Dominican Blow-Out: Yay or Nay

So, after years of debating whether or not to go for it, I decided a few weeks ago to get my very first Dominican blow-out. Typically, I straighten my hair a few times a year, but it was a disaster the last time I tried. My hair has just gotten too thick and too long for me to successfully straighten my hair myself.

 

Ends were curled with a flat iron. Not my style, but...

It's been more than two decades since a professional had touched a single strand on my head. So, having my hair washed loose was a little unnerving. But, she scrubbed my scalp really well AND deep conditioned under the dryer, so her washing technique allowed me relax a little.

Very impressed with how smooth and shiny my hair is.

After my hair was washed and conditioned, detangling started and that's where I really have issue. Never, ever, ever in my life has a hair dresser detangled my hair beginning at the roots, but this one did. And, she was merciless and ruthless about it. By the time she got to the last section to be placed on the huge purple rollers, I think she was tired of detangling because I know that section wasn't completely detangled before she put it on the rollers. 

A back view of the loveliness.

Once rolled, I had to sit under the dryer for about two hours. And, I had to sit perfectly still as my head barely fit under the dryer. Thank God I'd brought a juicy book with me to read or I would've died from bordeom. 

 

First Week: I love my pony tail!

Summer Recap

I hadn't realized four months had gone by since my last posting, but I guess that shows that I've had a busy and incredibly fun summer!

Wash Day sales are still going strong and steady, and I've even mentally developed/physically tested a few new products for release later this year! One is a castor oil version of Bounce Butter, one of my bestsellers, and another is a black hair grease! I also might be discontinuing a product and replacing it with another...as soon as I figure out what that is!

I've also had the opportunity to try out a few hair product samples, but they're nothing to write home about. In the future, if I try something that works, I'll review it. Otherwise, I won't waste my or your time.

But, since this was a beautiful summer filled with ideas and intrigues, I haven't been spending much time indoors or on the computer except to catch up on emails and Facebook posts. And, it's been worth disconnecting from technology for bits at a time. 

With time away from cyberworld, I started riding a bicycle! Not only did I start riding, I painted an old bicycle and am now up to 3-4 miles per trip! We have lots of trails to ride in our near future.

Isn't she lovely? Her name is Sassy!

As if that wasn't enough, I decided we should go camping over Labor Day weekend. I don't know why or where I got the idea, but it didn't take much to talk the man into it! We stayed two days and two nights at Muskegon State Park and had an absolute blast, especially when we decided to go on an impromptu hike! Due to physical limitations, I didn't even think I could or even wanted to hike because I absolutely hate walking, but I LOVE hiking and can't wait to hit some area hiking trails.

Our camping experience was so amazing, I've acompiled a Pinterest wishlist of everything I want to buy for future camping trips and we even have Memorial Day weekend's camping trip planned! I'm trying to talk the man into camping once a month next year until it gets too cold...I'm still trying to convince him.

Hanging out inside our tent!

Of even greater personal significance are the Facebook page and web site I found for black people who enjoy camping and hiking. While I did see another black family, as well as an Asian family and several Hispanic families during our trip, I believe more of my people need to go camping! It's a great way to bond with your loved ones without any distractions, it's relaxing (lowers blood pressure), provides for healthier eating options, and is great way to get in some unexpected exercise. 

As for camping with natural hair, I must say it couldn't have been any easier. I pre-planned to wash my hair upon our return, so I kept my hair in some big sloppy twists all weekend. If my scalp felt itchy, I'd just duck my head under the shower (we stayed on campgrounds with modern bathrooms) or dip it in Lake Michigan! Without having to worry about hair and makeup, this trip was a much-needed reprieve from everyday life. I suggest you give it a try.

Wash Day Giveaway!!!!

If you missed the first giveaway, here's your second chance!

http://www.theninanetwork.com/naturalnina/2013/05/natural-nina-giveaway-wash-day-conditioning-pack/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theninanetwork%2Fbmrx+%28Natural+Nina%29

Why does your hair get all of the attention?

You have probably spent countless hours and dollars on natural hair techniques and products, but what about your skin? If you're trying to drink more water and eat healthier, kudos to you! But like hair, skin needs nourishment inside AND out.

If you rely on lotion to moisturize your skin, I'm sad to tell you that's not enough. In fact, you might be harming your skin, especially if you use lotions whose ingredients are varied and hard to pronounce. If you're wondering why, think about it this way...lotion is to skin what conditioner is to hair. So, if you're careful about what you put on your hair, why wouldn't you be careful about what you put on your skin?

With that in mind, Wash Day has finally launched an all-natural soap line! All soaps are made by me and contain only the same oils and butters you find in all-natural hair products! Some are scented. Others are not! 

