Basket Full of Goodies :o)

When I got home from work this big package was waiting for me :o)

I was too excited when I saw who it was from, and opened it right away - well not right away - always being in a blog state of mind I broke out the camera first ;o)

It was filled with a basket full of hair goodies - conditioners/shampoos, hair bands, head bands, clips, a satin cap... I never imagined that I would be the one to get this from simply participating in Textured Playground's Donation Drive.

The basket alone was just beautiful :o)

A closer shot of all my goodies...ahhhh I can't wait until I take my cornrows out next month so I can dive in :o) Thanks Textured Playground!

New Style and Cherry Lola's Treatment

I had hoped to update over the weekend, but I spent the entire weekend actually doing my hair. On Friday, I took down my box braids I had about a half an inch of new growth.

Saturday I detangled with water, cornrowed and rinsed with ACV.

My cornrows I wore while doing errands on Saturday afternoon. Later, I unbraided the cornrows in preparation for washing.

I decided to try the Cherry Lola Treatment

fellow blogger Cherry Lola created a recipe to help control frizziness while providing nourishing amino acids. Her recipe calls for Braggs Liquid Aminos (yes the all purpose seasoning - good for veggies, meats etc.), yogurt, and baking soda.

She mixes 2 parts plain yogurt, 1/2 part baking soda and 1/2 part amino acids. I was happy to find mine at a local vitamin store they also make Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother which makes a better ACV rinse than just using plain ACV.

The reason for using Braggs is because of the Aminos - it has 20 amino acids which are anti-oxidants and also good for hair/scalp health (food wise it's healthier than soy sauce and tamari and tastes great).

Since I am not too savvy on following directions in 'parts' - I only added 2 tablespoons of Amino, and 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 1 1/2 cup of plain yogurt. I also added 2 tablespoons of warmed honey to the mix - since my scalp was a bit dry in some spots.

She applied her treatment to dry hair, but since I had my hair in braids for over a month, I decided to wash first because my hair felt a little gummy.

Although I don't think I added enough baking soda or Aminos, my batch came out nice and foamy and mousse-like just like Cherry Lola's description.

I put my hair in a high bun and started from the back.

All done - the ends of my hair were really curling up. My hair felt heavy and I was afraid I'd drip on the bathroom floor - but I still had to take pictures :o)

Defined curls especially in the very back - I think because it had been saturated with the treatment the longest.

Closer look at the wave definition. After applying the treatment I put on a plastic cap. Cherry Lola says you can keep the treatment in your hair from just a few minutes to 45 mins.

After about 20 minutes I kept feeling streams of liquid pouring down my back. I thought maybe there was an opening in my cap, so I went to take a look. As you can see there was a pool in the bottom of my cap. I carefully took it off and replaced it with another for a little over 20 more minutes, (the mixture of the heat from my head and the treatment did not have the greatest smell) so after I rinsed, I did a quick conditioner wash (Suave mixed with a little Castor oil).

I was very pleased with the result. My hair was very soft, and actually less frizzy, especially the very back, with more curl definition than usual. Now you will see my hair texture is different than Cherry Lola's which she describes as 3c/4a.

I may have a little 3b-ish around the edges and the very front - but the rest is about 4a/4b. Although we have different hair textures, my first time results were pretty good. Check out her third time results.

Again the very back was the least frizzy even as it dried. I was so pleased that I added a little leave-in conditioner and without doing anything more to my hair except fluff it around (needless to say without any regard of the time) I decided to do a photo shoot. So I took off my jacket, broke out the foundation and Stila brown sugar lip glaze ;o)


I can't wait until my self-induced protective style challenge is over so I can wear my hair like this.

The back as it dried - still minimal frizz.

Again, the look with my glasses.

How about with some accessories - my favorite hair tie from Tomoka's Twists.

My favorite - silver True to Yourself (I also have it in gold) from Naturally Sophia's Adorn By Sophia.

Okay by now I am feeling a little tired, but excited by the new no frizz recipe. I will definitely use the recipe again - next time I will use a little more of the Aminos and a dash more baking soda. The more she used her treatment the less frizzy her hair became.

Of course, we have to remember that what works on someone else's hair wont necessarily work on our hair the same way, but I love the fact that everything in the recipe is good for the health of my hair and I love the first-use results.

I just hope I have enough Braggs left by the time I take down my hair next month - it is really good - I've used in on steak and salad - I would suggest getting two bottles one strictly for hair and the other for food - or maybe even getting the larger sized bottle.

Okay - finally I settled down from my excitement and decided to cornrow my hair. I wanted to do something different so here is what I came up with.

Right side/back - I rarely wear my braids down in the back so I decided to do so this time. I decided to braid just the middle so it could look less braid-hawkish.

Left side - I also decided to leave a few hanging in the front - side bang - for what I don't know because I wore them tucked behind my ear :o)

Very top - tried to do something fancy with the parting.

Back

Close shot of top back - my braid is a little crooked ;o)


Close shot of hanging cornrows in back. Needless to say it took forever to get the parts to look decent, but I managed to still crawl in bed at about 3:45am before the sun came up :o)

I will keep these cornrows in until May and maintain by rinsing once or twice a week, sealing my ends with Shea butter and/or Castor oil. I will also add Castor oil to my scalp and edges maybe twice a week.

Thanks for hanging in here with this long post.

Peace and Blessings