Tag Archives: hair growth

rice water

so what are the benefits of using rice water? you may have heard that rice water defines your curls. it does! so i’ve started to incorporate rice water into my weekly routine. below i’ll go into why and how i use it

WHY-

i started using rice water because i was reading about the benefits of protein treatments and how the proper moisture protein balance really is what will define your curls. so i wanted to incorporate more protein. rice water is a low grade protein treatment- it’s not heavy like the ones you can purchase. i like that because i don’t have to worry about it making my hair super hard. since using it, i’ve had less frizz and more definition.

HOW-

so normally the day before i want to do my hair i put a mix of rice and water into my mason jar. i leave it sitting out on the counter til i use it- i make sure it sits for at least eight hours. OR i’ll boil rice and add extra water and pour it into a cup. from either method, i pour the water into a cup, making sure that there is little to no rice in it. then once it’s cool (if it was boiled). i shampoo my hair. then i pour it into my hair (like a rinse) and then tie it up with a pony and put a shower cap on. i leave it in for 15 minutes, then i rinse it out. I will either then rinse it out with water or shampoo it out (it depends- if feels like a residue is left, just shampoo it) and then i DEEP CONDITION. this is essential!!! it keeps your hair from getting hard. remember the goal is the moisture protein BALANCE.

I then style as normal- i’ll make an update post on my hair care regimen- it’s changed so much.

straight hair care regime 

As promised, here is my hair care regime when my hair is straight!

  • how often I straighten my hair

I actually do not straighten my hair myself. My hairstylist, whom I got to when I go home and about once a month when I am home, straightens my hair. She’s been doing my hair for over two years now, and she’s been doing my mom’s hair for probably like 10 years. My hairstylist is the only person who straightens my hair.

  • why I straighten it

I think straight hair is cute. As my hair has gotten healthier, I love how it looks straight. I also love how easy it to take care of.

  • trims

I only get trims with straight hair because my hairstylist trims my hair. I love getting my hair trimmed straight because it makes it look really nice straight but when it’s curly it looks just as fabulous. My ends always look super clean, no matter if they’re curly or straight.

  • preservation of curls

To preserve my straight hair, I roll my hair. I started using flexi rods, which I really love. They last all day!!! Last time I got my hair straight, it ended up raining and the humidity made it a little curly. So what I do is use Camille Rose’s Curlaide (just a small bit, it doesn’t make my hair turn curly, but it does make my sisters turn curly so I’m not sure about that for everyone). I then wrap my hair, to make it stay straight. But without any rain incidents I just keep rolling it. And I wear a satin bonnet.

this was right after my hair appt. 
this was after rolling with flexi rods

  • products to use
  1. flexi rods- I use the smaller diameter red ones.
  2. Silk by design essentials- this is my go to product. Silk penetrates the hair shaft and doesn’t leave your hair too oily. I just use a little
  3. Curlaide by camille rose- like I said, if my hair happens to get a little curly, I use curlaide to make it straighter
  4. Satin bonnet- I love using my satin bonnet, scarves and wraps. It keeps my hair moisturized

I never put heat on my hair- I’m not a professional and I want to keep my hair healthy! My fabulous hairstylist is the one who does my hair! I think it’s great to have her do it- I’ve never suffered from heat damage or breakage that was her fault (the eczema I have was what caused all of my hair issues).

Let me know if you have any questions! I hope this helps!!

my hair routine (nov 2017)

hey y’all! it’s been forever since i’ve posted my hair care routine (I actually need to do a review on this homemade deep conditioner my roommate and I made). I just wanted to give you all an update on what I’ve been doing!


this was my hair in August of 2017


this is my hair this week!

isn’t it crazy how much it’s grown?! well here’s how I did it

major tips:

  • wash once a week

I used to wash my hair every ten days, with a shampoo that helped my eczema and then co-wash every five days. I thought that doing this was helping to keep my hair moisturized. After I had my sew-in  I really realized how much I was overwashing my hair. Your hair needs water, but it doesn’t need to be washed that often. I shifted to washing my hair once a week and deep conditioning. I really like it, plus it’s easy to keep up with.

