D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: My Two Favorite Drugstore Hair Finds!

Let's face facts: I am unemployed, and broke!!! While I am grateful as all holy hell for the weekly compensation given to me by the New York State Department of Labor, it really doesn't allow me to go crazy on my hair care products. It's times like these I wish I was a more popular blogger, so I can get scores of freebies! LOL

You can totally send me some, though! Just sayin'.... I mean, look at this punim, doesn't it inspire you to WANT to send products?!?!?

But alas, I'm not... so I have to work with what I got, within my modest budget. I've also put myself on a temporary spending freeze when it comes to purchasing products, which means that I am using up a lot of the more expensive brands I purchased when I had a steady paycheck, in addition to using products I've grabbed on a whim from my local Duane Reade. Two products in particular have worked themselves into my weekly routine, so I thought that it would be a great idea to share them with you because.. that's pretty much what I do, isn't it? LOL

Shea Moisture Restorative Hair Conditioner ($9.99 at most stores). Now, my wet hair is not crazy about this stuff.. like, at all! But when I tried it on my hair when dry, Whooo!!! Magic Happened!! I use this every night before bed, when I put my hair into two (or four) braids before wrapping it. I love how my hair looks when I take the braids down in the morning.

Kuza Coconut Oil Conditioner and Hair Dressing ($3.99 at most stores) I can almost hear the collective gasp in the natural hair universe. "Hair... grease?!?!" Yes, hair grease. My hair L-O-V-E LOVES this stuff!!! I don't apply this to my scalp, because... I'm not crazy, but this is another product that I use once or twice a week to maintain my braid outs. And the smell is AWESOME!!!

I've been using both products since the beginning of the year, and I am very pleased with the results thus far. Do any of you use Drugstore brands for your hair? Leave a comment with your faves!!

I Heart Her Hair: Bernadette Peters...

I can almost hear the needle scratch sound effect for many of you who read the title of this post! LOL But let's face it, Broadway Diva Extraordinaire Bernadette Peters has some gorgeous curls and much props to her for not being afraid to show 'em off!! Not many of our white curly girlfriends in the Biz do, which is why I heart her hair!!

Let's Talk Tresses Friday: Is Steam Part of Your #NaturalHair Routine?!?

As I have mentioned earlier, I recently invested in a Hair Steamer. I've used it twice since receiving it, and...to quote Peter Gabriel, "Give me steam...". LOL

Ohmigod, why has it taken me so long to get one and discover first hand how WONDERFUL steaming is for my hair?!?! Since using the steamer to deep condition, my hair has been thriving incredibly in these cold months in NYC when my hair is sometimes prone to be super dry and brittle! I'm hooked!

Do you use a steamer in your hair regimen? How do you use your steamer? Leave a comment with your tips and experiences!!!

Let's Talk Tresses Friday: What to do when stuck in a rut?!?

I'm pretty much a stickler when it comes to my natural hair routine. That being said... there have been a few occasions when I've been tired of the same ole, same ole and opted to try something new for a spell. These are most often the times when I take my "braid-cations", and opt to wear my hair in braids for a few months to take a break from the routine.

One thing I've learned so far is that when in a rut, it pays to make SUBTLE changes... going overboard may result in a major case of remorse...Need I mention my horrible D-I-Y Dye Job?!?!? LOL

This completely illustrates how I felt after recognizing the mistake I made. So now, instead of completely changing the way I style my hair, or throwing out my tried-and-true products for those new brands on the scene, I make a slight change, which is just enough "new" for me to not feel as bored as I was before. For example, this week I decided that instead of the same old tired center part I rock 24/7, I'd try a side part.

I also experimented with how I section my hair during washing, and tried Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue (which was a part of the gift basket I won from Curl Crush) to braid my hair. I even changed up how I braided my hair, using smaller braids per section. Daring? Not very... but it was a refreshing change of pace for me, and I think the results looked pretty good actually.... it's something I may incorporate for a few weeks, until I miss my usual style.

It's amazing what such a small change can do to inspire you. I made a change that was well within my comfort zone, and I'm loving it!

Have you ever experienced a rut on your natural hair journey? What did you do? Share your stories of the most outlandish or simple changes you made to spice up your hair routine.

Let's Talk Tresses Friday: Relaxed vs. Natural.... Let's End the Battle!

