D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: My UPDATED Hair Regimen (Pt. 1)

Happy June, y'all! Can you believe how fast this year has been going? Oy!! As promised, I will be sharing in this post my modified hair routine. This routine is a bit special, because I will be incorporating some new products in the mix, so in addition to talking a bit about what I do to make Ms. Mooch so very Ms. Mooch-y, I will be sharing my first time thoughts on the new additions I tried.

Let me get this first out of the way and say it upfront so that there is no misunderstanding: Since the beginning of the year, I've been washing my hair once a month. Yes. Once. A month. Me. Washes my hair. LOL

It honestly started sometime in January because our apartment was frequently having water issues. We would either have no cold water, no hot water, or no water at all.. depending on the day. Either of these situations aren't really the most optimal for getting in the shower and washing my hair. The familia had to actually buy gallons of water to use for bathing and cooking (and the toilet... just saying!), so I couldn't really use up the water for my hair, so I ended up having to wait until the beginning of February to wash my hair when the water problems were fixed.

And when the blessed moment finally arrived, I noticed I had a lot less hair shed. I wondered if the change in my wash routine had anything to do with it, so as an experiment, I decided to wash my hair again the beginning of March. Again, I noticed my hair had a lot less tangles, a lot less shedding and it looked like it had grown more than usual since the beginning of the year. So I did my homework, and discovered a lot of naturals follow this same regimen. And I figure if this wash schedule works for Amel Larrieux and Cipriana from Urban Bush Babes (And be honest, who doesn't LOVE their hair!?!?), it won't hurt to see if works for me!! And so far, it has! So to get started, I will talk about my wash and condition routine in part one.

Because my wash week occurred after my flat ironing Ms. Mooch, I decided that I would give her some extra special TLC, so I started with a pre-poo using Karen's Body Beautiful Secret Weapon Restorative Hair Treatment for the very first time.

I'm not really a pre-poo kind of girl, to be quite honest. I think I can count on two hands the number of times I've actually done one in the past 6 years. But I received the jar free with my recent purchase, and I was excited about trying it out from reading the ingredients, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

The treatment has an amazing lavender mixed with something (I cannot put my finger on it) scent. I don't know if that's the scent it has, or it was scented to match my other products I ordered... 'cause I love my Vanilla Lavender!

The texture reminded me of the roux I first make when preparing gravy when I put it in my hand, but I must admit I was quite surprised how quickly it thins into an oil. My still semi-straight hair was separated into four bantu knots, so I took down each section and added a liberal amount to my tresses.

Seriously, why did I think it was a good idea to flat iron my hair?!? Poor Ms. Mooch.. she's looks beat up, huh? After it was all up and through my hair, I put on my very sexy plastic conditioning cap and waited to let the treatment work its magic.

I kept the treatment in a lot longer than the recommended 20 minutes (I watched, like, two movies!), but it did say you can leave it in over night so I figured four hours wouldn't hurt. I then hopped in the shower and was ready to wash my hair using Bumble and Bumble's Creme de Coco Shampoo.

I really fell out of love with my Mixed Chicks shampoo months ago, but out of necessity I opted to keep using it until it was finished before trying something new. I have read a lot of rave reviews on Creme de Coco online and because I am a total smell junkie, I decided I would give it a try. I did buy the 2 ounce bottle, just in case! LOL

I have the very strong feeling that I'm going to end up purchasing the bigger bottle next month, because not only does this shampoo smell HEAVENLY... it really did a bang up job in removing a month's worth of product and the Secret Weapon Restorative Treatment from my hair without leaving it feeling stripped and icky. I think I heard Ms. Mooch sigh with relief! Relief turned into excitement, because she knew what was coming up next!

Yes yes, y'all! It's Anita Grant's Rhassoul Deep Condish, which was cooling in the kitchen while I was in the shower. I raked up on this conditioner last Christmas, so I had a ton of hearts (which are all gone now!), plus a big block (which I just broke a piece off of) at my disposal. I stupidly forgot to grab Coconut Milk for my treatment, so for the first time, I was using plain H2O (mixed with a little EVOO) to make the mixture.

I was a bit worried when I noticed that the mixture was a lot thinner than it normally is with coconut milk, but I figured I would give it the old college try!!!

At this point Ms. Mooch is  in hog heaven because the curls are coming back and she knows she's just been given the good stuff! I left the rhassoul condish in my hair a little over an hour and it was back in the shower I go!

I love it when my curls get clumpy, and nothing makes 'em clumpy like the Rhassoul Deep Condish!

After my getting out of the shower, I don't apply a leave-in to my wet or damp hair. I find it makes my hair really stringy. So I put my hair in four braids.

My hair will stay in these four braids until completely dry. It is then that I apply a leave-in and product to my hair. Part Two will cover what I use and how I maintain my hair every week. Stay tuned!!!

