Get up and move

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Hey there lovely people,

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful and safe holiday season thus far!!!

So, I went for a run a couple days ago at a park downtown, and then I went to the gym the next day.  After working out, as usual, I felt wonderful.  However, I was a bit saddened by the fact that I saw so few women of color in both settings :-(  What's up with that?!?!?  As a matter of fact, I saw a lack of women all together at the gym; I was doing weights at the gym, which most women are afraid of.  So I am encouraging all of you to get up and exercise, especially during this time of year when most Americans overeat.  A few facts for you

• On Thanksgiving, the average calorie intake of an American is around 4000 calories
• Lifting weights will not bulk a woman up
• Weight training increases metabolism much more rapidly and for a more prolonged time than a cardio work out
• Between the months of November and January the average American gains about 11 pounds
• Exercising not only makes you look good, but it also makes you feel good, excersice releases "happy" chemicals in your brain (in particular dopamine and endorphins)
• Exercise can reduce your risk of or improve your current condition of many diseases including: diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, arthritis and others
• Exercise can improve your memory
• Exercise will help you to eat less and make you crave better for you foods

Now, if you aren't feeling compelled to get out there and work that body out, then think of how good it will make (or keep) you looking and feeling!!!!  So, even if you don't have lots of extra time, a simple 30 minutes a day 4-5 days a week of excersing could make a world of difference. 
A couple of tips I use to stay motivated

• Sign up for a race.  Having a goal to work toward is a great motivator, and a race is a great goal.  The race can be one of any length that is attainable for you, but that will push you at least a little.  This can be a walk, run, swim, biking event etc.
• Get a buddy.  Personally, I like to run by myself, however, it is much easier to back out of a workout when I'm the only one motivating me.  Also, when you have another person with you, that peson may be able to not only encourage you to get out there, but also to move a little harder and/or faster
• Set a clothing goal.  I try not to weigh myself too often, instead I determine if my weight is appropriate by how I feel and how my clothes fit.  So, either grab something that you own and haven't been able to get into for some time, or go buy something nice one or two sizes smaller (depending on your personal goal)
• Keep a journal.  I also recommend this with your hair journey.  One of the greatest motivators is progress.  It is so awesome to see how far you have advanced in your workout, and how much your body is capable of achieving

So, get up and MOVE!!!!! ;-)
Happy Thanksgiving,
Lady Shay

Product Review-Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Hey there lovely people,

Long time no write to :-)  Things here have been crazy busy, but in a good way.  Anyhoo, I wanted to put up a review of Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.  So looking at the ingredients list I really wanted to like this product.  Well.....yeah, that didn't so much happen.  Actually, that didn't so much happen for wash and gos.  It is an awesome product for twists.  When I use this product as a leave in for a wash and go, it does everything except enhance my curls.  With the product, my hair is usually a bit frizzy, but SUPER soft.  Which, by the way I don't get, frizzy yet soft, hmmmm...Anyhoo, so I do like this product a lot when I am doing any style aside from a wash and go.  For wash and go purposes it may be better if I layered it under something like gel or some type of anti-frizz serum.  This product is quite thick and creamy which I like; it feels like I'm putting conditioner in my hair.  Anyhoo, I still have about half a jar left and haven't quite decided if I will purchase again.

Pros

• not too expensive: ~$10 for 12oz
• my hair didn't require much of the product (this is for twists at least, maybe I didn't apply enough for the wash and go)
• it is easily located: I bought it from Target
• it left my hair very soft
• helped bring some shine to my hair
• i like the smell of it

Cons

• didn't help define the curls
• left my hair frizzy (yet soft, still can't figure that one out

Okay, so now that I've made a pros and cons list I feel like I must purchase again, hehehe. We'll see. Let me know if any of you have tried this product, and what are your thoughts on it.



