These are a few of my favorite things

As promised, I have been trying a few different product lines.   Here is my top three for the moment

On the ground favorite:

Shea Moisture’s Organic Coconut & Hibiscus line:

-       Hair Milk

o   My favorite product of the line. Kept my hair soft, moisturized, and rocked a hot twist out

-       Shampoo

o   Has great slip and acted as a detangler. I still use this product on my son. He has thick hair and it works great

-       Smoothie

o   Great for sealing hair

-       Curling Souffle

o   This one has a mixed review from me. On my hair it was not so hot.  I thought it was greasy feeling and my hair just kinda hung down.  On my son, I felt it really defined his curls and his wash and gos looked awesome.  Maybe it’s just not the right formula for me or it could be user era since I used this when I was first learning about my hair.

This was my first love for the quality of the product, the ease of obtaining it and they are reasonably priced. I would say it is a great way to start your natural journey.  The line can be purchased at Walgreen’s or Target stores.

Big online retailer favorite:

Carol’s Daughter:

-       Tui Smoothie

o   I swear by this deep conditioner. I love it! I use it once a week on my son and me and I feel like our hair is definitely benefitting from it. Our hair is hydrated and shiny. This product has great slip as well. If it weren’t for this Owen would have had a buzz cut.

-       Chocolat Shampoo and Conditioner

o   I like this shampoo and conditioner. My hair feels clean but not a squeaky dry kinda way. When used in combination with the blow dry cream the results can be pretty awesome. I’m still in search for a “wow” shampoo but for now this one is working for me

-       Black Vanilla Leave -In

o   I like the way my hair feels after using this product. I often use it as a spray right after a wash.  But more than anything I like the way it smells

Carol’s Daughter can be bought in Sephora but their online shop has everything. The shipping is pretty quick, at least for me it is. Everything has been shipped from NY, so maybe that will be a factor for you. The price is considerably higher than Shea Moisture. I never buy anything full price from Carol’s Daughter. They are constantly running promotions so get on their email list to get the deals and be on the lookout for free shipping. If you like their stuff become a member during the membership sale. I will say that I am not a fan of all of their products due to the amount of perfume in them (they are a little too strong for me) but I do like some of the body lotion lines.  I may post on that at a later time

Mom and Pop online Favorite:

Oyin Handmade:

-       Greg Juice

o   Awesome leave in with a pleasant citrus scent. I use it everyday on Owen and as a leave in for twist outs

-       Burnt Sugar Pomade

o   Excellent sealant. Smells like crème brule.

-       Hair Dew

o   “Lotion” for the hair. Smells like the pomade but a little bit more like sugar cookies. Love this stuff! My hair is in love too

This is a classic case of you get what you pay for….. and I paid for awesomeness. I love the subtle scent of the products and the way they feels. Shipping can take a long time and it is expensive. I try to make a bulk purchase to try to cut down on overall cost. They say their products have a shelf life of 6 months to a year so keep that in mind when ordering.  I have heard that they sometimes have a black Friday sale so keep a look out for that These three are my current 1-2-3 punch when doing a twist out. I haven’t complained yet. I get compliments on my hair (which could be due to my better technique) and even my hair dresser asked what I was doing cause my hair looks and feels so healthy. I would say wait to buy this when you are serious about being natural like I did. I don’t know maybe I would have been quicker to ditch the flat iron if I went right to this but the overhead cost can be a lot. I want to try more of their products soon

I’m planning on trying out some more products soon. I got a sample of Miss Jessie’s in my Birchbox and I just signed up for CurlBox to help broaden my horizons.  I’m kinda a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kinda girl but I won’t know what else is out there if I don’t try.

Until next time!

Cheers!

~Thea

Goodbye 2011 and hello 2012!!

2011 was quite a year and a good one at that! It was wonderful to watch us grow as a family. We saw a ton of family at my brother’s wedding, Mr. Man and O went to Barbados with me for the first time, and we had a great time at Disney.  And… I found this wonderful natural hair community. I didn’t even know what a twist out was before youtube. 

So here we are at 2012. My goals haven’t really changed from last year, I just want to continue to document this hair journey. I plan on trying new products and maybe venture out and try something other than a twist out.  In years past I would have scheduled all my hair appointments for the year before the new year even started -  this year I don’t have a single one! While I am excited for my free Saturdays this new me is so different and unplanned and it’s a little scary. I’m hoping that by documenting it I will be able to see great progress.

