Curly Friend- Precious

I have another great interview to share with you all today! Meet Precious.
I asked Precious these questions...

Do you like your hair? What would you change if you could?
　
I love my hair! There's not a thing about it that I would change!


Do you use chemicals in your hair or have you ever? If so, what made you decide to and did you regret it?
　
Yes, I have used a perm on my hair before. What a mistake! My hair went from super thick to super thin and see-through. And all because I wanted the hair of someone else of another ethnicity! It was mainly those in my own family and others around me saying bad things about my hair and calling it all sorts of names, and the images on TV I saw of the black girls with long silky straight hair that made me want a perm. I was continuously bombarded with these images and it implied to me that THAT was how I was supposed to look. I heavily regret rejecting the beautiful hair I was born with. I wish I knew then what I know now.
　
What is your hair routine?
　
I moisturize my hair twice a day. In the morning I moisturize, seal, and style for the day. When I come back home in the afternoon/evening and I don't plan on going out again, I moisturize and seal again, twist my hair into four sections, pin the twisted sections up, and cover my hair with a scarf for the rest of the night and for bed. If I do plan to go back out, I will moisturize my hair again before going out and again right before I go to sleep.
　
Every weekend I use a sulfate-free shampoo and wash my hair and afterwards I use a conditioner and leave it in. I then detangle my conditioner-laden hair and twist it into eight sections and pin up the sections. I cover it with a scarf before bed and the next day I start again with the daily routine!
　
What products do you use on your hair?
　
I shampoo with Avalon Nourishing Lavender Shampoo. It is great because I can buy a 32 oz container for about 8 bucks and it lasts me forever!
　
I condition with Moja Conditioner from KomazaCare. I add olive oil to this conditioner and it provides me with excellent slip for detangling and leaves my hair ultra-soft!
　
I moisturize with Califia Moisturizing Spray from KomazaCare. If I run out of that, I use plain old water.
　
I seal with shea butter.
　
I style my hair with either the Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel and Aloe Vera Gel. I don't use gel every day, only when I need to. I also use either gel depending on the style. If I want a sleek ponypuff I'll use the Eco Styler; if I want to provide non-crunchy hold for twists or braids, I'll use AVG.
　
I moisturize my scalp using plain water and any oil (olive, coconut, melted/rubbed in shea butter.) I first wet my scalp with the water and then apply oil. The water keeps the scalp moisturized and the oil seals in that moisture into my scalp so that it does not evaporate.
　
What is your hair type? (if you know it)
　
My hair is mostly 4a with some 3c curls thrown in.
　
　
What is the best and worst hair advice you have gotten, and what advice would you offer?
　
The best hair advice I have ever gotten was to use protective styles. Protective styles are styles that keep the hair up or that keep the hair in styles that will last a long period of time. Twists and braids are very low maintenance protective styles that don't require you to mess around with your hair every day. Protective styles like twists and braids can last weeks. Updo styles like buns keep your ends tucked away and prevent them from rubbing on clothing and also protects them from harsh weather (like the winter!) Protective styling has contributed very much to my length retention.
　
The worst hair advice I have ever gotten was to style the hair tightly. I received this back before my first perm at age 12. I was told that if I styled my hair tightly, my hair would grow. Huh? The only thing I suffered was a sore scalp and traction alopecia!
　
The advice that I have to offer that many newly naturals fail to do is to moisturize properly! The moisturizing process comes in two parts: moisturizing and sealing. Moisturizers are products with water as the very first ingredient, or water itself. Sealants are oils and butters. You must use a moisturizer on the hair before using a sealant. Water molecules are small and are able to penetrate the hair shaft. Oil (butters are just oils in a solid form) particles are much larger and cannot penetrate the hair shaft (except for coconut oil which many say can). The oils sit on top of the hair strand. If you use a moisturizer before you seal, the moisture will be inside the hair shaft while the oil surrounds the hair shaft and prevents the moisture from coming out. If you seal before you moisturize, the oil will be blocking the water from being able to enter the hair shaft. I can't count how many times I made this mistake as a newly natural. I tried to use shea butter on my hair alone since I heard so much about shea butter making the hair soft. And after using it alone my hair felt drier than it did before. This is because it was never moisturized! Oils and butters are NOT moisturizers and should not be used alone! You also should not moisturize without sealing. Moisture easily evaporates from the hair. For me, if I moisturized my hair without sealing it in, half an hour later, it might not even seem like I ever moisturized my hair! Sealing in moisture will prevent the moisture from evaporating too quickly from the hair. Just remember to moisturize, THEN seal. Don't seal without moisturizing first, and don't moisturize without sealing!
　
Can I see some of your favorite hairstyles? (or tell how you usually wear it if you don't style it)
　

