*Shea moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie* Review



 On the road to Disney World this Spring (13 hour drive) I stopped at Target to purchase something quick to twist my hair.  I purchased the Curl Enhancing Smoothie by Shea Moisture.  I am a big Shea Moisture fan.  Love the way their products feel, smell and work my tresses, but I have never tried their line with the peach label.  This was all they offered so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. 

In the car I proceeded to dry twist my hair (section off hair, spritz with water, apply coconut oil and product, twist hair and seal ends with raw shea butter). The twists came out pretty good and I had a LOT of growth since my last set of twists

Before pregnancy



April 2012 (done with the curl enhancing smoothie)



When I untwisted my hair for the twist out it was not so good.  My twists had poor definition and they were extremely dry!

Although we were in Florida (where it was more humid) I still expected a little more definition than this.  By the end of the day I was left with an Afro that was a MESS!

Being that I had this entire container of product I decided t try it on my daughter's hair.  If I had to "type" our hair I would say that my hair is a 4(a,b) and my daughter's hair is more of a 3b.  Because the product is thinner than I would like I wanted to see how it work on my daughter's hair.



I washed my daughter's hair in Shea Moisture moisture retention shampoo.  I then tshirt dried it and applied coconut oil & Shea Moisture restorative conditioner.  I then two strand twisted the back using the curl enhancing smoothie. The end result was worse than I expected.  The product left residue in my daughter's hair.  My daughter's hair was drier than I ever seen it no curl at all.....just a big poof!

CONCLUSION:

This product smells wonderful but it is NOT beneficial as a styling aid. I ended up using the remainder of the product to slick edges of ponies and puffs.  It is great for applying to my daughter's hair while wet and allowed to air dry without any manipulation.  Only problem is by the end of the day it's DRY!

Pros:

Smell

Enhance curl pattern for "moment"

cost

smooths edges (with the aide of a scarf)

Cons:

No moisture

No definition when styling

Leaves residue

Flakes

Luv Latrice







Oh BABY!

 

Lately I have been MIA (missing in action) and I miss you guys terribly.  While I haven't been very vocal I have been reading, experimenting and documenting ways to help care for my tender tresses.  On March 28, 2012 I discovered that I was pregnant with my 3rd bundle of blessings :-) While it was a very happy occasion I became horribly sick.  Hence my absence from my blog :-(  But now I am GREAT! Baby is AWESOME!  And I am gaining my 2nd wind! LOL!



Since becoming pregnant one of the most noticeable changes I have endured (other than the obvious soccer ball underneath my shirt) is the changes with my hair.  When I was relaxed I had horrible dandruff that went away as soon as I stopped relaxing my scalp.  Well.....not only did the dandruff come back.....it brought an horrible, itchy scalp with it :-( Grrrrrrrrrr!!  We all know that scratching your scalp with your nails is not good or healthy for your scalp.  Nails introduce bacteria and other "nasty" things to your scalp causing your scalp to become unhealthy.

Pregnancy hormones causes your hair and skin to change.  My scalp had become dry and itchy and the way I dealt with this was nightly massages.  I mixed 1/2 cup of warm EVOO with 5 drops of tea tree oil and massaged it into my scalp.  This helps a ton.  I may not get to it EVERY night but I try to not go longer than two nights with out it or I have terrible flakes :-(

The other change is a little more exciting and positive....it is the enormous growth and thickness.  I have always had thick hair.  Now there is an abundance of hair and it is growing like weeds.  Check out my before and during pregnancy photos......

10 weeks pregnant

21 weeks pregnant

Have YOU noticed any changes in your hair during pregnancy?




Luv Latrice

700 likes and I thank YOU!!!!!!!

There is no better way to show my appreciation to my loves than to share with you guys one of my favorite obsessions......EARRINGS!!!!!! PLEASE FOLLOW ALL THE DIRECTIONS LISTED BELOW IN ORDER TO BE ENTERED IN THE GIVE AWAY! A pair of Ty the Jewelry Lady's specialty earrings will be given to one lucky winner!!!

Just follow the directions below:

My weeeaaaveee!!!! (Select Goddess Remy)

My favorite protective styling (other than 2-strand twist) is sew ins.  They offer the versatility I love along with the protection I need in order to encourage growth and rest my hair.  Before I do my sew in I prep my hair three days in advance by deep conditioning my hair with my avocado deep conditioner.  I then allow it to air dry in two strand twists.  When I am finally ready to sew the hair in I comb the twists out and cornrow my hair in preparation of the tracks.

