킴씨머리 (Kimshi Meoli) Product Review: Shea Moisture Hold & Shine Moisture Mist + "Flax-i" Hold

I'm going to try something a bit different today and use the CurlyNikki Community Review format as a basic structure for this review. Here goes!

Description of your hair: (1) medium density (2) fine and medium texture (3) normal/low porosity (4) Daughters OS [check out the LOIS system] + cottony/silky. 

Name of Product in Review: Shea Moisture Hold & Shine Moisture Mist

Product Description [from Walgreens.com]: 

Our all-natural moisture mist eliminates frizz, while hydrating hair and creating brilliant shine and curl control. For thick, curly hair.
• Coconut oil: Hydrates and protects hair from heat and chemical damage
• Silk protein: Reduces breakage, strengthens hair, adds smoothness an silkiness
• Neem oil: An age-old ayurvedic oil that strengthens hair and provides brilliant shine
• Provides moisture and body
• No parabens, phthalates, paraffin, Formaldehyde, propylene glycol, mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, PABA, synthetic color, DEA, animal ingredients, or sulfates

Product Ingredients: (from NaturallyCurly.com)

Deionized Water, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Silk Protein, Essential Oil Blend, Melia Azadirachta (Neem) Seed Oil, Algae Extract, Hyssopus Officinalis Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf and Equisetum Arvense Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E). *Denotes Certified Organic Ingredient.

Fragrance: Tropical - not as coconut-ty as the leave ins and stylers, but you can definitely tell what the scent is.

Texture: Liquid

Ease of Application: on a scale of 0-5, how easy was it to apply to hair with 5 being easy (not rough in texture)

It was relatively easy to apply. It comes in a spray bottle,  so spritzing it on a section is pretty effortless. It goes on my hair pretty well; I can usually rake it through without too many issues. My coarser strands don't take to this as easily because of the large amount of silk protein. It's a smoother glide on my finer strands, however. So I'll give it a 4 out of 5.

Your experience: I used this as my liquid leave in and refresher for the past month or so. The entire time I tested it was almost solely with the SM Curl & Style Milk. I thought that that would be too protein-y for my thicker strands of hair, but it actually wasn't too bad. It also blended well with a protein-free leave in I bought a while back. It's supposed to help with hold (hence the name), and while it didn't give me much of that, it did help me a lot in the shine department. My twists have been shine-ty and on point for weeks now, thanks to this. The oils, butters and plant extracts added a healthy shine to my coils and curls. I also used this to refresh my twists before bed; once during the middle of the week, I'd spray my ends and smooth a bit on my roots, seal it in with some EVOO, and cover with my scarf for the next day. It tamed frizzies pretty well, and helped keep my ends looking smooth and sleek. 

Because of all the protein, I really think that my ends might have benefited the most from using this spray. I've noticed less SSKs and less breakage. Definitely an incentive to repurchase!

Would you recommend to a curlfriend: Yes!

How many curls overall: 5 big, fat juicy curls! :-D

Want proof? Here's photos of different twists I did with this wonderful spritz as my L:

In addition, I've started making my very own....*drum roll*....flaxseed gel! I wanted extra hold for my twists, but regular gel wasn't cutting it for me. I remembered that we had flaxseeds in the pantry, so I looked up Naptural85's recipe on the magic YT and followed it almost to a T. I omitted the EOs because 1) I can't really afford them right now, and 2) I don't particularly like them.

I was more than a little skeptical of how well it would hold, but as I used it on my twists week after week, I was floored! A small amount gave my curls amazing definition, actually added moisture, had slip enough to rake through, and put some extra shine on ma hurr. I love it! I made a second batch on Friday (which was a little too runny), and again used it on my twists for the week. Now don't get me wrong, it's not on the same hold level as HE Set Me Up gel, but it doesn't get tangled in my curls, and defines them more quickly. It doesn't help atall in the shrinkage department though, and the hold can vary depending on how long you boil your batch. So it's definitely a light to medium hold gel - maybe best for when you want bigger hair, less hang (when is that?! o_O), or don't mind not having hold as strong as a regular gel.

