egg in the buttermilk mixture, not good

haha, I thought this picture was pretty funny

Hey there my lovelies,

So, I tried my buttermilk home made remedy again, but this time I added the egg yolk like the recipe called for.  I did not like this addition.  After I rinsed my hair out it felt stiff, like I had done a protein treatment.  I think that either the egg mixed with the yogurt and buttermilk was too much protein (although I used egg yolk which isn't the protein rich part) or I used too much egg because I cut the rest of the recipe in half, but still used the called for amount of egg.  Anyhoo, I will be trying this treatment one more time with and without egg just to test and see how I feel about it.  I hope that the wonderful goodness of this treatment that I felt the first time I tried it wasn't a fluke and I'll return to that awesome warm and cozy place :-)  Anyhoo, that's all I have for now.  Stay cool and drink plenty of water.

Tootles,

Love, peace and happiness

food my hair loves

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Oh my goodness!!!!  Yesterday I tried yet another food inspired masque for my hair.  This time the masque consisted of yogurt (Greek, because that was all I had), buttermilk, and honey.  The recipe also called for egg yolk, but I didn't have that so I'll have to pick some eggs up from the store to try that next time.  Anyhoo, I mixed the ingredients together, and put it on my dry hair (in four sections of course).  Next I let it sit for about 30mins.  The website suggests a plastic cap or towel or something, but my hair wasn't drippy and I was lazy/tired so I didn't do that.  I then hopped into the shower and rinsed it out with water first, then I cleansed my scalp with conditioner (Nature's Gate, Pomegranate).  I rinsed that conditioner off my scalp (this substitutes shampooing for me), and then put my "leave-in" conditioner on.  I used Nature's Gate Jojoba for this;, this conditioner isn't really a leave in, but I use it as one and it works well (Nature's Gate conditioner review is soon to come).  I then shook my hair as I do for a wash and go, sprayed a bit of ACV/water mix and then put a plastic cap on while I finished showering.  When I got out I flat twisted the front of my hair, put the back into two braids, put a little Jojoba Oil on the ends, tied down with a scarf and plopped into bed.  The masque is supposed to moisturize the hair and scalp and help to strengthen the hair.  My hair was SO SOFT after this.  It was soft before, but after it was SO SOFT :-)  I don't particularly like protein, so I haven't been one to do protein treatments in my hair, even though they are good for strengthening the hair.  I think I will use this instead (buttermilk and Greek yogurt both have lots of protein).  I am not sure why this protein didn't "bother" my hair, it may be the kind of protein that I add that is important.  I have used products heavy in silk protein and wheat protein and they make my hair hard and ucky.  Anyhoo, if anyone is sitting home with some extra yogurt, milk, honey (and an egg maybe I'll try that and let you know how it goes) at home you may want to give this a whirl, I really liked it and it rinsed out easily unlike some foods :-)  The buttermilk can be substituted for another type of milk if your main goal is protein (to strengthen the hair), but I think that buttermilk may be the most moisturizing. 

Recipe

• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 1 cup of yogurt
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons of honey

Mix everything together well in a bowl, apply to dry hair and scalp, massage in and let sit for at least 30mins.  You may want to put on a plastic cap or wrap a towel around your hair. 

I cut the recipe in half (except the honey) and it was just enough for my hair, so if your hair is shorter than mine and/or less thick (mine is about bra strap length (bsl) when straightened and medium thickness) you definitely don't need to make the full amount.  So, if anyone else decides to try it let me know.  And you relaxed and transitioning ladies should feel free to give it a try as well it is safe for all hair types. 

That's all I have for now.  I had an awesome weekend and hope that you all did too. 

Tootles,

Love, peace and happiness :-)

Online dating, how do you feel about that?