I usually wear my hair in a bun or a ponypuff. However, this gets quite boring after a while! And it also takes a toll on my hairline. Since the front of my hair is a bit short, I have to PULL to get it into the pony, and this is very bad for my hairline. So what I do is I use styles that only manipulate the front of the hair. This way, I can still wear my hair in a pony but I don't have to worry about putting any stress on the front of my hair. Here are a few examples:

I also did a protective style on my hair for a month - mini twists:

Thanks so much for featuring me!
　
　
　

~Precious~
precious-curls.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for being a part of our blog Precious!  I also got the same advice about tight styling making your hair grow!  Where do people come up with such ideas?!  I feel so bad for the way I used to style and care for C's hair  :( Good for you for going back to natural after all the negativity you went through!!  Thanks again for the great information and sharing your pictures and stories!  You have beautiful hair, and it shows that you are taking great care of it.

Be sure to check out Precious here!

*I have no specific times for features, so if you would like to be featured as a Curly Friend, please feel free to email me for instructions and I'll put your interview on right away!

Our First Curly Guest

I know you have seen lots of interviews on other blogs, but you have probably never seen one like this!  Meet D, our very first curly guest at CHIB!  D is my friend Ashley's daughter and she is 8 years old. 
Here are some questions I asked Ashley in our interview...

What do you like about D's hair?

I guess I like that it's easy to comb.  I like the color... that's about it!

How does D feel about her hair?

Well, she always used to complain that she looked 'crazy'! But since I started perming it, it stays straight and she doesn't complain anymore.  She never really says if she likes it, but she doesn't complain.  She remembers how hard it was and how long it took to brush her hair before I permed it and she says she likes it better now.


What is D's hair routine?

She doesn't really have one! We just wash her hair whenever it needs it.  Id say we wash it maybe twice a week.  I don't do many styles with her hair.  I don't like the way her hair looks when its done, I prefer it down better than anything.

Why did you decide to use chemicals on D's hair?

Well, D had big loose curls and parts of it were straight.  It just didn't look right! It looked like someones hair who wore a ponytail when  their hair was wet and slept in it.  I thought it looked raggy and I was tired of having to flat iron her hair every day to keep it nice.

What kind of products do you use in D's hair?

I don't really have just one thing I always use.  I use whatever I think looks like it would work on D's hair.  What I'm using now is BB Oil Moisturizer hair lotion.  I guess I like it ok, its not the worst thing I've tried.  I also use hair gel, I'm not sure what kind it is, something generic I got at Wal Mart. I use hair grease to slick her hair back when I put it into ponytails and the keep her hair laying down.  I use the same kind of shampoo and conditioner for D's hair as I use on my own hair.  Right now we're using Garnier Fructis- I like the way that smells so I usually buy that.

Have you ever had an interest in caring for D's hair or learning how to style it?

Sometimes I wish I could do hair, but it would take too long.  I see how long it takes you to do C's hair and take care of it and I don't have time to spend like that!  It's just hair, I don't think it's that big of a deal if I do it your way or my way.

Sadly, Ashley doesn't have ANY pictures of D's hair except this one. 
I keep all the pictures of hairstyles I have done for C and other people, so Ashley just looked and picked out what she liked for D.  She liked C's Valentines Day style and also her faux hawk styles, so I combined the 2 and came up with this!

