A Few Random Thoughts

Hey y'all, I know it's been a few days and I'm really sorry about that. I've been busy trying to finish out this semester on a great note. Anyways, here I am!

This past week has been all about self-reflection for me. This is something that, within the last few years, has become really important for me. It helps me stay honest with myself in all aspects of my life. Lately, I've been realizing that I haven't been committing to myself the way I should. I've gotten so caught up in everything else that I just don't have time to do what I really want. So I've decided to start committing to working out. This is something that I've been wanting to do for the LONGEST. I would always start and stop just to start and stop again. This time, I want to incorporate working out into my regular routine. If y'all are looking for motivation or just want to make this commitment too, let me know. We can do it together. I also want to start committing to reading more for pleasure. I feel like I only do academic reading these days, which isn't a bad thing, I just miss reading for the fun of it. What are some things you guys commit to doing for fun or for self help?

On another note, I straightened my hair. Let me know if you guys want to see a post on that or any other things you want me to post on. I'll talk to you guys soon :)

My Twist Out/Wash Day (Updated)

Hey Guys!

So, like I said in my first post, I have been natural for going on three years now and y'all, I have tried just about every hairstyle in the book LOL! I love changing up my look, it just makes me feel better. But, being that my hair is getting longer, it takes a while to do and lately I'm finding that Twist Outs are fast and easy to maintain, especially when school and work get quite hectic. So here is how a typical wash day goes.

I usually designate Sundays for wash day but depending on what my week is like, that can vary. I started off with my hair in a puff. I detangled using water and my pick. Typically I co-wash, with whatever is in the shower, (I'm a recovering product junkie lol I'll walk you guys through my closet one day) but this week I needed to shampoo seeing as my last co-wash was about 4 weeks ago. So I used the Curly Sexy Hair Color Safe Curl Defining Shampoo and Conditioner.

I like that both the shampoo and conditioner are color safe, seeing as I do have color treated hair and are free of sulfates, gluten, and parabens. The shampoo isn't harsh on my hair and the conditioner provides a decent amount of slip. With that being said these aren't my all time favorites but they are in my top 10.

As a leave-in I used Karen's Body Beautiful Pomegranate Guava Sweet Ambrosia Leave-In Conditioner

It was my first time using this product so I don't have much to really say about it besides it smells AMAAAAAZZZING and left my hair feeling extra soft. 

Being that I like big hair, I prefer to do my hair when its dry and stretched. Like most naturals, I struggle with shrinkage so to combat this, I put about 8 big twists in my hair, which I forgot to take a picture of, so that my hair can dry overnight and then I put it in a puff to stretch it some more.

So now on to the good stuff. For my twist outs I do flat twists, as of recently they are my staple. In the beginning, when my hair first got long enough to twist, I did do two strand twists but over the years I have realized that flat twists just work better for me. I get more curl definition without having to do a whole bunch of fluffing and it lasts longer. I know not everyone knows how to flat twist, it did take me a while to learn, but once I got the hang of it, I realized it is fairly simple. The product I used was Qhemet Biologics Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter (couldn't link this because the website is down). I also used my spray bottle with only water and my pick to detangle when I needed to. 

I chose to use a butter so that my hair would not revert back to it's shrunken, curly state and also because I rather work with dry hair. This butter is awesome for all hair types. It gives good definition, retains moisture very well, it does work well with other products (i.e leave-in conditioners, and a little goes a very long way. As far as using my spray bottle, I spray the water in my hand so that I can regulate the amount of water I want going in my hair.

Here is how my twists look before bed. It doesn't matter what direction you twist them in, it just depends on where you what your part or the look you are going for. I like my part in the middle or to the side. To maintain my twists, I just put on a bonnet before bed.

Here's pictures of my results:

To take my twists down I used argon oil. Any brand is good but you can also use any kind of oil you prefer. 

:) enjoy your weekend guys.

New To This

Hi Guys, I'm Shelbey.

For a while now, I've wanted to start a blog. Not knowing where to begin or what to say  and the fact that I tend to be a protectionist is has stopped me for so long but now, I'm getting off my butt and just doing it. This blog will be about my natural hair (I've been natural for almost three years WHOOPP WHOOOP), my journey to a healthier life style (clean eating, working out and such) and other random things that I can think of. I guess this will be a way for me to break out of my shell and stop being so scary all the time. I'm the president of #TeamImAlwaysInMyOwnWay, so this will be a new start for me and maybe some encouragement for you, seeing as I'll always be here to help :)

Well, that is all for now. 

p.s. here is a picture of my fro. she'll be three in August.