So here’s to 2012! I hope that it will be happy for all!

Cheers!

~ Thea

A funny thing happened...

So as I had mentioned before I am trying to honor the hair appointments I made for the year. I just don't think it is fair to to my hair dresser to just quit on him cold turkey. I really like Will so I'm just going to make it until the end of the year.

But anyway, as you can see from my last post, I went and got a flat iron yesterday at the salon and the funny thing is I feel weird. I'm not loving the way I look. After 3 weeks of curliness I'm not loving the straight look. If you had told me this a year ago I would have said you were crazy.  So I think I have 5 more appointments to go. I couldn't be happier with this transformation

Best!
~Thea

First video blog!!! Length check

No self respecting hair blog can be complete without a length check! So here it is! Enjoy :)

A Magical Vacation!

...and this is why I didn't post sooner. After my work trip to New Orleans we packed up the family and went to Disney World! Most people would say it was too soon for a family trip there but we are not most people. We had a wonderful, or should I say magical, time at Disney.

"it's a small world"

Yo Ho Yo Ho!

We're kinda silly

If you are ever planning a trip there October is the time to go. We did Halloween at the Magic Kingdom, bopped over to Universal to see Harry Potter (and get my fill of butterbear!!), and participated in the food and wine festival at Epcot. And as an added bonus scored the free meal plan. That alone made the the trip. We ate at sit down dinners in "France", Teppanyaki in "Japan", awesome sea food dinner at the living seas, tried foods from around the world as our snacks, and the list goes on. My son had a great time going on all the rides and although he may not remember this later I will. The look on his face when we went on "its a small world" made the whole thing worth it. Disney was great for little ones there were a lot of rides that he could go on with us. 

So now, back to business right? How was the hair?? That's what this blog is about, right? Let me tell you, it was wonderful to be so carefree in Florida. Normally all the mist machines and water rides would be giving me anxiety but I was stress free. And that's how a vacation is supposed to be! And if I do say so myself , I looked good. I got compliments too!! One from some random guy at the Food and Wine festival. He said my hair was really pretty and he kept looking at it. I think what struck me about the comment was that it was from a stranger. I know that's silly but he didn't have to say anything. I spent most of the week in twist outs. I was rained on once but that didn't stop the fun. Just afro puffed it that day :) My only issue was with dealing with how dry I felt my hair got in the hotel at night. I remedied that by twisting my hair at night. I came across the same problem in the hotel at New Orleans the week before. I'm not sweating it but it may be something to think about if you're staying in hotel. I wore my satin cap but I was still pretty dry.

Halloween at the Magic Kingdom!

Breakfast with Tigger :)

Hogwarts!!

Hope you enjoy the pics of my cutie!

Until next time!
~Thea

New Orleans : Part Deux!

Soooo..... I'm a bit late with this post. Life has been a bit busy after I got back from NOLA.  My trip was wonderful! I will definitely be back and bring the fam with me. I fell in love with the Muffeletta at Central Grocer and had my fill at Coops. I also enjoyed Frenchman Street. While on Frenchman I saw Eudora and Deep Soul play at Mojito's. They were great to listen to and let me tell you the lead singer's hair was fierce. I'll be striving for that :)
I went on a swamp tour and my guide caught a alligator. Ahhh New Orleans enchanted me and I'll be back!

Cheers!
Thea

Oops I blinked :)

Jonathan and I at the House of Blues

New Orleans

I'm in the Big Easy this week for a work conference and I'm loving it! Its been a great change to get out of New England for a little while.  I must admit that so far I have done more sightseeing than work.  My coworkers and I have gone to Johnny's Po Boys, The Absinthe House, and Mother's. We also made our way to the Insectarium too. And of course Bourbon Street.  I'm just having a great time reconnecting with people in my field. The conference is taking us all to the the House of Blues at the end of the week. Should be a good time!

I haven't taken a hair picture yet since I'm usually the one behind the camera. I should get on that and post it on here. So you can see if my hair likes the gulf air :)

Until next time.... All the best!

~ Thea


AW Moment.... Look what was in my room for my anniversary!!