Healthier Relaxed Hair is Possible

Hello world!
I've mentioned my shampoo & conditioner switch before, but now I'm raving again. I've been using the John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioners for the past couple/few months now. I must say my hair is happier for it. I had my hair relaxed when I the bangs were cut, and I was really worried about my hair's health. I'm pleased to say this stuff has helped. My hair is still dry, but nowhere near as dry as it used to be. I have much less breakage, but still a little. I'm sure that sounds lackluster, but I can't stress enough that these products have helped a lot. It's amazing. My hair is soft, shiny, and full of body.

Here's a fine example of just how shiny (not greasy) my hair is now.

That crappy photo doesn't do it justice, but at least it was taken with a real camera. My hair was just washed, dried, and curled (by flat iron). Aside from the years when I avoided relaxers and colorants, this is the healthiest it's been in a long time. It's definitely the healthiest it's ever been while relaxed. Yay.

For reference: John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioners are available for about $8 each at drugstores, as well as online via Amazon, etc.

As always, no one paid me a single cent for this post, but it'd be nice if they would!

Gyaru Goals

Howdy! I've been feeling like I should re-evaluate my life in all aspects. I've decided to post about my gyaru-relevant aspirations instead of boring you with my work, school, and familial pursuits.

My Top 10 Gyaru Goals:

1. Stop cutting my hair every time I get bored with it.

2. Lose more and more weight until I feel like Xena, and fit into Japanese sizes. 

3. Improve my highlighting and contouring.

4. Be more adventurous by wearing MORE COLOURS.

5. Show off my awesome legs by amassing a stunning collection of stockings, tights, and thigh highs. 

6. Get lash extensions and keep getting them. 

7. Learn to do more 3-D nail art. 

8. Be gyaru and stick with it. Consistency is key to development. 

9. Find a pair of comfortable color contact lenses, but never the enlarged kind. 

10. STICK TO MY BUDGET!!! Irresponsibility is not sexy. 

One bonus goal is to be a little more social with the gyaru community. I'd love to check out others' goals. The other is to successfully complete the Couch to 5k workout plan. I've never been into running for no reason. Running had to be a part of something else: freeze tag, kickball, playing ninja, escaping zombies. You get it. C25k will help me shed pounds, increase stamina/endurance, and build better bone health. The only downside is that I'm clumsy as hell and will probably trip over my feet a million times in the beginning. Ah well. It is what it is. I will start on the treadmill since I have a gym membership. Once I'm more comfortable running while chunky (with onlookers), I'll take to the streets of suburbia. 


So share your goals. Stick to them. Let's motivate ourselves and each other!

My NEW Straight Hair Routine

This post is long overdue. I upgraded my styling tools from Farouk's Biosilk line to the BabylissPro brand. I'm not sure what other people's qualifications for the term "upgrade" are, but it used to take me 2+ hours to get my hair straight. Now it takes 30 minutes to blow dry and style.

Here's what I typically use to get my hair straight.
- BabylissPro Nano Titanium Profino Hair Dryer
- BabylissPro Diamond Titanium Flat Iron (not pictured)
-Conair Brush (nothing fancy about it)
- John Frieda Root Awakening Strength Restoring Smoothing Lotion

Now truth be told, I use other products as well. But the reason is more about scent than anything else. I love to make sure my hair smells great, but I need the smell of my hair to complement my body's scent as well.

Back to straightening. It takes me 6-8 minutes to dry my hair. Need I repeat that? It's a glorious thing. When drying is done, my hair is soft and shiny, with tremendous body. The only reason I use the flat iron is to super smooth my ends. The plus to using the iron is that my hair gets even softer and shinier. I used to dread washing my hair. It meant I might not feel like straightening it. That meant not doing my "gal curls" Now I'm on a regular straightening routine again. The beauty of it is that there is no increased damage from the heat. I expected there would be, but there isn't. Yay!

Oh yeah, I have bangs again.

Vlog Action

NEW Stuff Coming

From Amazon for <$100

So I need a new blow dryer. My Conair dryer is nice and nifty, but I REALLY don't have the patience anymore. It takes too long. The salon I go to uses BaByliss dryers and irons. The process is SO fast. I'm in and out in under an hour if there's no one ahead of me. I leave with silky smooth and shiny tresses. Why? Because of the greatness that is BaByliss (and the skill of the stylist).

I know the technique. Now it's time to upgrade my tools. A while back, I did a post on my BaByliss flat iron (still awesome, BTW). Well I ordered a blow dryer by the same brand from Amazon and it will be here tomorrow. I will gladly post a product review at that time, but I'm confident it will receive 5 stars. My only sad spot is that it's not the matching dryer to my Swarovski crystal-embellished flat iron. I chose this one because it's a bit more powerful. I figure it's better to have stronger than prettier because 20min drying vs. 1hr is definitely FTW.

