Pentecost Sunday!!

Borrowed from internet - couldn't resist as my boys LOVE lego :)

Whooop Whooop!! Today is Pentecost Sunday! A day where we celebrate the day that The Holy Spirit came to us and the beginning of The Christian Church.

It's a time to appreciate The Holy Spirit, to give thanks..... to dance and sing, to praise and worship WHOOOOOPPPPP!!!

Three of my fave choruses to sing on Pentecost are:


Fire, Fire, Fire.
Fire fall on me.
Fire, Fire, Fire.
Fire fall on me.
On the day of pentecost,
Fire fall on me.
On the day of pentecost,
Fire fall on me.








Let the fire fall on me my Lord,
Let the fire fall on me.
Let the fire, from heaven, fall on me,
Let the fire fall on me.

When The Spirit of The Lord is upon me

I dance like David danced.

When The Spirit of The Lord is upon me

I dance like David danced.

I dance, I dance, I dance like David danced.

I dance, I dance, I dance like David danced.

OOooooo I'm starting to feel happy and cheerful just typing them out. laaa laaa laaa.

What a privilege to have someone to comfort us in our time of need, To empower us when we feel weak. To guide us when we are lost. To provide knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

To bestow gifts unto us and give us His fruit!! Oh Glory!!

I hope you have a fantastic day xxx

Wash Day - Change of Plans

The best laid plans and all that, I had good intentions for this wash day but the "delightful" English weather had other plans.

I oiled my scalp with ORCO and applied some to the strands the night before all ready to follow last weeks routine of Pre-poo - School run - Wash - Deep Condish - School run - Rinse and Style buuutttt things went skewiff.

I successfully applied my pre-poo (Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl & Shine Conditioner and Sweet Almond Oil), Put my hair in a bun and tied my trusty slim scarf round the front and went on my merry way.... 5 minutes into the school run (or scoot as it's become) the heavens opened and down came rain... alot of it.

By the time I went to school and back I was drenched! There was no way I was gonna wash my hair after that....and go back out in the rain.
I thought the best thing to do was to leave the conditioner on my hair until evening, rinse it out and do a cowash as I wouldn't be doing my deep condish and didn't want the shampoo remove all the moisture. I used Pantene Truly Natural Co-Wash Cleansing Conditioner - LOVE this cowash!!
I realised my ACV was finished (bah!) so I had to leave out the acv rinse and just did the last wash with cool water. (I was a chicken and hopped out the shower and just held my head under the water NOT my whole body lol).

I removed the excess water with a vest then rubbed some Organic Raw Coconut Oil through my hair.


I wanted to use my new purchases to see how they worked in a wash and go (erm wash and style and sleep) so grabbed my Beautiful Textures Curl Control Defining Pudding and Beautiful Textures Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Creme, I sectioned my hair into 4, then worked in subsections. I mixed/rubbed the two products together in my hand (The directions on the tubs suggests adding the butter to the pudding for "custom blend" to get "even greater curl definition, elongation and moisturization") I am really liking these two products so far.
I applied Eco Styler Krystal Styling Gel from root to tip smoothing with my fingers. I smoothed a small amount of JBCO and ORCO and moved on to the next section. When my whole head was done, I let it air dry for a while. I couldn't stop touching my hair to see if it had dried!! I also kept playing with the curls... even though I know it will cause frizz!! Ugh I had to distract myself with 'Sims Freeplay' to stop lol.
When my hair was almost dry (some parts where completely dry and some slightly damp but I had to go to sleep) I banded the curls into two "bandtails" - I don't know what to call them as they aren't exactly pigtails or ponytails haaaaa - slicked some gel on my hairline/edges and tied with my scarf.

I'm hoping my hair won't cry at me with all the omissions to my wash routine (no tea rinse, no acv rinse, no deep condish mix..... I think that's all).

Here's my day 2 and 3 hair:

I'm really loving my curly fro, I don't know if my hair is becoming more curly, training itself to hold a curly style, or changing texture altogether but I am noticing that my curls are becoming more defined. Maybe it's the added length that's stretching it down. Anywhoo I am enjoying wearing my hair curly.

