Hair Therapy Wrap

I found out about this heat wrap on curlynikki.com and I have been wanting one ever since I saw it. I recently found a video demonstration on YouTube done by Mae aka Natural Chica. I also wanted to metion that the website to buy it at normally is Curl Mart and it is $21.95 plus shipping. But I found it for $22.00 at Dermstore with FREE shipping! I plan to use this as a part of my plan to stop breakage and increase the effectiveness of my deep conditioning. On the video comments a subscriber issued a warning to always let your hair cool off so the cuticle can close and you won't lose the nutrients and also rinse conditioner with cool water!

Natural Hair on Sesame Street, I Wish I'd Had This

Hair Update

I blogged recently about issues I've been having with my hair. I have been looking through the blog sites and have come across a couple of articles that have helped me to pinpoint some things that might help. First of all I am sure that a lot of natural women battle single strand knots and split ends but I seem to be battling them more now than I have in a long time. One reason for this, I think, is that I had my hair straightened in September. I had not had any heat on it in over a year and I think that my already weakened hair suffered in the process of having the blow dryer, flat iron, and then curling iron used on it all at once. Also when I went my stylist started to trim my hair after it had already been dried with the blow dryer. Normally she does the trim while it's wet and easier to see the areas that need a trim. So I think all of that together made for a perfect storm of hair damage in September. So after reading some blogs I decided to get a cut in November, either 1/2 inch or a full inch, whichever seems more necessary and I am also going to go back to deep conditioning. I had been deep conditioning once a week with my coconut oil protein packs but I went through a cash shortage and couldn't replenish the supply. So I am going to go back to deep conditioning and use a hot oil treatment that has gotten good reviews. I will write about it after using it to give my own experience with it. I also got a new conditioner that I hope will work a little better than the olive oil treatment has been working lately. I got the TRESemme Naturals Conditioner with aloe vera and avocado extract. I have read a couple reviews in which the slip of this conditioner is supposed to be great. I am hoping that I get the same results as the blogs that I have read because a better detangling conditioner means that I won't be damaging my hair as much in the detangling process. I already finger detangle my hair and follow up with combing with my Tool Structure Shower comb only once as opposed to using solely the comb for detangling like I used to. So I am hoping that going back to a deep conditioning once a week and using a better detangling conditioner will help me to cut down on the amount of damage that I am seeing.

I am also having more of an issue with Curly Pudding flaking in my hair making it look like there is dandruff when it's really product. I am not sure how to rectify this. I was hoping to maybe use Shea Moisture's new product Curling Souffle. But I have viewed a couple of youtube videos which were not promising about it's effectiveness. So I don't know if I am going to have to go to another styler or somehow cut back on the amount of Curly Pudding I use. I am going to have to make that my next focus after I get the breakage under control.

