After years of straightening my hair, whether it’s from flat iron or blow drying, I’m noticing that my hair is falling out more than usual. I’m not sure if it’s from pulling my hair too much, but I’m positive that it is. Even after a trim, my hair would still fall out. So enough of that and decided to go curly and embrace them.

I’ve been curly since August, and my hair is responding very nicely so far. I’ve been lurking at NaturallyCurly.com forum and there’s a wealth of information. You can find me at the message forum, where other curlies are there to help, make suggestions and offer advice. It’s a bit overwhelming for me still, getting used to the abbreviations they talk about, their routines, etc. I’m also trying not to be a product junkie. Alot of the curlies on there have successful stories with the products they’re using and it makes me wanna go out and try it myself. ARGH!!! I think I’m good with what I have right now. It only takes time and patience, trial and error. I’m still in a learning process.

This week, I had the time to document my results and have pictures taken. On Tuesday, 9/16, I co-washed my hair with Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze Conditioner, rinsed, then applied more conditioner mixed in with honey, left it on while I wash my face and shaved my legs. Then I rinsed it off with cool water. While my hair is soaking wet, I sectioned my hair and applied Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Gel (LOTD) , squeezing access water and scrunched. Then I applied LaBella Max Hold Styling Gel and scrunched again. Plopped for 30 minutes and here are my results:

I liked how my hair clumped but I didn’t like how my hair curled. I think I’ll love it more if I gave myself more time to plop. So on 9/17 at night, I co-washed and styled my hair the same way I did on 9/16. Only this time I plopped overnight and this is my result:

Nice bouncy curls!!!! I love it!!! Now only if I can prevent it from getiing frizzy, I’d be a happy curly girl!

I think I gave myself plenty of time to experiment with the Ouidad products. So far, I’m kinda disappointed with the results. I really want to like it, I really do. But I find myself not liking it more for some reason. Please note that this is from my personal experience so don’t bash me if it worked for you.

Initially, I wanted to try the Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel, being that they’re Allure’s “Best Defrizzer” Editor’s Choice Award, so I went and tried it out myself. The results I got from it was not so “award-winning” when it comes to smoothing and controlling my hair. Oh, and it shines alright, if you’re looking to do the wet look. It did not hold my curls well the way Mixed Chicks does.

With Mixed Chicks Leave-In Conditioner, I let my hair air-dry and scrunch every 10-20 minutes to help define my curls and within an hour or two, I get nice, big, chunky curls (think Shakira and Rebecca Gayheart) I use the same techinique with Heat & Humidity Gel, I get flyaways and the $26 pomade didn’t help either :(  It took forever to dry, flattens the top, and it did not give a nice curl formation. My hair came out stringy resulting in frizziness once my hair dried completely.

So the winner for best curly hair product is Mixed Chicks cuz I prefer a thicker, creamier consistency to curl my hair. I find better results with Mixed Chicks Leave-In Conditioner than the Heat & Humidity Gel

I don’t want to leave you hanging with the other Ouidad products, so here are my thoughts on the rest of them:

Clear Control Pomade
This must be the most expensive 4 oz. of anything I’ve ever bought. It did control flyaways and frizzies for a while but not for long. I use it if I need to touch up on my curls. Would never buy again, it’s too costly.

Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel
The consistency of the gel is similar to a serum, so I dunno why they called it a gel. I wouldn’t use this to curl my hair from start to finish, it just gave me weighed-down,  wet look and my curls came out thin and stringy as oppose to big chunky curls. I could use it for blow-drying my hair straight as a finishing serum to prevent frizz.

Botanical Boost Spray-In Conditioner
I never liked the spray-in application of anything on my hair, except for hairsprays. I’d spray this conditioner and some products just flies in the air and not on my hair. It might as well be an air freshener! I see no results when using this.

Clear & Gentle Shampoo
The thing about this shampoo is that it’s a low foaming shampoo, so I wasn’t sure whether I’ve washed my hair thoroughly or not. Don’t like it.

