DiscoveringNatural

Enjoy the video...and click on the annotation for the Face of the Day (FOTD)   HAVE A HAPPY EASTER!!  

For the past couple of weeks I have been reading Chicoro's Grow It . I decided to test the method of hair care that I am learning as I read about them. Detangling can be done in many ways, however, Chicoro suggests to start with dry detangling before doing a wet detangling ( if needed ). Watch below as I show you have I dry detangle my hair using Chicoro's method. I was shocked by the results. I only lost shedded hair while I detangled and even after co-washing my hair, I only lost about 2 broken hair strands. The total amount of hair lost during detangling  Shedded hair; notice the white bulb at the end of the hair  How do you DETANGLE your hair? Check out Chicoro's FACEBOOK page for more information: Click here

First of all you might be wondering.... What is AWANA? "AWANA stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed and comes from the Bible verse 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." - about.com It is a church based bible club for children at our church that I have been teaching Kindergarten at for over 5 years now. Each week, we have a theme and today's theme was " Crazy Hair Day ".  The girls were very excited about this because that means they can put on wigs and have fun with their fake hair. I decided to create Bantu Knots using Goin' Natural Moroccan Oil and Rare Moisture Butter . My hair was washed using my sample size Oyin Handmade Honey Hemp that I got from SwapSack . That stuff is GOOD! I followed using Eden BodyWorks All Natural Deep Conditioner . My hair was SO soft. Now.. I tried something different during my detangling sectio...

Wash Routine Every 2 weeks Detangle hair using a mixture of conditioner (V05/Tresemme Naturals), water, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Section hair into four parts Co-wash each section with Tresemme Natural Conditioner Deep Condition hair with either Shea Moisture Anti Breakage Masque or Eden BodyWorks All Natural Deep Conditioner. Leave on for at least 30 mins After Deep Conditioner time is over, remove the source of heat (plastic cap and thick knitted  cap) Wait 15 mins Apply any conditioner on top of the hair, and then rinse off. Do final rinse with cold water to seal in moisture.    Post-Wash Routine Apply Leave In Conditioner (Shea Moisture Curl and Style Milk or Giovanni Direct Leave In) For Big Sis (LOC method of moisturizing): Apply Oil Mix, and then Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. For Lil Sis (LCO method of moisturizing): Apply Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and then Oil Mix. Seal ends of hair with Whipped Shea Butter Pu...

Have you tried this product before?  PLEASE PLEASE tell me... how do you use them? Do you like them?

Click the video below to watch.   ENJOY!     This video shows how I deep condition Big Sis's hair. It also shows her hair length (at the back). She also talks about how she takes care of her hair. Very nice to hear her take some initiative in caring for her hair. I am proud of her! Pictures of her style for the week is at the end of the video.

Yeah! Wash day...FINALLY. For some reason, I look forward to washing my hair. As I learn more about what my hair needs, I am having an easier time determining what products to use each week to wash my hair. Unlike other wash day, when I wash my hair free, I decided to leave in my week long twists and wash my hair as is. Why? Experimenting... LOL! Will washing in twists reduce shrinkage? Will it help reduce the amount of hair loss during the wash process? Today's arsenal and why: First I used Shea Moisture Purification Masque  on my hair for 30 mins (covered with plastic cap and thick hat). This was my pre-cleanse process. Why?    It's been 2 weeks since I washed my hair, and my scalp has been itchy and experiencing dandruff.  This is my go-to Holy Grail (HG) product to get the job done in bringing my scalp back to its healthy self. Next, I rinsed my hair with warm water, and massaged my scalp  full strength with   Elasta QP Crème Co...

I love Spring.  The newest of things!! What better time than to re-organize your products, hair accessories, and all those other in-between stuff. Don't forget to throw away anything that has expired! Yes, hair products do expire. Read all about it by clicking HERE . Watch how I organize my products. How do you organize your products?

What is the Hair Typing System? The hair typing system is a way of categorizing one's hair texture.  A lot of naturals use this to figure out what products will be beneficial their hair. However, note that one of head of hair can contain multiple hair types. There are two commonly known typing systems: Andre Walker’s Curl Typing System L.O.I.S. African American Natural Texture Typing System Andre Walker’s Curl Typing System This system is the most common one.  It uses a number and letter categorizing process. The numbers show the main category while the letters are subcategories. The numbers range from 1 to 4, while letters range from a to c.  Straight – Type 1, Wavy – Type 2, Curly – Type 3 and Kinky – Type 4. To read more and see pictures of the textures that fall under each category, click HERE .   L.O.I.S. African American Natural Texture Typing System This system deals with both the texture and the thickness (density) of the hair. Thi...

