New Tumblr ;)

So I did start a tumblr. The link is http://natrlsunshyne.tumblr.com/ Come check me out and you can even submit posts to add and even ask questions. My blog will mainly be focused on Natural hair, but you'll definitely get more snapshots of my life and thoughts. See you there. ;)

UPDATES!!!! AND POSSIBLE MOVE???

Ok, so you guys... I think I will be switching from Blogger, even though I will keep this blog open and visit from time to time. I am so horrible at posting, because I'm more of a short, quick poster. I feel like I need to write a little essay when I post on here, and that's why I hardly post anything. So I'm going to try out tumblr, because it seems like more my style. I will put the link to my tumblr after I create it, and you guys can subscribe to me there if you like :) Oh, and it's about that time again... DEPLOYMENT... I will be going soon, not even sure where yet, but I have my hopes. I'm starting the planning/shopping process for the hair care and skin care products I think I will need. I am going to challenge myself to do protective styling, (no puffs and no ends out) for at least 3 weeks each month the entire time I'm gone. Let's see how much length I will retain :) Also, I'm looking to get the split-ender so I can keep my hair trimmed and in tip top shape, no point in retaining a bunch of split ends, they would just get cut off when I get back, yeah? This does mean that I will be applying heat to my hair at least once a month, so if ya'll know of a GREAT heat protector, please share... Thanks in advance. I've been using grapeseed oil as a heat protectant, and I don't see any heat damage (and when I straighten my hair, the flat iron is on the highest setting) but it's a slight pain to apply because I have it in a squeeze bottle and sometimes too much comes out. Maybe I'll put it in a spray/mist bottle and see if that's better... at any rate... so far that's my plan. I'm also on the hunt for a good moisture only deep conditioner... so far I've only come across DC's with protein in them. I might end up using Hello Hydration as a DC, but I think even that has protein. Also, I want to try Tropical Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) products. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I have thin/bald spots at the top of my head that I'm hoping and praying will get thicker with the help of the JBCO. A hair stylist recommended Nioxin also, so maybe I will throw that into the mix, but it's expensive. (In case you're wondering, I believe the bald spots were caused by stress and/or traction alopecia and also, a little of my Celiac's/B12 deficiency thrown in for good measure. Bottom line, they are there and I don't want them there. I want my hair back!!!!) Ok, I'm tired of typing, LOL. I will throw up some pics because it's been FOREVER since I've posted and I just passed my 2 year Napturalverssary 21AUG11 :) Yay!!! Peace and many blessings. HHG!

Gone Too Long

OH MY GOSH, you guys, I have been gone waaaaay too long! Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and that your 2011 is off to an OUTSTANDING start. So, what's the news? I have been sooo lacking in my hair care regimen. I went on deployment with the best of intentions for everything and the only thing I really did was buy wigs online and have a good time... LOL Oh well, new year, new start right? I am in the middle of planning out a brand spanking new regimen that will incorporate the "green house effect" and the "Crown and Glory" Method, with a couple of my own tweeks of course. I'm also planning on doing some braids here in the next few days. And has anyone ever heard of cleaning your face with OIL? Sounds crazy, right? Well, I was reading up on it....online....and decided to give it a try.

So what is my hair doing right now? Well, it is in need of a trim (The Split Ender is on my wish list), but I really don't want to go to the salon. Actually, I'm not sure if it's so much that I don't wanna go, or that I really don't have the time to go......no baby sitter :( Anywho, I will just be snipping any knots or ragged ends as I see fit when twisting. None-the-less, my hair has gotten to a pretty good length, I can barely fit it under some of my wigs, stopping just below my collar bone..... APL here I come :) I gave myself an Aphogee Two-Step Protein Treatment and a blow-out in anticipation of these braids. I like to do my hair in stages, I feel like it gives it (not to mention my scalp) little breaks between the "stress" I put it under. I've been wearing it in this little roll, tuck, and pin protective style for the last couple of days. And did I mention I had my 1 year anniversary of being natural on 21 August 2010? Obviously not, because I haven'y been posting, but I am officially 1 year and 4 months natural... Yay me! Ok, I think it's time to go to bed. I will post my new proposed regimen within the next couple of days. TTYL, until then peace and many blessings :) HHG!