My batch:

안녕!

Have you ever tried the SM Hold & Shine Mist? What did you think of it? What's your favorite liquid leave in/refresher, if you use one? Have you ever tried making or purchased flaxseed gel? What did you think  - did it work for you?

P.S. In the few months that I haven't been on here, my hair actually grew! I was fingering through my wet hair a week ago, and I was actually able to gather it into a messy(-ish) bun! I couldn't believe it! There is something to this twisting and putting away of hair. I'd like to see if I could do it all summer and see where I am by the time the fall semester begins.

Look at this! My front sections, which seemed stalled, actually grew. Unbelievable...

Last Minute 'Dos: Twist Tail

안녕하세요!
I was getting sick & tired of my wonky, dried out WnG. So last night,  I decided to do a last minute rescue 'do. I quickly applied some of my vinegar/conditioner mix to my hair & rinsed it out thoroughly with warm water.

Next, I sprayed my entire head with my SM Hold & Shine Moisture Mist, focusing on the ends. Then I took a small amount of the SM Curl Enhancing Smoothie, grabbed a chunk of my hair, lightly raked in the Smoothie, & twisted up that section. I repeated this on the remainder of my head & ended up with 6 twists.

I gently pulled back the twists into a ponytail, pinned the front section to the side, & blotted out the excess moisture with a towel. Before hitting the sack, I covered my hair with a satin scarf.

This AM, I awoke to soft (malleable!), moisturised hair. It was so nice to just wet my tresses & get sort of a fresh start style-wise. The flexibility of our hair is unbelievable sometimes! :-D

안녕!

What are some of your favorite rescue styles to do when you're having a not-so-stellar hair day, curlies?

Productos nuevos (New Products)!!

Buonasera, ragazze! :-D

My aunt paid my sister and I today, so I went shopping for supplies for the rapidly approaching semester, and, of course, hair products! I did go over my allotted $30/month budget, but I wasn't spazzing out in the aisles and picking up everything in sight and just going crazy. I stuck to what I knew, for the most part. Soo, up first, here's my video from the magic YT sobre los:

And here are the deets below on every product in the video:

1. Shea Moisture Hold & Shine Moisture Mist

Price: $9.99
Size: 8 fl oz/237 mL
Purchased from: Target
Ingredients: Deionized Water, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Silk Protein, Essential Oil Blend, Neem Seed Oil, Algae Extract, Hyssop Extract, Sage Leaf and Field Horsetail Extract, Honeysuckle Flower and Japanese Honeysuckle Flower Extract, Vitamin E.


2. Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Price: $4.99 (it was part of the BOGO 50% deal)
Size: 12 oz/340 g
Purchased from:  Target
Ingredients: Deionized Water, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Macadamia Seed Oil, Mango Seed Butter, Avocado Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Silk Protein, Ammonium Salt, Neem Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Sorbitol Esters, Pro-Vitamin B5, Caprylyl Glycol, Essential Oil Blend, Honeysuckle Flower and Japanese Honeysuckle Flower Extract, Vitamin E.


3. Herbal Essences Set Me Up Gel

Price: $3.39
Size: 6 oz/170 g
Purchased from: Target
Ingredients: Water, Laureth-23, Polyquaternium-4, Hydroxyethlcellulose, Benzyl Alcohol, Acrylates/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer, Aminomethyl Propanol, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance/Parfum, Acrylates Copolymer, Disodium EDTA.


4. TRESemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner

Price: $4.48
Size: 25 fl oz/739 mL
Purchased from: Wal Mart
Ingredients: Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Avocado Oil, Aloe Leaf Extract, Brassica Campestris/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Fragrance, Caprylyl Glycol, Aspartic Acid, Lauroyl Lysine, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Benzyl Alcohol, Citric Acid.


