All Natural Face Washing Method!!!!

So, yesterday I watched a YouTube vid from one of my fave naturals about the "Oil Cleansing Method" of washing your face. Like most people who first hear about this method of face washing I was like "whatttttttt really". I have always assumed that adding oil to my face would make it oilier or cause more break outs but apparently me and everyone else are wrong. Lately I had been using Alaffia African Black soup face wash from Whole Foods. To me it worked well but it would still strip my face or make it dry even though it was all natural with no harsh chemicals. 

After doing some research online I decided I wanted to try this method for a month because two of the main issues I have are dry patches under my lower lip and a oily forehead. I have also been getting break outs and tend to have black heads pretty often. 

So, how do this method work exactly? 

Basically, with the oil method you are using oil to break down the oil and dirt on your skin. Like in chemistry....like things attract like things...so, it is natural to assume that oil attracts oil right. The problem with typical face washes is that the chemicals strip your face of it natural oils, drys it out, and then your body is having to over compensate for all the oil that was striped from your face. The same for your hair and scalp as well. By using the oil method you are just breaking down the oil and dirt and replacing it with a cleaner oil that way your body is not having to compensate for the oil that was removed from your skin. 

What oils should you use?

Based on the research I did the main oil to use is Castor Oil. Castor Oil is important because out of all the oils available it is the most cleansing and it has anti-bacterial properties. Along with Castor Oils you can use other oils for their moisturizing properties. The one oil to stay away from Coconut Oil because it actually clogs pores and causes break outs. Here is a list of blends I found on several sites:

This information was taken from Crunchy Betty Site. Visit her site for more info on this and other natural beauty information.

Good Oil Cleansing Varieties:

Jojoba (all skin types, but very desirable for acne-prone skin)
Sweet almond (all skin types, especially oily)
Grapeseed (all skin types, especially oily)
Avocado (dry and aging skin)
Sunflower Seed (all skin types)
Olive (all skin types)
Apricot Kernel (dry, aging, and normal skin)
Argan (all skin types, especially aging skin … very pricey)
Tamanu (all skin types … very pricey)


*You’ll probably want to stay away from coconut oil for oil cleansing, as it is a known comedogenic and may possibly clog your pores and exacerbate blackheads.
The Oil-Cleansing Ratio


It might be better to use this on a “wash-by-wash” basis before you go mixing a whole bottle of oil together, just in case you want to change up the ratios if you notice your face is becoming too dry or too oily.When you first start out with OCM, It’s best to think in ratios of thirds. You can measure these thirds out ahead of time and prepare a whole bottle full of oil. Or, you can do what I do and just eyeball it each time you use the method.

Here’s the rule of oil-cleansing thirds (remember, castor oil is important here):

Oily skin: Use 2/3 castor oil to 1/3 carrier oil. (Or measure out 2 tsp castor oil and 1 tsp carrier oil.)
Normal skin: Use equal parts castor oil and carrier oil. (Measuring out 1-1/2 tsp castor oil and 1-1/2 tsp carrier oil.)
Dry skin: Use 1/3 castor oil and 2/3 carrier oil. (Again, 2 tsp carrier oil and 1 tsp castor oil.)

These ratios are NOT set in stone, but they’re a great jumping off point. Again, when I do this, I just eyeball it in the palm of my hand and go from there.

What do you do?

After figuring out the oil blend that you feel work best for you skin then you just have to follow these simple steps.

Step 1: Gently rub the oils into your skin in a upward motion for 2-3 mins. While rubbing turn the water on so that it gets to a little hotter than warm temp.

Step 2: you can either wet a towel and place it on your face for a 30 seconds and then gently rub the oil off or you can just rinse your face with water.

It's that simple. 

I'm only using Castor Oil right now because I'm worried about adding another oil. I think after a couple of weeks of seeing how my skin reacts I might add another oil but for now I'm ok with just Castor Oil. Be sure to buy the cold pressed Castor Oil because it much better than the regular kind. I'll do an update in a couple of weeks to let ya'll know how its working for me.

Here are some helpful links for info:

http://www.crunchybetty.com/nitty-gritty-on-the-oil-cleansing-method

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

http://thefeministmystique.blogspot.com/2012/03/oil-cleansing-method.html

Happy Transitioning!!!!