I won't go into detail just yet on HOW a do my sew ins.  I'll save that for another post....or a YouTube video...LOL! (Comment if you think I should make a YouTube video).

This time I decided to try something different than my beloved Milky Way-Que.  So I went to www.ebonyline.com and purchased 2 packs of 14" Select Goddess Remy.

I installed the hair and this is how it looked (after I trimmed the bangs and flat ironed it)



This was the first week I wore the hair.  It was a tad bit frizzy so I had to use some Garnier Fructis Hair Smoothing Milk.  I applied it to the dry hair and wrapped or pin curled it at night and wrapped in a satin scarf.....YES satin! I have so many of these and it cuts down on the frizz.  In order for my natural hair to blend I applied Shea butter before I flat ironed the exposed hair.  Even though the majority of your hair is braided still take care of the hair that is exposed.

Here is me with bangs.....what you guys think?  Bangs or swoop??

If you have read ANY of my regimine post then you would know that I LOVE to was and DC my hair!  Well with a sew in that is not always feasible.  So finally after three weeks I shampooed my hair and conditioned it.  You can always tell the true quality of the hair after you wash it.  I shampooed it with Shea Moisture Moisture retention shampoo and applied Garnier Fructis sleek and shine leave in conditioning cream.  My results were HORRIBLE!!!!! My hair was thick course and frizzy!! Tangled, matted and ROUGH! SO I did a cool rinse and my sissy blow dried it.  After the warm blow dryer and a generous helping of oil sheen I was left with.....................

pin curls



flat wrap

The hair was in even BETTER shape than when I first purchased it.  The above pic is from today and I have had the hair installed for ONE MONTH!!!!! Of course I have new growth and sometimes I have to use the Organic Root Olive Oil Edge Control to slick back my curly edges.  But over all I am satisfied with the purchase.  There was a little shedding and tangling at the nape, but with hair this length tangles are expected.  It didn't tangle anywhere else.  SO here are my pros and cons.....

Pros

• Natural shine
• Perfect color match (a true 1b)
• Great bounce back quality
• Reasonable price

Cons

• Tangles in the back
• Sheds a little
• DOESN'T LIKE CONDITIONER

My plan is to keep it one more month *cross fingers and squeezes eyes shut*, and install another sew in.....this time I'm thinking BIG hair.........

 

 

 

 

Luv Latrice



 

Whitney Elizabeth Houston

When I heard of Whitney's death I was leaving the mall....I had just got into my car and checked Twitter while my car was warming up.  I was stunned.....immediately a lump rose in my throat and I said to myself "This can't be true".  Twitter kill people at least 20 times a day so this CAN'T.....I CAN'T.

I checked Facebook, I checked my email....it was true.  The world has lost one of the most influential woman in musical history.  My heart ached for the mother (Cissy Houston) that lost her baby, my soul mourns for the child (Bobby Kristina) who lost her mother.  My tears flow for the lost of myself and the rest of her fans.

Two people you can not talk bad to me about is my Michael and my Whitney.  I love Whitney Elizabeth Houston.  My mom had her albums on tape and I would listen to them on my karaoke machine while singing along.  I remember playing "singers" with my aunt I would pick Whitney songs to sing.  I wanted to be like her....although I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.  Her hair, her style, her voice.  I will miss her but I thank God that her music is timeless and will live forever....

What saddens me isn't her death, but the fact that she did not get a chance to hear all these wonderful things so many people have to say.  My loves I beg you, give your loved ones their flowers while they are living...they can't smell them when they're dead.  Just a week ago people had so much negative to say about Whitney and now because she is gone they want to shower her with praises.  We have to learn to support each other and even in our down time we must learn how to carry each other rather than push each other down.

So my tribute to Whitney....my favorite song of hers (if I could sing it I would)

I LOVE YOU WHITNEY!!!!!!!!

Luv

Of course I can't go through this month and not talk about love. I mean the name of my blog is Live, LUV, Natural!!! LOL! I am in love with love....literally! I love to show love, be in love, recieve love, give love.  I LOVE LOVE!  I even love hearts and anything that represent love.  With all that love being said it is only natural that I am excited about Valentine's DAy.  Not because I am going to get a gift from my sweetie, but because if u don't feel it 365 then at least for 1 day people feel loved.

