Tag Archives: tips

look on the bright side

gratitude is a deliberate choice. i’ll say it again, gratitude is a deliberate choice. you get to choose how you want to view situations. you get to choose how you want to talk about situations. you may not get to choose the situation. but you get to choose how you react to it.

i woke up this morning feeling very grateful and loved. i had ideas for rebranding and connecting my blog, twitter and instagram. i’ve been getting excited because i have more time to exercise, do yoga and do my hair. excited to sleep and get to recharge. i was feeling grateful for my family and my partner and overall feeling very happy. i had already done one of my workouts and some meditation.

then i had a thought of a situation that happened that made me feel unloved. it was time for me to follow a yoga class (one of the studios i thought about doing YTT at has free online classes right now), which i was also very grateful for. as i started the class i released the sad thoughts and started focusing more on my breath.

after the class was over i felt much better and went on to complete my morning routine. while i was doing it, anytime the sad thought would come back i would not give it any attention. i have so much to be grateful for and so many situations where i feel loved. why would i focus on the ones that i don’t?

i decided to focus my energy on being grateful. gratitude allows you to reflect on the good. there’s always something to be grateful for.

my message of the week for myself is take care. so the message of this post will be to take care of yourself by focusing on the good, investing in it and centering yourself in love and light. you got this!

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.

protective styles

protective styles help your hair grow because they help you retain moisture and reduce manipulation. the biggest question is: how do i choose the right one? for me, I started with braids because I knew braids worked for my hair. as a little girl, I wore braids all the time and it grew my hair out. I always only used my natural hair, so i didn’t consider adding weave to my hair. while i do think weaves are beneficial, it’s just not for me. so I used to braid my hair often, until one of my friends twisted my hair. I barely shed at all and my hair lasted very well. Since then, twists have been my go to protective style. Here are some examples of how I do my hair!

These two pictures are my current hair style! I did three french braids after washing and deep conditioning. I then pinned them up and made it into a halo braid. I’m currently on day 2, and my hair is looking great!

This was my style last week! I washed, deep conditioned then flat twisted my hair. For work, I pinned the flat twists up, into a halo twist.

These last three are results from a flat twist out as well. I always flat twist to make sure my roots are moisturized and catch the curl.

I’ve found that picking a protective style that looks like your natural curl pattern makes the style last longer! I would say if your pattern is looser, try braids and if it’s tighter do twists!

feb 2018 hair care routine

*drumroll* IT’S TIME FOR AN UPDATED HAIR CARE ROUTINE!

Though not much has changed I just want to keep you all updated!

Prepoo-

  • Before I wash my hair I always add a generous amount of oil- normally either shea butter or avocado oil

Washing-

  • Prior to washing, I rinse my hair with warm water to get rid of the excess product and oil
  • I wash my hair once a week using Shea Moisture’s Jamaican Black Castor Oil Shampoo. I normally wash three times; I could probably do two washes and be fine but I like three.
  • Normally when I wash I try to massage my scalp for at least one of the washes. Scratching your scalp can leave your hair tangled, so I try to limit it.

I always use warm water to wash

Conditioning-

  • I always deep condition after EVERY wash. it’s essential to making my hair easy to maintain. I’m currently using Shea Moisture’s Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment mask, but I also really like Eden Body Work’s Natural Deep Conditioner (they just didn’t have it at target when I needed deep conditioner).
  • I section my hair in four parts. I work one section at a time to add conditioner then comb out that part using my denman brush (which is a lifesaver- it defines your curls and makes detangling easier). Then I normally twist the section that I just added conditioner to or use a ponytail holder to secure it. After all sections are done I go over my hair once more with the denman brush
  • I either sit under the drier for 15 minutes (while wearing a clear shower cap) or use an old target bag over my shower cap for about 30 minutes. I like both methods but the bag is easier if you’re trying to do other things while deep conditioning.
  • I rinse out the deep conditioner with warm water then after it’s all out I use cold water to rinse my hair. It seals in the moisture and reduces frizz.
  • I then take a t-shirt and wrap it around my hair to dry it.

Styling-

protective styling is a must, especially in the winter. it helps you retain moisture plus it’s easier to maintain. I need something that’s going to be easy to maintain. Mostly because I’m a little lazy.

  • pick the right protective style- the two most popular styles are braid outs and twists outs. i used to do braid outs a lot until one of my friends twisted my hair and I saw how much less shedding I had. After that, I pretty much only do twists or twist outs.
  • Once a week I wash, deep condition and style my hair. I do twists of some sort. How I style the twists depends on if I’d like to wear it down or not- I’ll do flat twists if I want to wear it down. I like flat twists because the root is twisted so it’s easier to get through.
  • Normally i leave the flat twist in for a day or so then untwist it. I moisturize my hair every day.

Moisture-

Normally I do the LOC method, but I read that doing the LCO method reduces frizz so I plan on trying that out.

  • Liquid/Leave-In- I use water and peppermint oil first (they’re mixed in my spray bottle; Leave-In- I use Miss Jessie’s Leave In Condish
  • Cream- I use Cantu’s Coconut Creme and Camille Rose’s Curlaide
  • Oil- I use OGX coconut milk, shea butter and avocado oil.

my main tips-

  • wash and deep condition weekly
  • protective style
  • drink lots of water! at least half your body weight
  • use satin ponytail holders and bonnets
  • also use a satin pillow case
  • be gentle while combing your hair

this is the amount of shedding I had after eight days of no combing (i don’t comb my hair when it’s twisted, I had it in a twisted style for two days, then wore a turban for three (i put a bonnet on underneath to keep my hair protected from the turban), and then wore it different ponytail styles for three days.

make sure you’re following my blogging instagram- mayahn24

día 23

tomorrow is my 20th birthday!!! i’m super excited. today i spent the day cleaning. i was determined to declutter my space and i helped my sister declutter hers. i woke up with the urge to clean because i wanted to start my new year off right! my new year starts tomorrow and i’m so excited. i used to clean a lot more than i do now, but it was because life was easier and more fun when it was clean. one of my old friends told me that i cleaned in efforts to maintain control when i felt that nothing was in control. i think that’s true. cleaning empowers me. i feel happy and refreshed. a clean space means a clearer mind. i focus better and am much more productive. to me, a good clean is taking care of me and my emotional self. you need that clean. so go clean and feel the greatness of it.