Mohawk

My daughter's favorite hair site "Beads, Braids & Beyond" has featured some fierce mohawks this month so of course J wanted me to try one on her. I have never done a Mohawk or FRO-Hawk as she calls it before so.... I dunno...I used Beads, Braids and Beyond for inspiration and this is what we came out with

Happy Giveaway from Happy Girl Hair

One of my FAVORITE hair websites, Happy Girl Hair is hosting an really kool give-away:

Happy To Be Nappy

by Bell Hooks

illustrated by Chris Raschka

For details on how to win this book please visit the

Happy Giveaway!

at Happy Girl Hair

In the works :)

I haven't blogged much lately because I have been busy trying out some new stuff...I thought I'd update you and after I have used these products for a bit I'll be able to review them

First I hopped over to Amazon and Ordered this book

"No Lye: The African American Woman's Guide to Natural Haircare"

Reviews From Amazon:

Review
"No Lye is a degree granting, home study course in the mystique, magic and proper care of black women's hair. What a blessing!"
--Iyanla Vanzant, author of In the Meantime

"No Lye is not an ordinary how-to book. Tulani Kinard's study on African American Natural hair care is based on her philasophical belief that beauty and self-love is also healthy and biologically sound. A must-read for every African-American women, man, girl, and boy--at least!" --Bernice John Reagon
-- Review

I ordered Honeysuckle Rose Shampoo from Aubrey Organics thanks to recommendations from Happy Girl Hair :) Thanks Joyful Mom! We have decided to go Sulfate Free!!

I forgot to order the conditioner :(

I also ordered Carols Daughter Hair Milk

The website says:

Even women whose relationship with their curls is harmonious most of the year find themselves at war when the mercury and humidity rises. The lush blend of nut oils and shea and cocoa butters in Carol's Daughter Hair Milk fortifies coarser, tighter curls, which tend to be the most parched and vulnerable to breakage." - Stephanie Tweito Jacob, O The Oprah Magazine

See why HAIR MILK has been touted by The Oprah Magazine, Tyra Banks, BET and it has grown from a cult favorite to a recent PHENOMENON! This light, fast-absorbing lotion for the hair is made with essential oil of lemongrass to stimulate natural oil production. Vitamins C and E provide an antioxidant boost while a hint of lily of the valley fragrance perfumes hair beautifully. Hair Milk is ideal for defining natural curls and giving hair loads of shine and bounce.
Benefits:

Lemongrass stimulates scalp circulation and adds luster to dull hair.
Sweet almond oil, a natural nut oil that is high in fatty acids and easily absorbed by the scalp

Can't wait to try it!

At a local store I picked up some sweet almond oil for skin care

I ordered Shea Butter from Amazon for skin and hair

and also picked up some unrefined shea butter from Ghana at a local store

I melted down some Shea Butter with some coconut oil to use of hair and skin and found these cute little containers to store them in. I plan to buy some essential oils and create different scents, like lavender for a relaxing massage or almond for a sweet smelling hair treatment.

Thanks for the idea Beads, Braids and Beyond

Both websites I mentioned above also have recently talked about organization...I had a bunch of little baskets filled with hair decorations and tools...they were a mess and it was not easy to find what I was looking for. I found this 3 drawer organizer at Walmart for $6.00. I also bought a container of zip-lock baggies to organize all her different beads, pony-holders etc...

Bottom drawer is tools

Brushes, Combs, Clips, and a new beader I picked up at the hair store for $1.00

Middle Drawer

Barrettes, hair decorations (I call them hair balls lol, what's the name for these?)

Top Drawer

Beads, Elastics, Pony holders

As you can see J picked out some hearts and pink beads for Valentine's day :)

Just a little look at what's to come!