D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: Ms. Mooch Gets Straightened Out!!!

Out of sheer boredom I decided to flat iron Ms. Mooch on Monday. I do not flat iron my hair often, so this was the first time in 2012.

Why did I flat iron my hair when it's been VERY hot and humid (when it's not raining) here in NYC and take walks twice a day with the major purpose of getting hot and sweaty?!?! Simple answer... I'm not very smart! LMAO

By yesterday, my hair showed no signs of ever being flat ironed. So I decided to flat iron it again, because I wanted to blog about it and because I promised to share more Ms. Mooch posts (and I'm a woman of my word!). I also had the opportunity to try out a new product in the process (Yay!), so I will talk a bit about that as well and give it a little bit of a preliminary review!

A WORD OF WARNING: I've never flat ironed my hair twice in one week before, and honestly wouldn't recommend it. But like I said, I promised to do more hair posts. Also, since last year, I have refined my technique a bit, so I thought I would share the process with you. And if my hair becomes horribly damaged I will expect you all to take up a collection to pay for my wig!! Just kidding! ;)

So first, I separated my hair into eight bantu knots. I find that they are perfect for keeping all of Ms. Mooch out of the way while I flat iron.

It's not that big of a secret, but I'm a total theater nerd! I love "Memphis: The Musical!!!!!

Once my flat iron's good and ready, I take down the first knot and apply a bit of Karen's Body Beautiful Creamylicious to the entire section. 

This stuff has edged out Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter as my "go to" hair cream. I love this stuff with a passion and broke my "no buy" policy to get some more when she had her recent sale. Simple and all-natural ingredients, works like a dream, and the fact that I can get in my favorite "Vanilla Lavender" scent?!? Yessss!!!

Once the section of hair is nicely full of the "good stuff", I part my hair and get to flat ironing!!

Usually I end up doing three parts per section, so it doesn't take a ridiculously long time to complete a section.

Once a section is done, I bantu knot it again.Vee of The HodgePodge Files suggested this... Thank you, girl! I seriously just used to let it hang there. Once I bantu knotted the section, I moved on to the next one, repeating these last few steps.

SIDENOTE: These pictures really highlights my weight loss to me. My eyes look bigger, and my double chin is totally less chin-y! LOL It's all about the small things you notice, I'm learning!

It's about this time I start sweating up a storm... which is exactly what you want to have happen when flat ironing your hair! LOL

But (as I do when taking my walks) I say, "Bring it on, Sweat Monster!!! I ain't afraid of you.. I'm from BROOKLYN, son!!!" LOL

Yeah... the Sweat Monster brought it!!! LMAO But I was able to finish the job without major incident. Once I was done, I was very excited to finish the job with Karen's Body Beautiful Beauty Boss 101, which I used for the first time on Monday, instead Carol's Daughter Hair Balm, which was what I used last year. Monday I went OVERBOARD with the stuff, which made poor Ms. Moochie look like the Exxon Valdez crashed on top of her!! This time, I was a lot more conservative with each section.

I applied by undoing each of the now-straightened bantu knots, and working it through each section. That stuff makes my hair feel super soft, and did I mention that you can purchase it scented, too?!? Ms. Mooch and I are both in Lavender-Vanilla scented hair HEAVEN!!! Beauty Boss 101 gets a thumbs up from me so far!!

I wish there was an internet equivalent to "Smell-o-Vision".... Seriously!!! Monday I posted on the Miss Moon's Musings FB page that last year I felt like my straightened hair made me look like an extra in "Jesus Christ: Superstar" (::singing:: What's the buzz? Tell me what's a-happenin'.. LOL). Theater dork!

This year, the moment I saw the results, I was like, "Ms. Mooch you look like Irene Cara in 'Sparke'!!!!"

::singing:: If you look into your heart... with a positive mind. Take self-inventory... your woman and your glory... but the bad things behind...." LOL

I know my hair is not going to last a while, as the moment I go for walk #1 today, it will be O-VAH! To be honest, the frizz made it presence known hours later! LOL But it was fun in the process, and I love sharing my hair stories with you all!

This weekend I'm planning on giving Ms. Mooch a well deserved treat of deep conditioning with Anita Grant's Rhassoul Deep Condish. I will also be shampooing with Bumble and Bumble's Creme de Coco Shampoo and I will be doing a pre-poo with Karen's Body Beautiful Secret Weapon Restorative Hair Treatment (Yeah, I raked up during that sale!!), both for the first time, so be sure to check out my blog next week to see how Ms. Mooch liked them both!

