CHRISTMAS WISHES GIVEAWAY 2013

It's that time of year again! Usually, we do 12 Days of Christmas -but WHOA, this month flew by fast, I didn't get a chance to run the campaign the way I'd like. However, we couldn't end the year without doing an awesome giveaway!

The writers and I decided, we'd share some of our favorite products that we discovered this year. As your natural hair journey changes you'll realize that you start to use different products. This gift basket is filled with more than $150 worth of beauty products - all handselected by the staff of Natural in Nashville! Scroll below to read SOME of the items featured in the basket (we are adding new things everyday!
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From Ashiya: Paddle Brush + Nature's Blessings Pomade
The best thing I did for my hair all year long was purchase a paddle brush.  Every time I use it, I ask myself how I made it this long without it.  After moisturizing my scalp, I use the paddle brush to massage product into my scalp and to encourage hair growth by stimulating my scalp.  While the goal is to strengthen my roots and ultimately my locs, I am driven by instant gratification.  I live for those massages now.  After years of trying to remedy a dry, itchy scalp in winter, Amber's advice was perfect. After hearing a few of my favorite naturals rave about Nature's Blessings Hair Pomade, I decided to give it a try.  While it has not become my go to daily, I do use it often.  While I still need other oils to maintain moisture balance,  I appreciate the softness Nature's Blessing brings to my new growth which allows my locs to free form with a bit more ease.  

Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo

For years, I've worked on finding the right combination of shampoos for my locs.  After a little more education on hair health this year, I may not have found the ultimate, but I have found a new staple.  Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo is one of the shampoos that naturals happily share with me often, so I gave in when Walgreen's had them on sale earlier in 2013.  I gave in to ALL of them, but the Moisture Retention Shampoo was consistent despite the cleansing shampoo I used.  A quick wash and my locs are back to their best.  For now, this one is official.  

Dudu Osun Black Soap

If you've ever considered trying black soap, I've had my best experiences with Dudu Osun.  Some black soaps tend to leave my skin feeling stripped as opposed to clean, but I have not had that experience with this one. Made with natural plants and herbs, I initially intended to use it as a facial cleanser but immediately began using for total body because of that quality. Another reason I love it is because its easy to find at most local stores that carry shea butters, oils and other natural products.

 
From Candice: I'm putting in some homemade shea butter mix. It's the bomb. Hair. Body. All of me loves all of ingredients. Great for winter, but I made it a little lighter just in case the winner doesn't like weighty products. I love it because natural works better for me. And I made sure it smells amazing because... Why not?

Also, I'm giving awesome MetaGrip Bobby pins.  Regular pins are flimsy, and leave paint flecks in your hair. And it can take so many to hold up a style. And those little balls on the end peel off.  These pins are like super woman. Everyone should have some.

From Melissa: One n' Only Restorative Mask - I LOOOOVE this conditioner. I use it all the time when I've been neglecting my hair. It's super thick and makes your curls and coils BOUNCE back. I was introduced to this product when I got my hair done at the salon. I swear when you use it, after shampoo'ing your hair will thank you. Click here to read my full review.

Aphogee Moisturizing Shampoo - I've been using this shampoo since I had a relaxer. But don't let the 'r' word scare you. This deep moisturizing shampoo is AWESOME for nourishing you hair as you wash it. And sometimes, you really need to wash your hair and get it squeaky clean while moisturizing your situation. I hope you love it. Read my full review here.

From Amber:  Confixor from Aveda. It's a liquid gel that mixes well with other products and essential oils and provides strong definition to medium texture hair.

Aveda's Daily Hair Repair it acts as a heat protectant and leave in and rebuilds compromised hair.

Of course you'll get an Official Natural in Nashville t-shirt! Let the people know where you get all your info from! LOVES IT! Purchase more shirts here!

Ashiya's Hair Diary: Long Hair Must Care

One thing I've realized is I am constantly adjusting to the length of my hair.  As a matter of fact, a large part of my frustration was treating my hair like I did when it was much shorter.  I really do love leaving my new routine of using coconut oil as a leave-in conditioner and when I opted for my last hot oil treatment, I had to do something about the plastic cap struggle.  It was real.  So this happened:

Braided out.

I decided to braid my hair for the hot oil treatment and allow it to air dry as usual in hopes of taming my hair. It's probably just because I had a curl at one point that I can't handle the water constantly running down my face. (Yes, you read that right.  At one point in life, I had a curl. It really happened.)  I was also hoping to add some volume and texture to my locs.  Because they are so small and long, just a small wave can make a huge difference when I wear it down or in simple styles like buns or ponytails.

