*update*!

finally!i havent posted anything in over 8 months (wow, ikr?) BUT i'm back...with new info,and ready to do new reviews and things for 2012!Since I have a little bit more free time on my hands I can probably get back on my YouTube and blog flow...(you care lol). i'm about to go in. lol xoxo

Q & A: Dry Scalp

this morning i woke up inspired to do another post after i washed my hair. a friend of mine asked, "what should i use for my dry scalp?"...and this i can answer. of course everyone is DIFFERENT! some of us have dry skin vs oily skin. and what more is your scalp than skin? so my answer to my friend's question is...just alleviate the dryness at the source.
so with that being said...find an oil to massage your scalp with every night, or even if you want to, in the morning AND at night. not only will this help with dryness but it will stimulate your scalp as well...and it tends to be very relaxing! i have three favorite oils:

- Aphogee Essential Hair Oil
- Organic Root Stimulator Oil
- Doo Gro Oil (any formula)

**all of these products can be found at a local beauty supply store...like Hair Crown lol

I would also recommend washing your hair like once a week...simply because when you wash you hair, you're stripping your hair of natural oils that it already has. and if you have dry scalp...u don't want to make your scalp even more dry..get where I'm going? there are shampoos and conditioners that help combat dry scalp as well:

-KeraCare Dry and Itchy Scalp Moisturizing Shampoo/Conditioner (Sally's, Hair Crown...)
-Neutrogena Triple Moisture Dry Scalp Shampoo/Conditioner (Target, ULTA)
-Garnier Fructis Dry Scalp/Dandruff Shampoo and Conditioner (any drugstore)

**if I had dry scalp, i would probably go with the KeraCare because I know it caters to women of color.

NIOXIN also works well...but this would probably be for someone who has an extreme problem with dry scalp and dandruff. so i would try all other alternatives before Nioxin.


P.S.--> i heard drinking more water also helps with this, too. :)))

....natural vs. relaxed .... does it matter?

in recent years, i've noticed ALOT of changes in the way we (young african american women) are treating out hair. i would say maybe 1 out of every 5 girls these days are opting to go natural, meaning, embracing their own hair with no chemical alteration. i believe it makes them feel more confident, and for some it is the better choice. however, in my opinion, there's not really much of a difference with having relaxed OR natural hair, simply because i believe it all depends on how you maintain it.

i can speak on this subject because i've been natural twice. when i was 3, i got my first relaxer. That is definitely too young for any chemical processing. something traumatic happened and I ended up losing alot of my hair by the time I was 4, so my mom stopped putting relaxers in my hair and I started getting it pressed. I went back relaxed when I turned 8 and by the time I was 11 I was natural again, but only for a year. probably when most females our ages were getting spiral curls and wearing ponytails...i was wearing braids...and yes, I had an afro! i remember when i would beg my mom for a relaxer but she just wouldnt do it. when i turned 12, i was relaxed AGAIN and never thought about going back natural. i dont think its for me. i would go extremely short before i decide to go natural! but thats just me.

so while being relaxed...do I struggle with my hair? no. and i personally believe that its because of the grade of hair that i have. has being relaxed ever broke my hair off? no! i've experienced breakage before, and i blame that on OVERmaintenance, stress, and me being experimental (lol). but...we live and we learn.

not too long ago, i had a talk with a few close friends and family members about why they would rather be either natural or relaxed. my best friend is natural and she loves it...and has vowed to never go back to a relaxer. "My hair never got bone straight with a relaxer," she states. "I dont have to worry about scalp burns, and I love the versatility of having my hair curly one day or straight the next. The biggest plus is that I get to have big hair all the time and it is CHEAP!". I asked my cousin how does she feel about her sandy, midback length relaxed hair and she said, "I wouldnt ever go natural because my hair is way too thick. it really needs to be straight all the time. long as i keep my hair in top condition, i love it this way." Another friend said that she wouldnt ever get a relaxer because she doesn't want to ruin her curl pattern, and my mom, who is relaxed, just simply said, "relaxed hair looks better."