If you don't have a sweetie NEVER FEAR! Me and my bestie used to shop for each other....making baskets, sending flowers and just loving on each other.  Show the people around you that you love them.  Trust me....they will appreciate it!  So many times life gets so busy that we forget to show our appreciation or those we love.  A lot of times we feel that Valentine's day is just for sweeties and lovers.  In actuality Vaentine's is for those you love including YOURSELF! Make sure you love on you!  If you don't love you who will?

So to help the "gift impaired" here are 10 inexpensive gift ideas:

1. Flowers- of course! LOL! Everyone likes flowers.  Instead of going to the florist check out Whole Foods.  They always have beautiful stems for under $10.
2. Gift video from Animoto.com.. Got this one from Good Morning America.  You can make a video of yourself and give it to your lovie.  It could be something as simple as saying I love you!
3. Coupon book-make a coupon (or purchase one) for your love.  Make one for your mom that includes lunch on me, washing dishes, etc.  A sweet way to pass out favors to those you love.
4. "100 reasons I love you"- cut out 100 hearts out of construction paper (or purchase them) on each heart write one reason why you love your sweetie.  An awesome reminder through the year of why that person is so great!
5. Romantic dinner-always a WINNER! Download a coupon app to your mobile device or go to Livingsocial.com or Groupon.com to find deals on local restaurants.
6. Photograph of you - mount a photo of you on matte paper and write 14 reasons why you love them (in case you can't think of 100!! LOL!)
7. Inside picnic-pack a picnic basket, lay a huge blanket in the floor and have an indoors picnic.
8. Balloons-sneak to your lovies work place and deliver them a bunch of balloons.  One year (to say sorry) my sweetie filled my car with them while I was at work :)
9. More ballons-Purchase some clear red balloons. Before blowing them up, place either wrapped candies, small gifts, and/or love poems inside each one, and then give them to your loved one as a bouquet.
10. Write a love letter to your sweetie and express your love for them!

Happy Valentine's Day my loves!

Somethings on my chest.....and I'm not talking about titties!

Lately I have been a little...no let's be honest....EXTREMELY frustrated with my people! Yes my people! Blacks, African Americans, niccuhs, whatever you choose to call the strong and beautiful African American race.  I have seen and experienced too many things that makes me ashamed of the people I love soooooo much. 

Let me start off by saying I LOVE MY RACE! I truly do.  We have so much potential and have accomplished great things over the years.  Life is easier today because of the inventions of African Americans.  We are a beautiful people that have a lot to be proud about.  We should carry our heritage around like a crown of glory demanding and giving respect where it's due.

The things I see and hear from women, Black women saddens my heart to no end.  When has it ever been acceptable to share a man?  When has it been okay to sleep with married men?  At what point has it been acceptable to sell ourselves short of anything other than the awesome creation that God has made?  My grandmother married at 18 and had her first child at 19.  By the time she was 25 she was widowed with 5 kids.  I spent a great deal with my grandmother coming up.  So much time that I was convinced I lived with her for years.  NEVER have my grandmother had a man around me.  NEVER! I mean she had to have boyfriends right?  She had another child 8 years after her husband's death.  I said that to say that my grandmother had a certain set of standards and I admire that.  I learned how to look, smell, act and be a lady from my grandmother. I love her to life!



My biggest disappointment doesn't just lie within the women.  But also the business leaders and people who are in positions to better our youth.  We have to realize the value of our babies.  They are the future leaders of the world.  We have to invest more in them than what we are doing now.  They will decide our retirement!  They will decide whether or not we receive health care or funding to keep the rest home open we may live in our old age.  I see so many organizations that are meant to help uplift the community ran by African Americans.  Instead of providing our babies with the best we try and figure out how to cut cost and put an extra dollar in our pocket.  We have to understand that if we have no respect for our own.....no one will.  If we don't invest in ourselves.....who will?


This is not just a my problem or you problem....it's an US problem.  We MUST invest in our youth.......otherwise we will continue to be America's stereotype!

It takes more than just one.

It takes US!

Luv Latrice <3

*Oil on top*

As naturals we all know that moisture is a must.  I mean every article, blog post, expert and wannabe will declare that moisture retention is the key for healthy hair.  I AGREE! Moisture is the key to longer, healthier hair.  One way I try to keep the moisture in my hair is sealing it with OIL.