Unbraided and happy. 

Because I finished up late at night, I sat under the dryer to kick off the drying process and let the braids stay in for a few days.  I would have gotten more mileage out of them if I had braided the front differently.  I did not make it easy to create cute updos at all, but it was a great process for washing my hair and protecting it during the hot oil treatment.

Unbraided and happy.

I'm happy with the results.  I plan to vary the size of the braids next time I do a hot oil treatment to see if I can create a different look.  I've braided my hair many times before, but now I'd like to see how many different textures and patterns I can discover.  I'm enjoying a few more "good hair days" and can appreciate it after so many bad ones.

#naturalinnashville

If you're on Instagram, check out #naturalinnashville to see how creative I can get with this braid out and send me your styling suggestions if you have them!  

Candice's Hair Diary: One Step Backward, Two Steps Forward

Yes. I took one step backward. I had the rest of my hair cut. Technically, it is a step backward from reaching my hair goals. Amber removed the rest of my colored ends. She said they didn't look too damaged, but they were dry. And that's the part that I just could not get jiggy with. The constant dryness was so annoying. (Not all color is bad or really drying. If you are new to my hair story, you can see what happened, then come back.)

I have tried several different deep conditioning methods. I've used condiments, oils, natural store-bought products, unnatural chemical products, and I've done them with and without heat. I've done the most I could for my hair and I was still hard pressed to get the bottom of my twists to hold together. My colored ends just refused to not be brittle and dry. They had to go. My hair works a lot better now. When I make a twist and try to seal the ends, they actually twist together!! And I could never get my hair to be all the way shiny and moisturized anymore before this final cut. But check out this shot.

I can't remember the last time my hair had so much shine.
This was the 2nd day wearing my bun, with no additional product.

So I'm back to my natural color now. I was a red head and then I rocked the "ombre" black and brown (The red color faded to a nice brown. I liked it so I kept it.) and I haven't had colorless hair for almost 3 years. It felt weird to realize that my hair color wasn't my real color. Completely dark hair has taken some getting used to. Besides, anyone who really knows me will tell you that I'm a much more "colorful" personality than I am dark. I'm already planning on getting color in my hair sometime in the future. And not because I hate my hair or have any self-esteem or self-loathing issues*. I just think color fits my personality a lot more.

My boyfriend and I... being colorful.
Love this twist-out. It happened after keeping my hair in twists for 4 days.

But you know what doesn't fit my personality? This bald spot in my head. Yes, it's still there. I'm going to pray that it's not permanent. I was made aware of it again this week when I put my hair in a bun and literally had to manipulate my hair to cover up the shiny scalp in the front left side of my head. *sigh* I just want my edges back.

In the front is a middle part. But on the side... there used to be hair there.

And finally, I made a wig!!! I'm not going to get too detailed because this post has already been so long. I'm going to put the details in a separate post. But it was SO EASY! I just watched a few YouTube videos and got the gist of the wig-making process. I already had the hair for vacation. The additional products only cost $10. I still have some adjustments to make on it, but I've already worn it in public and I got more compliments.  But here is the wig after it was sewn, but before I cut it. You'll just have to come back to see the final product, along with instructions the steps I followed and photos of the process.

So that's it. I've had quite a month of hair fun. I'm back to the point of loving experimenting with my hair and actually enjoying it. I think we all go through hair phases, and I just needed some space. But absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I'm loving my hair lately. How about you?

*Is is weird that in 2013 it's still necessary to put a disclaimer on your self-awareness because of a hair choice? Let me know when this ends.

Ashiya's Hair Diary: My Conditioning Cure

I found my conditioning cure.  It's one of those situations that makes me laugh at myself when I think about how I got to this point.  I had the solution, but I kept letting go of it.  Let me explain.

Birthday Locs!  Wash and coconut hot oil treatment with no maintenance.  Giving the locs a break.

If you've shared any of my loc story here, you know that I love hot oil treatments.  When I took off the cap, my hair felt so lovely that I would reluctantly wash out the oil treatment as noted in the directions of the treatment I was using.  When I moved to natural oils, I continued to rinse the oil away out of habit.