And they feel so good on the skin!

If you haven't stopped by the Wash Day Etsy site in a while, there are some minor changes, but three of several new soaps to be posted weekly are there for you to try! And, stay tuned because new batches of soap are made every Saturday and will be uploaded as soon as they're ready for the public!

Hair's Summer!

The time has arrived to unleash the kinks and curls and wear your hair OUT! Sometimes, ye' old twist-out can get tired, boring and predictable so try this on for size!

I've debated having layers cut in my hair, but have figured out a way to manipulate my hair to make it look like I have layers when I actually don't! And it freshens up the twist-out look!

So, I washed and conditioned my hair as usual prior to twisting finger-size sections of hair. The catch is, I did bantu knots on the top half of my hair and the bottom is just regular two-strand twists. I let it dry for two days (that's my average drying time now) and gently untwisted. BUT, I didn't separate them. And if you're digging my shine, I get maximum shine without the greasy feel via my Bounce Butter. Did I forget to mention that Bounce Butter will maintain your curls and coils for a full week without reapplication and your hair will move with every step you take?! If you haven't gotten your hands on it yet, take it from me, Bounce Butter is a summer must-have!

Bounce Butter is available at https://www.etsy.com/shop/HairProducts.

And stay tuned. I've been cranking out more soaps!

Pink Himalayan Salt cakes with my custom Ocean fragrance blend.

Rich, creamy unscented castille soap topped with spirulina and Dead Sea Salt.

Chained to the Kitchen

I've been having so much fun this past month! While keeping up with steady Wash Day sales and working my day job, I've been crafting handmade soaps every Saturday! I got started with a sea kelp soap scented with sweet almond oil and sprinkled with yellow cornmeal. But, my next two babies are my pride and joy!

We all know how good chocolate is for our hair, but it also does wonders for the skin, too! So, here's the creamiest soap you'll ever use. Made with shea butter and cocoa butter, this luxe lathering soap also contains 100 percent organic cocoa powder and is scented a warm, deep dark chocolate! So far, this is my favorite soap as it made my skin so soft and silky!

I haven't met a natural yet who doesn't love coconut oil, so this one is sure to be a winner as it's 100 percent coconut oil and nothing else...well, it's got a little something. This lightly fruit-scented soap contains little grains of toasted coconut and swirls of rice flour throughout! And the bubbles, oh my, the bubbles this little beauty creates!

Not sure what's on the horizon yet for this coming Saturday's soapmaking session, but I'm thinking of the ocean. Stay tuned!

P.S. Did I mention that I'm going to learn the old-fashioned art of canning next month?!

Handmade soap, anyone?

What a busy month it's been! Wash Day orders have been flying out the door and I've added a completely new product to the Wash Day line...handmade soap!

Protective gear from head to toe is a MUST! Not cute, but necessary.

I started with an almond-scented soap with sea kelp and yellow cornmeal. It might not be pretty, but it smells amazing and the kelp and cornmeal have nourishing and exfoliating properties! My second batch of soap is incredible. Dark chocolate-scented, this soap is a shea butter and coconut oil blend that contains raw cacao. It made my hands softer than any lotion or hand cream I've ever used.

Here I am mixing my oils, butters and lye!

This coming weekend, I'll be making a 100 percent coconut oil soap with bits of raw coconut mixed throughout. Later this month, I'll add a goat milk soap or two. Sadly, after the soaps are made, they take at least a month to cure so these beauties won't be on my sites for a while yet.

Preview of the chocolate soap. It's much darker now.

But while the soaps are curing, don't forget to stock up on Bounce Butter! Twist-out season, if it's not already here, is rapidly approaching, but your twist-out won't be the best it can be without Bounce Butter! And while you're at it, don't forget to grab a tub of Brownie Butter to help wake up your hair as it comes out of winter hibernation!

Wash Day Launches New Products!

It feels like I've been in production forever, but alas, it was worth it and four new products are on the Wash Day shelves! Let me introduce you:

• Red Hot Grease: Imagine tiny fingers massaging your scalp 24/7. That's what this herbal oil blend of castor oil, pimiento oil, cayenne pepper, and sea buckthorn and saw palmetto essential oils feels like as it gets to waking up those sleepy follicles to help you grow some hair. 

Red Hot Grease is for sleepy follicles.

Natural bright orange-red color.

• Vedi Good Grease: I love all things Ayurvedic, so why not an Ayurvedic hair grease? A blend of hibiscus, amla, shikakai, brahmi, neem, orange and bhringraj powders, will help strengthen, thicken and darken your hair while adding lustrous sheen and shine, and correcting any topical scalp issues.

Vedi Good Grease is very good Ayurvedic hair grease!

