Sesame Oil For Hair +My Video On My Oil Blend

Sesame oil is another great oil for the health of your hair. Not only does it nourish the hair but it has healing properties and is in the Ayruvedic category.
-It adds lustre to dark hair (which most sistas have)
-massaging into scalp controls dryness and flakes thus preventing hair loss.
-warm oil massage will increase circulation to scalp increasing growth
-oil penetrates damaged over processed hair and heals from within
-since it is known as a healing oil it will control fungal scalp infections
-strengthens hair shaft and roots
-promotes new hair growth
-rough hair can be softened
-stress causes hair loss. massaging sesame oil into scalp neck and shoulders alleviates stress
-its known for its darkening qualities so its great for gray hair
-protects hair from damaging UV rays
**SESAME OIL DOES HAVE A STRONG SMELL SO IT IS BEST TO CUT W/ A CARRIER OIL LIKE ALMOND OR COCONUT TO LESSEN IT. IN MY OPINION THE SMELL ISNT THAT BAD BUT IT DOES HAVE A STRONG NUTTY SMELL.
Here's the video on my oil blend:

Nude Lip For A Black Girl: My Favorite Nude Lipstick

Ever look at a guru on youtube and see them wear a nude lip, then say well, they're not my complexion or they're not of African decent so this color wouldn't look right on me. Or ever just feel like black women can not rock a nude lip? Well....WRONG!!! lol We fabulous ladies can rock a nude lip! I searched and searched in the drug stores for an affordable nude lipstick (cuz y'all know I'm cheap lol) and I never found it. I also bought a few from NYX cosmetics but it's kinda hard when I didn't know if the lipstick was sheer or glittery (eww!) and it ended up being a fail. I finally loosened up on my pockets and sprung for MAC cosmetics. I don't have a MAC store or counter in my nearest vicinity so I had to take a gamble on their website. The MAC website makes it easy to look for colors because they go into great detail about how the colors look. I finally decided on a lustre called Fresh Brew (in pic at the top). this is a nice creamy beige color. It reminds me of how I take my coffee, lots of cream lol. I saw a couple of youtube videos of women of color buying nude lipsticks and the ones I've seen used warm nudes and I'm clearly a cool toned woman. I loved it! It's my favorite lip color and I usually wear it when I don't have anything else to wear. My only complaint is that the tube is so small compared to drug store brands. I'm greedy I know, but when you pay 14 dollars for something you tend to want to get your money's worth. lol Anyways, it looks great by itself or paired with a lip gloss which i used NYX mega shine lip gloss in taupe. Go out there and find your perfect nude lip!

Store Shelf Products vs. Al Natural: My Take

A while ago there was a deep debate on my twitter timeline (which is mostly women of the natural hair twitter community) and the debate was whether you can still achieve healthy natural and long hair using store shelf products that typically contain "not so great" ingredients. I remember my point was that I know the relaxer was a very big no no because it, for a fact causes breakage (which i noticed along my hairline) but what about the same products that we all grew up on and momma swore by? I personally always had long hair. I didn't have a problem with breakage until I was 15 years old and decided it would be fun to experiment with color. That's when the real breakage came. But what about that good ol' Blue Magic hair grease? In my opinion it really does the same thing that shea and the oils do. Gives the hair moisture. Yes of course it contains mineral oil/petroleum which can stunt hair growth but what if you just apply it to the hair shaft and not your scalp? The hair is dead but not the follicle. I never liked greasing my scalp anyways. But What if you aren't as financially able/inclined to spend the amount of money that these natural hair companies are asking for? What are you going to do? Go to the nearest beauty supply store and buy what you can. Of course my analogy would be like comparing the use of store shelf products to alcohol consumption. Don't over do it and you'll be fine! lol Going out to drink every now and then is okay. Have a few drinks party with friends but don't over do it. If you do you start to see some serious side effects like a beer belly (bleh!). Same with hair products. Try to keep at least one or two natural products around. Like shea butter! Shea butter can be found anywhere and if not locally the internet is the best place. Also try your hands at homemade conditioners and even oils that you would normally use in the kitchen (i.e. EVOO). Mix it up, use what you can and go to the store for the other stuff.