I was doing my weekly "natural hair" web search and I noticed a question from a young woman on Yahoo! Answers:

Why do black women argue over "relaxed vs natural" hair?

The biracial poster, asks why all these "natural women" with natural hair are preaching "black unity" and insulting her for relaxing her hair. I won't bore you with the details (you can click the link should you want to), but my first instinct was to post a reply with an eclipse-sized portion of shade about getting over yourself because this "natural woman" is not studying you. LOL

I decided against it, because I happen to agree with her on one thing: the debate and battle is pretty damn played out. I mean, wasn't Joie Lee, Tisha Campbell and 'em singing and dancing about this in 1988?!?!? I was eleven then, man!!!



With the popularity of natural hair on the rise, so has this "battle" that has been lived out between women with relaxed hair and women with natural hair. Even Dr. Drew had a recent "Good Hair" debate, which really brought the battle to the mainstream.

Photo Courtesy of MadameNoire.com

What's troubling about the argument, is that it seems to always escalate to a point where the debate turns into who has "good hair" and who has "bad hair"... and then we're stuck in front of Madame ReRe's again... and we all look like a bunch of trivial and superficial little girls for arguing about hair... when there are really far more serious matters we could collaborate and focus our attentions on.

How about we promise to be proud and feel beautiful about ourselves, and bunk who dares to tell us otherwise? How about we promise to treat our hair well and give it what it needs to be healthy? How about you relax away, honey... with pride... while I'll rock my braid outs with pride?!? How about you keep the Nicki Minaj quotes about "Perminator" to yourself (This actually happened to me recently.. the girl was all of 14, so I just shook my head and kept it moving! LOL ) and I won't accuse you of wanting to be anything other than happy? How about we ALL get over this debate and focus our attention into something positive... like feeding the hungry, educating our youth, and instilling in our sons and daughters a degree of self love that will ensure we never have to entertain the masses with arguments over our hair again? Who's with me? Sound off and leave a comment!

D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: Anita Grant's Rhassoul Deep Condish Review

I have to admit that when it came to Anita Grant's products, I am a bit of a curly-come-lately... but encouraged by Chai from the wonderful blog, Back to Curly, I decided to try the Rhassoul Deep Condish to see if my hair would love it.

I've had my two condish hearts for about a month now, and was waiting for a really good time to use them. I am currently enjoying a three day weekend (Yay!) and since experimenting with flat-ironing no doubt caused some stress to my hair, I figured my curls needed a treat and could definitely benefit from a little TLC.

Mixing the condish was actually pretty easy! I have a lot of hair, so I knew that I would need to use both hearts. Instead of mixing them with water, I decided to use Coconut Milk -

I used a bit too much of the Coconut Milk (I used about 1 and a half cans), so when the hearts melted and combined with the milk the consistency was a bit more watery than I wanted it to be.



I thought as it cooled it might thicken a bit, so I went to the shower to shampoo my hair with my usual Mixed Chicks Gentle Clarifying Shampoo. Once my hair was thoroughly washed, I covered my bathroom floor with some old towels and went to town adding the mixture to my hair...


Yay!!! My curls are back.... Whoo Hoooooo!


When I was one, my parents through me a birthday party and my older sister baked me a little mini cake that was all mine. I had a blast eating that cake, and it got all over me: my shirt, my face and definitely in my hair.


Adding the clay mixture to my hair made me think back to that moment in time. My one-year-old self must have had as much fun as I had "playing in mud" and nourishing my hair! LOL

I wrapped my hair in a conditioner cap and kept it in for about an hour. I wanted to keep it in longer, but the mixture was melting and starting to drip all over my bed, plus I was anxious to see the results, so I rushed back to my bathroom to rinse it all out.



Rinsing was (surprisingly!) a breeze... after a few moments the water was completely clear. I had anticipated finishing the rinse with a little conditioner, but the moment the water hit my hair, it felt like BUTTAH!!!


I was amazed at how wonderful my hair felt... it felt heavenly and the curl definition was crazy!!!



Since today was all about trying new products, I decided to use Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioning Milk as my leave-in before twisting my hair with a little Healthy Hair Butter.



I haven't twisted my hair in about a month, so I was happy to see the end results after sealing the ends with a little Vatika Oil.







I am going to leave the twists for about a week, just to give my hair a much-needed break after flat-ironing. I am definitely going to be investing in the big block of Anita Grant's Rhassoul Deep Condish... it's expensive, but I am definitely diggin' the results.

