Koils-n-Kinks

Image via Wikipedia I am an adult. I am an adult with ACNE. I need to join support group for adults with acne. I have oily skin , and since becoming a natural, I feel I am having more breakouts than ever, well since puberty anyway. I have tried ProActiv , OTC cleansers, AVON, Mary Kay and now I'm trying the "oil cleansing method". The Oil Cleansing Method (OCM), involves using oils and steam to cleanse your face, Castor Oil , being the most important ingredient. My current recipe consists of 30% castor oil, 50% olive oil , and 20% hazelnut oil . My next batch will have more hazelnut oil due to its astringent and toning properties. You can choose any natural cold pressed oil to mix with the castor oil. OCM can be used for all skin types, but you have to adjust the amount of castor oil because it can be drying. So for normal skin use 20% castor oil, for dry skin 10% will do just fine. When making my concoction I use a sterile 10ml syringe, so I am only making 10ml...

I am trying a new method for curly hair y'all. I don't know how I will like it because so far, it is not so good!! I checked out this book called "Curly Like Me" by Teri LaFlesh. She shares her life/hair story in the book, throws in some pics, and lastly, gives instruction for shampooing, conditioning, and styling curly hair. Pros Easy to read Instructional pictures Ingredient breakdowns List cheap products Tool list Simple approach Cons Repetitive Not for kinky hair Styles for long hair Week 1 Used TresEmme Moisture Rich condtioner as my leave-in/styler. Did not like the white residue after hair dried, however, I did like the way my hair felt and looked during the drying process. Not really patient enough to "doodle" my hair and I could use less conditioner next time. I don't feel this method is for me. It required a lot of product, a lot of time in the shower and a...

On Oct. 2, 2011, my 2 year anniversary came and went. I didn't take pictures or measure length because my hair was in mini-twists. About a week and half later I removed them and did a deep conditioning using Naptural85's Greek yogurt deep conditioner recipe. I liked it alot. It made my hair feel smooth and frizz free, but I did it on dirty hair. Since I had to do major detangling I thought I would trim my ends, which they desperately needed. Too many fairy knots and splits to be considered as retained length, so I said "BYE BYE BYE"!! After removing the wrecked ends, my strands measured 8.5 inches give or take 1/8 inch. That really depressed me, well not so much, but I did lose half an inch since June. It made realize that I really needed to take care of my ends better, so my new mission is "Hide my Ends till Feb". I have no clue how I will achieve this. For the style below, I shampooed with NTM, then used Naptural's conditioner, then moisture/sealed wit...

Labor Day weekend!! Woohooo! What more can you ask for at the end of summer?! Cook-outs, parades, county fairs, and in my city, Taste of Madison!! Can't wait! After having the trees braids in for six long weeks, I had to take them out. Even though I loved having them, I could not shampoo thoroughly. I could have had them for two more weeks, but I couldn't stand it, and I missed my fro'. Funny isn't it? I'll give them another try in about a month or so. Well, after removing the hair and braids, I used HairOne cleanser (WEN knockoff), then twisted it up for a twist out using Naptural85's method. I just really admire her. I also used the cleanser as a leave-in, sealed with my homemade shea, then set with ECO styler gel.

I have been getting my hair braided for years. Box braids, micros, kinky twists, weaves, cornrows. Last year I stumbled upon "tree braids" while online, and fell in love with them. They look like free flowing hair, almost like a weave, but without the sewing or the dreadful glueing. You can choose any type hair, and do many styles. Checking out the style on my way home I live in Madison, WI, and there are a handful of African braiding shops. They are always booked, and they are always small, and as always, PRICEY!!. I have never been afraid to spend some dough and spend some time on getting my hair braided up, but I have developed a small problem. Socializing, that alone, made me keep my distance, thus not being able to get my beloved tree braids!! That and the fact that I couldn't find any info on tree braiders for my area. I finally stumbled across someone who can do it, from their home!! Yay!! Let me tell you, it took me a good week to call her and make my a...

Well, I finally tried to straighten my hair. I decided I needed something new and fresh for the holiday. I shampooed, deep conditioned, blow-dried and flat-ironed my beautiful tresses. It was a chore, let me tell you!! This was a while ago, so let me see if I remember correctly. I pre-treated the night before using the remainder of my Herbal Tame, shampooed the next morning using Gold Medal's Headstrong Ultra Care shampoo . I followed that up with a deep conditioning using my Gold n Hot Bonnet dryer and Queen Helene's Cholesterol plus my own add-ins. After rinsing that out completely I did a moisturizing treatment using Neutrogena's Triple Moisture Daily conditioner. I sectioned the hair and let it dry in about six large twists, which took all day, so I called it a night. The next morning, which was the 4th, I woke up at 6am and started the blow dry/flat-ironing process. For blow drying, I started with the back sections first. I took down the twist, then sectioned and deta...

Yes, I must admit, I was out and about naked! I left the house naked, got in my car naked, went to work naked. NAKED NAKED NAKED!! Well, my hair was anyway!! Get your minds out the gutter people. While browsing the web, I found Tiffany, the Curl Whisperer , on CurlyNikki 's site. It turns out, she has her own website and has lots and lots of info for curly girls. She states that in order to find products that work for your hair type, you need to know what it feels like naked, sans product. So, I followed her advice and found out that my hair doesn't feel so terrible without all the product on it. In fact, it feels better and all my little curlies fell right into place!! By going naked, I found out the following: 1. my strands are fine/medium in texture 2. the porosity is normal 3. it is not overly dry, as I previously thought 4. my ends are trash, I already knew that 5. it is actually soft 6. tangles easily Now I also found Chicoro on Fotki.com. ...