NATURAL HAIR IDOL ALERT!! Why is she so damn fly?

Honestly, can someone please explain to me why Lupita Nyong'o is so freaking fly. A lot of people shy away from twas (teeny weeny afros)...*ducking in shame* (myself included), but this woman makes them look so effortlessly elegant! She has such a sophisticated swag...and did we not mention that she is uber talented!

 She is definitely a friend in my head! Whether she is wearing her natural hair clean and short, or in an edgy fade, she always oozes gorgeousness (is that even a word?)! After winning numerous awards for her role in 12 Years A Slave, I am sure she isn't going anywhere anytime soon!

Who do you think is slaying it in 2014's Award Season?

There's Nothing Cute About Dry Skin or Hair...

Well, its about that time of year when hands get super ashy and hair gets dry and brittle. So its time to put together your Fall/Winter Skin Care and Hair Care Regimen. Yes, ladies these do need to be adjusted with the change of season!!!

Remember the three C's!

CERAMIDES, COCOA BUTTER and COCONUT OIL


CERAMIDES
There have been studies that show that dry skin, which tends to be more prevalent in the colder months, is  linked to low levels of ceramides....So what are Ceramides??

Ceramides are lipids, or fatty acids,  that make up a large portion of your skin. Their claim to fame is that they aid in moisture retention and youthful looking skin. They act as a binder for your surface skin cells and a barrier from different elements from the environment to invade and wreak havoc.  Also, they ensure that the moisture in your skin stays put.

There are tons of products on the market that filled with ceramides:

Curel is known for their Advance Ceramide Therapy and they have a laundry list of products for every skin type. I personally like the Intensive Healing Cream. Its worth a try!

First Aid Beauty also has some great ceramide rich products! I use the their Daily Face Cream religiously! You can pick it up on beautysage.com or at any Sephora!

COCOA BUTTER

Cocoa Butter has been a staple in my skin care and hair care regimen for as long as I can remember. My mother would melt a stick of cocoa butter and add it to my baths. I use it on my face after I wash it in the morning and at night, all year round. Its high in antioxidants, and it penetrates the top layers of the skin. Its extremely high in Vitamin E which is great for scars and skin renewal. Its also great for hair. Its been proven to aid in the prevention of hair loss and it's also a great emollient. It can also alleviate scalp irritation. Its a win-win all around the board!

COCONUT OIL
Coconut Oil is, in my opinion, one of the best oils you could put in your hair. It gives the best of both worlds. It acts as a moisturizing oil and a sealant oil...meaning its molecular size is small enough to penetrate the hair shaft in small amounts and also able to coat the hair. It's best to apply to damp hair and leave in overnight. Because it can penetrate the hair shaft, it makes it a great candidate to be used as a pre-poo! You'll definitely see a difference if you are suffering from winter-dried hair!

What are your favorite winter skin and hair care staples?

Natural Hair Tutorial: Flat Twist & Curl

Hey KurlFriends! I finally got around to doing one of my signature hairstyle tutorials! Here's how I do my Flat Twist & Curl! Stay tuned... there will be more where that came from!! Hope you like loves!

Protective Style: My Obsession With Mini Twists

I have been OBSESSED with mini twists for the past two months. I finally gained enough courage to do them....

Benefits:

• Great Protective Style
• Long lasting (I've seen people leave them in for almost two months....UM that might be doing too much for me...I'm only doing the Three Week Challenge)
• No extensions or weaves necessary
• Very versatile
• When you take it out, you can possibly get another weeks wear out of it by wearing a curly fro

On a lonely Friday night (loser status), I began the process of washing, deep conditioning and twisting my hair:

Mini Twist Regimen:

• I washed my hair in four sections, using the As I Am Cleansing Pudding.
• I followed up with a much needed deep conditioner (As I Am Hydration Elation). I left it in for about an hour and sat underneath my Huetiful Hair Steamer. (FYI, this leaves my hair feeling LUSH!!!)
• I left my hair in the four sections and began to moisturize each section with the As I Am Leave In Conditioner, followed the As I Am Moisture Milk. I put my hair in chunky twists after moisturizing.
• I started with one section in the back and began to twist away adding a little bit of my homemade mango shea whipped butter (This is a great sealant and its made to order. To try my recipe, email hairistand@gmail.com). 

To do my entire head, it took me about 3 1/2 hours.

 

Mini Twists Maintenance:
After a couple of days, I noticed that my hair was going into frizz overdrive, so I redid the front. This time I added a little bit of  EcoStyler Gel for a slight hold. I wanted to give my hair more volume, so I decided to try adding flexi rods. I saw Naptural85 do it and I loved it. Check her out, she's definitely a hair crush!

 

Remember to keep your twists moisturized. I use a spray bottle with water and seal with my Mango Shea Whipped Butter or some Avocado Oil (no special reason for the avocado oil...It was the first one I grabbed :) )

So I'm 1 week down and I have three weeks to go....Wish Me Luck! Stay tuned for my Mini Twist Style Pictorials.

Signing off  luvs!