Yes oil! My favorite is olive oil.  I put that ***** on everything! LOL! No really I do! I put olive oil in my conditioner.  I put it in my homemade hair spritzers among a ton of other products and uses.  The most effective way I have found to use my oil is as a sealant instead of a moisturizer.

When I first went natural I would pour oil on my head like I was anointing my head with oil! Oil EVERYWHERE! It didn't solve any thing put made my pillows greasy and my face bumpy.....no bueno! After researching different uses for oils and trying this and trying that...//I found a better way to use oil that is beneficial for my hair.

Ok so FIRST: I learned to add it to cheap conditioner for super soft cowashes.  When I say cheap conditioner I mean like Suave naturals coconut (that's my favorite $1 condish...LOL).  I pour some over in the bottle and I use it when I cowash my hair.





SECOND: I add it to water and my fav essential oils and make a summer spritz for instant moisturizing.  Nice little refresher for those days were it's hot and dry outside.

THIRD:  I seal the moisture after I wash my hair.  So when I shampoo my hair I go through my normal routine.  At the end I put on a water based leave in conditioner (Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla), I then apply the oil to my hands and rub thru sections of my hair.  After I have applied oil I use a cream base moisturizer in order to style my hair......WATER-OIL-CREAM :-)

So oil on my loves! Oil on!

100 LIKES IN ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well loves...*clears throat and adjust mic* Thank you so much for "LIKE"-ing little ole MEEEEE!!!!! I am so grateful for the 101 (and counting) likes I have recieved in the ONE week that I have introduced my passion to the FB world! My page is still under construction and you guys are right there with me enduring all the changes and adjustments....*tear*. When I stepped out on a limb and created my blog and FB fan page I didn't expect so much love. Soooooooooooooooooo.......................... to show my gratitude I am giving away ONE FREE MINI PHOTO SESSION WITH INSPIRED PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN (valued at $100)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *and the crowd goes wild* The winner of this give away will be the recipient of not only a FREE MINI SESSION but photos and digital images of the shoot!

The rules are as follows:

• Like Live, Luv, Natural (say Hello when you stop by I would love to hear from you!)

• Like Inspired Photography and Design and tell them LLN sent you!

• Go to http://liveluvnatural.blogspot.com/ and follow the Live, Luv, Natural blog. In the comment section let me know that you were there by leaving a comment on the blogpost "100 LIKES IN ONE WEEK". Make sure you leave your FB name so I can identify who you are!

All names will be entered for a chance to win on Tuesday January 24 at 3PM. The winner will be anounced Wednesday January 25 at 3PM!

For additional entries invite friends to like Live, Luv, Natural and write your name on the wall. For every friend who leaves your name it guarantees you one extra entry!! Good Luck!

May the games begin! Again I thank you all for your support! Please share away!

*curtsies, wipes tear, and fiercely walks off stage*

Many faces of........ME!

So I promised that I would post pictures and I wanted to remain true to my word and post pictures of different ways I wear my hair.  Please forgive me....I take the pictures with my phone so they are not the best.  When I first went natural I searched and searched the internet for styles for my short natural hair.  Maybe one day I will work up the nerve to do a video for you guys :)

'Fro Hawk

This is a braid out.  At the time I used Miss Jessie's buttercreame to braid my hair that night.  I wear the braids over night and in the morning I pick the roots to create a fuller effect.  You can use pomade or eco styler gel to slick back your edges.  Take the combs and place them in the sides of your hair and viola! You have the perfect 'fro hawk.  Perfect for those old twist outs!

Braid out

This is the braid out before the 'fro hawk.  To preserve my style I would put my hair in gian plaits and wrap in a satin scarf at night.

Blow out

Believe it or not my hair wasn't that long when I got my first blow out.  I was natural for less than a year and had my hair straightened.  The blow out yielded good results in that my hair reverted back to its natural kinky state :-)

TWA (teeny weeny afro)

Loved, loved LOOOVED this style.  Quick Cowash (washing hair with conditioner instead of shampoo) and a glop of eco styler gel and BoOmP!!! You have a sexy little fro on the go! :-) Don't rush your hair to grow....Trust ME! You will miss this stage once you have longer hair and may even cut your longer hair to achieve your TWA.

