The Best Conditioner for Curly Hair (Prt.2)

I hope you've had a chance to read part one to this series here and that it has helped someone find the best conditioner for their curly hair. 

This next one was a pleasant surprise. The Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Moist. I never thought this brand could work for my curly hair.  No matter how many commercials I saw I always seemed to roll my eyes at the television and just ignore the possibility of this deep conditioner doing anything for my curls. 

Then, one day I was over one of my best friend's house and after spending an amazing afternoon hopping back and forth between the pool and hot tub I had to wash the chlorine out of my hair and that's where it hit me that I never thought to pack shampoo and conditioner.  This was all she had in her shower so although I was a bit apprehensive I had no other choice but to give it a try.

I am so glad I did, because within seconds I could tell my hair had taken a liking to it.  Besides smelling amazing and being creamy and thick in consistency.  This conditioner lived up to its name.  It was a MIRACLE.  Not only did it moisturize my hair but it allowed me to detangle my curls within minutes.  My hair was happily bouncy and perfectly coiled.  Every strand was protected and did not frizz after air drying. So of course I had to stock up and get a few bottles for myself. I couldn't just ignore the results. I was even more excited to see it on sale at my local Target 2 for $5!!  It was like Christmas in the middle of summer. When I'm in a rush and on the go this is my go-to product in the shower because I know it works fast and efficiently.

Leave a comment below with your favorite conditioners or any blog post you might have about your favorite conditioners. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Mia

The Best Conditioners for Curly Hair (Prt. 1)

Hey there Curlies!

When I started my hair journey I did the same thing many curly girls do.  I ran out and bought every conditioner advertised for curly hair because I knew my curls needed moisture and LOTS of it. Some products worked and some didn't.  It was all trial and error. I quickly realized I had to condition (see what I did there) my hair to return to its natural state. Some products that were my holy grail when I started this journey are no longer in my shower with my must haves and that is perfectly fine because my hair is changing and reacts to certain products now better than others. Here are two conditioners I have been using steadily for the better half of this process. 

1. Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Grow Leave-In Conditioner

This product was a total game changer.  Not only was I able to use it to detangle my curls in the shower but I was also able to leave it in for styling afterwards leaving the softest & bounciest curls possible behind. 

 This Leave-In contains Organic Shea Butter which moisturizes and conditions the hair and scalp, the Jamaican Black Castor Oil is loaded with omegas that promote hair growth and Peppermint which stimulates the scalp.  

I love to use this leave in product when styling my hair because it truly does work and my curls love it.  I especially like to use it after having my hair straight for a week while I transition back to my curls. The scent was not my favorite at first but it grows on you and the effects of the product absolutely outweigh the smell.  This 16oz bottle retails at most locations for $10.99.

2. Silicon Mix

This little baby is a Dominican staple which makes me a bit proud of my heritage.  My mom used this in my hair when I was a little girl.  The scent brings back such fun memories.  I know there is a lot of controversy as to wether you should use silicone products in curly hair but it works wonders for me and truly helped speed up the restoration process.  

It's an intense hair treatment that I like to leave in my hair for about 30 minutes wrapped in a towel to retain heat.  I like to use this treatment once a month. When I rinse my hair it's left smelling wonderful, feeling soft and silky.  

If used as a styler you might have some product buildup left behind because of how intense this treatment is. I don't usually use it to style other than what's left in my hair after my shower. I am able to just add water on second and third day hair and easily revive my curls. I purchased this 8 oz. trip down memory lane for $5.39 at Target. 

Hope you enjoyed this post and have a few products to look into.
What conditioners do you find help restore and keep your curls?  Any product recommendations?

Come back next week for two more conditioners I've also been loving!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mia

Curly Hair Check In

Hey there Curlies!

I hope you enjoyed my last post and are having a great year so far.

Today's post is about

 I wanted to take a moment to catch you all up on my curly hair progress. It's been  a little bit over a year since I started taking proper care of my hair.  I've been using products made especially for curly hair as well as keeping my hair curly 70% of the time.  I like to straighten it once every two months for about a week to check on my length.

For a while I felt like there was no growth or improvement.  I was using all the right products, washing 1-2 times a week, co-washing and doing deep treatments but it wasn't until about 4-5 months into it that I actually started to notice a difference in my hair.
During those first few months, because I was terrified of the words "Big Chop", I trimmed my hair every month a bit at a time where I thought it needed it the most.  Then at about the 6th month I finally did it.  I didn't care how many inches were coming off I grabbed the scissors and never looked back.  I cut every single strand of hair that looked the slightest bit straight.  I remember thinking if I'm going to do this I'm going to do it right although I hated how short my hair was.
I hated even more trimming it every month and never being able to see any progress. 

 The first few months since the BIG CHOP I noticed that my curls were shinier,  bouncier and more defined, I wasn't shedding nor was my hair breaking as much as it used to on the ends.  I was super excited but even then I didn't notice any growth.  Little did I know that my hair was in fact growing but it was more so repairing itself from the inside out.  

So I kept with it. 

