Surviving in these tough economic times

During these tough economic times many people are struggling trying to figure out how to make it.  It's hard when you have a decent job and are trying to do all the right things and still struggling to make ends meet.  It's at times like these that make you figure out other means of income.  I'm here to tell you figuring other means is not easy, but not as hard as you may think.  I've noticed the best companies that succeed are those that start out doing things they like such as Facebook, Microsoft, and this company Sticks and Stones that came up with the idea after originally being a game they played with their kids. 

So my advice is to find a hobby you're good at and figure out how to market it and make money.  Just do an internet search and see all the strange things people make money doing.  If you're a good writer blogging may help you, if you like videoing yourself YouTube may help you, if you're natural which is the craze right now and have a product mix that helps your hair grow or just advice that may help others there are many avenues you can venture out on.  Just step out on faith and don't be afraid.  You never know what you may accomplish.  So happy money making. :)

Transitioning from relaxed to Natural Hair

Many people seem to be transitioning from chemically processed hair to natural hair.  To those of you who are transitioning I just want to give you a few tips.  If you are one of those who do not want to cut off your relaxed hair and want to try and grow your natural hair out while gradually trimming away the relaxed hair I would say be very careful.  First of all, make sure your hair stays moisturized, this is VERY important.  Make sure you tie your hair up at night with a silk scarf and/or have silk pillow cases to help the moisture stay in the hair.  Also because the point where the natural hair meets the relaxed hair, called the line of demarcation, is the most fragile part of your hair, make sure you pay special attention to this area.  I personally love Carol's Daughters products.  I use the hair milk, mimosa hair honey, some of Marguerites magic, and the healthy hair butter to keep my hair moisturized.  Deep conditioning the hair at least every two weeks should also be at the top of your list.  There are many great deep conditioning products on the market such as:

•  Nexxus Humectress
• Jessicurl weekly Deep Treatment
•  Yes to Cucumbers
• Giovanni Nutrafix reconstructor
• Giovanni Smooth as Silk Conditioner
• Aubrey conditioners
• Keracare Humecto
• Neutrogena Tripple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner
• Creme of Nature Nourishing Conditioner

And the list goes on.....  The key is finding the one that works best for your hair because no matter what anyone may say, what works on your hair may not work for others and vice versa. 

Another key to transitioning is to stay away from heat because it will cause your hair to be very brittle and cause breakage.  Some transitioning styles may be sisterlocks, braids, extentsions, rollersetting or just simply cutting all of the relaxed hair off and starting fresh.  Don't be afraid to show your natural beauty.  Embrace who you are, you are beautiful and do not let anyone tell you different.  Good luck on your natural hair journey.

Caring for natural hair!!

Caring for natural hair is without a doubt not an easy task.  I learned that the hard way because I went into this journey thinking, well how hard can this be and I found out that if you are not knowledgeable in natural hair and what makes it grow or how to care for it, you could be in for a rude awakening.  So I just wanted to give a few quick tips: First, always wrap your hair with a satin scarf at night or get a satin pillowcase to sleep on because retaining moisture in your hair is VERY important and sleeping on a regular pillowcase can dry your hair out a lot.  I've learned to oil my hair and scalp before wrapping my hair and going to sleep to ensure my hair retains the proper moisture. Second, don't make the mistake of washing your hair every night or every other night, try and wash your hair once a week because the more often you wash, the dryer your hair and scalp become or the more you have to moisturize your hair and scalp.  That brings up my next tip, always try to use moisturizing shampoos and conditioners when washing your hair because moisture is very important.  After washing make sure you get a good leave-in conditioner, preferably one that helps with detangling.  Usually leave-ins leave the hair soft and manageable.  Next, try to use less heat as possible because heat can damage the hair and if you do use heat use a product that helps protect your hair against heat damage.  Last, make sure you keep your ends clipped because when ends are split the hair growth is minimal to none. 

I can not stress to y'all how important moisturizing the hair is.  MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE!!! Dry and brittle hair is a recipe for disaster, so please be mindful of how you care for your hair and the stress you put your hair though.  Oh and one more thing, what you put in your body as far as foods also pertains to the health of your hair, so vitamins, fruits, vegetables or a healthy balanced diet is also important.  I hope all my tips will help you along in your natural hair care journey.  Have a good one!! :)

All About Shea Moisture Products

First off, let me start by saying I love the Shea Moisture product line!!! They have four collections to include: Yucca & Baobab Thickening Care (for fine thin hair), Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Care (for thick curly hair), Raw Shea Butter Restorative Care (for dry, damaged hair), and the African Black Soap Dandruff Eczema Care (for dry, itchy scalp). So for those of you who are natural product junkies such as myself I would honestly recommend giving this product line a try. They are available at Target and recently became available at Walgreens or you can visit their site at http://www.sheamoisture.com/hair. I ran across these products one evening at Target while going to purchase some of the "Curls" products which I will speak on in another post. I read the label and noticed they were completely natural and the price was very reasonable at $9.99 each and me being curious I decided to give them a try and let me tell ya'll I was very surprised when I used these products for the first time. I purchased the Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Care line and I loved the way the products made my hair feel. After shampooing and conditioning I followed it up with the Curling style milk and the holding shine mist and was very pleased with the way my hair looked. My hair had a nice shine and the holding shine mist didn't leave my hair feeling too hard like some products can. All in all I totally recommend giving this line a try because I have added it to my list of favorite products. Everyone's hair is different, so what works for me may not work for you, but I'm sure with four different lines to choose from there is a product for everyone.