i know other people feel like that the "natural hair thing" is a trend, saying that it doesnt look good on everybody. though this may be true, i feel that whatever you must do to your hair to boost your confidence, do so.i don't believe that one way is more healthier than another, because i've seen ladies who are relaxed grow their hair, and i've seen ladies who are natural do the same. therefore, do whatever you FEEL. don't base it on what you see or what you hear, because what works for one may not work for you. love yall xoxo ;)

#teamNATURAL::









#teamRELAXED

got a sew in? manage it!

ok this is my LAST post for today. I've been getting alot of questions about what can you or can't do with a sew in. I'm not a licensed cosmetologist (yet) lol but i know a lil bit about somethin from experience! i know some people in particular are skeptical about getting a sew in because they fear their hair falling out. i've been sewing in my own hair as well as other people's for a while now and i can honestly say no one has experienced any breakage, simply because its not just about caring for the weave itself; you have to care for your natural hair too.

Soooo here are a few things I've come across when it comes to taking care of my weave and natural hair. just four little things:

1) make sure the braids are NOT too tight. tight braids already put tension on your hair, so imagine how much extra tension will be on it when sewing. ouch! however, you do want to make sure that they are firm enough to hold the tracks, and secure each track at the end to make sure they don't slip.

2) while your natural hair is in braids, oil your scalp. if you allow your scalp to remain dry...of course that itches, and that might lead to breakage as well. if not every day, try to oil your scalp every other day. Good oils to use are: Aphogee Essential Oil for Hair, any type of Doo Gro oil, and Organic Roots Stimulator oil.

3)dont be afraid to wash your hair, even with the tracks in. Treat it just like you would if you didn't have the tracks in! pay more attention to washing your scalp, though. My favorite shampoo/conditioner to use when I have a sew in is Herbal Essence "Hello Hydration"...it works wonders! make sure u comb out your hair with a wide tooth comb as well! blow dry or air dry...i prefer blow drying, unless i had a wet and wavy weave. while blow drying, continue to comb out the hair so it wont tangle. afterwards...flat iron or curl!

4)tie your hair up at night. just because it says it has minimum tangling doesnt mean that it wont tangle. wrap it, pin curl it, or add flexi rods to it at night to keep the style and to protect it. it WILL make your hair last longer. of course, put a satin scarf or bonnet on before you call it a night.

xoxo :)

latest sew-in/weave review: EnStyle Micro Perm Yaki

omg i been bloggin all day lol but i had to get this thing updated. anyways...i did another sew in! just because I really wanted one. i got the same type of hair i used for my cousin's sew in, and its EnStyle Micro Perm Yaki. Here's the deal on this hair. Its NOT A-1. Meaning that, in my opinion, it wont last a month. I'm going to have to give this hair alot of TLC to make it last until my next weave ( I know I wont be getting this hair again!). it works well when you're looking for something temporary, and the price is right for the quality. I currently have 10in installed in colors 4 and 30. both packs were $13.99 (yes, 13.99 lol) I don't like the way it curls, it isn't silky..blah blah blah. I'm going to keep it in as long as it allows though! so my first thoughts on this hair...I definitely wouldnt recommend if you're looking for something long term, meaning...a month or two.

MIZANI baby...;)

ok. you can hear a thousand good reviews about a product but you won't truly understand the worth until you try it on your own. once i colored my hair, i knew that i was going to need a really REALLY good shampoo and conditioner to maintain my hair's health. i asked my dad, who is a licensed barber, what should I use and he suggested Mizani. So i did tons of research on it, and decided to go out and purchase a shampoo and conditioner. Now Mizani has different types of shampoos and conditioners depending on what your hair needs. In my case, I went for something that would keep my hair moisturized from the roots to the ends because of this color! I love the way it smells, and the shampoo doesnt dry my hair out. the conditioner does exactly what its supposed to do as well. i spent $13.99 on the Botanifying Shampoo and $13.99 on the Moisturefuse Conditioner. A month after using my Mizani, i noticed how manageable my hair was and how I didnt have any breakage, even 3 months after being color treated. When it was time for my relaxer, I definitely knew I had to get Mizani. They even have a special type for color treated hair. I bought a whole tub from the beauty supply store for $17.99. Would I recommend Mizani to anyone? YES i would!!!!

