5 Years gone in 2 weeks!

Before && After

So I completed my hair this past weekend.  My first day as a natural fro chick was pretty difficult.  A lot about this transition is learning your products.  My bestie did the big chop about 8 months ago so she was more seasoned that I when it came to testing and buying products.  She took me 'hair sample' shopping yesterday and I was able to purchase a bunch of small samples of products.  This was so important because natural hair care products are expensive!  Blah.  I was told by many to try Miss Jessie's products.  At $2.99 a pop, I got lots of samples.  The first product I sampled was the Culy Meringue.  Smells so good!  It was LOADS better than the piece of crap I used on Saturday.  Okay so let me back track a little...

Saturday I took out my last locc at approximately 4PM.

Last of the loccs out!

Actual length, minus the curl

 I deep conditioned for about 2-3 hours.  While deep conditioning I ran to the beauty supply store and bought this terrible product. The instructions were to wash my hair, do my twist-out and apply the product the next day when my hair is dry.  When I took my twist out, it left my hair feeling really sticky and frizzy.  I ended up running to my friends dinner and begging for a scarf to tie my hair up... :/

Not good for twist-outs!

disgusting, sticky twist-out

 

 

 

Head wrap to hide that mess up there

Okay so when I got home that Sunday, I washed my hair again and put it in a bun.  After work Monday, the bestie and I bought samples. 

I co-washed my hair, sectioned off my hair, applied the Curly Meringue from the scalp to the tip, and two strand twisted my hair.  When I woke up, I took the twist out.

Here is the end result!

5 years unLocced!

It's been a while!  Someone asked me the other day, "Why aren't you blogging anymore?" and I didn't really have an answer for her.  I figured since I am going through such an amazing transition, I should share it with everyone via blog!

I've had my loccs for about 5 years now.  I am a person that gets bored VERY quickly and always feels the need to reinvent myself.  I started to feel lost behind my loccs and felt the need to get rid of them.  Now I do NOT have the face for short hair so cutting my loccs was not an option.  Where does that leave me? 

I asked some friends and did a little research and found out that you can comb your loccs out!  The process my friends told me was to 1) soak my hair in hot water 2) lather some conditioner on the hair 3) get a metal fork and start combing those bad boys out!  One night I sat at home and combed one locc out.  It took about 1 hour.  A month or so passed and I hadn't revisited the idea of combing out my hair again until I began following all these natural hair bloggers on instagram.  My desire for change went from 5-105 in about a day.  I decided to youtube some videos about the process.  I learned that it pretty much takes days to complete.  I gave myself a goal, and decided that by Sunday, December 9th, I will have all of my hair combed out.  I'M SO EXCITED!!


Here are some products that I am using. 

I used this product after doing some research.  I works much quicker than the regular conditioner and it smells AMAZING.  I ordered it from Amazon

Also ordered from Amazon, the reviews on this product are AMAZING.   Promotes hair growth and thickness.  I wanted to get this product because I was worried about how my edges would be after taking the loccs out.

Also ordered from Amazon Reviews are amazing as well.  This product is SMELLY!!  Too soon to say whether or not it works, but i'll keep you posted

Biotin- GREAT for hair growth.  Take one once a day!  Drink lots of water

So here are frequent questions I get:
-WHY? Why are you doing this?:  I can not explain it.  Someone with loccs would understand it much more.  I have 2 hair styles.  Messy bun and neat bun.  I need a variety that loccs does not allow me to have.  Do I love my loccs? Yes. Will I miss them? Yes. 

-Are you going to perm your hair after? NO!  I want to remain natural

-Have you lost a lot of hair? Yes, but I've also retained a lot.  My loccs are/were mid back length.  The hair that I have combed out thus far is shoulder length.  Any hair that I have lost is all dead hair.

This is me in 2007 before I locced my hair.  This is just about the ONLY image I have of my natural hair in a fro.

This is how I am wearing my hair now that I am taking the loccs out.  My loccs are thinning out because I've taken so many out so far.  To work, I weat my hair in a bun.

Not too sure why my photos are uploading sideways -_- but whatever.  That is a picture of the shrinkage.  It's REAL!

Actual length

More Shrinkage

Actual length after strinkage

A couple of loccs from the middle of my head

I really wish my photos would rotate *rolls eyes* This is the back of my head.  double strand twist. 