Hair NV Feature of the Day: Betsey Rene

I love hearing other Naturalistas tell their stories...Here's the story of one of my Hair Crushes...

 

Why I decided to go natural?

Well that's a funny story. It kind of happened by accident. Basically, all my life I was relaxed, but I was getting bored with just doing a doobie. I decided to experiment with weaves, which was cool, but my hair is pretty thin so the weave started to break my hair. Once I noticed that... I was like,  "nope not for me!" But I was still bored, so I decided to cut it (Rihanna style) because I was obsessed with her around July 2011. So I chopped it all off and hated it. I literally cried for like 2 hrs after getting it done.

I eventually got use to it and made that style my own! Since I was too scared to get it cut again in fear that I would look crazy, I decided to grow it out. While I was growing it out, I was going back in forth on whether or not I should relax it or braid it or weave it. I started doing some research. I kinda stumbled upon natural hair on YouTube and literally was addicted from that day forward.  I made my decision to go natural in late 2011. I transitioned with braids and protective styling for the most part, until I was more confident to wear my hair out.

My regimen?

Well that has changed from when I first started my natural hair journey. Before I used to co-wash and/or shampoo, deep condition, detangle once every week but now I believe my detangling skills were poor, so I was experiencing more mechanical breakage than actual hair shedding. Now I'm trying to "listen to my hair". I shampoo and deep condition my hair once every two weeks (because my hair doesn't need to be washed as often). I detangled in the shower and section into 6 parts and twist each part after detangling. I am currently using the L.O.C (Leave In, Oil, and Cream or sealant) method for moisturizing (which is amazeballs lol).
That's pretty much it lol. Pretty simple



Favorite Products:

Shampoo: Organix Acai Berry Avocado
Conditioner: Herbal Essence Hello Hydration or Creme of Nature Intensive Conditioning Treatment
Detangling Conditioner: Pantene Relaxed & Natural Conditioner
Leave in's: Kinky-Curly Knot Today or Shea Butter Leave In
Deep conditioner: Naat Brazilian Hair Mask
Oils: coconut, argan, castor, jojoba
Twist-out Styles: Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Carols Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey

Go-to styles?

High puff (definitely a life saver)
Bantu knots
Twists outs
Flat twists pinned back

 IG: aunaturaleb

To Trim or Not to Trim??

Trimming is such a controversial subject in the hair world. There is a school of thought that says you need to trim your hair every "x" amount of weeks, and then there is a school of thought that says trimming isn't necessary. My opinion has been influenced by what I've learned from research, training, personal experience, and general knowledge I've gathered in my young career. It must be understood first and foremost, that hair is DEAD. Yea, I said it.

Courtesy of Cosmetics & Toiletries              

The hair follicle (where growth occurs) is alive, the strand that you see, is not.  Secondly, it must be understood that hair grows from the root, not the ends. I'm not saying that trimming hair isn't necessary because it is, especially for those with damaged hair. Unbeknownst to most, hair is easily damaged. I've learned that hair is damaged in the following ways:

*Physical Damage:
- Heat Styling (flat ironing, blow drying)
- Combing and/ or brushing (which pretty much means regular/ daily styling)
- Washing and drying (the tugging and tangling of the hair)

*Chemical Damage:
- Sun Exposure (yes...the sun can harm your hair as well as your skin)
- Coloring/ Highlighting
- Perming/ Relaxing (Relaxed hair is permanently damaged!)

Courtesy of Cosmetics & Toiletries

This chart shows the levels of damage as it relates to the health of your hair. Very helpful I must say!


With that said, if you do the actions closer to the "bad hair" end of the scale, you will need to trim or even cut your hair, depending on the level of damage. Trimming your hair cannot MAKE your hair grow, but it does HELP you retain length. That is, in my opinion, where the confusion occurs! If your ends are damaged you will not retain length. The ends will break off from split ends, being weak and dry, losing elasticity and tensile strength, single strand knots, etc.
So the moral of the story is hair is DEAD and cutting something that is dead will not make it grow. On the other hand, trimming is essential to maintaining healthy looking hair and retaining length if you partake in any of the above damaging activities regularly. So I do not believe there is a set time of how often everyone should trim their ends.  I think it's subjective. My hair tells me when I need to trim it! When my twist outs and roller sets look frizzy at the ends, or if I can't smooth my ends out in a roller or curlformer set, I generally get the idea that my hair needs some tender love and care. So don't be afraid of those shears if you're goal is to retain length and have healthy looking hair.

Signing Off,

Hair I Stand's NaturalBornDiva88

*The diagrams and information discussed and shown in this post where obtained primarily from Cosmetics & Toiletries, Complete Cosmetic Chemist Training Program, Lesson 3: Hair Conditioners, Led by Perry Romanowski

HOTD: Curls, Curls, Curls I Do Adore

I've been in a really crazy mood with my hair lately....A real LOVE/HATE relationship. So late last night...I had an epiphany...I WANT CURLS! This led to my beloved Curlformers. This is, by far, my favorite hair style! I will put up a tutorial soon! This is great for transitioners because the curlformer leaves your hair nice and stretched and hides the two textures!!