Hair Plans for the Weekend

Hey, ladies. This weekend I'm taking it easy and will keep the twists in for another week. I will continue to moisturize and oil my hair each day but, other than that nothing major planned.

That is the beauty of twists. Once you have them in you don't have to think up a new style or re-style for a while. It's like a mini break.

Well, that's it.

Have a great, safe, and blessed weekend. I love you all!

Natural Blast from the Past: Bob Marley

I think we all pretty much know Bob Marley. He was a great musician, singer, and songwriter. My favorite songs by him are "No Woman, No Cry" and "I Shot the Sheriff". I mainly like his greatest hits but, I'm not a gun ho fan that know all his songs. But, I can appreciate great reggae music.

His locs are the bizness. Thick, long, lucious. They perfectly complimented that gorgeous chiseled face with those hypnotic sunken cheekbones.

Being Natural Doesn't Have to be Complex or Hard

Photo source is {HERE}

I was just sitting here thinking and I started thinking about the vast amount of hair regimens out there. They are wide and varied. I constantly stay on the natural hair blogs and I love to read other ladies hair regimens. And even though I like to read them, I don't pick up everything everybody does. I found what works for me and I'm sticking to it. (Yes, I may test or try out different things but, its gotta pass the test to be put in my regimen. LOL)

So, I said all that to say this. Being natural does not have to be hard or complex. I've heard it before and I am sure you have too, "I would go natural but, its too much work" or "I don't have time for that". Etcetera, Etcetera.

But, I come here today to say it doesn't have to be hard. I feel like I have adopted a simple hair regimen and I don't spend all day everyday in my hair. I mainly like to wear protective styles (braids, twists, updos, etc.) and this means low manipulation of the hair. Once I put that style in at the beginning of the week its going to last me about 1-2 weeks. To maintain it I just have to spritz, oil, and seal. This take about 5-10 minutes--if that long. I wash my hair every 1-3 weeks and this works. I am not--nor have I ever been--a product junkie. I don't always need super defined hair. So, if I'm wearing "out" styles I don't re-twist or braid them. I let the hair do what it do. You can go to the page tab of "My Regimen" to see further details of my regimen. Simply put, I like to keep it simple.

Now, even though being natural definitely doesn't have to be hard or complex it doesn't mean that you don't do anything to your hair. I feel like any hairstyle you have requires maintenance and care. I don't care if it is relaxed or natural, bald or long, colored or uncolored. It's going to take work. But, work doesn't always have to be long or hard.

Find what works for you. Find out what you're willing to spend time on and what's not really necessary. Find out what products/treatments are best for your hair. Just do you. And I guarantee you your natural journey won't be so complex or hard.

Hair Today: Twisted High Bun

Yes. The title is correct.

I'm wearing my hair in a bun and I used an ouchless band to put it up. Shocking. Yall know I have a fear of pulling my hair back but, this band is putting no pressure whatsoever on my hair or edges. It's so light I can barely feel it. I plan on wearing this style on and off (not that often) because I don't want the hair to become weak or break wear the band is located. Tomorrow, will be an updo day...

[I may record a quick tutorial of this style tonight.] UPDATE: The video for this hairstyle can be viewed {HERE}

Fall/Winter Hair Regimen

It's that time of year again. This year, I'm keeping it oh-so-simple.

Below is my hair regimen plans for the Fall/Winter:
1. I will wear a full cornrow style for a week. This will help the hair stay detangled and give it a slight stretch.
2. I will take the cornrows down and then, put in two-strand twists.
3. I will wear the two-strand twists for about 2 weeks in various hairstyles (i.e. buns, updos, pin-ups, flat twisted)
4. I will take the twists down after the 2 weeks. I will then detangle, shampoo, oil rinse, co-wash, deep condition, and rinse.
5. I will then cornrow the hair back up and repeat the regimen.

**I will be spritzing my protective styles with my water-based mixture every day or every other day. I plan on applying EVOO, castor oil, or EVCO to my hair everyday. I plan on sealing my ends every other day with shea butter/EVOO mixture.

Simple huh? Well, that's it ;-)

Natural Skin Care: Dealing with Eczema

So, I have always struggled with eczema since I have been a child. Dry, itchy, tight, scaly, and irritated skin is just an example of what I have to deal with. The thing with eczema is there is no cure for it but, you can control it. Lately, I have been experiencing a severe outbreak that has effected my neck area, my chest area, my arms, the backs of my leg, my thigh, and my stomach. Almost all of my body.