I'm joining the Wash Day Experience fun again this week:

Wash Day - Wash and GO

As I may have mentioned ( a zillion times lol) I've been wearing my hair curly for the last couple months and this wash day I set my hair in a wash and go.... I'm not sure why it's called that as I don;t literally wash and go.... more like wash,style and sleep :p

My hair was really in need of a wash this time round as I had missed my normal day due to a very packed week and I really got some good use out of my Herbal Essences Clearly Naked (0%) Dry Shampoo. 

I had the school run to do so I put my pre poo on before I left, this time round I used the american Aussie Moist and some Organic/Raw Coconut Oil. I smoothed it through my hair, put my hair in a low bun and tied a slim head scarf round the front.

When I came back, I washed my hair with L'Oreal Professhinnel Serie Nature Riche Macadamia Shampoo, rinsed with tea rinse (today's was a mix of Nettle, Peppermint, Star Anaise, lavender and a "relax" blended tea with rosemary EO)

Deep Conditioner Mix

I removed excess water and applied my deep conditioning mix, I wanted to add a small amount of protein as I had been using a moisturising condish to refresh my wash and go all week so grabbed my Kanechom Leite de Cabra (Goat Milk) Hair Moisturising Mask and mixed it with NAAT Silicon Moisturizing Hair Mask (my silicon mix bambuu is finished *wail*), Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil and some essential oils (Jasmine, cinnamon, rose) I knew I would be doing the afternoon school run with the condish on my hair so I didn't add coconut milk powder.
This mix was fantastic!! It was soft and went thru my hair so well. I had curls on my curls ;) and the "slip" was amazing.
I covered my head with my conditioning cap and a head scarf. When it was time for school run I slicked my hair into a low bun and tied the slim head scarf at the front again. It was quite a sunny day so my hair had a lovely sun generated heat. I replaced the cap and scarf when I got home.

Now I must own up, I did plan on washing the deep condish out and styling the wash and go so that it had a chance to airdry before bed buuuttttt..... I had so much to do that it was bedtime before I knew it and the condish was still on my hair waiting..... Ugh, I almost just left it on and slept but I knew my hair would be angry and mushy! so I dragged my self to the shower, rinsed it out, finished with an Apple Cider Vinegar  rinse and wrapped my hair in a vest to remove excess water.

Leave Ins

I decided to follow a tip I picked up from a few vlog/bloggers and styled my hair while it was wet instead of allowing to dry a little as usual.
I rubbed some Organic/Raw Coconut Oil  through my hair then sectioned in 4. I then worked in two sections of each 4.
I was gonna use my Kanechom Karite Butter Hair Moisturising Cream(condish) as my styler but decided to use the  Kanechom Karite Butter Leave In Styling Cream instead as I had used it to refresh in the week as I needed a lighter moisturiser and fell back in love with it (should have went with first choice) oiled my scalp with an oil and eo blend. I really liked how the JBCO made my hair feel during the condish session and thought I'd use it with some ORCO to seal. I finished off with my well loved Eco Styler Krystal Styling Gel.
I put my hair in four twists, banded in two pigtails either side, slicked the front down with more gel, tied the front down then covered all with a light scarf - it came off in the night but I didn't bother to re-tie it as I was sleeping on my satin pillow case and thought my hair may dry better without scarf.

In the morning my hair still wasn't dry so I used dryer on cool and warm to finish drying, pulling each twist gently.
I did like the results but wished I'd used the kanechom condish instead of the styling cream. I pulled the top section of my hair back, clipped it up, leaving the back section down and put on two thin double alice bands. (ugh!! the band was twisted and knotted up at bedtime!)

I am loving the curly hair styles and aim to wear my hair this way for the next couple of weeks. I am getting the straightening bug more and more but want to keep off the heat for a while longer.
Maybe I'll do another no heat rollerset to stretch and slick my hair out in a few weeks time - compromise lol.


