Saturday, October 22, 2011

How to Identify products for your Hair***

Hey Ladies on this Natural hair Journey we will all discover a variety of different things such as how our hair differs from others. I bet you are just like me spend your late njights watching Youtube videos on how to's and product suggestions but even after watching those you still have to  go to the hair store and get your products and if you are like me I read the directions and ingredient information to make sure it specific to my hair care needs. One thing I suggest in your Journey is to keep a progress report and this can be as simple as dedicating a page in your  journal or Iphone calendar to hair specifics

( For example I write down what my routine is every week or everytime I make a change this makes it easy to remember and offer suggestions)


Today I saw a post on Facebook where Carol Daughter asked if one could create a product for the line what would it be? My response was I would create more hair specific products for example some of us have thinning hair and some have dry scalp. I would create products that dedicate to a specific issue. Now ladies I suggest that before you go and buy all these products that are suggested you thoroughly evaluate your hair and its needs and buy accordingly because hair products especially for natural hair can get costly. I however have opted to go the most natural route so Whole Foods Market is my hair store now!!! I know that my hair needs oil and moisture so I am only concerned with maximizing moisture while not clogging pores.  I buy products that are light and moisture rich as well as curl defining. Again I am coming to you on a tip of encouraging you to evaluate your hair needs and shop accordingly also support those fair trade products because that helps provide support to our sistas and brothers in the mother lands and other countries!!

Also check out my pics its my one month Hair Anniversary and I am loving it!!

Your Naturally,,

Minah

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Its My 1 Month Hair Anniversary Post Big chop!!

Hey Friends!!!  I am super proud and excited today marks my (One Month Anniversary Post Big Chop) and I feel great!!! In this past 30 days I have enbarked upon a Journey of freedom and liberation. I have allowed my self the opportunity to embrace change by letting go of old barriers and standards. I have come to certain realizations in this past 30 days but I know this is just the beginning of my journey I recently accepted that I am a beautiful woman I am more than what meets the eye I am strength defined before making the decision to chop I was concerned about my head shape and how I would look I was even concerned with how the man in my life would take it but I made a decision that I love me and that includes all aspects and parts of me I realized that who I am is more than what my hairstyle is and how I choose to wear it. In this Journey I am discovering that the only standard of beauty is the one we choose we are all beautiful in God's eye and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I have to say that I love my hair even though its TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro) its so cute and I can see texture forming too!!

HAPPY ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY!!!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Natural Hair and Pure Essential Oils!! Must try this at home remedy!!

Hey ladies I am coming to you with a new simple and easy remedy its called getting to know my essential oils. Ok so one may ask what is an essential oil?

Essential Oils-they are highly concentrated aromatic essences of plants from around the world. They are extracted directly from various plant parts such as : the roots,flower,fruits, leaf and wood.

Today I will give you a new hair remedy that I am currently trying out to combat dryness, itch, and flaky scalp.
 The reason I chose this remedy was simply for the benefits of each essential oil I will be mixing Pure Lavender oil, Pure Tea tree oil and Pure Rosemary oil along with my carrier oils for skin jojoba oil.

Brief Oil description-
Lavender Oil (Lavandula angustifolia)- is a great for toning, refreshing, relaxing, and calming also used on the scalp for scent and cleasning

Tea Tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia)- has intense, medicinal arona, tea tree is a superier essential oil that can be used on skin to cleanse and purify as well as stimulate the scalp and promote healty and shiny hair grown as well as a healthy scalp and prevent premature hair loss and premature graying

Rosemary Oil (Rosmarinus officinalis)- has a fresh and purifying and anti-microbial properties that help nourish the scalp and relieve tension and flaky scalp and itching and promotes hair growth works well as a massage blend

Jojoba oil (Simmondsia Chinesis)- is extracted from the seed of a desert shrub in the American southwest, Jojoba contains proteins, liquid waxes and unique fatty acids. This oil is great because it resembles the skins own natural oils and emollients

Okay now that I have briefly explained to you what each oil is and its purpose I will begin with how to mix these oils and why. Because these oils are pure and all natural they can be strong and must be diluted with water or a carrier oil and a carrier oils is simply and oil that can be allied topical and blended with other oils that safe to apply on skin without any irritation. so you add about 10-15 drops of each oil and then you add about double the amount of the jojoba oil it depends on how much you make its safe to add extra drop if you want to increase potency but remember in doing so you must dilute properly with water or your carrier oil. With essentials oils you must keep them stored in a cool place away from sun light I bough a dark blue glass dropper bottle and placed my oils in the bottle for storage. Once combines you must shake very well to ensure properly mixed i also added a dab of pure olive oil to just for fun.

Once properly mixed just take the dropper and apply oil to scalp instantly you feel a cool and refreshing sensation and it also provides ease to itching scalp and relief.

 I hope you enjoy this mixture let me know what you think.

Note* the cost of these oils vary on size I spent about $28.00 but its great compared to buying the more expensive natural hair products that separately cost you the same and I have a lot of it so I can make additional mixtures for friends to sample.

