To Baggy or Not To Baggy?? That is the Question.

Purpose: It is routinely used to get a moisture boost between washing. It is used to help those who have excessively dry hair.

How to use......
Moisturize hair with a product that is very good for moisturizing.
Apply a plastic hair hat
Leave on until bed time (some people do it over night).
Goal 2 - 3 hours per daily

       Is this something that I want for my hair? I am low porosity and I tried this...... The verdict!!!! I ended up with over moisturized gummy hair. It tangled up very bad. I can't do it. My moisture levels were fine and I messed it up. I am gonna have to start listening to my hair and stop jumping on every bandwagon there is.
       Baggying can be good if you have low porosity and are on the dry end of the spectrum. Just because you are low porosity doesn't mean that you are going to be dry always. It is true that once you get the moisture in it is hard to get it out.  I can witness. I never thought I would ever be in this predicament. Is it a bad thing? It can be. Enter the dreaded protein......
       To fix this mess, you have to use a protein conditioner because that is what the hair lack. I did the Aphogee Two Step and Followed up with a deep moisturizing condition. Did it work? Ahhhhh..... NO!!!! My hair is still very, overly moisturized and that is that. I will have to wait 6 weeks before I can do it again. It has a shine out of this world. I can't get it to hold the twist. My hair is not behaving good at all. I have never had issues with my hair holding a style. It is like it change on me. I look like a 4a. I'm not, I have 4c hair. My curls are popping and I can do a wash n go. I don't like it. So......To Baggy or Not To Baggy?

I created a video and  this is what I actually thought. I can admit that I was wrong.
Maybe once every blue moon, lol. ~ttfn

Tea Den 

Relaxed Hair Focused!!!! :(

       I was just looking back on some of the blogs and I noticed that they are all geared toward relaxed hair. I remember when I got my first relaxer. I was in the 9th grade. That lifestyle lasted 20 years. I cannot believe that I was a slave to the creamy crack.  I was a die hard relaxed head girl and I new I would never go natural. Never!!!! About 6 years ago I got into healthy hair after all of my hair had fallen out due to improper use of relaxers. For the majority of the years that I was relaxed I word my hair cut short because I assumed that my hair could not grow passed a certain point. I wore gorgeous styles too. I was a slave to hair color also during this time. I have done everything that could be done to hair and survived. I reminisce about having a difficult time because my hair would not take relaxers. I would relax every 4 weeks because it got nappy too fast. Over time I gradually learned to stretch my relaxers. I think my longest stretch to date is 12 weeks, maybe. My hair actually started to grow because when you learn better you do better. 

       My hair has been my greatest struggle. I live in a society that values light skin or anything close to white, "good hair" or anything close to straight, and thick bodies or J-Lo. I have none of those things. I can remember being teased because my hair was short and my face is dark. I held my head up and carried on. I was never the one who would wear artificial hair, so I endured my short hair. When I learned better my hair grew like I have never know before.

       Well, I am hear to say that I's natural now!!!!!! My hair is now my greatest asset that gets the most compliments. It grow also. I have a good length going on. I actually like my hair. My hair stats are as follows:
1. strand size: thick
2. texture: cottony
3. curl pattern: circular coils and s curls
4. porosity: low
With each passing year, I get a little better in find out who I am. My next blog is going to be about the tug of war between protein and moisture. ~ttfn.

Product Review: Cosmetics: Wet n Wild I'm Getting Sunburned Palette

I purchased this palette because the colors look beautiful and I figured that I could make the pink work for me. It consist of three very pigmented colors. 
1. The Brow bone - This color is a very shimmery light pink. I believe that it has a white base because on my skin tone it appears silvery.
2. The Crease - This color is a very deep dark chocolate brown with shimmers or glitter. It is very gorgeous.
3. The Eyelid - This color is  a peachy gold with shimmers or glitter. It is a very warm color.

I am on the fence with this palette because I had false expectations. Pink is my favorite color but pink makeup is not my friend. So, I have to learn to face the realities.

The second photo is what the colors look like in the palette. I have reasons to believe that this palette is a warm palette because it actually works with my skin tone to a degree. 

This third photo swatch of  the colos in the palette. This is what it looks like on very dark skin tone with warm undertones. The pink doesn't actually look pink on me but silver. That is what colors with a white base or color undertone do to me.