My Hair's Holy Grail List for Straightening

I wouldn't say I'm a total product junkie, but I do like to try entire lines of hair care products. At one point I bought ALL the Garnier Fructis products for going from curly to straight. My favorite is the Smoothing Milk. I also bought all the CHI products-- and ended up giving most away because they smell like man. I still love the shampoo and conditioner and use them like once per month.


Splurging aside, here is my real group of top hair goodies:


Twice a week, I use Aveda Damage Remedy shampoo & conditioner along with the Aveda Smooth Infusion (which also serves as a heat protector). For the coarse section of my hair, I sometimes use the Aveda Brilliant Universal Styling Creme. These are my holy grail products.

If on a tighter budget, BioInfusion (at Walgreen's) has a decent line of product and the polishing serum is a great alternative. You just have to be your own judge of how much to use based upon your hair type. I can also give my approval for the ApHogee line of products. If you're okay with sulfates, Organic Root Stimulator has great products, too. The conditioner is my favorite and the Olive Oil Hair Lotion is a great moisturizer. Everything from all of these lines has a great smell.  

I have super thick hair so I blow-dry in small layers with a round brush using my Conair Infinity Ceramic Tourmaline blow dryer. It does a great job but now I want the BaByliss Pro Diamond blow dryer that matches my new flat iron. After blow drying, I flat iron in small layers to get it silky smooth. 


My hair is half damaged from a bad dye job. That section is very porous and fluffs up quickly in high humidity. The Aveda Brilliant USC and the BioInfusion Glossing Serum are great at fighting/blocking the humidity. I have the Aveda Anti-Humectant Pomade and it's okay for my healthy hair, but not for the damaged parts. I just don't bother buying it anymore-- though I may buy a jar when I get my hair chopped short. It gives a great shine which means using less products. 


My thick hair absorbs moisture like crazy, yet it dries out easily. How does that make any sense?! I find it altogether annoying, but I'm sure it could be worse. 

Review: Babyliss Pro Diamond Titanium 1" Straightening Iron

BaByliss (l), BioSilk (r) - You can't really tell
from the photo, but the BaByliss iron is
a little thinner and a lighter weight.

I received the BaByliss Pro Diamond Titanium 1" Straightening Iron for my birthday. Well technically I got an Amazon gift card and used that to buy it. Either way, I absolutely love this iron. I have type 3C and 4A hair (some pinky-sized curls, some kinky) and this iron leaves my coarse hair silky and super shiny. Also, it has Swarovski crystals for kirakira power. 


Since I had extensions in 90% of my hair at the time of purchase, I used the flat iron on my friend Andrea. her hair has a natural wave and is dry and damaged at the ends. I think the results are pretty nifty. You can't tell after styling.


Below are a couple of photos of Andrea from when I styled her hair using the BaByliss iron. They're cell phoine pics in crappy lighting, but the purikura post I did a little while back shows her hair in better light with my real camera (Canon 40D).

Do You Like the Scarf Look?

I am bored with my hair already. It's only been like 2 weeks!Oh well. I have been thinking of ways to play with scarves and came across these scans from September's issue of Jelly. I hope these will be of use to some of you gals out there. I'd love to see how others rock their scarves. It's also nice to see how the  scarves are worked into different coordinates. Here's a little inspiration!

Drunk Attack

Good Morning Afternoon!
I'm working on my awards posts so I will leave you with this video-- which is completely unedited, contains T.M.I. and  has weird spots. I have no shame. Enjoy!

New Hair

I've decided to be hardcore and post a not-so-purdy photo on my blog. BAM!!!  I just got real on ya'll.

So anyway, I decided to just get the relaxer. I wear my hear in its natural state only once per week anyway and sometimes that is only for a few hours. I'm saving myself the headache of extended straightening sessions. My stylist used the Mizani relaxer but I think I'll try the PhytoSpecific relaxer (Index 2, of course) because the back of my head is more nappy while the rest is curly. That area is where the Mizani failed and I'm hearing wonderful things about Phyto.