On this journey you want whats pure and natural what provides you with optimum performance and in just a single night I can tell the difference.  All products can be found at you local Whole foods market or organic natural store or online good luck let me know what you think and i will keep you posted on results!!!

Yours Naturally,

Minah Marie!


Friday, October 14, 2011

How do you see yourself In the I am State!!

Hello again today I am coming at you from a interesting stand point and that is how do you view yourself in the (I am) state I  have been reading this book title the Laws of Thinking and it has been very enlightening on certain subjects of how we think while reading this book the author posed four simple questions he suggested each reader ask oneself and the questions are: 1. Where did you come from? 2. Why are you here now? 3. Where are you going, 4.  Who am I ? I encourage each of you to take time out and ask your self these question and anyone who comes into your life and after carefully answering these question ask yourself am I living my best life? I have answered the question and I found my responses to be shocking and interesting i encourage you to participate in this exercise and please let me know how it goes!! So as a way to motivate you I will share my response to question number four.

Who Am I? I am Yaminah Stribling  a woman that was beautifully created,I am educated I am successful, I am strong,brave,and courageous. I am living the blessed life not perfect but I am looking to good for strength, I am divinely created and I am purpose driven, I am one who lives happy with peace and joy close by as friends, I am on a mission to succeed and please God while doing so, I am growing from where I was to the woman God wants me to be, I am a lover that loves hard and strong, I am a marriage minded indiviudal, I am a great wife to the husband I shall someday have, I am rich in Mind,Body, and Spirit, I am a friend to my friends, I am a great mother to the children I will someday bare, I am confident in  my abilities and very well poised I am sophistication at its finest, I am the child that God looks at and smiles big upon, I am favored by God, My name means a woman who worked among women of high places a princess among princess I am royalty. I am the queen of my thrown I am most of all a child of God created as a woman!!!

I hope you enjoy this let me know what you think!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Ways to promote hair growth internally!!!

Hey ladies I know we are all running to our local Beauty supply store to gather our hair essentials but did you know it takes more than  topical applications to our hair but also a great way to support hair growth and prevent hair loss you can start by taking Vitamins specifically  the vitamin with Biotin in it this product can be found at Walmart and local retail store for as little as five dollars also the easiest way to remember vitaimins good for hair are to remember those that start in the early part of the alphabet vitamins A,B,C and E are great supplements that support the internal support of hair growth also there are certain foods that provide this support as well such foods are those containing whole grains, yeasts, egg yolks, and some meat and dairy products well good luck I hope on this natural journey you embrace the internally restoration as well the benefit you will receive will prove to be rewarding and share the tips!!

Why Do You Wear Makeup I like you better without it!!!

Hey Ladies have you ever been with your guy or perhaps dating a guy and he asked the question Why you wear makeup? And if so what was your initial response to his question?  Ok well here is my take when asked that question. I  wear makeup because its my hobby I was given my first compact at 16 and taught by a professional my mom lol! how to perfectly apply my makeup. I fully understand that it will not make me or break me but only enhance me. I recently read a blog where a young lady stated that she was 23 and had never been in a relationship she stated she has tried every thing from dressing up to applying heavy makeup and still no luck. The point is that no matter  if you are unattractive make up wont fix you it may hide a few dents and bruises but honey it wont fix you and that goes to say this is you love the glam of making up your face and its apart of your daily regime and who you are go ahead girl love it and do it because I will not be putting my compact or mascara down and if my man cant love that then well he knows what he can do and besides most men never know until you tell them I'm just saying continue to do you regardless in most cases I find that the one talking is not paying the cost to be the boss and if he is so what its your face make it up how you please and that just my take so why do I wear makeup its simple because I love it and its my hobby some people paint cars, some golf I love makeup and skin care there it is plain and simple. Hope this help!! Also ladies before I go know that its okay to be a little defiant my men have always known me to be the do what I want girl meaning even if they suggested or stated they didn't like a style or cut if I had made up in my mind it was cute and I wanted it I was still going to do it anyway its okay to be submissive sometimes but don't always be his little push over or door mat some days do what you feel make him work a little harder trust me in the long run you will be glad you did men like a woman who has her own mind and head on her shoulders. Just saying!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lets Define Beauty!!


I must say that we live in a shallow world where women are defined by certain standards of beauty. I have worn relaxed hair all my life and never received any questions about it until the day i cut all my hair off the guys were like why? Some went on to assume I was having man problems or single? Some even suggested I'd stay single lol! Because of it but Ladies I define beauty as what works for you whatever you have going on in your life that complements and works for you as a woman i suggest you go with that I am writing to encourage you to step over that boundary of what standards are beauty are because we ourselves should set those rules and hell break them if we choose too! One thing I realized in my recent transition is I notice so much more about my self and I truly believe to be beautiful its a trait that dwells within the individual and it pours outward not the other way around. I encourage you to take risks I once played it safe of course I don't want you to go jump off a bridge not that kind of risk but be daring test the elements of beauty heck who says I can't look or wear my hair a certain way or rock my makeup a certain but in all you do make sure it appropriate and tasteful again I am embracing this change within my self because I notice with growth there is development and I am learning that hair it come and it grows this is my motivation to other women who are curious but afraid of the critics and what they will be perceive as I say welcome sista we all have a unique ness embrace your bare all and natural side I have!! But I love all phases of me I wont say my natural is better than my relaxed or Vice Versa I just love me and breaking rules *****

Defining Natural curls!!!

