Oil Pulling Discovery/Challenge

This morning I came across one of my YouTube Subscribers vid of Oil Pulling and I thought to myself  "oil pulling, what the heck is that"? Now this is a channel I subscribe to due to its topic of natural hair & beauty 'but of course' I'm like oh great! Now what new hair method step this is lol....only to discover that oil pulling is a natural based method for hygiene of the oral bodies using coconut oil etc. I just explained this to my son who just happened to wake up and shared this vid with a small convo on how I'm interested in challenging myself to try this out starting with a 3 day experiment to gradually work to a 30 day experience. I'm just tryin to be Real'istic is this journey expo. Here's a few other vids I checked into regarding oil pulling. #joinme #lego #whosdown #oilpulling

• One year after starting Oil Pulling, THE RESULTS!
• The Truth About Oil Pulling
• The Lowdown on Oil Pulling + Review of CocoWhite

Rest In Peace My Friend Dajaun Thompson

My friend I was just thinking of you the day before yesterday while coming across your Myspace profile that dawn on me "that I didn't have you on Facebook" and just found out that you're gone. As I now, was just about to reconnect with you just shows that time is freaking limited and doesn't cease to nobody and nothing. Wow man! I am speechless.... I hoped that we were soon going to be reconnected. We never got to that photography shoot that we talked about. Much love and respect to your family and friends. My heart is saddened right now and feel some sort of way. You will be missed. Your friend with love Quanessa B.

Keep It Moisturized

To help me get back on my natural hair care, this is how I now have my hair products laid underneath my vanity.

Liquid section: The Salon Care Applicator bottle is my oils mixed together, the two hot pink spray bottles also have mixed oils (one for my daughter and I) and the purple and green ones is just H20. I recently purchased the smaller pink spray bottle and after using it, it worked so much better than the big pink bottle so I had to buy two more (the green one for my son).

Oil section: Jojoba, Coconut, Castor, Hemp (unused), Avocado, Argan, Olive and Almond.

Cream section: Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk (A), Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (A+),Cantu Leave in Conditioning Repair Cream (A), Cantu Shea Butter Daily Oil Moisturizer, Marc Anthony Curl Envy and Marc Anthony Stretch (A-).

My Son Hair Regimen

Current hair regimen for my son due to his hair growth.

1. WASH in tub...provided with a little WASH CLOTH
2. RINSE hair  
3. SECTION hair into fours to make sure you get all the hair CLEANED.
4. FOCUS and CONCENTRATE on scalp when washing.
5. RINSE out the shampoo
6. CONDITION the hair at the PERIMETER with CONDITIONER (one with excellent slip) then apply to smaller sections of the hair.
7. CONCENTRATE on the ENDS of the hair.
8. Put away CONDITIONED sections of the hair to COMPLETE the rest of the head.
9. PROCEED TO RINSE THE HAIR 
10. SEAL IN the MOISTURE from the WATER and CONDITIONER with OILS this gives it really good SHINE.
11. TWIST & BRAID

Message From God

I believe God wants me to know that acceptance brings peace. I shall accept my own beauty

 and limitations. No sense in trying to be who I AM NOT. 

For Fun but Dead On

What does my name reveal about me? 

As the name suggests, I am a very creative, imaginative and passionate person.

I love to experiment with various forms of creations, and challenge myself at every opportunity. One of the most important things in my life is my alone time. During that time, I let my mind flourish and my creativity go wild. My creative nature help me to always look at the positive side of life, always find the mental strength to move forward, and never look back.

2nd Week Braid Style

Double Day for Me

Length Check 2.15.2015

Omg! I haven't been able to get on due to my photography business booming this past month. Here's a length check from the day after Valentine's. This is the only reason why I semi straighten my hair for this length check. 

Today, I have to do my son's hair and the back of his is longer than mines. We have major shrinkage especially him. I just discover that he has two hair textures as mines but not significant. Here are some pictures of me washing his hair. He wanted to see the ends of his hair lol. 

Okay, so I'm taking a break right now 2.21.15 Saturday from blow drying his hair and teaching him how to detangle his own hair while its damp. Mommy enjoyed this part. :) BEWARE: WHAT YOUR ABOUT TO SEE IS MAJOR DRIED UP SHRINKAGE. THE PONY TAIL POPPED OUT OF HIS HAIR OVERNIGHT AFTER HIS WASHED HAIR. THESE IMAGES LOOKED LIKE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO ME.

Healthy Resolutions

I was faithfully taking my vitamins last summer, only to be so into my business and home managing that I let distractions get the best of me. This year I am putting myself on a strict agenda to manage and take care of me.  I take Nature's Bounty Hair, Skin and Nails. These are the #1 brand anti

This morning clipping coupons, I came across a coupon for this brand buy in gummies and another that is infused with argan oil. A savings up to $45.  Take the HAIR, SKIN & NAILS CHALLENGE

4C Hair Progress

Natural Hair Haul #

Hair Ingredients Good & Bad

There's always something good and bad in all things and hair ingredients is one of them. So becareful not to rob your hair of healthiness. I use sulfate free shampoo. Let me explain why?