color me HONEY.!

while sitting at home one day, i felt like doing something random. i had been talking about coloring my hair for a while, so i finally decided to do it. the only thing that was discouraging me was the fear that my hair might break off like it did with a previous color i had. but i know what the cause of that was...strictly heat damage. this time, i decided to go another route with the hair coloring thing. i wanted a nice, light brown for the summer but i ended up getting a nice shade of blonde. i used Clairol's Textures and Tones in Honey Blonde. i didnt dye my whole head, just the top portion. so it looks nice against the my natural color in the back. the color had to grow on me...i was getting lots of compliments on it, though! as my roots are growing out, i'm really beginning to like it. its been three months now ;)

weave review: Outre' Duvessa Remi

umm yeah. this was my first brand of remi i've ever tried and it turned out to be EXCELLENT. i wore this for about a month and it still looked good as new when I took it out. The only reason why i took it out was because it was time for my relaxer. Would I recommend Duvessa? YES I WOULD! When I curled this hair with my curling iron the curls were SO pretty, like waves! I got two packs, 10 in. 1B, for $55.99 a pack. I definitely was expecting this hair to be more expensive. The hair could be reused, but I didn't get to because I dyed my hair honey blonde (lol). Anyways here are pics of the Duvessa:

another sew in...january ish

this is just a sew in i did on myself in january. i was beginning another semester in school, and i needed something that would be off my collar for clinicals. i have to say...this is my favorite short one i've ever done. I used Bijoux duby hair in 1B, and layer cut it just a bit ;)

Weave Review: Sensationnel Premium Now

ok... i've been wearing weaves for about a year and a few months now. i've done all types of brands and styles but i have to say that THIS is my FAVORITE one. As far as beauty supply store hair, you won't find anything much better than this. Milky Way, Zury, Outre...are all good brands but I personally feel like this is the best of them all.

I've worn this brand of hair twice and, besides my remy, it has had the best longivity. My first install with this hair was in the beginning of September 2010 and I took it out around October 5. It could have lasted alot longer, but I wanted a longer length.

PRICING>>> the average price for this hair in beauty supply stores in Baton Rouge begins at about $32.99 for a 10 in. and of course the prices go up a few dollars with length.

With all of this being said, i rate this hair a 10 for its quality. Its not remy but its really, really close!

STORES IN BATON ROUGE THAT CARRY THIS HAIR
**Hair Connection on Florida Blvd.
**Dream Beauty Supply on N. Foster
**Beauty Supply Warehouse on Florida Blvd.
(may be other places also, but those are ones i know for sure)

WEBSITES WHERE YOU CAN PURCHASE THIS HAIR
**amazon.com
**clairehair.com
**blackhairspray.com
(and many more, just google it)

back! plus updates and ishhh

i havent realized i've been gone for so long! between school and everything else, i kinda forgot about this.! anyways....alot of my friends and a couple of my sorority sisters have been asking me alot about weave lately. thats kinda why i decided to get back on this blog thing...but from january til now, so much has changed with this hair situation of mine. so to all of those interested...stay tuned for my millions of new posts! lol xoxo :)

NEW sew in :)

oook so i felt like it was time for me to get another sew in, just to protect my hair...and of course, i needed something low maintenace since school has started back. this is my FIRST full head install...and i'm pretty darn impressed with myself. however, i can tell that i'm not going to be a "full head weave" kind of girl. Before I go in on the sew in, here's the rundown on my natural hair. Ummm i'm currently 5 weeks post, and I'm going for 6 or 7.

***INFO ON THE HAIRSTYLE***
INSTALL DATE: january 5, 2011
HAIR USED: Bijoux Duby Queen, 8 in, Color 1B
Full Head Install, closure, cut into a shag-like bob, with a bang.

