So last month I got my hair straightened and ends trimmed (by a professional). Even though I couldn’t take pictures I start to make an official chart and a better method of measuring. Check out my current length….

My hair was wet and tip toeing on 4 in. My goal is shoulder length and full while curly.

Stretched my hair is at the 6.5 in mark which was my goal for this month. Last month it was 6 in. straight. Hair grows approx.  5 inches a month. My goal is apl straight. (the 10.5 in. mark or pink line)

This is my hair dry without any stylers. Shrinkage is no joke but there are a lot of ways to get around it but its best to just accept it. The front of my hair is a lot looser.

My goal of apl should be here in 5 months just in time for my birthday in April!

Hey there,

I know its been a while but my midterms and new cupcake biz has had my schedule so hectic. I have lots of goodies to make up such as product reviews, updates on my hair, and guess what a contest!  I even have a camera now so D&C TV will be up and running soon. Well now its time to get down to business first I will start with my fall reggie and stash,  a long over due length check, and…….

My Fall Reggie

Pre-Poo:

coconut oil or evoo

Clarify/Shampoo:

Avon Naturals Strawberry Shampoo – only after straightening to remove silicones

Kinky Curly Come Clean- monthly

ACV Rinse- weekly

Co-Wash:

TJ’s Nourish – 2-3 times a week

VO5 or White Rain – after henna or ayurvedic treatments

Leave-In/ Moisturizers:

Kinky Curly Knot Today – daily

Lustrasilk – rarely use

Stylers:

Eco Styler Gel – wash and go’s and twist outs

Fantasia IC Gel -buns

ORS Lock and Twist Gel – bantu, twist, and braid outs

Deep Conditioners:

Aubrey’s Organics Honey Suckle Rose – weekly

Coconut Milk -ocassionally

Ayruvedic Treatments -weekly

Dulhan Henna – monthly

Sealants:

EVOO

Shea Butter

Coconut Oil

Other:

protein treatments – quaterly before straightening

trimming – every 3-6 months as needed

scalp massages -daily

vitamins – daily

Sleeping:

satin bonnet

silk scarf

satin pillow case

Styles:

bantu knot out

flexi-rods

twist and flex

braid and flex

flat twist out

buns, buns, and more buns

I have no clue what I want to dress up as for Halloween. I finally washed my parched strands and now the possiblities are endless. I want to be creative this year yet spend little to no money. Well hopefully you guys can help me out with any suggestions….

This transition has not been easy. I have slipped, fell, and had my share of random chicken wings and milk with my cookies. Just when I was ready to give it up Oprah saved the day sharing her chef Tal Ronnen to the world.

He introduced a substitute for chicken called “gardein” so I can’t wait to try it out. I will also be trying the recipes from the show like the celery root soup and of course the Gardein “chicken” Scaloppini.

Apparently Oprah did a 21 day cleanse which included a vegan diet created by Chef Tal. So if Oprah likes it I’m sure its pretty good lets just hope I can recreate the recipes.

BTYL,

Angelique

Hey there,

Guess what…..I finally got a trim. Its been 6 months and was long over due with me going wash and go crazy. This also means my hair is currently straight and I have tons of updates including new product reviews and an official length check.

I was browsing one of my fav blogs, Mane and Chic and she posted some questions we should all answer when building a reggie.  Be sure to check out her full post. In the meantime I will put my answers to the questions as I continue to update my reggie and stash for the fall:

• How often can you wash? I co-wash every other day for the most part. My goal is to only wash twice a week or less but at one point I washed daily with no probs. When my hair is straight I don’t wash for a week or two.
• Are you going to trim, how often? I trim every 3 to 6 months with only a light dusting.  At least every 6 months by a professional. I am trying to do the search and destroy method but it’s a bit crazy at times.
• How often do you want to deep condition? I deep condition weekly…its a must!
• Are you going to straighten, how often? Lately its been every 6 months with heat. I plan to do it every 3 months alternating heat and  some none to low heat alternative.
• How will you straighten if you decide to do so — roller sets, hot combs, flat irons, etc.? Alternating flat irons or the silk wrap method but as of now I get my hair blowdried and flat ironed.
• Are you going to do protein treatments, how often? I wish I would have done one last week before I straightened but plan to in the future whenever I decide to straighten. (Helps prevent heat damage)
• Will you use shampoo or just conditioner, apple cider vinegar or herbs to wash? I only will use a shampoo after I straighten because its the only time I use silicones. I co-wash and do weekly or bi-weekly acv rinses. I also use amla powder but I use it more as a deep treatment.
• How are you going to protect your hair when you sleep? I take my satin pillow case or bonnet ever where.
• How will you moisturize your hair? I moisturize with a leave in condish sealed with shea butter. When I refresh my hair in the morning I use something water based.
• Are you going to pre-wash your hair? I’m still researching this. I do oil my scalp with coconut oil overnight and add more in the morning to my hair before I wash.
• Are you going to do scalp massages, how often? At one point I was faithfully even did inversion when I had a TWA… I will try to do them daily again as winter approaches with my coconut oil or evoo infused with oils like lavender, peppermint, and sage.
• What are your go-to styles going to be — braid-outs, curl former sets, buns, etc.? I have to switch it up so I don’t get bored. Flat twist outs were working great for a bit.  My bantu knot out is still my signature never failing stying. I’m still working on prefecting braid outs and TnCs. I also loved the results of my flexirod set so thats a keeper. For the most part protective styling will be all I do as winter appoarches i.e. buns, braids, sew-ins, maybe a wig.