Gel and Shea Butter: My New Favorite Combo

Ever find that perfect combo of products for a style that you just want to use again, and again......and again some more? (lol) Well that has been me recently with my twists. I always just used my shea butter mix, which is fire by itself, but my twists never seemed to last more than 2 days with out getting frizzy! And then if I just stuck to my guns and left them in anyways my twist outs were never super defined. Well, I absolutely love using ic fantasia polisher gel for my puffs and wash and go's and it never makes my hair super crunchy. So I decided to try adding it with the shea butter mix on my twists. I just moisturize each section with my whipped shea butter and then add a light coating of the gel. Now this isn't some new found technique. I'm pretty sure there are people who have actually tried this combo before. Matter of fact, I've talked to some of them on twitter (follow me! twitter.com/naturally_flyy). However, I LOVE this combo. As you can see in the pics my twists are tight and my twist outs are defined like no other. Try it! you'll like it!

Lace wigs: What exactly are they?

Well, growing up I always thought old women who were balding wore wigs and not young people. Young women wore weaving and phony pony's if they wanted some extra length added to their tresses. Well, when I was transitioning I opted to look into the possibility of wearing them when I didn't feel like doing my hair. I was still shy about it but when I went into my local beauty supply store (BSS) there were numerous styles available. Not just those short curly wigs my grandmother wears. In fact most of the styles were reminiscent of Beyonce, Ciara and Ms. Keyshia. So I bought a couple...or five. (lol) Still was uncomfortable so I didn't really wear them too much during my transition. When i BC'd I still didn't decide to hide under them because I love my natural hair. Well after months of the same wash n gos, twists, braids, I got bored with my hair. Absolutely bored! Me, still being scared to add heat decided to maybe try the wigs again, but something was wrong. They were just too...wiggy. You would think I either had a wig on or at least as full sew in or quick weave, which is just a homemade wig. i soon was surfing the web and searching on youtube and discovered lace front wigs. I wanted one so bad! But the ones that kept popping up on Google were full lace wigs costing anywhere from $300 to thousands of dollars. full lace wigs are usually made of human hair: Remy (virgin) Indian or Malaysian hair. The lace goes around the perimeter of the head and usually has to be glued or taped down. The lace is either french or swiss which is soft, durable and flexible. It can come in a variety of skin colors to match your needs. In the middle is comprised of a stretch lace in which the hair is threaded into it strand by strand. Because of this lace wigs have to be hand made and therefore are more costly because of labor. I am not rich and having two kids so I was not ready to spend that much on fake hair. So I then looked into lace front wigs. Lace front wigs have lace usually stretching from one ear to the other and the lace parting goes back from 1 inch to maybe the middle of the head depending on the make and cost. The hair on lace fronts are usually synthetic. These can range anywhere from $30 to $100 dollars. I would definitely not spend anymore than that on a synthetic lace front wig. Even though most lace fronts are synthetic there are some that offer human hair lace fronts like Misswigs.com. The famous YouTube wig guru muffinsismylovers aka April just did a review on a human hair lace front. Lace fronts usually contain combs and adjustable straps so that there is no need for gluing or taping them down. However, for extra security a little tape is okay! Since I have a small head my favorite brand is Sensationnel because it has a tight fit. Another brand that has great style is Freetress Equal, however, the fit isn't that great and I do have to use tape with this particular brand. All in all I have had the best experiences with lace fronts. I haven't had the pleasure to try out full lace wigs but I hope to soon. If you have any other questions please comment and ask and I will do a part two post.

Merry Christmas!!!

Hey bloggers! I am so sorry I haven't been making any posts. It's been crazy with the holidays and also school. But i decided that I owe you all one so here it is! The pic above was taken on a family trip to see my family in NC. I blow dried my hair earlier that week, braided it up in preparation for my protective styling (wigs). I took out the cornrows on Wednesday, combed them out (for the ends to roots of course) and did 6 cornrows (two on the side in the front, and 4 going back) using oyin handmade burnt sugar pomade. I took them out the next day and this is the result! I didn't want to wear my wigs b/c I love my natural hair and wanted to show it off! If you want to see my wig collection visit my youtube channel youtube.com/innovativethinkin.