  • deep condition weekly

I cannot stress the importance of deep conditioning. What I’ve recently been doing is adding my deep conditioner (I’m using Natural Deep Conditioner by EDEN), deep conditioning for 15 minutes under the drier and then detangling after. The deep conditioning makes it really easy to comb through.

  • use a satin bonnet AND a satin pillow case

I only use satin products on my hair. I have two satin wraps, a scarf, a long bonnet, two regular size bonnets and two pillow cases. though my bonnet normally stays on, I like having the satin pillow case just in case my hairline comes outside of the bonnet. Plus the pillow cases are really pretty lol.

  • drink lots of water

I know I drink WAY more than most people do. I drink probably around a gallon of water a day. It keeps my body hydrated and my hair moisturized. You should at least be drinking half of your body weight in ounces!

  • detangle outside of the shower

As my hair has gotten longer, detangling takes a lot longer. I started detangling in the mirror outside of the shower for a couple reasons. One, I was tired of my hands turning pruney from being in the shower too long. Two, I wanted to see my hair as I was detangling it. This has allowed me to see tangles earlier so I’m not just ripping out my hair. Last week, I kept my hair in two french braids for a full week to see how much I shed, so I could get a basis for how much I should be shedding.


This is how much hair I shed after a week! I believe my routine along with detangling gently allowed for this to happen.

  • trim your hair (NOT YOU A PROFESSIONAL)

Getting trims are so important to maintaining healthy hair. I get a trim just about every time I need one- since I go so long with curly hair, I get them close to every time I get my hair done. After a trim my curls are so bouncy and beautiful. You should get your trim done by a professional- they went to school to learn how to trim properly and it is impossible to accurately trim your hair. My hairstylist has been doing hair for at least 20 years and told me she still struggles trimming her own hair. It’s just hard. So let someone else do it for you! And make sure that person is a professional.

  • keep a regime

Keeping a regime is crucial. As a college student, I’m busy. So I want to make sure that I can manage my school work, personal life and hair. Knowing how I’m going to do my hair helps me manage it all.

actual routine:

  • Wash day

Normally I wash my hair on Saturday or Sunday. I use Shea Moisture’s Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Restore Shampoo. I normally wash three times.

  • Deep Conditioning

I use EDEN’s Natural Deep Conditioner when I deep condition. I lather it on my hair, then I put on a clear shower cap and sit under my drier for 15 minutes. I detangle outside of the shower; then I rinse my hair out with lukewarm water, then after it’s all out I use cold water to seal in the moisture.

  • LOC

After I rinse out the conditioner, I put a cotton t-shirt on over my head to dry it. After a while (I can leave mine on for like an hour and be fine, but I try to leave it on for like 10/15 minutes- my hair retains a lot of water), I take my hair down.

L (Liquid/Leave-In)- I spritz my hair down lightly with water. I then use Aloe Vera Gel (just regular from target) and Miss Jessie’s Leave in Condish.

O (Oil)- I use OGX Coconut Milk and Shea Butter. I try to limit my oils because I can get heavy handed (lol). When I use too much oil my face ends up being really oily. So just using the Coconut Milk with Shea Butter has really helped.

C (Cream)- I use Cantu’s Coconut Cream and Camille Rose’s Curlaide. I like the coconut cream becuase it’s really thick but the Curlaide leaves my hair feeling more hydrated so I use both.

  • Protective Style

I try to make sure that I do at least one protective style a week. Last week, I did french braids and left them in all week (I did wear a turban for about 3 days because the braids got a little too curly to wear out). This weekend one of my friends twisted my hair. That was on Saturday night, so I wore twists Sunday and Monday. Tomorrow, I plan on taking the twists down. Since twists work really well for my hair type, I will just add aloe vera, coconut milk and shea butter each night until I wash it again (this will preserve the curls and keep my hair moisturized). I love aloe vera gel because it goes on really easy and keeps my hair looking really nice (but it’s not water based so putting it on twists won’t ruin the twist out). Shea butter also can work as a cream!

These are recent pictures of my hair straight! I’ll do a blog pretty soon on how I care for and maintain my straight hair without heat!

