Dear Universe, I hear ya!

Have you ever felt like the universe is trying to tell you something but it's not what you want to hear?

Ok so...Over the weekend I cut my hair. I've been feenin' for a hair cut for a while now but I didn't want one that wouldn't allow me to put my hair in a bun. Anyways...fast forward to this weekend after my henna treatment, instead of waiting till I hit the salon, I decided to cut my hair myself. At first I was like, oh ok...I dig it, until I realize that my hair was not going to be in a bun no time soon *insert sad puppy dog face here*

I've been sulking for days, which is really weird because again, I really do like my haircut, BUT being that I don't normally wear my hair out..yea..this is why i've been sulking. But then today I after reading Taneicia's blog, where I realized that she's sharing the same sentiment as I am after her cut, I decided that maybe it's the universe trying to tell me something.

You see...everyone loves when I wear my hair out, but I don't. My hair is VERY thick, and I can resemble Chewbacca, and sometimes Cousin Thing in a bad setting, so I try my best not to let that happen, but I do wear my hair out..just not often. So anyways..after reading Taneicia's blog, I chopped it up to the universe saying "baby girl, you've been natural for damn near 7 yrs and you've never really enjoyed wearing your hair out, but here you are, trying new things (henna) and you decided to cut your hair, so why not enjoy it?" And I said, "you know what universe? you are right!" So..I've decided, no more sulking, enough bitchin'.. I will be enjoying my hair cut at all costs and on the days that i'm not..there's always my trusty beanie :D

I know some would say "Oh DiJah, it's just hair!" but to me it's not. My hair is my identity. It is just hair, but i'm not defined as much, and when people describe you, they have so many things and at times your hair is one of the things that helps to describe who you are, I know for me, I stand out in many circles because often times i'm the only natural in that setting.
I say all that to say, as this blog grows, I hope to show more of my hair and what i've learned in terms of taking care of it - maybe I can help someone out there, who knows? : )

Take it easy y'all!

My Lush Henna Experience.

Two weeks ago I decided to give Lush henna a try. It was the same day my product junky-ism kicked in and I bought that awful Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue. After my awful twist out, I decided to try my henna and I loved it!

I must first tell you that there are a lot of other brands of henna out there (Hennasooq  & Henna For hair, or even Butters-n-Bars sell them) but I decided to try Lush's henna because I couldn't be bothered with the adding anything extra like i've read on other blogs.

My henna of choice was the 'Caca noir' which is henna + indigo. I grated 3 cubes and added warm hot water to the mix. I stirred it up until it was a yogurt-like consistency, and then covered for a while until the henna wasn't too hot for my head.
I should note that I was told to use 3 cubes (the chick from Lush recommended it) but with my hair, I believe I should've used more. At least I know for next time.

The first time I did my henna, I kept it in my hair for 2hrs and then I washed with my Shea Moisture Moisture Retention shampoo 3 times. I had to wash it 3 times because I wanted to get all the twigs out of my hair, AND until the water was clear..no fun having twigs AND your hair smelling like kale while you're out lol.
I deep conditioned with Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque for about 2-3hrs. When I finally conditioned my hair with a cheapie conditioner (vo5) GOOD LAWDT! My hair felt grrrrreat! (Tony the tiger's voice).

All I did after I was done washing was add some Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in conditioner and a lil bit of Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, and did a side braid. When my hair was fully dried..hunniiii! my hair had body! like for real..the body on my hair was something serious!
My hair is naturally thick but as of late it has been a lil limp, hence why I wanted to try henna for the second time to see if this was a 1 time thing...

Now..my second time with henna, I got the same results, which just means, I will be incorporating henna into my regimen from this day on.
I couldn't wait till my hair was dried to write this, because I already saw a difference before I did anything with my hair.

Here's how it went: After I washed the henna out (which I had in for 3hrs) I then washed with the SheaMoisture shampoo mentioned above, washed 3 times, then added my deep conditioner. I kept it in my hair overnight because I was too tired to wash it out, and the morning after, I washed it out and conditioned my hair. I decided to give myself a "trim" (more like a cut..I clipped off roughly 4inches) and my afro was HUGE! Again, I believe this is because of the henna because like I said, my hair has been limp as of late...so yea...yayyy for henna.


Now please note: I didn't get a color change, as others have experienced. Maybe because I dyed my hair jet black last August, but it should also be noted that I wasn't looking for a color change when I decided to use henna, this was strictly for conditioning purposes.
- Yes, there will be twigs. From my research, it seems that all henna have twigs in them but after a few washes, they'll go away, so do not worry...it's really not a big issue.
- And last but not least - I didn't wash my hair before I applied the henna. I spoke to a few people at Lush before I gave it a try and even though the pamphlet says "clean hair" I was advised to put it on dry hair because it wouldn't "take" to my wet hair.

If you have any other questions, please ask..I've been writing this post for a week now and had more to add but some might have slipped me : ) so don't be afraid to ask.

Now..Have you tried henna? if yes, which one? and what were your results?
And for those who have not tried henna, are you thinking about it?

Have a great week y'all!

The Pencil Promise.