Natural greenish yellow color.

• Green Grower's Grease: This nourishing blend of sweet almond oil, horsetail, coltsfoot, blue malva, nettle leaf and burdock root herbs, and rosemary, sage and carrot seed essential oils will fertilize your scalp and give those follicles the food they need to help you grow strong, healthy hair. It's also soothing to itchy scalps!

Green Grower's Grease is the fertilizer your scalp needs!

A natural fun almost neon green color.

• Brownie Butter: This rich, creamy dark chocolate deep conditioner comprised of bentonite clay, cocoa butter, avocado oil, cocoa powder, espresso powder and neutral henna will cure whatever's ailing your hair, and make those kinks, coils and curls pop out all over the place. Just mix these solid deep conditioning cubes with your choice of hot water, aloe vera juice or coconut water or milk, and let Mother Nature work her magic. This is a sinfully delicious treat for your hair!

The ultimate deep conditioning experience.

Chocolate's not just for eating!

If you haven't been by the shop lately, you're missing out! And, stay tuned for an update on my own hair as it comes out of winter hibernation!

New Wash Day products and changes!

It's been a minute since I've posted anything, but I haven't forgotten you guys! Just wanted to give a brief update...I've been MIA because I've been developing and testing new products! In the next couple weeks, Wash Day will be expanding a little bit to include four new items! 

Green Grower's Grease, Red Hot Grease and Vedi Good Grease are my newest babies! Green Grower's Grease, pictured below, is an herbal infusion that feeds the follicles! Not pictured are Red Hot Grease which is an herbal and spice blend to stimulate the follicles to encourage hair growth, and Vedi Good Grease which is a blend of seven Ayurvedic herbs to help you develop strong, healthy hair.

Green Grower's Grease

Also in the works are Brownie Butter conditioning bars. I'm super excited about these as they are deep conditioning bars teeming with the indulgent nutrients of chocolate, coffee, cocoa butter and a few other goodies for your hair! These edible-looking nuggets, mixed into any hot liquid and then slathered onto the scalp, has a high butter content which makes them super easy to rinse out.

Brownie Butter

I plan to launch these new products in about two weeks...just waiting on packaging and enough raw ingredients to produce large batches.

And, stay tuned for a redesigned Wash Day web site and a few more new products a little later this year!

New Sofn'Free product review

This weekend, I was pleasantly surprised when samples of Sofn'Free's GroHealthy's Nothing But line showed up in my mailbox. Among the samples was their Intense Healing Mask. Y'all know me...I love deep conditioners, so I decided to give this a try first but not without some hesitation.

This smelled like peppermint even though there's citrus oil in it.

First, it's "made with nothing but simple ingredients," and "it penetrates deeply to repair, soothe and smooth damaged, brittle hair," while also touting that " In no time, your curls will bounce back with renewed health and vigor." Second, it proposes to repair "weak, fragile hair" and is "real help for transitioning."

I don't know about you, but when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is because only a pair of scissors can repair damaged hair. Regardless, I decided to give it a try with my steamer. Oh, but wait! What's in this stuff? To my dismay, the ingredients weren't listed on the packaging or enclosed informational brochure so I had to hop on the Internet. Look what I found!

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycine Soja (Soybean Oil),  Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Oil, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Acetamide MEA, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Panthenol, Propylene Glycol, Sorbitol, Sodium Cocoyl Collagen, Amino Acid, Cocoyl Sarcosine, Wheat Germ Acid, Triticum Vulgare Oil (Wheat Germ), Linolenic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Sulfur, Oleth-10, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Jojoba), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycansance, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, d-Limonene, Linalool, and Citral.

That's a mouthful, huh? Even more interesting is that while this product line is void of petrolatum, mineral oil, sulfates, parabens, colorants and phthalates, it does contain silicones! Personally, I'm not afraid of cones, but you might want to avoid this product line if you're picky about what you put in your hair. Sofn'Free says Nothing But is "simple," but how simple can it be with more than 20 ingredients?

Enough's enough! Now for the product review! This minty cream feels very pleasant in the hair. It smooths snarls and tangles, it spreads easily and evenly, and it washes out fairly well. Beyond that, my hair didn't feel or behave any differently. Maybe I would've noticed a difference if my hair was suffering from damage, shedding or thinning, but I keep it in a protective style throughout winter so it's relatively strong and healthy.

Overall, I can't say yay or nay to this one. But, I can say that at $10.99, this won't be part of my arsenal when it comes to deep conditioning treatments. I've found cheaper deep conditioners, i.e. LeKair Cholesterol for $2 or $3, that work much better at a fifth of the cost. Nice try Sofn' Free, but no coils up for you!