I can't believe it's been 4 months already since I " TBC ". I am learning daily about my natural hair... some things I love, some things I like... while some things I am adapting to. But overall, I do love my natural hair. Follow my journey on my blog , on YouTube , on Facebook , and on Instagram ! Watch my reflection on month 4 and what is to come in month 5.

One thing about the Whole Foods Market in the area I was visiting was that the selection was really slim. They did not even have any NOW solution essential oils. However, one brand caught my eye... Everyday Shea  Everyday Coconut Both product lines was made by Alaffia. What made me interested in these products was the community empowerment and the support that the funds made from the sale offers to women in the country of Togo. If you are interested in this information, click HERE . All these products are paraben free, no synthetic fragrance, no animal testing, and fair trade. The 32 oz bottles each cost around $8.99 ( it was on sale, normally $13.99) I saw some Cocoa butter. I have heard some people mixing this with their shea butter.  I also saw a HUGE jar of Bentonite clay. Pretty cool. If I like a product, I love getting HUGE bottles of them. ... and the hair....? I started twisting my hair in small twists and then had to leave to go somewhere.....

 When people go on vacation, they like checking out interesting places like museums. I like checking out stores looking at what they have in terms of natural hair products.  Yeah, I know I am weird like that. There are four stores that I like to check out, Target, Walgreens, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I don't always buy products, but I look at the inventory to see if I can discover new products that I have not seen at home. Today's store look-see was Target . In January of 2013,  SheaMoisture introduced more products to their body and hair line. I have not seen any of these products back at home, but many YouTube vloggers have been reviewing these products. It was so nice to be able to see the products in person. Below are the newly introduced lines, which I have not yet tried.  - SheaMoisture Coconut & Hi biscus Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser - SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Conditioner - SheaMoisture Coconut &...

After a wonderful time with my friend yesterday, the girls and I hopped on the final train ride to our last destination. Hoping that the day will turn out well, we headed off to train station. The train was 40 minutes late. The girls made the best use of the time by played around the pole...for some reason, they enjoyed doing this. They learnt A LOT about trains from the nicest train station master . Finally, the train arrive... onto the next connecting train... I told Big Sis, we might not catch this one... she said a prayer. Unfortunately, we missed our connecting train by 3 mins. ARGH! We were able to catch another one 2 hours later. The girls were really happy...and got to enjoy their kiddie cocktail of Orange Juice. It made them feel all grown up. LOL! As we pulled into town, snow flurries started. What a wonderful way to end the train ride. It was so beautiful. As soon as we got off the train, the girls danced in the snow and even got some flakes on t...

If you visit my Facebook in the past two weeks, you would have seen this picture of my friend, "Toy", and her beautiful one-year sisterlocks.  Well, she agreed to do a video interview with me. Watch below as she shares her experience and gives some vital tips on sisterlocking.

On to our next location.... We decided to take the Metra. The girls had so much fun riding on the train. Lil Sis loves the  Disney  show, Chugginton , so this was the highlight of her day. The one hour train ride went very fast and I caught up on some reading and got an Ah-ha moment. No one can take away your power unless you allow it to happen. Ultimately, you are responsible and accountable for what you allow into your life and what you allow to flow out of your life. It is you who will reap the benefits of your choices, as well as the consequences of those choices. You are accountable for the decisions you make and the actions you take in your life.  -"Grow It!" - Chicorro Now... the hair. My hair was flat twisted last Thursday using Karen's Body Beautiful Butter Love (Lavender Vanilla). My initial quick review... I love it!! The smell was divine. The Man keep on smelling my hair. LOL! It's very thick in consistency, but melts in your finge...

Spring Break is here, and unlike others people that decide to head to warmer areas, the girls and I decided to head up north for some snow fun. Since this is my first time traveling with natural hair, I wanted to make it as stress free as possible. With luggage space being an issue ( we were only taking one suitcase), I wanted to pack something that will provide multiple purpose and not take up too much space. Here is what I decided to pack: My plan is to keep my hair in flat twists and then do a flat twist out and end up later on in the week as a puff. I will document this and share with you how it goes. In the meantime, the girls had so much fun planning in snow and build a snow family which included a snowgirl with two afro puffs!