My current hair routine

Since my bc (big chop) on July 4th, 2010 my hair care routine has changed too many times to count. In the beginning of my natural hair journey; I like alot of new naturals , tried almost every product that was mentioned on other blog sites that was supposed to give the best of all I was looking for,for my hair. I wanted the end result before going through the process and it always left me frustrated because not only was I wasting time but money as well. I have a hair store in my bathroom  and trust me my hubby, whose nickname is Julius(from everybody hates Chris) has all but put me hair product restriction!  So, what do you do when you've done all you can? you just stand(yes, I went church on yall) and stand is what I did. I stood in the mirror and told myself that enough was enough and I needed to stop with my hair envy and allow myself  and my hair to go through the process it needed to get to my ultimate hair goal (which I call organized chaos)
                                                                                    
This picture is an example. It's an afro but not your 70's style, of course it's modern and just plain FLY. So, needless to say I was shampooing way too often and using the wrong products for my hair type. There is some mixed feelings on hair typing in the blog world but it has proven to help me to know my hair type which is 4a/4c , it's thick but my strands are actually fine. Now that was so interesting to me because I was always told that my hair was coarse. So, with this knowledge I can now purchase the products that can help my hair to thrive and I can get to my "organized chaos fro". After much trial and error I've found the right products and care routine that has made my hair health and styling so much better.
*side note : I did consult a professional stylist (she's natural) and that was very instrumental in product selection as well as basic hair care instructions. 

This is my current routine(disclaimer: I'm not a professional stylist and I'm not endorsing any of the items that will be mentioned. This is just what has worked for me) 
I thoroughly shampoo once a month with Design Essentials Natural curl cleanser sulfate free shampoo.
I then use the moisturizing conditioner  which contains: Rose hip oil and coconut milk. I also rinse out the conditioner with cold water to retain shine. I even did this when I was relaxed, my stylist told me it closes the cuticles.
Next I detangle with my tangle teezer and use the Curl stretching cream to style my hair. I use olive oil during the styling process (it helps reduce frizz) along with the cream.
My staple style is a twist-out or braid-out.

In between(re-styling) routine:
I usually re-style my hair on Wednesdays ( no particular reason why)
I discovered the oil cleansing method my accident. I was actually using that method as my skin care regime and had a light bulb moment and tried it on my scalp to refresh for a re-styling routine. I was pleasantly surprised at the results.
The OCM recipe is simple:
 2oz of grape seed oil (natural moisturizing oil/cleansing agent)
 2oz of jojoba oil  (moisturizing oil)
a few drops of tea tree oil ( itchy scalp/dandruff )
I got this recipe from The Mop Top Maven and just adjusted it for my personal needs.
I divide my hair into 4 sections and then divide each of those sections into 2 for a total of 8 sections. 
I then massage the oil mixture onto my scalp section by section.
I then use hot towels to wrap my head with to help the oil penetrate.
I then use a hand towel to cleanse my scalp and gently wipe my hair.
Next I start the styling process from above.
I've done this method for the past couple of months and it has yielded great results each time. I know it seems like alot of work but it's just because it's written out. Honestly, the cleansing process is the fastest part of the process. For me the time consuming part is the styling because I have so much hair and I do my twist smaller on styling day. But  re-twist or braid larger sections nightly.
I know this was a lengthy post but I wanted to make sure I got all of the details in. My friends have asked what I do to my hair, so here it is. Let me know if you have questions.

Keep it natural and fierce,
Puddin

Michelle Obama style

                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                                       


I really admire our First Lady Michelle Obama. I think her style is sophisticated and timeless. I love everything she wears.  I'm sure it must be difficult to always be on point and flawless, even in your down time.  I must admit that I've adopted some of her styling practices into my own personal style. I used to be obessed with heels but as I've gotten older I realized beauty does not have to equal pain! So, I started investing in awesome flats and kitten heels. 
 
I love these shoes. I feel some retail therapy happening soon!(I have issues..LOL)
But what I found was these styles are my feets (is this correct english? lol) new best friends (if that's possible:) The good thing is they can be styled in numerous ways. One of my favorite things is the boyfriend jean and either pair of these shoes can give you a look of class.
                                                                                                      

What I like about this jean type is that they are very forgiving. I found mine at JCP on sale for $18(I love a bargain...btw they are Levi's) pair with a solid tee and a big belt and a scarf and a cardigan with your flats or put on a chunky sweater with some statement jewlery pieces and your kitten heels and your ready for a date with your honey! 



                  



I love simplistic styling it just makes life easier and no matter what the occassion you always look put together.  I think that's what I admire most about our FLOTUS. She has that put together look on lock. I feel a style challenge coming on for myself! I'll be sure to post it. There's nothing like a challenge to get the creative juices flowing.

Thanks for stopping by,
Puddin

(images are from google.com and no particular designer was selected)

                                                                   

My new favorite thing!

I'm not Oprah but this is my new favorite thing. It's called Tangle Teezer and it does all it claims to do:

* Increase shine
* Gentle, effortless detangling for both wet and dry hair
* Ideal for all hair types
www.tangleteezer.com

I went to Sally's a few days after reading about this product on Curlynikki.com.
A little hair story. My hair is very thick and tightly coiled and one of the "problems" I kept running into was frizz and my ends being very hard to detangle. I had come to the conclusion to use a warm comb on my ends only. I'm so glad I read about the tangle teezer first. I used this on my dry hair and was amazed at how easily it went through my hair and the fact it was painless(I'm tender headed) was that much better! I braided my hair for a braid out and when I took my hair down the next day...Sheer perfection, well maybe not perfect but awesome is just as good. My hair was shiny and bouncy. I'm hoping that over time and continual use it will help produce even better styling. Needless to say no warm comb for me. That was the best $10 I've spent on a hair item in a while.
Thanks for stopping by,
Puddin
(I was not compensated in any manner for this post)

What the what?