Monique

7 Months Post Relaxer!!!

I'm currently 7 months post relaxer and I'm really surprised I made it this far without wanting to slap a relaxer on my head. I think I've only considered it once this past week. I think the thing I love most is not having to do much with my hair. Before it took 2 to 3 hrs out of my Saturday to wash, dry, and flat iron my hair. Now its about a hour maybe depending on how long I decide to deep condition my hair. One of the major differences that I've notice with my hair is less breakage and shedding. When I clean my bath once a week there is hardly any hair on the floor at all which is a sign my hair is healthier now. I'm continuing to avoid heat on my hair. I've thought about it a couple of times to see how long my hair is now but I'm a little afraid to do it because I don't want to mess up my hair. I might just let a stylist do it whenever I decide to get my hair trimmed. Anyways...I thought I'll give a little update since I haven't posted in awhile about my hair.

Here are a few instagram photos of myself and my hair from the past few months:

High Bun at the beach

My faux puff from an old braid out

This was either a braid out or a twist out...can't really remember

Another faux puff with a second day braid out gone wrong 

Happy Transitioning!!!

Monique

Tips for Transitioners From Napturals85

One of my favourite natural hair bloggers posted a new video recently with some valuable advice for new transitioners like me and anyone else reading my blog. I thought I'll post it here to share the love. I love with bloggers that have been natural for a while do post like this because it helps keep me motivated to continue with my transition. They all went through it already and its nice that they offer support for those of us that still have a long way to go.

Enjoy the video!!!

Happy Transitioning!!!

Monique

Whole 30 Challenge Follow-up

Well, I some what finished. I did the challenge for 3 weeks and I ate what I was suppose to only eat maybe 85% of the time. I cheated mostly on the weekends. I gave up the weekend before my last week on the challenge because it was Memorial Day weekend and yeah who wants to eat a strict diet when you are hanging out with friends and family having fun. I decided that I will keep up with the diet plan during the week as much as possible and probably just switch over to the paleo diet because its not as strict. I hate for the 3 weeks that I did do go to waste so I figure it can be my Monday - Friday meal plan and then on the weekend I can splurge a tiny bit.

My overall results from the challenge. At 85% I noticed a lot differences in my body and how I felt while doing the challenge. The first week was the hardest because I was coming of off all the carbs I was eating so I was tired a lot and slightly cranky. I really did eat a lot of processed foods and sugar so those weren't for hard for me to give up as well as legumes. By the second week I was in the habit of eating the whole 30 approved foods and I started to notice a change in my energy level. Instead of having that high than low feeling I had more of a steady energy level. It actually felt better to have a steady energy level and my workouts felt a bit better. I noticed a decrease in my stomach and I wasn't bloated a lot anymore. I think by eliminating the foods that agitated your digestive tract you have a big decrease in bloating and stomach issues. My belly did not go down completely but it did go down enough for my pants to fit better and for people to notice a difference in my size. As far as weight lost I don't really know if I lost any weight. I did not weigh myself in the beginning because they tell you not to weigh or measure yourself because the challenge is not for weight lost but is for jump starting a healthier way of eating. I do feel like I probably lost about 5 lbs. I'm assuming mostly water weight due to my water intake, a decrease in complex carbs, and beer. I do recommend if you do this that you don't do it for weight lost purposes but to make a lifestyle change. If your only focus is to lose a few pounds than you will not get from this diet what you expect and once you finish you will immediately revert back to your old ways.When you do something as a lifestyle change then you tend to be more successful and after a few months of following a healthy diet you will see the results. I will say I probably did have some weight lost and it was probably due to working out 4-6 days a week.

So, will I recommend this challenge? Yes, but only to people who are looking for a healthy lifestyle change and not just looking to lose weight in a short period of time. I did in fact do this challenge to lose weight but also to change my eating habits. In order to lose weight you have to change your eating habits and avoid the foods that are not good for you. I was already eating pretty healthy on a daily basis but some of the stuff I thought was healthy was actually bad for me. I now know what my body likes and what it hates and what agitates my stomach and intestinal track. I say give it a try if you a looking for a long term lifestyle change but for those looking to only lose weight quickly in a short period of time don't even bother.

