The Tiny Closet

For Spring and Summer, I've been searching high and low for a few rompers to romp around in for the next 6 months...  My one and only lil altered vintage romper has been wearing down to the seams for the past 2 years so I thought my Tiny Closet was due for a bit of a refresh.  

It's been surprisingly hard to find a romper.  Or maybe I'm just surprisingly picky about rompers.  I suppose I shouldn't take it so seriously, I mean it's Spring and Summer wear - the easiest fashion of the year.  But since I'm showing a lot of skin, I need something that's well-fit and flattering.

And I did manage to spy one oh-so-cute romper while passing through Santee Alley with a bestie who was in town.  After trying it on, I think we made a good call.

Also, last weekend while romping it up, I got a haircut.  I've been yearning for a chic, tidy bob for ages but never thought it was possible because of my natural hair texture.  However, with my new hair routine of sporting more defined curls, I realized I can easily wear a curly bob!  So, before meeting my dad for brunch on Saturday, I got the scissors and my husband helped me cut a nice cropped wedge.  Ah, a fresh new S/S cut!


Here's to a fabulous beginning to the week!  
Hope you're having a great Monday :)   Check out some of the other rompers on my personal favorites list:

I was having some major styling issues with my hair recently.  It wouldn't.do.anything.  I couldn't even detangle it without shedding a tear or two and losing 2 hours of my day.  I knew something was wrong.  And just as I was picking up the electric shaver, I called my mother.

After an hour-long vent of cursing my mixed heritage, lamenting over getting my dad's hair and not my mom's latin waves, she asked me a simple question....

"When's the last time you trimmed your hair?"

I proceeded to count the years...

"4 years - to be exact."

yikes. embarrassing.

After that realization, I started re-thinking my hair story.  Was I the victim or has it been my hair all along?  I'd been trashing my hair.

 I pinpointed the most damaging things I do to my hair and began finding techniques to fix my habits.  One big solution was trimming.  I had to cut off four to 6 inches!! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!  It had to be done.  I also had to stop frying it with my blow dryer.

I got a new dryer.  A helmet dryer.  

The best helmet dryer on the market actually.  Eeee!

Pibbs Kwik Dri 514 Dryer

My blow dryer had been zapping all of the moisture out of my hair - even frying it and I had no clue.

She also asked me what products I'd been using.  [background: my mother is a retired hairstylist and an expert on natural coily hair]  

"Why can't you find Dove, L'Oreal or Tressemme at a salon??  Because stylists don't typically use them."

With my super fine, long, very tiny spiral curls I don't have the luxury (or time) of skimping on tested quality and buying drugstore products that have no professional proof of clear and positive results.  So I said goodbye the mediocre staples I'd been using and upgraded to some seriously fabulous stuff.  I had no idea what I'd been missing...

 I wanted to buy everything I picked up but the prices were triple what I'd been used to paying so baby steps:  Redken - a salon classic and Moroccanoil, the most valuable item in bathroom.

Redken: All Soft Shampoo / Moroccanoil: Intense Hydrating Mask (I use it as a daily conditioner)

I took my new toys out for a spin throughout the weekend and learned a lot.  Since I'd cut my hair oh-so-short, I wanted leeeeeeeength.  

I also wanted to keep my wash and go (because doing my hair causes me to have tantrums so the less I have to fuss with it the better).

Washing and going is not a great way to manage my type of hair once it's longer than like 8 inches.  Coily/kinky hair needs management.  

Shingling is the closest I could get to the wash&go.

my next best bet.  

I enjoy Miss Jessie's tutorials and they've broadened their 4-b/c hair tutorials so I was so excited to try their shingling method.

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So here goes...  This is my hair natural and wet after a shampoo and conditioner using the products displayed above.  

It was fully detangled in the shower, which only took 10 minutes!

1.  

Section

I sectioned my hair into 8 parts: 4 sections on each side.  And then an extra section for my bangs.  I only have 6 clips so I could only section half of my head at a time :)

2.

Shingle

Starting at the nape of my neck, I took parts of each section, re-wet it with my spray bottle and worked through a pea-size amount of my Moroccanoil styling cream into my hair.  Then I took my wide-toothed comb and ran it through, allowing my hair to begin clumping together into defined curls.  