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Hey there lovely people,

So, today my room mate bought a movie and got a coupon for 3 free months with some online dating site.  My room mate didn't want the coupon so I said I'd take it.  I've actually tried online dating before (only if it's free of course), and find it to be odd.  However, the commercials just make it look so tempting.  So, I'm going to give it a whirl and see.  I guess my hang ups with online dating are 1. what will my parents say if my future husband came through the internet, 2. I'm often confused about what I want how can a computer figure it out, 3. awkward, 4. only weirdos date online, 5. online dating is a last resort for losers, 6. awkward.  Now, I know that most (if not all) of these excuses for not wanting to do online dating are lame and absurd, but I'm pretty old school.  Whatever happened to the days when men actually saw an appealing woman, walked over to her, introduced himself and started a meaningful conversation that maybe led to a date?  I mean, why is it that when I go out, even if there are men there, I don't usually meet men.  It seems like men these day are scared or something. I mean, if I strike up a convo gravy, but if I wait for them to start a convo then usually I spend the night waiting for them.  Idk, but I'm usually pretty open and up for something new so I'm going to try this dating site (until the 3 months end of course).  I don't recall the name of the site right now, but it's something I've never used before so maybe that is where my true love is hiding :-/  I'll let you folks know how that goes. 

Tootles for now, 
Love, peace and happiness


PS-Still got banana in my hair :-/

so, banana left in hair....bad idea...going bananas part 2



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Hey there lovely people,

So, in my last post I wrote about a banana hair masque that I tried.  Well, today I took down the braids that I had put in after that treatment.  Oh boy!!!!  As I'm loosing the braids for what I anticipate to be a cute Sunday morning braid out, I see flakes falling.  What!?!?  Now mind you that I have about 15mins to get to church and I need at least 7 of those to drive there.  So, I keep loosing and keep seeing flakes.  I finally finish taking all of the braids out (I had about 12 in) and my hair looks disgusting (not to mention my black shirt).  I mean, it looks like dandruff city on my hair with chunks of banana too.  I was beside myself.  So I weighed the choices:  don't go to church, pretend like my hair looked fine and maybe my confidence would blind other people so that they wouldn't see the disgusting mess, cut all my hair off in a quick Set It Off moment, or find a style that somehow hid the flakes.  So, I ended up going with the last choice and put my hair in two flat twists along the front and pulled the back into a side bun.  I wouldn't say that the flakes were hidden, but the appearance of them were minimized.  Regardless I was not about to be stopped from making it to church (and I'm glad I wasn't).  Anyhoo, the take home lesson is that you shouldn't leave banana in your hair, it won't magically disappear.  I have often lived by the thought that if I ignore something it is simply no longer there or will go away, yeah, not the case this time.  Well, that's all I have for today, I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend!!!!!

Tootles, 
Love, peace and happiness :-)   

going bananas part 1



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 Hello there lovely people,

So, me being me, I decided to try something new in my hair.  On my quest to healthier happy booty length hair I decided to try some natural conditioning treatments.  I was reading this site and saw a natural hair mask to help restore moisture.  The mask is very simple; it calls for 2-3 ripe bananas and 2-3 tablespoons of honey and that's all.  You are supposed to mash the bananas, add the honey and stir into a paste.  You next wet your hair, apply the banana goodness and let it sit for about 30mins.  After your time is up you wash hair as usual.  Okay, so this sounds easy enough and you'd think that I could not go wrong with it......don't underestimate me. 

I mixed 2 bananas (which I admit I was sad to see yummy bananas going into a hair treatment, but I got over it) about 3 teaspoons of honey (misread the recipe so I didn't put quite the right amount of honey) and mashed/mixed all together.  I have to say that it was a lot thinner than I expected, but I proceeded.  Also, if anyone tries this, be sure to mush the bananas WELL, I had banana chunks left over which I don't think is supposed to be.  So, I wet my hair, sectioned into my faithful four and applied the banana goodness to each section.  I pinned each section up and put on a plastic cap topped by a twistie turbie.  I let the mixture sit for about 35mins (no heat) and then rinsed in the shower.  I washed my scalp with Aubrey Organics Conditioner and got out of the shower.  So, my hair felt soft and my curls were well defined even though I had not put any leave-in on it.  HOWEVER, as I looked at myself in the mirror I noticed that I had banana chunks in my hair.  Hmmm....now a decision had to be made.  It was about 9:00 at night and I still had to style my hair.  So I made the crucial decision to leave the banana chunks in my hair.  I know, that's pretty lazy disgusting, but how much harm can banana in the hair do?!?!?!  Well this occurred on Thursday night and I have no plans of washing my hair until Sunday so I'll let you know how much harm banana in the hair can do.  Anyhoo, this seems as though it will be something I will do again with a few tweaks.  If you decide to try this let me recommend:

• Section hair prior to applying banana mix
• Be sure to mix the banana goodness well, and to mush the bananas completely
• Because of the water applied prior to the banana goodness, be aware that hair will drip so be prepared with a towel or old shirt on to catch the drip
• Rinse hair thoroughly after treatment
• Shampoo or use some type of clarifier after you rinse the banana goodness out
• Be sure to actually get all of the banana goodness out-this took a bit of rinsing, but I am not sure if that is because of the chunks or if this stuff is just difficult to rinse out

Well, that's all I have for now, tootles
Love, peace and happiness 

honey.....natural allergy remedy

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Hey there lovely people,

I recently found out that honey is a good natural remedy for allergy sufferers such as myself.  Honey is good for ameliorating symptoms of seasonal (pollen especially) allergies.  The theory is that it works similar to an allergy shot.  If you put small bits of the allergen (thing you're allergic to such as pollen) inside your body, over time you will become immune and no longer be allergic.  I have been trying this for a couple weeks now and have to say that it has done me well.  I am not completely rid of all the symptoms, but my allergy symptoms (sneezing, itchy/watery eyes, itchy skin, runny nose) have decreased dramatically.  I would say that I get the same results with honey that I got with Zyrtec.  The recommended dose is a teaspoon a day, but I have been taking 2 teaspoons (one in the morning and one in the evening) for best results.  Honey is supposed to work best if it is unrefined and made within 20 miles of your home.  I bought regular honey from Target and the parent company is in upstate SC so make what you will of that.  Anyhoo, if you are allergic to the wonderfulness of Spring and don't want to take medicine, try a little honey :-) 

That's all for now, tootles
Love, peace and happiness 

Shayna's Grow Out Challenge-Part 1

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Hey there lovely people,

One day as I was reading CurlyNiki's blog I read about the Kim Coles Grow Out Challenge (which I had heard about from my wonderful Pareja, but had been too lazy to investigate).  I became inspired to set my own grow out goals to be accomplished over the course of the next six months (the first month being June).  I came up with four goals:  1. I want my hair to become thicker-my hair is already thick, but I think that it can be thicker, I know it can, 2. Mid-back length when straightened-I ultimately want to let my hair grow out to my booty or longer, but my first goal along the way is to mid-back length, 3. no more shabby edges-the edges of my hair around the front are thin, and as long as I can remember always have been because I've always liked my hair pulled back which can put a lot of tension on the edges, but I want to see if it will grow and 4. decrease mid-hair breakage-I have some hair breakage near the center of my hair that I want to help grow and not break off again.  So, now the question of course is what am I doing to reach these goals.  One major thing that I am doing is moving toward a more ayurvedic routine (this will be discussed more in an upcoming post).  Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicinal practices native to India utilizing all natural ingredients.  Some other things that I am doing are:

• settling into a routine for real (I know I always say that, but everything starts with a thought)-this will hopefully help to achieve all goals, the routine won't change much from what it is now, but products will be modified and slight changes will be made to include more ayurvedic practices
• reduce how often I wear buns-this will cut down on some of the breakage in the center of my head and the thinning edges
• keep up with end trimmings-this will help to measure my growth progress and get rid of split unhappy ends
• drink more water-this will be good for my general health and hair
• focus more on my ends-this will help reduce split ends which will aid in length retention

These are all of the changes that I have for now, but if you all have any suggestions please feel free to let me know.  Now comes the fun part, who is going to join in with the Shayna Grow Out Challenge or Kim Coles Grow Out Challenge or any grow out challenge?  I challenge each of you to set a new hair goal (which does not have to revolve around length) and make a plan to make it happen.  Feel free to share with the community, let's support each other in our mission to achieve our newly stated goals!!!!

That's all for now, tootles
Love, peace and happiness