Rantings of a Creole Princess

EDEN BodyWorks Coconut Shea All Natural Leave-In Conditioner

EDEN BodyWorks Coconut Shea All Natural Leave-In Conditioner

When I'm airdrying my hair with plans to bun it for the week, I really like using this leave-in conditioner.  I don't use it when I plan on adding heat to my hair but for no/low-manipulation styling...it's pretty awesome to me.  I bought it at Sally's for $8.99 but a friend told me she gets it at Walmart for a little less. (I just noticed you can get it for a tad bit less on Sally's site.)

It doesn't make my hair greasy feeling nor does it weigh it down.  

Just passing it along.

Anything you've been trying lately that you'd like to share with us?

Prince's Afro - Tell the truth and shame the devil!

Were you feeling Prince's afro?

Damaged Hair Solution!

What's YOUR personal take on damaged hair?  Can you repair it or would you just cut it off?

YOUR Natural Hair Journey

Go To Hair Blogs

What are your go-to hair blogs when you have a serious question about your hair?  

Mine?  Just Grow Already

On top of being extremely knowledgeable about relaxed hair...she just seems like she's such a nice person.  Me likey nice people!  GO JENNIFER!

Whatchu got?  Please remind us if you're relaxed or natural.

Hair Questions

What did you do to your hair this morning?  

How are you wearing it today?  

Do you have any hair goals?  

What are they?

Things I've learned from yall!

I dried my hair with a t-shirt this morning and I must say.  OH YEAH BABY!  It was darn near DRY when I finished!  GO ME!

Yall give some majorly awesome tips.  Another fave is mine was from either Nerd Girl or ARGal.  They said they polish their toesies in the evening and don't worry about "staying inside the lines" and simply take a bath the next morning and the excess on the skin comes off easily in the water.  CHILE!  THAT CHANGED MY LIFE!  LOL!  And there are seriously so many more tips I've recieved from yall which make life easier and/or better.

SIP:  It's truly the little things.

What have YOU learned from the Tribe that you are super grateful that you now know?

Raveen

Oh yeah!  Yall remember this?

Dear Natural Hair Divas:

How's your hair?  What did you do to it today?

Jazzing Clear Rinse

Have you ever used one?  Does it work?  What exactly does it do from your experience?

A friend told me about this one so I bought it and want to try it.  I just haven't been brave enough to try it yet.  

 

Convo at 13700

Shelly:  What do you think?  Deva Gloves

Me:  You try it first.  :)

Shelly:  *sigh*

Would YOU try these?  Have you?

Moisturizing Shampoo

Which moisturizing shampoo are you using these days?

Question...

Robby NEVER notices my hair.  Like...NEVER.  I will ask him if he likes something I've done to my hair and I watch him adjust his sight to my HAIR and then he's like...yeah...nice...cool.

And he keeps it moving.  Is this normal?

Does your S/O notice or comment on your hair?

 

SIP:  Pips SIP is oogly.

Hair Blues

I finally caved and did something to my hair on Saturday.  I had absolutely none of the products I normally use on my hair when I'm going to actually DO something to it so I rolled out to get some supplies.  I hit up Aveda and then Sally's Beauty Supply because I wanted to try this on my hair:  ApHogee 2-Step Protein Treatment and Balanced Moisturizer

Aveda was out of my leave-in and the kid wasn't amused. Aveda Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair

So, while at Sally's I was on the lookout for some type of leave-in something and saw this:  

Creme of Nature Leave-In Creme Conditioner for Dehydrated Hair, Lemongrass & Rosemary 

I bought it cuz really...it couldn't hurt right?

So I went home and procrastinated until the absolute latest time I could wait to start my hair.  Since I had so much new growth, I worked darn near a 1/4 cup of coconut oil through my hair so it was manageable.  I just kept scooping and scooping.  And yes...I said scooping cuz I got that old janky jar from Trader Joe's and my hand can't fit in it and it's almost empty.  I keep saying I should melt it and pour it into something I could actually use better but yeah...I never follow through with that thought since it only aggravates me when I'm putting some on my hair and that takes all of 5 minutes a day.  LOL!