I further defined the curls by wrapping them gently around my fingers.

step 1: apply styling cream to part of section / step 2: comb through hair / step 3: wrap curls around fingers

3.

Twist & Dry

Again, I wanted to retain as much length as possible so to add weight to my curls, I twisted them together into big sections - about 10 sections.  

Then popped my head under the dryer for a full hour.  

 The Pibbs dryer has a lot of heat settings and can get very very hot.  The first time I tried it, I used it's highest setting and my hair was fully dry in less than 30 mins.   BUT - higher heat settings zap the moisture from my naturally dry curls so I place the dryer on a cooler setting.  It takes more time to dry but my hair is shinier with plump, soft curls!

****************

After drying, I don't rush to the bathroom to untwist and style.  I let my hair settle a bit after being under the dryer.  The change in environment will aggravate the hair shaft a little (causing very light frizz).  I want to minimize frizz for my style so it's important to let my hair acclimate back to the air in my apartment while it's still in a twisted managed state before I let it free.  I clean up, do my makeup, get dressed, whatever.  

Ta da!   And the best part?   I only use 3 products and I only have to do this once to twice a week... with no maintenance!

But speaking of makeup....this is what I use now:

 I adore Milani, I swear by Bobbi Brown and e.l.f is a life saver!  

Bond No. 9 Central Park West is my signature scent and makes me weak in the knees smelling it even to this day.  

Moroccanoil Glimmer Shine is so far the best shine finishing spray I've ever used.  I spray it on as the very last thing right before I get dressed.  People have been asking me lately if I dyed my hair because the color is so deep and brilliant.  Nope, it's Glimmer Shine.

Antyways, that's a wrap for hair and beauty products for today.  I hope this new hair technique is fun, if you end up trying it for yourself.  It's so healthy and good for your curls!  It makes me feel like my curls are a blessing and not a curse.  And of course, you don't need a helmet dryer to get the same results.  Just do it the night before, wrap it and sleep with it overnight.  That works too.

I plan to talk more about Milani because this photo shows only a fraction of what I own of the Milani line.  I'm obsessssssssed with their lipsticks!!!!  More on that later.

What products do YOU swear by??

seriously, I want to know.  I think I opened a gateway...

Over the past week, I was experiencing a bit of a hair melt down.  

But I'm jumping ahead.

First, I should explain:  I've worn my curls au natural for almost 5 years now.  They started as a buzz cut and sprouted eagerly into shiny bouncy corkscrews all over my head.  And during this honeymoon period,  I fantasized about Chaka Khan curls cascading down my back - looking like this majestic curl goddess.  All I had to do was simply wait, right?  

And given the fact that I have superhuman fast-growing hair, waiting would be easy!  Yeah.

Well after five years, I've cut my hair so many times, clearly I couldn't "just wait".  Not because of any lack of patience I may have had but because the stages to get to long curls is a nightmare people!  Sure, 4-inch curls are a cinch but anything past 8 inches is agonizing.  Every time my hair would enter that danger-zone length, I would go insane from the maintenance and cut it off.  

But!  Last week, when my left eye began to twitch and my teeth started clenching at the thought of finger combing my neglected overgrown locks, instead of taking to the scissors like usual, I turned to the internet to find a simple, no-nonsense wash and go for longer natural curls (because I refuse to style my hair any other way - I mean, I have places to be you know?)

After hours of searching I finally stumbled across a hair blog that gave me a refreshed taste to go forward:  "Beads Braids & Beyond".  

Of course it would be a children's natural hair care blog that would give me the simplicity I need to not give up.  Of course it would.

Anyway, it was lil Miss A's hair care routine that got me to go to Target and finally get some new products to play with.  When I saw this cute little girl, I was like Chaka who?  This girl's hair is fierce.  

Little did I know, just playing around ended up changing my mind completely about hair products.  

They're totally amazing and I totally need them!!

This is a wash and go....  A wash and go, ladies!  Scroll down to get the deets on this miracle - needless to say, I'm loving my longer curls and I aint choppin' em off.

clockwise:  Shea Moisture Curling Gel Souffle / professional blowdryer / Dove Intensive Repair Conditoner / Denman brush / Kinky Curly Knot Today Natural Leave In/Detangler

The first thing that Miss A's mom discusses is her use of conditioner.  She uses lots and lots and lots of it!

