Cultured in Media

Today is June 29th, a Sunday, so i did not do anything to my hair as of yet except washed, deep conditioned, conditioned, and oiled my scalp because it was severely dry that I had no choice. Now I am sitting here with big hair that is thrown back into a ponytail, and no idea what to do with it. (See image below) Any help anyone? Times like these are what leads me to flat ironing. Sigh. I know, I know, I am still sticking to the "No (Summer) Heat Challenge." I pray this brings me some growth, retention, and thickness to these strands. Now I am stuck as to what to do with my hair for this week. I really love the results that I got by wearing two buns overnight. The pictures below are all no heat styled curls. So what should I do with my hair for tomorrow at least? Should I bun it? Braid out? Twist out? Bun-out? Bantu Knot out? What? I do know that I am not doing a Wash N Go, because it just like "Oh Hell No" every time I try it. I t...

I love taking pictures of different hairstyles I do. And just like last time with this challenge, I will document many different styles I create. So far for days one through five, I washed my hair, deep conditioned it, and wore a bun for the first three days. For the last two days, I wore a braid out. Nothing spectacular but a lot of my patients loved the big hair. This is my hair with no product after a fresh wash: This is a reverse bun that I did. I loved how big and full it was. I received many compliments on it. And the braid out I have wore yesterday.  Tonight, I may cowash, and wear a big bun or wear a nice wash and go to one side, or I may try to find someway to preserve this braidout. Either way, I will snap a few pictures. I fought so hard not to use the flat iron on Monday. Lol

If you read the previous post then you know I am doing a " NO HEAT IN THE SUMMER CHALLENGE ." What better way to start this challenge but with a length check. I am not sure what length I am but if you have been following my blog, you know that I trim my hair every time I get to bra-strap length. It seems that is where the most breakage happens for some reason. I mention this because it seems I am at BSL again, but fortunately, there is no damage. Start of Summer No Heat Challenge:

WHO IS WITH ME? YAAAY TO NO HEAT FOR THE SUMMER. IT IS HOT ENOUGH ALREADY, SO WHY ADD HEAT TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL TRESSES? OFFICIAL START DATE FOR THIS CHALLENGE IS JUNE 21, 2014 UNTIL SEPTEMBER 21, 2014. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHALLENGE. THREE MONTHS WORTH OF HAIR GROWTH THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY KEEP WITHOUT DAMAGE IS A WONDERFUL THOUGHT.  THIS TIME AROUND, THERE IS NO HEAT PASS AT ALL. THAT RULE RIGHT THERE WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR ME. OH MY. I JUST HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT IT WILL BENEFIT MY HAIR. GOOD LUCK TO THOSE WHO ARE JOINING ME.

This summer, I am determined to get the most out of my growth. I know I have not updated any length checks in a while, but I have trimmed again since the last trim. My hair is currently back scraping my brastrap once again. It seems like I get over that hump but then have to trim back down due to damage. This time around I am writing out, well typing out, my regimen and pinning it on this page to remind myself of what I set out to do as far as my summer hair goes. JUNE : Week One: Sunday: I will flat iron my hair and do a summer length check. Monday: Wrap hair as normal. Use JBCO on my ends Tuesday: Oil scalp. Do nothing special. Wednesday: Nothing Thursday: Same as Monday Friday: Same as Tuesday Saturday: Same as Wednesday Week Two: Sunday: Oil-Rinse, shampoo, conditioner, prepare hair for flat twist out Monday: Leave hair in twists. Oil in between twists. Tuesday: Unravel. Wear hair curly. Pin up at night into a pineapple, or four big bantu knots Wednesday: U...