2 strand twist

This is my favorite protective style.  Protective styling protects your hair against the elements....especially your ends.  For my two strand twists I use Shea butter melted down to a creamy texture mixed with a little oil.  I re wet my hair with a water and coconut oil mixture and apply the Shea butter mixture to the my fingertips.  I am certain to seal the ends with the Shea butter mixture.

2 strand twist out

After I wear the twist for about 3 days I finally take the twists out and break them apart.  I then find one of my cutesy headbands or flowers and adorn my hair with it.  To preserve this style at night I twist in about 8 big twists and wrap my hair in a satin scarf.  I try and re moisturize with Shea butter or a warm oil and water mixture in a spray bottle.

Twist out with bangs (using three combs and a boby pin)

Ok so you can tell that twist outs are my fav!!! ^_^ This is done on a fresh twist out.  I took the front of my hair pulled it down to form a bang.  I placed a bobby pin in the bang to weigh the hair down on my forehead.  I then took three combs and combed the sides back and the back up.  It created a cute updoish! :-)

Twist out bun combed back

Again another twist out.  I took the front and created a bun with bobby pins.  I took two combs (my second favorite accessory) and combed the sides back.

Some-a-dis Some-a-dat...LOL!

This hairstyle is a combination of a few things.  My twist out was getting a little old so that night when I twisted my hair in 8 big twists I twisted them into knots..........like this:

I used cloth ponytail holders to hold the knots because I didn't have enough pins to place in every knot.  I oiled my hair pretty good because it was so dry and performed the GHE (green house effect)----->oil your hair, cover with a plastic cap, cover with your scarf, cover with your winter hat and go to bed {more on this later}.  When I woke up the next morning I took it all out and allowed my hair to air dry before I took the knots out.  After my hair dried I undid the knots and separated them.

All the styles featured here can be done with a wash and go or a braid out.  Just wanted to give you guys an idea of how to wear your curls :-)

Luv Latrice

Another season another regimine!

I'm sitting here with my head wrapped up like a space alien as I am doing this blog.  See, my regimine has changed since the summer.  With the changing of seasons, and the wealth of NEW knowledge about hair, came a new hair regimine. :-) So in the beginning I was an olive oil and honey type of chick.....now don't get me wrong...I LOVE MY EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)! I still use it regularly and in almost every thing (conditioner, homemade hair spritzers, moisturizers, etc, etc).  But I have added a few more staples to my natural hair products (shea butter, shea moisture products)  Sooooooooo....my regimine for thecolder months is as follows:

Every Friday night is my pamper night (what a life....LOL!!!!).  I shampoo my hair with African Shea Butter black soap or Shea moisture shampoo (which ever I have handy).  I take special care to be extra careful with my delicate, wet hair (heeheehee) and massage my scalp. Remember to put your styling tools in the sink so that they can be cleansed as you are cleansing your hair.  After I have thoroughly rinsed my hair I take a towel and place it on my hair. I don't rub it really rough because sometimes I will do a wash and go and I don't want to disturb the curl pattern (but that's a different post)....where was I??? OH yea! So I dry my hair by patting it dry with a towel.  I then put the avocado mixture on my hair, plastic cap (or plastic grocery bag if I'm out of caps.....#shrug! LOL!) and a cotton head wrap  and do my nails!! Hahahahahaaaaa! No seriously, after I apply the mixture and the caps I leave it on for about an hour or so.

Once the avocado conditioner has been on my hair for aboout an hour or so I rinse it out until the water runs clear.  While my hair is still wet I apply softened shea butter and oil (whatever oil I have on hand) and two strand twist my softened curls.  Double strand twist is my FAV protective styling! I love IT!!!!  I normally wear the twists for about two days and on the extra cold mornings I wrap my hair in cute scarves or put on hats to keep my scalp warm. If my hair starts to dry before I am done (my head is a little large so this tends to happen alot) I spray with a little water and oil and continue to twist until it is all twisted.  At the ends of my twists I take shea butter and apply a little extra.  This helps curl the ends so I don't have those straight ends.  Now some of my hair is heat damaged so before I untwist the twist I have to put a couple of bantu knots in it to curl the straightened hait.  At the end I have a beautiful twist out!! I will post pics later!! **promise**

Luv Latrice

New Year....New________!!

Happy New year to all my lovies!!!

With the new year comes tons of promises to lose weight, excercise, eat right, save money, be on time....blah, blah, blah BLAHHHHHHH!!! LOL! I always say in order to improve on YOU, you must start by setting GOALS.  It is also wise to set a timeline for these goals and set mini goals that will aide in acheiving your ultimate goal. 