Grace to Make It

This past weekend was non-stop. On Friday I was gone all day at a facilitation at the museum and then had to wait for my mom. We didn't get home until about 8:00 pm. We ate pizza for dinner. Then the next morning I had to go to a training for the tutoring that I am going to be doing this fall and in the spring for the school system. I went to the training and thought that there would be other people there who were involved in other organizations who were going to be tutors too. However, it was only teachers who were there. Most of them were either currently working as teachers or were retired from teaching. Needless to say I was extremely intimidated. I also had been under the impression that I was only going to be helping students with homework. But I learned that I was actually going to be helping them to get prepared for end of grade testing using computer modules. Yikes! I felt extremely under qualified and anxious about all of this. I really wanted to be like, "Um, this isn't what I thought it would be. Can you get someone else to do it?" I pondered it for a little while and then forgot about it. That afternoon my mom and I went grocery shopping for my grandmother and went to her house in South Carolina because she has been sick with a bad cold. So we spent much of the evening with her. We arrived back home just in time to beat the traffic from that evening's race at the motor speedway. The next day we went to church. Pastor Gool preached a message about "Our Future Depends on It." He was speaking about how our future on earth depends on our relying on and attaching ourselves to God's system and not to the world system which is not stable at all. He was saying that we need to get ourselves in line with God's word and with His will. He also spoke extensively how we cannot do those two things if we don't recognize our inability to come before God without Jesus. We have to realize that there is no good work or no thing that we have done that can "earn points" before God, our righteousness and ability to have relationship and approach God at all comes through having salvation through Jesus and recognizing that. It was a great message. Then mom and I had some errands to run before we came home and ate lunch. After lunch I headed to the grocery store to do the weekly shopping for us. My mom hates grocery shopping which is something I never knew about her until I was an adult. But I love grocery shopping so it falls in my to do list each week. I got some great deals and even ran into a friend I hadn't seen in years coming out of the store. Then I came home and watched some X factor and looked at the Curly Nikki site for a while. I settled down for bed and watched a message from Elevation Church's pastor, Steven Furtick before going to sleep. Pastor Steven was finishing his series on The Prodigy in You. I had actually gone to Elevation the week that he had started the series. This was the last message and it was about how God my call you to use your gifts and talents outside of your comfort zone but never out of your sweet spot. That message was really comforting. I wasn't too thrilled that the first job that I had been accepted to in over a year was as a part-time tutor in Charlotte. But I believe and hope that it is for some reason that the Lord allowed me to be accepted to this job. Also after Saturday I was as good as convinced that this job was going to go terribly for me because I have been having a difficult time with students at the museum and I just kind of extended that to the work that I may have to do with the tutoring. But as Pastor Steven said God doesn't call you to do things that you are always comfortable with but He does give you the necessary abilities and skills to do the things that He calls you to. I don't see myself as a teacher or an instructor in any sense. I am a behind the scenes background person, I hate to have to lead a group, always have. But lately I have been having more experiences with working with groups and this must be for a reason. I hope so any way. But I was reminded in both Pastor Gool and Pastor Steven's messages that God gives us the grace to be able to make it. He helps us with our problems whether big or small, whether obvious or seemingly invisible. But I am glad that He is with me because I know I wouldn't be able to do anything without His help and without knowing that He is in control.

October in Review

Because the end of the year is fast approaching I began thinking about the last three years and where I have been the past Octobers and wondering where I will be when the next one comes around. In October 2009 I moved to New Jersey although at the time I thought that I was only there temporarily until my job in DC came through. The next October, last year, I celebrated being in New Jersey for a year and was beginning to enjoy my new life there although I was hoping to be able to move out on my own in New Jersey or be able to move to New York which is what I really wanted. Then there is this October. I never could have predicted where I ended up the last two Octobers and I certainly would not have been able to predict that what I also thought was a temporary move to Charlotte has turned out to be a long term venture, although I am not sure for how long. But as I pondered these past Octobers I couldn't help but think what the next one would be like. What will be going on in my life in October of 2012. Will I still be in Charlotte (I personally hope not), will I be working full time by then (I hope so), and what will be going on in other areas of my life that have long been neglected because there was so much else going on? I am really curious to see. This road that I have been on for these past three years has been unpredictable at best. It has been terrifying at times and frustrating at other times. And I keep wondering how will all of these different issues work themselves out? But I know that just like last year I didn't know what this year held but I am still here, next is a mystery as well but I still plan to be holding on then too no matter what is going on then. So I look forward to writing a year from now about what the events of next October are and comparing them to the events of Octobers past in hopes that next year will be better.

Here's a little song from Mary Mary for inspiration:

$50.00 CurlMart Giveaway from The Mane Source

The Mane Source has a giveaway going on til November 10th! This is a great time to enter. If you're like me you may have products you want to try but do not have or want to spend money on right now. This is a perfect way to be able to get some new products or stock up on your favorites!

