My hair routine for winter

picture taken from talkingpretty.com

I love being a naturalista.  But in order to keep my locks looking lovely, I have to take care of it.

Last summer was the first time that I wore my hair naturally for an extended period of time (read: without extensions).  Like all girls new to natural styling, I had to learn how to style my hair and come up with a regimen that worked for me.  The results were great (okay, not all the time.  Sometimes my hair looked like a hot mess!)  But on the days that it looked amazing, I couldn’t help but flaunt my afro all over Toronto! 

However, anyone who chooses to wear their hair unprocessed knows that the harsh, nippy winter weather robs our hair of moisture and natural hair NEEDS moisture.  The best way for me to avoid having brittle, dry coils, is to wear my hair in a protective style. 

* Protective Style (noun or verb): it's any hairstyle that when created, shields the hair from a variety of elements and harmful situations. This includes extreme weather, both hot and cold, to prevent the hair from drying out, as well as stress caused to the hair follicles from daily styling and manipulation. 

The protective style  that I chose was the two strand twist with extensions (pssst...my trusty old look).  Before I had the extensions put in, I lovingly pampered my tresses.  Here’s my routine.

Step 1

I detangle my hair using Suave naturals Tropical coconut conditioner. I divide my hair into about 6-8 sections and lightly mist each section with water.  I slather my hair with conditioner and comb through my hair until it’s completely detangled.

Step 2

I rinse out the conditioner, and apply a mild shampoo. I actually don’t have a fave, but I am using Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan oil. It’s mild and the scent is nice.

Step 3

Rinse out the shampoo and I deep condition my hair.  I’ve gone through all types of conditioner- inexpensive – expensive. To me, they all work the same. I’ve used HerbalEssence Hello Hydration with olive oil, and I am currently using Avalon Organics Revitalizing Conditioner which feels great.

I keep the conditioner in for about 30 minutes, and then rinse out.

Step 4

I lightly towel dry my hair, twist it into sections and let it air dry. At times I blow dry (which some believe is a no no).  I started using a heat protectant when I apply heat to my hair.

Step 5

I moisturize my hair. I start with my leave in- Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner. Work in some coconut oil, and then add a creamy moisturizer. I use Shea Moisture Organic Coconut &Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

After all of that, my hair is ready for my protective style

After I’ve worn the protective style for a month or longer,  I take out the extensions, deep cleanse my hair (steps 1-5) , and wear it naturally for 1-2 weeks.  After that, the process begins again!

What’s your hair routine for winter?

* Definition taken from Naptural85.com

Michelle

Beauty 411- eyes, lips and hair

After years of using and reviewing Lush products, I had the pleasure of meeting 2 of my fave Lush PR reps – Perry Sun and Courtney McGeever about 3 weeks ago.  (BTW, they are insanely cool and had me laughing like crazy.  Thanks, girls!)

While I was meeting them, I was given some information about new products that will be launched soon, and given a few products to try.  Here’s what I thought about the beauty items.

Eyes Right Mascara

I refuse to leave my house without wearing mascara. I NEED it.

Okay, I’m sooo not as high maintenance as I appear; it’s just that I love the way my eyes pop when I wear mascara. It’s the only beauty product that instantly awakens my face.

Lush’s Eyes Right mascara is from the Emotional Brilliance line that was released about a couple of  months ago.  The innovative line matches cosmetic colours with your current state of mind.  Sounds deep, no?

Eye’s Right is a subtle mascara that gives your lashes a bit of definition, but if you desire a little more pizzazz in your life, you can apply about 4-5 coats (I did). 

I like that I can use this mascara every day as it’s not too thick and not clumpy at all.  The bottle is see through so you know exactly when you need to run to the store and buy a new bottle.  But the coolest thing about this mascara is that the bottle is totally recyclable!  So you can look great and be good to the environment.

R&B Hair moisturizer

I’m sure you’ve read numerous times on my blog that I am a curly girl and my hair is perpetually dry.  I have to use tons of products to get my hair looking healthy and hydrated (psst....sometimes I forget and my hair looks like a hot mess!).  I have my staples (Shea Moisture CurlEnhancing Smoothie, Oyin Handmade Greg Juice and good old coconut oil), but sometimes I need more products!

I was curious about Lush’s R&B moisturizer and Perry was nice enough to send it to me (Thanks, Perry.  You’re sooo my new BFF!).  I read about it in a beauty mag which said it would work miracles for those with dry hair and I wondered if it would work on my parched locks.

I applied it to freshly styled hair.  It wasn’t too greasy or oily.  It had a pleasant earthy/ floral scent that stayed on my hair for a VERY long time—which I didn’t mind.  I liked how it felt (for some reason it felt tingly).  I plan on using it a couple more times to get a better feel for the product.  But all in all, I liked how it felt on my hair.

Popcorn Lip Scrub

Okay, this product isn’t as crazy as it sounds -  you are not scrubbing your lips with a kernel.  The Popcorn lip scrub  smells like caramel corn and tastes like salty popcorn. Yummy, eh?

It is super simple to use. Just dap some of the scrub on your lips, then you can either lick it off (don’t worry, the product is natural), or you can wipe it off with a damp towel.

I used this product, and just like Lush’s Sweet Lips (a lip scrub that tastes like chocolate that I used a while ago), it worked like a charm.

 Have you tried any new products?  Be sure to let me know what you've tried.  Email me at: michelle[at]happygrrls.com

 

Michelle

Happygrrl on the town

I had a great Saturday night, which inevitably rolled into Sunday morning.

My evening started off by attending the Curly Soiree presented by the blog I Heart My Hair.  It was an informal conference educating women on natural hair care, hair products, and healthy living.  

I enjoyed it as I was surrounded by curlies with big and small afros. Very funky!  I loved every minute of it.

I took this pic of some Afro art. Love it!

After the event, a few curlies and I decided to grab a bite to eat and then check out Nuit Blanche- Toronto's free, city-wide sunset-to-sunrise celebration of contemporary art.  I must admit that although I have lived in Toronto all my life, this was the first time I have attended the event. * Blushing with shame*

It was cool to see everyone joining in the festivities of the night and taking in some art (okay, some of it I didn’t understand, but whatever!). 

Check out some of the installations.

Did you attend any of these events?  Let me know what you thought. Email me at michelle[at]Happygrrls.com

Michelle

I whip my hair back and forth

I, like Britney, Jessica and of course Nicki Minaj, all rock, ahem....fake hair.  Yes, I said it!  Nicki dons a myriad of brightly hued wigs, while Britney, Jessica and I opt for extensions. 

But as of May of this year, I have returned to my roots (so to speak) and kicked my extensions to the curb.  I was looking for a change and getting rid of my shoulder length black and caramel coloured twists was definitely the change that I was looking for.

I decided it was time to sport my God given kinky, curly, natural hair and style my own hair. For all the naturalistas out there- it can be trying at times, eh?

However, I am completely loving (and trying to get used to) the journey.  I’ve flat ironed it, braided, twisted and worn it in a pseudo afro. I.am.loving.it! I will definitely rock it natural for the remainder of the summer.  After that, I’m not too sure what I will do.  But for now, I will continue to fluff up my badass fro!

Natural hair rocks!

Michelle