One thing I have been working on (and struggling with) is my diet.  Don't get me wrong..I LOVE my size, figure and everything else.  What I AM unhappy with is the amount of junk I put into my body.  You are looking at a person who downs a bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies NIGHTLY......*hangs head in shame*.  So at the end of last year I got the bright idea to construct monthly menus accompanied with weekly grocery lists......yea! <------the teacher in me.  This lasted for all of two months and my kids got tired of eating the same meals.  I was also doing a HORRIBLE job at incorporating veggies into our diet.  Especially because I think veggies are YUCKY!! Ewwww!  Being that I am very computer savvy (and GOOGLE is my bff) I googled healthy (cheap) dinners.  What I got was so exciting!!!!!! From the "fruits and veggies more matters" web page (http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=6535) I was able to get monthly menus (that included veggies of a variety of colors and some meatless dishes), along with recipes and weekly grocery lists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo! That's not the only thing......*all meals fed a family of four for under $10!!!!!*  ON top of clipping coupons......Oh I was winning big time!  I tried the menu from week 5 and week 1 and my family LOVED the new dishes.  It brought tons of variety to our diet and provided us with healthy eating alternatives!!

When you go natural, sometimes it makes you aware of you.  I mean being natural is so freeing! You are stripped down of what others thought of as beauty and your natural beauty shines through.  You are more self conscience of your body...and yourself.  It's a beautiful thing. But let's remember to take care of our inside as well.  Put good things on the inside because it directly affects how our beauty is on the outside.  Whether you are natural or relaxed, a balance diet including fruits and veggies can be beneficial to healthy hair, skin and nails.  Sometimes we put things into our bodies without a second thought as to how it will affect us.  Some naturals go as far as taking hair supplements by mouth in order to increase hair growth and helahty hair......-___-.  My PERSONAL opinion is a good diet, hair regimine and the right products will result in healthy hair.  Hair growth is a result of many factors, environment, genetics, care.....just to name a few.  DO what's best for you.  If eating right, on a budget isn't for you, then don't stress yourself....find what is for you and stick with it!!!







Luv Latrice

OOOOOooooooo Baby Luv!!

I was soooooooo excited to do this post! I get overly excited about anything to do with natural hair, but I get ecstatic about little girl's natural hair!  I am a big advocate for anything that will cut the time in half I spend doing my daughter's hair.  I mean I have tried EVERYTHING to ease HER pain and mine.  I have tried detanglers, conditioners, shampoos, all in ones (the conditioning, detangling shampoo...yea) and everything in between.  NOTHING seems to quicken the process or meet my expectations for my princess's hair.  Every two weeks we battle with a shampoo, conditioning and detangling session that spans two days!!!!!! On the first day I will take out her hair style, shampoo her hair, condition her hair and then detangle her hair.  The next day I would proceed to style.  A daunting task I may say!!!

So while mixing stuff in my kitchen for my own naps....teeheehee....I began to think about the needs for my princess's hair.Okay 1) Princess's hair tangles badly! 2) her hair is so dry!  I decided to mix an avocado deep conditioner treatment for my little one's tangled tresses to combat some of the issues I have to deal with when doing her hair......the recipe is below:

• 1 RIPE avocado (please make sure it is ripe or you will be picking avocado out of your hair for HOURS!!) (power food for so many reasons...awesome detangler, softens hair and makes hair more manageable)
• 1 cup of coconut milk (great for moisture, managing hair and hair growth)
• 2tbsp of shea butter (great for moisture)
• 1/3 cup of honey (great humectant and conditioner.  Helps hair holds moisture)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (great for shine, improves hair strength and elasticity)

I put all the ingredients into a blender and mixed away! Make sure you blend it really well and that your avocado is soft and ripe.  If it is not you will get a chunky consistency instead of a creamy one.  After I mixed it I set it to the side until it was ready to be used.

When doing treatments I always start with clean hair (it's my personal preference) so before I start I always shampoo the hair.  I recently start using Shea moisture products and I love THEM!!!!!  You can get them at Target and Walgreens for the best prices!! One of the two are always having a sale! :)  After the argument of ....how many washes..... how long was it gonna take...did I HAVE to wash her hair TODAY....I shampooed her hair with Shea Moisture moisture retention shampoo.  During this time I also put the tools I will use on her hair in the sink to be cleaned as I'm cleaning her hair.  NEVER USE DIRTY TOOLS ON CLEAN HAIR!!!!



