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

Nothing to do with Hair...LOL

I recieved this email at work, and had to STRUGGLE to keep from laughing too loud!
Random Thoughts of the Day:
o More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
o Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. o I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does.. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
o Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk. o I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
o The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
o Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
o There is a great need for sarcasm font.
o Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f*** was going on when I first saw it.
o I think everyone has a movie that they love so much; it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
o How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
o I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
o I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
o The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
o A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it. o Was learning cursive really necessary?
o Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
o I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
o Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
o My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
o Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
o How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said? o I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
o While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
o MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
o Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
o I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
o Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
o I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. o Bad decisions make good stories o Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
o Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
o If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
o Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from; this shouldn't be a problem....
o You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
o Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
o There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far..
o I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
o "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
o I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure.. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
o While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.
o I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
o I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
o When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
o I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
o Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles... o As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
o Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
o It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
o I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. o I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
o Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
o Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my a$$ everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
o My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
o It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
o I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
o I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
o I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
o The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware.. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat b@st@rd before dinner.

Let me introduce Myself.....

Hi, I'm Ms. Natural-N-Navy and I started this blog because I just recently renewed my napturality. As you might have guessed I am in the Navy, and I have been for the past 4 years. I actually came into the Navy with the hair goal of going natural. I cut my hair off really short, but I still had relaxer in the front. While in boot camp, I again cut my hair (or rather, my shipmate cut it for me) this time, all of the relaxed ends were cut off... I had my first TWA as a grown woman. I hated it.... I didn't know what to do, and my hair kept growing... my skin in Boot was horrible and it was hot, and I was not having the greatest time... duh, it was Boot Camp. Anyway, I graduated and went to school, I immediately got microbraids. I kept my hair in micros for about 8 or 9 months. I haven't had my hair in micros since about March of 2006. I figured out that my head was too sensitive to get them done (I got terrible headaches/migraines during the braiding and most of the time after) During this time I got pregnant and I just "dealt" with my hair because I still didn't know how to take care of it, and I was in a part of California where it seemed NO ONE knew how to care for Natural Hair. I turned to weaves after my son was born and had, of course, a bad experience with one, where my hair was left extremely thin at the edges and uneven in the back. I got one last weave before I moved to VA. Then, I turned to salons and their hot combs, flat irons, and silk wraps (love silk wraps=D), Let me tell you how the first time my hair was pressed at the salon (one in CA, not VA) the man scorched my hair. I smelled burned hair whenever I washed it for months after, and I am not even exaggerating. I did the pressing thing for awhile until I gave up... shortly before finding out I was pregnant with my second child, I went and got a wave nouveau. I got 2 more, before it didn’t take anymore (hormones) so, bringing you to now…. I suffered hair loss, severe shedding and breakage. My poor hair condition was due to so many different factors… work and emotional stress, my hormones being so out of whack from two pregnancies, perms, poor diet, poor hair care, etc. I moved to Maine, I had less stress, but still a poor diet, and poor hair care… even less options for My hair here…LOL. So I started to do research, and decided, once again, to go natural. I “transitioned” for about 5 months before I got my BC on 21 Aug 2009. I say “transitioned” because I simply stopped getting chemical services without any clear intentions of reinstating my natural self. So, why create a blog? Because, in my research, I did not find any blogs or vlogs that chronicled a woman who was natural in the military. Now, I may have overlooked, and I did come across people who had commented on message boards, but most were in the military in the past…. No, all of them were. None were current military members, so I felt it was needed. Now, I’m no cosmetologist, I don’t even really do hair, except my own. This blog is simply a journal of my renewed dedication to my hair. I will tell you how I care for it, what products I try and my progress. My hair texture is very coarse, kind of wiry. My curl pattern is 4a/4b. As of my BC on 21Aug, my hair is about 3” to 4” long in most places, and my edges (front and nape) are about 2 1/2” long. I co-wash my hair about every other day, except when I am doing a deep conditioner or Protein treatment. I will post my regimen a little later, along with products I currently use and my PJ wish list. My hair goals are 1)to get my scalp and hair healthy 2) to grow my hair back in the places it is thinning 3) to grow my hair longer, thicker and stronger than ever before and 4) to ultimately achieve APL hair. I will also post some of my favorite links and a glossary of sorts for the abbreviations that I use (for those of you new to the natural lingo) I am still somewhat of a novice, seeing as how I am very recently an INFORMED natural myself=) Please post any comments or questions you may have, and I will be most happy to answer what I can. Please, of course (I know I shouldn’t have to mention this, but….), remember the golden rule… no, not he who has the gold makes the rules, but the one we were taught in school….. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Life is too short to waste time on negativity. Peace and blessings, with much love always…. HHG.
-Ms. Natural-N-Navy