Unfortunately, this is an even worse quality photo! :(  Since I didn't have a camera (and for some reason forgot to use my phone's camera) I had to have Ashley take a picture of D's hair on her phone and send it to my phone!

For this style, first I parted straight down the middle of D's head.  I put the left side into a ponytail to keep it out of my way, and then I started making flat twists on  the right side up into the faux hawk.
Like I said, Ashley liked the hearts from one of C's Valentines Day styles, so I put a heart on each side of D's head.  I just parted the heart with my rat tail comb, and then I flat twisted around the heart.  I started the twists at her hair line and twisted upwards.  What I did was I stopped twisting when I was to the end of the heart on each side, and with the left over hair I made a little Bantu knot and twisted the hair all the way up to where I would start the next twist.  I continued to twist the rest of the hair, and did the same thing on the left side.
Since D's hair has been permed, I wanted to add curls or even do some twists or braids, but Ashley wanted the hair to be straight.
I plan to do this style for C soon, and hopefully I'll have better pictures! :)

What I really liked about this interview was that it was about someone without natural hair. 
While I like (and recommend) natural hair, not everyone feels the same way, and not everyone keeps their hair natural.  If you want to be interviewed, please feel free to contact me and I'll put you on! :)

1st Giveaway Prize Photos

Well, I finally found a camera I could borrow until I can get a new one!  The pictures aren't the best quality, but at least I can show you what the prizes look like now! :)

Like I said, its not the best picture.  :/  But anyway, the 'LOVE' ballies come in a pack of blue, orange and green.  I thought these were so cute I had to buy a pack for C! These ballies are super light weight, and they have no metal.  In case its too hard to make out, they are little square pieces of 'candy' (they kinda remind me of Jolly Ranchers) and they say 'LOVE' across the middles. 

Oh, and by the way... ignore the date on the bottom of these pictures- the camera wont keep the real date for whatever reason. Oh well!

And just because C looked so pretty in these, here's a front view! :)  These are one of C's new favorite hair prettys!  I like them because they are unique- at least I've never seen these before.

And here are the Princess crown beads...

This is obviously the multi-colored pack.  I have each set for C's collection except for the brown mix, but I'm thinking about getting those too.  I think these are really cute, and they come with a mini beader!
I didn't think it was necessary to add a picture of the rubber bands- if you've seen one, you've seen them all, right?

Ok, so now that you can see what the prizes look like, enter the giveaway!!!   :)

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

Since my camera is broken and I wont be getting a new one for a while  :(  I decided to do my first giveaway!  The items to give away were chosen by C! The winner will get...

1 package of princess crown beads with mini beader (choose between multi color pastel, pink mix, clear, purple mix, brown mix or blue)- these are regular size pony beads.

1 package 'LOVE' candy ballies

1 package black, white OR multi color rubber bands

To see photos of the prizes, check out our facebook page!
To enter...
You must follow CHIB... That's it!  Just click the 'follow' button at the top of the page.  You can leave one entry daily.
Optional- for more chances to win... Mention the giveaway on facebook, (leave a link here)
OR, mention the giveaway on your own blog if you have one, and let me know you blogged about it!
One extra entry for each.

Hopefully we'll have a new camera soon but until then, I hope this keeps you interested! :)

This giveaway will start today 5-18 and end FRIDAY, 6-3 at 5pm

Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil Review

I found Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil with ginseng about a year or so ago at Wal Mart and decided to try it.  Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil with ginseng is a blend of penetrating natural oils that contains vitamins and African herbs.

*Ingredients: Soy Bean Oil , Walnut Seed Oil, Kiwi Fruit Extract , Olive Fruit Oil , Castor Seed Oil , Sesame Seed Oil , Jojoba Seed Oil , Carrot Seed Oil , Sweet Almond Oil , Tocopheryl Acetate , Safflower Oil , Calendula Extract , Yarrow Extract , Cucumber Extract , Carrageenan Extract , Ginseng Extract , Sage Extract , Comfrey Extract , Aloe Extract , and Fragrance

Most oils I have tried on C's hair don't work the way I want them to.  They either soak right

 up or just sit on her hair and scalp, weighing her hair down and making it look greasy. 