{It's been a while but I am joining the wash day experience this week, can't wait to have a browse at everyone's wash day posts (glad I'm not the only one that loves having a nosey at wash days lol) }

NAAT Silicon Moisturizing Hair Mask i

NAAT Silicon Moisturizing Hair Mask i

NAAT Silicon Moisturizing Hair Mask iV

NAAT Silicon Moisturizing Hair Mask i

Hair Update - May 2015 (picture heavy)

I realise I haven't really updated about my hair since last year so thought I'd do it now.

It's very helpful for me to have a post (or 10 lol) that allows me to see progress, keep an eye on any products/techniques that affect my hair whether that be in a negative or positive way, and set and review goals.

Growth:
My hair has really improved both in length and health since this time last year. I have retained length well and even though I did a couple of trims to remove some ends, I have gained whoooop.
Here's a few pics for comparison;

My afro is coming along nicely:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

afro, 06/14

afro, 07/14

afro, 10/14

afro, 12/14

afro, 03/15

As I have been staying away from heat, I don't have many straight hair pics but here's a couple:


Blowdry/rollerset:

blowdry, 11/14

rollerset, 04/15

Straightened/Flat ironed:

straightened, 03/14

straitened, 11/14

 Wow!! Pictures really do help to show progress. It doesn't really feel like my hair is growing at times, natural hair has alot of shrinkage lol. I have noticed that I need to use more thread and bands when I am stretching my hair and also my twist/braid outs hanging lower.

twistout, 08/14

twistout, 06/15

 My hair has grown in length and thickness! My relaxed hair was no way near this thick.
I can now claim shoulder length for the top and back of my hair - whooopwhooop - and the front and fringe/bangs are now around chin length.

 Transitioning:

It has been 21 months since I last relaxed my hair and I am almost fully natural now. I just have a few straggly ends left from my two trims and general breaking.
 My transition has been hard at times with my hair "acting up" but I seem to now be familiar with my hair's needs and cna mange it much better. The added thickness has taken a while to get used to and many a hairband has been snapped (one just this morning actually lol) putting my hair into a bun/ponytail is a task and my sections have increased when moisturising and sealing but I welcome my hair's new found thickness with a grateful heart.
I have discovered some curls I didn't even know or remember I had. Thinking back to my relaxed days, I did have some waves when I added gels and liked the crimped look when I twisted my fringe and let it out. I just assumed it looked like that because of the relaxer. I do realise that my relaxed ends may be pulling my hair down causing it to look more curly than it is but I do have parts of my hair which are all natural as the relaxed part has long gone and those parts are also quite curly. It will be very interesting to see what the texture is like when all the relaxed ends are off.

Styling:

As well as my trusty buns, I have been wearing my hair in more curly styles for the past 2 months. I had wanted to go on another protective style challenge and put my hair away but changed my mind at the last moment and curls it was. I have noticed that my hair looks much better in twist and braid outs now that there's less relaxed ends and I enjoy the results more.
As I mentioned, I noticed some curls popping up, especially during my deep conditioning sessions and it made me want to try a wash and go more and more but I felt my hair wasn't quite long enough to hang how I would like, the pull was too much so I gave it a try and I LOVED it, it was quite strange at first as I am not used to the shrinkage and the look but I have done quite a few and will continue to wear my hair this way for a few more weeks.
I have been gathering wash and go tips and picked up a couple to stretch the curls which gives the style a longer look.

Wash and Go

Wash and Go - Stretched

twistout refresh of Wash and Go

curly bun and fringe/bangs

 Products:

 Although the product junkie in me has been subdued I have to admit that I have added a few items to my stash, mostly the Shea Moisture goodies that I have been raving about. I also picked up Lutrasilk Curl Max Curl Activator Moisturizer on the recommendation of a lovely assistant in a hair shop, she was admiring my curls and told me I didn't need a wig haaaaaa, she told me there was a product she uses that really brings out her curls so I tried it and it really is fab!! The orice is good too and for a big bottle.
I am saving up some pennies to purchase a few items from the Curls range, to use in my curly routine, I have the Passion Fruit Control Paste which I love, I used it for edge taming and slicking my buns but recently used it in a twistout too.
I'm still enjoying mixing oils to seal with and for the last couple of months or so, have swapped my Hairlicious for my Boosted Cinnamon oil for my scalp and have been loving that.. I will be going on another hairlicious 30 day challenge soon and a batch has been infusing for the last few weeks.