N.E.WAY!

I did something completely different this time for my touch-up.  Instead of parting my hair in quadrants, I sectioned off the absolute top in a square because that's where it grows the most and is always the thickest and started there first.

Then I finished the steps to balance it out, neutralize and then wash it.  For the past three touch-ups I've been doing a rinse after I relaxed my new growth to cover the sun damaged red icky color it is but I'm tired of doing that.  It's messy and, frankly, I'm past caring I think.  So yesterday...I did the ApHogee treatment next.

I tried separating the two attached packets and the damn thing ripped and a bunch of the ish spilled all over the place.  I should have known I was going to be in for a treat when I looked down and saw what the drops of the product did to my slippers:

Um...looks burned huh?

Yeah...when I put it on my freshly touch-up head...yeah...I got real Scarfaced up via my vernacular.

SERIOUSLY.

Then I had to sit under the dryer until my hair completely dried and when it did...it was as hard as a brick.  Felt like hay.  After washing it out and using the balancing conditioner...it felt really good.  I didn't like the smell so I washed and conditioned my hair using my normal Aveda stuff.  After that, I used the new Creme of Nature leave-in product and it wasn't anywhere near the kind of consistency the Aveda stuff I usually use is.  I blow dried it and flat ironed it at 250 degrees and wasn't pleased with the "greasy" feeling of it at all.  It felt good from the protein pack and was nice and strong feeling but yeah...I can't really get down with that greasy feeling.

So I promptly tied it up and am sporting a bun today, tomorrow, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc.

SERIOUSLY.

If I find my leave-in product I'll consider wearing it down it again on Friday but honestly...I'm sick of hair and my buns are no-muss, no-fuss.  Hell...I don't even comb them out at night anymore.  Just take the ponytail holder off and put on a bonnet.

Crazy huh?

I would consider shaving my head if I wasn't so vain but bald with no boobs would get me mistaken for a young boy I'm sure and well...I like being and looking like a girl.

SIP:  Maybe get fake boobs first.

Question...do you use any Creme of Nature products?  What about that ApHogee product?  If you use the ApHogee one...how often do you use it?

 

Castor Oil for Thinning Hair

Someone I know had a patch of super thinning hair on top of her head.  It was a source of angst for her and she hit it with comb overs (SIP:  Yes...she said comb overs.), weaves and wigs.

Honestly though...it really messed her up big time in the confidence department.

I saw her a while back and she was sporting a super fresh natural head of hair that was thick and AWESOME!  Think G-Baby's hair now (Who should have gone back natural FOREVER ago cuz BAAAAAAAAAAAAABY!  SHE IS ROCKING THE HELL OUTTA NATURAL HAIR!  LOVE IT SOOOOOOOO MUCH ON HER!).

N E WAY...

I was like...girl!  You look like MONEY!

And we laughed our butts off.  She told me that she started oiling and massaging her entire scalp three times a week with Castor Oil .  Says it took about 3 months before she saw some hair filling in her thinning spot but that yeah...you can't even tell anymore.  Says the Castor Oil made her hair grow back thicker and stronger.

I thought about this and remembered that an Elder babysat a little cousin once for the summer.  The baby's mama used to put them old jacked up too tight plaits or braids all over that lil girl's head (WHY WOULD YOU PUT BRAIDS ON A TODDLER KNOWING THAT BEATS THE HELL UP OUTTA A HAIRLINE ON A GROWN WOMAN?????????) and the child's edges were straight JACKED.  The Elder put Castor Oil on the baby's edges all summer telling the mama to stop doing the child's hair in the morning and she'd do it when she got there and  yup...at summer's end...the baby's edges had started coming back in nicely.

SIP:  Elders can solve anything with berries and juices or some old school something we ain't heard of for a minute.  (Zinc/ZANK Soap Update)

Okay...so someone else was having some hair thinning issues and I shared this with her.  She said she's heard that if you go natural your hair would look thicker and you couldn't really tell.  I asked her if she thought about going natural and she said her hair is too nappy to go natural and she ain't walking around looking like that.

I kept it moving cuz really...it's her head and her perception of her head and I ain't gonna change that at all. 

