Hair of the Day: Oversized Bun

Hey Guys, I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, I know I did. At present I'm 20 months post relaxer, whoop whoop. I bun my hair 24/7, normally a low bun. My only difficulty now is that the more my relaxer grows out, the harder it is to catch all my hair in a standard size hairband... especially without it pulling at my edges. I know a lot of naturals use pieces of cut tights/stockings for puffs so I decided to give it a go to create a bun. Much to my surprise it worked out nicely. To create this bun you will need a piece of cut tights, hair pins and eco styler gel... it is that easy. I simply pinned my relaxed ends under the bun so my hair appears to be completely natural. A friend of mine told me that you can create any hairstyle with hairpins, I think she may be right. I really think it is time I started experimenting more... how many times have I said that, aye? This is a great style for all hair, relaxed, transitioning and natural alike. I was extremely chuffed when my friend asked me if it was all my hair, for me it means my hair is growing :).

   What do you think?

Product Haul

Hey Guys!!! The most exciting thing about being on a hair journey for me is experimenting with different products. I love trying new products! My mum just got back from the US and was able to bring me back a few; Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner and Kinky-Curly Knot Today Natural Leave In/ Detangler. I'm two products closer to becoming a product junkie *embarrassed face*. It's not because I buy an excessive amount but more because my products take forever to finish.

Ps. I know I've been MIA recently, I have deadlines next week :(.

Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Conditioner 11oz purchased from Whole Foods in New Jersey for $12-$14 (Mum can't remember the exact price). For my English readers, Aubrey can be found at Amazon, Aubrey UK website, and Curly Emporium to name a few for £10.49-£10.99. I looked for it in Whole Foods in Canterbury but it wasn't there. If possible I always try and get my products from the States because it's a lot cheaper!! Curly Emporium are currently having a Christmas sale with great savings on selected products, don't miss out!

Kinky-Curly Knot Today Natural Leave In/ Detangler 8oz purchased from Target for $11.99. For my English readers, Kinky-Curly can be found at CurlyEmporium for £12.95. Amazon also sell it for £17.99 but that price is extortionate, in my opinion.

Has anyone used the Aubrey or Kinky-Curly brand?

D.I.Y: Greek Yogurt Deep Conditioner

I haven't done a protein treatment in a while... 2-3 months maybe. The other day I stumbled across some information that said fine hair needs protein. I have very fine hair in my nape which is susceptible to damage so I thought I'd give it a go. I loved the Hairveda Acai Berry Phyto Conditioner but as I said in a previous post it was out of stock from my regular stockist. A loved one is getting me the Aubrey GPB conditioner from the US (too expensive here) but until then I thought I'd try a D.I.Y protein conditioner. I can't say that I've had the best of luck with putting food in my hair but no harm in trying, right? This was relatively inexpensive and I plan to eat the rest of the greek yogurt with honey *licks lips*. I applied this to freshly washed hair, I'm sure it could also work as a prepoo but my hair was dirty or so I thought.

Ingredients 

Greek Yogurt- 7 tablespoons

Honey- 3 tablespoons

JBCO- 1 tablespoon

Peppermint Oil - 4 drops

Coconut Oil- 1 teaspoon (liquid)

Aloe vera gel - 1 teaspoon

You can play around with the quantities of the ingredients and substitute my oils for your favourites. Depending on your hair you may need more or less. I ran out of my first portion and had to make some more. I guess I have more hair than I thought.

Verdict

I love the fact that unlike the other D.I.Y conditioners I've made, this didn't leave any bits in my hair... definitely a bonus! The preparation time on this D.I.Y conditioner cannot be beaten, it takes minutes to make... providing you're not eating the yogurt in the process *guilty face*. It's easy to apply, great for detangling and smells divine. I left the conditioner in for about 1hr 30, I had french class to go to so I was in a rush, had the conditioner not been so visible I would have went with it on... out of laziness! I rinsed it out with cold water and cold water diluted with acv, I noticed it did take a little extra effort to rinse out. I loved the way my hair felt once I rinsed it out and the natural parts of my hair were so defined. Once it dried however my hair wasn't as soft, this can be down to a few things: a) I left the house with wet hair into the weather only fit for Santa Clause and his reindeers b) I used shampoo because I've been co-washing for the past 6 weeks c) It's a light protein treatment and I probably needed to do a moisture treatment to balance it out. Notice I refuse to blame my conditioner! On a whole my hair is shiny, more defined, stronger and after putting moisture back in my strands it feels great. Will I be using this again? Of course.