My last severe outbreak was back in 2005, my junior year of college. I went to the dermatologist and I really liked his method of dealing with eczema. He did not put me on any type of medication but, he told me how to deal with it. Here's what he suggested:
1. Throw out any soap or lotion I was using because soap strips the skin of its natural oils and most lotions have water that dries the skin. He suggested I switch to a cream based body wash and moisturizing creams. He suggested brands such as Aveeno. He also suggested that I apply the cream while the skin is still damp to lock in the moisture.
2. He then suggested I take my baths at night while keeping a humidifier on. This would produce steam in the air and keep my skin moist throughout the night.

I must admit that this did wonders for my skin. It had never looked so wonderful and blemish free. So, what happened?

I became lazy and stopped doing everything he suggested. For example:
1. For some reason, I started using Ivory soap. Ivory and most bar soaps are too harsh for my skin.
2. I started switching up my lotions. Most lotions irritate the mess out of my skin.
3. I lost my humidifier so, there was no moist air.
4. I started back taking my showers in the morning and therefore, exposing it to the drying air. When I took them at night and immediately went to bed with the humidifier running my skin remained soft and supple.

So, my plans are to first make another appointment with the dermatologist. Following his suggestions, I hope to pick up my old skin regimen. Also, I plan on applying EVOO to my skin and then putting on my cream based moisturizer because it is a penetrating oil and stays on the skin longer. And since I have no idea where my mother packed my humidifier, I plan on purchasing another one.

The thing is I got comfortable and let go of my skin regimen and look what happened. But, you live and you learn.

Hair Today: Cornrows leading to low Bun

Yes. I pulled my hair back using an ouchless band. I put it on loosely so, there is no pressure on my head. Yesterday, I wore the hair pinned up but, I didn't feel like bobby pinning the hair today.

Moving on to the hairstyle...I washed my hair and then I put 5 large cornrows in my hair as you can see. Instead of braiding the hair to the end, I twisted it. Just another quick, easy, and simple protective style ;-)

Hair Today: Jumbo Twist Out (Day 2)

This past Saturday, I finger detangled my hair while watching Jumping the Broom. I then loosely braided each detangled section. After my entire head was detangled, I dry twisted my hair using Jamaican Mango and Lime locking gel (It's been awhile since I used that product but, I still have a love for it.) I did a jumbo twist out with about 13 twists in my entire head.

It turned out pretty nice. I didn't get any pictures of Day 1 but, this is Day 2. Even though I like the style I will definitely be washing tonight and then putting in another quick protective style. I don't feel like dealing with tangles so, this is definitely the last day of this style. I don't care if I have to stay up all night to style it.

And isn't that headband the cutest? Well, I took it off. It was squeezing the mess out my head behind the ear areas. I can't stand pressure on my head :-/

Switching Shampoos

For awhile now I have been thinking of switching to a new shampoo. My main shampoo is currently Giovanni Deep Moisture and Giovanni Triple Tea Tree Therapy. However, lately I have been feeling as if those shampoos are too stripping. For this reason, I was only shampooing my hair once a month and I still thought that was too often.

At first I was considering Aubrey Organics--and I am still curious about their shampoo. But, I noticed that my sister Auset Abena and my fave YouTuber Ahsiek1118 were using Shea Moisture products. The sheen and moisture of their hair is out of this world. I was thinking, I want that for my hair.

So, recently my sister Auset Abena bought me two different types of Shea Moisture shampoo. How great is that!!!! So, I will be using the shampoo and letting you ladies know how I like it.

I also plan on trying out some of their other products...

Various Hair Textures

I know I am not the only one out here that has a wide range of hair textures throughout my head. I accept the uniqueness of my hair but, I thought it would be great to talk about and share.

My hair texture is so different in different areas of my head. Check out the break down below for an idea:

Back/Nape Area: Very Coarse and tightly curled. The strands are very fine, therfore; breakage is more prone in this area. My most difficult section to detangle.
Middle Back Area: Very Coarse and tightly curled. However, the strands are thicker in this area. This is another hard part to detangle.