But...it made me wonder...are there many people who think their hair is too nappy to go natural that they wouldn't even if they were having hair issues?  Is there really such a thing as TOO NAPPY?  I know there are people whose hair has major shrinkage but too nappy?  I mean...even the thickest is able to be loosened up with twists and length right?

School me if I'm wrong.

If you were having hair loss issues and had a relaxer...would you have to do too much thinking to go natural?

Also...have YOU ever heard of or used Castor Oil on your hair?

I asked Mr. Google about it...here's what he had to say in pictures:  Castor Oil Hair

Relaxer Stretching - Tell the truth and shame the devil!

Have you ever stretched your relaxer out so long that your hair was so thick and you weren't in the mood to fight/detangle it in the thickest part that when you pulled your hair up...you looked like a conehead?

If not...you are SO better than me and we shouldn't be friends.  LOL!

As we wake up this morning...

I am NOT going to laugh at this baby...

Question...

How are you wearing your hair today?  

Me?  N/A

Black Hair Side Eye

An elderly lady complimented my hair recently and I smiled politely and said thank you.

She then said she really wished this natural hair thing would be over already because, in her opinion, it looked just a nappy, terrible mess.

These days I have so much on my mind that I really don't have time to execute flawless responses on the fly anymore because, to be honest...in the grand scheme of things it doesn't affect me at all.

I'm trying my best to continue to keep it moving but I looked at that little old lady and thought to myself what I'd feel horrid if I found out she'd said that to some young lady wearing her hair as she chooses. So I said, "I hope choosing to do with your own hair is never something that becomes OVER. Sometimes we worry about the wrong things and I would hope that whatever hair hangups you have aren't something you push on anyone else."

She blinked at me in surprise and started sputtering. "No, no...I didn't mean no harm about it or anything I just don't think it looks good on a lot of people."

And she kept explaining what she meant. I thought about that this morning as I saw a young lady with a head full of the most gorgeous twists I've ever seen. I just HAD to stop and compliment her.

Me: You have a gorgeous head of hair.

And she said thank you in a way which showed she didn't know if I was being facetious or not. I smiled and kept it moving and hoped she stayed out of the way of little old ladies with hair issues.

Cuz seriously...

Question from My Inbox:

I was shocked to find someone in my inbox asking what type of relaxer I use since I thought everyone had gone back natural.

Well...I haven't changed what I use in more than a decade:  AFFIRM SENSITIVE SCALP RELAXER KIT

I buy it from Amazon and I still do it myself cuz I think the prices the salon charges to do it are ri-damn-diculous.  HOWEVER...I don't suggest you do it yourself.  I've done mine forever and I'm pretty good at it because I'm the most anal Virgo you know.  I know exactly how to do it so it doesn't overlap or touch my scalp.  GO ME!  

Of the two or three of you who still relax your hair...what do you use?

PhytoSpecific and Aveda

PhytoSpecific changed up the formulas for the products I loved.

THEN...they stopped selling a lot of what I loved at Sephora.

After buying out all they had I finally threw up my hands and went back to Aveda.

Since I was having the sun damage issue, I kicked it strictly with the Damage Remedy Line.

Shampoo:  Aveda Damage Remedy, Restructuring Shampoo

Conditioner:  Aveda Damage Remedy Conditioner

Deep Conditioner Treatment:  Aveda Damage Remedy Intensive Restructuring Treatment

Leave In Conditioner:  Aveda Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair

I'm still using these two products to moisturize and seal in the moisture twice a day:

Moisturizer:  PhytoSpecific Moisturizing Styling Balm

Oil:  Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment

I was telling a friend I've had to go back to Aveda and she laughed and said...folks always go back to the old standby Aveda.  LOLOLOLOL!

What about you?  Do you use any Aveda products?  Have you ever gone BACK to Aveda?  

Sun Damage on MY Black Hair

The worst thing I've ever done to my hair is not protect it from the sun.  

I seriously didn't realize how much of a big deal it actually is to protect my hair when sitting in the sun which I LURVE to do.  