Gentle and Natural

I am nearly 32 and in the past couple of years my skin had been going crazy. It had been feeling so dry and just not like my skin anymore. I ran and bought scrubs to scrub off the dry skin, cleansers made for aging skin, and moisturizers...my skin ended up worse...and all the extra moisturizers were giving me break-out.

decided to just stop with all the products. I now use Kiss My Face soap to clean my face and a bit of olive oil to moisturize. That's it! MY SKIN IS SOOOO SOFT! I don't have any dry patches and no break-outs!

I am using the Kiss My Face soap on the kids also and they moisturize with olive oil mixed with sesame oil. In between they have been using a little coconut oil...they love the scent! :)

What I'm learning is the most natural, gentlest care of your hair and skin is best!

crisscross braids step by step

J had a slumber party Sunday night so I got the opportunity to braid her friends hair. I had been wanting to try this crisscross style. The original idea was that I would do four sets of criss-cross braids in the front half and box braid the back. Her friend was very tender-headed and therefore I ended up only doing two sets of crisscross braids and braided the sides straight back and left the back alone...but you get the idea!

To start this style, get out your rat tail comb and divide the hair in half from ear to ear. This pic is on the BACK of the head.

Then divide the top half in half

Divide each of those halves in half. Make sure you are slipping off these sections to keep them from getting mixed up!!

Last time divide each of those halves in half so the front will be in 8 parts

Now we are focusing on the TOP of the head this will be the left side first 2 parts

Divide those parts into three sections for a total of 6 boxes

Then braid like so. When going from one box to another you will need to braid about three extra stitches in between without picking up and additional hair. When you get to the end of the section just braid it out.

repeat with the other side like so. Then repeat in all four sections of the front of the head.

As you can see here I ended up giving up and braiding the sides straight back, you can do that if you like...I just did it because she was so tender-headed and I couldn't torture her any longer!

Instead on box braiding the back I just pulled the braids back into a pony and twisted it but I really think box braids would have ended this style nicely!!

Questions??

Just a quick style

I sat down with really no plan last night.

I first treated J's hair with coconut oil, I melted it with my hands and smoothed it through her hair. I then waited a couple hours and co-washed her hair with Mixed Chicks deep conditioner. I then smoothed some "Butter me up" through her hair to moisturize. I divided her hair into two layers and without any plan I just began to braid, adding a little down and out styles to each area that was to be braided.

This is pretty much just two levels of simple cornrows. The rows on top are ended with small white barrettes and the ones on the bottom ended in white beads with a small elastic (BB&B recommends you put them in oil first)



Just a very simple style, nothing salon quality. If the rows on top look a slightly different size it's because I needed to cover J's bald spot. I plan to write a blog about dealing with these problem areas and if J doesn't mind I will show you her bald patch and explain some techniques for covering these problem areas. If you look at the center row on the left hand side of her head you can see the stitches of hair look different in the front...that's where Hair had to be gently pulled from the sides of the bald spot to cover it. I am super carefully to braid gently over this area because I don't want to break off ANY hair around this patch as it will make covering it impossible.


My batteries died in my camera before I got a shot of the front :(

Great article from "Happy Girl Hair"

Great Article about from Happy Girl Hair:
The Basics: Ingredients We Don't Love

Natural hair lovers T-SHIRTS! SWEET!

I just found this company called ZAZZLE and I have got to order my daughter this t-shirt....How cute is that. The "Young & Natural" t-shirt I posted can be found HERE

They have all kinds of natural hair t-shirts for children and adults!!

I'm LOVING IT! Check out the site!!

SHAME SHAME Kiydiah Childrens Salon!!

As you know I am huge fan of the blog Beads, Braids & Beyond which is chocked full of hair reviews, ideas and awesome styles. Nikki does great work! Such great work in fact that a salon in Newark New Jersey is using her daughters pictures to promote the children's salon WITHOUT Nikki's consent!!

