The Results From My 2 Flexi rods..

Well, it didnt turn out allllll that but it will do. :) Practice will make perfect. One thing I didnt like is that after a couple of hours the curls fell. See 2nd pic.

Str8 16in Human Micro Hair: What I do 2 Them At Night...

Like my girl over at Divine Diva my braids are 16 inch. I love the length but they are too thin. My favorite side bun looks so anorexic now. So to make it look a lil thicker I have to braids my hair up at night. Here is a quick video on what I do to them b4 I sleep.

My Hair Update Video From 08 Dec 2009

I'm sorry this video is so late...but better late than never. I know I have been slipping on updates of my latest set of micro's but I have been having a hard time with them...but I will post about it later. I see my girl over on Divine Diva got her some pretty braids that are also 16 inch like mine. So I'm going to stalk her blog daily to see what styles I can steal. :) Anyway here is the video. 1st let me say that I did not get a relaxer and once again I let the darn lady trim my hair. It seemed like my ends are thinner...but I am just HOPING its from the flat-iron. I will see next time I update but for now I am going to be babying my ends like crazy.

The Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)

I've been trying to hold out on posting this until I see more results but I cant hold it any longer! :) (diarrhea mouth, lol) I have stopped using all my facial cleaners and scrubs AND moisturisers and have been using nothing but castor oil, jojoba and tea tree oil. Ya'll I can honestly say TRY it at least for a week and you will not turn back. I am sooooo happy I finally found something for my skin that works and I dont have to worry about a pimple popping up. If it does I just apply some oil to it and let the oil unclog. :) Eww nasty, right but it works.

More Info:

"OCM involves two essential oils extra virgin olive oil and castor oil. The castor oil is an extremely good cleanser. It will remove dirt and dead skin cells from your pores without stripping the natural oil balance of your skin or mucking around with your skins natural pH. Extra virgin olive oil is an awesome moisturizer that is packed full of goodies for your skin, like antioxidants. Both oils are safe to use on acne prone and blemished skin. In fact, its probably the best and most gentle cleanser to use on problem skin."

How To Do The Oil Cleansing Method (OCM)

You need to start with a dry face, so its best to do the OCM before or after your shower. Pour a generous amount of the oil mix into the palm of your hand then gently massage it into the skin on your face and neck. Take as long as you like, sometimes I like to take up to several minutes. Sit down and relax and enjoy the process. You can even sit down in front of the TV and do it. The amount of time you spend really depends on how much time you have. If you only have 30 seconds to spare then thats okay.

Steam your face. You can fill a bowl with hot water and put your face over it with a towel over your head, or using a special steaming pot. The easy way is to soak a face washer with hot water, ring it out, then place the hot washer on your face for a minute or so. This process opens your pores so the oils can get right in there and give you a deep cleanse.

Gently massage the oils into your face again. This time you dont need to take as long as you did in step 1.

Wet a face washer with warm water then gently wipe the oil off your face. You will also be wiping off dirt and dead skin cells.

If your skin is dry or tight, put a small amount of the oil mix onto your fingertips then pat the oil on your face. Make sure you then rub the oil in so you dont have any oily patches. Its really important to make sure the oil is rubbed in properly so you dont get any breakouts.

Thats it! Youll find that you skin will become a lot softer and will even glow after just a couple of days. It will not work wonders for your acne overnight but it will make your skin as healthy as it can be which will give a chance for your acne to heal.

Check out my comparison pic's in my video on YouTube. :)

Trying 2 Deal With This Human Hair

Man ole man! I just arrived to Baghdad this morning and this human hair was a puffy mess! I am really thinking I should have stuck with my synthetic hair. But on the positive side I can at last pay better attention to my hair when it needs moisture. They pony hair has a natural shine that makes it hard to tell when your hair is really dry but NOT this human hair. So as soon as I checked into a room at the BTC, I moisturized with Hydratherma Products but did not seal in case I needed to do it again. After I moisturized I twisted the hair and put 4 medium flexi rods in it. I will sleep for a couple of hours and take them down. Ya'll please pray my "human hair" comes out looking decent. This hair is definitely going to take some "getting" used to. Maybe if it wasn't so thin.....ummm well I dont know. I just know Im sleepy right now so let me post this pic and bounce. :)