I started noticing that my hair was turning this really odd shade of red and I wondered if that was a part of my hair going gray.  Because it soooooooooooooooo is.  LOL!  I don't have a problem with the gray, but that icky red?  NO.  AB-SO-LUT-ELY-NOT!

And it was all dry feeling.  ESPECIALLY on the ends cuz that's my oldest hair.

I get two really good hair cuts a year.  One in March and the other in September.  The rest of the time I just get trims to keep it looking neat.  Well...I've been cutting the old hair off an inch or two at a time for a few months now and last week, I decided to cut it some more and put some temporary color in it.

And dude...I'm loving it.

I got a straight all around blunt cut in the back, all one length (about an inch past my shoulders) and tapered around my face.  Basically, a shorter version of my usual.  Once it was shorter...it started moving again and I was all giggly, girly smiley cuz I KNOW this hair!  LOL!

Then I hit up Target and bought the color that I'd decided would be the most like my original color because coloring your hair can be tricky.  Dark brown looks black on my hair.  Golden brown looks reddish on my hair and, apparently...there are FIFTY GAMILLION shades in between.

So, after stalking the innanets, I decided to go with this one:  Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color #20 Medium Brown

AND I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

It never smelled funny...not even in the container before I put it on my hair.  I left it on for 15 minutes and then followed the directions.  Once I was finished with the directions, I washed it with my own shampoo and deep conditioned it.

Then I flat ironed it on 250 degrees and seriously...it feels like my hair again.

And the kid is sooooooooooooooooooooooo happy!

I'm curious as to what it's going to look like once this color fades and washes away.  I'm told that sun damaged hair gets darker after a while but heck...I don't know so I guess I'll just see as we go along.

What brand and color do you use?  How often do you have to do it?  Do you do it to cover gray or, smooth out your color or a bit of both?

Do you do it yourself or do you get a stylist to do it?  Any tips to make the color last longer?

Olympian...Miss Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas...AND HER HAIR???????????

I don't know about you but I've enjoyed watching little Miss Gabrielle Douglas fly through the air flipping and twisting and then BAM! STICK IT!  This lil girl has been bringing me JOY!  I love when she gives her interviews and she's all sweetly confident.  I love how she is so supportive of her teammates.  I love how she speaks about how much she loves what she does and how honored she is to represent our country in the Olympics.  When she's kinda wobbly...I'm holding my breath and breathing hard, praying she recovers.  When she hits something just right...I am yelling at the top of my lungs.  GET.IT.GABBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SHOW 'EM HOW TO DO IT!  USA!  USA!  USA!

In short...she is QUITE impressive and I LOVE.ME.SOME.GABBY!

I read something yesterday about the 16 year old's hair that made me stop. Then I asked Mr. Google if other people were saying negative things about her hair and was FLOORED with what I found.

FLOORED.

So yeah...I got annoyed at just how inappropriate people can be with the things they were saying about a 16 year old WORLD.CLASS.ATHLETE.

Did YOU pay more attention to her hair or to her skills and her confidence in her ability?

Did you hear others ridiculing the child because of her hair?

If you did...did you say something to counter it?

What do you think about the entire situation?

Phytolisse Finishing Serum!

Yall know I'm learning how to deal with these grays and I have found something which makes me SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy!  Phytolisse Finishing Serum

It seriously makes my hair feel SO GOOD!  Especially the gray ones which are now around my hairline!  GO ME!  

Anything new you're trying that we should know about?

Kari Nicolle! NOBODY likes a know-it-all!

One of my favorite people on EARTH is actress, Kari Nicolle. Kari is a creative muse for us kinda in that she has that calming level of influence that we sometimes need in order to see our way clear.

We love the hell outta Kari.

Kari walked up to me the other day and stated, "Well...you know it's the end of the trip when Monica goes into full braid mode!"  And we laughed our azzes off cuz it's sooooooooooo true!  LOL!

I always start a trip out with my hair looking all bouncy, nice and full.  

Then...it goes all limp and straight which is cute for all of 20 minutes and I have to keep smoothing it behind my ear to look right.

Next I braid the sides and let the back hang.

Then I braid the sides and ponytail the back.

Final days will see me in side braids with a bun.