On Deployment

Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a very Happy Holiday Season. Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanzaa! Ok, so, I am on deployment and I will be for at least the next few months. I am actually on deployment in Italy, and I am not on a ship, so I have a little more freedom to do my hair how and when I want. What I mean by that is, on a ship you can wash your hair in the shower and you would have to do your hair (braid, twist, oil, condition and seal, detangle, etc.) in the head (bathroom), berthing common area, or your rack (if you can work that out… I had a top rack when I was on the ship, so I could sit up straight, LOL). Oh yes, a rack is a bed/bunk, for you non Navy types =) Entywayz….The day before we left, I did my hair in a microweave (braids around the perimeter, weave in the middle) I realized when I was braiding how long my hair had actually gotten, because I was going to just braid to the end of my hair and tie it off well, at one point I was like, “gosh, I’m still braiding this one braid”, LOL.

I maintained this style by spritzing it with a rose water/glycerin mix or a leave-in conditioner mixed with water and Vitamin E. I also slept with a satin bonnet. BTW, I also have a satin pillow case for those nights I just passed out, LOL. I recently took these out. I had them in for a little over a month. I totally detangled my hair with my denman brush and parnevu leave-in conditioner before I washed it. I washed my hair with my medicated black soap (from butters-n-bars.com) and conditioned with my Aphogee 2-minute reconstructor. Then I moisturized and sealed my hair with “grow my hair” shea butter (also from butter-n-bars) and castor oil. My scalp was all tingly and cool, my hair was soft, it was great =)

And, of course, shrinkage is very deceiving. At this point, it’s been a little over 3 months since my BC. I’m pretty happy. My hair feels thick and healthy. I seems like it’s growing, even in my trouble spots, YAY!!! Thank the Lord, hallelujah!!! And I still wear my wigs to work. Speaking of wigs, I just spent entirely too much money on some new wigs from hairsisters.com. They had an after Christmas/New Year sale!!! Wow. Plus I ordered some things from besthairworld.com They were shutting down their website, so I got a few things I had my eyes on =) I’m waiting on my hairsisters.com order (they ship to military FPO/APO) I had two, one shipment on its way here, and one on its way to Marbles’s house in the states. I will pick them up when I get back, if she doesn’t confiscate them first, LOL. But here are a couple pictures of the 3 new ones I received from besthairworld.com. Tell me what you think. Peace and many blessings, with much love always...HHG!!!

-Ms. Natural-N-Navy

Get Ready! Get Ready! GET READY!!!

Ok, so I haven't posted in awhile, but I am getting ready for deployment... can't say when or where, but Obviously it's soon... I'm going to have to drop off my little cuties at my Mom and Dad's. I'm going to miss them SOOOO much, but at the same time, I am looking forward to the break and a new experience. This will be my first deployment ya'll. I'm so excited. Anyway, in other news.... I can feel my hair touching my ears!!! YAY... that means growth, in case you didn't know. ;) So, in preparing for deployment I have to seriously consolidate my hair care, health, and beauty products. I also have to keep in mind that winter is coming up and my lovely curls will need extra moisture and TLC. So, I have decided to get some shea butter (use for both hair and body), liquid black soap (again for both hair and body), and castor oil and coconut oil to seal my hair. For my co-washes and DC's I will be putting my Herbal Essences Totally Twisted and Hello Hydration on double duty (just DC under dryer for 30-45 minutes). I will also throw some baking soda into the mix whenever I feel the need, and, of course, unless told otherwise, I will use my Rx scalp oil for the next 6-8 months. I think I mentioned it before, I have seborrheic dermatitis and have to use this oil every few days to treat it, for a whole year!!! That is crazy, but oh well, I want my head healthy. I will probably only do a couple protein treatments and I will use my aphogee 2 step protein treatment for that. I haven’t decided whether or not to take my 2 minute reconstructor, but it might be a good idea. The styles I will be wearing in my hair are wigs and micro-weaves (micro braids around the perimeter of my head and clip-in weave in the middle) I don’t want to put too much stress on my edges because I am afraid they will break, so I plan on changing out the braids every 2-3 weeks, wearing the wigs in-between braids, while my edges rest. I don’t plan on styling my real hair until after deployment. It’s going to be all about keeping it moisturized and keeping it in protective styles to let it grow and be healthy. Well, let me go ya’ll, I’m tired and I have to wash out this oil, which means detangling after… BTW, does anyone know what MJB's real hair looks like? I love most of her styles, but I wanna know if this style she is wearing on the 2009 Hip Hop honors is her real hair, a wig, or a weave, because I want it!!!! Love you Mary!!! Peace and blessings, with much love always...HHG!!!
-Ms. Natural-N-Navy