Those of you just starting out I suggest you meal plan weekly. I was meal planning before I started because meal planning saves me money at the store but it also helps organize your meals because you have to do a lot of cooking at home on this challenge. I also suggest that you join the whole9 forum for support and google whole30 recipes and meals online. You'll be surprised at all the bloggers like me that have done the challenge and posted about as well as posted yummy recipes you'll like. Lastly, be creative because you have to. You'll get bored just eating the same thing all the time so you have be very creative with your meals and experiment.You'll soon find stuff you like better than the stuff you can't have. For me it was using cauliflower for a rice substitute and spaghetti squash for a pasta substitute.

Good luck to any new whole 30 challengers. I hope you get from it what I did...a whole new way of healthy eating and living.

Happy Transitioning!!!!

Monique

Hair Slips: A Beautiful Disaster

Saw this video on Urban Bush Babes blog and fell in love with it. Great inspiration for transitioners and naturals.

Happy transitioning!!!

Monique

Health Slips: Whole30 Week 3 Meal Plan

So, It's now week 3 of my Whole30 challenge which I'm doing semi well on. I do very well during the week because I mostly cook and eat at home but on the weekends its another story. I normally only eat breakfast at home on Saturday and Sunday and its normally a late breakfast so by the evening time I am starving. Another reason I have been cheating a bit is because I'm out somewhere that don't have anything I can eat which I stated in my last post. Luckily, my cheating has been so minimal that I don't think it will make a big difference in the results I have been getting from the challenge. I also believe I will continue to follow my meal plans even after I complete the challenge. I'm really beginning to embrace not eating most of the stuff I was eating on a daily basis....but anywhooo here's my meal plan for this week:

Monday:

• Breakfast: Protein box from Starbucks. I didn't have anything to fix for breakfast :(
• Lunch: Left overs from my dinner on Saturday from Pappadeaux's. Grilled Tilapia with spaghetti squash and a orange
• Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala with cauliflower substitute for rice

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: Two hard boiled eggs and a black berry, blue berry, strawberry, flax seed and coconut milk smooothie.
• Lunch: Left over dinner from Monday
• Dinner: Southwestern Tilapia, spinach, and carrots...recipe  http://nutmegnotebook.com/2010/09/baked-southwestern-tilapia/

Wednesday:

• Breakfast:  Two hard boiled eggs, bacon and a black berry, blue berry, strawberry, flax seed and coconut milk smooothie.
• Lunch: Left overs from Tuesday
• Dinner: Pesto Salmon, mashed sweet potatoes, and broccoli

Recipe for Wed. dinner....http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2008/01/foil-baked-salmon-recipe-with-basil.html

Thursday:

• Breakfast:  Two hard boiled eggs, bacon and a black berry, blue berry, strawberry, flax seed and coconut milk smooothie.
• Lunch: Left overs from Wednesday
• Dinner Spaghetti squash, ground turkey, diced tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms.

Friday: 

• Breakfast:  Two hard boiled eggs, bacon, and a black berry, blue berry, strawberry, flax seed and coconut milk smooothie.
• Lunch: Left overs from Thursday
• Dinner: most likely eat out or leftovers from Monday

Saturday and Sunday:

• Breakfast: Cowboy breakfast skillet here's the recipe  http://www.health-bent.com/pork/paleo-cowboy-breakfast-skillet.
• Lunch: I usually skip or have a snack before my weekly runs
• Dinner: Out somewhere

There you go....week 3. After this week I'll have one more week to go and I'm done...Well somewhat done. I have to say it really does get easier after the first week and I am feeling a lot better these days. The one thing I notice is the decrease in my stomach and bloating.....no bloating. I also feel a different type of energy daily. Its hard to explain but my energy level is different and better. None of that high energy and then crash type of feeling. I love it. Its really worth the sacrifice of all the bad/good tasty things I used to eat. Until next week....

Happy Transitioning!

