Heat damage-What's that? and how to protect your hair

Hey guys,

As I thought about updating my blog's healthy hair care section I decided to focus on something a lot of us have experience with. Any guesses? Well its heat! We all live in the same world of tosseled hair on magazines and beach waves, and I live in the Bahamas and i've seen the Banana split come back in style...All of these styles have one thing in common, the use of heat. Sure, you can make 1 or 2 of these styles with heatless methods but a lot of us jump for the easy 10seconds around the curling wand method. Although I do not use heat on my hair right now, I thought this would be helpful for those of you that do or those who are contemplating to. Whether you prefer a flat iron, barell curler, hot rods or a blow dryer, if you want healthy hair its good to have some tips to follow concerning the use of heat products.

Heat damage - What is it?

Damage caused by the use of heating appliances such as blow dryers, crimpers, flat irons, curling irons etc.

So, here are my tips for protecting your hair while using heat. 

1. Monitor your heat usage.

Please don't use heat more than necessary especially if your hair is in its natural state. Natural hair is prone to drying and breakage, the overuse of heat will only make these to effects worse.

2. Use a heat protectant.

The use of a heat protecant will not protect your hair 100% from heat damage but their use is still imperative when you want to add some heat.

3. When flat ironing ensure that you use a flat iron that is temperature controlled. This will help you monitor the temperature at which you will be ironing your hair. Healthy hair burns above 450oF. 

 4. Only pass over a section once.

Please do not get flat iron happy. Passing over a section once will allow you to monitor how much heat is actually being applied to your hair.

5. Make sure your hair is completely dry before flat ironing.

6. Make sure your hair is clean!

Heat free styles may take a bit more work but if you want to protect your hair start incorporating them into your weekly regimen. I'll be posting later about some very nice heat free styles. 

Xo Drea12:9

Blessings & Love

Stay connected with me by liking me on facebook and following me on twitter @242Naturalista

Shea moisture Curl enhancing smoothie review

Hey guys, so i'm back with another review for you. This one is going to be for Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing smoothie. 

So I received this product a couple weeks back, almost 2 months from one of my cousins who went stateside (please excuse my Bahamianese lol that's the US). I read a couple reviews and wanted to try it out for myself. As you all know my hair tends to be quite dry and thick and therefore I try hard to look for really good products that hit my price point and do what they say they do. 

This product was purchased for under $12 at Target and it contains 12 ounces. The packaging for me is pretty detailed, it let's you know that this product contains no parabens, sulfates, animal ingredients among other things which I really liked. The ingredient list is a bit long but it does indicate that this product is made up of certified organic coconut oil, shea butter and mango seed butter among other ingredients. The packaging also specifies that this product is for thick, curly hair which for me was like an instant win lol.

Uses

The packaging notes that this product can be applied to damp or dry hair to enhance curls, minimize frizz  and provide curl control.

My first impressions

First and foremost this product smells fabulous. The product is white and creamy. It is not too thick and it is also not runny. I applied this product on freshly washed hair after my leave in conditioner. My hair felt really moisturized. I did not really notice much changes in curl definition but I did not really mind that. My hair was moisturized for 2 whole days before I had to re-apply product.

My overall impression

I really liked this product for the reasons listed below 

1. Love the fact that its a water based moisturizer. Water is the first ingredient which tells me that this product has a high concentration of water in it which is always a good thing.

2. This product smells amazing and not it one of those "over-fragranced" ways. It has a really sweet smell of coconuts and flowers which I happen to love. 

3. This product has a really nice light hold and does not dry hard. 

4. Fits into my price point and is a good quality. 

5. Allows my hair to be moisturized for days. With some moisturizers I have to re-apply daily but not with this one. It also does not give my hair that greasy feeling which I like.

I would definitely recommend this product to other transitioners and even those who are fully natural. Although I don't actually use it for its curl enhancing properties, I love it as a moisturizer for my hair.

XoDrea12:9

Don't forget to Like me on facebook and follow me on twitter @242Naturalista

AVON perfect wear eyewriter review

Hey guys wanted to come to you with a quick liquid liner review. This review is for the AVON perfect wear eyewriter. One of my cousins gave me this liquid eyeliner to try a few months back while I was in between liners and on my way to the makeup counter. I have been using it for a while on and off so that I could give a proper review of the product. 

"Hold the line... with smudgeproof, waterproof color. Smooth, rich color glides on evenly, lasts all day. .08 fl. oz." - Avon.com

So here goes my review....

 I have this liner in evening black and I haven't tried the other shades. The liner is in a sleek kind of cone shaped container and has a felt applicator. In my opinion  it's an okay liquid liner. I really don't have anything spectacular to say about it. In terms of pigmentation its quite black, which I like. It lasted me for a couple good hours and thereby lives up to its 8 hour claim. Also of note, it is quite easy to remove. It can be taken off quite easily with a makeup remover wipe or even an oil. Why don't I have a better review for ya? Well its because of the applicator. This applicator isn't the best in my opinion. I remember my first time applying it, the product goes on as expected but the applicator doesn't give me the control I need or am use to when compared to the other liners I use. This product also dries rather quickly which is good.