Bad Alcohol                         

• Isoproplyl alcohol                                                   

• SD Alcohol 40                                               
• Ethanol                                                                       
• Propyl                                                                        
• Propanol Isopropyl  

Good Alcohol

• Lauryl
• Cetyl
• Benhenyl
• Myristyl

Neutral Alcohol

• Benzyl
• Propylene Ellycol

When Artist Speaks What I've Gone Through

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Hair Talk

2nd day hair

ACV- Apple Cider Vinegar (used to seal cuticle...final rinse) A hair type classification system.

APL- Refers to length-- arm pit length.

BAA-Big ass afro

Baggy - After you moisturize your hair at night, you put a shopping bag, plastic cap, shower cap on overnight.

BC - Big Chop - cutting off all your chemically treated hair

BNC- Braid-n-Curl, simply plait or braid the hair and roll the ends on rods or flexis.

BSL- Refers to length-- bra strap length.

BSS- Beauty Supply Store

CBL- Refers to length-- collar bone length.

Co-Wash- Using conditioner to wash the hair in place of shampoo
Cones- Are 'silicones', or ingredients found in hair care products that are not water soluble (i.e. you need shampoo to remove). Failure to wash out cones may lead to build-up, which may result in dry hair and breakage (due to suffocation of the strands).

CG- Refers to the "Curly Girl" method explained in the book by Lorraine Massey. It is a philosophy for curls that involves, no or low shampoo, cone avoidance, and conditioner washing...among other things. These are just a few of the basic tenants.

DT or DC- Is a deep treatment or conditioner. A DT is when you leave a moisturizing (or protein based, depending on your needs) conditioner on your hair for an extended period of time, along with a heat source to aid in penetration.

Dusting- Dusting your hair is a trim of 1/4 and inch or less. This method is also referred to as dusting because even though your hair is being trimmed evenly, it is so little hair, that it just looks like dust on the floor.

EO- Essential Oil

EVCO- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (used in conditioning treatments)

EVOO- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (used in conditioning treatments)

HG- Holy Grail (Products that are tried and true)

HIH- Hand in Hair. Its a disease that causes you to always be manipulating your tresses.

MBL- Refers to length-- mid back length.

Nappyversary/Nattyversary - The anniversary of the day you became a natural

No-poo- It's just that- no shampoo. Ladies who follow this routine are CG'ers and don't use cones or other heavy/oily products that may need shampoo to remove. Instead of pooing, many ladies conditioner wash, or use conditioner in place of shampoo to cleanse the scalp.

Pineappleing- a type of sleeping technique that curlies with long hair use to
preserve/protect curls overnight so that they have great 2nd day hair. You gather all of your hair in a high, but loose
pony tail at the top of your head and go to sleep on a satin
pillowcase. In the morning you take it down and shake it out gently and
all of your curls will have been preserved.

PJ- Product Junky or someone that buys any all hair care products in sight...forever on a mission to find the next best thing.

Plopping- A quick dry method. You use a t-shirt or a curl friendly material (terry cloth towel, paper towel) to dry your hair instead
of rubbing a towel on your hair to dry it. It drastically decreases drying times.

Pre-pooing- A treatment applied prior to shampooing. It usually consists of oils and/or conditioners applied the night before the shampoo or immediately prior, with a heat source to help penetrate. This is usually performed to help the hair maintain necessary moisture during the drying shampoo process.

Sealing- Is essentially sealing moisture in the hair, specifically the ends. For sealing to be effective, you must first use a water-based moisturizer (a conditioner or cream that has water as its first ingredient), and then seal with a butter or oil. The molecules in most butters/oils are too large to pass into the hair, so they stick to the outside of the shaft, trapping in the rich goodness of the moisturizer. Reversing those 2 steps will lead to dry hair. Sealing has saved my hair.

Search and Destroy (S&Ds)- I go on S&Ds once a month. I find good lighting, usually in the bathroom, and examine my ends...whenever I see a split, a crooked end or a single strand knot, I snip it out. I only use hair scissors for this task (purchase from Sally's or Walmart)m this is key. Buy a decent pair of hair scissors and ONLY USE THEM FOR HAIR TRIMS. Dull scissors will do more damage. Every now and then (when my hair is excessively tangly), I'll do a Micro Trim, which is snipping off the last 1/4 of an inch of my ends...I do this while my hair is in twists for ease.

Slip- Used to describe how slippery a product is (usually a
conditioner or detangler)... the more slip it has, the more effectively
it will coat the hair to aid in detangling.

SLS- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (found in the harsher shampoos- the main reason that CG'ers avoid poo).

TNC- Twist-n-Curl. This is my signature style. I twist the hair and roll the ends.

Transitioning - This is the period of time since one's last relaxer.

TWA- Teeny Weeny Afro

Twist Out - Two strand twist the hair, allow to dry either by air drying or sitting under a dryer, take the twists apart, and style.

Wash and Go- Simply co-wash your hair, add a styler (gel, cream) and GO You leave the hair to air dry or dry with a diffuser. Although this style is cute and easy, my ends couldn't handle it. This is also seen as WnG, and W&G.