5. Eden BodyWorks Jojoba Monoi All Natural Deep Conditioner

Price: $9.47
Size: 16 fl oz/473 mL
Purchased from: Wal Mart
Ingredients: Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Coconut Oil, Tiare Flower, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulphate, Cetrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-11, Jojoba Seed Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Chamomile Flower Oil, Melaleuca Leaf Oil (Tea Tree Leaf Oil), Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Seed Oil, Vitamin E, Aloe Leaf Extract, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Sorbic Acid.


6. LeKair Cholesterol Plus Strengthening and Conditioning Cream

Price: $1.89
Size: 20 oz/567 g
Purchased from: Wal Mart
Ingredients: Deionized Water, Cetearyl Alcohol and PEG-40 Castor Oil and Stearalkonium Chloride, Cetyl Alcohol, Mineral Oil, Fragrance, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Cholesterol, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Tetrasodium EDTA, Vitamin E, Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Yellow #5, Red #4, Aloe Extract, Vitamin A, Vitamin D.


7. Nuance Argan Oil Glossing Conditioner

Price: $8.76
Size: 10 fl oz/296 mL
Purchased from: CVS Pharmacy
Ingredients: Water, Isododecane, Isohexadecane, Behentrimonium Methosulphate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Fragrance, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Acai Fruit Oil, Argan Kernel Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Passion Flower Seed Oil, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Algae Extract, Camellia Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Benzyl Benzoate, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone.

8. Honey
Price: $5.68
Size: 24 oz/680 g
Purchased from: Wal Mart


I'm so excited to try these! Especially the HE gel; I'm nearing the bottom of my container of Xcess and hadn't gone to the dollar store to stock up again, so I hope this will be another product to add to my styling arsenal.

Purchased any new products lately, curlies? Gone shopping through your stash of late? What did you cop? :-D

New Purchases!

So I said that there would be an end to stash hauls, but I will update on new purchases! Here are the products I've purchased recently:

In addition to that, I just bought the Shea Moisture Organic Yucca & Baobab Volumizing Conditioner from Target. It should be here soon :-) Anywho, here are the other products!

1. Yes to Cucumbers Color Protection Shampoo

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Sea Water, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Spirulina Maxima Extract, Hydrolyzed Algin, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Xanthan Gum, Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol. * Certified Organic Ingredient

I used this on my last wash day. Oh my goodness gracious, this stuff is a miracle worker! How does one create a shampoo that lathers gently, doesn't contain sulphates or harsh cleansers, cleans, yet moisturizes? There is gold in that bottle! Lol. I look forward to using it again; I may begin to look forward to wash days now. Heh heh heh.

Price: $7.99
Size: 11.5 oz/340 mL

2. Nature's Gate Aloe Vera Moisturizing Shampoo

Ingredients: Water, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine (coconut derived), sodium cocoyl isethionate (coconut derived), disodium cocoamphodiacetate (coconut derived), glycerin (vegetable derived), aloe barbadensis leaf juice, panthenol, hydrolyzed soy protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, borago officinalis (borage) seed oil, tocopherol (vitamin E), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), hordeum vulgare (barley) extract, urtica dioica (nettle) extract, persea gratissima (avocado) fruit extract, viola tricolor (pansy) extract, ascorbyl palmitate (vitamin C), sorbitan sesquicaprylate (coconut and corn derived), polysorbate 20 (vegetable derived), hydroxypropyl methylcellulos (plant derived), sodium hydroxide, glyceryl undecylenate (vegetable derived), phenoxyethanol, fragrance*. 
*Phthalate free.

I haven't tried this yet, but it smells exactly like its matching conditioner (like bubble gum), and the ingredients look divine! It'll be a while before I try this, though; I want to finish my other shampoo and a cowash mix before starting this one.

Price: $4.39 (on Vitacost.com)
Size: 18 oz/532 mL

3. Nubian Heritage EVOO & Moringa Repair & Extend Conditioner with Quinoa, Fennel & Henna

Ingredients: Deionized Water , Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive) , Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut) , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Sorbitol Esters , Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter , Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado) , Vegetable Protein , Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil , Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil , Lawsonia Inermis Leaf Powder (Henna) , Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B-5) , Proprietary Essential Oil Blend , Behentrimonium Chloride , Chenopodium Quinoa Extract , Foeniculum Vulgare Extract (Fennel) , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract , Rosemary Extract , Bamboo Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract.