Making sure I was eating healthy meals, taking my vitamins, drinking plenty of water, using the right products and using protective hair styles.  I was finally at a place where I was happy with how my hair looked when it was curly.  And when that happened, I kid you not, I started to notice growth. I started writing down my hair length measurements every other month making sure to measure the bottom, mid section, sides, top and my bangs.  I wanted to see how it was all growing because I knew not every section was the same length.  Sure enough my hair was growing half an inch to an inch every time I recorded it. It's grown a total of 5-6 inches in 8 months.  

I am one happy Curly Girl! lol

I write all this to say, that I hope this post will be able to inspire anyone who is struggling with their curly hair and who would like to make 2017 the year of your curls.  It's definitely a slow and frustrating journey at first but it will be so worth it in the end.  We were given such beautiful locks and they deserve to be cared for and shown off.  Don't be afraid to take that leap of faith.  I promise you wont regret it.  

Below are a few progress photos of my journey. Hope you enjoy!

My next post will be about some deep conditioning products I have found to help lock in moisture and that help with curl definition. Be on the lookout for that post if you're interested in some new products.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mia

New Year New Goals

Happy New Year Curlies!!

I know it's been a long time since I posted on here but all of that is about to change.

2016 was a tough year for me for various reasons.  But this year I dont want to start out like other years and say "New Year, New Me" I'm the same girl I've always been I just have greater goals and have decided to stay committed to those goals so that I can end this year with as much energy and enthusiasm as I started it. So, here we go!

1. Staying Organized

I find that my biggest struggle is often quite simple, staying organized.  I have all these great ideas and things I want to do but instead of writing them down and breaking down steps on how to fulfill or accomplish these goals I get overwhelmed trying to do them all in one go; or I just forget what my great idea was in the first place. lol  

My bestest chum must have known this somehow because one of my Christmas gifts from her this year was a Planner.  Aaannnd I love that thing!  When thinking of how to set up my planner so that I was productive and staying on task I decided I would set up my current monthly calendar with basic things such as date nights, birthdays, paydays and appointments.
But am only detail one week at a time.  

Setting a small goal such as completing all my tasks for one week will encourage and give me the motivation for the following week and will prevent me from setting myself up for failure.  I am not sure how this will work seeing as we are only in the first week, but so far I have accomplished 20 tasks I set for Sunday - Wednesday with blogging being the 21st task so I would say I am on a pretty good roll.  And none of those tasks were work related.  They were all personal and baby steps to help me stay on target this year.  If you haven't invested in a planner for 2017 I highly recommend it.
It's so much fun crossing something off of your to-do list once you have completed it!

2. Being Present

I have come to find I can be consumed by my electronics; my iPhone, iPad, MacBook and all the apps that come along with.  But this year I want to challenge myself to being present.  Truly enjoying the company of those around me.  There is nothing wrong with checking in with social media or browsing YouTube or the TV but when it consumes us life becomes unbalanced what will our memories be about? I would much rather spend a night playing a game of cards and chatting than sitting in front of a TV watching other people live life.  There is so much beauty around us and so much we can learn from the people within reach that sometimes I feel we lose sight of that and I for one want to get that back and make meaningful memories in 2017 by unplug from time to time. 

3. My Walk With God

I've noticed that when things get tough I tend to internalize and shut down and that is exactly what I have done over the course of 2016.  When things got tough instead of running towards God I slowly drifted away and my walk with him and spiritual life suffered for it.  I am not saying I was always in the valley but I know for sure I wasn't on the mountain top nearly as much as I could have been.  I was lost somewhere wandering around on the mountain lol. 

For Christmas I gifted my two best friends a bible reading journal and got one for myself too. It has truly helped my walk with God so much in the last two weeks.  Because it holds me accountable and it bugs me when I miss a day and have a blank page or the dates aren't consecutive.  I want to strengthen my walk with my Savior because He is my source of strength and things just work out so much better than I could have ever imagined when I put my cares in the hands of the one who loves me more than anyone in this world!  

4. Blogging

I started this blog to track my hair growth journey and to help girls who were as scared or as skeptical as I felt when I did my big chop. But I think I only posted a hand full of times and my desire for 2017 is to recommit to my blog and post on a more consistent basis.  I still don't know how often, I just know that I would like to continue documenting my curly hair journey as well and reviewing current products I am loving.
And just as a quick update, its been 13 months since I decided to focus on making my hair healthy again and I am very proud to say it's grown 5-6 inches since the big chop and my curl definition has increased so much! I am truly looking forward to putting a post together detailing my progress. 

5. My Health & Fitness

This one is very special to me and is my biggest goal yet.  For the last 10 years of my life I have been struggling with some very frustrating health problems.  Not only was I unable to do the things I wanted but I was flying in the dark.  I had no idea what was causing me to struggle with some of the most basic functions so many take for granted.  It has truly been difficult for me and very discouraging but I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and although I have some pretty big fitness/health goals.  I plan to achieve them over the course of this year by setting small goals that will help me reach my overall goal because I refuse to set myself up for failure.

I'm so glad I got that all out there lol.  Less clutter in my brain :)
I hope you all enjoyed this post and that it encourages some of you to set some goals for 2017 that are important to you and that will set you up for the greatness you are destined for!

I'd love to hear some of your goals for 2017.  Feel free to post them down below or send me a link to your blog.  I am always looking for girls to inspire and motivate me.

Thanks for stopping by!  See you all next week!

xoxo Mia