Twist & Shout featuring OBIA Natural Hair Care

Heyyyyyy!! I know it's been quite a while since the last time you've seen a blog scroll across your screens but I promise I'll be back soon! I've been extremely busy and totally forgot to blog. As you all can see I've updated and posted a new video. This is a detailed Twist Out video for you all. I've gotten A LOT of Q's about my previous video using OBIA Natural Hair Care products so I decided to do another showing you how I do my take down in the morning. I hope you all enjoy. Be sure to let me know what video you would like to see next. I love your suggestions! Comment below and I'll talk to you next time. Smooches!

**To purchase products from this line please visit HERE

How To: Aloe Vera Moisturizing Spray

How to Make Aloe Vera Juice as a Moisturizing Spray for Natural Hair
What you will need:
1. Fresh Aloe Vera leaf
2. 1/4 to 1/3 cup of lemon juice
3. Sharp knife
4. Spoon
5. Strainer
6. Blender
7. Ice cube tray
8. Water
9. Spray bottle
Directions:
1. Remove all the green by cutting away the top and end of the leaf then the spiny sides but leave the bottom of the leaf to hold in the aloe meat. With a spoon scoop out the aloe meat and discard
all the green.
2. Place all the clear aloe meat into a strainer and rinse with cold water
3. Place the rinsed aloe meat into the blender with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of lemon juice depending on how much Aloe Vera meat you are processing. The lemon keeps it from turning brown.
4. Blend for about 30 to 60 seconds and pour into ice tray. All that is not being frozen must go into the refrigerator until ready to freeze into ice cubes. Note: If you are not freezing the Aloe Vera mixture into ice cubes you must keep the mixture refrigerated. It will only last a week in the refrigerator. After a week discard the mixture and make a new batch. Remember the mixture is very concentrated. If you are going to use the mixture in this concentrated form you would use a very small amount, such as 2 tablespoons or 1/4 cup of mixture to 3 cups of cold water to get the desired affect.
5. Once frozen place only one ice cube into the blender with 3 cups of cold water and blend for about 60 seconds. Pour the juice into a spray bottle and use on your hair as often as you like. Keep refrigerated between uses. The juice is good for 7 days. But if you are like me you will be making about 2 spray bottles of juice a week. The juice will be cold on your hair but cold water is good for natural hair :)

Naturalista | Tricks to staying Moisturized during Winter

Have you noticed it's getting cooler outside? Winter is on it's way to us. Even in the Southern region we are feeling the shift in weather and Mother Nature is making it known. Make sure you and your hair are both ready to battle the cold brittle weather that is to come. Here are some tricks of the trade to use towards these Winter months. The way to growth and health is moisturizing your hair. I can't stress enough how big moisturizing is. It's a task within itself to keep your hair nice and moisturized during the cold weather. I've seen it happen where the cold weather takes over your hairs progress. I, myself, am a victim of the cold break! I had to do a 2nd big chop Summer 2011 due to breakage during the winter and how I couldn't bounce back from it. So, don't make the same dumb mistakes I was making that's for sure lol. Let me be the one to make the mistakes and teach you the correct way of how things should flow. With that being said, let's get into it shall we?

Leave-In Conditioners & It's Values
Treat your hair with a Leave-In Conditioner of your choice. I never used a leave-in conditioner until 2 months from now. I never saw a reason for it, it looked like an added/unnecessary step to me. I never knew that a leave in condition would hydrate and protect your hair from the heat/sun as well as dry weather. It is a great balance of moisture added to your hair. It is very necessary in the winter time, especially since it is getting cooler. Take a look at the one I use.

Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-In Conditioner

Although they are just getting their name out there in the curly industry it is a great product to use. For one, the price is amazing! You can find this at your local Wal-Mart in the ethnic section for as little as $5.94. It is awesome for detangling and moisturizing your hair. I have 4b/4c textured hair. As you ladies know that texture is horrendous for detangling. This leave-in does WONDERS for my hair. I absolutely love it! Try it for yourself and let me know what you think :)

Never Leave w/ Wet Hair
Never leave the house with wet hair. With it getting cooler outside you do not, by any circumstance, want to walk out of the house with wet hair. It causes breakage that you wouldn't even believe. I have do this before thinking "Oh I'll just do a co-wash, dry my hair a little, then leave". Oh no, wrong! You want to make sure your hair is moisturized BUT you do not want to leave and walk into the cold air with wet hair. Close to dry is okay but not wet or damp.