I know that it's a RO condish, but I'm going to use this as a sort of protein DT...but mix it into my carrot DC (more info on that a bit later) so that I can get both softness and strength (and color). I should be using it during my next wash day, so I'll have preliminary thoughts for you by then.

Price: $11.99
Size: 12 oz/355 mL

4. Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifier

Ingredients: Deionized Water (Aqua), Wheat Germ Extract (Triticum vulgare), Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) Leaf, Cetrimonium Bromide, Cetyl Alcohol, DMDM Hydantoin, Olive Oil (Olea europaena), Glycerol (Vegetable Derived), Silk Amino Acids, Bay Laurel Extract (Lauris nobilis), Fragrance (Parfum).

I think that I'm going to like this stuff! Even after being charmed by Oyin Juices & Berries, I knew that I still needed to find a good, inexpensive ($10 or less) liquid leave in that I could find on the ground. If I ran out, I could still run to Target or Wal Mart with $10 and be able to purchase it. I was perusing The Forgotten Natural the other day, and saw that Ravenpriestess (the author) uses it as part of her LOC method. So, I decided to give it a try. I found it at Target, copped it, and gave it the palm test with my other products in my hand to see how they'd mix. It's very well tempered, methinks. I won't be using it for a while, though; I'm still finishing up my Oyin Juices & Berries and Carol's Daughter Tui as my Ls. So there might be a review for this in March or April *sniffles*

Price: $6.99 (Target; it costs more at Wal Mart)
Size: 8 oz/237 mL

5. Shea Moisture Organic Yucca & Baobab Volumizing Conditioner with Biotin & Bamboo Extract

Ingredients: De-ionized water, Cocos Nucifera (coconut) oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea butter)*, Sorbitol Esters, Mangifera Indica (mango) seed butter, Persea Gratissima (avocado) oil, Aloe Barbadenis leaf extract, Yucca Filamentosa extract, vegetable protein, Glycine Soja (soybean) oil, Adansonia digitata (Baobab) extract, biotin, rosemary extract, bamboo extract, Lonicera Caprifolium (honeysuckle) flower and Lonicera Japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) flower extract. 
*Certified organic ingredients.

This was another product that I heard about through The Forgotten Natural, and another YTer, Katie Douglass. Both are Shea Moisture and/or Nubian Heritage Queens, so I purchased it from Target.com (outrageous shipping, but I didn't want to wait! :-/ ) and it should be here this week or next. Again, no reviews on it for a good bit because I have a wee bit of my Nature's Gate Aloe Vera condish to get through, the Nubian Heritage condish, and another Nature's Gate conditioner before trying this. So it'll be probably around April or even May when this product is reviewed. Lo siento :-(

Price: $9.99
Size: 12 oz/355 mL

Have you purchased anything (doesn't have to be hair related) new lately?

Vintage Posts from the CN Forums - Part 3

17-08-2012
Hair Regimen Update
I finally started my mini twists today! My hair looked so shiny and defined after taking out the twists this morning, I considered doing a twist out. But, I need this protective style, so I stuck to my plan.
Whoever said that Naptural85 makes mini twists look easy was right! I watched her mini twists tutorial at least 5 times before I started to make sure I did everything correctly. But I didn't have a wide tooth comb (my sister lost both of them -_-) or flaxseed gel. And my hair wasn't as strechted as hers is in the video, so my twists look kind of weird. I did make even rows, though! But my parts are strange, and the sides of the twists end up uneven, so I trimmed a few ends (first time scissors have touched non-SSKs since my BC!) to make them match up. And even though I'm twisting tight enough on most of them, the twists look nothing like hers. Maybe I'm making them too small or too big? Ugh. It's a good thing I decided to do practice twists this week. I doubt these twists will last more than 3 weeks, but I'll try again and do it better the next time. Ooh! I'll write which products I used for this (including my pre-installation) below:

Pre-installation:
Pompeian Grapeseed Oil (pre-poo)
TRESemme Climate Control Shampoo (poo)
VO5 Moisture Milks Strawberries & Cream with Soy Milk Protein/Herbal Escapes Anti-Oxidant Rich Pomegrante & Grapeseed (conditioner)
TRESemme Vitamin H & Silk Protein Smooth & Silky/Vitamin E Moisture Rich, Pompeian Grapeseed Oil (DC)
ACV:H2O (2:1 ratio; scalp clarifier)
Spectrum USDA Certified Organic Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil (leave in)


Installation:
Fresh Elements Captivatin' Color conditioner (leave in, detangler)
Fantasia IC Polisher Gel (hold)
Fantasia Olive Moisturizing Shine Serum (moisture)

I don't like the Fantasia serum much, but the gel left my hair so dry that I had to do something. But I noticed that the twists without the serum are holding up much better than the ones with it. Hmm. Guess I'll leave the serum out.



18-08-2012
Randomness: I started listening to some Kpop on my iTunes account, and it didn't click in my mind that the song was in Korean until the song ended. I thought it was in English! *shakes head* This has happened to me a few other times too, and it's so bizarre. I don't know Korean! I've got a weird brain.

Mi pelo
I went to a birthday party today, so I pulled the back section of my hair into a puff, and pinned the front sections back. I've kind of got a little pompadour thingy going on in the front. It'll hopefully make my hair stretch a bit more; I was so sick of it curling while I tried to twist yesterday! I may or may not work on my twists more tonight; I need to sleep and get up for church tomorrow morning.



19-08-2012
I ended up not doing any more mini twists last night, but I did some today after church. The going is VERY slow; I'm just finishing up the section on the left side of my head! But I'm trying to make sure I do them right. As painstakingly as I'm doing these twists though, most of them don't look right. Even if I take 5 minutes to tightly twist, they start to unravel the second I let them go *frustrated sigh* And I keep catching little stray hairs in the twists, end up twisting them in, and then have a painful time trying to pin the twists back because they're attached to 1 or 2 thin hairs at the front of my head. 
Also, I wasn't liking the way the Fresh Elements conditioner was working with the Fantasia gel. It's like my hair was too moisturised and slippery (darned dimethicone!  ) and it messed up the twists. 

Soo, I got the money from my babysitting paycheck (money!! Finally!) and hit Target today after church. I spent more than 20 minutes bouncing between the Salon Hair Care aisle (cried over the prices there), the "normal" hair care stuff (lamented over the sodium hydroxide and drying alcohols), and the Ethnic Hair Care aisle (boohooed over the prices and tiny sizes of bottles, and looked skeptically at the "all natural" ingredients). I looked at Shea Moisture, Jane Carter, Cantu, Motions, Creme of Nature, Nubian Heritage (side note: Raven, you were totally right about the Nubian Heritage heat line! I didn't expect to see such high amounts of keratin in the shampoo and conditioner [usually when products claim to have protein, it's 10th on the list and won't do much]! Not to mention the label color was gorgeous  I'll have to try that sometime!), Mixed Chicks, Curls, Curly Qs, Hair Rules, Fekkai, Rusk....on and on and on. I wanted to cry! All I was looking for was a leave in that had shea butter in it (I would use Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie, but it has ammonium salts in it. As little as is in there and as much as that drying effect is likely "cancelled out" by the super moisturising ingredients, I'm not a huge fan of salts in my leave ins) but that wasn't out of my price range. Every "ethnic" product claimed to be natural, but when I checked the ingredients label, all I saw was sulfates, silicones, alcohols (fatty or otherwise), and everything I could find in a bottle of Aussie Moist -_- But, thanks be to God, I finally found something!! It's from the Nubian Heritage line, and I really like it so far! It is *trumpets blare*

EVOO & Moringa Repair & Extend Detangling Leave-In Conditioner with Quinoa, Fennel & Henna