Enter here: The Mane Source CurlMart Giveaway

On to the Next Week

Well I have made it through the first week of October. The weather is starting to change as are the leaves. Next weekend is to be the peak weekend for leaves in the North Carolina mountains. I don't know if I am going to make it up there or not to see them but I hope that I am able to. This past week was really good. For the most part I was at home. I went to the museum on Tuesday and had a really great day. The rest of the week I was at home but I was dealing a lot with isolation and loneliness. Fortunately, I am reading Joyce Meyer's book Living Beyond Your Feelings. She does not address loneliness specifically but she talks about discouragement and depression. I have a tendency to think about just the things that I don't have or wish I had and also at times fall into self-pity or despair. But as I was reminded by Joyce. During those times I need to focus on the positive and remind myself that if God has promised something it is because He has seen it coming to pass and that it will happen if I trust Him and am obedient. It can get hard sometimes when you encourage yourself to hold on a little longer and then that holding on extends much longer than you think it will. I find myself constantly thinking, "I thought that this or that would have happened by now, Lord." But God's timing is His timing and unless He moves you just have to wait patiently until it is the set appointed time. This morning Pastor Gool had ministers pray for people in the congregation who were dealing with despair, heaviness, and weariness. I went up and I felt much better afterwards too. Pastor Gool and the ministers prayed that people would have a fresh anointing and a renewed spirit. Sometimes you can just get bogged down with the day to day and you feel trapped or pressed. I appreciated the fresh anointing.

Pastor Gool's message was really good today. He preached about letting Him be Lord. He was saying that we need to let Jesus be Lord in our lives. We need to obey and follow Him so that He can manifest Himself in our lives. We shouldn't give ourselves over to worry, doubt, fear, or complaining but whatever the problem is or problems are we need to see Jesus as being big enough to handle whatever challenge we're facing. It reminds me of what I heard at the beginning of this year from a prophet who came to LOJ and was preaching about getting a revelation of the Revelation Jesus, the Jesus that holds the planets and stars in His hands. He was saying that too often we make God too small. We see Him as not having control of the whole universe but just little things. But He can handle anything and we need to believe that He can handle anything. I really enjoyed His message and it helped me to see that I need to be better about trusting God to take care of my needs and not questioning whether He is able or not or if it doesn't happen when I am expecting it to not giving up and thinking that it means that it won't happen. Pastor Gool talked about how the Israelites were in bondage for centuries in Egypt but that Bible scholars say that it didn't take more than 50 days for God to turn the situation around and if He can deliver the children of Israel from 400 years of bondage in 50 days then surely He can work out whatever our own needs are. So I really appreciated that message and the reminder that I need to trust God no matter what the problem is or how long it takes to solve it. A big part of it is just watching my tongue and keeping positive thoughts in my mind so that I don't negate what has been spoken over me and what I have confessed over myself. So I have work to do. I need to memorize and confess more scriptures, spend more time in the Word and in worship, and trust the Lord and not question His abilities.

In Hair News: I tried some new practices in my hair routine this weekend. I washed each side separately and then conditioned each side separately as well. My hair was much softer and probably cleaner too. Then I used just a little of the Kera Care Hair Milk. It smells really good but I am not sure if it is really helping my hair or not. I am going to try some of the Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Original when I can. I have heard that it works really well. I also want to try Lisa's Hair Elixir, a blend of several oils to moisturize and prevent breakage and stimulate growth. After the Kera Care Hair Milk, I applied Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie to each side. The I styled with Curly Pudding and Curls gel as usual and let it air dry all day. I put the gripper clips on the end to extend the curl and combat shrinkage. The results were that my hair is much softer. I did have less shrinkage. However, the left side of my hair turned out wonderful and is still curled and defined two days after washing but the right side is shrinking and frizzy. I generally have this problem with the right side so I am not too surprised. I think for some reason the hair on that side is just more resistant to being manipulated. So I have to be a little more heavy-handed with the Curly Pudding next time. But I am excited about trying some other new products hopefully to help with this. They are Organix Nourishing Coconut Oil Anti-Breakage Serum and Shea Moisture African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner. I will be sure to review these products once I pick them up.