Hair update

Hey loves, so while co-washing and deep conditioning my hair this week I decided to take a few pics to show you all my curl pattern and how my hair is coming along. I will be posting an update video really soon! 

Dirty Hair full of conditioner (pre-poo)!

Curls after rinsing out the conditioner

Deep conditioner

Close up of my kinks

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My Perfect Bantu knot out

Hey guys, so I found the secret to the perfect bantu knot out. LOL...please understand my excitement because bantu knot outs, like most natural/transitioning hairstyles take a lot of practice. This was my third time trying bantu knots and I think i've cracked it.

Bantu knots/outs are a really beautiful protective and transitioning style. While blending both textures for the transitioner, if done correctly you will have nice volume and defined curls or really nice loose waves.

So here are my results.

Can you tell that I was really feeling my hair?

To achieve this look, I had about 35 bantu knots in my hair. I used my aloe and water spritz (will blog on this later) to detangle my hair and then used my whipped shea butter mix for each section (let me know if you want to see my mix).

So what's the secret?
There are a couple things that help with getting a perfect bantu knot out.

1. Determine how defined you want your curls
              For a more defined look, you need more bantu knots. For a more wavy definition use less bantu               knots (about 6).

2. Find a really good styling product
            Everyone does bantu knots differently but the one cohesive thing is that you need a good styler. Whether you use a leave in conditioner like Cantu Shea butter, a curling product like Miss Jessies Baby buttercreme or something as simple as shea butter, you need a product that will give you a really good hold. This will help the curls to clump better and give you the definition you desire.

3. Twist your hair first and then roll your bantu knots
            Twisting your hair and then rolling it tightly (not too tight), before bantu knotting helps with definition. Be sure that when forming the bantu knots, you don't unravel the twist as your rolling.

4. Your Bantu knots should have height
            As you wind the rolled twist on itself, each bantu knot should have height. You should not be overlapping as this adds to drying time and looser curls.

5. Make sure your hair is dry before the takedown
        The thing about bantu knot is that your hair must be dry, like DRYYYYYYYYYYY before you take them down. Why am I stressing dry? Well, if your hair isn't dry, you won't have the look of really defined curls. Also, your hair will drop a lot faster (who wants one side of their hair to be really curly and nice and the other side to be stretched out?).

6.Don't forget to separate
           Separation of the curls helps to give some more volume to your hair. The more you separate the more   frizz you will achieve and the more your hair will look like a nice and cute curly fro.

All in all those are my tips for the perfect bantu knot out. Have you tried this style?

I forgot to mention I even got second day hair out of this and I did not re-knot. I simply placed a hair band around my curls and pulled them to the top of my head like the pineapple method.

2nd day hair pics

The curls are a bit more frizzy as expected. If I want to change it up later, i'll make a high puff out of the curls.

Thanks for reading.


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I love you for reading

Blessings & Love

Drea

Combating the urge to become a Product Junkie

Source: http://ldnshopaholic.com/category/products/

Truth is, it's so easy to become a product junkie especially when first transitioning. You're just starting to care for your transitioning hair and everyone is recommending some product that you should try. You get captivated by new ads all the time....you go crazy to shift from all of the products that worked for your relaxed hair and you search the internet and stores for products that contain no parabens, no sulfates, no mineral oil and is EDTA free. (PS that is not a copy of my bathroom)

I can say that although I tried a number of products I would not consider myself a product junkie. My nature is a little to frugal for that and that's the reason I titled my blog BUDGETED ELEGANCE instead of my Youtube/Facebook/Twitter tag name 242Naturalista.

A product junkie is someone who constantly is buying and trying new products. Nope this may not seem bad at all, right ladies? but the truth is the buying and trying of new products gets to the point that they honestly can't get enough. As soon as a product line comes out, or even if they have products that work for their hair, they shift to a new product. Sometimes PJ's don't even allow a product to work properly because before they find out how it works for their hair, they've already shifted to a new product.

Are you a PJ? Yeah the example above is a little scary and does not only include natural hair products, but any type of products really.

Here's a few tools for avoiding the product junkie phase while transitioning and even being fully natural.

1.You don't have to throw out all of your old products
 I know, I know we're told to care for our transitioning hair as though its already natural..and I agree this is a good method but a lot of people take this to the extreme by throwing out or wasting products that have been working for their hair. You really don't have to do this..If you have excess products that work on your hair use them and allow your hair to determine if you should change those products. You may need to switch up the amounts you use or the method of application and that may help you to get your money's worth out of an old product. When it comes time to change those products (because it really isn't working with your hair and you have quite a bit of it left) you can opt for something like a product swap or just giving it to someone who it will benefit more (Ain't nothing wrong with some good Samaritan status lol)

2. Allow yourself time to test out a product
The product junkie phase can be considered a testing phase because your trying out a number of different products. As indicated above most PJs in my opinion don't give themselves enough time with a product. To help out with this, keep a log of the product your using currently and even when trying new products. I mentioned this in another post already but write down how the product makes your hair feel. If you're pleased, keep the product. If not test it out in a number of different ways for at least 2 months. If it still doesn't do what you would like then you can swap it with someone else and buy something new.