Ingredients:  Deionized water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil), Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Silk Protein, Ammonium Salt, Melia Azadirachta (Neem) Seed Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Sorbitol Esters, Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B-5), Caprylyl glycol, Essential Oil Blend, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)


Tootles for now,
Me

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Let's talk about it-Natural hair snob

picture taken from this site

Hey there my lovelies,

So, I was reading CurlyNiki's blog today, and I came across a post about being a "natural hair snob"-superiority complex.  The summary of the post is that this natural haired lady was told by a friend that she felt as though those who wore their hair natural acted as if they were superior, a natural hair snob of sorts.  This comment got the natural haired beauty thinking and she realized that she may have some snobbish behaviors (she didn't say that, but I think they're "snobbish").  Behaviors like, feeling proud when she sees another natural, or when she sees someone with relaxed hair she wonders what that person would look like with natural hair.  So this post got me to thinking.  Hmmmm...am I a natural hair snob?  And I realized that in a way I suppose I am.  I definitely don't snub or not associate with people just because they choose to relax their hair.  However, I too am proud of people who decide to wear their hair natural.  And while I don't try to convert the "relaxed" population, I do find myself thinking, "if only she'd free herself from that relaxer."  I find myself wanting women who have relaxed hair to start wearing their hair natural and experience the goodness.  I don't feel like wearing my hair natural makes me "more black" or more "real", but I do feel like wearing my hair syas that  I am comfortable with who I am and how I was made. 

So am I a natural hair snob?  Are any of you natural hair snobs?  And for those of you who don't wear your hair natural, do you feel like you get "looked down" upon by women of color with natural hair?  

Have a great weekend,
Tootles for now,
Me

I think I got ripped off, what do you think?

Hello there lovely people,

So, I ordered some more deep conditioner-Lafier Collagen and Placenta-last week. Now, the last time I ordered this I got it on Amazon.com, but this time I tried this site called BlueBeez.com. I've ordered from this BlueBeez deal before, but it was a while back and I don't remember what I got or how the service was. However, I noticed that the price for BlueBeez was better than Amazon and I am trying to be fabulous on a budget, so I did the economical thing. Well, let me tell you. I ordered a 16oz container of conditioner. They sent me two 8oz jars. Okay, cool. So I pull these suckers out of the box and these are the smallest 8oz anythings I have ever seen in my life. I think that I got Hood winked with a capital HOOD. What do you think? :-/


                             The white bottle (right) is the alleged 8oz. jar and the pink one (left) is a 12oz jar
 


Tootles for now,
A distraught Lady Shay out of $19

Mop Top Maven tips for dry hair

Hello there lovely people,

With the onset of Winter rapidly approaching I thought I'd write a post about combating dry hair. The harsh Winter air and wind may cause your hair to be more dry than usual, so I've stolen a few tips from the Mop Top Maven (MTM) to help you in your attempt to keep your beautiful tresses moisturized and happy.

I'm highlighting a few tips below, but I recommend reading her entire posts.

• Clarify your hair about twice per month. Build-up on your hair-from products and/or minerals in your water-may block out moisture and cause hair to be dry. MTM recommends shampooing with a clarifying sulfate-free shampoo. I haven't shampooed for over a month and I don't think that my hair is too dry. I have been clarifying with ACV for now. However, if I start noticing dryness I will start shampooing again.


• Use a good moisturizer on your hair, and use it prior to adding an oil to your hair. The molecules that make up most oils are large and don't penetrate your hair shaft. Therefore, you should add your moisturizer first and oil next. The oil will seal the moisture in your hair by coating the strands.


• Use ACV to clarify hair and be sure that if you choose to shampoo you don't neglect the crown of your head and right above the temples.


• Wear protective styles during the winter. Try to wear your hair in more protective styles such as-twists, twist-outs, braids, weaves, wigs-during the winter months.


• Add a light moisturizer and/or oil to your hair daily.