And I can't STAND Kari for picking up on my hair trip pattern.  LOL!  Cuz that means everyone else does too! 

Do YOU have a pattern for YOUR hair while traveling too?

Whoa! Hot Stuff!

My Kinky Relationship With The Teeny Weenie Afro

 

Fave Hairstyle!

What's your favorite way to wear YOUR hair?

Me?  I love French braids along the hairline and loose in the back.

Natural Hair Convo

Me:  _____ is mad because her hair doesn't look like she thought it would look once she went natural.

Friend:  What did she think it would look like?

Me:  Tracee Ellis Ross must be.  And you KNOW that ain't standard on Black women.

Friend:  Here's the test...look at your 5th grade picture before your mama let you get a perm.

Me:  Good test.  I told her she needs to learn to work with what's she's got and stop being delusional.  She's currently mad at me.

Friend:  Oh well.

Me:  Yup...she needs to embrace the Florida Evans and make it do what it do!  Get some of them flowers and stuff.

Friend:  Add some color.

Me:  Keep it lined up.

Friend:  And moisturized.

Me:  She'll be aiight.

Friend:  Yup.

Tell the truth and shame the devil!

Do you buy the products your stylist uses on your hair?

Hair Heredity

Someone told me once that she started having hair loss issues because her father went bald pretty early and her hair and head is mostly like and shaped as her father's.

I thought to myself...thank goodness my hair and head is more shaped like my mommy's.

Is your hair more like your mother's hair or your father's hair?  Any validity to her way of thinking in YOUR mind?  

Ugh!

I don't like being price gouged.

In fact...it makes my teeth itch.

I don't care if it's only fifty cents more than what it's supposed to be...I will roll out without a look back.

I called a stylist around the corner from me because, again, it's around the corner from me.

I've seen her work and it looked good.

She told me that she didn't take cards so I'd need to bring cash.

I asked how much cash.

She quoted me a price that sounded like K Street in DC prices.

I was like...ummmmmmmm...

Her "salon" is in the back of a barber shop in one of them lil strip mall thingys.  

She then stated that new clients get 30% off first time.

She's lucky she said that cuz seriously...I was about to bail.

And I still might.

Cuz this ain't K Street in DC.  

This happened to me once and the chick tried to guilt me by saying something like..."What's 20 extra dollars?  I mean...it's not like you don't have it."

That shit made my teeth itch too.

I remember another stylist went up on her prices SIGNIFICANTLY once.  Like...her ish was only $40 for a wash and style and then she started charging $65.

I never went back.

How do YOU feel when you know the prices are too high and the vendor tries to justify it when you know good and well it's waaaaaaaaaay too high.  

Hair Salon Fees

When's the last time you visited a hair salon?

How much did it cost?

How much did you tip?

Where was the salon located?

How long were you there?

Convo at 13700 Regarding my natural hair transitioning journey...

CreoleInDC:  I'm not going natural

Les:  girl

CreoleInDC:  What in the fug was I thinking?

Les:  You should've seen my face when I read it in the first place.  It didn't even warrant a response.

CreoleInDC:  I hate detangling with hair and having to detangle a full head of it?  HELL.NO.  Too much time.

CreoleInDC:  I don't abuse my hair.

CreoleInDC:  Or relaxers.

CreoleInDC:  My scalp is healthy.

CreoleInDC:  As is my hair

CreoleInDC:  I don't have that kinda time

CreoleInDC:  so there

Les:  Don't have to convince me..lol..I'd see if your hair was jacked up and you needed to "start over"

Les:  Your hair is gorgeous.

Les:  Fuq it.

CreoleInDC:  And if Robby says one more thing about sodium hydroxide I'm going to slice his azz half in two.

CreoleInDC:  Only he could get in my head and have me talking crazy talk.

Les:  lol

 

SIP:  Journey huh?  You didn't even pack a bag.

Me:  You right.

 

Erica B:  Um...yeah...I knew you weren't going to make it.  You like to be in control too much and you can't control natural hair all the time.

Shelly:  *snicker*  I was thinking what were you going to do with a whole head of natural hair.  

