I'm Going Natural...Attempt #2

Hello Beauties!

Please try not to roll your eyes this time around. I have really thought about this decision and I am going through with it. I have decided to go natural! Why? Frankly, I like a challenge and I want to try something new. No,  I am not on a journey to "discover" my roots and inner beauty or any other soul searching endeavor. I am quite confident in who I am as a black and beautiful black woman and I do not have warped sense of beauty. I could wear weave tomorrow, braids next week and go bald the month after that. I would still be and feel beautiful.

My hair today is very thick, shiny and healthy. Therefore, I'm not going natural to "have healthy hair".  I have not trimmed my hair since my  

12 inch cut over a year ago and my ends are still "looking fresh."

Simply put, I would like to see my natural texture. My younger sister has done it, why can't I? The decision is not an easy one, however, I am resolved. The big challenge is what will happen at 3 months post.

According to my calendar I am exactly 4 weeks post.Will I big chop at 12 weeks? Let's see. I will provide updates as often as possible.

If you have any tips and encouragement. Please feel free to share!

Until next time... Happy growing!

Cowashing…Water is your friend!!!

Hi Beauties!

We've been having some really hot days here in the Caribbean. Today was one of those days. It was hot, humid did I mention hot? My braid out was a little dry and I realized my hair was breaking a bit. The quickest remedy for the breakage I could think of was to rejuvenate my hair with some good old fashion H2O!

Stop the presses….what? Water on relaxed hair for many is a no, no. This my dear ladies is complete mis-education. In fact, water = moisture which in most cases is what our hair needs to stop the breakage and retain length. The current misunderstanding is that water dries out your hair and makes it prone to breakage when in fact water adds moisture to your hair especially mid-week after a main wash.

Tip 1: Use a light conditioner to condition wash (cowash) your hair while in the shower. My favorite cowash conditioner hands down is V05 moisture milks and  Elasta QP Soy Oyl conditioner. Wash your hair like you would with a shampoo and let it sit on your hair for a few minutes while you shower.  Rinse, towel dry your hair, follow up with your favorite leave ins and natural oils. Gently detangle and let your hair air dry. Moisturize and seal. Your hair will thank you!

Tip 2: Throughout the week, lightly spritz your hair with water and glycerin (a humectant which traps moisture), aloe vera juice, or rose water. These are quick and easy ways to add an extra touch of moisture to your hair especially during the hot and dry months.

Tip 3: Protect your ends from the harsh wind and sun by tucking them under wigs or through buns.

Finally, it really starts from the inside so hydrate your body by drinking water regularly throughout the day.

Until next time….HHJ!

Guess Who's Back?!?!?!

Hi Beauties!

Yes believe it or not I am back! After almost a year I am back :). Between being sick, going to school, and traveling, lots of traveling I really did not have the time to blog or do videos. I did slack a little bit about my hair care (just a little) but I am back on track. Last year I hated the V shape my hair was forming so I cut approximately 5 inches off and went back to shoulder length. It was the best decision I ever made! I deep conditioned faithfully, went  to Jamaica and got some homemade castor oil and the rest was history! My hair has been growing consistently thick over the last few months. Though I have not done an official length check I am guessing that I am somewhere around APL. Regardless I am proud of myself considering the slacking off. A major regret I had is that I streaked my hair a few months ago. My hair's texture has since changed to one that I greatly dislike and cannot recover. I have not had any major breakage but I did a henna and indigo treatment and I am almost back to black. Life happened and I could not keep the indigo in my hair as long as I should have. Anyhow, no complaints! This is something I don't see me doing again...anytime soon. Never say never but I have no desire to do so presently. Along the way I have managed to convert a few naysayers who never believed in healthy hair care so I am happy. Well beauties Lady Dee is back! I am more than excited to share my hair journey with you guys! In the next few posts I will be giving you guys a quick synopsis of what I have been doing to my hair over the past few months to get you up to speed. Then we'll move forward. Stay tuned pics will be coming soon. I am also going to be re-vamping my youtube channel so look out for that also. Right now I am rocking one of my favorite go to  low manipulation styles...a braid out but it's raining :(. Hopefully the humidity doesn't get to me. Till next time..loveeees...Happy Hair Journey!!!