  Overall, for persons just starting out aiming at beginning or refining there liquid liner technique, I would recommend this liner because it complete its purpose and is also quite cost effective.  The liner would be more favorable to me if the felt/applicator was improved.Would  I buy this liner for myself? Not really, because I think I can find another liner that would suite me better. I would definitely try it again if the applicator was improved because the formula itself is not bad and I would definitely leave it in my makeup case as a practice liner when creating eye looks. 

XODrea12:9- Blessings & Love always

Don't forget to Like me on facebook, follow me on twitter and Subscribe to me on Youtube

242Naturalista

Healthy Hair takes work!

Hey guys, so this is going to be a  post about starting a healthy hair regimen. These tips are a good starting point whether your relaxed, transitioning or already natural. Healthy hair takes work! lol I know you didn't want to hear that but its true. I'm not saying your going to have to dedicate your whole day to your hair but you are going to have to spend a bit of time on it each day depending on the products you use and your hair texture. Why? because some textures and porosity levels require daily moisturizing while others can go two or three days without being moisturized. Remember that healthy hair retains length. So these are my tips. Hope they help you and if they work for you, feel free to leave a comment below.

1. Start a hair journal
Yip. I gave you an assignment. Hair journals are essential when you are beginning a new regimen because they help you to track your hairs progress, what products work, which ones don't and your over all hair goals. It also helps you determine what part of your regimen is working and what can be corrected and updated. You may also want to include pictures from magazines of hair inspiration.

2. Invest in some oils.
You don't have to break your budget! I'll post later about the different types of oils and their uses. Oils are excellent sealants. You can apply them after your moisturizer or leave in conditioner. You can also add them to your favorite deep conditioner to help lock in the moisture.

3. Do your research!
Whether natural, transitioning or relaxed its important to do your research.

4. Build a healthy hair regimen!
Examples
a) Cleanse
Deep Condition
Moisturize
Seal

b) Deep condition
Detangle
Cleanse
Moisturize
Seal

5. Deep Condition
Deep conditioning is essential to healthy hair. Depending on your hair type you may need to deep condition more or less. Most persons deep condition every time they wash which may be once a week or once every two weeks.

6. Pay attention to your ends!

Your ends are a good gauge to tell you how your hair regimen is working. Unhealthy ends show signs of breakage and split ends, which may travel up the hair shaft and damage your hair. Keeping your ends trimmed will help to prevent those issues. Nope, you don't have to trim your ends every 3 months but trim your ends whenever they look ragedy. For some people that's every 3 months for some its every 6.

7. Don't get caught up in products!
I know its very easy to become a product junkie but every product that works for one person is not going to always work for you. We have to take into consideration that we live in different climates, have different hair textures and we don't all have the same budget. You don't have to buy a bunch of expensive products to get healthy hair. Just because a product says its all natural or organic doesn't mean that you have to automatically switch to it. Factor your hair products into your budget, if you don't have enough to cover your staple products then you may want to switch products for a while until you can afford it. Why? because you don't want to diminish your hair health by not properly taking care of it because you don't have the hair products.  I'll blog more about hair products in another post.

8.  Stick to your regimen
Whatever regimen you decide on, STICK to it!


Link me on Facbook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/242Naturalista/1214053568736050?ref=stream
Follow me on Twitter @242Naturalista
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/242naturalista

Swag so mean OOTD

Top- JCPenny

Bottoms-Swiped from my mom

Tennis- Payless

Jewellery- My everyday wear

Bracelet- Random shop

Blessings & Love

Drea12:9

Don't forget to check out my Youtube and Twitter Pages!

Yellow green eyes and black cherry lips

Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I posted. Today's makeup look is going to be a simple eye look requested by one of my friends. In this video, i'm using everyday products, feel free to add your own dupes for the colors listed.


Products used:
Face:
Mary Kay Medium Coverage Foundation - Bronze 600
Mary Kay Loose Powder- Bronze 1
Pro Art Plum Blush
Contour- Radiance Cashmere blush
Highlight - Latte eye shadow

Brows:
Brown eye pencil- Can't remember brand
MAC NW45 pro long wear concealer

Eyes-
MAC NW45 Pro long wear concealer
NYX jumbo pencil MILK
Radiance Cashmere blush -Transition Color
AVON paradise green palette
AVON Mocha Late Quad - Espresso and Latte
Dudley's eye shadow in Kiwi
Nabi black eyeliner pencil
AVON perfect wear eyewriter liquid liner

Lips
MAC lip liner- Cedar
Mary Kay Lipstick - Black Cherry

Check out the video for full application details.