On Monday I had the opportunity to sit down with a lovely woman by the name of Susan Barron Trenk. She is the founder of The Pencil Promise, a '1 for 1' non profit organization that supplies children in difficult regions with backpacks and school supplies so they can attend school fully equipped.

After introducing myself and a lil small talk about my name's origin, where I'm from and how I ended up sitting across from her (lol), she began telling me about their last trip to Kenya, which they just got back from in January.

The bags that The Pencil Promise donated to the children were made by the Maasai women in Kenya, which not only provides bags for the children but also keeps the women employed, isn't that great news? Especially since there was a point in time when women were not able to work, they were married off at a young age and that was all they had to their name - wife & mother.

Throughout our talk, I kept thinking about how I could spread the word about such a great organization, and blogging definitely came to mind..I would also love to work with them personally besides blogging, because I believe that this is a great cause and every effort put in, is worth it.
The Pencil Promise not only visits Kenya, they've also been to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to deliver backpacks as well.

For more information on The Pencil Promise, please click the highlighted link and check out their site, as well as like and browse their Facebook page, believe me, you will be inspired to make a difference, and by a difference, I mean - purchasing a backpack so that two can be added to the batch to be sent to whichever country they are planning to visit next.

Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue

So...last week after class, I was dead set on purchasing henna, and since my school is close to Ricky's, I decided to take a stroll (knowing I wouldn't find what I wanted there anyway..but the PJ in me just had to go). So after walking the isles of Ricky's, I found myself standing in front the Miss Jessie's section.
I thought I swore off Miss Jessie's? Hmm...
Anyway, after a long  drawn out debate with myself, I decided to pick up the Curly Meringue, since I did have somewhere to be on Thursday (Happy Hour woot! woot!!) and I wanted to let my hair out.

I know I haven't had the best results with Miss Jessie's products and the hair boards hate their products but I said what the heck, why not? just because..

I went home, and went straight to styling my hair. I decided on flat twists because, I only have to do 6 or 7 and let it dry and my hair will come out looking like Diana Ross..so off I went, sat my behind in front of the mirror, twisting away. I spritz my hair with a lil water, added some curly meringue and I was there daydreaming in the scent..I couldn't wait for it to dry!
After 3 twists, I got fed up..my hair is too thick and I was too tired to focus on making the hair neat, so I unraveled the twist and I was like cot damn! my hair is defined already!..this gave me hope, unlike the Curly Pudding - but that's another story.

I started on a twist out, with my new found hope and anxiety. After I finished up the twists, I let my hair air dry a little bit, and then tied my hair with a silk scarf.
The next morning I woke up my hair was STILL wet (dub-tee-eff?!?!). This is the saaaame exact thing that happened when I tried the curly pudding, and remembering this began to upset me because I should've known better but yet I insisted on giving them another try. Ugh!

I was set on letting my hair out though so I sat under the dryer and let my hair dry while I anticipated the events of the evening : )

When my hair dried, I started to take the twists out and I was slightly disappointed : (. My hair was frizzy! If it's one thing I hate is adding product to my hair and it still comes out frizzy! I could've used Eco Styler gel for all that! But I wanted to give Miss Jessie's another try.

Will I purchase this product again? Highly unlikely. Gonna add this to the list. I've tried the curly pudding before and the only thing I liked about it was my hair smelling like grape, everything else was a disappointment. My hair felt like it would never dry, and I didn't get any definition AT ALL. Normally I ignore these products due to the ingredients but they boast to be the best curl creme, so I gave them a chance and well...sigh!

I tried the 'poo before as well as the conditioner, it was ok..nothing special. If I had to choose between them and other products, the other products would be in my shopping bag. The only product I see myself trying from them again is the Quick Curls. I tried it before and it curled my hair while wet but when it dried it was dry and flaky, but i'm willing to give it another try. Hey! maybe i'm a sucker for disappointment, who knows? I'll let you know after I try it again lol.

Have you ever tried any of Miss Jessie's products? If yes, which one? and did you like it..lemme know..
BTW - I did get my henna, from Lush. Post about that coming soon : )

Been gone for a minute, but i'm back up in it..

I've been toying with the idea of bringing back the blog for a few reasons.
One of which is: I love the share my thoughts, and two - because my friends constantly ask me about it.

It wasn't until I started visiting Sophia's blog that I actually thought I should. She gave me an unexpected push, that I didn't even know I was looking for, or needed. (Her blog is great guys, really you should check it out) I was like yea! I wanna do this again! And then today (1/25/2012), my Communications teacher spit some motivational ish that gave that EXTRA push, so here I am, brainstorming in class, planning to re-emerge.

Give me some time to get the blog back in shape. Please. A lot has changed for me and since my blog has always been a reflection of me, I believe the blog should show that. Nothing drastic, just a lil bit of this & that.

- Familiar faces and the occasional passerby, I put my hand to my heart and say Thank You for rocking with me.

Blessed Love.

P.S: Remember when Ma$e made a come back?

Rick Ross ft. Drake - Made Men.

First single off Rozay's upcoming album 'God Forgives, I Don't.'

Cheers to the frickin weekend!

 

Download: Cheers (Drink To That)