D-I-Y Nappturaliciously: Carol's Daughter Monoi Collection Review

When I still worked for Carol's Daughter (in their Customer Service Department), I remember a lot of buzz around the company about the Monoi Collection they were developing and how it was going to be a game changer in regards to their hair care lines. The key ingredient in this line, of course is Monoi, (pronounced "muh-noy") a 2,000 year-old sacred, Tahitian ingredient that (according to their website) " undoes and prevents damage for fewer breaks, snaps and splits."

Since Frizzeeda 2.0 has been running things on top of my head for most of June, I thought this would be a good time to invest in the Monoi collection, because for me frizz=dryness=shedded hair & breakage, and I need all the protection I can get during the rest of summer.

What I bought:
Monoi Repairing Shampoo
Monoi Repairing Conditioner
Monoi Repairing Hair Mask

Since my usual summer staple, Kizzy "Stay Put" Hair Pomade is not in stock, I also snatched up a jar of Mimosa Hair Honey (Kizzy fans - this and Loc Butter are both good alternatives)... And boy I miss my employee discount!! LMAO

A little info about each product from the Carol's Daughter Website:

MONOI REPAIRING SHAMPOO

Monoi Oil provides all over conditioning from root to tip
Hibiscus Extract helps improve detangling when hair's wet
Coconut-derived Cleansers gently cleanse your without stripping away moisture

MONOI REPAIRING CONDITIONER

Monoi Oil intensely conditions your hair
Bamboo Water helps reinforce your hair's structure from the inside

MONOI REPAIRING HAIR MASK

Monoi Oil deeply nourishes your hair
Bamboo Water helps reinforce your hair's structure from the inside
Hydrolyzed Silk helps fortify your hair against future damage

Excited to put my newly acquired goodies to use, I headed home and after separating Frizzeeda into two sections, I stepped into the shower to apply the shampoo and conditioner.

After rinsing out the conditioner, I wasn't really bowled over at how my hair was feeling.. it felt a bit frizzy and stripped, but I chalked it up to possibly applying too much.

If you can believe this... this is my wet hair just out the shower!!

I followed up with the Repairing Mask, which my hair really seemed to like as I was applying. It had some great slip, but on my thick, shoulder length hair, I had to almost use the entire jar!

Side-by-side comparison of my freshly washed and conditioned hair, with my hair after applying the mask.

After applying the mask to my entire head, I covered it up with a conditioning cap and let it stay in my hair for about an hour and a half.

After rinsing, I noticed my hair felt very soft, but still extremely frizzy. Using the Mimosa Hair Honey (and sealing my ends with some Vatika Oil), I braided my hair as usual...

All in all, I wasn't thrilled with the results of using the Monoi Collection. It seemed to make my hair excessively frizzy, and once I let the braids down and rocked my usual braid out for the week, the frizz only got a lot worse, which made detangling my hair this past weekend a lot more difficult.

I think that the Monoi Collection might be a better winter option for my hair, and I will definitely try it again during colder weather to see if the results improve. Have you tried Carol's Daughter Monoi Collection? What were your thought?!?! Leave a comment and dish!

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!!

I SWEAR I'm Not Obsessed (But I AM a Little Dorky) About...

Oyin Handmade's Burnt Sugar Pomade!!!!!

One of the highlights of my evenings for the past few weeks (since buying the 4 oz. sample jar) has been coming home and taking a bit of this delicious concoction and putting it in my hair before braiding it in my two trusty braids for the night.

In the morning, my hair is softer and shinier... which is a feat because it is COLD and WINDY here in New York. My hair usually struggles to regain luster and sheen during winter months, and come spring, my hair is hanging on for its life. So far this winter (which in my opinion has been the COLDEST in years!!!), my hair is defiantly telling Jack frost to "Bring it, Baby!"


Not my sexiest photo, but I am in ready-for-bed mode here! LOL

Burnt Sugar Pomade is a blend of oils, butters, and veggie waxes that acts as a humectant and protectant for hair, so you know it increases the shine and locks in moisture ( AMUST NEED during "Brrrrr...." season!) It's packed with essential fatty acids to nourish the scalp, and absorbs easily with a long lasting, non-greasy feeling.

That's on the surface, but we all know that what's inside is what counts:

Contains virgin coconut cream, mango oil, and hempseed oil in a base of nourishing castor oil. Fragranced with a subtly sweet vanilla-sugar scent that is appropriate for both men and women.....

And now, let me say a few words about the SMELL....

If this product did NOTHING AT ALL for my hair... I would still use it just to perfume my hair!!! When I first received my jar, I spent the day opening it and sniffing it repeatedly. LOL

I am really looking forward to warmer weather, and I do believe I have found a replacement for my summer braid-out product (Kizzy "Stay Put" Hair Pomade by Carol's Daughter). I will be sure to post my results then!!!

In the meantime, I will be placing an order for a couple 8 oz. jars this time.... and maybe a 4 oz. jar, just to keep on my desk! But I SWEAR I'm not Obsessed!!! LOL