In almost every natural’s journey, there is a time when she or he goes through a massive shopping spree of products. Trying out a whole smorgasbord of conditioners (deep, leave-in, and rinse-out), oils, butters, souffles, pomades and poos can leave you with an empty wallet and *only* a hand full of products that actually WORK like you want them to.
The fact of the matter is that not all products you try will WORK for you. Which is fine, no one and no product is perfect. The issue is finding something productive to do with all of the half-full fallen soldiers from the Battle of Product Junkyism. You don’t want to just let them sit there and collect them dust— you paid good money for them after all!
Here’s a round up of helpful suggestions for repurposing those products that DIDN’T make the cut for your coils:
SHAMPOO: Rather than soaping your scalp, lather up a loofah with your shampoo and use it as a BODY WASH. I personally don’t think I’ve bought a new body wash in months because of all the shampoos that Lola didn’t end up liking.
This detox/rejuvenation has really opened up my eyes to the specific ways in which certain food groups and your overall diet can affect your health. Yesterday Felicia sent me a video she made with the super knowledgeable trichologist Dr. Kari about the effect sugar can have on your body. And we’re not talking sugar that comes from some honey infused conditioner or a curling souffle, we’re talking sugar from cookies, frappucinos, snickers, blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, OH and that red velvet cake you couldn’t say no to. We all know that sugar can cause cavities and weight gain, but what you see in this video might surprise you!
WOW! So your itchy flaky scalp might be directly related to how much sugary food you’re eating! If you have an itchy scalp an easy way to see if sugar’s the culprit is to STOP EATING IT! I’ve been 2.5 weeks sugar free and as a gal with the most major sweet tooth, I never thought I’d be able to do it. Here are a couple tips for kicking the sugar and maintaining a healthy scalp:
Instead of adding sugar to your tea, cereal, oatmeal or whatever you’re sweetening, try agave nectar! I’ve really been enjoying the subtle sweetness and unique flavor it brings to the flavor.
Opt for fruits over candy and cookies. The goal is to avoid processed sugar, but those found naturally are generally a-ok to keep around. Eat ‘em plain, chop em up, or try em dried! My faves are apples, oranges, dried apricots, grapes, dried mango. Delish snacks all around!
Massage your scalp with a healthy oil or butter! If you’re prone to dry scalp, keep it moisturized and give yourself a little treat while your at it by using your finger tips to massage your scalp.
As Dr. Kari and Felicia said, “H2O: GET YOU SOME!” For serious! Nothing moisturizes like good ol’ water. And if you want some sweetness and flavor with your water, try tossing in some slices of lemon, cucumber, or sprigs of mint for a delightfully refreshing, natural flavor. In fact, make a big bottle or container of it and keep it cold in the fridge for whenever you’re ready!
Hard to comb!?!?! Crazy!!?! Waking up super early!!?!?
You know what that sounds like to me? A novice natural falling into the usual traps, getting frustrated, and throwing in the towel too early. Let’s back up and do a little refresher of the ol’ Wash’n'Go Success Plan before we go the way of Willow and find ourselves on tv denouncing afros.
Well after about 48 hours of stressing about what to do with my hair for New Years Eve, I found myself in my bedroom trying to get ready with a vision and cursing the fact that I only had six—SIX—bobby pins. WHERE do those things go when you really need em!?………
After a year of natural hair events across the country, a particularly sad experience with heat damage followed by some seriously awesome cuts, I closed out 2011 on a high note with the whole Damn Fade thing. I’ve been absolutely loving it and have gotten more positive feedback on this style than I had ever anticipated. Issue is all good things come to an end; my time in the Damn sun is about to be Damn over and the Damn hair must come out. Damn.
So let’s talk about New Years hair. Dramatic. Sparkly. Big. Fun. are all words that come to mind when I think about what I’d like to do with my hair. My Damn Fade is nothing if not dramatic and big and fun when its loose, so it looks like I’ve gotta add some sparkle to it. I’ve been trolling the interwebz for some hairspiration pix, but I thought I’d ask YOU my dear naturalistas what YOU’RE doing with your hair to ring in the holidays. Check out my inspiration shots below and how you can send me your pix for my #naturalnewyear gallery
I realized last week that in the rush to the holidaze, that I didn’t clue y’all in that I’d be taking a few days off of the ol’ blog to recharge the ol’ batteries and enjoy my holidays. But you know I like to share my snaps and keep you updated on the adventures. A full gallery of pictures from my roost in Lake Tahoe!
And way to go girl! Never has there been a better time for me to say: GREAT MINDS MOST DEFINITELY THINK ALIKE!
Right now they’re thinking that clippers are in and fades are hot! On Monday’s VH1 Diva’s showcase, Jilly from Philly debuted a new style that featured a shaved sides topped off with a bouffant of two-strand twists.
As I believe most of you know, I’m also a full time writer for NC.com. I just realized that I too infrequently post links to all the goodness I’m writing over there and I wanted to share them with you! Here’s a round up of some of the most recent ones.