For any of you who have been curious about trying this, I would wholeheartedly recommend buying a couple of the hearts first to see if your hair will like it as much as mine did! To purchase the Rhassoul Deep Condish and check out everything Anita Grant has to offer, please feel free to visit https://anitagrant.com/ .

Be sure to check out the Miss Moon's Musings YouTube Channel for a Video Extra: My thoughts after just rinsing out the condish in my hair!!

:::drools::: Afro-licious Finds from Etsy - Part Three

I couldn't end the year without paying another jaunt to the bounty of goodies for Naturalovlies on Etsy. This time, as with the last time, do NOT read this blog entry on pay day... your bank account will thank you for it!! LOL



Hairy Hair Tee ($30.00, Junkprints) This continues to be one of my favorite Etsy shops... And this lemon-colored beauty is no exception.


Afro Sol Hand Painted Earrings ($17.00, Geminisunshine) These hand-painted beauties are making me think of Summer on a cold night in Brooklyn.


Red Crin Fascinator Headband ($39, BoutiqueDeBandeaux) I don't have many opportunities to get super dressed up, but I might have to invent a few just for the opportunity to rock this instantly dramatic look!!! Love the red headbank/rep lip combo!!!


Duafe Black Afro Pick Earrings ($25.00, BOABW) This Adinkra symbol represents beauty and cleanliness in addition to being symbols of desirable feminine qualities. Furthermore, a duafe was a prized possession of the Akan woman, used to comb and plait her hair.


Kinky Brooklyn Girl Tshirt ($15, kinkybrooklyngirl) This tee shirt is adorable.. I would totally rock this one. Sadly this tee is not for plus size sistren like myself, but it's cute nonetheless..


Angela Davis Pendant and Necklace ($18.00, Seacave) I can't think of a woman's afro without recalling the awesome head of hair Angela Davis. You can pay homage to the woman and her afro.

D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Frizz Fighter Set Review

My hair has been taking on a life of its own the past few weeks.... a life I have come to name "Frizzeeda". While I love the way the frizz makes my hair look, I do not like the excess of tangles and dryness. For the past few weeks, I've been searching and searching for a product that would curtail the excess frizz without weighing my hair down and causing a lot of product build up, some I've actually liked for other reasons, but none has really done the job.


It's super cute, but the tangles and dryness I had at the end of the week were no bueno!! I want my hair to look good and feel good!

I remembered that last summer I did a braid-out using Kizzi 'Stay Put' Hair Pomade from Carol's Daughter (using the remnants of a HUUUUGE 16 ounce tub of the stuff from my days working for the company!) and loved the results. So I decided that this weekend I would get myself over to Carol's Daughter and get some tout suite!

I ended up getting the Black Vanilla Frizz Fighter Set ($46, Carol's Daughter)



This set includes:

Black Vanilla Shampoo, 8 fl. oz.
Black Vanilla Smoothie, 8 oz.
Hair Balm, 4 oz.
Kizzi “Stay Put” Hair Pomade, 2 oz.

I also got the Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner, primarily because I love it! I have never used the Black Vanilla Shampoo before, so I was excited about trying it out.

Recently I my Natural Hair Tips for the fantabulous blog Everything She Wants where I shared an epiphany I had recently: I don't need to lather, rinse and repeat as my hair cleanses thoroughly very easily. Since recognizing that... the stripping I've experienced with shampoo in the past has been a thing of the past.

So I separated my hair into four sections and braided them down, got into the shower, unbraided a section, applied the Black Vanilla Shampoo, lathered it up, and rinsed thoroughly. The first thing I noticed is that the shampoo lathered a lot more than I am used to with Carol's Daughter shampoos, which made me have to check out the ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide DEA, Lauramide DEA, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract, Melilotus Officinalis (Sweet Clover) Extract, Rosa Canina Flower Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Glycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Potassium Cocoate, Polysorbate 20, Polyquaternium-7, Polyquaternium-10, PEG-150 Distearate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Caramel, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum)

Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate is supposed to be a milder alternative to SLS, perhaps a "lesser of two evils" sort of chemical.

Once I washed each of the four sections, and braided each section, I applied the Black Vanilla Hair Smoothie. The consistency was a lot thicker than I remembered, which I instantly loved because in my mind thick conditioner = more concentrated conditioning.