Have you used Greek yogurt in your hair before? Do you have a D.I.Y conditioner to recommend?

Review: Bee Mine Hair Growth Serum (with sulphur)

Promises: Bee Mine do not explicitly specify any promises but as a growth serum we can infer the promise is increased growth.

Directions: Shake Well before each use. Apply a small amount to scalp. Massage thoroughly throughout the entire scalp. Repeat fall or every other day for best results. Apply a moisturiser after each use. With this product please perform a patch test prior to full use. 

Ingredients: 100% Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape Seed) Oil, Select Ayurvedic Herbs, Sulfur Powder, Essential Oils, Fragrance (Phthalates Free) & Vitamin E Tocopherol Oil.

Verdict: This time last year I bought 4 samples of Bee Mine products. This is the only one that I'm yet to review. The reason for this being that it has taken me a long time to make up my mind about this product. I'm certain that I like it but I don't know if I love it. The ingredients are great, the smell is greater! This would be a good time for me to mention that I bought the 'Kiwi and Mango Scent. My mum loves the smell of this, she'll happily apply this to my scalp for me. A little goes a really long way with this, which is great. I tend to use it when my hair is in plaits or twists because it's easier to apply.What I do love about this serum is that even though I only apply it on the scalp my roots end up really soft. I can't say that I've experienced amazing growth with this product but there were times when I noticed increased growth. I can definitely say that I notice increased growth and better hair quality with the use of supplements. I attempted to follow the directions and apply the serum daily or every other day but I found that was too much. The direction that I will emphasise is 'shake well', the sulphur tends to stubbornly sit at the bottom.  The price is fair, a little on the expensive side, I paid £4.50 for 2oz. Would I buy this again? Most probably but not any time soon. I may be more inclined to purchase the serum without sulphur because then I won't be restricted to only apply it to my scalp.

Have you tried any of Bee Mine's Growth Serums?

19 Months Post Relaxer

Today marks 19 months since I got my last relaxer *fist pumps*. My transition to natural will soon be drawing to an end. Where the time has gone? Who knows. I guess it's true what they say, time waits for no (wo)man. I still can't believe I'm 5 months short of 2 yrs post. Roll on the next 5 months... not too quickly though because I have a lot of University deadlines next term *gulps*. I know I change my mind all the time but I'm aiming on ending my transition in the next 5 - 7 months. In the mean time I'll continue to trim 1/2 inch every 8 weeks. My last trim was last week and plan to trim another 1/2 inch off my hair just before the start of the new year.

 I get a few questions on what products I use, these can be found in my regimen. I can only stress that although products are important, how you manage your hair is also important! I think the reason my transition has been so successful is because I keep manipulation to a minimum. I will also tell you that co-washing is your best friend, I wasn't too keen on it at the start of my journey but it has definitely grown on me... my new growth loves it! For ages I have wanted to purchase a silicone free conditioner and have finally got one, Tresemme Naturals..... I've used it once and I love it. A review will be coming soon. I can definitely say there has been a significant improvement since I cut down on my use of shampoo. Currently, I only shampoo once a month maximum, mainly to remove any product buildup. I have also noticed that my growth rate has increased since July. I went from growing on average 1/3 inch a month to more or less 1/2 an inch a month. For those wondering what vitamins I've been taking; I started out with Holland and Barrett's Skin, Hair and Nails, then Tesco's Hair Skin and Nails, and now I'm taking Biotin 1000mcg and a Multi-vitamin a day. I've also been taking the occasional Fish Oil for the Omega 3. As I improve my diet further, I imagine there would be less need for these supplements.

Oh yeah,  my Dad commented on my hair last weekend, he said that it's getting long. This is the same man that I tried to coerce into talking about my transition to natural and had little success. He noticed the difference in my hair, it actually made me smile inside, the little things in life ey?

Here are some picture I took today of my hair. You can definitely see my different textures. The top two are of the front and the bottom are of the back.