This oil works pretty good for both C and her brother (Mr. C)  Mr. C has more coarse hair

than C does. I know that part of the reason for that is Idon't really take time to moisturize Mr. C's hair,

and since he  hates having his hair messed with, I don't spend a

whole lot of time with it.  We keep it cut very short.  I prefer the short neat look

(which also means there's no maintenance) so that's how we keep his hair.

I use this oil after I detangle and moisturize C or Mr. C's hair.  After I'm finished

moisturizing, I put about aquarter size amount of the oil in my hand and massage it into the scalp and then I use about the same to work through the rest of the hair to seal in the moisture. Since most oil is too heavy for C's hair,

 I like to use this at night so her hair has a chance to dry and soak the oil up.

 When I want to use this in the morning to refresh C's hair, I will either put a few

drops  into our spray bottle, or I just use a small amount to work through the shaft

(ponytail portion) and ends of her hair. 

This oil can also be used as a body oil.  Mr. C had a dry patch on his arm and a little

bit of this oil made it softer.I also have used this as a hot oil, and I really like how soft and moisturized it makes C's hair.  This is a good oil to try if you're looking for something that works and isn't very expensive.  I only paid about

$2 for this at Wal Mart.  That's a much better price than any other oil I've tried!  :)

Crazy Hair- Our First Book Review

Sory, it's not a giveaway! :( We found this cute book at the librabry and I decided to share it with all of you.
As soon as I saw a book about hair, I grabbed it!
Ive been looking for a book about hair to put on my blog, because I like seeing book reviews on other blogs and I like to share things other people might enjoy! It's actually about a man and his crazy hair.  Its a very colorful, fun rhyming book.



Its more for younger kids, it doesnt have many pages and its a lot of pictures.  C is 7 and she liked it!
Everything ends up in the mans hair in this story from animals to dancers!
There really isnt too much else to say without telling the whole story, so check your library or book store for this book and check it out for yourself!

Taliah Waajid Lock It Up Review

I have been wanting to try Taliah Waajid since I heard about it a while back.  I was very excited to find this at one of my local Meijer stores, and I put it right in my cart! The only thing that worries me is I might have a hard time finding it again... It was on a rack of discontinued items, so I'm thinking they wont be selling it there anymore! :(
I started using this a few weeks ago, but I wanted to wait until I could use it with several different styles over a period of time to give it a fair review.
I have to say, I absolutely LOVE this product!  It has great hold for every style I have used it on, and it gives C's hair great curl definition.  The gel looks like it would be sticky or greasy, but it wasn't.  It has a nice coconut scent, and is orange in color. 

When used on ponytails:  This product held down all the fly-away hairs.  By the end of the school day, C's hair was still in place and still well moisturized.

When used on braids:  This product gave great hold and kept all the hair together while it was braided.  I left C's hair in small cornrows for 4 days during Easter vacation, and her hair held up better than most other products I have used for braided styles.  The braid out was beautiful, but her hair was a little dry.
Taliah Waajid isn't greasy or too heavy, and can be used for locks, twists and naturals.

After trying the Taliah Waajid and liking it so much, I decided to go back and buy the other jars left at Meijer before it was too late and I couldn't find it again.  When I went back, I noticed there was also another kind!  It has basically the same ingredients, but it is a thicker texture and its white.  This one is called Taliah Waajid Tight Hold.  It has a pretty strong menthol scent, like Vick's Vapor Rub would smell, but the smell doesn't stay in hair. *(at least it didn't stay in C's hair)

*Ingredients:  Water, carbomer, triethanolomine, Vp dmpa/acrylate copolymer, Indian hemp (cannabis sativa), seed oil, yarrow roots (achillea millefolium) oil, rosemary, nettle oil, DMDH hydantion, fragrance

Have you tried this, and what did you think of it?