I want to conclude by saying this is NOT an overnight process.  I would say i seriously started taking my loccs out around November 30th.  I've taken some out day by day.  For those who want to take out their loccs, know that it requires a LOT of patience.  For those of you who want to locc your hair, DO IT!  I love locced hair.  I think it is absolutely beautiful. Just like how people decide to cut their hair from really long to really short, it is completely okay to go from locced to afro.  It's hair!  It grows back.

All products ordered from AMAZON

Why is hair better than mine?

Ever saw a guy with hair sitting prettier than yours? His perm is blowing in the wind as if he has his own personal diva fan.  Here are the top 5 men with hair that looks better than yours...

5. Real from Real Chance at Love-  I never knew if this was a weave or not but his hair looks better than Beyonce's

4. Katt Williams- his doobie is sittin' hunny!

3. Lenny Kravitz- Such a beautiful head of hair...

2. Snoop Dogg- Snoops hair always looked better than most women in the industry... who does his perms?

1. Nick Ashford- RIP to you and your beautiful hair

English 101

There are certain things that we learn in school that we all tend to forget.  I guess the Good Lord put me here to remind you of some things.  Keep in mind I'm not the best writer in the world but dammit, this shit is common sense.

-Please stop saying MINES.  It's mine.  If someone comes up to you and states, "That's mines." Back hand them.

-There is a difference between there, their and they're.  There is to be used when referring to a location.  "It's over there."OR Use there with a verb  Their is used as a reference for a possession.  "Their jackets are on the bed." They're is a contraction of they and are.  "They're going to the movies."

-Conversate is NOT a word.  When I type conversate, the little red line appears under it which indicates it is NOT a BLASTED word!  It's converse.  "We conversed for hours."

-Were is past tense and we're is a contraction of we and are.  They're not the same! (<-- peep the proper usage of they're).  "You were supposed to go to the store." "We're going to the store."  Get it?

-Women means more than one woman.  Woman is singular.  "What's up woman?" (If you say that, then you are referring to ONE woman).  "Where are the women?"  You are referring to 2 or more women.

- Lieing and dieing are not words.  The IE is to be replaced with a Y.  LYing/dYing.  "She's lying."  He's dying."

-Please don't use double negatives.  "I ain't got no money," means, "I have money."  "I ain't never been there," means, "I've been there."  "She' ain't never there," means, "She is there."

-Defiantly and definitely are not the same thing.  Definitely does Not have an "A" in it.

I hope this was helpful :)

Happy Anniversary!

This weekend I celebrated my 1 year anniversary with MY Maria :) You CARE! I know you do. 

Anyway, we started our day off vending at the Brookville Tennis Club Health Fair.  It was AWESOME.  Very informative.  Lot's of very important facts that most women my age do not know about. 

• I learned that Ovarian Cancer is not detectable.  There is no test for it!  
• I learned that about 90% of women in my age bracket (28-30) find lumps in their breast.  Does not mean it is Cancerous, could be a fibroid, calcium build up, a benign cyst or lumpy tissue.  Still, if you find a lump, it is best to get it checked out right away.  
• I learned that you MUST get a paps test every year until about 75-80 years old!
• This was the most interesting...  I learned that there has been an increase in STD's with senior citizens.  Men ranging 60-70 are having sex with prostitutes and contracting STD's.  This is why a Paps is suggested for women until 75-80 years old. I can't believe that anyone would be having sex at that age but.. yea.  
• I learned that once your child becomes sexually active they are to have their first paps.  Either the age of sexual activity OR 21.

All in all, it was a very informative event.  After the anniversary we went to dinner and spent some time with my mother.  Perfect day to celebrate a perfect year with the Love of my Life :)

ANTM Alumni a meth addict?

Most of us would run home every Wednesday to catch America's Next Top Model.  I know I did.  I don't remember what cycle Jael was in, but I remember always feeling that she had substance abuse problems.  She spoke very slowly and seemed a bit off.  I believe her cycle was the one where 50 cent pushed her into the swimming pool because she kept bothering him. 

Fast forward 6 years and Jael makes her next television debut on Dr. Phil.  This was not an episode where they catch up with the former model and find out what she's doing now.  Or maybe it was.  The episode was to implore Jael to seek medical treatment for her 6 year addiction to Crystal Meth.  Jael was visibly embarrassed, attempted to run from the cameras most of the show and scared of what can happen to her if she decided to seek treatment.  Eventually Dr. Phil was able to get her to agree to go to rehab. 