Fresh Braids... 10 Dec 2009

So for this set of braids I used human hair, 16 inch all around. That is the reason they so thin. The hair was a perfect match. They started at 1000 and finished at 2:30pm. :) I was sooooo happy. Oh excurseee the Jay-Jay from Good Times hat, lol but I like it. :)

10 Dec 2009: Back 2 Micros

I just wanted to do a quick post. I am sitting up in the braid shop getting micros again because I leave 2morrow. :( Hopefully a bad storm comes and I get stuck here lol! Well this time I decided to get human hair instead of that heavy pony hair. That mess had me having fits. Don't get me wrong it was nice and very easy but it was just to heavy. Okay they started my hair around 945 or 1000.... I will post more updates when they finish. I am estimating I will be outta here by 1500 or 1400. :) Anyway here is a picture:

08 Dec 2009 Update: No Relaxer And 1 1/2 Trim :(

What the hell is going on with my hair, lol. I have mixed feelings. I don't even wanna talk about it. If you were reading my twitter today you know what I am talking about. I arrived to the salon on time for my 1300 appointment and had to sit until 1330 until she finished this lady's head. Once the shampoo lady came back from her lunch she took me from under the dryer. Imagine that, lol. After I came from under the dryer my stylist decided to eat her lunch so I had to wait AGAIN. After she finished she did two heads and then she did me. I think I had smoke coming out my eyeballs! Before she started she asked did I want her to str8'n it out. I was like yes the roots, lol. She was like no baby your ends really need to be str8 across. I knew that would put me back at SL. At that point I felt like running like hell outta there but CONVINCED myself that I know I was in desperate need of a trim. I think she took off 1 and 1/2 inches but it looks REALLY good and I'm happy but at the same time miss my lil raggedy length. But health b4 length right? LOL. Oh I 4got to tell ya...4 this update I DID NOT get a RELAXER! She used a Chi to flatiron my hair. Yahh she did her thing cause my fam was asking did I get a relaxer. Anyway here are the pictures...

Texture Porn: New Growth Update!

Ladies, I am sooooooo loving my New Growth! I am really shocked at how THICK it is and I can see a lil curl pattern! I can honestly say my hair texture has changed or is looser. Gurrlll, don't let that be guuud hur (hair) creeping out my scalp! I'll chop this relaxer off in 2 seconds flat, LMAO.

For this set of braids I up'd my JBCO usage and tried to apply it 2-3 times a week, so I think thats what I owe the thickness to. I slacked a WHOLE lot on my baby Megatek. As for the moisture and the softness, that award is going to Hydratherma Naturals...hands down. Her mixes have to be a miracle. I think I am about to give Scurl a big size 9 boot 4 a minute. Her hair follicle invigorator is like fertilizer to the scalp. Anyway below is some serious "Hair Porn" because I am SO loving my new growth. When looking at the pictures check out my lil wanna be curls, lol.

With Flash

Without Flash

Getting My Braids Out :(

So I am posting this while I am getting my braids taken out. :( I am going to miss my pony hair. :( My roots are feeling very thick and soft. I think I owe that to the Hydratherma Products. It is so tempting to get a relaxer but I would like to reach 8 months. Right now I am 16 weeks, I think. Anyway here is a picture of what I am looking like now...a H.A.M! Also here is a pic of the lady who is taking them down. She is very gentle and that's a plus because I am so tender-headed. :)...Aww hell as I type this they just offered my cousin to help take them down. Aint this some shizzzzz.....

Hydratherma Naturals Products

All, I can say is love it, love it! It smells very good, like vanilla and coconut and is very moisturizing. My favorite is the follicle invigorator. Click here to watch the video on how I use her products. :)

My Fashion & Style

My two cousins and I went to a club in Birmingham, AL last night. I don't do clubs but it was fun.

Here is what I wore:

My Fashion & Style

Okay, so I know this is supposed to be a blog on my braids, but sometimes I stray away. So when I stray away I want to have a concrete titles for it so this will be called: My Fashion & Style.... for when I wanna talk about my clothes, or stuff like that.