As you can see, I got bangs cut. I haven't had bangs in nearly 10 years. This is a big change for me. I've been wanting them for a while, but I know my husband is on Team No Bangs, so I was extremely hesitant. On the plus side, I think they fit my face better now that it's rounder. Might as well have them while the weight is there. Hopefully my face will be a lot thinner by the time they grow out! (#^__^#)

One special thing that came from this hair experience is that I'm drooling over Babyliss titanium flat irons. The one I've just linked to is not the exact iron she used (hers was blue).  She told me she swore by her CHI (ceramic) for ages, but after using a Babyliss (titanium) iron at a hair workshop she was hooked. I have to say the difference was incredible. I need to buy that iron while it's still on sale (~$50 vs ~$160)!

Anyway, night night. I'm knackered.


P.S.

Tell J-List you want more gyaru magazines. 
Remember that it's all about supply and demand.
We need to generate a demand so that we can obtain our goods at an economical rate.

Onee-Gyaru Hair

Image from Hot Pepper

I'm thinking of getting what I call "Onee-gyaru Hairdo #1" this week. Or at least it'll be my next 'do. I'm supposed to be taking my extensions out right now. I wonder how much my hair has changed?

I'm at a point where I am seriously, SERIOUSLY considering getting a relaxer to make my life easier: faster blow drying = faster hair styling. As it stands, when I blow dry my hair it has to be done in tiny layers. My hair is super thick and the key to decent straightness is tiny layers.After it's straight, hooray for big loose curls.

The problem with relaxing is that I'll loose my natural curl. I'll miss it for sure, but I'm super certain Erik will miss it more. The man love my natural poofiness. What can I say? It's sweet.So therein lies the dilema.

Another possible solution would be to start getting Brazillian Keratin Treatments. I like BKT because it's really a protein treatment that decreases frizz and only loosens curls as a by-product. It's pricey but potentially worth it. I like having options without having to spend 2-3 hours washing, drying, and straightening/curling my hair.

CHI Product Review

How's this for funny? This is the first and last video I've posted for teh interwebz. I really hate my voice. It sounds like my nose is stuffed up all the time. Also, now I believe my husband when he says the Small Bear gets his funny facial expressions from me. This is an old review but it's still relevant to this blog.

Farouk Biosilk Tourmaline Ceramic Flat Iron

Click for Full-Sized Image

$55 , bought for $53, Reg price $99.95

My hair is super thick and layered to my shoulders. I  have 2 types of curls- tight and soft, then the coarse naps at the middle-back of my head (about 3″ in diameter). This iron is FANTASTIC. Seriously. I have a Conair ceramic iron that does okay, but the poof comes back to my hair too soon. This Farouk Biosilk iron is big time goodness. It’s totally fighting the friz for me. I also use the CHI Iron Guard Spray. I almost bought a CHI (original), but this was $20 cheaper and allowed me to control the temperature. The CHI Turbo was more than I wanted to spend because I’m a pretty cautious spender. What else? Oh! Some irons get HOT on the outside, but I had this one all the way up to 420F at some parts and the outside never got hot.
My only concern is that the “on” light quickly flickers once it’s at full heat.  My Conair’s light flashes slow and steadily until it’s reached the desired temp. That makes sense to me. The way this iron flickers just seems a little odd, so I’m checking www.farouk.com to see what’s up.

Anyway, BUY THIS IRON. Seriously. I don’t leave a LOT of immediate reviews (not many at all for that matter). I’m in hair love.

PS -
I even left this review on Amazon (which is where I bought it).

PPS -
This post is from a while back (pre-micros, pre extensions) when my hair was still super healthy.

My Hair - Before and After

This is what my hair looked like before. And FYI, I seriously LOVE that headband. I got it at forever 21 for like $9. 

So I should have taken this photo in the salon when my curls were stronger, but I like this relaxed curl look a lot. Here goes:

And this is what I wore today. You can't see, but there are black calf-length leggings and black patent leather heels to match my belt.

It's Exte Time

Today is the day! I'm going for some medium length, warm brown extensions today. I'll be leaving the house soon and returning a weaviful masterpiece. I loved having my microbraids but they were a beast to take out... It took like three days! I'm definitely not going there again. Nope.

I'm only going for sewn-in exte now. , I have love for the way the fusion method looks. I'd even wager pinch braiding or micro rings would be okay  for partial extensions, but I don't see those methods working for me. My real hair is between chin and shoulder length now because of the breakage from bleaching. Now all the relaxer is gone and all that is left is my super thick, 3/4 curly + 1/4 nappy head of hair. I would be paying more for lower quality if I were to go the route of fusion, micro rings, or punch braids. My hair within the exte would just be a poofy frizzball... eww x10.

So anyway, I'm excited. This should be fun times. I think I'll get is styled like this but with a side/angled bang. 

You know... I forgot to post this before, but here is a link to my tumblr photo-post of my typical daily make-up and brushes.

Okay! Time to get movin!