Monique 

Hair Slips: Nappy Love Houston Meet & Greet

This past Saturday I went to my first natural hair meetup here in Houston. I had such a wonderful time chatting with other naturals about transitioning and hair care. There was a lot of beautiful ladies there and all of them had gorgeous hair. Here a few pictures from the event:

Photos are courtesy of VIP Studios

Joy and Riyike the host for event

Rocking a braid out with two cool chicks I met at the bar while waiting for our tables. The one in the middle has these really cool yarn braids...yes her hair was really braided with yarn. 

I won a giveaway for Afro Angel Oragnics

Review coming soon of her hair products

All of the current transitioners and our Carol's Daughter transitioning kits

Review coming soon

Group photo with some of the lovely ladies I met

Going home with loads of goodies to try

I had such a great time and I think for people transitioning like me these events are great to go to and learn from those who have already completely transitioned and are fully natural. The awesome thing is that everyone there transitioned for the same reasons they just got tired of putting harmful chemicals on their hair and scalp. I feels great not having the burning feeling on my scalp and not smelling those harmful chemicals I was  putting on my hair. I love that it takes half the time to do my hair now and that my hair is so much healthier now. I will be trying my new goodies soon and I'll post a review for you guys. Also I'm due for a length check since I started my hair vitamins...look for that in the next couple of days. Until then....

Happy Transitioning!

Monique

Health Slips: Whole30 Week 2 Meal Plan

This weeks meal plan for my Whole30 Challenge. Last week I did well until the weekend mostly due to the fact that the weekends for me is usually spent out and about so its difficult to adhere to the diet plan when there is not much you can eat where you go. I have decided that I will follow the diet to a T during the week but if I'm at an event that has nothing I can eat that is allowed than I'm going to cheat a bit because I can't starve. I will do myself to take snacks though. If at a restaurant I will do my best to order something on the menu that is allowed rather than ordering what I want and getting a stomach ache after.

So, here's this weeks meal plan:

Monday:

• Breakfast - two boiled eggs, strawberries, and grape tomatoes.
• Lunch - can of white tuna, chopped roma tomato, chopped cucumber, chopped avocado, and a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• Dinner - Chicken Tikka Masala and cauliflower as a rice sub (the sauce I'm using have a couple of no no ingredients but whatev)

Tuesday:

• Breakfast - ground pork, scrabble eggs, sweet potato hash, and berries. 
• Snack - banana
• Lunch - left overs from Monday
• Snack - almonds and a orange
• Dinner - Baked salmon, green beans, and mashed sweet potato

Wednesday:

• Breakfast -  ground pork, scrabble eggs, sweet potato hash, and berries.
• Snack - banana
• Lunch - left overs from Tuesday
• Snack - almonds and a pear
• Dinner - Turkey burger minus the bun topped with sauteed spinach, mushrooms, and avocado. Side of roasted sweet potatoes 

Thursday: 

• Breakfast -  ground pork, scrabble eggs, sweet potato hash, and berries.
• Snack - banana
• Lunch - left overs from Wednesday
• Snack - almonds and a orange
• Dinner - Spicy lime shrimp salad with avocado, cilantro, spinach and white wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. 

Friday:

• Breakfast -  ground pork, scrabble eggs, sweet potato hash, and berries.
• Snack - banana
• Lunch - leftovers from Thursday
• Snack - almonds and a pear
• Dinner - eat out

Saturday and Sunday:

Not sure what the plan is because I usually skip meals due to sleeping in or running errands. Typically eat out for dinner.

There it is for week 2. If anyone is following my blog then hopefully this is helpful to you if you are on the challenge as well. 

Happy Transitioning!!!

Monique

Health Slips: Whole30 Week 2

I'm starting week 2 of the whole30 diet tomorrow and I have to say I'm a little disappointed in myself. All last week I did really well staying strict to the diet plan and only eating what was allowed but than the weekend came. I think the hardest part about this diet is going to outings and there not being anything you can eat that is allowed. Sooooooooo, I cheated a bit. I had a little bit of cheese, french fries, a little bit of chips, little bit of rice, half a cookie, half a cup of beer....so forth. Sunday was the worst. For Mother's Day breakfast I decided to order french toast. I don't know what it was...maybe the sugar but my stomach was really hurting today after breakfast. I should have just gotten eggs, bacon, and fruit but yeah. After dealing with an upset stomach, which is what usually forces me to stop eating certain foods, I've decided that I am going to stay strict with the plan but allow myself some no nos when there is nothing available I can eat. I think my biggest accomplishment was the no alcohol part of the diet. I have tried and failed going off of beer and alcohol many of times but for some reason right now I just don't have the urge the drink. I had a half a cup of beer Saturday and today only because one was a home brew I wanted to try and the other I just wanted a taste of it because it was new to me. On the upside I have been doing really well with my water challenge and have been drink more than enough water for the past few weeks. I was going pretty strong with my hair growth vitamins but I have been skipping them a bit lately...meh.