My prayers go out to her and her family.  Addiction is serious.  I hope she recovers fully.  SHAME on Tyra Banks for not offering some type of assistance to this young woman.  I think eventually she will come to her aide... for publicity. 

Get into Tanny's Couture!

There has been an influx of entrepreneurs lately.  People has learned the formula to running a successful small business.  Social Media has made it easy to create your fan base, network your product, and make sales in a matter of seconds!  If you have an instagram account, its not hard to come across users who use their account solely to post pictures of their items to entice others.  That's how I came across "Tanny's Couture."

Tanny has some AWESOME pieces and the prices are even better!  Most of you know I make it a strong point of mine to support up coming businesses (Via the Creativity Chip Mixer)
Not to mention Tanny is completely professional and accommodating.  She is responsive to ALL inquiries and she offers FAST SHIPPING!!


Website- Tanny's Couture
Instagram- Tannys_Couture
Twitter- @tannyscouture
Facebook- Tannyscouture1
Tumblr- Tannyscouture.tumblr.com

Here are some of my favorites!

Democratic National Convention speeches...

In case you missed it:

Here are the speeches from the DNC!

DNC VS. VMAS

     VS

The Democratic National Convention took place for 3 days last week.  On the first night we had the joy of listening to Michelle Obama's speech.  To me, it was beyond outstanding.  On the second night we got to listen to Bill Clinton, among others.  On the third night, we got to listen to several celebs along with Mr. Obama himself.

Coincidentally, the night of Obama's speech was Fashion Night Out, and the VMA's.  As you would have it, it became a huge conspiracy as to why the VMA's was being aired the same night as the President's speech.  Was it a bit shady?  Yes it was.  On all social network sites people began to post about this being the first black host since 1999 and the awards being held every Sunday for years and now all of a sudden on a Thursday.  Then the campaigning began.  Everyone jumped on the, "if you're watching the VMA's instead of the President speak then you're a loser" bandwagon.  I call this a bandwagon because these post were EVERYWHERE!  SMH

I commented on a few post but once I saw how anger people were about people watching what the hell they wanted on TV, I decided that maybe it was time for me to put the social media away and concentrate on doing WTF I wanted to do.  SOOOO... I continued to watch the VMA's!

I personally feel that people should have watched whatever they wanted to watch!  Don't make ANYONE feel bad for their choice in watching an awards show.  The people who attended Fashion Night Out didn't get any backlash and I am pretty sure they still support Obama.  I don't need Obama to persuade my vote.  He already has my vote!  Regardless of his speech, I am going to vote for him.  I am already aware of  the issues he wants to address.  I have researched ObamaCare.  I have researched his plans on taxes and student loans.  If I want to watch somebody's RASS CLAT awards show then I CAN!  Doesn't mean I do not support him!  And Dammit, might I add that we live in an age where there is DVR and YouTube.  I watch what I want, when I want... IN THAT ORDER!

One more thing... Where were the bandwagoners when people were watching the Giants game instead of the DNC last Wednesday?  Please, I implore you to have SEVERAL TOILET SEATS!

In Rihanna news...

Rihanna got a new tattoo!!!!  I already see the flood of easily influenced young adults AND grown women getting this tattoo because she did.  There will be an influx of under tittie tatts within the next few weeks.  The tattoo is actually very pretty.  It is meaningful to her since she just lost her grandmother. 

Who wore it best? Rihanna Edition

Very difficult to determine who wore an outfit better than Rihanna.  After all, it's Rihanna.  Still, who wore it best?

Kim Kardashian VS. Rihanna

Rihanna VS. Florence Welch

Rihanna VS. Rosario Dawson

Rihanna VS. Sienna Miller

Okay, Okay... you're probably saying to yourself, this is not fair! I didn't give Rihanna any competition!  Okay, so here are her in some looks that are completely ugly. 

Rihanna VS. Jennifer Lopez

Rihanna Vs. Ciara

Kristen Davis VS. Rihanna

Becky got moves!

I came across this video of a Caucasian woman doing African dance.  She is AMAZING!  I can not move like that.  Shameful.  She is a TRUE dancer...

Marshbarisms: Solange Knowles is the best Knowles!

I mean... Beyonce is cool and all BUT everyone knows the real fashion icon and style holder begins and ends with Solange Knowles. #Marshbarisms

 Images Via