Routine/ Regieme{n}:

I have kept up with my routine for the most part - weekly washing and deep conditioning, nightly moisturising and sealing, scalp and edge treatment and massage.
While wearing wash and go's I haven't been moisturising every night but use oil.



wowww what a long post lol!! It's been noce having a look at my progress and it can be a "go to" post for when I get questions about my HHJ.

They see me rolling......

Firstly where did the last couple of weeks go?
We have been busy buy here with school, college, homeschool, courses....... whoooaaah not to mention house stuff. I am STILL trying to find the special life balancing card that will grant me the secret of juggling every area my life annnd allow me to have enough spare time so I can relax and enjoy a hobby or two... oh and sleep. Since I haven't found it yet my blogging has taken a nose dive... AGAIN!!

Last week, I tried another roller set to stretch my hair, my last attempts were fails+ but I have been seeing such great results from vloggers/bloggers/Intagrammers and decided that I'd have another go and if it was a fail I'd just brush my hair up in a bun and call it a day. I think the fact that I have wearing my hair curly for a while has allowed me to be less stressy when it comes to shrinkage and frizz etc.
I needed to stock up on my Dominican conditioners so while I was at the hair shop I picked up some magnetic rollers along with some hair goodies and couldn't wait to roll up (my hair of course... not... well you know what.... anyway...).

I washed my hair and wanted to add some protein as I had been using alot of moisturising conditioner during the week to refresh my wash and go. I didn't however want to do a heavy protein treatment so I added some Motions Professional Oil Moisturizer Deep Penetrating Silk Protein Conditioner
in my deep conditioner mix.

When my wash day routine was done I started with the rollerset. Originally I planned to wash my hair and deep condition for a few hours and then rollerset allowing my hair to air dry before I went to bed or maybe use the dryer on cool, something came up which meant I had to scrap the plans and ended up rollersetting right before bed and sleeping on the rollers, surprisingly not as bad I thought it would be, turned out not painful but awkward.

I followed some tips that I gathered from the many different posts/videos:
*Making sure my hair was wet.
*Using adequate amount of wrap lotion ( I used Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Frizz Free Curl Mousse)
*Keeping the rollers taut while rolling and clipping
*smooth the hair onto the roller.

I had to re-roll a couple rollers and to be honest I need a little practice to perfect my rolling technique but it was much better than the times before. I used bobby pins when needed
I placed my hairnet over the rollers and went to sleep.

I kept the rollers in for a while during the day to make sure my hair was fully dry and when I took the net off I was surprised to see the hair on the rollers was smooth! when them down my hair was smooth and shiny, I was amazed as I hadn't used any heat at all!! As the whole point of the rollerset was to stretch and straighten my hair, I brushed it out and wowww I loved the results. I could also get a looksie at my hair growth so far, I was shocked at how much it has grown in the last 2 months or so, it may be the wash and go's and twist outs that's doing it as I don't need to comb my hair so often plus I used conditioner to style them so my hair has been loving the moisture.

I forgot to take pics straight away and remembered a day or so after doh, soooooo the following pics aren't as straight and slightly frizzy and my face looks very strange in one and my eyes weird in the other so I blocked it out buttttttt it's the hair that counts right? ..... yeah:

rollerst: Fluffy and stretched

rollerset: side part

When I got tried of wearing my hair down, I put it into a side parted low bun, the rollerset made the bun very sleek indeed:

I'm thinking of rollersetting again soon as I really did like the results, I will probably try the saran/cling-film wrap method and see how that goes.