This week I plan to get back to the gym. Last week I did not work out at all except for a 7 mile run/walk on Thursday. Due to withdrawals from my camp out weekend binge fest I was very fatigued and motivation for working out was very low. I have to say that Thursday was a good run for me. The type of energy I had felt a bit different from my normal energy level and I ran a bit more than normal. Today's run wasn't so great but I think its associated with the breakfast I had or at least  I think it is.

Anywhoo, I haven't planned my meals for the week yet but I will do it tomorrow and post what I'll be eating for the week. For the most part tomorrow I plan on making chicken curry with cauliflower for a rice substitute so I'm hoping it turns out well. I'm praying this week I hold true the diet plan...maybe week 2 won't be as hard as last week.

Happy Transitioning!!!

Monique

Hair Slips: My Hair Survived a Camp Out Weekend

So, my hair and I survived this weekends camp out with my running group. I was so worried because I haven't exposed my hair to any really harsh conditions until now that I did know how I was going to manage. I took a duffle bag of my hair stuff with me and paid very close attention to my hair the whole weekend. With having two textures of hair right now (relaxed and natural hair) I have to be very careful with my hair because I don't want it breaking to much. 

My hair regimen this weekend:

The first night I just put leave in conditioner in my hair after playing in the river most of the night. Saturday I did a co-wash at some point in the day and anytime I felt my hair was dry I put some leave-in conditioner in it. Sunday I did a wash with my Giovanni 50/50 shampoo, conditioned, added leave in-conditioner, and my shea butter. When I finally got home Sunday evening I washed again with my shampoo and then did a deep conditioner for about a hour followed up with some leave-in and shea butter. 

Along with all this I did keep my hair in a clip all weekend and tried to protect my ends as much as possible. The most my hair was dry dry was after riding on the jet ski on the river. I think all the wind took a big toll on my hair. My tip for anyone that will be attending a camp out or going to be swimming all weekend on a trip just remember to get your hair moisturized. Co-washing and using my Giovanni leave-in really helped out a lot. Protective styles are also helpful too. 

Happy Transitioning!

Monique

Health Slips: Week 1 of Whole30

This is week one of my attempt to do the Whole30 diet program. If you don't know what it is read my previous post with information on the diet plan. Here is just a run down of my meal plan for the week. The only way to get myself through this diet for the next month I have to plan my meals and reduce how often I eat out. The hardest part is going to be giving up alcohol/beer but we'll see how I do this weekend. 

Week 1 meal plan:

Breakfast everyday this week will be:

• ground turkey patty
• hard boil egg
• strawberries, black berries, and pear

Snacks in between breakfast and lunch will be a banana and carrots in between lunch and dinner

Lunch is usually left overs from the previous night's dinner.Friday lunch will be Tuna with chopped cucumber, tomatoes, and pack of carrots. 

Dinner this week:

• Monday
• Turkey burger minus the bun with sauteed spinach and avocado
• Roasted herb sweet potatoes
• Tuesday
• Tilapia
• broccoli
• carrots
• Wednesday
• Chicken thighs
• Yellow squash
• green beans
• Thursday
• I plan to eat out 
• Friday
• I plan to eat out
• Saturday
• I plan to eat out

Thursday through Saturday I plan to eat out for dinner because I have runs with my running group and happy hour with them on Friday. I will most likely do a salad or something on the menu where ever we go that is within the guidelines. 

Tonight's dinner turned out so well and was really good. You definitely have to be creative with this diet but you can do it if you plan your meals wisely and look for recipes online that work or you can alter to fit the program.I've very creative in the kitchen so maybe I'll post some recipes for you guys. Main thing is to just keep it simple.