While researching hot oil treatments for locs online, I found Yannie The Locologist and laughed at myself when I read her section on locs care.  Answered the question I had asked myself so many times:

"I never wash hot oil treatments out of my hair or my client's hair.  I believe once you are give yourself a "natural" hot oil treatment, it should stay in your hair so it can continue to work in the days to come."  -Yannie, Locs By Yannie

               

I decided to test the theory with coconut oil and I LOVED the results!  I followed Yannie's instructions and allowed my hair to sit for a few hours before removing my plastic cap.  After I removed the cap, I simply let my hair air dry.  While I am not sure this will work for every hair type or style, I would definitely recommend it to those with locs.

Length check!  A picture of my locs during a hike on my birthday.

Now I'm ready to experiment with different oils.  I love coconut oil, but I do feel like I need to experiment with heavier oils as we approach the fall months.  That is a process I am happy to begin.

Ashiya's Hair Diary: Creamy Crack Part II

Changing my routine over the past month revealed an addiction I did not realize I had.  I left the world of relaxers only to find new creamy crack: cream conditioners.  I traded cream conditioners for hot oil treatments over the last month and am very pleased with the difference.  I have always been a fan of oils, but there was still a part of me that felt as if I weren't conditioning my locs if I didn't use a "regular" conditioner periodically.



My hair feels so free and light now that I've adopted oils for all of my conditioning treatments.
 

When I noticed the difference between my locs feeling "soft" and feeling "weak" after conditioning, I did a bit of research and found out I was late to the party.  It seems that more and more people with locs are turning to oils for conditioning as well.  I also realized this could be a huge contributing factor to the thinning I was experiencing with my hair.  


Black Earth Products Enhancing Herbal Conditioner: My favorite of my addictions.

I could knew some of the conditioners didn't work well for me, so I decided they were off my product list and moved on.  I didn't think to look at the type of conditioner in general.  A few more trips through Google and I found Yannie The Locologist who hosts weekly hot oil challenges for her clients and readers.  I'm going to commit to hot oil treatments as necessary until the end of the summer and check the progress of my hair at that point.



My creamy fix when I needed it quick and cheap.

I also plan to try some herbal rinses after some inspiration from my hair muse Esosa Edosomwan, I've a also decided to give herbal rinses a try.  I'm sure it will take some time to make a rinse that works well for me, but I'm looking forward to experimenting!






                            

                                     The latest of creamy addiction.



Now that I have a whole new world to explore without looking back, let me know your favorite hot oil treatment.  If you've tried herbal rinses, let me know!



Candice's Hair: Happily Weaveless

So I finally finished taking my hair down. It took a lot out of me. I found the best way was to cut the twists close to where my real hair was, spray, and then detangle each individual twist as I took it down. It took about 6 hours to remove the twists, but I felt so victorious and I was happy to be back to my own hair.

FREEDOM!!!

But now I have a new battle. My hair is SO DRY after removing extensions. I sprayed my hair with a leave in conditioner while I had the twists, but I guess no regular conditioning treatments left my hair thirsty. Not just regular thirsty, either. I mean dehydrated, middle of the desert, 'seeing hot oil treatment mirages' thirsty. The day I took my hair down, I went to the African Street Festival (have you seen the pictures? Click here for our facebook album. Or here for the blog.).  My hair didn't fully dry and I was out in the sun and heat for hours. NOT a good idea for dry hair. This only increased my hair woes.

After hours and hours of deep conditioning. (Two sessions of at least 2 hours in a week).
Better, but I still have a ways to go. 

After hours of conditioning, protein treatments, and 2 washes. And no, my hair didn't get mushy. I'm not exaggerating on the thirst of my hair. It's getting back on track. My ends are still colored, so I have to be extra gentle with them in order to continue retaining length.

It's almost fall, and I'm excited style my REAL hair. So I plan to keep conditioning so my styling won't damage my hair. I'm also wondering how I can make some of the Marley twist styles I posted work for my thick, kinky hair.

Toya's Hair Diary: Wash Day Woes

"'Use coconut oil', they said. 'Sleep in a satin scarf', they said. Why is my hair so dry then?!"

"You can't win!"

This is what my hair was singing this past week as it felt like straw (hence the above picture of the scarecrow from The Wiz).  It was just dry, brittle, and no matter what I put on it, it just didn't seem like it would absorb moisture.  It looked cute and all for about two days and then I had to have it up for about three days after that.  On the day that I went to co-wash I frantically looked everywhere for my conditioner.  When I found it not in its normal place, I realized the problem: I never used it the last time I washed my hair.  Oh no!

