KBB Hold It Gel

Gel is very thick and stiff

On my hair

On KK's hair


Today I went back to my beloved WnG style. I decided this would be a great time to try my Karen's Body Beautiful Hold It Gel that I purchased at the WNHS in Altanta back on April. As you can see from the picture the gel is very thick. It reminds me of Let's Jam gel. I got the Coco Lime fragrance so the smell is Yummy. I also decided to try this product on both my hair and KK'S hair. We started with freshly washed hair then added KC Knot Today as our leave in, followed by a couple of sprays of Darcy's Botanicals Plum Kernel Nectar. Lastly we raked the KBB Hold It Gel through our hair. The gel does not have much slip but it was not hard to apply. Right after I was finished applying the gel I was very pleased with the curl definition. Then my hair started dripping. Yes dripping on my face, shoulders and back. I have only had this happen with one other product and that's the Shea Moisture Curl Souffle. But again the curl definition was great so I just used a towel and kept it moving. I went to lunch about 40 minutes from where I live. So I drove with my windows down allowing my 80mph speed to dry me and my daughters hair. Once we arrived at our location I checked the mirror and my hair looked amazing, of course i touched my hair and was shocked to feel a helmet. My hair has more crunch than a bag of kettle chips. I also had flaky white stuff on my neck, face and back. I used a wet cloth to clean that up and I was good to go. My hair is still very hard and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet. I will post pics tomorrow of our second day hair. I still like the gel because my hair does look good, but I think I will try it with a heavier leave in next time.

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And The Twists Come Down

I really tried to keep my twists in, I promise. My intention was to keep them in for a week and then wear a twist out for a few days. I lasted a day and a half. I just think I'm not a twist girl. I love love love wearing my hair in a WnG. And i guess if it ain't broke don't fix it. So this was the third or fourth time i have tried twists on my hair. As I said in my other post I dont think I look good with my hair twisted and they kept itching. Then when i took them out I was left with a frizzy fuzzy mess. See pics below. I prefer the curly spirals I get from a WnG. So expect to see many more posts of me reviewing products for WnG's. Tomorrow I'm going to try the new Karen's Body Beautiful gel. I will post pics in my post tomorrow. And you may see me in twists one more time my friend Haley thinks she can change my mind about twists. We shall see.

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KK's Updo

KK, age 9, with an updo on a week old twistout

Side View

Side view with the flower

Back View

A view from the top

You guys have met my youngest daughter KK in other posts so no introductions are needed.  The pictures above are of a quick and easy updo  we created using three hair accessories. A banana clip (I purchased them in a 3 pack from Sally's for $1.99), a Goody brand rounded hair clip and a flower. This style is also a good way to get more wear out of a twist out. KK wore her twists done with Komaza Care Califia Moisturizing Cream for 2 weeks.  Then I took her twists down (twist out) and she wore her hair free with just a headband for a week.  Because I really don't want to do her hair until this weekend I decided to create a cute updo for her to get more days out of her twist out. First I sectioned off the area in the front to create the hump or Pompadour, then I used a little Curls brand milkshake (a light moisturizer) to brush up the sides and back all into one hand, then I put the banana clip horizontally around the hair that I brushed into my hand.   I fluffed the hair so you could not see the clip and turned my attention to the section in the front.  To create the hump I just brushed the hair straight up and twisted the hair and then pulled it down and secured it with the Goddys hair clip.  For a final feminine touch we added a flower to the side of the hump and that was it.  From start to finish the style took 3-4 minutes to complete.  This one of my favorite styles because you can dress it up and it looks like a complicated style and it only takes a few minutes to complete.  KK absolutely loves this style.  Look for more styles coming soon, as in tomorrow. lol I am taking my own twists down tomorrow and I will post pics of how I style them. 

WnG Girl Tries 2 Strand Twists

You can tell by the look on my face I'm not really feeling the twists

I sectioned my hair into 6 sections and started twisting from the back

Side view of pinned back twists

Showing the shrinkage 

The summer has come and with it my opportunity to try new hair styles.  As promised I am bringing it all to you as it happens.  I decided my first adventure beyond my regular and now perfected wash and go (WnG) style would be the ever popular 2 strand twist.  Now in the 10 months since my big chop I have tried this style 2 other times.  Both times I was disappointed.  The first time was back in November and my hair just seemed too short and when I took the twists out my hair was very frizzy. I did not like it at all. Fast forward to February and I tried them again with much of the same frizz. Now that my hair is much longer I wanted to try again.  I started by co-washing my hair then adding Curls Cream Brulee as my leave-in conditioner, CoCo Curls as my styler and I sealed my ends with Pura Body Naturals Cupuacu Butter. I will say the process with alot faster than the other times I tried. It took me and hour and a half from beginning to end.  When I finally finished I can say it was strange to see myself in the mirror and see my hair in twists because I am so used to my WnG big fluffy curls.  I don't hate the way it looks but it is very different than what I am used to.  My hair feels really good, it is soft and the twists feel very smooth. It is fun to pull on them and see the length of my hair.  I have no idea how it will look in a twist out. I hope it will not be the frizzy mess that I had when I tried the twists before. We will see. I really don't have alot going on this week so I think I will leave the twists in for about 4 days and then I will try a twist out style. I will post pics and info on how I style my hair.  And be on the look out for lots of other hair adventures while I am off on vacation from work. 