Well good luck building your fall reggie these questions should definately help.

XOXO,

Angelique

A few days ago I was cleaning my closest and food a bag of 20 or so orange flexi-rods. Guess my sis forgot to pack them with her college stuff. Well I went out and bout 20 more but the purple ones.

I was so anxious I tried them out using about 30  rods. I set them with Kinky Curly Knot Today and ORS Lock and Twist Gel. I dried them for about an hour after force them to fit.

Unfortunately sleep was hell to say the least. I may have twisted them too tight so my roots would be smooth….never again. It was so painful next time I’m going to dry them fully during the day. I had to rush and separate to get to school in time.

I ended up rocking a beret but that flattened some out. Otherwise, I love the results. I used way too much gel but other than that I smooth some coconut oil and I was good. The curls are super bouncy and silky.

Hopefully I can achieve some type of 2nd day style but I plan to try them out again for a party Friday.

Check out the links below for some tutorials, trails, blogs, etc….they helped me A LOT!!!!:

• Rock Your Natural (blog)
• Mane and Chic (blog)
• Lexi With The Curls (youtuber)
• Empress Ri (youtuber)
• Pretty Dimples (youtuber)
• Long Hair Care Forum
• eHow tut

XOXO,

Angelique

What’s your definition of  “good hair”?

I think good hair is healthy hair. Whether its relaxed, natural, or weaved up if your hair is healthy and strong then its good hair. As long as you are happy with your hair its good hair.

Since coming off the master cleanse I have been following a vegan diet for the most part. I have dibble dabbled on a piece of chicken here and there but hey I said I’m transitioning.

As a vegan the obvious changes are eliminating animal products like meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy.  Vegans also lose honey, fur, leather, wool, and silk (I’m still deciding on this part). Vegans also lose animal by-products like gelatin, lanolin, rennet, whey, casein, beeswax, isinglass, shellac. I haven’t heard of some of these and now I watch ingredients on things more closely.

I have a bit of jello left and I’m not wasting it. Some of my vitamins also contain gelatin like my Fish Oil and Calcium supplements. I will be switching to Flax Oil (omega 3’s) and Blackstrap Molasses(calcium).

Following the this lifestyle is actually pretty easy. One part I need to work on more is making sure I get my exercise in and drink enough water. Check out the food pyramid….maybe I’m a nerd but its so cute.

Some things vegans have to make sure to get in is B 12, omega 3’s, greens, calcium, vitamin D, iodine, beans, whole grains, exercise, and a good attitude. Some substitutions like milk and butter have been the hard part for me because I don’t like soy and tofu products and love butter. Thank God I never like cheese. I have found one milk sub in almond milk and I have heard of this spread called Earth Balance to replace butter. Other than that I think I have got it down.

I try and take one day at a time and most importantly stay creative. I am looking into more books for recipes because some days I have no clue what to eat. Currently my diet is pretty simple and tasty. It includes:

Breakfast:

(one of the following)

• oatmeal and fruit
• protein fruit smoothie
• raisin bran or any high protein/fiber cereal with almond milk

AM Snack:

• an apple or pear

Lunch:

• Veggie Pack Salad with French or Kalamata Olives and a Vinaigrette Dressing

PM Snack:

• carrots and hummus
• or pita chips and hummus
• almonds

Dinner:

(one of the following but not limited to)

• Amy’s Organics Bean and and Rice Burrito
• Vegan Fajitas
• Red Beans and Rice and Cabbage (Jamaican Style)
• Cuban Style Black Beans and Rice with Veggies
• Vegan Chili
• Red Beans and Rice with Sauteed Asparagus
• Kashi Bean Bean Mango Frozen Meal
• Pinto Beans and Rice with Veggies

Randos:

• Tofutti’s Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Orange Juice
• 100 oz of water
• my vita cocktail
• ACV cocktail

Non-Vegan Weaknesses:

• Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes
• Kebler Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Jello
• An occasional Chicken Wing

As you can see I’m not prefect.  Its even harder because I have a crazy sweet tooth and a cupcake biz. Like I said I am transitioning to vegan so stay tuned for updates.

BTYL,

Angelique

Traycee, of the Keep It Simple Sista Blog had some great tips for the winter. A few I never considered. My favs were keeping your hair covered at home. I never thought my heater was the reason my hair hair dry but it definitely explains things. She also mentioned using a humidifier for added moisture in the air. I definitely could use this at night. Check out K.I.S.S for the rest of her tips and other great info. Her hair is amazing and proof that black girls can have long hair too!

XOXO,

Angelique

Mahisha Dellinger, curly hair expert, and creator of the Curls products provided a tip of the day to fight frizz for Urban Curlz and Newly Natural. I tired one last night and I must say it was pretty nice.

Instead of my usually ACV rinse before a DC I tired using white vinegar. I used 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water, placed it in an applicator bottle, then poured it all over my scalp and hair.

I rinsed my hair first, then followed with the vinegar rinse and let it sit for a few minutes. My hair did feel very soft. I even notcied it made my hair slippery which made detangling super quick. The slip made it to my hands making them feel a little weird.

Her other tip was using honey. I use it all the time but as it gets colder out I limit my use of humecants like honey becasue it can dry out hair becasue of the lack of moisture in the air.

Overall I liked the rinse and might add it too my reggie after I do some additional research.