Use LOC to Moisturize
Make sure you lock in your moisture using the LOC method. Meaning liquid, oil, cream/butter. You can do something as easily as making a concoction of the 3 in a spritz bottle to tackle everything at once or you can do like myself and do the steps one at a time. By following this method you are ensuring that you are locking in the moisture before heading out into the cold. When I make my concoction I put water, my fav conditioner or leave-in conditioner, and some oil. Give it a shimmy shake and wallah! Something so simple will keep you from having breakage in the end. Be sure to follow these steps. You hair will love you as much as you love your hair :)

Protecting Your Goodies
Not everyone is with the whole "Protective Styling" thing. I'm one that would rather wear my hair out. For those of you who have longer hair you are able to do protective styling with your own hair by doing Two-Strand Twists, Braids, or Bantu Knots. The ladies with the TWA's I suggest going the route of getting Kinky Twists, Senegalese Twists, Box Braids, or Yarn Braids. This way your hair is protected against the harsh cold weather and your hair stays nice and moisturized. Your ends are the oldest part of your hair and need the most care to survive or you will experience breakage thus causing you not to retain the length. With that being said, make sure you protect your hair accordingly. Even if this means using a beanie cap or scarfs. I know those come to aid on days that my hair is wet and/or damp and I can't wait any longer, I have to leave. I do not use heat on my hair so air dry it is.

Hair Regimen Fall 2012

Wash Routine
Wash hair (as needed) w/ Mane & Tail shampoo or my black soap shampoo concoction
Deep Condition using Beautiful Textures Deep Conditioner
Co-wash (as needed) between washes w/ TRESemme Moisture Rich Conditioner or Pantene Pro'V Naturals Conditioner and detangle

Morning Routine
Co-wash (as needed) using TRESemme Moisture Rich Conditioner or Pantene Pro'V Naturals Conditioner & detangle
Use Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-In Conditioner & detangle
Distribute Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Put EVOO on scalp (if needed)
Use Beautiful Textures butter or my shea butter mix as sealant for moisture & style to desire

Nighttime Routine
Massage scalp w/ EVOO or Grapeseed Oil as needed throughout the week
Massage in Beautiful Textures Leave-In Conditioner for added moisture
Detangle hair
Cover hair w/ satin bonnet & sleep :)

**Note I do not braid or twist my hair at night because my hands and wrist won't allow me to do so for as long as it takes to do. This regimen works just fine for me. Enjoy!

TAG YOUR IT!!!!!!!!

Here's my tag for "My Natural Hair Tag" from DearNatural62 on YouTube.

Product Review: Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothy

Product Locations & Pricing:

• Target: $9.99 for 12 ounces
• Walgreens: $9.99 for 12 ounces
• Shea Moisture's Website: $9.99 for 12 ounces

Ingredients:

• Water
• Shea butter
• Mango Seed Butter
• Avocado Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Aloe Leaf Extract
• Silk Protein
• Neem Seed Oil
• Carrot Seed Oil
• Essential Oil Blend
• Honeysuckle Flower Extract, Lonicera Flower Extract, Japenese Flower Extract
• Vitamin E

NOT in this product:

• No Parabens
• No Phthalates
• No Paraffin
• No Gluten
• No Propylene Glycol
• No Mineral Oil
• No Synthetic Fragrance
• No Animal Testing
• No PABA
• No Synthetic Color
• No DEA
• No Animal Ingredients
• No Sulfates

My Personal Review:

I've heard the raft of Shea Moisture products both good and bad but I never believe what I hear until I actually try it myself. With that being said, I've grown to love Shea Moisture's products. At first, with my 1st BC, I didn't use this product vigerously. I would only use it some times and I was mixing products with it not knowing the official benefits of what this Smoothy could do by itself, basically trial and error. With my 2nd BC it has helped tremendously. Not only has it helped moisturize my hair it has also helped retain the moisture and length of my hair. Goodbye breakage! Since my 2nd big chop I've been dedicated to this brand, 100% completely lol. I can tell you that Shea Moisture is definitely going to be in business as long as I have hair. This brand is my staple and I would advise anyone who is having problems with retaining moisture and wanting to stop breakage please try these products. There's lots of different kinds of products by Shea Moisture that you can try. So go ahead and head to your local Target and/or Walgreens and grab you some of these wonderful products.