New Member!!!!

Ok, so, I’m so excited!!!! My friend just joined the Naptural Revolution!!! Well, maybe revolution is the wrong term to use, I don’t want anyone to associate it with anything that can be conceived as negative…Anyway, Marbles (cute nickname;} huh?) got her BC a few days ago, and she is also in the Navy. When I sent her pictures of my BC she told me she was thinking about doing it, and that she might go ahead and do it over deployment. So imagine my delightful surprise when I received a picture mail of her (and my lovely neice) with a cute curly TWA!!! Inside I was jumping up and down…. BZ Marbles!! BZ!!! We share the feeling that getting the big chop and setting our hair free is so liberating! It was like a weight had been lifted….ahhhh. Ok, enough typing, I’m at work and supposed to be working… Hollerer at you guys later. Peace and blessings, with much love always...HHG!!!
-Ms. Natural-N-Navy

SunShyne Spritzer

Hello, Hello!!!
Ok, so I got this idea to use a rose water and vegetable glycerin mix as a leave in conditioner/refresher spritzer. So, as I was doing my research on some things that might help my hair grow I came across rosemary and peppermint. They have some properties that stimulate the blood flow to the scalp. Well, as I mentioned before I have some scalp issues, and I went to the dermotologist and was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis. It's like a rash that causes extra dry, itchy and sore skin. She gave me some oil i'm supposed to apply every other day overnight, then wash out. I don't know how long I'm supposed to do this before I see results, but my scalp is still itchy and sore after using it for about a month. So, getting back to my conditioner/spritzer.... I went to a natural food store and got some rose buds, cloves (they have mild anaesthetic and anti-bacterial properties), peppermint, rosemary, and vegetable glycerine. I also got this little tea leaf strainer. I took a little of all the herbs and rosebuds and put them in the strainer. Boiled some water and steeped the ingredients in a bowl for about an hour. After that I strained the mix and poured the liquid into a spray bottle and added the glycerine. I shook the bottle to mix everything all together and sprayed it into my hair. The only problem with this stuff is that it is brown (because of the cloves) so you gotta be careful not to get it on your clothes. But let me tell you, my hair is so SOFT!!!! I sprayed it twice in 2 days, and this is like the third or fourth day.... still soft, can't keep my hands out of my hair.... I don't know what is making my hair this soft, but I like it, and I hope it keeps working. Also, my scalp feels great, it doesn't hurt and it's not itchy. After I spritzed my hair and finger combed it through, my scalp felt all cool, (because of the peppermint maybe?) it was great! Loving this stuff and it smells Amazing...I have dubbed it SunShyne Spritzer....another bonus, my hair has a nice sheen/shine to it. Well, anyway, that's what I wanted to share. I will be sure to keep you posted on how my hair responds to it. Thanks for reading. Peace and blessings, with much love always...HHG.
-Ms. Natural-N-Navy