Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Lint.... The New Frontier!!!

Ok, I have a confession to make... In the beginning years of my locking journey, I read a lot about folks needing to find ways to get lint out of their locks on forums and elsewhere. I was confused since I never had any issues with lint in my locks and assumed that would always be the case. Little did I know...

Now that my locks have some true length to them, I've had my first encounters with lint in the past few weeks and I'm not at all pleased (lol). I can now empathize with all those that went before me in the process and have been dealing with this issue for some time.

I guess I'll just have to wear my hair up when I want to wear certain fabrics, especially in the winter months when I love to sport soft and fluffy sweaters that would most likely wreak pure havoc on my babies (lol).

I am open to suggestions and guidance on how to avoid lint, so if anyone has any, please share!! smile

Inspirations and blessings,
Nat

Monday, August 30, 2010

Good news....


There was a part missing on my steamer and all has been resolved, so I plan to wash my hair ASAP so I can enjoy the great benefits for my locks!!!

I have already done a steam treatment for my face and it was heavenly!! My skin looked and felt better immediately afterward! I'm so happy I can now make this a part of my regular facial treatment routine!!

I'll be sure to post my review next time I wash my hair!!!

Inspirations and blessings,
Nat

Monday, August 23, 2010

Womp, womp, womp......


Ok, I have to post a big sad face because I washed my hair this past weekend and I was so incredibly excited to use my new hair steamer and it was a total bust since it didn't work :-(

For some reason, although the unit had no problems producing steam, it never made it into the hood. Everything was assembled correctly and securely, so I'm assuming I got a lemon. I will be exchanging this unit for another in hopes that the next one will work as designed!!!!

I have to admit that I rigged it in a way that it would work to some extent, so my babies did get some of the benefit, but there was a point where I just gave up, so I'll still provide a review once I actually use it as it's meant to work and be used ;-)

Inspirations and blessings,
Nat

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Still loving my journey....


I took a few photos of myself the other day and thought I'd post one of them. I'm four and a half years into this journey and I am still completely in love.

I'm still look forward to what's to come...

Inspirations and blessings,
Nat

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Locked Beauty of the Month: Nerissa Irving



So, since I'm back to blogging, I NEED to reinstate my most popular series of entries for the locked beauty of the month. This month, it's rasta and dread model Nerissa Irving. Click on her name to be redirected to her site.

Nerissa is an actress, writer, trained violinist, and model. She goes by the handle 'Imperial Goddess', which is rather fitting when you look at this locked beauty. Nerissa and her family relocated to America from Jamaica when she was just a child. She attended her first model search at the age of 7.

Even at a young age, you can see that Nerissa's locks help to define her beauty and still do. I have had an opportunity to get to know Nerissa via Facebook and I can honestly say that her personality is just as beautiful as her outer beauty. Her career is taking off these days and she deserves all the success that's coming her way since she is a very sweet and grounded person.

I have to admit that Nerissa is my biggest lock inspiration these days. Sad to say that a lot of the locked idols I had when I started my journey have since cut off their gorgeous locks, so I've had to resort to finding new inspirations. Nerissa is a lock idol to a lot of people and she's turning the model world on it's head since they have yet to fully embrace a locked beauty under super model status. Perhaps Nerissa will be the first.



I have a fabulous collection of photos of Nerissa in my Fotki photo journal under locks I admire. Feel free to check it out!

Inspirations and blessings,
Nat

Photo Comparison time...



Ok, I've been remiss, but here's the newest comparison pic that I've done. You can really see a difference in these photos of my progression. What a difference two years makes.

It's amazing how photos help you to see where you are and where you've come from. If you haven't started chronicling your hair journey in a photo journal, I would strongly suggest starting one!

Inspirations and blessings,
Nat

I'm getting a new toy!

A Hair Steamer



Yup, I'm getting a hair steamer for my locks! Prior to a couple weeks ago, I didn't even know that hair steamers existed. Well, thanks to my new youtube obsession (lol), I came across a vid about using a hair steamer. The person that used it raved about how soft their hair turned out and how well moisturized it was after the treatment. So I thought it would be amazing for my locks as well. Especially for hot oil treatments and the like.

I did some research and here are the benefits of steam treatments for the hair:
- Better Circulation in Scalp leading to better hair growth
- Cleanses Scalp, removing dirt and dead skin
- Brings moisture to your Roots and hair shaft
- Leaves your hair soft and smooth
- Great for Dandruff Sufferers
- Stops Dryness and hair Breakage
- Makes hair stronger and healthier
- Improves Hair Color Treatments


Hair steamers are more widely used for deep hair treatments such as scalp cleansing, protein moisturizing, color treatments, and many other treatments.

The reason why hair steamers are so great for hair treatments is that it will improve circulation with the steam and the heat will then open up your hair follicles and hair shaft cuticles which allows moisture as well as your hair treatment product (like oils for hot oil treatments) to enter the hair shaft.

The steamer is then set on a cooler setting towards the end of the hair treatment and this then closes the cuticles and hair shaft and locks in all that deep hair treatment product giving your hair long lasting benefits as well as using natural H2O to bring moisture to your hair and scalp.

I've learned the best moisturizer for natural hair is water, so this hair steamer should make a huge difference in the health of my already healthy locks and scalp! This can only make it better and even healthier!! I just received it, but have yet to wash my hair again, so as soon as I put it to use, I'll let you know the results!

If you're just starting your locks and dealing with flaking and itching, a steam treatment would do wonders for you since it brings moisture to the roots and scalp and is great for dandruff sufferers. Keep in mind that ACV rinses will help tremendously with this issue as well since it's a natural anti-bacterial and also cleanses the scalp.

By the way, the steamers aren't cheap. I paid $118 for mine and I found it on ebay. If you purchase yours via ebay, I would caution you to make sure you know what the shipping cost is prior to placing your order. Some of the hair steamers seem cheap and then they tag on a $30+ shipping fee that trumps the value.

I just found another site for a good hood steamer similar to the one I purchased called the Heutiful Hair Steamer. They run $114.95 and the facial steamer attachment is an additional $9.95. Here's a video review of this steamer from a natural youtuber:


I specifically wanted a model that was like a hood dryer and could be stored in a closet easily. Most of the hair steamers I saw were stand alone models and they weren't practical for me. One of the nice things about the model I got, pictured above, is that it has an attachment that can be used to convert it from a hair steamer into a steamer for facial treatments, which is an added bonus. I plan to use it for both!

I realize we're in a recession and a lot of people don't have $100+ to invest in a hair steamer, so you can always do an alternative. Take a regular bath towel, wet it and fold it. Place the wet towel in your microwave until it's hot and place on your wet hair (with oil treatment on your locks). Wrap the towel with either plastic wrap or a plastic bag to lock in the moisture. You will need to keep your locks wrapped for 20 - 30 minutes. This will give you a steam treatment. You will need to put some cooler water on your hair and scalp after this treatment to close the cuticles and hair shaft to lock in the moisture. I would suggest a spritz bottle with cool water and for an added bonus, include a few drops of essential oils like Peppermint, Lavender, Tea Tree, etc.

I hope this information is helpful and please let me know how it works for you!

Inspirations and blessings,
Nat

Monday, August 09, 2010

I'm baaaaack....



I know, I know... I've been away for far too long. So I thought since I was updating my Youtube subscribers, I'd go ahead and update my blog readers as well.

Inspirations and blessings as always,
Nat