Wash Day "chronicles"

Clarifying Wash Day Items

I realise my blogging has been sporadic... ok it's been baaaad. I am trying to juggle so many things and getting everything done is becoming a dream rather than a reality and the things that are not absolutely essential remain undone, blogging is one of those things and all the ideas, posts and thoughts remain in my head and not on my blog *sigh*

My last Wash Day post has been ages ago but I (obviously) have been washing my hair since then, every week actually and I have been making little changes and reintroducing items that I stopped using for some reason. I thought it would be a good idea to post about the changes so I can see if they make a difference to my hair - for the good or bad.

Only one pre-poo - I put oil in my hair and leave it in overnight and use that as my pre-poo rather than doing one before the shampoo. I use coconut oil overnight, depending on the way my hair feels/looks I decide whether I need to add a conditioner or not and also if I need to use a different oil altogether. This has helped to cut down on time and hasn't caused any problems.
Coconut Oil right after last rinse - Another thing I stopped doing for no reason at all, I don't even know what made me start again but I am glad I did, it really makes a difference.

Essential oils - For some reason, I stopped using EO's during wash days but I added them again a couple of weeks ago (or more, I'm losing days lol) I add them to my tea rinses and also to my conditioner mix. 

Adding oil(s) to my Conditioner Mix - I have started to add oil again, I stopped as I thought it was overkill with the oil as I use oil overnight but I love the way my hair feels after deep conditioning with the oils and my hair is soft and shiny.

Finger detangling only - I didn't mean to omit the comb during my wash day routine, I just forgot to comb my hair out lol, I normally comb the conditioner through my hair when applying in sections and then again just before I rinse it out. Somehow I forgot to detangle on wash day, I only realised that I forgot when I was putting in my leave ins. I didn't notice any added problems caused by the lack of comb. When I forgot again I decided to leave comb detangling out for a while to see how my hair gets on without it.

Allowing my hair to dry more before adding leave ins - I found that doing it this way made a difference to how my hair felt and looked the next day. I used to just remove the excess water but letting my hair dry more has become part of my routine that I will keep. I think adding the coconut oil straight away makes this work so well.

Banding - When I wanted to stretch my hair I reached for my trusty thread and did the African thread technique but it takes soooooo long and I found my ends would keep getting ripped off *gasp* I am sure its my technique that's wrong as I sometimes knot it in a way that tangles up my hair but I bought a couple packs of hairbands and went back to banding, I loved the way my hair looked and can't even remember why I stopped in the first place.... I think maybe it was harsh on my hair or something but for the time being it's going well. I'll keep an eye on the bands to see if and hair gets caught in them.

Sulphate-free Wash Day Items

Sooooooo there it is, wash day changes, additions and omitions (is that even a word?) so far it's working well for me.

Good Friday!!

Today is Good Friday, The day when Jesus died for our sins.

Although I am aware that Jesus came to earth and died and rose again everyday, it really seems to resonate over the Easter period and on Good Friday especially.

I have many battles to face, daily I am faced with my own inner voice taunting, shouting and bringing me down. Then the external voices weigh in and make me stop in my tracks at times.
I am going through a hard time at the moment but know this will pass.
A few months ago I had a down phase and it knocked me for six. I really had to dig deep and claw my way to get out of the tangled chains but I made it and now I feel the dark cloud threatening to engulf me I am trying to do the same thing and pull myself out.

I am using the significance of Good Friday and remembering that every hurt, pain and depressive thought I have was nailed on that cross with my Saviour.
I am comforted to know that He feels my hurts and pains, He knows how I feel and cares.
When He arose, He conquered everything that could keep me bound and set me free, even when it doesn't feel like it, I AM FREE.

Life can be hard at times but I am thankful for life, that I am living, that I want to live. There was a time when I really didn't want to be but I really do want to live and that alone is reason to be thankful.

With all that being said, I hope you all are having a great Easter so far. Here's one of my fave songs that really bring the Easter theme to life, enjoy xxx