3. Spend some time doing your research
Research is key to healthy hair, especially when you just start out. Focus on products that have quality ingredients (first five) and by following your hair notes (hair assesment), you'll be able to already categorize which products could possibly work better for you. In essence you will already know how to shop and that will help curb the PJism lol.

4. Rotate products and use what you have
If you have more than a couple products in your arsenal rotate them from time to time...You many find that you don't actually need to go out and purchase more products because what you have already may be all that you need.

5. Homemade products
Sometimes we buy lots of products that have a fancy name just because it has that fancy name, when we have homemade concoctions that serve the same purpose. NO i'm not trying to tell you not to buy your fave labels, but lets think about this/ If you have a homemade product that's working then stick with it and that'll be one less product and a couple extra bucks in your pocket.

6. Product samples
Find company's that give product samples. This may be a little bit tougher in some countries than others but to combat this you can try a subscription service like a CURLKIT or curl box. These services give you a few products each month and you can test out to see what products were for your hair.

Last but definitely not least, believe in yourself. Just because a lot of other people go through this phase, doesn't mean you have to..You can find products that work for your hair without going overboard and you can also participate in product swaps with your girlfriends or fellow curly hair meetup participants.


I think the bulk of this post tends to favor what you already have working for yourself. The rotation of products is not a bad thing and i'm definitely not telling you how much of each essential product you need but  I have definitely found out that those with the healthiest hair usually don't do too much to their hair so I guess its like a word to the wise. Each of us at some point may lean in favor of being a product junkie but even if we go that way, lets try to be cost effective. Y'all should already know i'm big on saving and using my money and time efficiently so my next blog post will be somewhere along those lines in terms of products.

Hope this article helps you in any way.

Blessings & Love always

Feel free to connect with me 

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242Naturalista@gmail.com

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

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!


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My hair story

My hair story

Hey guys, I'm back with another post. Happy New year to everyone. 

The Back story
I got my first relaxer around 6/7 years old, not because my mom wanted to do it but because she didn't know how to handle my hair. After speaking with my mom she told me that my hair was really thick and coily especially in the middle.  Prior to my relaxer, one of her friends would keep my hair braided down. So the cycle began, 2 week braided, lose out and wash and then braided again. Even with the relaxer my hair thrived because my hair kept treated and the braids were a low manipulation style. The only problem my mom found was that my hair was a bit dry. My stylist at the time was into hair care and she made sure that she cared for my locks.

In my teens, my hair was always bsl (bra strap length). I made sure that my hair was trimmed regularly and my stylists (one in particular) made sure I had hydration treatments to ensure that my hair was well cared for. I also began styling my own hair in my teens. I would wear buns but my hair was mostly wrapped. From time to time I would braid the front of my hair. After switching stylists twice, I noticed my hair dropped a bit because they used different products but I kept up with regular treatments. In high school I got my hair cut in a bob at the nape of my neck twice. I used heat (blow dryers, curling irons and flat irons) quite a bit in the last years of high school, but in my mind I would always balance it by braiding the front of my hair and rocking a bun (Lol). When getting my hair styled, I always opted to be put under the dry for roller sets or wraps, even though they took a long while, my hair really like them and I did not like the heat from the blow dryer.

 My last relaxer

After having my last relaxer in April, I decided to transition the first week of May to Natural hair. I made this choice because I couldn't stand the headaches I got before a relaxer (that's one way I would gauge when I needed to get my hair relaxed). I also didn't like the scalp burns and flakes that were a result of them.  I also got really curious about my curly hair and wanted to embrace my roots (my God given roots). My friends all had mixed emotions even though a number of them were natural. Everyone was so used to seeing my with long relaxed hair but I didn't buy into the nay say. However, after I began styling my transitioning hair, the majority of them embraced it. A couple of my friends would really dog me about bad hair days, which were few and far between but did happen sometimes when I was either gearing up for a wash day or was studying for a major test. My mom and aunts were also opposed at first but I won them over and guess what? my mom is now transitioning.

Somewhere deep down I knew I was making the right decision and that this decision was for myself and not anyone else. Transitioning has not been the easiest but I know the results will pay off.

So far during this transition process I've learned to take better care of my hair as well as my body. I guess that's the benefits of being a Naturalista.

Some transition hairstyles 

Corn row braid out

Flat twist with a low bun

8 months post relaxer in this pic (Twist Bird's nest) 

Youtube tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEpNJ8Ektww

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