Okay, so I am wearing alot of hats cause I am at home and I don't wanna be looking like a bum with old azz braids. 4 some reason I am loving the color grey.

Now this pink beenie thing is so not my style but I just wanted to try something new and I a feeling it cause it covers up my new growth and matches my favorite MAC Lipstick, Girl About Town. :)
Call me old fashion but I prefer stud earrings and not them big ole thangs but of course since these are pink I'm a sucka 4 em. :)

My New Coat

Soooo, yesterday I went shopping for some girly clothes. I have been dying for one of those black coats with the round buttons. Every time I found one they were too tight in the boobie area or the collar was extremely too large. I eventually found one that I really liked (pictured below) and my cousin Jennifer didnt like it but I brought it anyway. What do you all think?

L'Oreal Carbon Black Telescopic Dramatic Lengthening and Intensifying Mascara, Carbon Black

This is the Loreal Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara. What I love about this mascara? I am so loving this kind because it doesn't clump or smear. While it doesn't add volume it definitely lengthens and darkens and its great for small eyelid people like myself. :)

New Growth Update!

...Just thought I would post some new growth shots. Since I have been slacking a little I noticed I don't have as much new growth as I normally get. Yes I have been slacking on my megatek. :( Anyway...I am taking a early vacation because the azzes I work with are not letting me take Xmas or New Years. :( Lets see...... so by the time I get home I would have had these braids in since 30 Sept? I don't remember...I need to look back at my posts. Oh and remember I had those other braids in for a month and got a lil new growth too. I will not be relaxing this time around but I will post an update pic IF my hair gets str8 enufff.

Sick of The Pony Tail...

Sooo ummm, I'm sick of the pony tail so I am going to try this 1/2 up, 1/2 down, side swoop style for a couple of days....

HAIR HOLDERS..

You know what I dislike about hair holders...they are so small and when you have alot of hair / weave its hard to place all the hair in it and it breaks or pulls your hair. It used to take me like 3 times in the morning to gather all my braids the correct way into a little holder. I got tired of it and decided to cut a lil stocking and use that as my holder. It is sooooo much better and easier. Check out my video on how I do it:

My Weight Goal

Okay here is my weight now as of this morning. Before the S.L I was a flopping 189 & now I am 179.6. That’s a whole 9.4 pounds. I always check my weight first thing in the morning b4 I eat because that is the best time. Anyway, my first goal is 165 pounds (that will be 14.6 pounds lost!) and next is 155 and I will finally be satisfied if I can get to 150! Then I will loose my mind and wanna look like a skeleton! LMAO... I'm only joking!

Metabolism & Slow Weight Loss

Is your metabolism too slow? 

One thing we know for sure is that our metabolism is slowing down as we get older. Simply put, 

metabolism is the way our bodies burn the calories from the food that we eat. The shift of midlife 

weight gain actually begins in our 20’s – 30’s. . Starting at about age 25, a person’s 

metabolism declines approximately 5 percent every decade! So it seems we are entering into the battle of age vs. 

metabolism.

Like our cars need fuel to work, our bodies need to be fuelled too. The car performs well when we put in good fuel in the engine, and 
we work actively when we consume healthy and good food.
If one wants to loss weight, then, amount of calories play an important role. One is required to consume fewer amounts of calories. But the other factor involved in weight control is exercise. Fat loss depends on the amount of exercise done and what impact it has on one’s metabolic rate.

Metabolic rate: – exercise helps increase our energy output. It also improves our metabolic rate which helps us to burn excess calories for 24 hours after an activity or exercise. More over, exercise also helps in building muscle mass. The more muscle mass one has, the more calories one will burn through out the day.

We should always remember that our weight depend on our metabolic rate. Sometimes, we come across a person who eats large amounts of food and yet remains slim while another person, who eats less, tends to gain more weight. This is because of the metabolic rate. The person who gains no weight has a high metabolic rate while a person who gains more weight has a low metabolic rate.

Tips to increase one’s metabolic rate:-
-    the first most important thing to start is to drink at least a minimum of 8 to 10 glasses of water ever day, And of course, the more the better. Water is good to drink and it increases the metabolic rate of a person’s body. It also helps in removing fat and toxins.