So I did too.  In fact, I filled my whole palm and that alone made a noticeable difference when finger combing in shower.  It really is amazing how much moisture my hair type needs.

So onto the steps:

1.  

Condition

I got in the shower the next morning like usual.  I wet my hair completely.  Then I poured a palm size of Dove conditioner into my hand and glazed it over my hair, spreading it in thoroughly.  

Miss A's mom says she uses the cheap stuff.  Because with the huge amounts of conditioner that Miss A's hair needs for each wash, she doesn't want to break the bank with the expensive conditioners.  

It all gets rinsed out anyway.  This big size Dove conditioner was $5.

2.  

Detangle

After the conditioner had been worked into my hair I began finger combing and detangling.  Working from the left side of my head to the right.

After my hair was thoroughly detangled with my fingers, I put a golf ball size of conditioner into my hair and began detangling my hair with my Denman brush.  From bottom to top, starting on the left side of my head all the way to the right.  I hadn't done this in years.  Yikes!  That's when my curls began clumping up and springing back to life like a magic trick.

3.  

Rinse

With my hair completely detangled, I rinsed out all of the conditioner being careful not to agitate my curls.  I finger combed the conditioner out, avoiding causing new tangles.

4.  

Leave In Conditioner

Stepping out of the shower, I did not wring out my hair or pat it with a towel or touch it at all.  I allowed it to drip wet from the rinse without any kind of drying.  I immediately poured a golf ball size amount of Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave In into my hands and worked it into my hair, adding a little more to my ends.

At this point, my corkscrew curls have already formed all over like I had twisted them individually.  But I hadn't!  And I notice my hair has an incredible gloss!  Not a wet look but a healthy clean gloss.  Something I'd always had trouble achieving before without the use of a shine serum.  So glossy!!

5.  

Style

With the leave in conditioner fully absorbed into my dripping wet hair, I take a few paper towels and squeeze the excess water from my ends.  Then I carefully part my hair (making sure to not snap any tangles) and place the hair in the style I want to wear.  So for me, bangs in front with a top middle part.

Then I dip two fingers into my Shea Moisture Curling Gel Souffle and finger comb it into each section of my style.  Re-dipping for each section.  This will set my style and promote less shrinkage.  I didn't notice less shrinkage but I did notice my curls didn't frizz later that day.

6.  

Dry

Last, I turn on my blowdryer to a medium strength with a heat setting of cool.  Pointing it down while placing it over my head, the air blows my hair down, keeping it in place and setting it in the style I created.  At the beginning of blowdrying, I don't want to agitate the curls, I just want to dry them a bit so that I don't have wet hair.  I pull the curls down and extend them out so that they'll dry in a lengthened state.

Then after my hair is somewhat dry, I turn my heat setting to warm and point it upwards while placing it at chin level so that it blows my hair up.  I like volume.  

From this angle it also dries my roots and agitates the curls to pop more.

Miss A's mom doesn't use heat at all.  I do because I can't stand having wet or even damp hair when I go out.  With care, little damage can come of blowdrying so I'm not worried.

****************

So there you have it!  My new and improved wash and go routine for better hair and a saner me.  Hopefully it is easy to follow and do with your own hair potions.  

I used Kinky-Curly because that's what Miss A's mom uses and I liked the idea of using a leave in for once since my hair dries out so easily.  I love it.  I decided to use Shea Moisture because it happened to be on sale.  I would have bought the equivalent of Kinky-Curly styling gel but it was $20.  Maybe I'll try it in the future if it ever goes on sale.

If you have any questions, email me or leave a comment, I'd love to chat :)

And catch up with me again on Friday!  

I'm excited to show you a completely new outfit for a change!

It wasn't until I moved to the East Coast and saw natural girls all over the place.  One fabulous girl in particular, a Jewish/Italian curly girl told me to love my curls and get natural.  She turned me on to one of the best curly hair product lines in the world that I proceeded to use for the next 6 years almost exclusively.  Don't worry, I will share this magic potion.

