Day. I wanted to use my usual Vatika Oil and Castor for pre-pooing but I had a hard time getting the oil out if the poorly designed Vatika bottle so I decided to create a new pre-poo mix and Wow!! I love it!  Made my hair softer than even my usual mixture. My Recipe: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil Jamaican Black Castor Oil Few drops of Rosemary Oil Other steps in my wash process was similar. See picture above for what I used. I decided to try a different updo style... no... a triple updo style. Here is how I created this style: In case you missed my Afro Drama... watch it below:

   Ingredients: 1 packet of Quaker Oats Apple and Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal 1 ripe banana 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter <optional> Direction: Preheat oven at 350 degrees Mash all the ingredients together with a fork Cover baking tray with aluminum foil Spoon heaping size of dough with a teaspoon onto tray, you should have about 4 to 5. Bake for 15-20 mins When baked, bring out and let cool for 10 mins     Enjoy!! It's kid-approved!     Nutritional Facts:   Serving size - 1 cookie is only 75 calories 

    If you want to read these books to your children, you can buy them online: Click Here    

   Not everyone gets the freedom ... heavens opening up ... feeling,  after doing the Big Chop . Some people experience sadness, withdraws and even emotional detachment from their hair. Here are some things to know before you do the Big Chop: Your hair will not be as long as you think it will be   The amount of shrinkage you get while transitioning is very different from what you will experience after cutting off your relaxed ends. The curl pattern you see might not be the same With your relaxed ends weighing down your natural hair, your new growth's curl pattern will appear looser. However, sans the relaxed ends, you could probably have tighter curls. Be ready for this. This is why I am against hair typing while transitioning. This can be a big letdown for a lot of transitoners post big chop. Your hair will require more maintenance While transitioning, the amount of maintenance you have to do to your hair when it comes to moisturizing and dai...

   Step 1: Prep my hair for this really curly Twist N Curl Hairstyle.    Step 2: My twist method and installing perm rods Step 3: Remove Perm Rods and Style If you try this style, please do a video response, or post pictures on Facebook: DiscoveringNatural

Deep Moisture Method (DMM) is a process of retaining moisture in hair.  This method involves dampening one's hair with water or mixture of water and conditioner, and applying a deep conditioner thoroughly to hair.  Lastly, sealing in the moisture with shea butter or castor oil. Finally, putting the hair in a protective style. This method has been spreading wildly in the natural hair community . One person testifies to going from collar bone length to armpit length in 2 months, while another went from armpit length to mid back length also in 2 months. I have never attempted this method before Have you?

I hope you all are having a wonderful day of "love"!!!   A little in case you missed it . If you have not subscribed to the Facebook page DiscoveringNatural , you are missing out on a lot of goodies! In the month of February, I have been sharing each day a giveaway sponsored by CurlyNikki , author of Better than Good Hair . The book is a bestseller, y'all . The giveaway ends February 28th. Make sure you like the page to get daily feeds of this giveaway, natural hair tips, video hair tutorials , and other randomness. You can also ask me questions and post pictures on this page. Love y'all!

Milk, Butter, Cream... sounds like a recipe for a delicious cake, right?. LOL!   Well, I'm talking about hair products now... When I decided to go natural, and went product shopping for the first time, I got a bit confused with all the product terms and when and how to use the products, especially the ones that have words like milk, butter, and cream. Even when a product does not have words like these on them, you can tell by the consistency what category it falls under.  To be honest with you a lot of these products are interchangeable and inter-useable.  For my hair, I tend to use the milk more as a leave-in product after washing my hair . The consistency of hair milk products are more watery than that of creams or butters.  If I want to use this as the "C" part of my LCO moisturizing process , I make sure to at least mist my hair with some water before applying the product. I love the way hair milk feels on my hair. If creams feel too heavy for you...

Working with short hair can be a challenge at times. Here is a simple style that you can try to create a look of fullness to your hair. This style is not only great for work, but also for special occasion. The great thing is that it is a great protective style that takes less than 5 minutes to create. If you are transitioning, this is also a GREAT style to hide the relaxed ends.     STEP by STEP instructions STEP 1: Put hair into a puff     STEP 2: Take a small amount of extensions/attachments (one that looks like your hair texture) and roll into a ball          STEP 3: Take a small section of hair, and roll the extensions into that small section of hair and pin    STEP 3: Repeat this until all the hair in the puff area is all rolled away FINAL LOOK: If you have any styles you would like me to try, please comment below. Thanks!!

SheaMoisture just came out with their Hair Coloring System.   Click the picture above to see each individual box. To find locations near you , click any of the images below:

          QOTD (Question of the day)   What are some good products to use to retain length?    To retain length, it goes way beyond products. It has more to do with how you care for your hair. The hair growing from your scalp and the hair at your ends. For the hair growing from the scalp, make sure you are cleaning your hair regularly. For the hair at your ends, make sure you are sealing it after you moisturize. Regarding products, try to use products that do not dry out your hair. For MY HAIR, mineral oil, petroleum, and silicones dry my hair, so I stay away from products containing these ingredients. I also make sure to moisturize regularly. I love Shea Moisture products because it contains none of the ingredients my hair does not like. The technique that you use to moisturize your hair also helps in keeping your hair from getting dry and breaking. Click here to see different moisturizing techniques. For sealing ...

     And the answer to that question is YES. Most of the times, you can go by the smell or the look of the product's content. If there is a form of discoloration or weird odor, the product might have expired. However, most products have a label on the product's container showing the expiration date. The date ranges from 12 months to 24 months after opening . How do you find out what that date is? Look at the container, find a picture of an open jar. Similar to this:   It will be a good idea to label on your product the date you opened it. This will help you keep track of the expiration date. Did you know that even your makeup expires?  Here is my mascara... which I love: It expires 6M (6 months) after opening

Do you want to try this product? Buy it by clicking HERE I know it's only been 2 days since I used the Aubrey GPB Conditioner, but I am seeing some differences. The amount of shedding has reduce a little. My plan is to use a moisturizing Deep Conditioner this week. Then rotating in the protein deep conditioner, Aubrey, the week after. I think doing a rotation will help me keep the moisture - protein balance in my hair. I believe that might have been why I was expecting all this shedding . I was not keeping a good conditioning balance.  Only time will tell. Looking at my arsenal of deep conditioner, I only have one product that does not contain protein. I am still on the fence regarding if I like this product or not. Nubian Heritage - Indian Hemp & Tamanu Grow & Strengthen Treatment Masque This contains Keratin and Soybean Oil Shea Moisture - Anti-Breakage Masque This contains Vegetable Protein Eden Bodyworks - All Natural Deep Conditioner This con...