Happy Transitioning!

Monique

Health Slips: The Whole 30 Challenge

So, I've decided to take on yet another challenge. For the past week and a half I have been doing a hair growth and water challenge which has actually been going well. I have been keeping up with my supplements and drinking about 2.5 liters of water per day (the recommended dosage for my size and activity level). I still have about 2 more weeks to go with that challenge before I check my hair growth so why not add another challenge to my load. This year is all about me going natural and bettering my health. I'm a pretty healthy person but I still have some bad eating habits I want to kick for good. I heard about this program from a friend and decided I would look into it. I have tried a similar diet before and failed but I think this time might be a little better because I'm motivated to getting healthier this year. 


What is the Whole 30 Program?


Its pretty much a paleo diet that includes only eating meat, veggies, fruit, healthy oils, and seeds. With this healthy eating plan you pretty much stop eating all the foods that have a negative effect on the body. According to the website for this program they state that this type of diet helps decrease various health issues, increase energy, and overall fitness. 


What are the rules to this program?
*All information have been taken from the Whole9 website 

Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed. 

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.

• Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)

• Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.

• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).

• Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)

• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.

• Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate. 

In addition, no Paleo-ifying dessert or junk food choices! We call this “Sex With Your Pants On” (SWYPO), and it will ruin your Whole30 faster than you can say, “Paleo pizza.” Do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold. This means no “Paleo-fying” desserts or junk food – no Paleo pancakes, pizza, brownies or ice cream. Trying to replicate junk food with “technically approved” ingredients misses the point of the Whole30 entirely.

One last and final rule. You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer. So, no weighing yourself, analyzing body fat or taking comparative measurements duringyour Whole30. (We do encourage you to weigh yourself before and after, however, so you can see one of the more tangible results of your efforts when your program is over.)

Here's the link to the website so that you guys can read up about to program and decided if its something you will like to try. 

Whole30 Challenge

I'll be starting this diet on Monday after my running groups spring camp out. I'm planning to use this weekend to pig out on all the stuff I'll be giving up for the next month and so forth. I'm hoping I can keep this diet going longer than a month but we'll see. 

Happy Transitioning!!!

Monique

Hair Slips:So you want to Transition with Fusions of Cultures

Thought I'll share this video from Fusions of Culture. Love her youtube channel. Great advice for new transitioners like me and anyone else reading my blog. Check out her channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/FusionofCultures?feature=watch

Happy Transitioning!!!!

Monique

Hair Slips: Summer Hair Routine

Summer time can be harsh on your hair especially for someone like me that go to pool parties a lot and run out in the heat of day. I've noticed that since it started getting hot in Houston my hair feels drier when I'm out in the sun and this weekend I plan to be in the sun a lot and playing in the river at my running groups camp out...So,what to do with my hair. Just from research online for summer hair care this is the regimen I have planned for this summer if I don't get braids:

Co-washing 2x per week or when I feel its needed (after a swim or sweaty workout)

Shampooing 1-2x per month or as needed. 

Continuing to wear my hair in protective styles

Wearing my hair in a high bun when swimming or at the beach to limit my ends exposure to the elements. 

Keeping my spray bottle with my water/aloe vera juice/veggie glycerin mix with me (I'm considering getting a travel size spray bottle to put an oil/water blend in for on the go)

What Products am I using right now:

• Co-Washing: Tresemme Naturals Condition with Aloe Vera and Avocado
• Shampoo: Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Shampoo
• Leave-in conditioner: Giovanni Direct Leave-in
• Homemade water spritz
• Homemade creamy shea butter to seal

That's my planned summer regimen....What's yours?

Happy Transitioning!

Monique

Hair Slips:Co-Washing transitioning hair

Co-washing is a popular topic around the natural blog community and even on relaxed hair blogs. I've never considered co-washing until now. I guess the reason I never did it was because I'm just used to my routine but now I'm embracing it because I feel it'll be something that will help reduce breakage during my transition. I've done it twice so far and love it. I've decided that I'm going to co-wash at least 1-2 times per week and only shampoo 1 -2 times per month depending on how my hair feels. 