But I was terrified to stop my relaxers.  So for a few years, I stopped straightening my hair and wore relaxed curls

With all the relaxing over the years, I started getting careless with the chemical and my hair began to deteriorate.  I was also getting tired of feeling like I had to hide my hair.  Like there was shame in having extremely curly locks.   So when Solange Knowles cut off her hair and didn't look back, Chris Rock unveiled real hair shame to the rest of America, and a new job sat me next to one of the most beautiful natural-haired girls I've ever met, I decided to start over.  Completely over!

I shaved everything off.

At first it was awesome.  Sinead O'Rebellion!!

And then it wasn't.  I felt completely unattractive.  I had realized my straight hair had become quite a crutch over the years acting as the majority of my "beauty" and with it all cut off, I wasn't sure where I stood...  I was completely vulnerable so even though it was kind of a pity party for that first year, I learned a lot.  About natural and about my hair.

I tried every product, watched every YouTube video and read every natural hair blog I could find.  I learned a lot because the information is invaluable of course (so soak it allll up!!).  I twisted, braided and bleached my hair in all sorts of experiments, and it's so much fun.  But I began to think I had to do some awesome laborious style every day to feel good about my hair.  So I let it all go and concentrated on me.

With all the vlogs and blogs and forums, the hardest pill to swallow was coming to terms with how realistic my natural haircare regimen would be as well as my ultimate hair expectations.

I wasn't going to magically have different hair or better hair or bigger curls if I tried a certain cream or serum...  all I could do with my hair was make it as healthy as possible and keep it that way.  Also, there are curly-girl sensations on YouTube and all over the web.  They spend lots of time styling their hair in a myriad of ways and using tons of amazing , different products - and they all look fabulous.  But that's not me. I don't like using a lot of products, I spend almost no time on my hair and for better or worse, that fact is what ultimately made me come to terms with going natural.

So let's get to it.

Regimen:

I don't like spending time styling my hair.  It's a personal thing.    I am a wash-and-go gal every single day and I use a blow dryer because I can't stand walking out of the house with wet hair.  Especially during the Winter.  

I wash my body every day.  Therefor I rinse my hair as well.  I NEVER use shampoo.  I use a cup of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.  I don't dilute it, I pour a cup full of it on my head and detangle my hair with my fingers.

For me, pure vinegar works like a charm.  Vinegar is a natural clarifier.  I use it daily to clean out any dirt/oil/conditioner build up from the day before.  It instantly makes my hair suuuuper soft and easy to detangle.  Who'da thought?

Sometimes I don't blow dry if I'm not in a hurry to get out of the house.  I find that when I do blow dry though, my curls don't shrink nearly as much and my hair is bigger.

Products:

1.  Dove - Nourishing Oil Care Line 

This whole line is amazing, making my hair soft and manageable in almost seconds.  It's a very simple daily line to keep my hair consistently pretty.  Also, it doesn't tend to build up easily.

2.  Redken All Soft Conditioner

Makes my hair shiny, fragrant and super soft.  It's a great all around conditioner and works well on my dense curly hair, which is impressive.  If you use, fill up your hand!

3. Devachan - Conditioner One 

This cream is thick as thieves.  Brilliant!  And makes my curls clump together more, making them thicker and more defined.  I only put this in my hair on special occasions though as it's very thick and tends to build up very fast.  It's a super humectant.  I have used every single product of Devachan and love it all.  It really is a revolutionary line for girls with major curls and kinks.  

To make my hair shiny, I simply hold my head over very cold water after I wash it.  The cold water closes the hair shaft making the "scales" (I call them) lay in one direction, causing the strands to reflect light - thus look shiny.  No product.  Just water ladies.

Since I'm a minimalist, I don't really like a lot of products in my bathroom.  I keep it simple with vinegar and one conditioner.  I go back and forth between Redken and Dove dependent upon where I am when I'm replenishing my toiletries and products.  Either Bartell's or Ulta.

SO!  I hope this has been helpful.  I know I don't take as much time with my hair as others, or use all the exotic brands that other curly girls are raving about but this is what works for me.  Maybe if you try some of my tricks, you'll have a positive experience.  If not, rinse and... try something else!  

Good luck!