Balancing Rinse Conditioner
This product was okay. It helped detangled my hair and left it feeling soft but I get the same results with any other drugstore brand conditioners.

Deep Treatment Intensive Conditioner
This part of the regimine is too time consuming so I haven’t had the chance to try it, so I can’t really comment on it.

Overall, they’re great products for what they are, but I would never buy their products again because of their price and you get the same results as any drugstore brands, so it’s not worth it. It may work for some people but not for me.

I’m currently experimenting with natural things, such as Apple Cider Vinegar rinse, aloe vera gel, glycerin, jojoba oil, and a whole lot more, but that won’t stop me from trying other products too. I have my eyes on Curly Hair Solutions products, especially the Curl keeper. Almost every curlies on NaturallyCurly.com swears by this product. So we’ll see what it can do for my hair. I’m on a journey to find the right routine and products for my hair. Call me Curly Girl for now on

I love my kids. Both of them. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make them feel safe and secure in this world. That’s what mom’s supposed to do, right?

Today, I was heartbroken when my 9 y/o son came home asking me if there was anything to eat cuz he was hungry. ”Hungry? Did you eat anything in school?” “No, cuz I accidently hit someone and they made me stand against the wall.” I didn’t think anything of it besides him being punished for something he did by accident. Bitch!!!… whoever that was. He should’ve eaten!

During the course of the day, the more I thought about it, the angier I got. So I asked him a few more questions. “So, did you go out for recess?” “yes” “Who else were with you standing against the wall?” “A few others” “Where were you standing?” “In front of the other kids who were eating”…. Maaaaan, I was heated. When I’m angry, I’M ANGRY. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t get angry that easily. I’m very neutral with everything. And it takes alot to piss me off, especially when it’s regarding my kids. So that’s all I needed to know, they made him skip lunch and have him stand there, starving!

Who made these rules?!?! I’m so furious!!! I even wrote a letter to the school to inform them about this practice. I don’t mind if they took away his recess time, but LUNCH??!! Who goes through the day without eating for 6 hours? I find it VERY cruel and insulting. Whether he misbehaved or not, he shouldn’t be missing out on lunch. They will hear it from me, if not the Board of Ed. I think I have every right to be upset. What kind of a world are we living in anyway?

I was checking out my stats on my site the other day and noticed that one of the popular keywords that got people to get to my site is NYX. So I better start posting I got the following lippies and gloss 2 months ago from NonpareilBoutique.com and I forgot to post swatches. Here ya go:

Top: NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Frosted Beige and Iced Latte
Bottom: NYX Round Lipsticks in Milan, Doll and Saturn

NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Iced Latte
Sorry but I forgot to take pix of Frosted Beige

NYX Round Lipstick
L to R: Milan *my fave*, Doll, Saturn

I haven’t been ordering any NYX Lippies since this one. I have WAYYY too many right now and I have just about enough of my favorite shades to keep me happy. Same goes for anything makeup related. I don’t even go to the cosmetic aisle whenever I go to CVS or Rite Aid unless I really need something. Otherwise I have my sister pull me away… lol. It was a nice experiment though. Right now, I’m focusing on my hair, as you can see on my previous posts. I’ll be trying out different methods on how to make my hair naturally curly, frizz free and looking great.

Thanks for reading!

I discovered a website called NaturallyCurly.com, where they feature tips, suggest products and a forum where women can meet and discuss about HAIR and other topics. I learn something new everyday whenever I logon to their site. In the past few days, I learned how to “plop”, “pineapple”, and make homemade rinse called the Apple Cider Vinegar.

I spend alot of time in the forum where women share their tips and tricks on how to have nice healthy curls. I noticed that most women on there suggested a more cheaper brand, such as Suave and VO5, to wash and condition their hair. And some use KY Jelly for their curls. Yup, a personal lubricant. And you know what? It really does magic… LOL. And here I am spending $$$ on hair products. I wish I’d discovered this site weeks ago. Well, you live and you learn, right?

Soon I’ll be doing some sort of a review on the Ouidad products, I’m having a love/hate with this one… LOL.