Hi…

Hi. I’m back. It’s been a while and I’ve been all over the place. Had to take some time to sort out some things, try some things, undo some things. Just like all other things in life, I guess.

I was still online, for those of you who didn’t follow me. For those of you who did and still stuck with me, thank you.

I am no longer an all-natural-everything product junkie. I am now willing to try store bought products and remix them to my delight. I big chopped my hair last year and was very happy with it. I spent some time straightening it, just for the hell of it.

That’s when I learned to let go a bit. I was beginning to feel like I had to be just about my hair, which I was not. It was taking up a lot of my time blogging about it instead of just enjoying my hair and sharing it.

I had spent all of my youth going back and forth between natural and relaxed, not for any other reason than boredom. Having it straight reminded me of why I liked it curly, so I went back.

I was sick for a while and my brother passed away so it wasn’t a fantastic year. But, I took up photography – self portraits mostly, vacationed more, met some awesome people, did a ton of offline things, and am feeling much better about who I am and where I’m going.

I’m glad to have this blog back up. I’m glad that I can feel better after so many many months of not. I will share the hair care things I love when I can. For photography, life, and non-hair things, you can follow me on my other blog.

And because this is a hair blog, I’ll leave you with a hair product I’ve been using and like quite a bit: L’Oreal’s Re-Nutrition Deep Moisture Mask. I’ll do a full post on it soon.

Braid Out: No product, just a little water.

Photo: Rob D., Creative: Kelly P.

Fluffing it Out!!

I’ve started to wear my hair out a little more. Been so use to tying it back and not experiencing the freedom of just letting it flow. So I’m doing that – I’m letting it go and fluffing it out. It’s fun, especially for the summer.

I am the queen of jackets, by the way. If my house was on fire and I had to save something from my closet, that would be it. And that concrete wall behind me? It’s just an exceptional piece of award-winning office design. No lie, my building won awards. I guess concrete was in style that year…

Homemade Conditioner

Update: PLEASE put it in the fridge if you’re going to make a big patch. I didn’t use preservatives and forgot to put mine in the fridge and lost it all. Will do again, sans soy protein, when I find a natural preservative that’s hair friendly.

I tried to make my own conditioner. Tried because I thought I had it under control.

Then it started to get a little thick! I was trying to thicken with soy protein powder but then I dumped the whole thing in without checking the consistency…

I added a little more aloe juice, almond oil, and coconut oil to make it more consistent and less clumpy. I thought I had ruined it.

The results? It was good! I tried using it as a conditioning shampoo and it cleansed my hair quite well and was the best detangler I’ve ever tried. It worked so well that when I went to put a little coconut oil in my hair for styling, it ended up being too much. My hair was already fine the way it was.

I stuck the bulk of it in plastic containers for storage.

Ingredients:

Almond oil
Coconut oil
Aloe Juice (but you can use aloe vera gel too)
Coconut milk
Honey
Soy protein powder
Glycerin

Here’s my hair a couple days after.

And check out the shirt I got at WordCamp Chicago! Loves it! But it’s not like I believe it or anything…

Trying Something New: Semi-Bangs

The front of my hair was getting long and I started to notice that I was always pulling it back. Sooooooo, I did a little snip snip to shape it up!

Waddya think?

And another angle.

In these pics, I had twisted my hair with eco styler gel and a touch of coconut oil. The gel is surprisingly good. I still don’t like gels, but it did the job with minimal flaking AND I could wear it in a twist out for several days without any repercussions. YAY!

My Natural Hair on DailyBooth

Didn’t I just say a few posts ago that I would be posting more frequently? Well obviously I overestimated my blog ethic.

Anyway, I’ve joined DailyBooth…so you can see my many hair styles whenever you want. http://www.dailybooth.com/kandeezie.

I’ve been taking regular pictures at work of the many hairstyles I have but didn’t really want to be hounding this blog with daily pics. Now I’ve found the place to put them. I won’t be posting the old ones on DailyBooth, so instead I’m posting a few of the styles I’ve been wearing to work here.

Enjoy!

Summer Natural Hair Inspiration: Esperanza Spalding

I’ve written about Esperanza before, but it was more about her music. This time round, I’m focusing on her hair. She rocks the full texture of her hair, which I really like. I need to get a wrap like the one she’s using in one of the pictures below. I came by a few on Etsy with beautiful patterns and textures, but of course, I forgot to bookmark it, so I’ll have to search for them again. Most importantly, I would love to know what products she uses, if anything.

Big hair is great for the summer, especially on the weekends when I plan on being out and about with my kids who, by the way, think my hair is super special.

Here are some pictures of her that I love.

Tight Braid-Out

I haven’t posted in a while…as per the usual but NOW there’s a WordPress Blackberry app that I can use and it makes things 20x easier. Yay!!

Anyways, seeing as I have this app now, it’ll be much easier to post pics. This style is a braid when wet and I only let it air dry overnight so it was a little damp when I took it out around noon the following day. It made the waves tighter which is really good for a spring/summer look. I plan on wearing it really big this summer.

I have a new hair washing method. I switch it so much it’s hard to keep up. Anyhoodles, what I do before I wash is coat my hair with coconut oil and let it soak in like a deep treatment. I concentrate on the ends so that way any damage can be nurtured. Then I wash my hair with Dove baby wash – which seems to be gentler than the SLS-free shampoo I was using before. To detangle, I put aloe vera gel all over the sections of my hair I’m brushing while still in shower, then brush while rinsing. I just “discovered” I could put the aloe in a spray bottle for easy application. Yes, I’m slow. Right after I rinse each section, I braid. This keeps my hair detangled and since it’s super wet, there’s little to no tugging and snagging on the brush.

Okay people, enjoy!

Natural Hair Babies in Advertising

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could see more of this in advertising?

To my delight, I found this wonderful little girl from a post on CelebrityBabies.com. She’s featured on the mini Boden site, a clothing company.

It’s nice to see her hair in its natural awesomeness, styled to fit her face, making her look even more adorable than she already is. Most importantly, how ever small this may be, it’s nice to see naturally curly hair in advertising.

I won’t hold my breath, but I’m still crossing my fingers in hopes that naturally curly black hair gets a little more love from society than it has seen in the past.

Summer Hair

Okay, so I’m thinking about cutting my hair. I’m getting ready for the summer (because I don’t deal well with winters and would rather skip over it) and I’m already thinking about my summer style. Although I love my hair length now, whenever it gets kinda lengthy, I start thinking about cutting my hair. So here it is. This is what I want.

Things I’m thinking about for my cut:

- Is it going to be wash and go or can I go overnight? – I’m thinking I want both.

- Will it be long enough on the top to twist? – Yes, it has to be long enough for twists, then if I want it low, I can pat it down.

- Do I have to use gel? – Because I would like *not* to have to do it, but might consider a butter cream with a little hold.

- How long do I plan on maintaining this look? – I’m thinking maybe the summer, then let it grow out for the winter then do it all again!

[Photo: le coil]