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions! 

long hair vs healthy hair

i constantly see girls fanning over long hair. i used to be one of them. when I was younger my hair was really long and healthy, so as I got older after the eczema kicked in, I just wanted my long hair back. I quickly understood that long hair was a bonus, but healthy hair was the goal. You see, hair naturally grows. Everyone’s does. The way to see the growth is if you r hair is healthy and you have a high length retention rate. That means your shedding is to a minimum and you can see your hair growing after a few weeks. I want to discuss a little bit more when you need to start focusing on health instead of length.

  • Benefits of Healthy Hair
    • You will see a drastic change in your ability to hold a style
    • lots of compliments
    • it will grow super fast
      • when it grows it will look nice
  • Benefits of Long Hair
    • It’s long
    • can possibly be styled in cute styles (if it is damage free)
    • lots of compliments

As you can see by this short list, long hair really is just long. Long hair is often synonymous with beauty, but it’s not always beautiful. Tons of people have long hair whose hair looks a hot mess. Tons of people have short, healthy hair cuts. Short is a good thing as long as it’s healthy. I think a short bob or pixie cut is adorable, and can allow your hair to grow back healthier than ever. That’s what happened to my mom. Her hair used to be really short (she had it shaved short for a portion of my childhood, then she grew it out, then she got a bob, and now it’s longer). After her bob, her hair grew back super healthy and is super cute. Cuts are a good thing! Just like trims are (one of the most important things you can do is get trims regularly it will change your hair for the better).

At the end of the day, it’s just hair. Just like you would for your body, mind and spirit, focus on your (hair) health!

shea butter, hair care and braids 

Winter weather is harsher for hair. This is the most important time of the year to practice good hair care tips. Below I have a few personal stories and sale details!

  • Braids

As of right now my hair is in ten braids. My roommate braided it last Sunday and they’re honestly looking better than they ever have. I saw some post on instagram and this woman mentioned that she did her daughters braids two weeks before and since she did the LOC method prior to braiding, her daughters braids were still moisturized. And after I saw this I stumbled across the instagram page of (sosheargenius), a hair stylist who mentioned in one of her posts about how pre-weave installation she used Jamaican black castor oil to moisturize braids. So after I got my hair braided, I just continued to oil my scalp, not adding any water whatsoever. After I found out about the Jamaican black castor oil, I started using it daily. My hair has gotten so soft after use and it feels very moisturized. For nightly protection I use a wrap (to secure my ends), a scarf and then a bonnet (which is optional I just like my pink bonnet). After five days my braids still look brand new! I’m so happy about this. I have had to lay my edges down (which are naturally blond and curly so I’m used to having to do this) and I did have to add a little leave in conditioner (shea moisture leave in from their strength, grow and restore Jamaican black castor oil collection) and Camille Rose Curlaide Moisture Butter to my ends which are seeming a little frail (which is fine it’s probably just time for a trim). Remember that trims are good for your hair! They allow styles to last longer and for you to rep all the benefits of hair growth. My hair appointment with my hair stylist is the 22nd, so I’ll see what’s going on with them then! For now I’m just trying to give them a little extra love and using coconut oil (just a tad bit because it is said to dull your hair in the winter).


Monday (braids done on Sunday)


(Today)

  • Shea Moisture Sale

Until tomorrow, Shea Moisture is having a BOGO 50% off sale at Walgreens! This is huge! I love their Jamaican Black Castor Oil line (especially the leave in and shampoo (which is drying so watch out for that)). I also like their Coconut and Hibiscus Co-wash and curl enhancing smoothie. On their website they have an application that will tell you the best products for your hair type! You should take advantage of this! Also hair products make great holiday gifts!!

  • Hats and Bonnets

Lets face it hats are horrible for your ends. Whenever it snows you put a hat on and there is always that one piece in the back that gets wet (we’ve always been there). I saw something online about wearing a bonnet underneath a hat so I decided to try it. I put my bonnet on and made sure it was covered. To take it off I applied enough pressure where my bonnets edges were to get my bonnet and hat off at the same time. After I didn’t even have hat hair! I’m going to start doing this whenever I wear I hat! There is finally a solution for hat hair!

I hope these tips will help you on your hair journey. If you have any questions please feel free to comment below! I wish you all fabulous hair days and healthy hair!