MINI product haul, skin care regimen, hair updates blah blah blah :)

ooook so i havent been on in a while. sucks that i dont have any followers but i like this as a online hair and beauty journal. soooo firstly, i went on a mini product haul [[yaay]] to treat my hair to some new goodies. i always wanted to try some paul mitchell Tea Tree conditioner, you know, to give my scalp that tingly feeling. So i wander off in Sally's and i DONT see the p. mitch, but i DO see GVP--compare to paul mitchell's Green Tea blah blah blah. i honestly don't mind the price of a product, but the quality. however, the GVP brand was only 10.00, as compared to p mitch's that is 23.00. So i purchased that AND the GVP generic brand of p. mitch's "Thicken up" [simply because i like using a thickening serum on my hair before blow drying]. So im gonna give it a go on tomorrow and rate it. NEXT i went to dollar general and decided to pick up on some Suave Tropical Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner. Im a sucker for a thick, creamy, milky looking product because idk, it just looks quite moisturizing. Plus, on the bottle it says "2x moisture" so we're gonna see about all of that.

skin cccaaaarreeee..something i always hadn't been a fan of but, im gonna give this thing a try. as a teen, i've always had acne which lead to facial scarring [those ugly black marks]and i've decided to go ahead and try something to um...work this out. So while at walmart yesterday, I picked up on a few things. Well, I previously had the Clean and Clear Acne Face Wash which does quite well for me. I purchased Biore 3 in 1 astrigent and Clean and Clear Dual Moisturizer. I use those products, in order as listed, twice a day. I'm going to try this out for 6 weeks. so today is my official start day, and my end day is February 8.

hair updates! sooo i took my sew in out like december 11 and relaxed my hair but i underprocessed it which SUCKS. but anyways, so long to box relaxers. my dad is a barber, and suggested that i UPGRADE to mizani. im really looking forward to it, because i always wanted to go with a professional relaxer. however i'm debating on relaxing my hair or putting in another sew in. if i do another sew in, i will do it next thursday or friday on the 8. not sure though. i dont wanna relax too soon, and with this sew in, i might not leave any of my hair out and do a bang. decisions, decisions.

thats all for now, more later. xoxo

fall 2010 trend: taupe nails

ok...i have the taupe boots, sweaters, etc. and i'm feeling allll ready for the season! personally speaking, i've always wanted a taupe-like nail polish. although i know that OPI has the best polishes for every season, i was definitely not looking forward to spending $9 on a shade. While grazing the beauty isles at wal-mart, i found EXACTLY what i was looking for. check it out:







Pure Ice: Taupe Drawer... 2.50, walmart stores :)

sewwwww- in ;)

im uber-excited to post this...finally. thanksgiving/bayou classic was this past weekend, and i wanted to do something different with my hair. i wanted to do something all the way new...something that was, idk, "trendy". so...i looked to the DASH sisters for total inspiration. here's the look:

I used Milky Way Que in a 12 inch, and it was only $14.99, and Sensationnel Premium Now Yaki in a 10 inch, which was $32.99. Now, please believe me, they are definitely different in quality, which is why i totally understand the price difference. Milky Way Que is good, but NOT for a long term weave. I've had great experiences with Sensationnel though. I did a previous sew in and it lasted 7 weeks. The hair wasnt bad;; it was just time for my natural hair to be relaxed, so it couldve gone even longer. Overall, I definitely like the style and it served the purpose. Next style...? who knows!!! ;)

xoxo_KAE

To Catch Up....~*

Being that I am in school, I've been gone for a really long time {nursing school will have you forgetting your own name sometimes} buuuut i'm back and I'm ready to share some awesome news. I cut my hair in June 2010... and i was devastated after I did it. The cut was cute, but I really missed my hair :(. So to implement, I just wore weaves for about two months straight. I took my hair down in August, and noticed that it was alot thicker than it was before the weaves. I then cut it all to the same length (which was EL at the time) and then continued to put weaves in for another two months. My last weave was in October and I was sooo pleased when I removed the weave this time{October 24}, relaxed and roller set, and my hair came out really nice. So since then, I've been washing and roller setting once a week, and I will be putting another weave in on Wednesday.