VERY EXCELLENT TIPS. WATCH THE WHOLE VIDEO. VERY VALUABLE TIPS

I have my co-worker just as obsessed as I am with hair. I mean, all she does is talk about hair, day in and day out, on my texts and in my email, in front of patients, while I'm on the phone with patients, or even while we are in a meeting, all I hear is about hair. I LOVE IT. I had convinced her to go natural over a year ago, and she is so happy with her choice. She is trying all kind of styles with her that that makes me proud. Okay, now the point of this post, she wanted a hairstyle sort of like a braided up mohawk. Something like the image below: Thing was, she wanted me to try it first. Well, I did it. Except I didn't do both sides, I just did one due to my head looking abnormal when both sides are up, lol  Waiting for the results? Before I show you, just know that everyone loved it. I received so many compliments that I was full of myself. Okay, enough talking, here you go:

Jada Pinkett Smith has always been beautiful to me. All the way from the tough girl in Set-It-Off, to her loving friendship with Tupac. Even more beautiful than Jada's face, is her beautiful and gorgeous hair. Here is a post she just uploaded to facebook regarding her hair, hope you enjoy. She even shares what products she uses. I may have to invest in Carol's Daughter, although I always thought they were a bit pricey. "I know you all often see my hair in various ways, but what you see in these pics is MY natural hair. I've taken care of this mane with CAROL'S DAUGHTER products for over 15 years, specifically...Lisa's Hair Elixir. With that said, Carol’s Daughter is still going strong, despite some misleading press, so much so you can now find it in Target, on HSN, Ulta and Sephora inside JCPenny. My hair would like to say thank you to Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter for making products that actually nourish the scalp and hair;)" -Jada

I was going to flat iron my hair for Easter Sunday, but then I thought about how successful I was during the last 30 days of no heat. (Okay, I lied, I didn't flat iron because I did not have any wrapping/setting lotion shhh!!)  So instead I opted for the best thing I have been doing to my hair for the past 45 days, a braid out. I loved the way it came out on this image Okay, well that is not the exact image after the last attempt but it was similar to that. I promise to take pictures tomorrow so you can see the results. I did not wash my hair, although I did cowash 2 days ago. I oiled my scalp with a special mix. Then I used hair lotion and Dr. Miracles strengthening creme on my scalp and ends. I did not use any gel, or spray while braiding. I know some people prefer to use some sort of holding gel, but that just does not work out too well with my hair.  I parted my hair into five straight back sections evenly. One braid being in the middle, and two on each side ...

I am on day number 16 of 60 days of no heat. I am enjoying the natural thickness of my hair. I am finding all kind of styles to do with this mane. One I have been wearing this weekend, was something I stumbled upon playing around. I did use a curling iron for no more than 3 seconds on the last few pics. This will be my style for this week. You like?

Round two with the no heat madness. The first time it was 30 days, and since I had great results ( see here ), I am now doing a 60 day challenge. Feel free to join me and share your results as well. I will do the same as last time and show you my styles.  So here we go: Day 1 03-30-13 last day I straightened my hair We will see how 60 days will benefit me. ( Check last time's results of a 60 day update )

Well, in all, it was a pretty good month. March madness for me was not that bad. I found all kind of styles to do to my thick mane. I loved almost every moment of it. Would I do it again? I think I may. This time I will go for 60 days and see how far my hair comes. As you recall, the last time I straightened my hair was Feb 23, 2014. I finally straightened my hair on 03-30-14. ( See this post for length check from the start of this challenge .) Feb 23, 2014 March 30, 2014 I don't know about  YOU, but I see a difference in thickness and a little in length. I also felt it. So overall this challenge did nothing but great things for the health of my hair, which is why I'm going to try for 60 days this time. Wish me luck! 

I wore the wig to work last week and they loved it. Unfortunately, I developed a headache and did not wear it afterwards. I think I may have braided my hair too tight then applied the clips to the braid which was pulling my hair up. Manly I have been wearing my hair just in regular buns or braid out like before. Since March is over now, I am not sure if I want to straighten my hair or not. I may extend it until a later date and get it professionally straightened, not sure yet. But I will keep you posted.  I am proud to say that I have completed my March Madness No Heat Challenge. Yay me.

Alright, soooo the wig thing is just not for me. Maybe if I found a human hair one that looked beyond great on me, I would rock it but for now, no thank you. For this week, everyday, I have been wearing my hair in a fabulous braid out that I have been doing on unwashed hair. The last time I washed my hair was two weeks ago this upcoming Sunday. Each night before I go to bed, I braid hair into five long cornrows. Not too tight, and not too loose. The ends I roll up into each other and secure with a bobby pin. I have been getting so many compliments that I think I will wear this same style next week. The rate this is going, I may extend this "NO HEAT CHALLENGE" until April 12th. Who knows. Here are some pictures from this week so far.