Happy One Year Blogiversary to me!

Can't believe it's been a year already! Honestly, when I started this blogumentary I wasn't convinced I would still be doing it one year later. I had no idea what I would put on here, who I would share it with if anybody at all, how it would help me, how it might potentially help others. I will say though I am glad I did it. It definitely helped me through those days when I really felt like chopping all my hair off lol. It made helping others much easier because now I could keep track and document what actually works for me and when anybody asks I can direct them to one place with all my knowledge. Based on my blogger stats (just discovered that! lol) seems like it's been helping a lot of people I don't even know from all over the world: USA, Russia, UAE, Cote D'Ivoire, Belarus, My Caribbean massive, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, and so many others. It is so exciting to see how organic the web is in action in that you can connect with ppl a lifetime of experiences  away and impact on ppl who you don't even know and probably might never actually meet. 

Most importantly though, this blog has taught me a valuable lesson about myself: I am fully capable of being disciplined if I put my mind to it. I have been horrible with routines in the past and as I said when I started, stick-to-it-iveness was definitely not my forte. But in blogging I have found a valuable tool. This year I am trying to translate that new found discipline and focus to other aspects of my life. I have started journaling as a tool to keeping myself on task with my education as well as my many other life goals. I have also realized that by ascribing negative adjectives/characteristics to myself I basically create a self-fulfilling prophecy. As such I will no longer say I hate to read. I love reading! I am disciplined! I do not have the attention span of an ant! LMAO. So far it is working out. I have found a new passion for the things I do at school, work and in life in general and while I may not be as public in sharing those journeys I am every bit as committed to making it happen. 

Hair length chart with all the acronyms.

Aiming for hip length by December 2011

As far as this blog, I'll keep it up. I intend to do some upgrading as soon as I get done with my school obligations. Hair goals this year: KISS. Continue growing it out for now, possibly aiming for just short of hip length by December. Move towards an even more simplified regimen than the one I have currently. Look out for more experimentation with natural ingredients and mixology, trying to get even cheaper and less time consuming. I'll also probably do some posts on ingredients when I get some more time later in the year. I hope this continues to be helpful to you all who pass through here from time to time. Thanks so much for your support and feel free to ask any questions, if you have some topic you would like me to address or comments on what you would like to see or how I can make this vehicle better. I hope all of you have a wonderfully successful 2011 and may u accomplish all your goals this year, hair related and otherwise!

Blessings

MzNappyTrini

Natural Haven and pH balance

[source]

A while ago when I was looking into ACV rinses I did a post on pH balance. I just came across this wonderful blog Natural Haven which is one of the most scientific natural blogs I have encountered in a while, maybe ever. lol. check out this post on pH, baking soda and castille soap as well as removing silicones from hair.

Quick Update!

Hi Yall
feel free to friend me on facebook (MzNappy Trini) and fotki (MzNappyTrini). Chiao!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody! I'm hoping we all have a productive, successful, safe and blessed 2011. May we all fulfill the vision and mission we have set out for ourselves and keep all our resolutions.

I'm coming up on my one year blogiversary already but I'll leave my reflections on that for the actual day. I was contemplating getting my hair straightened in celebration/ for length check but i'm really liking my curly routine right now so maybe I'll get it done when it gets less dry in the spring or i'll just hold off until my bday as usual, we'll see. But in celebration of the new year I went ahead and did a length check today and all I can say is WOW! 

left: 01/01/2011 almost waist length (WL); right: 01/10/2010 just past arm pit length (APL)

left: 01/01/2011 almost WL; right: 01/10/2010 half way between APL and bra strap length (BSL)

Looks like my hair grew between 4-6 inches depending on where on my head I'm measuring! That's so exciting because it means that I practically retained all my length suggesting that I have got protecting my ends down to a science. I think I will continue growing my hair out this year. My new goal is pants waist/ hip length (~3 inches shy of the crack of my butt lol) by December. I don't know if my hair was ever as long as it is today but I know it's definitely not been pants waist/ hip length before so let's see if I can make it! lol. I intend to stick to my current regimen more or less. The only thing I still need to perfect is my scalp oil so I'll experiment on that in the upcoming weeks. I want to phase out doo grow and move towards my own all natural mix. I'll also probably switch up conditioners, reintroduce my nexxus protein treatment and maybe try raw shea butter or a whip.

Today I did a bit of an experiment and learned something extremely valuable: my hair NEEDS to be conditioned every time I wash it. lol. I ran out of conditioner this week and thought I could just shampoo and deep condition and be ok. Nope. While detangling wasn't a total disaster it was the most difficult it's been in weeks and I had some breakage for the first time in more than six months at least. Never again. I must say though I love my huetiful steamer! I don't know how I managed without this thing lol. It has made washday exponentially less work- and time- intensive.

Today's regimen:
shampoo: herbal essence hello hydration
protein treatment - giovanni protein reconstructor
deep condition - ors hair mayo and ms jessie's rapid recovery (omg this thing smells horrible!)
ACV Rinse - 1 cap in 2 cups cold water
leave in - infusium 23, adapted kimaytube leave-in
scalp oil - doo grow, jojoba and coconut oil
sealant - coconut oil

Ms Jessie's Review

This is really late but I just realized I hadn't posted about this. My beautiful sister got me the sample pack from Ms Jessie's a few months ago (Thanks Alli! love u!) and I have been working my way through the products slowly but surely. In the sample pack there is the curly pudding (scented and unscented), the buttercreme (scented and unscented), curly merengue, creme de la curl shampoo and conditioner, the rapid recovery treatment, the super sweetback treatment, the stretch silkening creme and the quick curls creme.

I have done detailed reviews on the curly pudding and the buttercreme here and here. In short, I loved the results I obtained with them but I have since found that I can attain similar results using the ORS smooth and hold pudding. I would still use them if I wanted to treat myself but if you are on a budget, other cheaper easily available products can do a similar job. The shampoo was good as a clarifying shampoo but I have been able to attain similar result using cheaper products so I wouldn't purchase this product. 

The conditioner was not anything to talk about, my cheapie conditioners from HE and Suave have given me way better results. Both deep conditioning products were ok but not better than my staple ORS hair mayo or many other very cheap deep conditioner treatments I have gotten at CVS or elsewhere so I wouldn't purchase these products either. I have yet to try the other products, mainly as I am not sure they would work with my hair texture. I want to try the curly merengue on a roller set or a spiral set at some point. The stretch silkening creme I will probably do a spiral set or a twistout to see if it works. the quick curls will have to wait till it warms up around here because I am not risking getting sick to test it. lol Hope this quick summary review is helpful!

If you are interested in trying any of these products, Ms Jessie's has a bogo sale going on until December 31st 2010 midnight EST. Check it out!