So, why co-wash versus shampooing and then using a conditioner....well most people co-wash because shampoo tend to strip the hair of its natural oils along with product build up. If you shampoo to often even with conditioner you hair will be dry all the time especially relaxed or damaged hair. Most conditioners not only clean the hair but moisturize it as well. So, its like getting the best of both worlds. The good thing is that some of the cheaper brand conditioners are silicone and paraben free so that's a plus for most naturals that are against having those chemicals in their hair products. They also contain only the good alcohols so another plus for most. I haven't decided what cheapo brand I will use for my co-washes but here's a list of frequently reviewed conditioners for co-washing from several blogs I read:

VO5
Herbal Essence
Sauve Naturals
Tresemme Naturals

I'm a little weird about using cheapo brands because you usually get what you pay for but I'm willing to try them out because I hate to use a more expensive brand for co-washing several times a week. Anywhoo...loves. I hope this is helpful. Here are a links of a blog with info on co-washing:

Curly Nikki
http://www.curlynikki.com/2011/11/are-you-down-with-co-washing.html

Happy Transitioning!!!

Monique

Hair Growth Challenge: Measurements

This morning I decided to measure my hair to see where I am at as far as length.

Current hair length stats:

• new growth after 5 almost 6 months post relaxer
• 2 inches in the front and crown 
• about 2 1/4 in the back and some what in the middle
• new growth and relaxed hair
• 5-6 inches in the front and crown
• 7-8 inches in the back and middle

I tried not to stretch my hair when I was measuring it so these stats should be close to actual length. My hope is that I gain an 1/2 inch to an inch of new growth in the next 30 days. I'm not really worried about the relaxed hair because it'll eventually get cut. I'm just hoping that with increased hydration, vitamin supplements, and extra care with my hair I can speed up my natural hair growth and possible have the length I want to gain before my big chop. I'm still considering braids as a protective style for summer but I'm not really sold yet. I just don't think me and braids go well with each other. We'll see.

Wish Me Luck!!!!

Happy Transitioning,

Monique

The Hair Growth Challenge

 So, I decided a while back I wanted to try vitamins to help in maintaining healthy hair and promote hair growth. I read on a lot of sites that a combination of MSM and Biotin helps promotes hair growth and overall healthy hair. The only bad thing I read was that Biotin had some side effects (acne break outs on the face and back) so I decided to go with the Hair, Skin, and Nails vitamins instead. I'm not sure these will work but I thought why not try it out for a month or two and see if it helps with my natural hair growth. I'll start taking these tomorrow morning. The recommended dosages are 2 per day of the MSM and 3 per day of the HSN vitamins. I plan to only take 2 of the HSN vitamins because I think 3 is just too much for someone that eats a healthy diet. I will measure my hair tomorrow and post the stats on here for you guys to follow. In a months time I'll do an update.

On top of adding the vitamins to my regimen I'm also increasing my water intake. I only drink water, various teas (mostly green tea), and alcohol on occasion. My daily water intake is usually only about 3 16oz bottles per day not including water I get from veggies, fruits, and my daily cup of green tea. Online I read that a person my size and as active as I am should drink about 2.5 liters of water per day. With the summer heat rolling in I might have to drink more since I run out doors weekly. So, how does water promote hair growth? Well in order to grow healthy hair you must stay hydrated. All of the bloggers I follow push the fact that drinking enough water daily is essential to growing healthy hair. I actually love water so increasing my water intake is no problem for me.

So, hopefully by adding vitamins, more water, and more veggies/fruits to my daily diet I can see a slight increase in my hair growth. Like they say beauty always start from the inside.

I'll see you guys tomorrow and hopefully I'll have good news in a month on my hair growth.

Happy Transitioning!!!

Monique

Hair Slips: Protective Styling......

Photo Source: Nikita of Urbanbushbabes.com

Protective Styling is one of the big topics on a lot of the natural hair blogs and youtube channels I follow. I pretty much wear my hair in a protective style all the time...which is my sock bun. I decided to change it up today and did a side bang with my scarf and bun. I love this look. I was going to roll my bang under like hers but I decided against it. Here is my rendition of this style.