*The Basic Duo--> Moisture && Protein =)

because we have a unique hair type, our hair is definitely prone to what?? shedding and breakage!!! aaaahh!!! Relaxed or natural, its all apart of the hair cycle. however, if experienced excessively, it could be due to a health problem or a more simpler cause...an imbalance of protein and moisture, which are two basic necessities for healthy hair.

0ne.) moisture
think about your hair as a plant. what if the plant is recieving all of the nutrients it needed, except water? it would be very dry...brittle...thirsty looking...and it definitely won't grow! of course, the best moisture source for our hair would be water. washing your hair at least once a week will leave your hair feeling revitalized! certain products are also great for moisture. i know for a fact, my hair does really well with moisturizing shampoos, conditioners, and lotions. one thing that i've learned about moisturizing products is that they will NOT contain things like mineral oil and lanolin...so i tend to watch out for those. alot of people "seal" their moisturizers with an oil, like jajoba or carrot oil, but i just let my natural oils seal.

two.) protein
when you think of protein, you know that it is an essential part of our diets. well, it is also an importan part of keeping our strands their strongest. hair is basically made up of keratin...and keratin is...yep, a protein. i remember when i had extreme breakage from a color that i got when i was 18. it was a mess trying to get rid of it! my hair was very weak. from doing research, i found that protein based products can help reconstruct your strands to get them back healthy. i had a great experience with aphogee, thanks to ateya (www.youtube.com/ateyaaa or www.smuvecomplexions.com), and that aphogee shook my hair ALL the way back.! it actually strengthened my hair from the root, which is an excellent benefit of protein. now that the strength of my hair has been retained, i still use a protein based deep conditioner.

in a nutshell, we NEED both moisture and protein to maintain the health of our hair. if you notice that your hair is healthy, then your balance is pretty much okay. but if you notice the excessive breaking or shedding and its NOT due to an underlying health condition, you should try incorporating both types of products when caring for your hair.

*for more info on this, you can check out www.hairliciousinc.com or just GOOGLE it =)

xoxo, kae <3.

second post: hair protection: WRAP IT UP!

okay, so i know that eeeevvverrrrybody knows that if you have relaxed hair, maintenance is killer.! and because its so delicate, we do all we can to keep it from breaking off, shedding,etc. Thanks to the internet, I have learned sooo much about hair care, and I am continuously educating myself. As a matter of fact, here are two websites that have nothing but answers to questions : www.hairlista.com and www.blackhairmedia.com . I defintely LOVE them both. Of course, youtube also has it all.
The most VALUABLE thing that I have learned is that you want to protect your hair and protect your ends. Of course length is beautiful, but you won't get great length if health doesn't begin from the roots. Alot of people believe that you can still hold on to "straggly" ends and claim that as length. Not really, if its dead ends.! Personally, I love blunt ends. No see through...all you see is hair! lol. Protecting your hair is also important. I've learned that no matter what the style, Always protect it at night with a satin headwrap, bonnet, or pillowcase. Alot of women, even they are relaxed, wear protective styles. Protective styles are those that require low maintenance on the natural hair, like braids, weaves, buns, etc. They help grow your hair, and less damage is done. Of course, my favorite protective styles are sew ins. I'll talk about that more when I discuss the different types of weaves.
Soooo in a nutshell, to get your hair to its healthiest state, start from the root, protect the hair, and the ends.! ALWAYS.! <3

first post: the intrHAIRduction

Hey Everybody.!
For those who dont know me, I'm KAE.!
Ever since I could remember, I loved playing in hair.
Every doll I owned had a different hairstyle [lol]
And as I got older, I realized it was something that I LOVE to do.
By far, my most favorite thing would be cutting and weaving.
I am in nursing school now; but once i graduate, I will then begin to work on my second career,
which is of course, cosmetology--->specializing in weave and healthy hair care.
My INSPIRATION is Reneice, and ya'll will see me talk about her ALL THE TIME.! as a matter of fact, GOOGLE HER, and you'll see why :).
Ok this is nothing but me rambling about nothing sooooo....next post.!