• Drink LOTS of water. Often we tend to hike up the water intake during the summer when it's hot, but we cut back in the Winter months. It's very important to remember to keep up your water drinking during the Winter months. So drink drink drink up that water.

http://moptopmaven.blogspot.com/2010/10/winterproof-your-hair-weather-is.html

http://moptopmaven.blogspot.com/#uds-search-results

Tootles for now, check out those MTM posts

Lady Shay

Image taken from top-hairstyle.com

The twists that keep on giving

Hello there my lovelies,

So in an attempt to start wearing more protective styles, I twisted my hair recently. I conditioned my hair, and then applied CD Some of Marguerite's Magic and a little Shea Butter. I divided my hair into four sections and secured each with a clip. I worked on one sectin at a time, and went to twisting. Total, I made about 30 or so two strand twists. I don't usually do well with keeping twists in because they usually get frizzy too fast for my liking, but I was determined to keep my twists for a week. Well, that didn't quite happen.... So, here's my story. I twisted my hair on a Saturday night. I then wore it twisted Sunday-Tuesday. Tuesday night I reconditioned my hair. Side Note: So I went to church before my hair was dry which means it was dripping all over the place, and do you know some people behind me had the nerve to talk about me?!? Okay, so I was dripping all over the place, but I was in a hurry. There I was just trying to get my praise on with a little drippage going on and there they were talking away, he he he-end side note. Then Wednesday morning I took the twists out and wore my hair as a twist out, and I kept this through Friday. The twist out didn't come out quite so gorgeous-didn't look quite like Ms. Berry's-but I worked with what I had:-). Wednesday I wore it pulled up into a bun, Thursday I wore it down, and I don't remember what happened Friday :-/ Anyhoo, I think that the point of the post was to say don't be afraid to experiment with protective styles, maybe they'll last maybe they won't. Also, it's cool to have to re-route your hair plans and do something a little different if necessary (ie. turn the twists into a twist out when they start acting up). You know the saying, when life gives you lemons....

That's all for now folks

Tootles

Me :-)

Kinky Curly product review

Hello there beautfiful people,

Ms. T has so graciously shared a product review with me, that I will now share with you. I have not tried any of the Kinky Curly products so the views expressed in this post reflect that only of Ms. T and not of the blogger :-)

Come Clean Shampoo-Not one of the favs. The shampoo didn't provide much moisture and left the hair feeling stripped. This shampoo may be a good choice if you're looking for a clarifying shampoo.

Knot Today Conditioner-LOVE this product. There is good slippage, and it helps define all the beautiful little curlies. Used as a leave in with twists, this was also a good product that left the hair feeling moisturized.

Kinky Curly Curling Custard-At first use, this product was not a favorite. Ms. T felt like she had to use too much product and that it took forever for her hair to dry. However, when this product was used in combo with the other kinky curly products she didn't have to use as much and her hair didn't take as long to dry. When using this product, she has found that refreshing is not necessary. After a week of her hectic life she felt like her hair was still moisturized and that there was minimum shrinkage.

These products just may be the cure for her product addiction. Thought from lady Shay: maybe we should start a group, product junkies anonymous to help us get through this addiction :-)

Tootles fow now,

Me

A transitioning story-Avis

Hey there lovely people

Happy November!!!! Can you all believe that it's already November? Oh my goodness, where has this year gone?

So, one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to provide encouragement and support to other women (and men) who were learning or continuing to embrace their natural hair. For this reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to share stories from others with you all. So here goes the first one. Hope you enjoy!!!

Me: How long have you been transitioning?
Avis: My last relaxer was June of this year (2010)

Me: What made you decide to start wearing your hair natural?
Avis: I have dry itchy scalp and getting a relaxer really burns my scalp. I figured that it would be beneficial to my scalp to stop using chemicals. Also, my husband really likes natural hair and has been wanting me to go natural for years.

Me: What are the easiest and hardest things about transitioning?
Avis: I get my hair straightened every two weeks and I'm not used to that. Trying to do my hair in between getting it straightened is really difficult. I don't know which products to use, which are best for my hair texture.

Me: What is your current hair routine?
Avis: When I do my own hair, I either exfoliate my scalp with brown sugar and olive oil or pre shampoo with Jojoba oil, Rosemary, Thyme and Peppermint. I do one or the other once/month in between getting my hair straightened. Then I do a protein treatment with Aphogee Protein Treatment.

Me: What are you most looking forward to about being natural?
Avis: My hair being completely natural. And having the ability to be versatile. When I want to be straight I can, if I want to be curly kinky I can.