Hiatus...

Until further notice, please check me out on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/pookinapp16.  Thank you for the support and love thus far guys!

Peace and love,

Pooks

Body Beautiful Update 3

So the last time I checked, I had lost another 4lbs!!! Whoo hoooooo!

Well it's not epic, but it's moving in the right direction right?

What I'm doing:

At least 5 workouts a week - at least 45 mins in length - high intensity cardio, with some resistance/strength work.  I have some weights at home, but have yet to put them to real use (squats, lunges, tricep dips I've been doing a-plenty).

And I'm lucky enough that the building I work in has a fantastic restaurant (canteen) where I can get everything from the most healthy to the most rich and fattening food every day for a very fair price.  Some days I fail, but some days, the salads look as delicious as the less healthful options.  On a good day, lunch is looking like this:

Mixed salad (containing artichoke, avocado, beans, broccoli,

cucumber, fennel, green pepper, red cabbage, red and yellow cherry tomatoes)

and

fresh sundried tomato bread 

Mmmmmmm.

Bringing [extra]sexy back ;0) one day at a time,

Pooks

Post-Wash Hair Routine (Best Results)

Learning how to get the best out of our hair is a process.  Circumstances change, our hair evolves, disposable income fluctuates - it's all about finding the best routine for your current circumstances.  In the last post's video I was talking about having some excellent hair days.  I wanted to recap and document it here so I don't forget!

My last style was canerows with twists (above), which I later turned into a twistout bun (pictured above).  I used my fingers to seperate each loc of twisted-out hair (hope that makes sense), and took out the canerows, and added my DC mix (AO GBP and a little AO HSR with some EVOO) and put my hair into about 5 large plaits.  I then put a plastic cap on and went about my business for approx 2 hours. 


To shampoo, I undid each plaited section, rinsed out the DC, and then used Giovanni TTTT to shampoo my scalp (hair still loose, but stretching with one hand, and massaging the shampoo into the scalp with the other hand).  Once I had gotten the scalp clean, I smoothed the shampoo down the length of my hair to remove product buildup.  When prepooing and leaving the large braids in to shampoo after my final rinse and upon taking down the braids I have found that I still have conditioner trapped in my hair - not good - (way too lazy/tired to go back in the shower and get it out - don't judge me!)  This method of shampooing worked well.  After rinsing out the shampoo I rebraided each section.

I applied Darcy's Botanicals Leave In Conditioner (still need to do review on these products), added some QB BRBC, detangled with my seamless comb, and twisted my hair - my normal practice after washing.  (I also added some QB AOHC to the end of each twist, and flat twisted my hair for bed.)

Well... The next morning... I had the softest, fluffiest, loveliest feeling hair ever on record (for me).  : )

I think it was a combination of really cleansing my hair well (removing all conditioner and any buildup from my strands), as well as using a leave in conditioner on damp hair for the first time after washing my hair.  I reaaaaaally loved how my hair felt.  

The very next day I stretched out my hair with about 5 big plaits in preparation for my next style.  Video on that coming soon...

Wishing you all lovely hair days,
Pooks

You Can Do It!

Finger Coils on 4b Hair

Comb Coils are a beautiful style that can be considered partially protective if your hair hangs above your shoulders, or you wear the coils pinned up in some way.  I'd like to try this style on my hair at some point (don't know if/when that will truly happen, lol), but recently I did them on my sister.  She washed and conditioned her hair, and put it in about 5 big plaits.  She came to me with her hair still dripping wet.  I used the following tools:

• seamless comb
• plastic cap
• spray bottle with water
• Afroveda Curl Define (ACD)
• Darcy's Botanicals Avocado & Honey Twisting Creme (DB DHTC)

Whilst dealing with one section at a time, I used the plastic cap to prevent the rest of her hair totally drying out.  I added a small amount of the ACD smoothing it from root to end, and detangled each small section.  Then I added some of DB DHTC and began twirling the section with my right index finger (a lot of people use gel).  I tried using the comb for the coils but it didn't work out well so I decided to continue using my finger.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures until about day 3 of the style:

Happy styling,

Pooks

A Word in the Hand is Worth...

Source

Today's Natural Queen: Diedre

Where are you from?  Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m from Jamaica. My hobbies include watching movies, reading books/magazines and latin dancing to name a few. One day however, I hope to significantly impact literacy in the Caribbean. Perhaps that is so because I currently work in publishing. But, having once been a teacher of near illiterate teenage children and adults, I understand the severity of the problem of illiteracy in the Caribbean.

How long have you been natural?  What was your reason for transitioning?

Hehehe. Just call me a schizophrenic when it comes to my hair. I’ve been natural on and off for about ten years. I like change so I’ve done everything from locs to relaxers and a myriad of haircuts and colours. I can’t say that anything in particular keeps me going back to natural hair except that natural beauty is just that… beautiful. Right now, however, I’m on the natural-hair path for good. I might dabble in a few hair colours but I’m pretty settled with my natural hair and plan to see how long I can grow my hair without spending too many hours on my hair.

Tell us some of your hair journey and how you transitioned.

I’ve transitioned several times. There are few mistakes while transitioning. They are all just learning experiences to look back on and laugh about. See them as such and you’ll have a happier transition. Everyone has to learn what does and doesn’t work for their own hair.

Does having natural hair hold any special significance for you, or is it ‘not that deep’?

It’s not that deep. Still, it’s nice to know that I can feel free to be natural. It’s nice to not be ruled by my hair. I think I’m finally finding a way to embrace the frizz, the kinkiness and the individuality of my hair and it’s simply exhilarating. There’s nothing like self-acceptance. OK, so maybe it is that deep. Lol.  

What are your staple styles?  Are there any natural styles you can’t wait to try? What styles (natural or not) do you detest?

I’m all about the braid-out and twist-out right now. Even though my hair is short, I love the extra texture that I get from the extra effort of plaiting or twisting up my hair at night.

Is there anything about your natural texture (or a particular stage in your haircare regimen) that you still struggle with? (Please specify your hairtype and thickness)  What product/ technique forever changed your hairstory?

I used to struggle with detangling but my Tangle Teezer and a little patience took care of that problem (smiling). I guess people would say I’m 4b but whatever. My hair is very thick and knots easily.

What are your hair goals?

I just want to see how long my hair can grow. Hopefully I won’t cut it. I always cut it when it starts to get long and require more attention.

Give me

A)    A common misconception about natural hair that you have proved untrue

B)    A pearl of wisdom to pass onto a transitioner / new natural

a)     Natural hair is not much harder to manage than relaxed hair. I relaxed my hair last year because I couldn’t be bothered with detangling. I soon found that to maintain my relaxed hair in the way I wanted, it required pretty much the same amount of time. It’s all about working WITH your hair and accepting what it does naturally.

b)    The sooner you accept your hair and your texture, the better.

Where can we find you online?

I am online at http://www.keepitkinky.blogspot.com/ and http://www.bookblogette.blogspot.com/. After years of resisting, I’m also on Twitter @bookblogette and Facebook at facebook.com/bookblogette.

Your ‘tweet’ to naturallovesong readers:
Accepting and embracing one’s self, inside and out, is a key ingredient in the recipe for happiness.
– Diedre @ Book Blogette.