Hair Tip #8 - Holidays in the Sun

Happy holidays beauties!

As the holiday season approaches, many of you will be going on a long awaited (and let's face it long needed) VACATION!! A little holiday in the sun is definitely remedy for the soul! So I thought I would give you guys some advice on how to manage your curly hair in the hot sun.

First things first, hydrating and moisturizing your hair is key. Between the salt water, chlorine and sun, your will go through hell and back, causing some serious dryness. So make sure you have your hair lotion, hair oil and grease handy.

Second thing to remember is to wash your hair with clean water! Before going to Cuba, I learned this amazing trick from a natural hair blog. Rinse your hair with clean water before going to the beach, that way your hair will absorb less salt water when you head to la playa! Also, after a dip in the pool or a swim in the ocean, you should wash your hair with a little conditioner, et voila, your hydrated bouncy curls will be ready for an evening out.

Another important thing to consider is UV protection. Your eyes and skin aren't the only thing you need to protect from the sun. Before my trip down south, I found this amazing little spray from Organix. The Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil: Weightless Healing Dry Oil not only heals split ends and prevent frizz, but it also provides UV protection! The added bonus is that it's neither greasy or heavy. I have heard a lot of good things about the Organix collection. And that product did not disappoint. Look for more Organix product review in the near future! All you have to do is spray the product over your styled locks and you are good to go.

Must Haves Cheat Sheet For Your Trip:

1. Conditioner*
2. Hair Oil and/or hair lotion*
3. Hair grease*
4. Hair U/V protection*
5. Styling curl activator* (if needed) - Or any other styling product (If you want to rock a from, no need for the activator) 

For all of those heading down south, bon voyage!! And be gentle to those locks of yours!

-Stay beautiful xoxo

P.S. I will post a little something about my favorite makeup this weekend! Keep an eye out for that!

*For ideas on product: look at my earlier posts.

Lexuana's corner - New post

Hello beauties,

I've written something new on my other blog, please go check it out. And feel free to comment if you have been through something similar. Writing has always been my way of coping with things, and this is no different. Beats crying about things, that's for sure. Hope you like it, here is the link:

http://lexuanascorner.blogspot.ca/2012/12/what-i-want.html

More hair posts to come this weekend ;)

Stay beautiful,

xoxo

First Vlog Posting at 1,000 views!!

Hi beauties!!!

I decided to do my very first vlog for you guys once I reach 1,000 views on this blog! (I'm currently at over 700!!!!) You ladies (and men) have been so supporting, that I decided to post a video showing how I style my curls :)

At every blog milestones, I will try to do something special to thank you guys!

So keep an eye out for it soon (I hope) and continue viewing, sharing, following and commenting!!

-Stay beautiful xo

Hair Tip #7 - Sleep Time

Hello beauties!

Sorry for the delay on this post. Holiday parties left and right have been keeping me a tad busy. However, I could not leave y'all hanging like that...so here is another hair tip.

I got this idea from a friend who was complaining that her hair lost all its moisture when she woke up in the morning (yes, you know who you are guuurrrlll).

After moisturizing and sealing your hair, it's a shame to be back at square one overnight. Most of us have used stockings, bandanas, or random articles of clothing to wrap our hair. The problem with these materials is that they absorb moisture. When you look at your bandana (or any other wrapping article) the next morning, all we tend to see are oil spots. No wonder your hair is completely dried in the morning!!

To prevent hair dryness, you need a material that will keep the moisture locked in. The best types of caps, bonnets and/or wraps for that purpose is satin and silk. Below are some examples of different sleeping wear options.

Satin Sleeping Cap

Satin Hair Wrap

Silk Hair Cap

From previous experience, these caps tend to range anywhere from $2 to $15.

I personally use a satin cap when my hair is curly, and use a satin wrap and cap when my hair is flat ironed. Using the silk wrap helps keep my hair together.

Hopefully this will help you ladies keep your hair smooth and/or bouncy and fully moisturized!!