Yikes!! I need to get my eyebrows waxed!! LOL

Anyway -- I left it in my hair, under conditioning cap for about two hours, rinsed thoroughly and proceeded to doing the braids for my braid out.

I sprayed each section of my hair heavily with the Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner, which is just dope as hell. I then parted my hair in rows, applied the Kizzi and braided my hair down. I did this Saturday night, so I had to use my Mum's trusty hooded blow dryer just to ensure that my hair will be dry in time for work on Monday (Yeah, that's right.... MONDAY!!!!!!! LOL)



So far I noticed that after every step in the process, my hair was noticeably shinier and easier to work through. The Black Vanilla scent is addictive..... and I've missed the high! But what about the frizz fighting? We shall see on Friday, for my follow up on this review.

During the week, at night (possibly every other night) I plan on applying the hair balm to maintain the shine. I will be sure to take pictures during the week for the final results!!

D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: Post BRAID-cation Hair Regimen

I am very much a creature of comfort. When I find a regimen that works for me, I hold on to it with a power kung-fu grip!

Yesterday after taking my braids out, washing my hair with my usual go-to shampoo and applying Miss Jessie's Super Sweetback Treatment (I have one more treatment left in the jar... still don't know what my final thoughts on the product will be... but I promise to post them! One immediate thought though is do not leave it in overnight if you plan on sleeping in late the next morning! After 12+ hours of keeping it in, that stuff stayed on my scalp and I had to scrub like Lady MacBeth to get it off!!!)

Okay, I got sidetracked, back to the story:

I realized that I was out of Healthy Hair Butter. While I seldom use HHB during warmer weather - I generally prefer more balmy substances for my summer braid-outs, I wanted to be extra nourishing to my hair after having it in braids for over a month. With the encouragement from my Natural-hair sistren on FaceBook (Thank you, Jazitones, LeAntionette and Mmazipan!!) I decided to try Oyin's Whipped Pudding, a product I love on my body but have never used on my hair.



Because the name of the game for me was "Moisturize & Hydrate", I also added a new product to the line-up, Jane Carter Solution's Revitalizing Leave-In Conditioner. I had purchased it for hydrating my braids, but the lightness and the smell has made me a convert!!! I finished the bottle on my hair this afternoon, but I am definitely going to buy another bottle to try it on my hair for another month.



After washing out Miss Jessie's SST with my hair parted into four sections, I parted each row, oiled my scalp with Jamaican Castor Oil, making sure I let the oil get into my hair as well. I sprayed the entire row with the Revitalizing Leave-In Conditioner, added a little bit of the Whipped Pudding and them worked it through with my Denman Brush..... My hair was in Seventh Heaven!!! I could almost hear "Thaaaaaank Yoooooooou!!!!" (a la Bill Murray in "Little Shop of Horrors")

I was running out of Leave-In Conditioner, so I decided to sample a bit of my Mum's, not realizing that it was not a leave-in, but Pantene's Relaxed and Naturals Wrap & Setting Lotion. I must say, I liked the way the front of my hair responded to it. I tend to have extra frizz on the top of my hair, and applying the lotion to my hair seemed to really minimize the frizz and bring out the natural definition of my hair!!



Once each section was completed, I added Avon's Dry Ends Serum and clipped the section down with a duck bill clip to slightly elongate.



This is the finished product. My hair is still slightly wet, so I am leaving the clips in for a few hours to let it dry!!



My hair looks ridiculously oily, but I can guarantee that my hair is currently slurping it up like a milk shake!!!



Close up of one section of hair.. love when my hair is glossy!!!!



Stretch test.... the back of my hair is completely APL now, and the front is getting there! I am very very happy with the growth I'm getting!!

D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: I'm taking a BRAID-cation!!!!

So I braided my hair on Saturday. I wanted to get it done professionally, but decided to save myself the money and do it myself.

Eight hours lady, here are the end results. I really could've finished this job faster, but I straight up took a zillion breaks!!

This is the type of hair I used - I bought about seven bags (I only end up using 5, so the other 2 will be used for touching the braids up!) and got them for a sweet deal!!

I plan on leaving them in my hair for a couple of months... In that time, I am going to keep my scalp healthy and hydrated with some Jamaican Castor Oil... which I heard is also good for growth, so I am looking forward to see how it goes!!