Hello blossoms! Here are some photos from the beginning of April. How is it Spring already?? This week I visited my boyfriend's family in another area of North Carolina and got my hair cut. I also did the normal college classes grind, and then went to my Senior spring college formal. The formal was hosted by my eating house, which is kind of like a sorority but not really.
My new filming set up and decorations
Soooo in love with this Steve Madden bag I got off Poshmark.com for spring. <3
Visiting my boyfriend's family and all the dogwoods were in bloom.
I chopped off all my hair!!
I got the cut done at Scott Musgrave Hair Artistry in Cary, NC.
Back at school I snapped this photo on my college campus, but didn't notice the bee and almost got killed. lol
My homemade fried rice. Yums!
All my girlfriends and I at our Senior spring college formal
Me and the BF <3
Overall, this was a really awesome week. I got to see lots of fun people and I love my new hair! Thanks for reading along!
Hey lovelies! Here's another week of photos for Februrary 15th-23rd!
I had a lot of fun making a "hair science" video on hair porosity last weekend.
My girlfriends and I went into the city for a girls night last weekend.
On Wednesday I had a job interview, and asked you guys what I should wear. (I went with the leftmost outfit.) And I got the job! I'm not quite ready to announce what I'll be doing next year, but stay tuned...
A really yummy orange, raspberry, strawberry smoothie. Smoothies make me feel so healthy and energized!
Since my boyfriend was out of town, Jessie and I had a blast together at a college semi formal. We took a lot of selfies...
All in all this was a bit of a crazy week with lots of partying, job interviews, and homework on top of it all! I'm trying to make the most of my last semester of college, and I think I'm accomplishing that. Thanks for reading blog curlies!
Hello curlies! Today I wanted to write a post about hair porosity; porosity is something that is a little more complicated than curl pattern but very helpful for understanding how to care for your hair. Porosity has to do with how the cuticle of the hair lies and how this affects moisture and nutrients entering the hair strand. Hair can be anywhere on a spectrum from low, medium, to high porosity.
Here are three ways to test your hair's porosity, and some tendencies of low and high porosity hair. Remember that your hair doesn't need to neatly fall into one category, and different parts of your hair may have different porosities. This isn't an exact science unless you send your hair off the be analyzed (which you can do at Live Curly, Live Free) but it's usually pretty accurate.
Water test: Take a piece of your hair and place it into a glass of water. If the hair sinks before one minute, this indicates high porosity hair. If the hair floats for a minute or longer, this indicates low porosity normally. Try testing the ends of your hair separately from the newer lengths of your hair. You may find like me that the ends are more porous and damaged, so they sink.
Strand test: Run your fingers down the hair from the root to the end of a single piece of hair. (Tip: The root of the hair has a small bulb, aka the follicle where the hair grows out of the scalp.) Low porosity or normal porosity hair feels smooth to the touch. If you feel bumpiness this is a sign of high porosity.
Squeak test: This test is from the forums on CurlTalk. Run your fingers up the hair from the end to the root. If you hear squeaking this is and indicator of low porosity. Normal or high porosity hair should not squeak.
Properties of low, medium, and high porosity hair:
Low: dries slowly (4-6 hours), resistant to heat, resistant to chemicals & dyes, products sit on top of hair instead of absorbing
Medium: dries in an average amount of time (2-3 hours), healthy, absorbs and retains moisture well
High: dries very fast (1-2 hours), can be caused by heat or chemical damage, absorbs moisture well but loses it immediately when rinsed, easily heat styled, easily over processed, loves protein and protein treatments
For low porosity hair the cuticle lies flat and products and water have a hard time entering the hair. For normal porosity hair the cuticle lies slightly open, allowing the hair to retain and absorb moisture. For high porosity hair, the cuticle shingles lie very open so that moisture enters and leaves very easily; the hair does not retain moisture well.
So now that you know how porous your hair is, here are some curly hair care tips. For low porosity hair, try using a blowdryer and diffuser or plopping to speed up the drying process. You can also use a cotton or microfiber cloth to scrunch out some water before or after applying your styling products. Try using steam (i.e. Huetiful hair steamer) or heat (i.e. Hair therapy heat wrap) when deep conditioning your hair so the moisture can penetrate. Use warm to hot water in the shower before you apply conditioner so the conditioner can sink in. Heat and steam help open the hair cuticle so moisture can enter low porosity hair. My hair is low porosity and I love: As I Am Naturally leave in, Kinky curly leave in, Sally's Beauty Generic Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm, and Curl Junkie Curl Rehab Deep Treatment.
Formedium or normal porosity hair, you need only to maintain the health of your hair and prevent it from becoming damaged. This hair is easy to care for and absorbs moisture readily.