I didn't expect too good of a detangling job but this product has surprised me. I can easily finger detangle a handful of damp hair with a nickel sized amount of this conditioner. There's lots of EVOO, shea butter, coconut oil, mango butter and avocado oil in this! I love it. It's the first "mostly natural" product that has ingredients that I like and works well for my hair. It was only an 8 oz bottle for $11.99 (), but I think it'll last me for a while because much isn't needed for detangling. And, I tried this on my hair while putting in more twists, and it worked like a dream! It's cooperating with the gel much better than Fresh Elements. I'm very happy with this product so far 

I bought another conditioner, too! It's a relatively new line from Herbal Essences. It's called: Honey, I'm Strong and it's supposed to be strengthening. I know that honey is a humectant, but I don't understand how it strengthens. Moisture = Strength? Not in the curly world, at least. I bought it just to try it out (it was on sale! 23.7 oz for only $4.99!), and I LOVE the smell. That's no small feat, seeing as how I detest the smell of most of Herbal Essences' conditioners. It does have sodium hydroxide in it, which, again, I don't like having in my leave ins. So I'll use it as a rinse out. I'm excited to see how it works!

Anywho, I'm still very frustrated with this whole mini twists situation. I'm not giving up yet; I want to try it at least 1 more time before throwing in the towel and calling it quits (I really don't want to try it again, but I'm determined to finish at least this set of twists). But, if it doesn't work out, I can always go back to regular 2 strand twists. Those are plumper (you can include more hair), easier, quicker to do, and my hair suffers no breakage from putting those in. I'll probably twist for 2-3+ hours tomorrow, and update on how that goes.

Any experienced mini twisters here? What do you do to make twisting easier? How do you know that you're twisting the right amount of hair?

FINALLY - An Update!

Ay! I have been so terrible about posting on here. I started doing a blog on CurlyNikki, but I think that I'll move my blog back here again. I'd like to have something separate from my other online stuff. And I feel like I can be a bit more in my element here. On CN, I felt like I was writing just to get other people to read it (not many did because I guess I just don't have that magic blogger touch *shrugs*). Here, I can blog to just blog. So here will I stay! :-)

Well, SO much has happened since I last wrote! I'm in my first full-time semester of college, my hair has grown, I had my 13 month nappyversary (more about that later), I've gained weight (*sobs*), I'm starting a YT channel and I've gone silicone free until the spring or summer! So let's start from the beginning:

 College

The last I wrote, I was trying to make a decision on which college to attend. UMBC gave me a mid-tier scholarship ($10,000 per year) for their humanities program, plus I won another $5,000 per year from my dad's job. But, that still left a great deal to pay, and my parents would've had to take out loans. I have a 100% no-loan policy, so I chose to stay home for 2 more years and be in the honors program in my CC (I've been taking classes there since the 11th grade). 15 credits per semester are paid for, so I just pay for books and whatnot. I wasn't sure how I'd like it, but I love it! The classes are very demanding, but it's enjoyable. I was afraid of not knowing anybody, but I have 24 friends that I grow closer to every time I see them. We hang out outside of classes, have parties, picnics, etc.  I think I actually might have a social life now lmbo. Oooh! I'm a bit of a nerd, so I want to tell you which classes I'm in this semester:

World Literature II Honors

World History II Honors

World Music Honors

Introduction to Philosophy Honors

Intermediate Spanish II Honors

General Psychology

Dance Aerobics

First Year Seminar

...a total of 15 credits. The four classes at the top are actually an interdisciplinary set of courses, so those are actually just 6 credits for the semester...I'll explain later lol. I'm already signed up for next semester, and then I'll be taking:

World Literature II Honors

World History II Honors

World Music Honors

Introduction to Philosophy Honors

Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology Honors

Principles of Biology I

Elementary Korean I

...16 credits next semester. I'm pumped! I especially can't wait to start Korean. I'm a fan of Kpop, and I just got into Korean dramas (I'm currently going through The Iron Empress on Hulu). Plus, I was thinking of teaching ESL/ESOL there someday, so I thought it was worth a try. I'm so nervous! I've never had to take a 101 language class before. But I've ordered some Korean audio things from the library (Pimsleur materials), and I found a YT channel that has videos to help with pronunciation, and a website to help with the written segment. Random fact: Korean is considered an Altaic language, and not Asiatic, like Mandarin (Chinese). I always wondered why Korean didn't have that same metallic sound as Chinese lol.

