Photo Fun & Length Check (pic heavy)

Hope you guys are enjoying the holidays w/ full tummys & lots of love from your friends & family!! :) anywho, this isn't anything special just a few pics. I'm so close to waistlength I can taste it!!!
Enjoy!!

Till next time!!
Nessa*

Blog Feature: Nappturally Aisha

Yet another NAPPturalista from the big apple! :) I love it!!

Tell us a little about yourself:
Hello! My name is Aisha! I'm a single mom and Social Worker who lives in NYC!
I love being a New Yorker! Especially during the Christmas season. I enjoy church, reading, Central Park, shopping and trying new restaurants!

How long have you been natural? what inspired you to start your healthy hair journey?
I've been natural for 21 months! I started to see all these girls with curly BIG hair! I realized that I had tried every single hairstyle except my OWN! I wanted to meet my hair!

Did you encounter any negativity along the way?
I encountered negativity along this journey but it just made me stronger. A guy I was dating said he didn't think I would look good after a BC. Well, I DID look good and he and I are no longer dating.
Some friends asked me, what was I going to do with my hair now. LOL! I took it all in stride. I'm very proud of my hair and what I accomplished in this time.

What is your current regimen?
My regimen to date has changed for the winter months. I wash every two weeks with Shea Moisture shampoo and deep condition with ReVe Essentials Deep Treatment. I then use Curl Junkie as a leave in. I follow with ReVe Essentials Hair & Body Moisturizer as a moisturizer.
I style my hair with a rotation of stylers. I am now using ReVe Essentials Hair & Body Creme and HoneyChile Hairlove Toasted Pumpkin & Almond Butter to seal.
My current style is a braid out. Definition for days.

Do you have any length goals or hair "heroes" :)?
My length goal is BSL (bra strap length) & I am my own hair hero.

What are some of your favorite products?
As you can tell my favorite products come from ReVe Essentials. Their Hair & Body Moisturizer is a STAPLE of mine & an absolute must have! I also like the Tresseme Naturals Conditioner, Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque and Naturalista Juicy Leave in conditioner.

What are some techniques that you think made this journey a tad bit easier on you?
Keeping it simple has made this journey easier for me. The more I focused on my hair and what it responded to and less on all the products I wanted to try or all the styles, etc, the easier it became for me to just...breathe. Take it one day at a time,less is more.

Do you have some advice you wouldn't mind sharing that would help someone just starting their hair journey?
My advice is that length will come with TIME and PATIENCE. Please know that it will take time to learn your hair. Don't give up so easily!

Where can we find you?(blog,facebook page,website,etc)
•http://www.facebook.com/ladyantoinette2
•aishapicott@gmail.com
•linkedin.com/in/aishapicott 

Thank you so much Aisha for sharing! And kudos to you for kickin 'ole boy to the curb ;)

Don't forget, if you would also like to be a feature on Nappturally Nessa,please send an email to; nessadodd@yahoo.com,with "Interview" in the subject bar, & I will respond back with the details.

Till next time!!!
Nessa*

Regimen Basics: Yet another wash day

  Wash day was a success :) wasn't as tiring as it usually is. In all it took about 4 hours,here's a rundown of what went down from start to finish:

#1-Finger detangled on moist hair w/ oils (castor/safflower mixed)

#2-Put hair in 6 braids,leaving space at the root

#3-Let sit for maybe 30mins under conditioning cap

#4-Washed scalp & braids w/ my homemade black soap shampoo,rinsed out w/ warm water

#5-Applied diluted conditioner to braids & roots (diluted w/ half really warm water & half conditioner) let sit under cap for about 20mins

#6-Rinsed out with COLD water

#7-Dried hair w/ a "turby twist" (microfiber towel or a tshirt works well too)

#8-Applying a leave in on damp hair (Yes to Cucumbers mixed w/ aloe vera juice,& my oil mix) then sealing my ends with my crisco mix & rebraiding. I ended up with 13 braids for stretching

#9-One last mist of aloe vera juice before putting on a scarf for bed. Aloe vera juice leans more on the acidic side,closing your cuticles & preventing frizz or "fuzzies".

 

  After these braids are removed, I most likely will bun it or something. I might also retire my small twists for a second untill I'm ready to commit to 4 weeks :-p
  This sounds like a ton of stuff right? Nah,it goes by fast since I've been doing this for so long. And there's a reason for every thing done.

Wanna see the basics of my wash day regimen? Check out this blog post here.