Here is the Salon Information:
Kiydiah Children's Salon & Boutique - (973) 643-6677
83 Halsey St., Newark, NJ 0710

I just read, Stolen Pictures of my Daughter on Beads, Braids & Beyond and was appalled! First of all what kind of salon does promotions with styles that are not even their own? I always assumed when you see a salons photos they were hairstyles the salon actually did! Next, if they want to use Nikki's styles they should have contacted her and asked if her daughter could be a model for their salon and PAID HER! When she tried to contact these people they were apparently very rude...the salon blaming it on the company who made the flyer's. The company in turn says they just take (STEAL) pictures off the Internet and make up the flyers. SERIOUSLY??? I would love to know how many other companies they have served with pictures they stole off the internet!

The name of that company is Ultimate Production Studio and the mans name is Nattyinga.

I sure hope they get this worked out...I really think they owe Nikki and her daughter a HUG apology for stealing her daughters pics, and for the way they treated her!!

It's really a dang SHAME!!!

drop me a line

Do you have questions about hair or hair products I have reviewed? Suggestions on what you'd like to see on this site? Want to share your hair story, style or idea?

Drop me a line! life.w.purpose@gmail.com

J's Mixed Chicks Salon

Z was complaining that his hair does not get enough
attention. So J decided to open her "Mixed Chicks" Salon

She gather her Mixed Chicks products and sprayed his hair with a little water

Next She got out her Mixed Chicks Leave in conditioner

And spread it through his hair

She brushed through it with her Denman Type brush

His hair was soft, and detangled...and they had fun!

Notice J's "Mixed Chicks" Apron :)

Twists to Locks

For this style I used:

Let's Dread 100% bees wax
Rat tail Comb
Clips

For Video Directions on two-strands twists check out Youtube here is one good video I found

Basically I just clip up his hair, using my rat trail comb I let down a small horizontal row at a time. I then take a small section depending on the size of the twists you want.

The parts will be less visible if you brick layer the sections

I know my sketch is rough, but you get the idea, right? This just makes the parts less visible.

Divide the section into two pieces. I rub a small amount of bees wax between my fingers and then smooth through the section then wrap those pieces around one another! I kinda twist the pieces that I will be wrapping around one another in the opposite direction of my twist as I go. I then use clips to hold the hair down.

He is going to try to leave the twists in until they lock this time.

I'll keep you updated ;)

Moms hair!

Usually I am talking about my hubby's natural hair or my biracial kiddos hair but today I'm going to share about my hair

My hair is naturally loosely curly, if I blow dry with a brush it's pretty much straight. If I blow dry with a diffuser it's curly. If I leave it natural it's somewhere in between...the oddest part is that some areas are curly and others straight, how weird is that?

This is my natural color, which is getting darker as I get older... Yepp I'll be 32 next month! When I was younger my hair was straight and very light blond.

Recently I have seen ORGANIX blogged about on three different blogs so I thought I should try it out.

I bought :

Coconut Milk Shampoo Shea Butter Conditioner:The coconut shampoo smelled great! Unfortunately I could tell immediately that it was going to make my hair feel dry. When I rinsed I felt that my hair felt a bit stiff and tangled. Not good! I was really hoping that I was going to to like this line.

The Shea Butter conditioner also had a nice scent but was too heavy for my hair, it weighed my hair down and left a waxy residue. It might work in a different hair type but after my experience with these products I did not want to try them in my family's hair.

So I am back using my favorite shampoo: Aussie Moist

I buy it in the large size with the pump

I also use Aussie Moist conditioner:

Aussie is probably as close to a "professional" product as you can buy outside of the salon. If the moist is too heavy for you I recommend you try "root to tip." It takes the extra oil away from your hairline without over drying the rest of the hair. I often alternate between the two products but the MOIST really makes my hair feel soft. I also use this product on my daughter when she is out of her products. I have even used the MOIST conditioner as a leave in conditioner for my little girls hair.

For that style check out www.tightlycurly.com

When I blow dry my hair straight I use a very small amount of Mixed Chicks Hair Silk

This is another product I use on both my hair and my daughters hair!

I don't blow dry unless I am going somewhere where I really want to style my hair. I pretty much leave my hair natural, I detangle when wet and let it dry naturally. Easy and gentle on my hair :)