After one shampoo I blotted her hair with a towel to absorb the excess water.  Don't rub hard....remember our hair is delicate.  I then applied the mixture to her hair as I detangled with a W   I   D   E   tooth comb.  I use one similar to this one

I got it from the local beauty supply store for like 99cents.  After I applied the mixture to her hair I put a plastic cap on it and allowed it to sit for about an hour.  The only way I could convince her is to keep the cap on is to tell her that her hair will turn green....*shrug*. 

As I rinsed her hair out I noticed she had bits of avocado left in her hair.  (The above picture is from me applying  the mixture).  I tried to come the bits of avocado out but I was unsuccessful at getting it completely out.  I used Juicy leave in as her leave in conditioner (my daughter HATES multiple washes).  This is an awesome leave in I use on my own hair and it results in beautiful, moisturized twist outs and braid outs.  You can check it out here (http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/juicyleavein/3939964/8oz_Juicy_Leave_In_Conditioner_by_Naturalista_Cosmetics/Bath_Beauty/Hair/Treatment)  I then began the daunting task of detangling it.  To my surprise the comb slid through with ease and a minimal of tears! Her hair was so soft and manageable, shiny and just.....PURRRTY!  I then started to style it (she requested braids).  Her hair was so pretty I didn't want to braid it.  So I braided the back and twisted the front into pony tails.  When it tried I took a picture and was SHOCKED at the results!!!!!

OOOOOOoooooo Baby Luv!

Now please don't be afraid to use this on your hair.  I use the same recipe and add egg for added protein.  Don't use this recipe if you are allergic to any of the ingredients.  Have fun mixing!!!!

Luv Latrice 

Let's DO it again.....

After all of the ups and downs and downs of the summer (yea D O W N S....LOL!) I decided to do something about the two textures on my head.  I held on as long as I could in hopes that some how I was going to be able to deal with the war of the textures on my head..........

I managed to squeeze a few cute styles out of the textures but I truly didn't have the patience to allow the straight hair to grow completely out.  I mean I transitioned TWICE......I was just ready to give up!

Flat twist out

Once the flat twist out got old I got my girlfriend to braid the sides for a cute up-doish :-)

And of course....the old school two conrows to the back! My fav :0)

This quickly got boring and tiresome.  I couldn't KEEP cute lil conrows and at the time I couldn't do flat twists for cute twist outs. :-( Sooooooo......I went to the salon and begged my stylist to do my hair! When I walked out I was EXCITED!!!!!! I loved my new do and I was sure it was gonna be something I could live with!

The day of my THIRD big chop!!!!!!!!

One thing I have come to learn is it's not the end of the workd! Who says your natural hair record is tarnished because you BC'd twice or, *clears throat*, THREE times! All that matters is you are happy with your hair.....and I WAS! LOL!

LET'S DO IT AGAIN!



To Poo or not to Poo.......

Sooooo.............

A lot of people ask me what do I use on my hair, how often do I deep condition, do I shampoo or cowash, etc etc etc. I will attempt to answer some of those questions in this post. If I don't answer something ASK and I willlllll. :)
First I do not claim to be an expert. I am sharing my personal experience about my natural hair journey. Please be catious about using products that you are sensitive to and use wisdom when mixing and trying new things.

Now that that is out the way! Haahaahaahaaa! The first thing I kept in mind when constructing a hair care regime is the TYPE of hair I have and the TYPE I would like. My hair was tightly coiled, thick and dry. I needed a routine that would replace the moisture in my hair. Since my hair is thick I try to find thick formulas or products because thicker products coat my hair better. And since my coils are tight I like to use products or styles that elongate my curl pattern and decrease the amount of shrinkage.

Brown Sugar Scalp Scrub

Once a week I take an el cheapo conditioner and mix it in with brown sugar (about 1tbsp to 1 cup) and scrub my scalp. You may adjust the amount of sugar according to your exfoilation preferences. This scrub is great for exfoilating the scalp and encouraging blood flow to the scalp (which enocurages hair growth). The conditioner conditions as you gently massage the mixture into your scalp. Note I said gently you dont want to damage your tresses by rough handling. Despite peoples beliefs African Americans hair is very delicate. The tighter your curl pattern the more delicate your hair. My favorite el cheapo conditioner is Suave Rosemary and Mint.