Hair

Yes, it has grown! I'm now a bit past collar bone length (CBL) stretched. I'm so happy! Keeping my hair in twists a lot has helped with length retention, methinks. I've had to trim a few ends because they looked straight, but it ended up being nothing.

13 Month Nappyversary

This one is going to be hard to explain. Bear with me. Earlier this year, in May to be exact, my grandmother (Nana) was hospitalised at Holy Cross. We found out what she had known for months but not mentioned: she had ovarian cancer. She was in there for a month, her life in the balance. After 4 long weeks, she was allowed to go to the Rehabilitation Center, but she fell into poor health yet again (this time at the hands of the doctors), and was readmitted to the hospital. She was never able to come back home. It was so difficult for me during that time. School was finishing up, I was dealing with graduation, and because of classes, I couldn't visit her very often. She passed away on 10 June 2012. I was devastated. It was one of the most difficult summers of my life. But this year, on my nappyversary date (3 September), I realised something - my Nana's birthday is 3 October. I BCed exactly 1 month before her birthday! So, in remembrance of her, I celebrate every 13 months that I've been natural instead of every 12.

Weight

Needless to say, my ambitions for losing weight were lost. I started out well, but due to the circumstances over the summer, I just got further and further away from healthy eating. I'm now at my heaviest - 230 pounds :-( But I won't give up! I'm going to Asheville in the summer, and I will NOT be buying a plus sized swim suit, nor will I be embarrassed to show my legs! I'm reading Dr. Fuhrman's book called Eat to Live, and it looks doable. So I'll be trying that starting in January methinks.

YouTube

Yes, you read it correctly, chicas! I'm going to be starting my very own YT channel! I want it to be good quality, though, so I need to purchase a camcorder, learn how to use an editing program, etc. And I want it to either be in Spanish or English with Spanish subtitles. It won't be ready until the summer, probably, though. I want to focus entirely on school and exercise next semester.

Silicone Free?! O_O

Yuppers...I've crossed over to the other side! Lmbo. After my silicone serum obsession of the summer, I was eager to see how my cones would do during the autumn. And somehow...they sucked. Like badly. Like, my hair looked like the Sahara desert bad. I wanted to cry. Soo, thanks to some encouragement from the wonderful ladies on CurlyNikki, I've been exploring some silicone free options. And, to my surprise, my hair is loving it! I'm floored. I didn't know that no 'cones could be so wonderful! So, now my plan is to use 'cone-free products in the autumn and winter and early spring (September-April), and then use regular silicone products in the spring and summer (May-August). Here's my current regimen:

• Prepoo/DC overnight with VO5 Silky Experiences Shea Cashmere Conditioner cocktailed with honey, EVOO, EVCO, and GSO (I'm going to start using the honey and oils with 2 overripe pureed avocados instead, because I want to find another conditioner for DCs that doesn't have isopropyl alcohol in it and is a bit thicker).
• Cleanse scalp with Paula's Choice All Over Hair & Body Shampoo.
• Condition hair and scalp with Spa Haus Salon Conditioner (I actually found this at the dollar store lol. I really like it; a review will be coming soon! :-) ).
• Detangle with TRESemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner.
• Twist hair with Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk or Curly Q's Red Velvet Moisturising Curl Cream; seal with my EVOO/GSO mix.

I've been doing this for about 2 weeks now, and my hair looks great! I'll be keeping this up until May hits! :-D

That's about all for this update, bellas! I'll be posting almost everything that I posted on my CN blog on here over the next few days. 

Ciao!