For high porosity hair, protein treatments are essential. These help fill in the holes of the cuticle so the hair lies more flat. High porosity hair can occur naturally, but it can also occur after damage, so protein is essential as well for rebuilding damaged hair. The Liquid-Oil-Cream (LOC) method for sealing in moisture can help prevent moisturizing goodness from evaporating from the hair. For my looser texture I only like this for braid outs and roller sets, but I do apply a water based leave in, jojoba oil, and then Karens Body Beautiful Super Duper Cream. You can also try a L-O-G (G: gel) method for wash and go days. Another thing you can do are acidic rinses to help seal the cuticle with apple cider vinegar or citrus juices which also add shine to the hair. (Or you can just run cold water over your hair.)
I hope you found this helpful! Comment below whether your hair is low, normal, or high porosity!
For perhaps a better explanation, watch the video about this.
Hey guys! I've been meaning to bring a new series onto the blog for awhile where I share my photos of the week with you. Just a nice little recap! I'm in my third? Or fourth week of classes now. :)
My flexi rod set on dry hair came out nicely. And you've gotta love a red lip.
Pampering my hair with Nubian Heritage products and my eyes with these cool Leaders mask things.
Michael and I went into Charlotte for the day to do job search stuff and go shopping. <3
It's snowed where I live which is rare!
My new robe from Amazon.💜
Nails! Essie going incognito for the green and an identifiable bronze by wet n wild.
Lots of studying of Arabic vocabulary. :P
My makeup for my new empties video. Red lips + winged eyeliner.
My new glasses! Something new...
Some Cinnapie on Super Bowl Sunday. Mmm!
Whew! What a packed week, but it was lots of fun. Hope everyone's weeks are off to a good start.
Hello curlies! Today I am going to share a bit about my hair growth experience with y'all. I recently reached hip length hair when stretched and I am very happy about that. I'll bring you guys through my length journey (in photos) in this post. And if you want to know I grew out my hair this long, makes sure to watch my "Tips on Growing Long Hair Fast" video that's out on YouTube.
Ok. Let's start at sort of the beginning. So very early in YouTube career, and about five years ago I cut off my hair for the second time and went for a shoulder length bob. This was actually my second time doing this, as I did it a long time ago when I first started to follow the Curly Girl method (first photo).
2007 - note my ridiculous glasses
5/2009
5/2009 - this bob is so cute. it was cut by Kim who works at an Aveda salon in Lexington, KY.
Flash forward seven months and my hair has already grown to a few inches below my shoulders. I know- I'm sorry. My hair grows like a weed, y'all. XD I guess you could call this the beginning of my journey to hip length hair, but I really wasn't too focused on length then. I was just making hair videos and having fun with my hair.
12/2009
There are a lot of haircuts between the end of 2009 and when I really started to focus on growing out my hair to a long length. Exhibit A is below. These cuts did not help me grow my hair longer, but just held me back, because although I love this stylist, she always chopped off several inches.
2010 - After a DevaCut by April Couse Walker at Salon Sabeli (Cornelius, NC)
At the beginning of 2011 I started to get serious about growing out my hair and I made my first length check video. I was really excited and my goals were to grow it as long as possible.
1/2011 - when I started my length check videos
Later in 2012 I posted another length check and I learned how to self trim my hair. But then towards the end of the year I got another DevaCut. And *surprise surprise* I was set back again on my length journey. I was positive about the cut, and I stated in a video I made at that time that I wasn't concerned with length too much. But something in my head had unconsciously clicked. Although my hair was growing and it was healthy, my stylist continued to take 3-4 inches off every visit. So I knew... I can't get my hair professionally cut and expect it to grow.
spring 2012
one of my first self trims - summer 2012
another great DevaCut by April - winter 2012
So after that cut in late 2012, I stopped going to the salon. I relied on my self-trimming skills which I learned from the Curly Girl book. And lo and behold my hair grew at its usual weed like speed! Somewhere in 2012 I hit waist length, which was awesome. And then in 2013 I hit hip length. It only took me about a year and a half to go from bra-strap length to hips (when stretched)! But as you, dear blog reader, know I started this journey four years ago by cutting all my hair off, which I had already done two years before that. So it's time again, once the warm weather rolls around, for a short cut. This is the cycle of my hair. So don't be too sad about it. :)
winter 2012 - freshly henna'd hair
summer 2013
nearly hip length?? - september 2013
september 2013
december 2013
december 2013 - hips
december 2013 - hips!
As a blog or YouTube follower, thank you for coming along on this journey with me so far. I wish y'all the best of luck on your hair journeys. And remember hair is just hair. Any length of wavy, curly, or kinky hair can be beautiful with the proper care. You just have to learn to love YOUR hair. <3
Hey guys! Today I am venturing away from the hair stuff, and reviewing some new Revlon lippies for y'all. These are new as of the fall and seem to be a permanent edition to Revlon's lip products. Here's some swatches, and check out the video review at the end of the post! :)
*this just doesn't apply super opaque when compared to standout... not just me being lazy lol! :)