When Good Products Go Bad

As you know I am currently doing a no buy challenge (check out Naturally Nu's No Buy Challenge page on Facebook), which means I can not buy any new hair products until the Black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving.  Last night I received confirmation that this is the best thing I could be doing right now. My daughter, Minnie, was going through my products trying to decide what to use on her hair to style it for today. She brought a jar of Darcy's Botanicals Madagascar Vanilla Styling Creme to me and said ,"Mommy I think this has gone bad."  I took a whiff of it and sure enough the smell had changed completely.  When I purchased this product over a year ago it smelled like vanilla cake, now it smells like bad Elmer's glue.  The sad part is the jar is almost completely full and I really liked it!!!! Ughhh Ok I do want to be clear this is NOT a fault with Darcy's Botanicals Products. The products made by this company are amazing and I do use their products each and everyday. I could not live with out my Darcy's Botanicals Plum Kernel Nectar, I literally use it every single day. One thing that is easy to forget is the products I used when I was relaxed lasted for years because they were full of artificial ingredients, additives and preservatives. When you use products with all natural ingredients it's like buying fresh produce at the grocery store it will only last so long. Some natural hair companies post expiration dates on their products others tell you that it will last a certain number of months after the seal is broken.With all that being said the problem in this case is me.  That's right I have to look at the Natural in the Mirror. I have so many products that I open something and then I try something else and then something else and meanwhile because I only use all natural products that are free of the additives and preservatives they can start to go south.  So in addition to a "No Buy" I am making a new rule: If I open something and I like it I have to use it all before I open a new product in that same category no matter how bad I want try another product. SMH I still can not believe I let this happen because I really did like the product. As a matter of fact I have never tried a single Darcy's Botanicals product that I did not love. So let this be a lesson to you if you like it use it and don't open too many at the same time. Lesson learned now time to use up some products. Oh and I almost forgot.. School is out Yiippee. (I'm a High School Assistant Principal) so I will be doing alot more experimenting with my hair and products so be on the lookout for reviews and even some new hair styles.

And the Winner is.........

People we have a Pura Body Naturals Giveaway Winner!!!!!!!!!

TrueKinks aka @naturallyMeena on Twitter You are the winner!!!!!

Please email me at nurekad@aol.com with your mailing address so I can send it to you. Since this is my first ever giveaway you just might find a few extra things in your package as well. Yay!!!! 

If you did not win this one there will be other giveaways soon. And in Aug I will be doing a huge giveaway to celebrate the anniversary of my Big Chop so stay tuned. 

No Buy Challenge!!!!

All my Hair Products back in the fall

(I have soooo much more now)

WNHS Product Haul

As you can see from the pictures I have a problem.  I did not set out to own every natural hair product ever made, but..... well I think I do. Much like most additions it did not happen over night.  While I transitioned I gathered products very slowly, then I started attending natural hair events and started winning giveaways and learning of various natural hair companies and wanting to try new things as I experimented with my new all natural texture.  Fast forward a few months and I now have enough hair products to do everyone's hair in Louisville, Ky for at least a year. Ok that might be an exaggeration, but you get the point.  I know my weaknesses are cute packaging, a great smell and a good sale or free item with purchase. If a product falls into these categories I will buy it every time no matter how many products are currently in my stash. I am not the only natural out there with this problem it seems many of us turn into product junkies once become fully natural.  It really is hard not to.  Enter the Naturally Nu No Buy Challenge, in an effort to shrink my current stockpile of products I have decided to embark upon a self imposed no buy. This mean I promise I will not buy any hair products from now until the Black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving.  Yes that is a LONG Time. But I know I can do it. I have also challenged some of my friends to this No Buy Challenge as well.  My friend and hair twin Haley of www.Derbycitynaturals.com has taken me up on my challenge. Trust me she has even more products than I do. Then there are those like my other bestie, Tanya10312000 on You Tube who refuse to participate but love to tease us about our no buy.  While I know it will be difficult for all of us to pass up great deals and new and interesting products I think it will be great to find creative ways to use the products we do have once our favorites start to run out.  I will be updating my blog with info on the challenge, but you can also follow what is going on with everyone ion the challenge or even join us yourself by adding yourself to my Facebook challenge page: Naturally Nu's No Buy Challenge. See you there

S/N

The current subscription services that I am already signed up for will continue. This does not count as me buying new products. We can also trade products with each other. There has been some of that going on already on the Facebook page.  Sharing is great!!!!!