Empress says...

I hope my cousin Lind will like it. I enjoyed crocheting it for her...with love

Since we are in a recession and I refuse to pay anything over $50 for a "hair tool", I went on ebay to find the Maxiglide flat iron at a reasonable price. I got lucky to find one that was gently used and had been well cleaned for $30 (not including $10 s&h). I also own a Jilbere ceramic iron that I use along with a Conair brush. However, it does not use steam and that's just what I need to save my ends from ultimate death (snip snip). Since the ends of my hair need moisture to survive, I'm using techniques to implement moisture on a regular basis. I washed my hair today and was ready to see what all the hype is about. Here's what I did: - Pre-poo with EVOO, Tea Tree Oil & Raw Shea Butter -Wash with Suave 2 In 1 shampoo and condition -Deep condition with Fructis Sleek & Shine Conditioner overnight. I put on an inexpensive shower cap (the really thin $1 kind) and tied my hair up with a scarf. This was to lock in the heat from my scalp to help better ...

For a while now I've had a love/hate relationship with my mane. I believe part of it was attributed to not knowing how to properly maintain it. After 31 years of harsh water, breakage and the devil himself, heat, my hair is now on its way to a healthier life. It took a bit of research to figure out what would be the best regimen for me. I learned how to pre-poo, co-wash and the various techniques for these methods in a matter of 2 hours of watching YouTube videos (look them up to learn more). There are numerous ingredients that can be used with these methods. It is advised to read the labels of whichever product you choose. Sulfates and alcohol aide in damaging ends. Many of the women going the natural route have seen tremendous results just from cutting out heat and conditioning instead of shampooing regularly. Although I have had medium to long hair all of my life, that doesn't mean it is healthy. I had my first perm around the age of 13 and didn't feel it was any differe...

Tonight I will try my hand at co-washing for the first time. It is basically using conditioner instead of shampoo to prevent from stripping the hair of its natural oils. I will be using a less expensive conditioner (Suave Orchid Petal) mixed with an egg yolk and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). From roots to tip, my ends will be saturated in this goodness for roughly 20 minutes. I will then rinse and follow up with my regular conditioner (Fructis deep conditioner) and rinse again. On the second rinse, I will be sure to leave a little conditioner in to help maintain the moisture. I will let you know if my hair feels "purddy" once it is all said and done. I'm looking forward to a future where I will use little to NO HEAT on my mane. It is time to treat it how it should be treated lol! Apparently I am not the only one who feels this way. There is a following of conscious women (many are African American) who are taking the natural approach and embracing the no heat challenge. ...

We shaved her and now she's hot stuff. Check her out =) BEFORE: AFTER: We are looking forward to grooming her more often to keep her coat clean and smooth. She went from being a black & white cat to being a black, gray and white cat =) Off to bed now. We're worn out from chasing MK around to get her looking pretty. It was all worth it in the end. Good night.

I have made one scarf so far for my mom's Christmas gift. I'm working on a few other projects that I pray will be done by Dec 20th at the latest. I present to you my mother's gift "With Love": The pattern is based on the Bernat pattern, Striped Scarf found here . I used chunky yarn and an 8mm crochet hook therefore I only needed roughly 4-6 rows of double crochet depending on how wide I wanted it to be. Since I decided to make it abnormally long for more wrap arounds than one can conceive, I kept it more on the skinny side with 4 rows. Now I have to add my tag which I ordered from here and it will officially be done. YAY! Good thing she doesn't read this...I think. I hope she will enjoy =) Now on to scarf #2 for my cousin. I'll be sure to post pics when it's done.