Hugs and kisses ladies (and gents),

-Stay beautiful! Xoxo

P.S. Special shoutout to some of my beauties that I've seen last weekend: Bibi and Magalie. Love you guys and thank you for your support it means a lot ;)

Thank you!!!

Thank you all for reading my blog! It means a lot to me!!

Much love to all my beauties!!

Stay beautiful xo

Hair Tip #6 - Untangling your hair

Happy Friday beauties,

Here is another hair tip for you ladies tonight. It's short, but hopefully it will tide you over until my next post!

Let's talk about an important topic: untangling those beautiful locks of yours. As some of you may not know, untangling your hair properly makes a major difference in the growth and quality of your hair. Using the proper tools (i.e. combs and brushes) and using the proper technique makes all the difference, in my opinion.

Here are a few things that have worked for me with both my natural and relaxed hair:

To untangle my hair, I tend to you a wide tooth plastic comb. It's soft on the scalp and soft on the curls. I normally use this type of comb while untangling wet hair to blow drying it.

When my hair is straight, I tend to opt for my handy soft bristle paddle brush. The tips are rounded as to not irritate the scalp, so it feels like heaven (especially when you have an itch, y'all know what I'm talking about). Again, with the bristle being soft, no damage is caused to the hair.

Now, onto the technique. It's always best to untangle the hair from tip to root. I know we were all conditioned to start from the top, but think of it this way: if you have knots in the middle of your  hair and you start untangling from the root, all you are doing is pulling your hair down, ultimately pulling good and knotted hair out. That's when you start seeing clumps of hair on your comb or brush. When you start from the ends, you are working out the knots all the way to your roots. By the time you reach the top of the hair section, no more knots! As simple as that.

Keep in mind that separating your hair in sections (four to eight on average) is always best. It minimizes the risk of creating additional knots.

Hope you enjoyed this short but sweet post!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my American readers, and to everyone else, enjoy your weekend!

-Stay beautiful xo!

Hair Tip #5 - Hair Products - Styling

Hello beauties!!

Sorry for the delay!! As promised, here is the third part of my hair routine series.

Once I have washed and conditioned my hair, I use curl activators or gel to bring out my curls.

My gel of choice is the EcoStyler Olive Oil Styling Gel extra hold. To prevent flakiness, I tend to mix this gel with some oil (usually my Doo-Gro) or some grease. Also, adding these to the gel keeps my hair from becoming too hard.  I tend to use gel when I want to get a 'wet', just got out of the shower look.

For everyday use, I tend to opt for curl activators. My ABSOLUTE favorite has to be the Softee Aloe Vera Activator Gel: For Extra Dry Hair. The difference between a curl activator and a gel is the softness of your curls after using the product. It also dries a lot quicker, in my opinion. Plus, since it's not a gel, the curls stay really bouncy.

Another curl activator that I have used in the passed is the Blue Magic Curl Activator. In all honesty, it's not my first choice, but if the store is out of Softee and gel, it does the trick. Though it says that there will be no flaking, I tend to find flakes the morning following the application, and I don't need anyone telling me that I have dandruff when I don't. I find that adding some hair lotion, grease or oil to the Blue Magic Curl Activator lowers the risks of flakes.

My method to apply the gel and curl activators is the same:

1. I start by making sure that my hair is still damp (I keep a full spray water bottle near me at all time).

2. I separate my hair in small sections, using professional hair clips.

3. I apply a generous amount of gel/activator on the section I'm working on.

4. I then pull out my curls with my fingers. From root to tip, I pull out the curls, and they will bounce back all defined.

5. Repeat the same thing for the rest of the sections.

When I'm done applying the product, I like to do a little shake and see where the curls fall. You can part your hair down the middle, or leave it messy, it's all up to you.

The next morning, to refresh your curls, you can simply spray your locks with water from your handy dandy water bottle. Just a few squirts and a little pulling of the curls and voila! Ready for day 2 :)

It used to take me 30 minutes to style my hair, now I'm done in less than 15 minutes.

Also, remember the smaller the sections the curlier the hair. So have fun with it!

Hope this helps beauties!!

Stay beautiful! Xo