Lady Dee

Air Drying

So today I decided to take a break from rollersetting...partly because I'm lazy, partly because its hot and I was not feeling too excited about sitting under my bonnet for 45 to an hour today. So here I am nice flowy bouncy air dried hair. Yes ladies! It is possible to have frizz free air dried hair. Considering it is like the primary dogma of the hair care world I think it is essential that at the very least we all know how to have air dried hair so we can exercise our options. At most turn it into practice and incorporate it regularly into your regimen. Here are a few tid bits and tricks that have made me successful.

• Use a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner- its always best to keep the moisture in check to achieve and maintain good air dried hair I've found in my experience. This is of course with the idea in mind that the protein balance is also taken care of. However, I have to place much emphasis on moisture. 
• Deep condition- you had to see this one coming. Most definitely do not skip on weekly deep conditioning. It should be a primary in your hair regimen anyways. It is one the main foundation to keeping well moisturized hair throughout the week.
• Leave In Conditioner- A good leave-in is also very essential to maintaining  air dried hair.
• ph Balance/ Medium Porosity- Many of you might like saying huh? wuh? Yes. I'm serious ladies and gents. This is something that many of us overlook or don't even know about. If our cuticles are not closed we are more likely to lose the moisture we added through deep conditioning and all other previous steps. The end result dry, frizzy hair. Maintaining good pH is essential for maintaining moisture and we have the added bonus of soft shiny hair. If you think your hair may be too porous may I recommend one of or the combination of the following : ACV rinses bi- weekly, aloe vera juice spritz, Roux Porosity control line of products, or a good ol' cold final rinse.
• A satin scarf to lay down your edges (de-tangle and run your fingers through your hair throughout the drying process)
• Remember to moisturize and seal at the end

 My hair is just washed and about 95% dry...it has not yet been moisturized and sealed.

Join me next time where I'll go further in depth about pH levels and hair porosity. Till next time! Happy Hair Growing!

Ode to my Clarifying Shampoo...

Hi Loves!

As you all know by now I only recently started my hair journey...I'm still a newbie by a long shot. Many things are new to me. One of those things is to figure out how to listen to what my hair is telling me and go with my instincts. I started using the Tresemme moisture rich conditioner as my cowash conditioner. Let it be known that I am absolutely in love with this product! The problem is it is laden with silicones and I cowash quite often as many as 2-3 times per week. That quickly lead to serious build up...my hair was smooth and soft but inflexible when dry. I also use Hair One cleansing conditioner that I thought was getting rid of extra dirt and grime...I am now convinced that it was not. I know...I know many of you are like well Dee just clarify you knucklehead. There is a perfectly good explanation for that.... I think. I use the Ion  botanical clarifying shampoo the last time I used  it my hair was so soft and mushy so limp and almost seemingly rotten. It broke to the touch that in effect was my very first example of moisture overload. :( Needless to say, I was horrified and quickly grabbed for my Aphogee 2 step protein treatment barely wanting to touch my hair. 45 mins later my hair was sufficiently strengthened, breakage stopped and I could breathe easy. The bed news is I have since been conditioned to associate mushy hair with Ion...I know that really is not the case but I still panic thinking about it. Fast forward to this week, I knew I could not put it off any longer, I had to clarify, it has been roughly about  3 months since my hair had a good lather and I decided to take the plunge. I lathered my hair...not once but twice! On top of that I lathered with my new love Giovanni  Triple Treat Tea Tree Invigorating Shampoo, followed up with  Giovanni  50:50 conditioner, DC'd,  then ACV rinsed. My hair feels amazing! So soft, so light, bouncy, I cant keep my hands out of it. I am due for a protein treatment next week and I can't wait!

• Educational tid bit for the day: clarifying shampoos are meant to be deep cleansers that get rid of the build up that is on the shaft of the hair. This is good especially for those who love silicones or are heavy handed. They typically contain sodium/ammonium lauryl/laureth sulfates. As a general rule the sodium laureth sulfate is the milder version of sulfates and  is less harsh on the hair while cleansing. You want to do this only once or twice per month preferably once).