This is me after I had attempted to use this palette. I think the next look that I will attempt from this palette will not include the pink. I actually like the gold color the best. This review had nothing to do with hair per say but that's OK. I have some more product review that are on the way that consist of products for the hair. Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog.

Length Check

This is a photo of me. I suppose this is right at the end of my challenge. I need to make mention that I trimmed my hair in the middle of this challenge because it was desperately needed. I actually trimmed quite a bit. My hair seems to be growing nicely.

Official Length Check JCBO Challenge

This is my official length check for my JBCO Challenge. My hair has been freshly washed, deep conditioned, detangled and trimmed. I washed my hair this time using an actual product designed to be used as a shampoo. I deep conditioned by giving myself a protein treatment. I thought it would be a detangling nightmare, however that was not the case. I guess my detangling technique is getting better. I followed up with a moisturizing conditioner. I used my wheat germ oil also. I detangle with my denman.  I trimmed my ends because they were due. I feel good. 

Products that I used:

1.Shea Moisture moisture retention shampoo

2. Aphogee two-step protein treatment

3. ORS replenishing conditioner

4. Shea Moisture anti breakage masque

5. Proclaim moisturizing conditioer

6. Wheat germ oil

Method

1. I shampoo my hair with one lather.

2. On an impulse, I decided to do a protein treatment. I put the two step on and sat under the dryer until  it was dry.

3. I rewet my hair ( at this point I was scared) and applied #3, 4, 5, 6. I also lightly finger detangled and section my hair using scrunchies.

4. I allowed the conditioner to sit on my hair for about 45 mins. and I also sat under the dryer for about 10 mins.

5. I detangled using my denman and another detangling comb.

6. I trimmed the ends as I detangled.

 

Hair Typing

FIRST CLASSIFIER - Your curliness (or lack thereof)

The straight ones
1a - stick straight
1b - straight but with a slight body wave, just enough to add some volume, doesn't look wavy
1c - straight with body wave and one or two visible S-waves (e.g. nape of neck or temples)

The wavy ones
2a - loose, stretched out S-waves throughout the hair
2b - shorter, more distinct S-waves (similar to waves from braiding damp hair)
2c - distinct S-waves and the odd spiral curl forming here and there

The curly ones
3a - big, loose spiral curls
3b - bouncy ringlets
3c - tight corkscrews

The really curly ones
4a - tightly coiled S-curls
4b - tightly coiled hair bending in sharp angles (Z-pattern)

SECOND CLASSIFIER - What (most of) your individual strands look like

F - Fine
Thin strands that sometimes are almost translucent when held up to the light. Shed strands can be hard to see even against a contrasting background. Similar to hair found on many people of Scandinavian descent.

You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Fine hair is difficult to feel or it feels like an ultra-fine strand of silk

M - Medium
Strands are neither fine nor coarse. Similar to hair found on many Caucasians.

You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Medium hair feels like a cotton thread. You can feel it, but it isn't stiff or rough. It is neither fine or coarse.

C - Coarse
Thick strands that where shed strands usually are easily identified against most backgrounds. Similar to hair found on many people of Asian or native American descent.

You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Coarse hair feels hard and wiry. As you roll it back and forth, you may actually hear it.

THIRD CLASSIFIER - Your overall volume of hair

Put your hair in a ponytail with as much hair as possible in it. Don't bother with the way it looks - the goal is to have most/all of your hair in there. If it means it sits smack dab on top of your head, put it there.

Measure the circumference of the ponytail. If you have bangs and/or you can't get all of your hair in there adjust according to how much of your hair you have measured.

i - thin (less than 2 inches/5 centimeters)
ii - normal (between 2-4 inches or 5-10 centimeters)
iii - thick (more than 4 inches/10 centimeters)

THe JBCO Challenge

I am starting a new challenge. My challenge is the Jamaican Black Castor Oil Challenge. I have been reading some good things about this oil and I have decided to try this in a challenge. This is my personal challenge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Challenge Rule~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. I will apply JBCO to my scalp three times per week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
2. I will seal my ends with JBCO.
3. I will take a starting photo by April 1, 2013.
4. I will take weekly photos on Saturdays and upload to my fotki.
5. I will journal my progress in my pen and pad journal as I progress.
6. I will  take an ending photo by June 1, 2013.

Goal: To be consistent with my daily hair regimen. This challenge will be a 61 day challenge.