     

Who would've thunk it!? Of course after I declared this the year of getting back to me and not only doing things for others but making time to enjoy my interest (yeah right) there has been nothing but chaos! Now, thankfully nothing bad but getting back to me surely has not happened! It has made me stop and say "what the what?" (thank you Mr. Brown) because what I really wanted to say was  "WHAT THE HELL?" (oops I just did..oh well:) Okay, please bear with me because I feel a venting session coming on.

I started this journey wholeheartedly. I was determined to get my independent voice back. I joined a book club and even went to a meeting (say what...yes I'm that girl!) I did drag my friend with me but still progress all the same. I even joined a natural hair group ( I'm on fire, you can't touch this!) Seriously, though I have stepped out of my box with just those two moves, so this is where it all takes a turn.

I needed to get all of the important family things taken care of so, I got the Dr. appointments made and I even included myself on that list.  My oldest son who has braces needed to have a wisdom tooth pulled so that was an added task to my list. Now, let me qualify the previous statements. I'm not complaining. But giving an example of how easy it is to get away from yourself, even with the best intentions and or efforts. Okay, back to the journey....I went to the Dr. who is a specialist that I'm supposed to see once a year (not that one) and not only  had I gained weight (I knew that one..unfortunately) but the shocker (epiphany moment) was that I hadn't been in two years!! That's when I said to myself " This is not working and something has to change Now!"

As, mothers,wives and sistah-cuzin-girlfriends we do alot of multitasking for others. But for me it has come at the expense of my overall health. That's unacceptable! We must put "US" at the top of the list in order to be effective in taking care of the rest of the list. I know that's easier said then done so we need to take baby steps but steps need to made none the less.

So, ladies as I bring this venting session to a close we must make more of an concerted effort to really put "US" on the top of the list.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Puddin

(image courtesy of adinkrafilms.blogspot.com)

FAB FRIDAY!

Happy Friday,

I really wanted this post to be about the Fab trendy items that are in style and that will put some sass in your weekend outfits but I'm still getting all the images together. I'll have all of that together for next Friday's post. For those of you that don't know, let me tell you I LUV FASHION!! high end, low end and all of the in between. 
Don't get me wrong I'm as frugal as they come. I loves(yes loves) it when I get "high end" pieces at low end prices! foot every girl should !
So, going forward the Fab Friday posts will include great bargain sites and brick and mortar information as well.
As my sistercousin told me " we are not in a recession but a correction" and I couldn't agree more. So lets correct our frivolous overspending and shop more wisely and frugally and still be FAB while we do so!
Thanks for stopping by,
Puddin

What's in a name?

The name of this blog was a collabrative effort that consisted of myself, my husband and my sistercousin. What the hell? I'm sure is the first response when you hear that, so let me explain. I'm an only child. However, I was blessed to be raised with my biological cousin (she's a year older..lol) and since her mom and dad(my aunt and uncle) always treated me like one of their own, the title sistercousin was born. So, when I tell people about her, to say she's my cousin is technically true but she so much more. I wish every girl could have their own sistah-cuzin-girlfriend because it's one of the best relationships that can be had. So, that's how the name came about for the blog. We have a crazy family but not that crazy!!
Thanks for stopping by,
Puddin

Well good goobly, it's been  crazy these past few days. All I can say is kids ( especially boys!) will drive the most sane person bananas! With that said let's talk about hair. As, I mentioned before I've been natural since July 4th, 2010 and it has been both a joyful and daunting experience. The joy has been watching my hair grow like crazy over these past 6 months. The daunting comes in trying to find the right products for my hair. In the beginning I bought every product that I read about on other natural hair blogs. To say that was both a waste of time and money is an understatement. I don't want to bash any products so let's just say expensive(over $25 a jar) does not mean better and just because something is inexpensive(less then $10) it will usually end up on the "what was I thinking shelf" as well.  So, lets put all of this in it's proper perspective (with my little learned knowledge) about this natural hair journey:

*When you decide to go natural learn to be patient with your hair and yourself. This is a learning process for you to get to know YOUR hair, which brings me to
*Everyone has an individual hair story. Your hair will not look like mine and my hair will not look like Tracy Ellis Ross( i luv big hair!) because we all have different hair textures. However, I can still get my own big hair.
*Lastly(for now anyway) get a hair consultation with a natural stylist. This was a life saver for me. The products that she recommended for my hair type was Design Essentials Natural line. It has made my braid/twists outs sheer perfection.

I hope this information  helps and I'll be doing more in depth hair posts but it can be so overwhelming I really need to get all of the details together to deliver the information properly. I also want to start adding pictures to future post, especially for those of you who are visual. I really want my blog to be of service to others, so please bear with me as I continue to tweak the format and information content.
Thanks for stopping by,
Puddin

Getting back to ME

Okay, it's 2011 and with every New Year comes new resloutions. This year is no different for me but with one exception: I'm wrapping up my third decade and dammit I'm marching onto and into my fourth decade with much attitude! Now, I don't mean that in a negative way, just in the "I'm getting back to me and what I want to do way!". I actually started this journey at about 38 and a half when I decided that I wasn't going to be held captive by my relaxed hair any longer and went natural with a BC (big chop) on July 4th, 2010. That was one of best personal decisions I've made in a while and definitely the best hair decision I've ever made. More on that in future post :) What will this blog be about? Honestly, a little bit of everything that interest me. Now, let me warn you I do have alot of interest so that  should provide me with alot of material, but I don't want to be spastic...lol
I'm looking forward to taking this journey and getting Back to me!
Thanks for stopping by,
Puddin