Reminder

Don't forget ladies! You can share your story and be featured on my blog by submitting a "Trader Girls" form (found below) to my email DonnaJenay@aol.com!








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Name:
Hair Status: (Transitioning/Natural)
Tips/Tricks/Testimony:
Hair Pictures: (4 max)

Check out past Trader Girls by clicking tag under "quick search" to your left!

Sea Salt Curl Enhancer

Hey guys! So I did some digging around and word on the street is that sea salt water is a great, natural way to boost your curls! A lot of natural women rant about how their curls pop when their at the beach and sea salt sprays are where it's at. Now, the women talking about this said their "waves turned to coils" which leads me to believe that their hair type is a lot loser than mine but I'm still willing to give it a try! Be advised though that we also know that salt can erode the hair, which is a bad thing. This is the reason most curlies co-wash after heavy workouts. Maybe the sea salt makes the difference. I'm gonna mix sea salt and water and spritz my hair the next time I wear my fro and keep you all posted! Toodles!

Reminder

Hey guys, just a little FYI, I do have a fotki account that I update with pictures and whatnot. It's a great place to visually follow my journey without having to search for pictures on the blog. Check it out by clicking here!

Curl. EEEEE!

Curly CURL.EE curlie.

**i did not dye my hair. it was the lighting.

Cutesy Coil Out

"they're taking advantage of the fad"-DJ

Around my 2nd month of naturaldom I tried out my very first coil out. I'm not sure I even took a picture of it. And if I did, I have no idea where it is. It wasn't all that great at all. It actually looked like I was starting locs. Wasn't a fan. But now, here I am just a smidge over a year in and I thought I'd give it another try. I recently did the style on my mother's hair and thought it was pretty cute. Using Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding I coiled my hair up and allowed to air dry over night. Here are some pictures of the next day...All the accessories in these pictures were hand made by yours truly and will eventually be for sale right here on the blog via paypal! :)

I'm usually 99% against products such as Miss Jessie's, Kinky Curly, or any other product that I feel is targeted at newly naturals because of their price. I feel like they're taking advantage of the "fad" + lack of knowledge. A lot of women run for those products without any other knowledge of natural hair care and then are upset when the product does not yield miraculous results......but anyway! Miss Jessie's actually did a good job. I DID NOT purchase the product, my sister bought it a while ago, and like most women, was not too impressed and gave it to my mom who then gave it to me. (LOL) I used my Giovanni Direct Leave In and coconut oil underneath it as well. I'll do another coil out without Miss Jessie's to see if the product is really responsible for my results.) Here are some camera phone shots that better display the curl. :) I'll more than likely be doing a tutorial on this style as well.

Wonderful Concoction

Hey guys! Just wanted to come and share this hair recipe that I recently discovered. It left my hair feeling not only super soft but clean as well! Give it a try!

Proclaim Olive Glossing Conditioner - pretend you're only going to be putting this through your hair section by section and use the appropriate amount.

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 cap full of Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Mix these ingredients in a bowl and apply to freshly washed or co-washed hair section by section. No matter what I do, I part my hair into 4 equal sections and start at the back right section of my head. Similar to my flat ironing video, I part (with my fingers) a smaller subsection and run the mixture through my hair. Once I've ran the mixture through enough hair to make a medium sized twist I twist my hair up and continue until my entire head is twisted up. Whatever is left over, I apply all over my head rubbing into my scalp. Leave the mixture on for about an hour with a plastic cap on. The last 10-15 minutes is spent under a hooded dryer with the settings on high heat. Untwist/Rinse simultaneously in the shower or wherever you rinse your hair and you're all done! Style as you normally would. I apply Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil: Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion and coconut oil to 4 equal sections and allow my hair to air dry in medium sized twists.

Survey Results

As you should already know, I recently administered a survey here on the blog. (and if you didnt know, scroll down and take it!) That was about two weeks ago. I've read over your responses and I'm ready to address them!

A lot of you asked for tutorials and I'm getting better at that! The main reason I wasn't doing them is because of the bad lighting in my room and the only camera I have is my webcam installed into my 20" screen iMac! In other words, it aint portable! However, you all have asked and I will make it happen! Next, I noticed that a large number of you didn't know that you can follow the blog. Well you can! Just scroll down and look on the left column just above the visitor counter. Following will automatically notify you just as soon as I update! So no more guessing on when I post!

My next tutorial will be on the quick and ridiculously easy muted ponytail...so stay tuned for that! Until next time, Happy Healthy Hair Growing!

Straightening 102

So after posting my own straightening video, I came across this one. Now, while I DO NOT recommend you do everything that she does (more specifically the way she handles her blowdryer) I do plan to use her comb chase technique in the future. Try it out!

What A Difference

I think the title speaks for itself! Here's a picture of my hair's growth over the past 6 months. That's big! Especially with my scissor happiness! I'm excited what it will look like in September, 6 months from now. (Click to enlarge)

Picture Perfect

So here's a couple shots from yesterday. One is a camera phone bathroom shot and the other is a preview of my senior portraits! Hair and make up both done by yours truly! Check em out!

Straightening 101

"Five Freakin Days!"-DJ

Hey guys! I don't know if you all remember or not, but last December I reached the conclusion that my hair's natural enemy was the blow dryer and vowed never to use it again to dry my hair. Each time I used the blow dryer, my hair needed a serious trim to get rid of all the split ends and dead hair. Well, I also said that I would be straightening my hair for my senior portraits which are now to be taken on tomorrow afternoon! You also know that I've had my hair in mini twists for the past 2-3 weeks. So what did all of this mean for me? A LOT of work! I literally spent 5 days on my hair! Crazy, right? Let me break it down for you. Monday, I decided to take my twists out which consumed my entire day. By the time I had finished unraveling each individual twist toward end of Monday, I knew that washing my hair, and all that that entails would not be possible. Tuesday I shampooed, conditioned and detangled my hair and allowed for it to air dry in bantu knots. The issue with that? I had somewhere to be later that evening and had to take them out before they were fully dried. Once I returned home that evening I braided my hair into individual braids to try and reverse some of the shrinkage and tight curling that had taken place and allowed it to continue to dry overnight. The next morning (Wednesday), I took my hair out of the braids and straightened. Thursday, my plan was to get my first professional trim since I did my big chop, but I chose not to since my ends weren't all that bad. Today, Friday, I added my Sabino Moisture Block! ...Five Freakin Days!

But there is always a silver lining, now isn't there? Because I so rarely straighten my hair, and because the survey you all participated asked for more tutorials, I took this oppourtunity to make a video tutorial on how I straighten my hair. It can be seen below as well as some shots of my hair through the various stages. Check it out!