-    Eat small meals frequently through out the days, with a gap of 2 hours, at least, so that your metabolism is always busy.
A lot of people claim they aren't hungry in the morning, and try to take full advantage, skipping breakfast and waiting for the hunger to kick in that afternoon. A lot of people love this and think it will help them lose weight, because they are consuming fewer total calories.

It is more likely than not that if you aren't very hungry in the morning, it is because you are already in starvation mode. Your body weakens your appetite so that you don't waste calories to go try and find something to eat (think back to caveman days when we had to actually hunt our food.)

Eating consistently through out the day is the only way to keep you metabolism running smoothly. Don't skip meals, especially breakfast, because it wakes your metabolism up to burn the maximum number of calories per day.

If your metabolism is running efficiently, you can eat more calories and lose more weight than if you restrict and eat fewer calories.

Exercise-good for your metabolism:
-    Exercise is good for people who want to loss some weight as it improves the metabolic rate and so help the body to burn calories even after an exercise.
-    It increases energy output.
-    It also increases body muscles which burn up more calories even when the body is at rest, that fat.
-    Exercise helps in digesting the food as well as burning calories.

• Don’t Skip Meals!
The myth that skipping meals decreases your total calorie level and helps you to lose weight is not true. 
When people skip meals or decrease their calories significantly 
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body tries to compensate for the low calories. Your metabolic rate can actually decrease as much as 10-15% 
and your body will hold on to the fat and burn lean muscle instead. Always eat at least 3 meals and avoid 
dipping below 1000 calories a day.
 
• Regular activity
Regular exercise routines such as biking, walking, or hiking will help raise your metabolism during the activity 
and for several hours after. Even simple movements such as taking the stairs, house cleaning, or simple yard 
work can help increase your burn rate.
 
• Adequate Protein
Protein provides the building blocks for muscle. Without adequate protein you may actually lose muscle. 
You need about .4 - .5 gram of protein per pound body weight. For a woman weighing 160 pounds she would 
need approximately 64 - 80 grams of protein daily.
 
• Sleep!
A 1999 University of Chicago study showed that sleep loss affects the way we metabolize carbohydrates 
resulting in glucose intolerance and possibly leading to increased hunger and a slowed metabolism. 
Lack of sleep also can interfere with our energy levels during the day and cause us to skip our exercise 
routine because we are “too tired”. How often have you told yourself that?
 
• Decrease Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol may suppress your body’s ability to burn fat. Studies show that when you drink alcohol, 
your body burns fat more slowly than usual during that particular meal. Watch your alcohol intake.
 
• Try a cup of Green Tea
A small study showed that green tea appeared to raise metabolic rates and speed up fat oxidation. 
The calorie losses were small- around 60 calories/day. Green tea also has other health benefits because 
of its significant antioxidant components. You might as well add a little boost to your metabolism while 
protecting yourself from heart disease, cancer, and strokes.
 
• Got calcium?
Recent research shows that calcium -- three or four daily servings of low fat dairy products -- can help adjust 
your body's fat-burning machinery. The more calcium in the cells resulted in an increase in fat metabolism. 
 
Beware of Magic Cures
We have all seen the ads for products that increase our metabolism and promise miraculous weight loss. 
Metabolism boosters and Fat Burners – not only do the people they show us in the testimonials lose 
weight they also end up with a firm body and a six pack stomach. Can a pill do all this?
Generally, the answer is no. These weight loss pills are often ineffective, and they can also harm us. 
Many of them contain either human growth hormone, which can lead to joint or heart problems, 
or epinephrine type ingredients that are correlated with increased blood pressure. 
 
The answer is the good old tried and true: eat a balanced diet that does not exceed your calorie needs, 
exercise regularly and sleep well. Realize that we may not be able to look 20 again but we certainly can 
look our best, increase our energy, and enjoy good health at any age.

My Natural Nails Part 9...

So for some reason the pink nail polish I had on this week did not last long so I decided to try this MAC color that was collecting dust. I didn't think I was going to go crazy over the MAC nail polishes because the colors are dull. After applying this purple, I still agree but the brush that it uses to distribute the color is THE BEST darn brush I've ran across. Oh and I am getting soooo much better polishing my nails.