Twist & Shout: Twist Out Pics

*Drumroll*


Now for the event you've all been waiting for......pics from my lovely twist-out from those adorable twists I had last month lol


Enjoy and be inspired ladies :)



Day 1 of Twist-out






Day 4 of Twist-out









Stay tuned, another twist-out is about to happen pretty soon and more pics are bound to be born. Have a great day!!!!

Helpful Hints: How To Maintain Twists Past 2 Weeks



Finding new ways to do things with my hair is always fun. Although I am currently at a loss for a new natural style to rock (straw-set? lengthy sew-in? super short sew-in? cornrows?), I have found a way to preserve my lovely two-strand twists and thought I should share the wealth.


I'm sure my fellow naturals out there with locs and twists and other semi-high-maintanence styles know that washing our hair with these styles can be quite a hassle. I'm not sure if everyone out there has looked into these yet but there are special shampoo caps that you can get at your local beauty supply to help you wash your hair without the fear of unraveling. The one that I have was only $1.99 and it's perfect for washing twists in-between twist outs and regularly scheduled washing sessions. I decided to get this when I saw it because using a stocking cap, which I did with my teeny twists--as suggested by the stylist--, didn't feel right lol It was weird to me and I was glad to see that they make a cap just for that. I needed to wash my hair but I hadn't rocked my twist-out yet nor did I want to give up my twisted lovelies :) With this cap, my beauties look rejuvenated and fresh as ever. Go ahead and find one and give it a try :)



Day 1 After Washing with the shampoo cap

Day 2

Skin Crisis Averted

This stuff is the best!!!!!!



Hello natural night-owls!! lol I am rarely up at this hour (I likes my sleep, 8 hrs please...haha) and I have never blogged this late before either but everyone is alotted a few random moments every now and then. A few posts back (try last month....lol) I ranted about the issues I was having with my skin. I was trying everything. Neutrogena products, Clean & Clear, my tried and true Proactiv (worked wonders when I started having skin issues in 05-06), and anything else in-between. Well, my dear-sweet-fiance' was always raving about the Dudu Osun Black Soap that he uses. I never used it even though he kept telling me to (I'm so hard-headed lol) just like with Shea Butter; he always told me to use it because its 1) it's natural, 2) it has so many healing properties and skin/hair health benefits, and 3) its just the bomb! The thing is, you really shouldn't use things on your body that you wouldn't put into your body (i.e by eating)--I've always known that, and it's something that should just be like "well, duh!" but everyone doesn't see it like that. I finally gave in to the shea thing earlier this year and I loved it! Best thing ever! But....I didn't stick with using it on a daily basis, I only used it every so often and continued using commercial lotions by Jergens, Johnson & Johnson, etc. *Slaps hand* Bad, I know. But that is going to change.


Back to the soap...........

So by a twist of fate--if you will--a very generous and kind friend of ours gave me a bar of the Dudu Osun soap and some Chinese Ginger Tea when I got sick a few weeks ago. My face was still breaking out like crazy (this was way after my 1st skin crisis post) so it only meant that I needed to try this famous black soap. Ladies.....(and Gents if you're there.....) this Dudu Osun is the TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol I kid you not. Using this soap, you won't need to worry about that dry after-feeling you get from processed, chemical-laced soaps. I won't lie, I love Dove to death---why I didn't wanna let go and use my new find---but even the Sensitive Skin formula left my face dry a lot of the time. With the black soap, I can wash my face and not have to worry about putting on lotion, moisturizer, etc. Even without using Shea after washing with Dudu, my skin felt amazing and has a brilliantly healthy and natural glow. I saw my blemishes fade and the dark spots began to disappear. I figure in a few more weeks, my face will be flawless once again. And I owe it all to my newfound loves: Dudu Osun Black Soap and Shea Butter :) I just bought a 32.oz container of dark yellow shea butter (I hear the darker, the better (ie more vitamins, etc)) and two boxes of Dudu Osun from a vendor at the African World Festival in Downtown Detroit, all for $15--2 for $5 soap and $10 for the large shea container, not bad at all)

I can't wait to see how my skin progresses! I'm also going to modify my vegetarian diet to make sure I get all the nutrients I'm supposed to get

Buenos Noches Amigos!


P.S: Below I am going to list the ingredients in the all-natural Dudu Osun Black Soap and the benefits of Shea Butter.



