Hair Diary || Working on a Non-Protective Style Regimen

If you've been following my hair diary, then you probably already saw this coming.  After years of protective styling in twists and a couple summers of experimenting with loose hair styles, the day has come.  I'm ready for a drastic regimen change.  The details are still being worked out, but for the last couple of months I've successfully been doing the following:

WEEKLY:

- Wash (As I Am Cleansing Conditioner or homemade honey shampoo) and condition (Tresemme Naturals followed by Aphogee 2-Minute Keratin Reconstructor or ORS Replenishing Conditioner) hair

- Finger detangle conditioner-soaked hair (~30-40 minutes)

- Rinse then seal 

- Plop hair for 20-45 minutes

- Braid hair into 8-10 sections for a braid-out the following day

DAILY:

- Wear satin bonnet or loose satin scarf to protect braid-out

- Fluff the next morning

MONTHLY:

- Switch finger detangling for comb detangling

- Deep cleanse my hair (Shea Moisture African Purification Masque or Dessert Essence Shampoo)

Stay tuned ... 

Healthy Recipes || My Peach Smoothie

Over the past couple of months, I have upped my homemade smoothie intake from every other morning to every morning.  There is just something that feels so good and refreshing about drinking a healthy, fruit/veggie smoothie first thing in the AM.  It has been a while since I posted a recipe, so here I go:

Ingredients:
1 organic peach
1 banana
4-5 frozen organic strawberries
1/2 tsp honey (add a bit more depending on your desired sweetness)
1-1 1/2 cup organic soy milk (depending on your desired consistency)
2 tbsp natural peanut butter

Instructions: 
Toss all the ingredients into a blender, and blend thoroughly.  Pour out into a cup and enjoy!

WANT MORE VITAMIN A?
A cup of apricots can offer you a vitamin A content of 60% the daily value, while a cup of peaches only offers 10%. So, switch out the peaches for apricots.  (I exchange every one peach for two apricots.)  Apricots also contain more vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber.

For more smoothie recipes, check out the "Smoothies" label.

Chery818 is Back with a Hair Breakage Update!

So, I follow a lot of naturals on YouTube, and Chery818 is one of them.  She is known for her thick, long (BSL-ish all around), 4c hair and advocating finger detangling.  Her last video (before her recent update) was sad because she had discovered some serious breakage in certain areas and was debating whether to cut all her hair.  That was almost eight months ago.

Well, I'm happy to report that she is back to YouTube!  Check out her update below ... and also notice the higher video quality.  I'm loving it all!

Mixology || 3-Oil Nighttime Facial Moisturizer

So, I've been using this mix for weeks now, and I'm in love.  The thought of sleeping with oil on my face initially scared me (e.g., fear of pimples) but quickly went away as I noticed my face was doing just fine.

So, why the 3-oil mix?  Well, I wanted to get the researched benefits of avocado oil, olive oil, and grapeseed oil all in one.  *smiles* So, without further ado, here is my recipe:

Ingredients:
1 part pure avocado oil (helps heal wounds, improves elasticity)
1 part extra virgin olive oil (decelerates sun damage, potent antioxidant effect)
1 part grapeseed oil (may lighten UV-induced hyper pigmentation, may reduce blackheads and whiteheads)

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients into a spray bottle and use on face after your night time wash.

That is all!

Protective Style Lookbook || Textured Updo with a Scarf

By popular demand, this is a series showcasing various protective hair styles.  Protective styling does not have to be boring. :o)

Model: VeePeeJay

Difficulty level: 1/5

Description: Chunky twist out into a textured updo with a scarf.

Study || Cherries Reduce Abdominal Fat?

I was eating some cherries a couple weeks ago and thought, "Hmm, I wonder if there is any research out there on cherries and fat".  Up until that point, I thought the fruit was pretty useless other than being a fix for my sweet tooth.  Well, guess what? There is research out there, one of which associates a regular intake of cherries with a reduction in abdominal fat weight, percentage fat mass, and more.  Check out the abstract: REGULAR TART CHERRY INTAKE ALTERS ABDOMINAL ADIPOSITY, ETC. (2009).

Hair Diary || From Copper-Blonde to Purple Haze

After my fun with copper-blonde highlights (see this previous post), I have gone to purple haze.  All I did was apply a color (from Manic Panic) on top of my previous highlights, and voila!  As for my hair routine?  It has basically consisted of weekly washes with twist outs and braid outs over the past month.  For now, I've returned to big twists.

And now for more hair pics:

After depositing the color.

After depositing the color. (Before twisting.)

After depositing the color.

Chunky twist out.

I believe this was a braid out.