Deep Conditioner (DC)

After I rinse the mixture out (thouroughly) I apply my oil & honey mixture. I normally do this on a Friday night, when I have no where to go and I'm cleaning up. I take 1 part honey (amounts differ according to hair length) and 2 parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil (a STAPLE in my house). I use these little travel bottles I get from WalMart for like 78 cents to mix the mixure. I warm the mixture to ensure that it mixes thouroughly and apply it to my hair. Be sure that if you try this you test the temperature on your wrist first. The honey gets hot pretty quick. After every strand is covered in this mixture I take a think plastic cap and cover my head. I wet a thin hand towel and microwave it to make it warm and wrap it around the plastic cap. I then take a thick shower cap and sleep in all this. LOL!!! Hey! It works for me.

The Morning After

In the morning I rinse with a mixture of warm water and baking soda. I fill an 8 oz bottle with warm water and add 1 tbsp of baking soda and squirt it on my hair after I have rinsed as much of the mixture out as I can. After I towel dry my hair I apply RAW shae butter (found at the beauty supply store) to do two strand twists to decrease shrinkage.

Like I said before this regime is what works for me. In between I may cowash (wash with coditioner-no shampoo) if my hair misbehaves (get extremely dry), if I have time. I also keep a bottle of water and EVOO handy in the summer time for those hot days where my hair wants to be mean!


DO YOUR HAIR DON'T LET IT DO YOU! YOU ARE THE BOSS OF YOUR HAIR!! LOL!!

LUV LATRICE

My DYE-saster....dun dun dun dunnnnn!!!!

With the seasons changing I wanted to do something different to my hair. Every lady goes through a plateau moment where they are bored with their hair. I wanted to color my tresses to a warm brown. Nothing to drastic but enough to bring some excitement to salt and pepper fro. I wore micros for about 2 months and decided to color immediately after. First I could not help but to take a pic of my fabulous fro being it grew sooooo muchin the braids:

Luv flower accessories, I make some myself :)

Woohoo!

Well the day after I went to my stylist to get my hair colored and blown out. This would be only my second blow out EVER! So I was stoked! To say the least. When I left her shop I looked and felt fabulous!!!

Two weeks later when I washed my hair what I was left with brought me to tears!!!!

I couldn't believe that my sexy fro was ruined because I was BORED!!!!!! After I dried my tears, and put on my big girl panties, I contacted my stylist who offered to perform free protein treatments in hopes that it would revert back. Well I just wanted to cut it off and start over!!! I have been natural since October 2009 (yes I relaxed after my first BC...bad bad girl!) and it took a long time to grow the length I wanted. I couldn't believe it. I took my stylist advice and had one protein treatment in the shop done. But as most of you natural gurlies know, all products aren't beneficial for our naps!

At home I washed my hair and settled on transitioning from straight hair to my textured tresses!! I googled protein treatments and found one that was the bomb.com!!!!! I found it off of newly natural blog (
http://newlynatural.com/blog/2008/09/my-natural-protein-treatment/ ) I used fat free yogurt because that was all I could find. I also added a few drops of essential oils (found at whole foods) to combat the mayo smell......(gag!!).

I applied the mixture to my hair in sections as I would if I was applying relaxer.

Applied to hair it may run and that's okay. Keep a towel handy :)




Cover with a plastic cap. I kept it on for an hour while I cleaned around the house. My hair behaves well with protein. If you are trying this for the first time I would try processing for 20 minutes so you can see what affect protein has on your hair.

After I rinsed the mixture out of my hair I applied a commercial deep conditioner and cap and left it on for about 2 hours. I tend to DC for long periods of time sometimes even over night if its my honey mixture (2/3 extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), 1/3 honey). After Protein treatment and DC my results were okay! All of my hair did not curl and my kinks did not reappear but I was left with some nice curls :)

My advice for any naturals who want to color is to use an all natural dye. Whole Foods have natural dyes that does not harm your hair (I tried them and they're really good). Do not shock your hair as I did with two drastic treatments at once. Because I performed two process on my hair at once I am unsure about which process ruined my curl pattern. And whatever your curl pattern is (non-existent, kinks, tight coils, loose curls) embrace it!!! Never thought I would miss my fresh off the boat kinks!!

HEALTHY HAIR IS GOOD HAIR!!