Protective styling is important for me and should be very important to other transitioners because it protects your relaxed hair especially if you are holding on to it for a while before you do your big chop. Protective styles can be buns, twist, braids, wrapped up in a scarf...whatever as long as your ends are tucked away and protected from the elements (wind, heat, dry air, etc.). They also help in retaining length and preventing lots of breakage. So, for the most part you'll see my hair like this most of the time...well different variations of this but I am watching videos and learning styles so ya'll might see something different in the future. Look forward to more protective styling tips.

Happy Transitioning!

Monique

My Hair Care Regimen.....

And my attempt to do my first video blog....ahhhhhh. The video quality sucks but it is what it is. I'm hoping to get a new camera soon so look forward to better videos but yeah. This video just talks about my current hair care regimen.

Here are the links to the homemade products I made from Napturals85.com

http://youtu.be/X3Ok14CgADM
Shea butter fluff and creamy shea butter recipe

http://youtu.be/aWaH8GIbLrM
Flax Seed Gel recipe

The water mist is a combination of 2 parts water, 1 part aloe vera juice, and about 1 Tbl spoon of veggie glycerine.

Please leave comments I'm on the hunt for a deep conditioner, co-wash, and clarifying shampoo.

Happy Transitioning!!!!!

Health Slips: How to eat healthy on a budget

How To Eat Organic Healthy on a Budget! | Whole Foods (by DearNaptural85)

I took some tips from this video on how to shop on a budget. Her video focuses on a couple but you can use her tips for a single person as well.

As far as my shopping tips:

• Plan you meals for the week and Inventory your pantry and fridge. I use this meal planner sheet: http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/meal-planner.html
• Make a shopping list and only buy what's on your list. Set a budget and stay within your budget.
• Buy stuff on sale and use instore coupons. HEB has tons of them.
• Avoid the middle lanes if you can.
• Only buy what you need and not what you want.
• Never go hungry....you will buy more.
• Avoid samples if you can because they tend rope you into buying stuff that is unhealthy or over priced. 
• Buy some of your veggies frozen. They are just as good as fresh and if you don't use them that week they are there for the next. 

These are just some of my shopping tips...hopefully it helps you decrease your bill and some weight.

Happy Transitioning!!

Hair Slips: Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Styles and Curly Hair Care: 5 Attributes of A Successful Transitioner

Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Styles and Curly Hair Care: 5 Attributes of A Successful Transitioner: by Danielle of Long Natural Hair Care Transitioning from relaxed hair to your natural hair texture can be a very rewarding and interesti...


One of my favourite blogs to follow is Curly Nikki. Her blog is full of good advice for transitioners or current naturals. Here is the link to a blog post with information about how to be a successful transitioner.

Happy Transition!

Let Me Introduce Myself......

Hi, My name is Monique and this is my blog Fraudian Slips. I'm currently blogging on Tumblr but I decided that  I change over to Blogger for the simply fact that it is a better choice for the direction I want to go with my blog. I decided after many failed attempts to go natural with my hair as well as my lifestyle in general. I started my transition in January of this year and is now 5 - 6 months post relaxer. Along with my transition I decided to make some lifestyle changes as well. I feel that if I'm going to go natural with my hair I should also use all natural beauty products and household products as well. Its slow crawl but I'm getting there. I decided that in order to get through this year of change I needed to blog about it. I started blogging on Tumblr but I feel that its hard to get followers on there and there is no ability for people to comment on your post and give you advice. So, here I am on Blogger. I'm already in love with how easy it is to customize my blog because I am definitely not HTML savvy. As far as my blog goes I've been taking a lot of inspiration from other bloggers I follow (and I follow a lot) on what I want to focus on. My blog is really for women like me that I want to live a happy healthy life. My post for now will mainly be focused towards my hair and lifestyle journey but I will add some post here and there pertaining to fashion, music, and books. I'm a big style and music junkie so I feel those are things I should post about too. I plan to do a lot of reviews on products I'm trying, hair styles, and regimens. There will also be healthy lifestyle post because I'm currently working on maintaining my health and weight so I'll share with you guys what I'm doing along those lines too. I hope you here from my readers and please leave me comments and suggestions on post or things I can do to help me along my journey.

Happy Transitioning!!!