SIP:  Yeah...I could see her now with a comb stuck in her hair jumping in Deuce and rolling up on a stylist demanding IMMEDIATE attention.

 

 

Relaxed to Natural Transitioning WITHOUT the Big Chop

A few weeks ago I got a haircut by my stylist who usually cuts my hair every September and every March.

She's currently VERY pregnant.

She sat on a stool while she cut my hair, which she never does, and she kept telling me to sit up or scrunch down in the chair.

I did as I was told.

I didn't pay much attention because she's the person who has never cut it wrong.

See...I like my hair a certain length so I can get a nice ponytail.  If it's too long it makes me look like a horseface so I like it layered so it frames my face well.

The kid is a one trick pony.

SIP:  What's with all these horse references this morning?

Me:  Seriously...that's what you're focusing on?  Sheesh!  

N E WAY!

When she finished styling my hair it was very curly which confused me because we never do my hair very curly.

So I felt some kinda way.

I drove home and Robby scrunched up his face at my too tight curls.  

Robby:  What happened to your hair?  You look like an old lady.

SIP:  Not a good time dude.  Not a good time.

New Haircut!

 

 

What say YOU?

Wendy Williams Says Viola Davis’s Natural Hair Made Her Look Like A Man

 

SIP:  So what's Wendy's excuse for looking like a man?

Dri Sweat Headband

Shelly...CaliGirl...this is the one I bought at Target for $3.99. 

It works pretty well I think.  I think Tsiporah bought one too.  

Dri Sweat Edge Women's Headband

Grey's Anatomy: Black Baby, White Parents and HAIR

What say yall?  Grey’s Anatomy Tackles African-American Hair In Latest Episode

Sooooooooooo...

Can we talk about Precious last night?  Whose turn was it to watch her this week?  Tiffany?  Erica?  onefromphilly? 

Who dropped the ball?

 

Question from my inbox:

Monica, please ask the tribe if any of them started having breakouts in their face when they first went natural?  Thanks.

 

Me:  Hmmmmmmm...did you start using new products or something?

Natural Hair Salon Visits

Does it cost the same or more to get your hair done in a salon when your hair is natural?

A friend was on Facebook saying how much longer it takes to do a head of natural hair as opposed to how long it takes to do relaxed hair and saying this is why it costs more in her salong.

What do YOU think about that?

Self Cornrowing!

Could you put cornrows in your own hair?????????

I just tried and I have to say...for a first try...it's not half bad!  I could actually see me rocking this on occasion other than just to see if I could do it!  I tried to do it in the pattern of the picture below and it didn't take that long to do! 

I put it in a bun cuz the ends kept unraveling.  UGH!  What do you do for that?  I am NOT putting rubber bands on the ends so I guess bunning it up is going to have to do.

Cornrows!

I like this style of cornrows! 

SIP:  I just really wish they weren't done on a dude.

How many of you don't like cornrows on dudes?

Aveda Invati

Anybody try this yet?  Aveda Invati

Oil Sheen

Do any of you still use it?  If so...what kind?

What about hairspray?  If so...what kind?

Scenario...

You, your daughter and your ex-husband are Black.

Your ex-husband's current wife is White.

Your daughter is 9 years old and can't comb her own, VERY thick hair.

Her father has never been able to comb her hair either.

Your daughter is going to spend three months with her father and stepmother while you take a temporary assignment in another state.

What instructions do you leave for her hair maintenance?  Who do you tell this to?  Do you think it would be something that would concern you?  Would you be surprised if her hair care became an "issue?"

Yeah...okay...

I was at the hair salon the other day because I wasn't in the mood to do my own touch-up and it was way past time.

I went to a local stylist that a friend goes to because she had an opening same day.

The stylist was doing something to a woman's weave when I arrived.

The woman was cool so we all started talking.

That's Hot!

Scenario...

One of your best girls is getting married.

She has asked you to be in her wedding.

You agreed.

You've puchased all the crap you need to purchase, including your airline tickets, to take part in her celebration.

You get there and she's set up hair appointments for everyone the morning of the wedding.

COOL!

She pulls you to the side and tells you that she wants you to straighten your natural hair.

Are you offended?