***Everything as listed on the box/label***


Tropical Naturals Dudu Osun Black Soap:

Ingredients-Pure Honey, Shea Butter, Osun (camwood), Palmkernal oil, Cocoa pod ash, Palm bunch ash, Glycerine, Aloe Vera Juice, Lime juice & oil, Lemon juice & oil, Water & Fragrance.

Dudu Osun is the age-long African black soap made the traditional way by hand from PURE NATURAL INGREDIENTS AND HERBS from the tropical rain forest and savannah regions.

No artificial colors; no preservatives; Bio degradable. Product of Nigeria





African Shea Butter:
100% Natural

African Shea Butter is made from the nut of the African Shea Tree. It contains a rich amount of unremovable fatty acid which renders it far superior to Cocoa Butter an other natural vegetabl butters. This fatty acid is crucial to rejuvenating and moisturizing the skin. Shea Butter provides all the essential vitamins needed to make skin look and feel smoother, softer and most importantly, healthier. Its theraputic properties protect the skin from wind, cold, sun, and it helps heal wounds faster. Shea Butter stimulates cellular activity, fights the effects of aging and repairs rough, damaged skin.

Usage:
1. Treatment of dry skin, eczema, and minor burns.
2. Pain relief from swelling and arthritis.
3. Improves muscle relaxation and stiffness.
4. Sunscreen, due to its rich content of vitamins E & F
5. Treats dark spots, skin discolorations, stretch marks, wrinkles, and blemishes
6. Massages, diaper rash, and as a hair conditioner.
Shea Butter does not expire. Store in a cool place.
Product of Ghana






Twisted Up

Oops, I did it again! lol That was supposed to be the title of this post, which I could have sworn I had drafted and tucked away for some editing---but it seems it isn't here :( ----. Oh well. Anywho, after washing my hair last Wednesday, I decided it was too soon for me to put another round of my lock and twist gel in, so I just washed and conditioned (nothing deep, just a much needed cleanse) and let my hair air dry ("big" mistake lol). I decided to do this because I didn't get to run to the beauty supply and get more of my gel, so twisting would have to wait a day. I thought about dry twisting but with my air-dried mess of a fro, but I didn't see that as being a smart choice.

Thursday I rinsed my hair and deep conditioned with my fav deep condish--Neutrogena Triple Moisture of course!--with lots of marination under the cap going on; I had so many things going on at once I think my hair was conditioning for a couple of hours lol. But once I was able to rinse, my hair felt as soft as ever and was wet and ready to be twisted up into perfection once again.

I was scared going into the twists again because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make my hair as perfect and beautiful as before. I gave it a go with my arsenal of snacks and my little dvd player---I watched 'Secret Life of Bees' and 'Knowing', both great movies---and my hair came out just as cute. Personally, I think the first set of twists was the best but that could only be expected since I wasn't exactly expecting my hair to look so good before, and the second time I had an expected result that I was looking to achieve.

It took a few days for my hair to 'fall into place' and start to grow on me. It's been a week and it's still cute :) I haven't done any photos this time around as of yet but I feel a mini-shoot coming on lol

Have a great day!!
~Lena

Twist-Out & Shout

Hello all!! After a two-week stint rocking those absolutely gorgeous twists that I wrote about in my last post, I am rocking a twist-out! It was only fitting that twists of such beauty would yield the perfect twist-out. I un-twisted last Friday while I was under the weather (summer colds suck!!) and my hair was just as beautiful twisted-out as it was twisted up :)



The first day of the twist-out was flawless and through the congestion and all, I managed to snap a couple of pics to capture the glory. Day two, my hair was bigger and better than ever but I didn't get anything captured.....sorry. Since my hair needs to be cleaned (the horror! the horror! lol) I decided to take some Day 4 pics to capture how much volume my hair got over the days. My hair was a little bigger and had a lot more waves. I appear to have some new growth going on seeing as that I had some visible parts at one point (especially the main one in the middle up front). It may be growth....it may just be from the style being as old as it was....I dunno lol. I probably won't do a real length check any time soon so I won't really know yet.



I am going to wash my hair tonight but I don't know what I want to do. I can't re-twist tonight because I don't think I have enough of my loc and twist gel. So....I'll give my hair a little break tonight by washing the gel and extra stuff out and get to twisting tomorrow. School's out, so I have all day!



Toodles!

~Lena

P.S.: Blogger is acting funny at the moment and won't let me upload my pics :( Hopefully I can get them posted by the weekend......