Check out Mike's twist out though

Maybe the scarecrow and I have more in common than I thought. Where was my brain? Conditioning your hair is one of the main components on maintaining natural hair. How did I miss that?  When I retraced my steps I thought that perhaps I just forgot to do it.  After all, there are a lot of steps involved when it comes to my wash day:

1. Homemade pre-poo
2. Apple Cider Vinegar rinse
3. Homemade deep conditioning
4. Conditioning
5. Leave-in Conditioning
6. Detangling
7. Parting and distributing moisturizing cream
8. Setting with gel
9. Blow drying

However, when I thought about it some more I realized that I skipped a step on purpose that night.  I remembered that I ran out of my natural non-silicone conditioner ( I co-wash with a Tresemme conditioner that is not silicone-free).  Since my hair tends to take better to more natural products, I thought that deep conditioning would be enough. Nope! Not at all.  In one of my last hair diary posts I talked about how my hair was acting funny because I hadn't deep conditioned it. Now it was acting funny because I didn't condition it.  *Sigh*  After reading through a couple of bloggers' wash day regimens, it looks as if it is not uncommon for some naturalistas to not use a conditioner after deep conditioning.  My guesses as to why my hair wasn't absorbing well are the following:

1. I didn't rinse my homemade deep conditioning treatment out well (2 eggs, yogurt, and honey). 
2. I also forgot to add coconut oil before styling. 
3. Conditioner not only softens my hair but prepares it better for the styling aids I use.  

My hair is behaving much better since I co-washed it thankfully. If I ever make this mistake again, I may need to start using a checklist for my wash regimen to remember all of the steps.

So what about you and your wash day? Do you both condition and deep condition or do you do one or the other?

Product Review: Jane Carter Solution Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner

Source

I used this conditioner a couple of weeks ago to deep condition my hair before installation of my twists. I must say... I was thoroughly impressed. My hair is like a rebellious teenager. I have been making considerable efforts to keep it moisturized, but it is pretty unimpressed by most deep conditioner products.

Jane Carter Solution does contain natural hair kryptonite Behentrimonium Methosulfate, but whatever sulfate that is left my hair feeling FABULOUS! The product has a nice consistency that is thick, but still light enough to move easily through my dense hair. Note: I've grown out of thinking that products had to be super thick in order to coat my hair. When hair grows densely together, it's more difficult for really thick products to be applied thoroughly. But back to the product review...

I washed my hair with my usual shampoo, and afterwards I applied Jane Carter's Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner in the shower. I detangled and twisted as I applied the conditioner. There was more than enough slip to make detangling an easy process. I left the conditioner in for at least 15 minutes. The results

Ok. So maybe this isn't the best picture. But there IS definition.
This is soft and HAPPY HAIR!

My curls were defined and moisturized and had nice elasticity. As my hair began to dry, there was still more definition than usual. I'd definitely recommend this product. And once I take my twists down, I look forward to trying other some of Jane Carter's other products.

Pros: Nice consistency, neutral smell, good slip, reasonably priced, absorbs well, easily rinses.

Cons: Contains a sulfate. I only put this because there's absolutely nothing else that I could possibly come up with as to why you would NOT try this conditioner.

Have you tried this Jane Carter product? Leave your review in the comment section.

Product Review: Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Replenishing Pak

When my product choices are limited, I can usually rely on the Organic Roots Stimulator line of products to get me out of a hair jam.  During a last minute trip for the Lock & Twist Gel, I noticed the Olive Oil Replenishing Pak.  After a quick scan of the label, I decided it was worth a $1.25 to give it a try.


After washing my hair, I opened the Replenishing Pak to a light, sweet scent.  The conditioner was thick enough to cover my locs without using the entire pack, leaving enough for a second application if I liked the results.  According to directions, the conditioner could be used as a quick conditioner for 2-3 minutes or as a deep conditioner.  I'm not one for the dryer, so I decided to allow the conditioner sit for an hour under a plastic cap.

When I finished my hair, it wasn't as soft as I expected after a deep condition, but the smell was lovely and I was more than pleased with the sheen.  I've learned to take certain products for what they offer, so I'll definitely keep this one in mind if my hair ever has a dull appearance.  I would definitely recommend this product if your hair lacks sheen.

More than anything, I think using the Olive Oil Replenishing Pak reminded me of the many benefits of olive oil for the body.  I definitely plan to incorporate it into my hair routine more often. 

Have you found a wonder product or DIY conditioner with olive oil that delivers on moisture and sheen.  What's your favorite olive oil treatment for your hair?