Ok so today I'm specifically going to talk about the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothy. This product is the bomb.com yall. I'm telling you. As you all know I'm still in TWA phaze. I did my 2nd BC June 4th, 2011. That time I basically shaved my head completely and started all over. With that being said I already knew what problems I had last time and didn't want to reep the same concequences. I already knew how great of a product the Curl Enhancing Smoothy was so I decided to go ahead and go all Shea Moisture products this time around. Low and behold I have yet to have any breakage or dryness in my hair. This Curl Enhancing Smoothy is a God-sent blessing! If I could work for Shea Moisture as a representative or someone to give a testimony by God I would because these products workkkkkkkkkk! I have 3c/4a textured hair and as you know those two textures do NOT go good together. They are kinky, nappy, corse, and most of all hard to keep moisturized. It's a daily struggle but someone's gotta do it. Those textures put together are very rare but guess what, I must be that chosen one because I'm one of the rare. I have it and I'm working it hunny. I'm not ashamed on my nappy kinky loving curls. I embrase them and keep it moving, I advise you to do the same!

My Staple Products

Sorry I've been gone for so long but you know what I'm back bxtchesssssss! I'm gunna be in full effect back at the blogging and vlogging. I haven't been doing either lately it's been so busy at the office for a while now but I'm back and so excited to be back. Yes I am! I've got lots of giveaways, tutorials, how-to's, reviews, etc it's not even funny yall. I've got so much in store for you all. Anywho, I've been doing good. Got a full recovery from my two surgeries last year, Thank God for that! So therefore I'm back to my normal self :) I shot a video this morning of my staple products so make sure you check that out by either clicking the link HERE or by pressing play below.

Also make sure you go and SUBSCRIBE to my channel as well. Oh and make sure you follow my blog too :P Expect loads of reviews of all sorts. I'll be posting via internet on the laptop or the mobile device so make sure you check back DAILY!!!!! I love you all, have a great weekend and safety first!

Peace, Love, & Hair Grease!
-| LuvNKnappiness |-

Dry Itchy Flaky Scalps........OH MY!

Hey diva's!!!! It's been what a week since I've put some informative info on here huh? Well, wait no more! I've been doing some research on oils to help with dry, itchy and flaky scalps. I, myself, have been having all three of these issues lately. Since it's gotten so cold out our hair is beyond fragile. As most of you know I have a TWA and those are the worse to have during these cold winter months but it's okay! Most of you know that water is one of the best moisturizers to use but considering the weather conditions I wouldn't advise it, water can be harmful right now to our hair. So the alternative is to turn to the handy dandy OILS :) I've found that Aloe and Tea Tree oils are perfect for itchy, dry, and flaky scalps. I have been making a spray for my hair using both of these oils with some coconut oil and shea butter! It works WONDERS on my hair diva's. I've also discovered that clove oil helps strengthen your hair, which is exceptionally needed during the winter. This is when our hair is most fragile. The winter is against us and as I keep saying over and over the deadly hair killer is among us, which happens to be the COLD weather! I've been taking a change and using store bought products to moisturize my hair but they don't seem to be doing the trick so I've converted back to using my own products and stop testing store bought products. It's a great thing I did. I can feel my TWA getting stronger by the day! I've been working on moisturizers, sprays, gels, shampoos, and deep conditioners. If any of you diva's wanna test them and do a review let me know. You can email me with what you'd like to try and I can see about getting you a sample out asap :P If your not subbed to me on YT you definitely should go over and do so! Make sure you leave comments and things also. I try to make YT vids whenever possible and there are times I'm posting vids on there and not posting on here so definitely check that out.

XoXo
-Key

Breakdown of OILS

Considering it’s the winter season and a majority of us Naptural Diva’s are being affected by the cold weather, I thought I’d share with you what knowledge I’ve discovered about keeping your hair moisturized. I know how difficult it can be to keep your hair moisturized because I struggle with dry & brittle hair! It’s a pure nightmare. This is why I’m writing this blog with some useful information for you ladies.

I know a lot of us Naptural Diva’s use oils on our hair in different ways. The two most popular ways are by using them in moisturizers while others use them for sealant on our ends so they aren’t brittle. With that said, I’ve been doing some searching and I’ve found some useful information that I’d like to share with you :)

Idk if most of you know this but some oils carry bacteria/fungus from growing in your mixes. Some of the ESSENTIAL oils that are antimicrobial are as followed:
-Tea Tree
-Lemon
-Lavender
-Neem
-Mint (peppermint)
-Rosemary
-Eucalyptus
-Basil

Most oils and butters have a shelf life of about a year or more! Mixing them may decrease these numbers. Adding an antimicrobial WILL help increase the shelf life of your mix. I make sure to use one to two of the oils listed above in my mixtures just to make sure no fungus/bacteria lurks in my products. Now, because these are Eos, remember a few drops should do the job……… about 10 to 20 drops per batch should do the trick! Happy Blending Ladies :P