Till next time!!
Nessa*

Regimen Basics:Low Manipulation=Less Stress on your Tresses

  Wearing my hair out & down is great...sometimes. Most of the time I hate it lol yes, I really do. I am not style savvy, not even the least. I know my twists, chunky braids, twist /braid outs & a few buns...that's it. So whenever my hair is down that is my white flag,I've exhausted all other options. Its not a bad thing either, to do simple styles. The simpler a style is means the less manipulation it will require to install & remove. Which means less stress on your tresses.(ha!! I should totally trademark that saying)
   I'm big on low manipulation. Not so much protective. Let me explain: in a nut shell protective styles keeps your ends safely tucked away. I can't honestly say I've done that consistantly throughout my hair journey. What I have done is worn styles that kept my hands out of my hair,off my shoulders, & while doing so have retained a ton of length. So,yeah this works for me ;) I'm not knocking anybody who always does protective styling, in fact I push that more often than not. Its a healthy hair practice. I see it like this, when you first start out on your hair journey, you've got to have SOME type of boundaries. But as it continues you begin to see what works & what doesn't, feel free to keep what you think is necessary in your regimen. In the beginning, I co washed, do I now? Uh no. I also used tons of silicones, do I now...nope. :) see what I mean? If at any time, you start seeing some negative changes in your hair (excess breakage,etc) you can always go back to the drawing board. Easy peasy,right?
   Have you ever looked on someones shoulders or even your own & seen all the little broken hairs? Yep,breakage. One of the most common causes of breakage is friction between your hair & clothes. So even if my ends aren't tucked away in the tightest of buns, best believe my hair is off my shoulders. All that friction also can cause tangles, which may lead to knots, which in turn may have to be cut out. Yikes :(   
  Now there are some naturals who do not protective style as much now (or if any) as they did in the past, because they found out they did not need it as much (or at all). A word of caution:DO NOT copy someones elses regimen! I can't say that enough.If it works for them, thats just it. It may not work for you. Tweak it, make it your own. You guys may have similar hair "types", textures or whatever but there are other variables to take into consideration. You may have less time on your hands, live in a drier climate, or on a tighter budget, those are all important factors to think about when making your regimen. But thats a different post ;)
   Anywho, back to the subject at hand. What are your thoughts on low manipulation & protective styling?

Till next time!!
Nessa*  

Putting a 'twist' On An All Time Favorite:Rope Twisting

   Yesterday I installed yet another set of twists,but see this time I twisted w/ the technique many use for seneglese twists. What is that you ask? We'll I call it "rope twisting". Say you are twisting to the left, while you are doing that you roll each of the two strands between your thumb & pointer finger to the right, before you cross that strand over the other one.
   I hope I didn't lose you with that explanation :) but its a simple technique that gives your twists a "rope" look instead of the normal twists where you just continually cross two strands of hair over each other untill you reach the end.
  I believe that these will last a little longer for using that technique actually tightens the twist as you go down. But I won't put a specific time on it. They aren't as fluffy as my usual ones :( but that might play in my favor.
  I twisted on a stretched old braidout,using a quick mix I made with; shea,crisco,honey, & Yes to Carrots body butter. I finished just 20 minutes shy of 6 hours. Not to shabby if I say so myself, my twisting time is anywhere between 4-8 hours.

  Some of the pros using this technique are:
•Firm, sleeker looking twists
•More of my length is revealed
•Feels as though these twists are heavier,a bit more 'weighted'.

Cons:
•Not as fluffy since they are tighter,giving the illusion of hair that is less dense
 
  Yep...thats it :) I guess time will tell if I continue to use this way of twisting. As its obvious the pros out weigh the cons, for my hair anyways ;) I'm including pictures of previous twists,so that you will be able to see the difference. Enjoy!!!

Till next time!!
Nessa*

Where the Wild Curls Are

  There won't be much to this post, but I figured I would share some pictures off my curl pattern.
Its a rare thing for people to see my curls. I'm usually in twists or some stretched style (braidout,twistout,blowout,etc), so many think that my hair actually grows out like that.
  No, it does not :) my hair is kinky,curly along w/ many other textures all over my head.
In some areas its more of a curly wave, in others there are curls w/ the diameter of a small marker, some strands are baby fine, & some resemble sewing thread.
  Natural hair can take on so many forms! Its amazing just how much personality can be on one head! Hair that looks shoulder length is actually near waist length when stretched, beautifully kinky-curly one day yet stunningly sleek & straight the next. *sigh* don't you just love it?!
  Anywho, let me get off the blabber express. Enjoy the pics & stay blessed!!

Till next time!!
Nessa*

A Holiday Hello

  Its been a long while since I've written a post,sowee :) My apologies, I've been kinda tied up w/ a few things plus we all know how life gets when the holidays are here.
  Just know that I haven't forgotten about y'all, & I have bunches & bunches of stuff to share!!
  And if you have any questions or comments,you can post below or simply email me at nessadodd@yahoo.com.

Happy holidays to you & yours!!!
*MUAH*

Till next time!
Nessa*