Deep Conditioning to the rescue

You see in the last few weeks (and I'm ashamed to say how many) I have failed to DC. And I have an excuse (at least I think I do) - I ran out of deep conditioner *bows head in shame*.
Last sunday, it all became too much and I decided that I HAD to buy a DC at all costs.
Now I could have gone through the stress of looking for the closest 'ethnic' store but I was so desperate that I just went to the nearest boots store and purchased my DC and a few other bobs as there was a 3 for 2 offer. (I kno I'm supposed to have given up PJism but 3 for 2????, common now...I'm an ijebu girl;)

Anyways I bought the Tressemme thermal recovery treatment mask as it was cheaper than my regular ORS replenishing conditioner...Imagine the last time I checked they were selling it for 10 bucks...a whole 10 bucks..they must really have liver(guts). 

Moving on...lol..so the last time I used this DC, I mixed it with some Giovanni SAS conditioner as it was almost finished and the outcome I remember was real good. My concoction had soo much slip and detangled my hair pretty well. Now prior to this,I had used the tressemme on my relaxed hair and didn't like it much.

So much to my surprise there's this article on CN a day after buying this product and its about choosing the perfect DC. Talk about co-incidence ay. Boy was I happy when I read the recommended ingredient list and found that my new buy had passed the ingredient test.

This morning I decided to d/c at the expense of being late to work (well I was only 5 mins late so that's not too bad).I also wasn't feeling the whole sleeping on wet hair business last night.
So how did I like it?? It was amazingggg!!!!! As before, it had soooo much slip and detangling was much easier. I used quite a bit of product but the tub still looked pretty full.

Would I recommend it? Well I'm no expert but it sure did work well for me. I'd say to give it a shot if you live far from an 'ethnic' store and need an emergency DC. I'm pretty lax about ingredients and so will use commercially made products, provided they don't contain the real 'baddies' like mineral oil, petrolatum and the like. That said, the ORS replenishing conditioner is still my no 1 staple.

Here are pics of the other items I bought with the 3 for 2 deal:

I've heard so much abt this product and since
 I'm out of HE HH/BE, I decided to try this.

This is my 4th buy as they keep breaking

Thought I'd try a new accessory

That's all for now folks.


xoxo
Miss Jay

Going out + Natural hair

I'm in desperate need of funky quick transition hair styles for going out. My friend invited me to go salsa dancing and in the midst of my studying, I started planning vigorously. 'What shall I do to my hair and what outfit would match with it?' Mind you I had just over an hour to get home, take a shower, pick an outfit and do my hair.

I thought of a top knot bun but remembered past experiences and many failed attempts. As I couldn't come up with anything, I decided to do my 'one in town' bun using some kinky curly gel this time around. Whilst in the shower I did a quick co-wash with my HE BE. With water running down my hair, I put my hair in a low ponytail. (I find it's always sleeker making your ponytail when it's this saturated). After getting out of the shower, I applied my Giovanni Direct leave in conditioner, followed by the kinky curly curling custard. I brushed my hair using a soft boar brush and then sealed with some moroccan oil.

I think it was the best idea in the end cos boy did I dance till my feet hurt. At the end of the night my hair was still looking immaculate. By the way I spotted another natural at the opposite side of salsa bar...go her...lol. I should have shuffled my way through to have some  hair talk (you know you're natural when........)


You know what was real funny, the next day I had to go to work for some teaching thing and a classmate approached me and was like were you in the Westin yesterday?? If I could blush i'm sure I would have been red all over and that's because I'm usually shy and reserved so it was as though my alter-ego had been exposed. But hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of; I love my dance and he loves his salsa too...and did I mention he's more reserved than I am??? So ya, that makes two of us.

Anyways, If any of you are ever in the area and want to check out a salsa club, I would thoroughly recommend the mint bar on Friday nights.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take pics in my rush,  however, my friend did take a few group pics, so whenever i'm able to get them off her, i'll upload em. Below are the products I used.

oh and that's how much hair I lost in my rush..lol

I also happen to have an older pic from the last time we went salsa dancing. On that occasion, I did a poofy side part and used a flower to accessorize (I think I might do a style series on this later)

XoXo,

Miss J



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Style Series 4

The 'dry' bun- Wahhhhhhh :'( i can't find the 'hash' / 'pound' key on my laptop keypad. Yes, call me 'bush' or uncivilized....but the truth remains that its not there staring up at me *wipes tear*
I guess the reason for this could be that this is an 'Aba' (meaning fake) style series; i'll explain.
You see, I didn't do too much with my hair over the lent period. I guess she too was fasting...lol.
One of the few things I did do was to perfect my bun. Unlike my previous post, this was done on 'dry', stretched out hair. 

I'd also like to apologize in advance for not having pics for each stage. As it stands i'm not an octopus yet ;) and until I get a tripod, please bear with me :)

Stretched out hair- I stretched out my hair by dividing my hair into 4 sections after washing it and making 2-4 twists per section. So in total I had between 8-16 twists. I tied my hair down in a ponytail and 'rocked' that hairstyle for about 2 days. On the third day, I took it out and.....

Step 1: Unravel the twists and mist each section of hair with water (or a water: glycerin mix- 60:40) using a spray bottle.

Step 2: Moisturize and seal each section using a moisturizer and oil of your choice. (I used Giovanni Direct Leave-in conditioner to moisturize and sealed with avocado oil.)


Step 3: Tie your hair into a low ponytail using an ouch less/ snag free ponytail holder

Step 4: Use your index finger to make a 'hole' in the middle of your ponytail and using that as your vantage point, distribute the hairs outwards (like a star)

Step 5: At 12 o'clock, divide the hair into two parts, and starting with the right section, gather and tuck the hair in as you move clockwise. As you approach 12 o'clock again, continue to roll and tuck in the section you left out together with the hairs in your hand.
(i hope this is not too confusing... I could do a video to demonstrate if need be)

Step 6: When you have your bun, use another ponytail holder to secure the bun in its place and voila!!!.

Step 7: Tie a satin scarf over your head for at least 10-15mins to allow the style to set.

front-top view

another view

and another

back view- z bun

and that's all for now folks.

xoxo,
Miss J

I am second

I had a lovely easter weekend and hope you did too. My sis was in town for the weekend and we had a nice time touring the city, taking loads of pics and meeting with friends. As easter Monday rolled in, I felt renewed and had this sense of 'new beginnings', which was probably coupled with the fact that I had turned a year older and the reminder that what Jesus did for us on the cross, which we celebrate during easter truly marks the start of a new life and a new relationship. I spent the most of Monday listening to stories of several men and women who had experienced this 'new beginning'. I believe now more than ever that one day in the near future, my story will be complete so that I too will be able to share it and encourage others.

The following video is the first one of the series of the 'I am second' videos that I watched that Monday morning. They are truly inspiring and life changing I must say. I kept bawling the whole time and for the first time I really felt 'changed' from the inside.  I'd like to encourage you to watch not just this one but the other videos in the series. I hope that by the end of it all you too will feel inspired and a new sense of hope, a new beginning, will be birthed from within. Stay blessed :)

Phewwwwww!!!!!!!!

Yayyyyyy!!!!!!! Lent is over and i can finally break my 'fast'. I'm sooo happy I made it through. I felt like giving up several times but glad I stuck it through. Just wanted to wish you all a happy Easter!!! Today also happens to be my birthday so yayyyyyy....go me...woop woop :) Going to bed now; there's sooo much to catch up on and I can't wait. Will blog soon.

Take care,
Miss Jay