More blogs to come:
Product List: Cure for the Common Product Junkie Syndrome
Product Review: Uncle Funky's Daughter curl stimulator
Enhancing your Regular Conditioner
Heat Use: Training or Damaging?

Knowledgeable Natural: Shelley Chapman (Naturi Beauty)

Ok, Barbzzz it's that time again! It's Knowledgeable Natural time. Sorry it took me a while to get this together. I will try to post by Tuesday night every week on this topic. Anywho...

This week's knowledgeable natural is no other than Shelley Chapman, known to the internet world as Naturi Beauty. (Luvzz the logo! ^^^) You can find her on Twitter chatting it up about natural hair or on youtube sharing some healthy vegetarian/vegan recipes. She has a website (naturibeauty.com) that features her blog, her catering service (ATL area) and her natural hair care products. Yes, Barbiezzz, she has natural hair product line called Naturi Tress. She has two products: Naturi Quench and Naturi Curli. Naturi Qeunch is great for moisturizing your mane and Naturi Curli is great for curl definition and eliminating frizz. Her blog features discussions about natural hair, healthy eating and recipes. She even has a recipe for some yummy vegan carrot cake! I will be trying this recipe since I have the biggest sweet tooth. As for her catering line, Barbzzz she prepares all her meals from scratch using natural ingredients. If you are in the ATL Click here for her services and prices. So yes, this natural Barbie is HIGHLY recommended if you want health for your hair AND body. Until next time barbzzz, Peace and blessingzzz!

For her twitter account click here
for her youtube channel click here
for her website click here

WTF is a Cone?!

LOL! That was my first thought when I hear about it. Well, enjoy the following facts!

There are two types of cones: water soluble and non water soluble. Water soluble are more preferred of course because they are easy to wash out. Non-soluble are hard to get rid of and can cause build up. Some peoples' hair are okay with 'cones. Some aren't. A way to know if your hair is not okay with them is when you use the products, your hair gets very dry and brittle and starts to break. Some people can use cones, some can use them sparingly and others can not use them at all. There is no one hair type or texture that can or can not use them so you will have to experience it for yourself. I can tell you that my hair is in between. I can not use cones on a daily basis or as leave-ins but it doesn't make my hair feel extra dry, just not moisturized. The following are lists of soluble and non-soluble cones.

Non-soluble:
amodimethicone (not in water by itself)
cetearyl methicone
cetyl dimethicone
cyclomethicone
cyclopentasiloxane
dimethicone (except if it has PEG in the front of it)
stearyl dimethicone
trimethylsilyamodimethicone
Soluble:
dimethicone copolyol
lauryl methicone copolyol
hydrolyzed wheat protien hydropropyl polysiloxane
stearoxy dimethicone (sparingly)
behenoxy dimethicone (sparingly)

Info pulled from: http://beautyandnature.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/attack-of-the-cones/

Natural hair style: Braid crown style #1

This is a new braid crown that i tried and was 95% successful in my opinion. As you can see the only problem i have is with the braid in the middle. It seemed to always lean to one side no matter how many times I did it over! lol Some things are just meant to be! I started off sectioning off the front where I wanted the crown to stop. Then I parted off a section down the middle and down the sides in the front. I cornrowed the middle braid down until it got to the side parts then split the braid to go on either side. I connected the hair from the middle and cornrowed it down the perimeter of my face on the left and right. After that was done I sectioned 3 rows going downwards on both sides and cornrowed that. And voila! that's my style. My curls came naturally from a wash and go that dried. ***Note: i did not put anything on the ends of my hair to close them. I did not braid them all the way down though as to let it blend in with the rest of my hair. To see a live tutorial click here. Also for a cornrowing 101 tutorial click here.