Front Sides Area: Very coarse. The strands range from fine to thick in this area. But, the strands aren't as fine as my back/nape section.

Middle Front/Top Portion Area: Wavy and loose texture. This area of my hair just baffles me. It has no curl whatsoever. SN: When doing my BC I kept clipping this section because I thought it was relaxed pieces. I then came to the conclusion that this was the texture in theis area.

I think its simply amazing how the texture ranges throughout my hair. In the past I thought I was an exception. But, when looking at Br0nzeqt, Whoissugar, and many other videos on YouTube I realized I wasn't alone. They talked about their diverse textures and this helped me.

So, do I treat different textures differently? Subconciosly I think I do. For instance I tend to constantly moisturize and seal the ends of my back/nape section far more than my middle front/top potion area. I also tend to twist these sections sometimes when I am rocking "out" styles. The thing is that area dries out easier, tangles faster, and breaks at a more rapid rate. I found myself treating that area like a newborn baby and the other areas like toddlers. LOL.

Have any of you noticed the different textures in your hair? How do work with them?

Photo Source: Here

Hairstyle: Cornrow/Twist Low Pin-Up

So, yesterday I decided to do my hair. I actually had plans to do a twist updo and I started on Monday. However, I started at 4:30 pm and by 10:30 pm I wasn't even done with half of my head. So, I just pinned my hair up for work.

The next day after work, I decided to do a cornrow/twist pin-up. I like how it turned out.

Here's what I did:
1. I parted the hair in sections first--7 rows in the front.
2. I then parted a section in the back to two-strand twist later.
3. I finger detanged each section before braiding or twist it up. I also spritzed each section with my Water/EVOO mixture.
4. Then, I cornrowed the front and twisted the ends so it could blend with the back section.
5. I then two-strand twisted the back section.
6. Finally, I pinned it up!

I recorded a video tutorial of the hairstyle which can be found {HERE} .

Natural Inspiration: Lisa Bonet

Stunning!!

She has always been beautiful to me and she as aged so gracefully and beatifully. Her locs are gorgeous. Those locs with that gorgeous face is like a double whammy of beautiful.

Find Me on Facebook

I decided to get a Facebook page that is an extension of my blog and YouTube. It is so much easier to organize my numerous hairstyle photos through a Facebook page. Also, I can post any quick updates there.

Trust me, I don't have any plans of neglecting my blog.

So, if you're interested click LIKE at the Elegant Natural page HERE.

I am still getting the page together so, expect more pics and updates in the future...

Weekend Hair Plans

This weekend I plan on styling my hair in some sort of cornrow updo/pin-up. But, don't hold me to that because I also would like some two-strand twists. Pretty much I want a protective style.

So, I think I am going to finger detangle my hair and moisturize it. I don't think I am going to wash it because I usually wash my hair every 2 weeks when rocking protective styles. (Check out my natural hair regimen in the tab above)

OAN: I am so looking forward to this weekend!! I finally moved out of my old apartment and back to my parent's place :-/ Times were hard and circumstances occured. Yet, through it all I'm blessed. I plan on filming whatever hairstyle I come up with but, this is proving to be a little difficult. I am trying to find the best location in my parent's house for filming. I have to take in consideration lighting, comfort, etc. I will still try to get that video out for you guys.

Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day, ladies!! I love you all :-)

Hair Today: French Braid Pin-Up (Day 6)

On Friday night I co-washed my hair, oil rinsed, deep conditioned, and styled it. Because I have been so busy moving and packing up my apartment, I didn't feel like trying nothing too major with my hair. So, I went to the trusty french braids. I wore the hair in french braids for the first 5 days. And this morning I took the ends of the braids down and pinned it up for a new look.

I finally moved everything out of my old place and now I just need to unpack the many, many, many boxes I need to. So, the next style I do will probably be a fast style also. I will try to record a tutorial for you all.

This is Day 6 hair so, you notice that its getting kind of fuzzy looking. But, it is what it is :-)

I never thought I'd do it ...

UPDATE: I have changed my username to ElegantNatural1. Same person different name ;-)

I have a Twitter account!

Simply put, I created one just to follow someone. And it's kinda interesting so far. If you would like to follow me, you can find me at: ElegantNatural1

Also, if any of you have Twitters, I would love to follow you. So, just put your Twitter in the comments below or email them to me.

Thanks!!