Okay so I was watching You Tube and I was watching a video by Coloured Beautiful I hope I got her name correct and she was doing a tutorial on defining curls now to test this method I did the tutorial on one of my friends who is a natural sista as well. Now our story is a little different because this required a hair color. This is her first time coloring her natural hair and after a few inquires we chose to go with Dark and Lovely Soft Sheen Carson Red Hot Rhythm. I had my friend deep condition her hair the day prior. I applied the color and allowed it to stay on for 30 mins on natural hair. After Rinsing the color out I applied more conditioner and this is wear the method suggested by Coloured Beautiful comes into play so we applied conditioner to the already damp hair and massaged it in until it was not visible then I applied the Eco Style gel and more water and blended those in and my did girl friends curls pop and as it dried the curls maintained their position and she was rocking her natural curls and coils through the rest of the day and night and it was amazing to see the new vibrate color and curls pics coming soon of this style and to my amaze ment this was my first natural hairstyle and my friends know me as the hair person so I was excited at doing her hair. With a successful turnout look for more hair tips!!

MY Natural Hair Routine Week 3





After three weeks I have found a useful yet simple routine and that is I wash my hair every other week that works for me considering my hair is short now I do like the Co-Wash Method but at present with the harsh and hard water here in Texas I will only be washing every other week now I do utilize the spray bottle method to dampen my hair. Daily I like to apply my Hawaiian Silky 14 N 1 Leave In conditioner along with my essentials oils by Beautiful curls its the Shea Butter and Coconut Hydrating Curl oil for Curly to Kinky hair now its really good and only requires very little to get the job done provides shine and moisture through out the day and night not over greasy or shiney. I have and do like to use Eco styling gel but only if I want a more define curl or defined look. For days when I am mostly home I prefer not to use the gel because I do not care if my hair is tamed or not when at home or hitting the gym. Hope you guys like this I will be sharing with you a natural hair styling techiniques I found via youtube!!

WEEK 3 Post Big Chop

Okay so its been three weeks and let me tell with each week there has been change but rapid growth the first week I noticed my scalp was really dry so I spent time working to build up moisture my first week I used Olive oil spray and Coconut oil spray because my hair was very short and I did not want to have the greasy look or over shiny look. I have to admit with short hair there are hazards like!!! BUMPING YOUR HEAD OUCH!! BE VERY CAREFUL I bumped my head like twice and one time really hard it was bleeding lol! Okay so week 1 consisted of a alot of itching and flaking of the scalp again I focused on Moisture and I decided that I should do a internal natural cleanse so I loaded up on Vitamins, organic and all natural juices and water lots of water this helps as well. Now Week two wow we are making progress I can almost pinch my hair but its shiny and still pretty low but the feed back from the cut has been amazing so many compliments. Ladies! I believe in all that you do wear your confidence trust me even with no hair it makes you look so much better and men love that lol! So again even though my hair is short I am still working on moisture and controlling this itching so i continued to oil my hair and I still Yes I Still sleep with my night scarf! Some may ask why well okay I will explain the cottons from our pillow cases and bed spreads are harsh and can collide with our hair to cause breakage and dryness so please continue to sleep with your night scarfs or satin pillow cases. Now we are in week three I have developed a hair routine !!! (my routine will be presented later)!!

A New Motivation and My Big Chop with No Transition!!

Recently I decided to take a new approach and new focus in my life I decided to go on a journey that since September 18,2011 I have immediately seen the impact of this Journey I decided to go where very few desire to go and that Journey was to go Natural. In going Natural I had to make a tough decision although the trend of most women who pursue going natural is to transition well considering the fact that I was already rocking short tresses I just figured transitioning wasn't for me so I decided after much deliberation I would chop all my relaxed hair off. WOW!! what a brave move I know!!! But my mind was made up and with that decision I made my appointment to have a friend cut it all off. Now before I went about this change I did check my head for surface wounds like dents and I had to verify that my head shape was okay lol! After I walked around my house for a few days with my hair pulled back I came to the conclusion that I am beautiful with hair and beautiful without hair I said to myself girl you are badd so I went to the barber shop and I encourage those who aspire to get their hair cut off make sure the environment is a cool and relaxing because if the person cutting your hair is not in full support for those who are still a bit nervous this could cause an instant change of mind. So after a few why questions and laughs the cut began it took about and hour because we wanted to ensure that it was cut with great precision. I also suggest the most feminine cut possible and I have to say I enjoyed my experience and my how hair grows I will be posting pics soon!!! Hope this helps!!