Flat Ironed Natural Hair – A Look Back

I was going through some old pics and could’t help but feel extremely proud of my natural hair journey.  For the past 3 1/2 years I have embraced my natural hair texture and it has truly paid off.  My hair is more healthy than it has ever been and the growth has been incredible!  

Here’s a look back over the past 3 years at the various times during my journey that I’ve flat ironed my hair to see my growth progression. 

10 Months Post Big Chop

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1 Year Post Big Chop

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1.5 Years Post Big Chop

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2 Years Post Big Chop

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2.5 Years Post Big Chop

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3 Years Post Big Chop (After my first professional trim and color treatment)

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About Today’s Hair

And well…there’s really not a whole lot to tell. Today I decided on a simple twist out bun. I set this style with Eco Styler Gell last night. After deep conditioning a pulled my hair into a high ponytail and made several medium size twists using Eco Styler Gel. This morning I unravelled the twists and tucked the ends under securing them with a few bobby pins. That’s it! Really love the results.

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Big Chop Part II?

So, I’m a bit unsure of how much I really care but it looks like I’m back at bra strap length since my much needed trim back in March. Hair growth is generally a great thing to me but I’ve been very seriously considering big chop part II.

I think I’m just at that point in my natural hair journey where length just isn’t as important as it once was. These days I care more about hair health and the shape and overall look of a cut or style. I guess we’ll see how much longer it will take before I become fully committed to the idea of chopping my hair off. Stay tuned!

In the mean time here’s a pic of my random length check.

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Staple Beauty Products

Hi beauties!

I hope you all had an awesome weekend. I wanted to do a post about my staple beauty products. These are the products I use pretty much on an every day basis that I’m really loving right now.

Maybelline Dream a Liquid Mousse

This is my foundation preference lately. It provides great coverage and isn’t really heavy.

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L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara

After about two coats this waterproof mascara really gives me great length and volume.

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BH Cosmetics 26 Color Neutral Eyeshadow & Blush Palett

I absolutely love this palett! The colors are beautiful and so versatile. The only thing it’s missing is a contour pod.

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Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeshadow Primer

My shadow really pops with this primer and stays on all day without a problem

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Elf Liquid Eyeliner

This is a pretty basic liquid liner but does a great job for me.

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The Multitasker Milani Face Powder

I love this product! It’s great for freshening up my face mid day.

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NYX Mineral Matte Finishing Powder

If you saw my “NYX Love” post you know how much I love this stuff! Amazing

Milani Flirty Fuchsia Lipstick

Ok so I may not wear this every day but it is definitely my favorite color this summer. Very pretty!

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I think that about covers it! What are some of your everyday staple beauty products?

Serving a little twist out definition today

On the natural hair style menu today we have a simple updo with a little twist out definition up front.

Just after posting a blog entry about saving time by not setting my hair at night anymore I decided to test my theory again. Yep! It’s still true.

I spent about twenty minutes last night twisting my hair. I did some smaller twists up front and chunky twists in the back.

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This morning I get up and got to work on trying to figure out how to style this mane of mine. After about 25 minutes of playing with different ideas I finally find one I’m happy with. Here’s the final look today and the step by step:

To achieve this look I set my hair the night before with about twelve small twists in the front and eight chunky twists in the back. I used Shea Moisture Curl & Style milk and Eco Styler gel for the twists.

In the morning I unraveled all of the twists. I separated the chunky twists started on the right side and twisted/tucked the hair up and around. Then I placed a few bobby pins to secure the hair. The front smaller twists were swooped to the side and secured with a bobby pin. That’s it!

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While I truly love the final look I think I’ll reserve setting my hair at night for just a few times a month when I’m craving curl definition. Other than that I think I’ll keep my half hour at night and spend it with this little guy ❤

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Decide & Style In 25 – Hair Essentials

I give myself no more than twenty-five minutes in the morning to figure out what I’m going to do with my hair and then get it done. There was a time in my natural hair journey when I would set my hair almost every night with twists or braids. I thought that it helped me get ready faster in the morning. What I’ve learned since I stopped spending that half hour prepping my hair at night is that it still takes me about the same amount of time to style my hair in the morning.

Now as a bit more tenured naturalista I take that half hour at night and spend it with my family, but that wouldn’t be possible without my quick and easy styling essentials. So, here they are:

Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk

I always start with this and some water. It helps to quickly detangle and moisturize my hair. I also use my Denman brush pictured in the next step for detangling.

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Hair Ties and Bobby Pins

Then it’s on to one or both of these. I almost always use a hair tie to manage my styles.

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Eco Styler Gel

I know you’re probably wondering about that toothbrush pictured above. I use that bad boy in conjunction with an Eco Styler Gel. These two items are the key to getting my edges to lay and stay!

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That’s it! Those are my quick and easy styling essentials that go into achieving my various twisted up do’s each week. I love that I’m able to be so creative in such a short period of time with so few products. What do you use in the mornings to get your hair ready for the day?

This Happened Today

I have been craving for a trip to Walgreens so I finally make the trip today and what do I find?! Shea Moisture products on sale by one get one free!! Unfortunately for me they were all out of the curl milk. So…I’ll be off to another Walgreens until I find it and can take advantage of this awesome sale.

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After being slightly disappointed I made a stop at CVS and picked up this
NYX matte lip gloss.

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I’ve been wanting to try it out and I’m glad I did. I have mixed feelings about the color but I love the concept of matte lip gloss. I’ll definitely try more colors. Here are some pics.

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Wash & Go: Still Awesome

Sooo…I’ve been doing a lot of fun buns after my mini twist natural hair introduction to my new coworkers. This week I decided that I wanted to showcase some more natural hair versatility and thought I’d do a wash and go. It’s been a couple of months since I’d done one and can I just say that was entirely too long!! I have totally re-realized how much I love this style!

I ran out of my Eco Styler gel with Aragan Oil so hubby picked up the Krystal Eco Styler which I had never tried. I rely on the Aragan and Olive oil versions of this product to help combat flaking so I wasn’t sure if this one would do the same.

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I am very happy to report that I’ve had absolutely no flaking! Today is my 3rd day wearing the wash and go. Here’s how the look has progressed.

Day 1

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Day 2

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And Day 3

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But last night, I was totally feeling my hair. And so naturally I went ahead and did a selfie photo shoot staring none other than my wash and go!
So, for your viewing pleasure! Lol

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NYX Love

I’ve fallen in love! I purchased the NYX Mineral Matte Finishing Powder a couple of weeks ago and I am so glad I did. This stuff is amazing! The finish that it gives my final look is so fresh. I new I had come across something special when even my husband noticed a difference. He loves it too and he prefers a more natural look. Yep! This is definitely a new staple.

Here are some pics from today. Totally fresh faced with no filter. Sported a wash and go today too! It’s been a while since I did one. Totally forgot how much I love them.

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A Night of Coral Black & Inspiration

So…Saturday night I met up with an old friend and co-worker of mine who also to my surprise lives in Atlanta!

For my outfit I paired a high-low coral dress with some black leggings a black and silver belt and my black and metallic Carlos Santana heels. I kept the hair simple with a super high bun.

We had a great time catching up and indulging in some wine and dinner at a nice spot called Twist. Unfortunately for me she’ll be moving back to NY soon to embark on a new adventure. She is fearless and inspires me so much.

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