Health and Fitness

For those of you who personally know me, know that I lost 30lbs. from Sept.-Dec. of 2010 and I always get the question of how did you do it.  Well It wasn't that hard, it just took a lot of dedication and determination.  I made it a point to work out at least 3 days a week for at least 45 minutes each time.  After doing research on working out I found out that your body does not actually start burning fat calories until 15 minutes into the workout, so doing 45 minute workouts will give you a full 30 minutes of fat burning.  My workouts would consists of a variety of things such as P90x, Taebo, Jillian Michael's, Wii, treadmill, elliptical, bicycle, stair stepper and if it was nice outside I would walk the neighborhood.  It just all depended on how I felt or what I wanted to target that day.  I also purchased a sweat band to go around my stomach while working out to help me sweat more in that area since that is a problem area.  And since I am not a big breakfast person I decided drinking GNC Total Lean, Lean Shakes would work as my substitute meal replacements and I would drink 8oz along with a fruit, mostly bananas every morning.  For lunch I would eat whatever I wanted but just a small portion and with all the running around I do at work by the time I would get home I would be hungry but Special K bars along with Special K cereal became my friend as well as Vanilla Soy milk because I didn't want to work out on an empty stomach.  The biggest thing was drinking water all day, everyday flushing myself.  Throughout the day snacks for me consisted of nuts such as unsalted peanuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, and jello or yogurt.  One thing to remember is that deciding to become healthy and lose weight or just get in shape is a lifestyle not just something you do one time and think it will suffice.  You have to constantly work at it and be conscious of what you are eating and doing because once you get relaxed, you will notice some weight gain.  So be diligent in reaching your goals and don't get discouraged because the end result is well worth the hard work and determination.

Hair products

Picking out the products that work well with your hair can be as challenging as trying to decide whether to do the big chop if you are transitioning from relaxed to natural hair.  Just be careful if you decide to keep your relaxed hair while growing the natural hair in because the "line of demarcation", which is the line where the relaxed hair meets the natural hair is very brittle and fragile, so the best advice to give on that is condition, condition, condition.  There are many times where I simply skip shampooing and just condition and do protein treatments.  Now there are also a few things you should be cautious of when buying these products.  Make sure the products do not contain petroleum jelly, mineral oil, propylene glycol (PG), sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate, as well as IMIDAZOLIDINYL UREA and DMDM HYDANTOIN, which are two products that release formaldehyde.  The Mayo Clinic states formaldehyde contributes to a hosts of issues within the body such as respiratory problems, cancer, weakening of immune systems and many more. So please look at the ingredient label before purchasing natural or supposedly natural products to expose your hair to.  Products with sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate usually dry your hair out and that is the total opposite of what you are trying to accomplish when growing your natural hair because moisture helps the hair grow.  Petroleum based products tend to clog the scalp up which makes it harder for hair to push its way out of the pores.  So once again, please check your labels.  Some of my personal favorite products are Carol's Daughters, Taliah Waajid, Kinky Curly, Curls, Shea Moisture, Herbal Essence Hello Hydration, and TRESemme Naturals.  To see pictures of them keep reading. .... P.S. yes I am a product junkie :)

I saw this product in Target and decided to give it a try and was surprised with the pleasant smell and way it made my hair feel after washing and applying.

I saw a few people on other blogs talking about this product and decided to try it and liked it

I enjoyed the conditioner, but I personally do not use the shampoo because it has a few ingredients that I don't agree with.  For those of you who have locks and braids the Moisture Clenz is good for cleaning your scalp in between washes.

The whole line of Kinky Curly is very good, but if you don't like your hair to be hard and have a natural soft feel, I don't suggest using too much of the Curling Custard.  Getting used to the correct amount to use can take some time, but will leave your hair nice and curly and ready to go out for fun.

This Herbal Essence Hello Hydration conditioner is one I heard a few people talk about and decided to give it a try and it leaves your hair moisturized but you need to follow it up with a leave-in conditioner to give that soft manageable feeling because it has a few of those ingredients that I spoke of earlier, but for the price it'll do!

I saw this product line in Target and tried it and  I love the whole line.  I would recommend this line to those of you who are trying to obtain moisture and a nice smelling head of hair for a nice price.  This line is at the top of my personal favorites list because of the feeling it leaves my hair with after washing and conditioning.

This product speaks for itself.  The whole line is great!!! I love the products and they ship really fast.  They smell great and help your hair grow and it is tailored towards all types of hair types.